A/N: Hey guys, it's been a while and I'm sorry about not updating my other fics but I watched Any Given Sunday the other day and I had to write this, so enjoy.
In the Village of Konohagakure one man stood up on the balcony of the hokage building and faced a crowd which consisted of all the ninja and civilians in said village, the village he had sworn to keep safe. He looked down at them as he stepped up to the microphone and addressed the crowd, blond hair slightly blowing in the wind. He saw so many familiar faces, friends, acquaintances, and even his ex wife, whom he had lost because of the stress the war put on him, violet hair flowing freely in the autumn wind. As he stared down at them, he almost forgot about the war that was approaching them, he almost forgot about the fact that so many of the faces he was seeing now, would no longer be with them when the battle was over.
But it was only almost.
"I don't know what to say really," he spoke into the microphone.
"there are only a few minutes till the biggest battle of our Ninja lives, and it all comes down to today, now, either we fight as a team, or we're gonna crumble. Inch by inch, move by move, till we're finished. We're in hell right now, guys. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb, out of hell."
"One inch at a time."
"Now I can't do it for you." He said, getting a little louder, "I'm just one person."
"I look around, I see all these faces, and I think..." he began, but trailed off.
"I mean I've made every wrong choice a young man can make." He began again, "I pissed away all my money, believe it or not." He said, speaking of all the money he wasted on alcohol to cope.
"I chased off anyone who's ever loved me," he said sadly, looking at his lost wife once again, who nodded in understanding,
"And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror."
"You know, as life goes on, things get taken from you. That's part of life. But you only learn that when you start losing stuff." He looked out again and saw all the faces again, and felt their fear, their sorrow.
"You find out life's this game of inches. And so is being a shinobi. Because either way, in life or being a shnobi, the margin for error is so small, I mean... One half a step too late, or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow, or too fast, you don't quite catch it." He said as he looked down before quickly snapping his head up and speaking again.
"The inches we need are everywhere around us."
"They are in every punch you throw, in every minute, and every second. In this village, we fight for that inch. In this village, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces, for that inch!
"We claw, with our fingernails, for that inch!" he yelled out to the crowd which got a few yells of agreement
"Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing!" again, the crowd yelled their agreement
"Between living and dying!"
More yells.
"I'll tell you this," he said, calming down, "in any fight, it's the guy whose willing to die who's gonna win that inch, and I know if I'm going to have any life anymore, it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch!"
"Because that's what living is! The 6 inches in front of your face!"
"Now I can't make you do it." He said as he scanned the crown and saw all the smiles of confidence.
"You've got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes!" he said as he threw his hand out to the crowd, fingers outstretched,
" Now I think you're gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you. You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this Village, because he knows when it comes down to it, you're gonna do the same for him!" he said as he brought his hand back and closed it in a fist.
"That's a team, people. And either we fight, now, as a team, or we will die, as individuals. That's being a ninja, guys. That's all it is. Now, what are you going to do?
The crowd yelled praise and encouragement at this and they all ran out to their pre-assigned posts for the battle, all accept for one lone woman, the woman who the hokage had fallen in love with, the woman who had, at one time, made his life complete.
The hokage looked down sadly at her before approaching the mic once again and speaking to her one last time.
"I'm sorry, Hinata."
And then he was gone.