Hello everyone, my new "big" story, which just means this'll last a while. There'll probably be another "The Tale Of:..." somewhere in between of me writing this, but for those that follow me, this is the new big thing.
Now, timeline and background concerns. Everything in the manga/anime is canon up to this point, where it's just my take on continuing the adventure. This takes place soon after the movie "Naruto: The Last", and before "Boruto: The Movie." This means Naruto and Hinata and everyone have gotten married, and I've placed everyone's kids at 7. All the previous Kages have been replaced by the new ones as well. I've had Sasuke return to the village instead of off "dimension travelling," if you're caught up enough. Finally, two characters who you may notice now/ definitely will notice later on that everyone assumed died, but I have "brought back to life" in a twist. As you'll soon see, this story is going to cover Naruto's first big challenge as Hokage.
All in all, if you're not caught up on the series, this is going to be stuffed with spoilers and stuff you might not understand.
Some writing identification: "XXX" divides a section, followed by a character's name in bold which dictates POV. If it's blank, this means it's more of a narration. Finally, at the bottom of some chapters you may see "*" with some words; these are just footnotes for understanding things I think will be confusing.
Disclaimer that I don't own Naruto and all that legal crud. Long intro, I know, so here's the story, and please leave a review of your opinion on what you've read so far!
XXX
S
Below, on the lightened streets of Konohagakure, where the stars were mirrored on the ground, where the crowd of thousands of celebrating people moved like one large monster, he finally spotted the cropped blonde hair, moving down the middle of the street. Shaking the hands of those he could, waving to the rest he could not reach.
The joy was palpable; the entire village was in an uproar. His fingers bit into the rock he was sitting on, and they easily bit into solid stone as he steadied his calm. The happiness, it was as if it had sucked in all the positives of the world into a single roaring fire, leaving the rest of the world to scavenge for an ember of a smile, searching endlessly through the burnt crisps of sadness.
And it made him shake it was so vile. This "great" nation had already taken so much from others, and had finally been confronted about it. The story of Amegakure had already been spread, but they had accepted none of the guilt. It was the repeated cycle of the plight of the smaller nations, in motion so many years after the Fourth Shinobi War, and yet they still dared to claim unity and peace?
Other insurrections had occurred. Much smaller, those working in the fallen name of Madara Uchiha, for the sake of a real peace, struggling to overcome military might. Obviously, none had succeeded. Crushed to the ground and left to bleed out. Indeed, the Land of Rivers had faded out of existence after the quiet destruction of its shinobi village when it had revolted.
He let his gaze travel away from the spectacle below, knowing it would only bring up more useless emotions. The six stone faces stared straight back at him, as if daring him to make a move. He had, ever since he had first seen the monument as a child, always wondered what it would be like to see their actual faces in motion. How would they look, in the midst of this false celebration? And how would they look when their cruelty was exposed?
How would they look, when he revealed the ugly truth to everyone, instead of the lovely lie the First Hokage had created? Seeing their illusion shattered before their very eyes would be the ultimate completion of his dreams. But no, he had a whole world who could observe. He stared back at their faces, his own face stony and bold.
The blonde was halfway up the street. It was time to make sure everything was in place. He stood up and gave the monument a final look of cold indifference before turning and stamping his left foot twice.
In an instant the two were there. Their speed never surprised them. "Is everything finished?"
"Yes, Lord S," said the man on the left. His tone betrayed his impatience. "Why haven't we started? No one will be expecting-"
His eyes were a sharp, icy blue that resembled nothing on another human; a simple, unique genetic trait. His face was pale and, despite his age, bore lines of stress from long days and nights of thought. He bore a more sinister look than the average human face, something that had changed from his once peaceful appearance, and the ability for his face to stay calm and flat remained one of his most striking features. The blue eyes flicked for a moment at the man, boring into the others eyes with icy challenge.
Todo began to shake and bowed his head, reduced to silence. He had trained them both well, and they were the most prominent members of their group. That was part of the reason why he had decided to take them under his direct wing. Todo was slower than Konan, and he still needed correction every now and then.
She was shivering, though he had not looked at her. He hid his eye again and allowed the calm, moderated look to return. "Don't be so concerned, Konan. You know as well as I our friend Todo still needs correction every now and then. Relax."
"Y-yes, m'lord." They stayed kneeling; he allowed himself a brief feeling of satisfaction.
"You both may stand. This will be your final test."
He saw them shiver again, this time with mingled anticipation and eagerness. A wonderful combination, but the face stayed as cold as his feelings. He turned around and looked back down on the crowd and blonde speck.
"Tell me, why do you think that so many people have showed up for the Seventh's Inauguration?"
They went to work. The easiest answer would be that the next Kage Summit was within a few days, but they knew he wanted them to go deeper than the surface. That was what he wanted.
"He's a war hero," Todo said gruffly. "Famous throughout the entire land. People want a moment to be a part of the sensation and to be in the presence of one as powerful as he is."
"Yes, but that's not everything. Konan?"
Her eyes were closed, he could tell. She did that when she thought deeply, when she analyzed everything. That was why he liked her, she was able to evaluate the situation in a blink, and assemble all those facts into a complete answer in moment. When he had found her, she had been erased of memory, a desolate flower wilting in the water, yet her intelligence had stayed. She was a real genius, unlike Todo's slower mind, all the way from flowing blue hair to the shiny black sandals.
"He inspires them," she said finally, her tone bitter. "He's a symbol of hope to them of what could be. He reputation as a kinder breed of shinobi is known throughout the continent... everyone below wants a glimpse of that."
The cold blue eyes scanned the crowd surrounding the yellow beacon, the different types of headbands and outfits scattered like different types of seeds, all waiting to be sewn. "Correct," he breathed. "Now that you know that he is hope, how does it tie into this variation of the Kage Summit?"
"All the little villages are expecting a voice now," said Todo smartly. "They think with an open-mind like the Seventh's out on the field, they'll have a chance. They've tried each time one of the previous Kage's stepped down, to no success. But this one's reputation and position of hope gives them one final shot at it." Todo gave a snort of displeasure. "And they'll be stamped down into place again."
He smiled tightly, the first time he could recall it in some time. They were doing well. "These smaller villages have been trampled upon by the Great Nations ever since their creation, even though the end of the Fourth Shinobi War stated equality would stretch out across the continent. You are quite right in your observations. But we still have to answer the question." He dipped into silence, watching the blonde's progress take him to the steps leading up to the top of the Hokage Monument. The crowd cheered as their beacon of hope ascended.
"Question? Which one, we've answered them all?" Todo murmured.
"He means your question about why we are still waiting for the Seventh to finish his parade," she muttered back. "And that answer is fairly clear now."
"Why do we wait?" he asked her, knowing Todo was lost again. He was strong, but not as quick with his mind. Both were young, open-minded disciples to tutelage, much like the proud blonde below had been to the famed Sannin. She alone would have the answer, she alone was the ultimate success.
"We have to let the people see what they want," she said quietly. "To see their symbol of hope rise... and then fall."
"Yes," he whispered, pleased. "These people have been brought up by lies and misgivings, from Great to Small Nation. They think this one boy, an inexperienced and lucky war hero, can help change their world. But he said the same thing as soon as the war ended, and nothing has changed. The lucky few who live in these great nations prosper even more, while the smaller ones continue to hold false hope things will get better."
They were alarmed at his harsh tone. He had rarely adopted it, had rarely adopted any emotion. Calm and cool logic was the only way correct way to live by. He calmed himself once more, hiding the anger deep within himself, letting it build. He inhaled, but it only frustrated him more. The smell of alcohol, burning candles, and people, so many people! Clustered so happily together, they were so greedy...
"Lord S," said Konanbroke in hesitantly. "We have faith in you. This is our moment, please be calm. There won't be any need to be angry soon."
She was dedicated to his well being. He let his eyes open to slits and saw the cursed man was almost to the top. "Time for action," he said, turning to face them again. "Report to your stations and alert the rest. You have your orders, and now it is time to give order to others."
Todo nodded and was gone in a flash, obviously having felt more uncomfortable than Konan. She had remained behind, having knelt back down. She wanted something from him, and he scanned her again. Her intentions for him were unclear; she was his prized student, and he valued her skills and eagerness immensely, but he could tell that she held forbidden emotions for him, odd disparities of romance.
"I asked you to return to your station," he said calmly, not looking at her.
"We have faith in you," she said again, more confident this time. "You alone have the strength, Lord. That's why we follow you."
He mused over her words, decided to still not look at her. He did not need to hear her confidence, he had enough of his own. The world would hate him at first, then come to adore him. He did not seek it for the sake of power, he sought it because no one else could wield it, and that was where he would win over the world.
Still, it felt wrong to erect a wall so strong to her, in their moment of triumph. "I appreciate your faith. Now return to your post, and prepare to witness your words come into action."
He sensed her acknowledgement, and with a faint whoosh she was gone, leaving him alone again.
The young man was at the top of the Hokage Monument. Below, the cheering crowd had gone respectfully silent. The current Sixth, the silver haired wonder Kakashi Hatake was presenting the distinguished hat of the Kage, red and fiery. A little ways behind, the original Fifth Hokage stood by, as well as the family of the young man. A beautiful, black haired woman and two children, all gazing at their father with unmasked joy.
He reached into his cloak and pulled out his mask. It was one of a kind, a relic of the Uzumaki Clan he had taken from the ashes of the fallen village when he had begun searching for the truth. It was a bone white death mask, something placed on those departed, to hide their face for reasons unknown to him. The indentations and mark
ings resembled a skull perfectly, but that was not it's most distinguishing feature.
It's almost time. The blonde "hero" had accepted the hat and was now waving, beaming down at the crowd below. His children had run to him and clutched both his legs; they couldn't be more than five. His wife hugged and kissed his cheek, while the ex-Sixth shook hands with him, then stepped respectfully back. The freshly anointed Hokage was about to speak to the people. To speak more lies about how things would change, and that the next Kage Summit in the next few days would be a great success.
He slid the skull mask over his own, and he felt it connect to his face, latching onto his skin like a piece of armor. He blinked once, and then he was in control. He opened his mouth, and felt the skull also part it's mouth. It was apart of him; he was death incarnate. His eyes would be pools of empty darkness, his mouth an eater of lies.
Today, death would be justice.
He put his palms together and did the hand sign. He looked back at the blonde, was faintly surprised to see that Naruto Uzumaki was looking back it him. How ironic the last thing he would see was the last relic of his defeated clan.
"Behold, the truth," the mask whispered gratingly.
Then the first bomb in the Hokage Monument went off.