Naruto: The Outsider's Resolve: CH_278

"Fuck off!"

The members of the Narcotics Taskforce were surprised to see the second-in-command hurl profanities from across the room. Arisu was not one to raise her voice in anger and handled matters with a level head and transparent conversation, so seeing her act out of character was a surprise.

Takuma didn't mind the reception at all. He was just happy to see her after such a long time and took her sight in. He had never said it to her, but handling Enomoto while running the Narcotics Taskforce was stressful, and she was his rock because he knew he could rely on her.

"You came too soon. You should've waited at least another month before showing your face," Arisu said, her face taut in anger and arms crossed.

Apparently, Kameko was so popular that the entire village knew he was back.

"Is a call or message too hard to do, you asshat!"

Takuma walked to her and hugged her, which surprised her to stop talking. She looked flustered because everyone in the office was looking at them, and she was technically their superior officer with an image to maintain. "Stop it!" she said in a mixture of whispering and hissing.

"I'm sorry," he said. Takuma released her, and she sighed her anger away under his gaze.

"About?"

"Not reaching out to you sooner."

"Good. How are you?" she asked.

Takuma shrugged. He was open to sharing with her, but not now at the headquarters. "Are you free for lunch? We can talk over a meal. I'd like to catch up as well," he said.

"Absolutely!" she smiled.

He was glad to see her so excited and responsive. He had doubts if the vibe between them would be awkward because of how they had left things before he had left, and their letters had skirted around the topic of their kiss. He didn't want to compromise his friendship with Arisu over anything, and he wasn't in the space to pursue anything in his current state, and he didn't know when that would change.

"Takuma, I see you're back."

He turned to see Uchiha Yakumi walking over. Yakumi used to be Kano's senior and was technically in charge of Takuma's development when he was a new rookie, but he had dumped him on her. He was also the one to replace him at the Narcotics Taskforce, and because of that, Takuma didn't like the man.

"Chunin Yakumi," he nodded.

"I'm glad to see that you're safe," said Yakumi as they shook hands.

"I must say, I'm impressed and happy with what you have done here. It looks unrecognisable in a good way," Takuma doled out praise while the members of the Narcotics Task Force watched. This was a place of work for people like Arisu and Minoru, and he didn't want to put them in an awkward position because of his personal feelings. This was his way of rebuilding the bridge instead of burning it.

Yakumi seemed to understand this motive as he smiled, "I just expanded on the foundation you left. And I can't take all the credit; it's a team effort. I depended greatly on Arisu while I had just taken over the command."

'But you're getting the credit regardless,' Takuma thought. He had done the foundation-level work, prepared all the material, and trained labour, only for Yakumi to come in and build a magnificent skyscraper and call it his own. "If you don't mind, may we talk privately?" he addressed Minoru before turning to Arisu. "You're free to join if he doesn't mind."

"Please, of course," Yakumi said and nodded to Arisu.

The trio went into Yakumi's office, which was twice as big as Takuma's when he was in charge. It resembled Yakumi's old office in feel, but there were upgrades in terms of decor that indicated that the Narcotics Taskforce had undoubtedly been a promotion for him.

"What do you want to talk about?" asked Yakumi after they sat down. Takuma and Arisu sat opposite him on his desk. "Would you like tea? I can have someone bring some if you're in the mood."

"No, nothing. I'm hoping this will be short, and I expect your cooperation in this matter," said Takuma, switching out politeness for bluntness. "I have a month remaining in my contract with the Police Force, and I'm not going to renew it."

That elicited a response from Arisu. She didn't seem to like his decision but didn't say anything at that moment. Yakumi remained passive, reserving his reactions until after Takuma was done.

"As far as I'm aware, I'm still part of the Narcotics Taskforce, but I do not want to work here. Let me be more clear: when I say here, I mean the Police Force as a whole. So I'm requesting that you give me paid leave until the end of my contract, and I'll be out of your hair—which I'm sure you'll appreciate." There was no way Yakumi wanted Takuma hanging around because even if he was the leader, Takuma still had considerable influence over the team as the founder. Takuma knew he wouldn't be able to replicate his output, but Yakumi wasn't, and in his eyes, it would be a bad look for him if the performance boost in the month he was back.

Arisu looked like she wanted to interject and say something, but Takuma raised his hand to stop her. Regardless of what she said, he wouldn't change his decision.

"How about it?"

Yakumi gazed at Takuma in thought for a few moments. "If that's what you wish, then I'll comply. You have just returned from war, proudly representing our nation and helping our ally—a month off work is the least you deserve. I'll take care of everything, consider it done."

"Excellent. Thank you," Takuma said and stood up. "It was great meeting with you; I'll leave you to your work now."

"Of course, please don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything."

Both men shook hands, and Takuma left the office in less than five minutes. He was pleased it had gotten so smoothly; now, he didn't have to work while still cashing the pay cheque. He had also inquired about his deferred salary transfer, and they hadn't changed his pay grade after his demotion, so he would get paid as the extra bit he had negotiated for when the Narcotics Taskforce had begun picking up steam.

"You were hasty back there," said Arisu, displeased. "We could've worked together like before. You built this place; don't you want to see it grow? This place needs you."

"Believe me, I would love to work with you, but I can't after everything that has happened."

She closed her eyes with a sigh of disappointment. "I understand," she said, "but you know...."

"Yeah, I know," he nodded while stroking her back. "I have a meeting with Chunin Setsuna, so I'll be done by break time, I’ll pick you then and we'll go out to eat."

"Looking forward to it," said Arisu.

———
.

The last stop at the headquarters was the man responsible for putting Takuma directly into the Department of Organised Crime, which opened a path for him to progress as much as he did.

"Would you consider extending your contract?" said Uchiha Setsuna. The man was in charge of the General Induction Program, which had brought several people into the Leaf Military Police Force and pushed it into a new era where Uchiha members were diluted out of the Police Force to embed themselves into other parts of the Leaf shinobi institution.

"I considered it," Takuma responded with his prepared statement, "and concluded that it's time for me to move on. I enjoyed my work, but I feel it's time to start a new chapter of my life"—and that chapter wasn't going to be in the Police Force.

"You have barely returned home; perhaps you should take a while before making such a big decision."

"Thank you for caring, but I have thought about it for a long time out there, and it feels right... and natural," Takuma said words he didn't mean.

But he understood why Setsuna was trying to get him to stay. The General Induction Program was Setsuna's baby, and Takuma was the poster boy—a highly successful one. If the applicants find out the person being paraded before they had left the Police Force, that would have a definite negative impact. Even if it was only for token purposes, Setsuna wanted Takuma to stay.

"Do you have anything lined up for you?"

"Not at the moment. I'm planning to attend the coming Chunin Exams. I believe it's time," said Takuma. He was talking to Setsuna about getting a recommendation letter. In his grief, he had forgotten to get a letter from the Camp Banana jonin, but perhaps that was for the better—he had received backlash from the bomb blast. Time could soften their dissatisfaction, increasing his chances of getting a recommendation letter. He would also ask for letters from Iruka, Yakumi, and Anko when she returned home.

"... Will you stay if you get promoted internally?" said Setsuna.

The plastic mood from Takuma changed as he looked at the Uchiha with faint displeasure. "Sir, please don't make promises you can't keep and don't say things you don't mean."

There were a few different ways to get a Chunin rank promotion. Genin could participate in the Chunin Exam and declare themselves ready for a promotion. There were field promotions based on merit when a chunin/jonin who had worked with genin could recommend them for rank promotion and was considered the toughest route. All jonin had one chunin promotion slot every year, which they could use to promote a genin; jonin with genin teams weren't allowed to use their slots on their students for six years. Departments across the Leaf shinobi institution had varying amounts of slots every year depending on size and other factors they could use to promote people however they deemed fit—the Leaf Military Police Force was one such department and had several rank promotions slots they used yearly.

"But, what if?"

"You can't possibly guarantee that."

"If I can get you a rank promotion... will you stay on?"

Takuma stared at the man who had just made a proposition that he had been fishing for the entire time he had been running the Narcotics Taskforce. He had gone to war for a rank promotion, which he was sure would raise his chances when he declared himself for the Chunin Exam. He personally thought he had done enough for a field promotion, but that type of recommendation from a simple recommendation letter was different, and the decision-makers hadn't worked with him, which reduced his chances.

"It's not enough," said Takuma. "I want something else."

"Tell me," said Setsuna and leaned forward.

"I don't want to work in the Narcotics Taskforce or the Department of Organised Crime," Takuma put forth his demand from the top of his head. " I want my choice of assignment, which might very well be working directly under a jonin department head or establishing a new team like I did if there's a reasonable opportunity. I want a massive pay bump. I want access to advanced training and jutsu archives. I want a B-rank ninjutsu!"

He thought Setsuna would call him crazy when he talked about running a team, and he was sure he would shut him down when he straight-up asked for a B-rank jutsu. He followed the simple negotiation principle of over-asking so that by the time they found common ground, he would receive approximately what he wanted all along.

But the negotiation didn't happen...

"I can work with that," said Setsuna.

"What?"

"Give me till the end of your contract. If I'm successful, I'll have something for you by then."

Takuma looked at the man, unable to hide his surprise. Earlier this morning, he had entered the headquarters intending to get his money and rebuild bridges as he put the Police Force behind him only to sit before a man who said he could get him a rank promotion.

However, it wouldn't be until later that evening when he would come to know that this wasn't the craziest thing that happened and something much crazier was waiting for him back home.