Turn of Events
Disclaimer : I do not in any form own Naruto.
'Thoughts.'
"Reading."
"Jutsu use/Very loud talking."
"Normal dialogue."
The Hidden Leaf Village laid in total devastation, the great wall that once surrounded the broken village was reduced to piles of rubble. Ravished remains of buildings and scattered appliances paved the streets of Konohagakure. Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage and Konoha's Yellow Flash, stared at the beast that caused such havoc to befall his beloved village. The Kyuubi, a tailed beast, was a being composed of raw demonic chakra. While a mysterious tamer stood upon the biju's head, watching it do his work.
"Minato!" The blond shinobi glanced through the corner of his eye, while he kept one eye trained on the Kyuubi at the same time. Minato Namikaze noted the arrival of his best friend and surrogate brother, Kosatu Uzumaki.
"Minato I won't sit back and let you fight the Kyuubi alone!" The brunette shinobi hollered at Minato, trying to force some common sense into the stubborn Hokage.
Minato sneered and regarded Kosatu with a lazy wave of his hand, "Don't be foolish Kosatu you need to be with Kushina, she needs you now more than ever. Your family needs yo-"
"Trust me! They're fine, Sandaime-sama has off-duty medics taking care of them at the Medical Center with the fleeing villagers." Kosatu grasped Minato's shoulder and forced the blond to look at him, even in the face of total annihilation. Kosatu Uzumaki managed to perk Minato up with his signature grin, confidence radiated from the Uzumaki in strong waves.
"I'm here to help, and I'm not leaving your side until that masked bastard is taken care of. And you're returned to your family!" Kosatu's features hardened into a calculating frown, this expression was usually bad news for their enemies. When the care-free Kosatu Uzumaki was serious, he became unnaturally accurate and ruthless in nature.
"You stubborn block-head of a shinobi.." Minato sighed in frustration despite the smile that tugged at his lips. Minato felt his confidence renewed and his will burn fiercer, Kosatu's determination was apparently contagious.
Minato smirked as he became excited at the prospect of reuniting their aged tag-team, he reached into his haori and tinkered around for a moment. Quickly Minato found the desired items, he tossed one of his Hiraishin marker kunai to Kosatu and pills. Kosatu effortlessly caught the kunai but eyed the supplements he received curiously,"Solider pills?"
"Not just solider pills, but enhancer pills. Jiraiya-sama gave them to me, they were modified by Tsunade of The Sanin. The user experiences a temporary boost in chakra reserves, speed, strength, jutsu prowess, primary senses, and muscle reflexes. The affected areas increase beyond normality, but since the drug is experimental and untested..you could-"
"Die." Kosatu's brown eyes showed no hint of hesitation as he casually swallowed the pills, Kosatu nodded grimly as he understood the severity of his decision. Kosatu smirked arrogantly, he did not care much for the consequences.
'When my family and village are on the line, I'll risk everything to save them!'
Minato returned his attention to the Kyuubi, and explained while he gathered chakra. Already he could feel the enhancer drugs kicking in, a warming sensation exploded from the pit of his stomach and spread throughout his body. Minato trembled slightly from the rush of power that renewed his exhausted body."The pills are only necessary so you can perform the Hiraishin perfectly in sync with me, since Genma and Raido aren't here to assist with the burden. Now it's just you and me, Kosatu."
The Kyuubi's screech flowed harshly through the airwaves, sending tremors throughout the village and causing the ground before them to tremble. A large assortment of chakra became heavily visible, and thickened into dark particles. The miniature spheres of chakra began to merge and gather at the Kyuubi's mouth. Creating a compressed sphere of demonic chakra.
"Destroy them all demon fox!" The mysterious biju tamer commanded, and the fox complied accordingly. The Kyuubi's Sharingan eyes spun wildly as it bellowed in rage. The fox rocketed the orb toward the Hokage Monument, and initially toward the awaiting shinboi pair.
"Now!"
Minato and Kosatu leaped with chakra enhanced limbs off the Hokage Monument, grasping each other forearms as they soared toward the Biju Bomb. The devastating sphere of demonic chakra tore a path through the rubble of the village by just its raw power.
Minato twisted his waist in a launching position, and whipped his head around to look at Kosatu in confirmation. Kosatu nodded a silent agreement, and offered one last confident smile. 'This isn't goodbye old friend.'
Minato uncoiled his muscles and flung Kosatu with all his might, sending the brunette shinobi toward the Biju Bomb. Minato quickly rearranged his body in mid-air and looked toward the clouded dark sky and launched his kunai up above. Minato's chakra flared visibly before he shimmered against the surrounding world, instantaneously the blond shinobi vanished in a yellow flash.
Kosatu steeled his nerves and started to set the premeditated counter into place, while he soared at startlingly rates. The intensity of the Biju Bomb's blazing light started to blind him, Kosatu felt his body sting all over from the heat of the sphere. The air screeched violently in his ears due to the velocity he traveled at, Kosatu closed his eyes to avoid the harsh rays of the bomb. Back in the streets of the ravished Leaf Village, many scrambling civilians stared in awe at the act of valor.
"Oh Kami, he's going to sacrifice himself!" Many ignorant and ill-informed villagers screamed, fear gripping their already traumatized minds.
Yet instead of a burst of energy and blinding light occurring upon impact, it seemed as though a streak of brown was steadily fighting back the Biju Bomb. Many villagers stood frozen as they watched the entire ordeal play out, through uneducated eyes. "The night sky is absorbing it!"
A rally of civilians had concluded rather suddenly, not able to comprehend the mechanics of precise fuinjutsu from a sealing master's arsenal at work. As the dark orb of chakra vanished from the immediate area, the brown flash shot through the sky at dazzling speeds.
A great tremor violently rattled the entire range of the Leaf Village, frightening many as miles away the Biju Bomb detonated. Kosatu succeeded in maneuvering the explosive sphere away from the Leaf, though he wanted to celebrate there was literally no time at all. As Kosatu was pulled across the night sky in uneven intervals, and traveled across space and time through random bursts of the Hiraishin.
"Impossible!" The cold voice of the masked Sharingan user erupted as the fox started the chakra gathering process once again, that was until a brown flash latched upon the tamer and disappeared in the blink of an eye. In a spur of a couple of seconds both Kosatu and masked man were gone, leaving only the villagers and a stunned demon fox.
The Kyuubi completely froze in place, without the tamer, it seemed to awake from its trance. The gathering collection of chakra particles dispersed immediately, the Kyuubi's eyes returned to their vermillion hue as they flashed dangerously. The demon's bloodlust boiled over and the Kyuubi began to rampage without any restraint, villagers screamed and fled. The demon fox continued its vicious slaughterfest, smashing building with its whipping tails. Breathing fire and setting the village ablaze, the Kyuubi was unhindered in strength. Unreasonably furious and wild once more, the biju roared in satisfaction, apparently pleased to be free from its bondage.
Among the chaos a fallen random villager yelled, "Look toward the sky everyone!" A large-scale brilliant blue hue tinted the majority of the village, and glowed in a celestial-like fashion beyond the clouds of the night. Wreaking extreme levels of destruction, the Kyuubi failed to notice the strange anomaly. Quickly an anbu operative warned the crowd of gathered villagers, "Clear out civilians, now!"
"Our savior returns!" The crowd began to flee but somehow cheered on as they ran from the danger zone.
The clouds parted as a massive blue orb of compressed chakra, roughly the size of a luxury hotel, descended upon the Leaf Village. What sounded like the harmony of a million kunai grinding filled the air, the Kyuubi's vermillion eyes suddenly located the source.
'I'm not sure how much chakra I'll have after.. but it's time I use my grandest technique..inspired by my son..The..'
"All-Father Rasengan!"
The gyrating sphere of chakra proved entirely fatal, the orb slammed upon the head of the Kyuubi. Minato's Rasengan smashed the fox's head into the earth, and drove it deep into a massive crater upon impact. The thunderous clap of the Rasengan forced the earth to tremble and quake under the powerful shockwave that exploded afterwards, the demon was pulverized by Minato's might!
As the dust settled and the roaring of the jutsu lessened to non-existence, the scattered villagers came out of hiding. The villagers gradually stood and stalked toward the impact zone. They all gathered, civilian and shinboi alike frozen with astonishment and awestruck by the Yondaime Hokage's strength.
"Lord Hokage has saved us!"
The volume quickly rose back to abnormal levels as the villagers raved and cheered about, praising Minato for his actions and abilities. The villagers clapped for their hero, while Minato leaned against the ears of the defeated biju. Minato released a tired sigh and slumped against the Kyuubi's ear, resting against the furry mass, the enhancer pills were starting to wan in strength. 'I put everything I had into that single attack, it was worth it. Wait!...Kosatu?...Did he...win...?' Minato felt the haze cloud his brain, his resolve slipping from him by the second. The blond's reserves began dropping to a dangerous low, his body ached for rest and Minato lowered his eyelids in response.
Just as all seemed well a low growl pierced the volume of the cheering crowd, and reached all ears. Quickly dissolving the cries of joy, Minato felt his body acting alone, he swiftly flipped forward. The blond Hokage landed in front of the beast, meeting the Kyuubi as its vermillion eyes blinked back to life.
"Run now!" Minato commanded the surrounding civilians to take cover. The villagers dispersed like caught mice, fleeing and screaming while making sure to get far away.
The Kyuubi's vermillion eyes clearly flashed with rage, throughly pissed by the attack launched against it, smoke still rose from it singed fur. Minato leaped back just as a gigantic paw slammed upon his former place. Minato needed to deal with the Kyuubi once and for all, it seemed to be even more fearsome as the beast bellowed fiercely.
'Damn my luck, the All-Father Rasengan was only enough to knock it out!'
Minato scowled in disappointment, the blond called upon his mental archives for a quick diversion . Minato flashed randomly across the devastated terrain, irritating the creature further as it failed to crush him. The young Kage maintained the ram seal in between flashing intervals, Minato focused on two tasks. Not dying and chakra sensory, Minato bit down upon his lip in frustration as he strained his sensory range.
'Where are you Kosatu?! I need to get a feel for his marker..', The blond Hokage stopped teleporting for just an instance, and quickly threw one of his tri-pronged kunai at the Kyuubi. Minato shimmered with chakra for a moment before vanishing in a burst of speed, streaking through the sky as a yellow flash. Minato snatched the kunai out of the air before it struck the beast, he stood atop the fox's nose, and smirked in triumph.
"Found you!.."
Before anyone could blink an immense field of blue chakra flared to life, and surrounded the entirety of the Kyuubi. In the brief second after the flare of chakra, a golden light shined upon the village brightly like a supernova star. The light overshadowed and took the Kyuubi and Yondaime Hokage.
...And just like that the Hokage along with the tailed beast vanished. Not even a speck of dust gave reasonable evidence to what exactly happened that night when the golden light shined like the rising sun and quickly faded away like a firework. Many believed the beast was blown to bits by the blond shinboi's sacrifice. But only a select few knew the truth.
The villagers could rest assured and recover now not having to worry of the Kyuubi's wrath, but soon word of the terrible things that happened that night would reach them all. Shattering that small breather the people of Konoha believed they were granted.
XXX-
Konohagakaure, Six Years Later
Since that night approximately six years ago; Hiruzen Sarutobi reclaimed the mantle of Hokage, after the tragic death of his successor. Since then the Sandaime Hokage was plagued with nightmares of that horrific night years ago. The shinobi, the families, the civilians, even his own wife dead and gone. Hiruzen was an old man with a small goatee and short spiked hair, both once were dark brown but now a faded grayish white.
The Sarutobi had bags under his eyes, though when he was younger he only had one line under each eye. Although an old man, age hasn't hindered his ability as a shinobi as much as it has warped his appearance. Now at sixty-nine years of age, Hiruzen has acquired grey hair, several wrinkles, and a few liver-spots. With taking back the title of Hokage in his old age, it would seem that he has picked up the habit of smoking tobacco.
Yet the Sandiame Hokage radiated power that was mostly unmatched with wisdom and peace-loving philosophies gathered from living through the Great Shinobi Wars. So it was natural that Sasuke Uchiha, Konoha's menace to society, was pretty nervous under Sarutobi's pensive gaze. Sasuke stood in between two very exhausted chunin, both men looked equally pissed off.
"Lord Hokage-sama.. we heard complaints.. from the civilians of this brat ..stealing from stores, and harassing the ..storekeepers." The older chunin to his left wheezed out. Say whatever you wanted about this boy he was a challenge for most jonin to catch, Sasuke just rolled his dark eyes and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.
"Hmm, that's quite the shenanigans you've gotten into." The Third murmured aloud, his voice the epitome of impassiveness. Smoke exhaled out of his body traveling like steam from his nostrils, resembling an old dragon from ancient folklore.
"What would be your reasoning for 'stealing'?" Hiruzen stared at the child as he inquired, though his tone was of sarcastic disbelief. He was familiar enough with the child to know that Sasuke was above common theft, maybe a prank or two but not thievery.
"Woah, wait one minute Grandpa Saru!" The raven-haired child exclaimed rather absurdly, and shook his head in defiance of the accusations. "I am many things Gramps, but a thief I'm not! Geez, Itachi-niisan would have my head if I ever did something like that!"
Sasuke quickly calmed his escalating tone, and pulled a kunai from his pocket. The Uchiha showcased the tool to the astonished Hokage, Hiruzen stared in restrained awe at what such an object could mean if he assumed correctly. 'He wants to follow in his father's shoes...Kami, this boy will be a handful.'
A small smile had made its way upon the boy's features, "I just wanted to buy my first real kuani, I've decided that I want to be a shinobi. Just like my brother and father! But the store owner was being a total jerk, so I left the ryo and ran off with the kuani." All the inhabitants of the Hokage's office eyed the six-year old curiously, the two chunin glared with intense disbelief at such a dream. In contrast to the old Kage who studied the boy with conflicted eyes, not sure whether to be pleased or worried.
Sighing as if that was the answer he wanted, Hiruzen thanked the chunin for their effort and dismissed them. Sasuke watched closely as the chunin pair left, he caught the coldness, darkness, and hatred hidden in their eyes. Those two were no different from the villagers, they all looked at him with those eyes. The trials that the young Uchiha faced were like an everyday ritual, Sasuke sought to ignore them.
"Now Sasuke, why don't you take a seat and tell what made you come to that conclusion." Sarutobi sighed as he interlaced his fingers, resting his chin on them.
Sasuke took a seat that was closer to the desk. Sitting in an adequate chair, surprisingly it just gave off a welcoming vibe as he sunk into it. But despite the comfort Sasuke felt when he sat in his favorite chair, it only made these talks a little better everytime he got in trouble.
"Sooo?" The aged Hokage inquired with a playful smile etched into his wrinkled face.
"Well Gramps I know what you're thinking.'Oh Sasuke is just a misfit kid that needs some discipline, and who gets his kicks out of terrorizing people' but you're wrong." The child ranted, his dark eyes radiated annoyance and his voice squeaked with his increasing volume. Hiruzen hid the grin that suddenly appeared due to his amusement, Sasuke's impression of the old Sarutobi was quite comical.
"But the truth is I just want someone to play with, you know." Sasuke's dark eyes flashed with a tinge of sadness, which made the old Sarutobi's heart clench up in pain at the sight. Sarutobi had an extremely soft spot in his hardened heart for the boy, he was like a surrogate grandson.
Hiruzen smiled sadly while reaching out to ruffle the boy's unruly spiked hair, eliciting a soft giggle from the Uchiha. "I understand Sasuke-kun, but what exactly do you hope to achieve by being a ninja?" The Hokage eyed Sasuke, silently trying to connect the dots based on the boy's specific condition.
'Maybe he believes, being a shinobi will earn him recognition. That would be a logical reason for him, yet foolish all the same.'
Sasuke fidgeted nervously under Hiruzen's pensive gaze, and stuttered. "I-I don't know Gramps, well I see the way everyone looks up to you. They adore you and love just seeing your face." Sasuke trailed on grimly, though slowly his tone grew optimistic.
"I figured that maybe if I became Hokage, they could love me the same. The villagers, the shinobi, my clan..maybe if I became the Hokage they could all see me for what I really am." Sasuke dabbled on whimsically, his eyes glowed with ambition and determination clear in his voice.
Sarutobi hid a pleased smile behind his interlocked fingers, "For the kick-ass hero I can really be!" Sasuke threw an enthusiastic fist toward the ceiling, a confident grin etched in his features.
This outburst brought a full-blown nostalgic smile to the old Kage, he never would have suspected that Sasuke felt so strongly about changing the villagers' thoughts of him. Sasuke acted so care-free and joyful, that it seemed as though the villagers truly didn't bother him. Though in hindsight his loneliness would explain why he pulled such outrageous stunts, and constructed such elaborate pranks. All to gain some attention, this revelation troubled the elder shinobi.
"Sasuke I can understand your desire to inspire change in the way the villagers treat you, but becoming a shinobi is not the perfect answer to your quest. Actually it is a very reckless and admittedly not well thought out solution." Hiruzen spoke bluntly, and tried to ignore the hurt expression that warped Sasuke's formerly determined features. Being a shinobi was not a career to pursue because of weak resolves, "Sasuke-kun to be a truly great shinobi, you must have a driving goal to pursue. Or else what's the point?"
Sasuke nodded in understanding, albeit he did not completely know what the old Kage had meant. "But I wanna' be a shinobi, so I can be appreciated! If I can become a hero to Konoha, like you and the other Hokages. Everyone would love me..that's all I want." Sasuke retorted weakly, his resolve was slowly being pummeled by Hiruzen's logic.
Hiruzen smiled sadly, raised from behind his desk and stood beside the young Uchiha. Hiruzen folded his arms over his chest, as he leaned against the desk. "Sasuke-kun, being a shinboi is not a lifestyle for everyone to pursue. It requires alot from those who choose to follow the path, a shinobi must lay his life down for their home. Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual sacrifice for people who may not ever be aware of their efforts. A shinobi must be willing to do whatever it takes to protect what they care for... even if they never receive recognition for it." Hiruzen placed a firm hand upon Sasuke's stiff shoulder.
Sasuke looked to the old man with conflicted eyes, and murmured softly. "What I care for?..I don't know if I have much to fight for.." Sasuke furrowed his brows in thought, eyes narrowed slightly.
Hiruzen nodded sagely and spoke precisely, "Well until you find what's important to you, and you're willing to die for it. Hold off on rushing into the world of shinobi until you are truly ready. And when that day comes then we can talk about bringing you into the Shinobi Academy early. But for now, why don't you re-evaluate what matters to you."
Sasuke frowned as he tried to connect the dots between the Hokage's explanation. "But..I..." Sasuke paused in mid-speech, then suddenly sighed in defeat as his shoulders slumped.
"..I-I guess you're right Gramps..I 'm not cut out to be a shinobi." Sasuke lowered his head in disappointment and sniffled, he whipped his forearm across his eyes to erase his threatening tears. "At least not yet!"
Suddenly he sprung forward with an enthusiastic pep in his step, and a massive grin etched in his young features. "I'll be back Gramps to let you know about my ninja way!" Sarutobi was abit taken back by the Sasuke's sudden switch in moods, and returned the child's grin with a kind smile.
Hiruzen mashed Sasuke's spiky hair in affection, and nodded in agreement. "I look forward to that day Sasuke." And with that determined the Uchiha bided the old Kage a goodbye with a foxy grin and an excessive wave, which Sarutobi returned with a pleased grin.
"Stay out of trouble Sasuke!" Hiruzen called rather loudly, hoping the exiting child heard him. Hiruzen raked a hand through his thinning grey hair and sighed in relief, if things worked out. Sasuke could be the next Hokage, though only if the Uchiha could find the correct resolve and ignite his dormant 'Will of Fire'. The Sandiame looked upon the Hidden Leaf Village, and watched Sasuke streak through the streets of Konoha as he left the Hokage's Tower.
'Forgive me Minato-san.'
Hiruzen silently mused to himself, he wondered if Sasuke becoming a shinobi is what Minato and his lover would have wanted for their child. The boy had limitless potential to grow up and become a powerhouse shinobi, if given the proper training and guidance.
'Sasuke Uchiha, the Kyuubi jinchuriki and son of Konoha's Yellow Flash, has more potential than even I did when I was his age. If he could harness and hone that talent, Sasuke could be a mighty guardian of Konohagakure one day.'
Hiruzen allowed a peaceful smile to tug at his wrinkled features, Sasuke becoming Hokage could even better the relations between the Leaf and the Uchiha. Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head in disbelief at the immense changes the young Uchiha could bring to Konoha someday..
'Minato Namikaze, you sure did a hell of a job making this one!'
A/N : Yo peoples Taijen here, sorry for any confusion but this was an update. As I said in my previous update of Turn of Events, I would be revising chapter one. Now those who have read the revised first chapter already, will notice that this chapter wasn't drastically too different from the previous incarnation. But I still hope you guys were pleased by the changes, and ask that you guys leave your honest thoughts.
Chapter Six of 'Turn of Events :Reloaded' is currently in the works, and is not necessarily that far in progression at this point. I feel like revising this chapter kinda helped me conquer my writer's block, hopefully I can have the next chapter up by August 1st. Though no promises!
Please..Please review people, I greatly appreciate it and it truly motivates me. And special thanks to everyone who checked out chapter 5 and reviewed. If only you guys could've seen the smile on my face everytime I got a review, new alert, or fave! You guys rock and I truly appreciate the support :)
This is Taijen signing out, have a blessed day!
-7/22/2012