"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"It has. I apologize for that."
"How did the mission go?"
"It was simple enough. It just took some time and careful precision."
The middle-aged, slender woman stood from the desk she perched behind. She looked at the younger man stood in front of her, sighing as she did. He stood naturally, save from his right arm, which was hidden behind his back, though she didn't find this intimidating in any way. She knew this man well, and had done for many years. He looked neat and tidy, wearing a uniform somewhat resembling that of a regular Konohagakure ninja, though with the addition of a chest plate and other body armor, not to mention the extensive collection of weaponry that the young man adorned.
Idle chatter and the jingling of assorted shuriken was all that could be heard from that room. A laugh here and there, awkward silences, common in every conversation.
"I'm pleased to hear of your achievements M'Lady."
The woman smiled full-heartedly, rubbing part of the man's shoulder, which was not hidden with armor. The man smiled too, placing his hand in a similar place on her body. Simultaneously returning their hands to their sides, the female flinched, grasping her neck and bending at the knees involuntarily, "Urghhn! I…I can barely move! What…what's happening to my body?"
"It would seem that your chakra circulatory system has been severed."
"Uhn! How do you know without examining me? I'm the –urgh!- best known medical ninja in all of the Lands, and even I have no idea wha-"
"You see, My Lady…I am the one who…let's say, took away your ability to do primary functions, like, oh I don't know…save yourself?" The sinister-sounding man sniggered, bowing his head and folding his arms across his body. A blast of smoke engulfed the room, consuming everything.
The woman crouched in pain, anger, and even fright.
"I thought I knew you! I thought I could trust you! –argh!- B…but I see that I've been betrayed…" she shouted to the silhouette in the clearing smoke. The man was different now. No longer did he wear the standard issue Konohagakure uniform look-a-like.
"Oh, dear Lady…it is not me who has done the betraying; but you. You have known me as Hakaku Uta for years now…is it thirteen? Oh, it must be that long…and you have trusted and believed in me, absolutely. Well, of course you have. I helped to keep order in your absence, and then even more-so in your gain of power over my village. Yes, my village."
The woman trembled slightly, but found it painful. All she could really do was show her emotion using her facial features, and even this pained her. She was literally deteriorating. Slowly, but surely. She showed her anger in shouting, which was difficult to do, "Who the hell are you? I am Kage of this Land, one of the Legendary Sannin! I will NOT permit you to interfere with a single thing in my village!" she screamed in pure pain.
"I'm sorry? I think you misunderstand…this is my village. You may be of 'Kage' stature, but you are not of 'Legendary' stature. Far from it…you are scum, Tsunade. And I don't understand why the people of this village haven't seen this…"
The smoke began to clear fully, the man still with a bowed head, his arms now dangling by his sides with clenched fists, full of tension. Tsunade found it difficult to look up, but she battled on with the pain for the sheer fact that she had to know who this…intruder was. She found his hair familiar, and she could not forget his distinguished coat. The man lifted his head, smirking at the trash he saw lain before him.
"N…No-" Tsunade's pupils turned almost invisible as she set her eyes upon the looming figure.
"Oh, isn't it wonderful to see old faces, Tsunade? Especially those you thought you'd forgotten, yes?" asked the tender voice of the Fourth Hokage.
"Namikaze? How are you…you couldn't have…why aren't you dead?" she demanded an explanation, though she sounded so exasperated.
"Couldn't finish a job, eh, M'Lady? Yep, I'm still here, and have been so close to you for these past thirteen years. You're hailed to be one of the best ninja ever to have walked the Earth…but I honestly don't see it."
"I –uhhn!- don't understand."
"Don't play the fool…on that night, when Konoha was attacked by the Nine Tailed Fox, it was my duty to protect the village and its inhabitants that were under my control. Sealing the Demon was my only option to save my village, and heaven knows I couldn't seal it into just anyone…so that is why half of that vile being is sealed into me, and the other into Uzumaki Naruto: my son. I knew myself that this would save the village, and after some days of rest, I would have to train myself and my child to deal with the beast within the two of us. That is, until you, under the guidance and aid of Orochimaru, felt the need to…dispose of me…"
"Heh…there's no point…denying…it...is there…?" she was out of breath, from simply sitting on the floor.
"…so you attempted to assassinate me. On that very night. I imagine you thought it would be the perfect time…the perfect cover-up, no less. The villagers knew not of the sealing jutsu I would use to stop the Fox's reign of terror, yet with your actions to try and kill me, they all believed that JUTSU had killed me! But…waking up in the clutches of the likes of you and Orochimaru gives you other priorities, like, escaping. And that I did, with a surprising amount of ease; though, I wasn't granted the title of Hokage for nothing…I decided it was time for me to get back to my village, and see that order was restored. It wasn't until I got back that I found the village being re-built and secured under the order of Sarutobi. I had no idea that I had been gone for so long. An entire year."
Tsunade smirked, keeping her steely eyes locked onto Minato's, "That was the idea…let people…forget about…you." she gasped her words, "Get that…old frail man to…become…Hokage again…"
"Wait…what?" Minato frowned, surprised at her words.
"Yes. Getting rid…of you would make it…easier to get rid of the…old man…so I could become…Godaime Hokage…and keep…Orochimaru-Sama…by my…side, without…letting the…villagers find…out. But then…you went and…escaped. Lord knows we…tried to…find you…but you'd…disappeared without a…trace."
Minato smiled again.
He sighed, unclenching his fists, "Well, it didn't take long for me to figure that my sudden appearance in the village would cause dismay and shock, so I decided to create an alternative personality, and certainly and alternative appearance. And that's when I became Hakaku Uta: the rule-obiding, team-working, run-of-the-mill Jonin ninja…and it couldn't have worked better. I fooled you, Tsunade."
"You duped…me…but at…what sacrifice?"
He sighed, the curves of the smile shown on his lips, lying straight now, "As much as I hate it, you're right. I didn't have the chance to see my beautiful son grow up, nor to see my student Kakashi do great things…and…coming back to hear of the death of my beloved wife, Kushina. That was possibly the worst event of all for me…I was left with no one. But for the time being, right up until this very moment in time between us, Tsunade, the village was my priority…seeing your downfall would help me to resolve everything. Restore things to how they were; how they should be."
"If...you've wanted…to…kill me…for all…these…years, then…why wait…until now…to do it?" she was now more frail, and found it increasingly difficult to utter more than two words in each gasp.
"To be perfectly honest, I knew it would be too difficult, if not impossible to kill Ororchimaru, but I always knew that it wouldn't be too great of a task to annihilate you. And of course, I had to do my research…which is when I analyzed how the two of you worked together. I realized you were weak without each other…so with the tremendous effort and sacrifice of the Third Hokage, I found Orochimaru weak and lame, therefore leaving you wide open for me to execute my plan.
"Wide…open?" Tsunade sounded slightly confused, though her current state was masking some of her emotions.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade…you should always attack a person when they are at their weakest. And without the aid of Orochimaru, you are nothing."
The old-looking woman's eyes widened, showing glints of fear and shock, yet her voice remained calm and somewhat mocking, "But…you're…forgetting."
"Forgetting what exactly? As far as I'm concerned, everything has gone to plan." Minato retaliated, raising his voice slightly.
She smirked. Whatever she said now wouldn't matter: she was already on the verge of death. So she spoke softly and quietly; no hesitation, "Uchiha…Sasuke. Oroch –AHCK!- …Orochimaru…has…him…already. …Your…plan can…never…succeed."
Minato sighed, once more. He pulled his shoulders back, lifting his chin up, and placing his hands on his hips. He spoke clearly, "That, I'm afraid, was out of my control. Sasuke chose to follow Orochimaru. Therefore following you, too, I suppose…though, interrupting my plans for your demise, I accepted the mission to help find the boy. But we obviously failed…and now we have to wait for what will inevitably come. But, rest assured, M'am, I am pulling that filthy snake down, even if it means losing my own life."
He paused, dropping his arms and pulling his chin downwards so he stared at the floor.
"My body may fail me, but my spirit will remain forever over Konohagakure. I am the Fourth Hokage-" Minato lifted his right hand to chest level. He looked directly at the shriveled woman, lain on the cold floor of the office. She could barely breathe, but yet still managed an icy cold stare. A rotating, blue orb formed in the outstretched hand of the young man, a humming filling the almost empty room. A blue aura formed around him, swirling and lashing in every direction. Tsunade's eyes widened, as much as was possible, given the state she was in.
With a grimace, the able man lunged his arm forwards, the extraordinary level of chakra flowing from him, twisting its way around the room, engulfing them both:
"Now…DIE!"