Naruto: Sasuke and Naruto Hot Heaven

"That's a very euphemistic way of putting it," Kakashi said sarcastically. "The Chakra Network and the Symphony Wire are still unusable, but I intend to let my students take care of it and turn it into whatever they want."

"Give them something to do?" Ryota guessed.

“There are also considerations in this regard.”

Ryouta rubbed his chin and looked at the building again. He seemed a little conflicted, his expression switching between concentration, confusion and anticipation.

"You realize this whole thing is a disaster, don't you?" he said suddenly.

"I'm sure they won't blow it up," Kakashi argued, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. He wasn't sure if that was true at all - Naruto alone could easily cause that level of damage.

"That's not what I meant, Kakashi," Ryouta retorted. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

Kakashi's body language changed only slightly, his long years of ANBU training dulling even his most instinctive displays of emotion. But he wasn't the only one to have received ANBU training, and Ryouta caught a slight stiffness in his shoulders and a tenseness in the muscles around his single visible eye.

"I don't understand what you mean." Kakashi said calmly, trying to keep his tone calm.

Ryouta snorted, leaning against a carved pillar and reaching into his pocket for his cigarette case.

"The ninja world operates under a very well-defined system. Less capable ninja are given relatively easy tasks, grow more or less normally, and are allowed to develop good emotional reserves and maintain psychological stability. The higher ranking ninja, the geniuses, the chosen ones, their development is unbalanced; they have great strength and skills, but are often emotionally unstable or incompetent, full of quirks and maladaptive character traits. This essentially maintains a balance, as the most powerful ninja are often also the most insane, displaying personality weaknesses that can be exploited if not taken seriously."

He spoke like an ANBU member, using a tone that Kakashi was trained to pay special attention to.

Kakashi knew what he meant - Ryouta understood the psychology of high-ranking ninja better than most.

"What does this have to do with my students?" he asked, even though he had guessed what Ryouta was thinking.

"I've spoken to your students, Kakashi," he said in a serious tone.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"You are saying that you conducted an on-site psychological evaluation of my student without my permission."

Ryouta waved his hand.

"That's not the point. I mean, I can count the psychological issues on one hand, outside of some obvious codependency issues."

"What psychological problem?" Kakashi asked, letting his guard down for the moment.

Ryouta shrugged and crossed his arms, waving a hand in the air as he recalled.

"The Uchiha is still recovering from severe emotional repression, most likely a combination of family heritage, trauma, and long-term emotional isolation. It's a miracle he's recovered at all, though the withdrawn traits in his personality are likely permanent. Naruto shows some signs of contact-based stress trauma, caused by the lack of physical contact he grew up with, but you'd only notice it if you sneaked up on him. Sakura and the Uchiha are the exceptions to the rule in my opinion, which is a good sign. Sakura is still working through the last of her inferiority complex, but other than that, aside from some temper issues, she's doing fine."

Kakashi nodded as he listened to Ryouta's diagnosis.

He knew most of these. In the ninja world, many harmful quirks were considered normal.

"I really don't see what's wrong with that, Ryouta. Considering their upbringing, it could be a lot worse."

Ryouta rolled his eyes and looked unhappy.

"You're training a group of genin who already have strong basic skills, and who are honing abilities beyond the chunin level. And they're emotionally stable. That means they don't burn out easily, and they don't fall into psychological traps easily. They're opinionated, but reasonable; they're proud, but not arrogant; and they don't obey authority very well."

Ryouta finally lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and continued.

"It's a walking powder keg. You give them space and support, and they'll grow without restraint. That kind of power will attract a lot of attention, and a lot of things that were impossible before will now become possible, and that will anger a lot of people."

Kakashi nodded.

“The best of us find that our greatest hindrance is a mediocre mind,” he agrees.

"Your teacher's words." Ryouta admitted. "Are you ready to protect them from those people?"

"Of course," Kakashi said without hesitation.

Ryouta snorted.

"I don't even know why I'm asking you this question."

He stared at Kakashi for a long moment, his jaw set tight, letting the cigarette burn between his fingers.

He seemed to be making some kind of decision, perhaps choosing which side to stand on - Kakashi was not sure - but in the end, he brought the unfinished cigarette to his lips, took a puff, and then exhaled a cloud of white smoke with gray spots.

"Okay, Kakashi," he said finally. "I will give you and your students all the information I can find about the Black Temple, including the stockpiled supplies. In exchange, your other two students will come to me at least three times a week for battlefield medical courses."

Kakashi blinked, a little surprised.

"That's... really generous."

"Your students are going to be the troublemakers of this world, Kakashi," Ryouta complained. "They need to be responsible for that power, or it will get out of control, and if they're going to learn how to destroy a man, they'd better learn how to put him back together."

"Well, that's fair," Kakashi agreed, even though he was trying to suppress the smile on his face. "But Sakura has done pretty well in this regard."

Ryouta pointed at him accusingly and said:

"Don't make me say this, she'll put my nurses out of a job."

******