Loyalty to the Leaf

It had been years and countless missions since Zen had become a jounin of konoha. As the days drew on unrest continued to make him uneasy about his current situation. It'd been some time in the village and he hadn't seen the hokage. Even when undergoing mission reports and direct orders he'd never actually seen him. The loyalty of a shinobi is one of the most important bonds one can have but it made it very difficult when the leader remained unseen for a while now. Other villages were beginning to smell blood in the water so to speak. There had even been talk of an invasion. Zen rolled over and looked up at the ceiling of his small apartment and thought long and hard about the situation. The ceiling fan slowly turned causing shadows from the dim sunset the dance over his room. Thought's flooded his mind in the form of questions.

What am i doing here?....What's my purpose?..Why is the hokage not acting in a time where action is needed? Would i be a traitor if i left? Could i do better somewhere else?

Zen's thoughts converge on the incident the day when he first met the Hokage.

Kira begins to walk down te street. He spots a ninja down the road. Kira being bored walks up to the Ninja. " Hello " he says waving at him. Kira has a slight smile on him. He stops waving and puts his hand out to shake.

( Sorry so short couldnt really think of much )

FLASHBACK


Zen was a young shinobi back then brought back to konoha after having spending much time raised by a loyal shinobi of konoha. He was walking among the streets of konoha a genin back then. The academy was tough for him as he had a short attention span. Techniques, studying, and training only appeared to be a waste of his time as he had no purpose. Life itself had also gotten more difficult upon finding out that he was actually born a member of the uchiha clan. This information was held from him for years as he discovered that his father was labled a traitor to the village.

One day walking down the road he sees a man walking on his way. He was tall and thin with green vibrant eyes and dark black hair. Overall he gave off the appearance of someone who wasn't to be trusted. As the man approached his direction Zen thought it best to stay on his side of the road. He avoided any and all eye contact as he continued on his way. The shadows on the ground danced around his feet as he took every step keeping his eyes down. Moments later something rings in Zen's ears.

" Hello "

Looking up Zen sees the stranger waving at him and then coming over. He grinned warmly and stood there with his hands outstretched for a handshake. Zen simply looked at the hand in the air wondering who this person was. being raised as a shinobi he'd learned to trust noone he didn't already know and never to let his guard down. Stepping back he walks around the stranger heading further up the block. At the end a shinobi wearing a green flak jacket and jounin attire stands in his path. Zen looks up seeing the higher ranked individual and immediately payed attention getting into a respectful stance.

Is that how you treat the hokage young one?

Zen looks up.

Hokage?! Where?!

Looking around Zen sees nobody in sight and then it hits him. He spins around seeing the man he'd passed just a bit ago still walking down the block before turning back to the jounin.

Him?! He's the Hokage?! I don't believe it!

The jounin places his hand on Zen's shoulder.

Believe it. That's the leader of our entire village. Let me tell you something Zen. You have to decide for yourself who you want to follow when you get older. You have alot of talent but none of that will matter unless you have the will to get better and loyalty. Some shinobi have the idea that they should just live for power. I'm going to tell you now that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I saw the way you looked at the hokage. Even if you don't like it, he's our leader. I want you to remember this one thing. You're not only serving the hokage, You're serving Konoha and all it's people. Remember that.

With the words of the Jounin Zen had alot to consider even at such a young age. He decided to focus on serving the people and not just focusing on the leader of the village. His purpose would be to protect all who reside within the walls of konoha and doing everything in his power to that end.

BACK TO PRESENT

The scene returns to Zenaku back in his bed in deep thought. He remembers his purpose from so long ago and decides it's time to stop thinking about the past. He'd made his decision a long time ago as far as his loyalty and since that day he'd seen the hokage's good traits. Rolling over he mentally kicks himself for even thinking about such negative thoughts to begin with. On one of his earlier missions it involved going after a ninja that stole a certain scroll that had the true identities of all the members of anbu. He remembers the chase after him, almost being defeated and clearly his words. He threatened that konoha was weak and that it'd be soon destroyed.

Zen lays for a moment thinking about all the words that the enemy said. The enemy that was once a fellow member of konoha. His thirst for power and greed had led to him being killed. The thought of dishonor ran across Zen's mind and then thoughts of how he'd been treated for his father dying as a traitor. One without honor who's name wouldn't even be spoken of. That's not the life Zen wanted. It wasn't so much what people thought of him as much as him keeping a clear idea that he lived with a code that revolved around keeping his integrity and his honor.

Rising from his bed Zen sits upright and looks at the floor of his bedroom still in deep thought. He next glances up at his wall filled with weapons and various forms of gear before seeing the anbu mask in a case on the wall. He remembered when he was an anbu. Even as an anbu that didn't change the fact that his relationship with the kage was never close at all. If anything it made his interactions with him more robotic as anbu are high level shinobi. Tools of war to be used at the discretion of the kage. There was no room for emotion or second guessing. Orders were orders. With a sigh he grinned.

I'm glad i got out of there. Instead of hiding behind a mask now i get to help ones in the village while still performing missions of my own. Lets not forget that i get to play a part in helping the younger generations.

Smiling to himself he'd finally remembered his reason, his purpose. His purpose was to protect the leaf. To help the next generation to understand what he'd had so much trouble figuring out...

Where they belong.

Zen rises and gets ready in his jounin gear. As he walks past the wood and glass case on the wall holding his anbu mask he stops. He makes one last look thinking maybe he'd join anbu again one day. That day wouldn't be soon though. He leaves the house with that thought.

~FIN