From the Ashes

𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝐼𝓃 𝒪𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓇.

Almost twenty-eight days after the events of the preliminary exam concluded,Haku had walked the grounds of the Uzumaki compound like he did daily,tending to the garden of flowers and herbs that he himself had asked(begged)his master to allow.

Such a garden was large in size,gathered in a circular formation around the gazebo that now overlooked the mass of greenery,providing a natural barrier for the koi ponds that lied in the core.

The boy had been worn almost thin by the likes of Saryn's familiars.Between Hinata,Fu and the occasional appearance of Naruto in the days following her leave,he just couldn't fathom her ability to manage the two balls of energy as she did.Anko and Yugao had apparently been wrapped up in their own affairs,and Haku appreciated the solitude.

The ice wielder had taken it upon himself to assist Fu with her goal of strengthening her fire affinity for her finals matchup against Shino.Honestly, he should've expected the jittery woman to have such an elemental release.Her beast's apparent water coupled with her own earth and fire natures would help round out their three-way jutsu nicely once Fū got the hang of it...

And,the damned girl could fly.

As of right now,Haku sought to occupy both the hyperactive sacrifices by dropping two very large lily pads into their hands from their water,commanding them to split the lily pad,or to burn one side of it in Fū's case,while he was content to let his thoughts wander to his master as they trained.

________________________________________________

The Sandaime Hokage had been in his office at the same time,sat in his chair as he fingered the hasty contents of the weeks-old letter that remained on the oak of his desk.

"Report?" He asked to seemingly no one before Kakashi emerged from the windowsill,nodding to the Hokage as he entered.

"Negative,sir.Pakkun and the rest have all said the same thing,like she dropped off the face of the earth a few miles from the gates." The Sandaime shook his head.

•

Sure it had been well over a few days since he'd first overcome his shock to read the letter,but the extended absence of Saryn had become rather concerning, especially as she had been effectively untraceable.

He should've stopped the girls trip as it would've risked everything,she may as well have gift wrapped herself to be seized by the likes of Orochimaru! The man was seconds away from kicking himself even further.

The timely words of Jiraiya had been the only thing keeping them from outright sending hunters to the ends of the land.

Speaking of which,A clone of the toad sage had stopped by as they conversed,delivering a message from the Elder Toad...It'd felt the presence of another human in the regions beyond their own along with an entire flock of birds,soaring far and above the mountains of Myoboku with a summoner who'd arrived in the Region prior had fit the profile of Jiraiya's description.

They'd also brought a storm with them to the toad's place of birth,which the elder neglected to elaborate on to the sage's confusion.

Closing that book,the man had just barely found the cunning to restrain the likes of Danzo and other suspicious detractors of the girl ,who wanted to send his own black ops unit to bring the Kaguya back.

"With Saryn's situation partly resolved, this brings me to my next topic,Sasuke Uchiha and his stability.."

Kakashi's eyed the Hokage and the sage beside him, trying to figure out the reasoning behind such a question.

"Sasuke is about as stable as you can imagine,I've been teaching the likes of my lightning jutsu to prepare him for his battle with the Sand's jailer." Jiraiya bit back an outward reaction,though it was evident in his voice.