Everyone had stood blinking in the light for a long moment. No one spoke but for the wind, carrying with it the undeniable scents of war. Steel, blood, dust of towns and cinders of forests.
Out of the bizarre party of men that emerged from a long-hidden chamber in a half-destroyed village only the youngest did not scowl, minutely or not. For the older men war generously coated their lives and the smell just reminded them of how tired they were of it.
Orochimaru the Giant Snake personally thought perhaps the world had been due for a good conflict lest it become complacent. He did not, however, want to be involved in it. He most certainly did not want Madara Uchiha to control the entire human population with genjutsu. He imagined it'd be hard to get any work done if Madara took over the world.
"Madara's power is coming from the east." Hashirama Senju spoke. The first and classic example of epic rivalries that had set the stage for generations: Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. No doubt he could pick up his malevolent chakra from a continent away, not that it was hard. It was an immense point of concentrated malice.
The feet of all seven shinobi left the ground as they flit off toward doomsday. The intention of making decisions based off of the testament of past Hokages started off well enough. Much useful information was gleaned. It did inevitably collapse into panic as the leaders of the past insisted they do something about this ridiculous war. Sasuke Uchiha had agreed after a time. If the young Uchiha made a decision pertaining to his hometown he did not voice it.
As long as Orochimaru got what he wanted in the end. Taking out a common enemy in Madara only made tactical sense. Everything else could work itself out in the end once the free will of the entirety of humanity wasn't about to be wiped out.
They were rushing at the speed of light across sparse tundra and thick forests that were eerily quiet. A scent caught Orochimaru's attention. If this had indeed escalated to the level of full-scale war the lingering aura of multiple battles would not be a rare thing. But this scent. This scent was Katsuyu on the wind. Orochimaru veered off in that direction. His Hokage would soon follow if they hadn't noticed thanks to his Edo Tensei.
He arrived abruptly on what had been an intense battlefield. Half of an entire forest generated from seemingly nowhere. He appeared next to a giant cephalopod, itself the size of a field, which was lying in the middle of this mess.
"Lady Katsuyu." Orochimaru murmured, having the gall to reach out and touch surface of the giant slug. This could not mean anything good. The great animal shuddered.
"O-orochi-Sama?" A large looming eyestalk roved wearily in his direction. It remembered his name despite the years. "Oh! I couldn't- she inst-structed me to save them first- I had- I hadn't-." If Katsuyu was physically capable of shedding tears it would no doubt be sobbing. The great summon was worn and near the point of any of its remaining energy snuffing out like a candle in the wind. Katsuyu continued to be beside itself and Orochimaru did not register as he whipped around in an instant, so quickly he was caught in the twisting of his garments and curtain of his hair.
The sudden appearance of this pale tall creep was the last thing any of the remaining kage needed. The Raikage scooped the Kazekage off the ground where he lay still dazed. The Mizukage sit hunched over the prone Tsuchikage, gently closing his eyes and folding his hands over his chest. The broad tree of a man that was the Ay the Raikage took a few earth quaking stomps toward the intruder staring at the fallen cephalopod.
"HEY! Who do you think you are?!" Ay roared into the quiet. The young Kazekage slung across his arms murmured in vain at his support, telling him to be quieter. This warranted no reaction as the man spun around in a jarringly abrupt motion to gaze upon another of the fallen. Gaara gave a start but could not express why.
The Hokage showed up on the scene and were likewise horrified. Raikage turned his unadulterated rage towards this new group of intruders. Tobirama the Honorable Second became defensive. Hashirama tried to get his brother to heel. The Mizukage swept over to the scene like a bat out of hell. Sasuke discreetly placed Tobirama between himself and the Raikage. The Third Hokage had waited for Orochimaru whom had formerly been delegating these squabbles but he did not interject. Hizuren commanded the situation immediately with the rest of the kage recognizing that suddenly there were more reanimations among them.
Orochimaru turned around to the sinking in the pit of his stomach. The blood his sandals had scuffed through was undoubtedly that of Tsunade, but to turn and see her… This woman. This woman whom lived through two wars inherited through her blood, this woman whom had saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of other human beings who weren't even half of her worth, this woman whom had lost everything and still carried on, this woman whom had taken an entire village under her wing in spite of all of her flaws… This courageous, willful, beautiful lion of a woman lay barely cold and hewn in two like a heifer in a slaughter house.
And there was not a thing he could do about it. He had to preserve his chakra to keep his reigns appropriated. That was not considering the sum of chakra he'd expended just crawling out of the grave, walking several days with insufferable brats, dispatching a shinigami & summoning four of the most powerful shinobi back from the dead.
Why should he want to do anything? Why should he feel like the earth had fallen from beneath him? Orochimaru never bothered to give much thought to his own emotions. He found they got in the way and reserved any inquiry into feelings to manipulate others. He supposed that's why he labeled everyone he met as expendable. Tsunade was one of three human being on the entire planet that had ever given a damn whether he'd woken up dead and she was that much more beautiful for it. In light of these unfamiliar roiling emotions something sparked to life. That spark of rage took its sweet time to smolder as embers on the floor of his stomach.
Orochimaru tore his golden eyes away from his lifeless comrade at the mention of Madara.
"What?" He barked abruptly. Everyone stopped squabbling at the sound of his voice, in such contrast to his fragile porcelain appearance.
"Why should we tell you anything, you damn snake?" Snapped Ay. He was swatted meekly in the face by Gaara and was stunned into silence.
"We battled Madara Uchiha, buying time until the Edo Tensei was broken. But he came back. He came back fully functional and we were too worn down to put up more of a fight." The Kazekage piped up from his perch in the Ay's arms.
Most kept their attention on the Kazekage, turning away from the Senju mourning the death of the grandchild they'd never had the chance to know. Hizuren Sarutobi joined his mentors, placing a consoling hand on their backs after affording a glance at the man who had murdered him. Orochimaru had turned his face.
"She had grown up so beautiful…" Tobirama stood as his brother's side as Hashirama let tears fall to the dust.
"Man…the old folks didn't make it." Suigetsu stated bluntly, the way he always did, as he and Jugo caught up. Orochimaru tensed his fingers into claws before shoving them directly in Suigetsu's face, twisting and tossing him over his shoulder. The boy landed in a splash of water before reforming into himself and keeping a healthy distance from his old master. Though it was nothing neither of them weren't used to. It was something Orochimaru liked about Suigetsu. The boy's mouth often got him in trouble but he took abuse rather harmlessly.
"We need a nice long chat with Madara Uchiha." Sasuke spoke up at long last as he motioned to continue onward. It was a commanding tone, not that every tone Sasuke took wasn't commanding. Nevertheless everyone took this as a point of motion.
Before a word could leave Ay's mouth the Third Hokage interjected. "Raikage, none of you are in any condition to go to the front lines. You paid your due." The Raikage paused but calmed after a moment. He gave the former Hokage a sober nod. Hashirama clapped a hand on Ay's considerable shoulder as he passed by.
"Take care of her, please." He said.
Jugo looked at Orochimaru expectantly as he had come to do over the years. Even if it had been some length of time since he'd been at the beck and call still he glanced, like a dog awaiting orders. Orochimaru finally sighed to relieve the tension in his sinew and gently tapped Jugo's jaw. "Take that joker and assist them. Neutral ground right now, my dear." Orochimaru had always admired Jugo. His incredible albeit unfortunate power aside, all the poking, prodding, abusing and using Jugo still seemed to understand Orochimaru. It was joked in passing this was because of Jugo's unusual affinity for animals and the unknown percentage of Orochimaru that ceased to be human and lived as a serpent.
Amazingly enough, everyone followed Sasuke.
It was quite the sight. Hundreds upon hundreds of shinobi aligned on a harsh barren battlefield, facing off against a single opponent. Good god, what was that thing? The enormous ten-tailed monstrosity towered over the horizon. Of course the explosive power of the Uchiha was radiating directly from the top of it. Hashirama squinted into the distance and scowled.
"Who is that other Uchiha?" He wondered aloud.
"Another Uchiha…?" Sasuke muttered under his breath. Another Uchiha. Suddenly all these Uchiha show up. Where were they when he needed them?
"Tobi…" Orochimaru offered up the information he had: the man's alias in the Akatsuki. He knew this other Uchiha, but he'd always been bad with names.
If the First Hokage can sense Madara then surely…
Madara Uchiha caught a familiar energy out of the thousands of ants below him and gave pause. Obitio looked to his elder in question. The Ten-Tailed Beast swayed beneath them.
"What is it Madara?"
"Hashirama Senju." Madara uttered before glancing across the oceans of shinobi. "HASHIRAMA!"
Madara's voice echoed across the entire battlefield. A hush fell across the carpet of ninja prepared to throw their lives down to stop him. Naruto Uzumaki and his comrades at the forefront braced themselves as they watched for the Uchiha's next move. Perhaps Madara was losing his grip on reality? Any time to consider this was cut short as the Ten-Tails began to thrash, sending the clans into a flurry of activity to get it contained again.
The echo reached the flanks of the formations at which the former Hokage and insidious company were lingering. "The clans and nations are working together to try and take this thing down." Hashirama said in awe. Tobirama considered his brother with his arms crossed and a hip cocked.
"You aren't crying again, are you Hashirama?" The party in question denied the accusation even as he wiped his now unnatural eyes on his sleeve.
"No… It's just wasting stamina of anyone capable of taking down the Uchiha himself. I don't know how he managed to get that thing here but we have to get rid of it."
Orochimaru had said but one word since departing the massacre of the five kages. He observed everything with the cool, indifferent grace with which he'd observed everything all his life. Likewise his whole life everything he ever did was for himself. Whether it was as basic as preserving his immediate life or procuring entertainment, everything done by Orochimaru was for Orochimaru. And yet…
In this moment his purposes, his intentions, his reasons and delicate puppetry seemed to desaturate in front of him. He knew better than to preach what he practiced and practice what he preached. Vengeance begot nothing but hatred which in turn begot only more vengeance. He had never harbored much of these; more useless emotions that were very useful in the manipulating of others. What was this gnawing at him? The smoldering rage ignited his resting resentment, setting fire to the entire mass of indignation that sat behind the controls of his motivations. Nothing in life is ever fair and no one responsible ever ate their words. Tonight someone was going to eat something.
"I have an idea." Orochimaru stated with an eerie flatness.
The Nara clan and the Hyuuga clan had held back the Ten-Tailed beast's tendrils for not a moment before a gaggle of living dead and their angst-ridden plus one arrived on the front lines. As expected everyone shouted in one form of surprise or another. Naruto's brain may well have overheated.
"How!? What!? DAD?! SASUKE?!" The Nine-tails Jinchuriki stammered in utter shock. The shinobi nearest erupted into a babbling of confusion. Did Sasuke just come back? And bring all of the dead Hokage with him? Even the looming Ten-Tails seemed to lean over wanly.
"SASUKE!" Shouted several ninja at the same time. This included Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and even Killer B. This was followed by a glance between Sasuke and Naruto so palpable the space between them may have caught fire. Sasuke put a hand to his sword. Tobirama interjected.
"We don't have time for your drama Sasuke Uchiha. You're either for the world or against it." A heavy silence followed in which the only noise was the groaning of the juubi slowly breaking the Nara's shadow stitching. Everyone was almost glad the Madara Uchiha grew tired of this show.
"Hashirama! I don't know what kind of games these meddlesome necromancers are playing but they just got you a front row seat to the dawn of ever-lasting peace."
"I'm sorry to have to stop your dreams, old friend, however twisted…" Hashirama retorted, shouting up at his oldest enemy. "But you're about to be dethroned."
Madara sneered. "Oh please. You haven't been relevant to this world in decades. What do you possibly think you know?" The Uchiha's insufferable tone of voice matched the disdain on his face. One could practically hear the clenching fists of all the Leaf Ninja. The First Hokage only smiled up at Madara.
"Thanks to you I know firsthand the anguish that the wicked can cause when they've been hurt, Madara. And now you will know, too." He said. Madara narrowed his scarlet eyes, nearly glowing with fury. He failed to notice the shinobi before him back up en masse.
"What are you-"
The Uchiha atop the Ten-Tails were suddenly rocked back. Madara glanced to his side at Obito only to see the maw of a gigantic white snake come down between them into the beast they were astride. Fangs as long as he was tall pierced its surface and severed the link between Madara and the Juubi. In a rage he tore the fang from the serpent's mouth only for it to be replaced by another. He heard Obito curse from somewhere.
Madara pressed his lips thin, now properly enraged. Before he could set his undefeatable eyes on the unblinking golden orbs of the offending snake he was picked up from behind. Twisting about with an indignant shout he saw it was another snake. Its rostral scale, the size of a shield, was caught on his armor. It lifted him high enough to see it was not two snakes trying to feebly attack his glorious Ten-Tails. It was one humongous eight-headed hydra. Yamata no Orochi.
The target was not the Uchiha, as the both of them were tossed to the ground stories below. The hydra struck mercilessly at the revived Juubi, each time warranting a sickening echo of crunching sounds. Two sets of jaws locked around its ankles and pulled it off its feet. That was all it took for the serpent to overcome it. Battles that would be remembered for centuries began to take place among the chaos of churning tendrils, claws and sleek, white coils.
To be rid of the Ten-Tails Orochi sunk his fangs into its disorganized face two maws at a time. Pierced was its precious eye, torn to shreds was its ear and broken was its gurgling jaw. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. The Ten-Tails vanished in a mountain of smoke and with it Madara's hope to capture the moon. The allied shinobi nation cheered at its absence.
The celebration was short lived. It was inevitable. Planetary Devastation.
Now being the largest thing in a 300 mile radius Orochimaru threw all eight heads back to face the oncoming meteor. He did not falter even as the second asteroid crashed into its predecessor.
"Way to go, bright eyes."
This single sentence Sasuke murmured to the snout of a slain serpent summarized the events well enough that no one felt the need to say anything else.
What happened next had no bearing on what was learned that day. Whether Naruto salvages his bond with Sasuke, whether the Shinobi Alliance deteriorated, no matter who was named Hokage. Two of the most villainous, despicable human beings to ever walk the earth had shown the people of the world that peace through unity was possible. Whether they wanted to or not, it had happened.
Even in the form of a snake deity, eight heads and eight tails sprawled out in all directions like hills of porcelain scales, Hizuren Sarutobi could only see the quiet six year old boy. The boy that could care less how different he was and spoke primarily through his ambitions. He had wanted so badly in times past to see the spark jump back into his student's eyes. It wasn't the spark of ambition or amusement: those were always there.
It was the spark that only happened when it his smile lent itself to his serpent eyes, a spark that always read "Things aren't always so bad and they could be better tomorrow." Perhaps that spark was hope to him. It had been absent for decades and had never returned.
But as the life he clung onto so tightly slipped away from the Giant Snake, Hizuren gazed into one giant lidless golden eye. He could see himself deteriorating in his reflection, drifting off on the wind in flakes as the Edo Tensei died with its user. Hizuren stared deep into the onyx black crevice that was Orochimaru's pupil across the marbled surface of his eye and he saw it. As the scales began to glaze the spark was snuffed out last and there was only silence.