Disclaimer: see Chapter 1
The Mist Wolf Chronicles: Director's Cut
By Storm Wolf77415, Wing Commander White Wolf, and Centurious the Azure
The Long Night Part 2
(Fields outside Konoha)
The area where the Village Hidden in the Leaves was first built had been in the past a wide plain where the tallest thing growing had been a few shrubs, but that had changed when Hashirama used his famed Mokuton bloodline to grow the massive forest that gave the village its name. A few areas he had left bare. It was on one of these areas that Yukimura and Hiruzen were doing their best to hold Kyuubi back before it got into the village.
"It's like trying to fight back a force of nature! No wonder only someone like my sensei could control him!" Sarutobi remarked, firing off an Earth Dragon. The giant construct of rock and stone erupted from the very bowels of the earth itself, roaring at the beast. "Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!" He cried. The Dragon then fired numerous balls of mud at Kyuubi. The aging Hokage wasn't done yet.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!" Sarutobi bellowed, shooting a Grand Fireball from his mouth, igniting the mud projectiles to double their strength. The flaming balls splashed against the fox's belly. It roared in pain and anger, swiping at the mud construct and sending earth flying in all directions. Blood red eyes focused on the one who would dare use a flame attack against him.
His mouth opened, launching a jet of flame at Sarutobi, but Enma came to his partner's aid, creating the Adamantine Prison Wall to protect himself. "Pitiful old fool!" A wicked voice rang out. "You think that little cage is going to be enough to protect you?" Kyuubi's paw lanced out, intending to smash the cage into pieces.
"Kyuubi, no…Kurama! Is this…mindless destruction truly what you desire? Nothing good will come of leveling around you!" Sarutobi called out, addressing the fox by his proper name. He had known the Biju were intelligent from the many discussions he had with Mito, but he never imagined he'd deign to speak a mere mortal such as himself.
He swore the Fox looked almost condescending, "Ever since I was born I've been used by you worthless humans as a weapon in your pathetic wars! Never again! We will be the ones who will rule from here on out." Kurama's roar hit with the speed of a sonic boom, shattering massive trees into little more than kindling.
Sarutobi panted, "I'm getting too old for this! When this is all over I'm taking a long vacation!" He rasped. Enma landed close to him. "You know the routine, old friend. We have to keep that monster at bay before it reaches the village!" The Monkey King nodded, turning into a giant adamantine staff easily the size of the Hokage Mountain. The Third Hokage swung downwards, hitting the beast clean in the jaw.
The staff twisted and bent like a giant a noodle, hitting the demon lord numerous times. Sarutobi leapt around casting every jutsu he could think of.
"Sarutobi, get out of the way!" Yukimura roared. A massive golden portal ringed with a series of brilliant red runes opened behind him. "Kurama, I'm certain you remember the Vault of Babylon!" He yelled. A multitude of swords, spears, and numerous weapons started poking out of the shimmering golden portal. "Fire!" The weapons launched from the portal like bullets from a gun, impacting hard against the demon.
The demon stumbled back, blinded by the flare from the explosions. Enma chose that moment to attack Kurama again, leaping through the clouds of smoke and dust. "Impudent fool!" He roared. A single swipe of the paw sent the ape crashing back to the ground, kicking up a shower of dirt.
Sarutobi ran to his longtime partner and even years of combat experience couldn't stop his heart from wrenching at the sight before him. Enma had been slashed open from his left shoulder all the way down to his right hip by Kurama's menacing black claws, shredding apart all of his internal organs. He had died of shock and blood loss before even hitting the ground.
"Know your powerlessness old man!" Kurama's voice oozed in satisfaction, "Your little village is next once I've finished squashing you like the insect you truly are!"
Sarutobi let a smirk cross his weathered old features. "Perhaps you've forgotten, but I'm not the only one here!"
Yukimura crashed down from overhead, clenched in his hand was an unusual looking sword, instead of a standard blade it had a cone shape to it, with weird looking characters etched into it. It almost appeared to spin like a drill. "Ea, Sword of Rupture…This blade was forged by the Sage of the Six Paths himself and given to my ancestor for his loyalty. You should know I don't draw this weapon for just anybody, Kurama!"
Sarutobi wisely ducked to cover to avoid the effects of what could possibly be Yukimura's most powerful weapon. The Sanada Patriarch's lips twisted into a sinister grin.
"Ea: Enuma Elish!" He roared, the glyphs started glowing and the 'blade' started spinning rapidly, seeming to suck in the very air surrounding it. The Sanada Patriarch drove the blade right through the beast's arm causing blood spurted everywhere. The Kyuubi's roar of pain could be heard for miles around, shaking every building in the village to its very foundation.
Everyone in the village could only wonder what was happening; the "Condition K" message had gotten out quickly thanks to Fugaku's efforts. The guard towers had been reinforced and thousands of shinobi stood nervously along the walls, watching in fascination and horror at the epic battle playing out. There were many who wished to leap in and join in facing down this threat to everything they cherished but the orders from the Hokage were clear…to let Yukimura and Sarutobi handle the situation and hold their ground in case they failed.
Kurama was stunned from the intense pain of the strike of Enuma Elish. He glared at the figure clad in red armor. "Sanada…you always have to interfere!" he growled. There was a certain respect the nine-tailed Demon Lord had for that specific clan. The first human servants of the Sage of the Six Paths, they had been charged with the guarding the Biju and containing them should they fall off the path. If anything, the Sanadas had always been respectful for them, but he was too pissed off to care by this point.
Yukimura shrugged, he wasn't angry with the Fox, just disappointed that he was blinded by such hate. "It's sad, Kurama. I would have thought you would have matured since the day my grandfather helped Hashirama subdue you at the Valley of the End." Kurama growled when he saw him hold up a dagger with a length of heavy-duty steel chain on the end. "I see you remember this little number. It's what held you in place before Hashirama's Mokuton finished the job. Enkidu…the chain of binding!"
"No!" Kurama roared. He decided it was time to cut his losses and run. If Enkidu restrained him, there would be no escape. He tried running back towards the forest, but to his horror he saw small portals lined with runes and glyphs forming, numerous links of the chains whipping out towards him, he ran in another direction but they followed him all around.
In another part of the village, Hitomi faced down the mysterious man who claimed to Madara Uchiha. She was weary about hitting him close up after having seemingly gone right through the man. With a flick of her wrist a small dagger slid into her hand from the wrist sheath she kept it in. The weapon resembled a nail with a length of chain on the end. It had been a gift from Yukimura, straight from the Sanada family's legendary armory. "Alright right pal. This is for harming a woman I admired as a child!"
The man just snorted, "Since you seem to a chain fetish, I'll use one of my own!" He produced a kusari-gama with a thick weighted black chain attached to the dark mahogany handle of the sickle, the blade was weathered but still well cared for. "This weapon has felled some of my greatest opponents, do you really think you can defeat me with that little toothpick?"
Hitomi started swinging the chain, "Don't call it a toothpick!" She snapped, hurling it at her opponent. He snapped the scythe and knocked it out of the air, responding with his own much larger and heavier weapon. It struck her square in the chest, before turning into a shattered log. Hitomi leapt down from the tree she had been hiding in, dagger poised to strike. Madara jerked at the last minute, but the blade still ripped through his cloak, leaving a good sized hole in the dark fabric.
Her Sharingan spun as if it came to life. "You aren't going to get me so easily you bastard!" She spat foully.
"Is that fact, little missy?" The man replied, hurling the chain at Hitomi one more time. She threw her own chain, followed by a wave of shuriken and kunai. Knife and scythe clashed against each other, steel screaming against steel.
The two struggled, trying to break the deadlock. Hitomi was at disadvantage given her smaller weapon. Her Sharingan shifting to a triple bladed kunai with three prongs at the end of each spoke. The masked man immediately leapt away. She could sense his apprehension. "What's wrong? See something you didn't like?"
"You…Mangekyou?" He said. Black flames started flickering to life around her. Amatarasu's wrath slowly burned away the forest. Hell's gate opened to show true fury inside an Uchiha's heart. In spite of the fear in his heart, the Masked Man smiled joyfully. THIS is what he always wanted. Deep down, the emptiness was filled for just a moment. Just a single moment lit by horrible black flames danced in his dark heart.
"That's right, I have those deadly eyes. I don't use them very often since it has such corrosive effects on my vision." She smirked, letting some of the inky black flames coalesce into her hand. Mysteriously, they did not harm her. The Inferno Style was a rare ability within the Uchiha Clan. Like they were children gifted by the God of Fire himself, the user could bend Amaterasu with their will alone. It was an ability used only by one of a few Uchiha other than herself. The very first ever recorded using it was Madara Uchiha's younger brother, Izuna Uchiha. It was the reason simple reason why she was so feared by Iwa during the last Great War. Hitomi melted through their Stone with the Will of Fire itself. "But for you, I think it's more than worth using it! This is for the pain you caused Mito and everyone else in this village!"
"Inferno Style: Black Cyclone!" Hitomi screamed, a swirling vortex opened up, the flames sucked into it. The masked man tried to flee but the Amatarasu, funneled by Kamui's vortex was straight and true. She took a great amount of satisfaction to see him get hit on full force by the attack. The black flames of the Uchiha bloodline's ultimate Ninjutsu continued to burn, as it would for the next seven days. "Eat that you bastard!" she said, satisfied she had avenged herself and Mito. "I better get back and join the others in trying to contain Kurama."
Her senses then kicked in, dodging down to the left to avoid having her head lopped off by the thrown scythe. Hitomi didn't want to believe it, but her eyes didn't lie. The man who claimed to be Madara Uchiha stood there, none the worse for wear. He stood there, his dark cloak silhouetted by black flames. It was made all the more exemplified by the light filtered down by the harvest moon hanging overhead. "Not bad, you almost had me there for a second." He started up half humorously. Slightly impressed by her magic trick; none of it was a joke. "But you're the only one with gifted eyes." She then saw it all. Glowing through the mask's single eyehole was a Sharingan, but not an ordinary Sharingan. It looked like a three bladed shuriken with the tip jutting off at a right angle.
It then all connected for her. "You know Kamui! It's the only way my jutsu could reflected!" She shouted. He let out a low, sinister chuckle.
"Right on the money, dear girl." Madara drawled in his deep baritone voice. He gestured to her slowly, meaningfully to Hitomi. It was chilling, even to a seasoned kunoichi like her. "I have to admit that was a nice combination of those two jutsu. Funneling the flames of Amatarasu through the space-time vortex was something not even Hashirama thought of. But I'll touch you eventually, my dear and when that happens. You'll be sucked away into a realm of darkness and no one will ever see you again."
Hitomi knew she had to escape. Whoever this guy was could make use of her clan's ability to warp time and space in ways she couldn't fathom. Minato would have to be the one to face him. The Hiraishin was just as fast as the Kamui and well, there was a reason the Yellow Flash had been made Hokage. She turned and broke for the woods. She took off, leaping from branch to branch.
"Going somewhere, love? Sorry, I'm afraid that's not happening." Madara appeared right above her, upside down on a higher branch. It was so sudden. Hitomi had no time to react. A black swirling maw opened up to devour her, soul and all. This was the end. "Now please vanish forever." She gasped; his fingers were inches from her face.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!" a voice rang out. Hitomi barely had to time to use the Kawarimi before her foe was driven down into a huge crater, the trees collapsing onto top of him. She could only look on in surprise. There was only one person who used that technique. Someone who had sworn she would never set foot on the lands of Fire Country again. As the dust settled down she saw a tall feminine figure wearing brown capri style pants and a dark green jacket.
"L-Lady Tsunade?" Hitomi stammered, shocked by her sudden appearance. She suddenly felt like a genin all over again. "What are you doing here?"
"It's been a long time, Hitomi." The Senju heiress replied, putting a hand on her hip. Fixing hard chocolate brown eyes on the masked man, who just barely avoided getting reduced to a bloody smear on the ground thanks to her trademark kick. "It looks like I came back at just the right time. This guy giving you any trouble?"
"The Slug Princess, here?" The masked man spoke with a hint of venom in his voice. "Fine then, Senju." If he hadn't have had his mask on, he would have spat on Tsunade. "You win this round, but know this, I will return to claim what's rightfully mine. Remember the name, Madara Uchiha." And with that, he vanished into the dark vortex of Kamui. The female Sannin helped the younger woman to her feet.
"What's going on here, Lady Tsunade? I heard you say there would be no way you'd ever willingly return to the village ever again!" She said.
"That was before I found out my sensei was sick." She said. "I may hate this damn place, but…he was always there for me after Grandpa and Uncle died. I owe him at least this much to take a look at this disease and see if I can cure it. We need to get going and now!" Hitomi nodded and the two of them took off back towards the village. Not too far away, they found a young woman Hitomi recognized as Tsunade's apprentice, Shizune Kato and her pet pig, Tonton.
"Lady Hitomi!" The sixteen-year-old girl grinned. Tonton happy oinked in her arms. Hitomi was one of the few people who never looked at Tonton as food.
"Shizune, you've gotten so big!" Hitomi replied. Kyuubi's roar brought the reunion to an abrupt halt. Tsunade looked in the direction the roar came from before giving Hitomi an expression demanding an explanation and quick. "Oh yeah…I guess I should have mentioned the fact that masked guy I was fighting attacked your grandmother, Lady Tsunade. He…ripped Kyuubi right out of her. It's a testament to her Uzumaki heritage she survived the extraction. I'm…I'm sorry."
The air became a hundred times denser from the massive amounts of killing intent the Slug Princess was releasing. Shizune whimpered, falling to her knees as she clutched Tonton to her chest. Hitomi wasn't fazed in the slightest. She was expecting this reaction from the Senju heiress. There was a new fire in her eyes, anger barely under control. "I suggest you two keep up. I have some business to tend to…" She took off into the forest at speeds Minato would have been hard pressed to keep up with.
The two younger women immediately went after the female Sannin at full speed towards the battleground. Hitomi prayed that Yukimura and Sarutobi were faring better than she had. The masked man had escaped and the massive creature was still wreaking havoc.
Even as Hitomi thought of this, the situation was far worse than they could have thought. Sarutobi was starting to lose ground to exhaustion, unable to completely avoid the massive claws that had brought down his longtime partner. Yukimura was still struggling to ensnare Kurama in Enkidu's binding grasp, but the fox was quite agile for someone the size of a mountain.
"This is getting us nowhere, Yukimura! I'm going to start calling in reinforcements." Sarutobi said, about ready to start signaling the gathered shinobi on the ramparts of the village. When a familiar sound rung in his ears, it was the distinctive sound of something being summoned and it seemed be coming from above…
"BRING DOWN THE HOUSE JUTSU!" Came the voice of the Sarutobi's other student, the Legendary Frog Sage, Jiraiya with his constant partner, Gamabunta, the boss of the Summon Toads of Myboku Mountain.
"YUKIMURA GET OUT OF THE WAY! JIRAIYA'S INBOUND!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, running as fast as his old legs could carry him.
Yukimura looked up to see the dark red form of Gamabunta falling rapidly from the sky. It was nearly the size of a mountain and falling fast. He knew even a beast as powerful as Kyuubi would not shrug something like that off quickly. "TSUNADE, HITOMI, WE'VE GOT A FRIEND INBOUND!" He yelled, running for cover.
The two women were quick on his heels. Hitomi looked behind to confirm the new arrival. She too recognized what had just happened, and smirked. "About time you showed up you old pervert!" She said, taking refuge behind a rock. Gamabunta hit Kurama at terminal velocity, causing a huge crater to form in the earth.
"Ha! Right on the money, Bunta old pal! I'll treat you to a whole barrel when this is over!" Jiraiya cheered from the top of the Toad Boss's head.
Gamabunta calmly pulled out his pipe to have a quick smoke before, his thick warty tongue slid out. "It better not be any of the cheap stuff, Jiraiya! You know what will happen if I end up with anything less." He croaked. Kurama struggled to get up. The Toad Boss's sudden appearance left him seeing stars, and he needed to regroup. Yukimura however was waiting for this very moment to arrive.
He made a single ram seal, "Enkidu, Chains of Heaven!" Yukimura declared, and several lengths of the chain lashed out, snaring Kurama and leaving him unable to move. The Fox was finally restrained but he was still human and would not be able to contain him for very long.
Jiraiya down near to where Sarutobi was. "Looks like I showed up just in the nick of time, eh, sensei?" He grinned. "Yukimura, always a pleasure to see you." His eyes then widened in surprise to see Tsunade standing behind them, her arms crossed. "I never thought I'd see this day. The prodigal daughter returns to the place she left behind, never to come back to."
"I came back for sensei, Jiraiya…not to mention payback against the bastard that hurt my grandmother." Tsunade said sharply. "Where is Minato in all of this? Shouldn't he be…you know, commanding our forces against the giant killer monster that's trying to raze our homes to the ground?"
"Minato said he needed to retrieve something and that he'd return." Hitomi replied. She heard the familiar sound of the Hiraishin behind her. "Speak of the devil, here he comes now!"
Minato and Mito, with Naruto in her arms, arrived in the center of the raging battlefield. They quickly surveyed the scene. Yukimura strained to keep the chains of Enkidu from coming undone. Kurama was putting up a fight worthy of a god to free himself. Sarutobi was using his years of knowledge to keep the great Biju off balance, since Enma was dead he had lost his main weapon, but the old monkey was by no means defenseless. Fireballs of varying sizes and shapes were hurled at their giant foe, even a giant flaming dragon roared before it splashed against the deep red fur.
Hitomi looked to Tsunade, just for a moment. Tsunade was an amazing woman, honestly. She was pushing into her early forties, and she did not look a day over twenty-one. Her beautiful, youthful appearance bellied a hidden strength nearly rivaled by the Fourth Raikage. Only A's speed surpassed her monstrous strength… An idea bulb popped into her head. It was something she called her Uchiha Moments. These were strokes of genius no that turned the course of battle. They called her Cousin Fugaku a genius… Women could be just as brilliant; if more creative than their male counter parts in their clan.
"This is going to look a little weird! Just go with it!" Hitomi leaped onto Tsunade's back, throwing her arms around Tsunade's neck for proper support. Tsunade automatically knew to grab onto her legs. This was what Tonton might have oinked in satisfaction over. Hitomi was riding her master piggyback.
Tsunade groaned, embarrassed red crept up onto her cheeks. Jiraiya laughed like a madman somewhere in the background. She could imagine her idiot teammate scribbling this into his dumb journal. "This better be good, Hitomi! You've already got the pervert receiving weird ideas already!"
Hitomi grinned viciously. Suddenly a blue aura cracked to life all around them. Hitomi's innate lightning nature cracked, and sparked in an all too familiar way. Tsunade gasped, realizing what this was in an instant. "This is A's Lightning Armor! How!?"
"Sharingan!" Hitomi shouted over the loud crackling. The Lightning Armor's aura flared even brighter as Hitomi increased the output. Untold amounts of power flowed through their bodies collectively. "Copy and paste at its finest! Those old Geezers on the council loved the idea of marrying me off to him so badly! I thought I'd take advantage of it!"
Tsunade smirked thinly, knowing how much this could boost their combat capabilities. She chuckled wryly. "And they passed you over for clan leader just because you're a woman… If Fugaku could see this now, I bet he would freak."
Somewhere in the background, Jiraiya made a deadpan comment that was luckily unheard by either women. "He'd do more than that…" He grinned lasciviously. "The wife would punch out that Mokuton in his pants!" Mito glared at the back of his head. Despite how much Hashirama liked the wood jokes, Mito hated it. Sarutobi shared his student's smile, restraining his laughter so he could fire off another fire bolt.
Hitomi rolled her red crimson eyes. "I know, right…" Hitomi laughed. The little joke was lost in a moment. Tsunade shot forward with Hitomi. Tsunade couldn't believe how fast this was. The combination of the basic body flicker, and the improved neural reactions thanks to the lightning armor made her faster than any shinobi could be by natural means. Tsunade sincerely doubted Kurama could follow them with his eyes.
Tsunade jumped high into the night sky, sailing above the Kyuubi and the huge frog sitting on him casually. Kurama didn't even know what was going to him next. Gamabunta took another hit of his pipe, watching in fascination. Tsunade came down at speeds beyond human reckoning. "HEAVENLY FOOT OF PAIN!"
Kurama cried out in pain as Tsunade pushed his nose even further into the dirt. The impact made another huge crater in its midst. Tsunade rode off the charge out of range. She expected the light show of the century.
Hitomi used Tsunade's back as a springboard to send herself flying sky high whiling while the Slug Sannin descended. Up in the sky Hitomi weaved a super-fast set of seals, ones any student of the Raikage might have recognized. "Storm Style: Laser Circus!" Both of her arms shot up, palms of her hands lighting up like twin stars in the sky. Two thousand azure lances shot downward on Kurama. Those two thousand strands of light coming down contained thousands of volts of electricity. It was enough to light up Konoha for two entire days. They lighted up Kurama's life for the first time ever. It was not a pleasant feeling for Gamabunta, or Kurama.
Hitomi didn't give a damn about collateral damage right now. All she honestly wanted was blood. Images of that masked man ran through her head. His power was so unbelievable. She was considered one of the best in her generation; one of the first since Madara's demise to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. It only took a Kamui, her technique, to make her look like a fool. Like a helpless child… She always promised herself to always be strong.
It was her pride, the Uchiha's pride, at stake. All tested by a betrayer, and a fake. One she let escape. "You…" She glared down at Kurama. Hitomi's Mangekyo Sharingan flared demonic crimson, spinning furiously like a pinwheel in a storm. "Won't ESCAPE!" Another set of seals rapidly snapped together. Clouds covered the bright moon. Her crackling aura flickered out to be replaced by one that could not be seen in the night's sky. Invisible to the eye, black lightning coursed through her body. Power darker than black dye her entire form.
"Raiton: Black Lightning Dragon!" No one could see anything coming down, lightning struck with the wrath of nature. A red pair of eyes was all that could be seen of the gigantic form. Redder than the Sharingan, redder than Kurama's fur, it was the color revenge. Kurama cried out once more into the cold, unloving midnight when lighting cracked.
Hitomi wasn't done yet. Not by any means. Her lightning aura flickered out once more. There was one more thing she had up her sleeve. Not much more chakra lay inside of her after that assault. This time no seals were needed. Lightning cracked once more in the palm of her hand angrily.
"Chidori…" She murmured to herself. She realized this was more than about her pride, or even Uchiha pride. All of her most important people ran through her mind. The newest one was born into this world only an hour ago. She had to do this… "Obito, Lady Mito, Lord Sarutobi, Minato, Kushina, Naruto, Kakashi, Sakumo-sensei, Morinobu, Yukimasa, Ayami, Yukimura…" Listing off all those names hardened her resolve further. "This is for everyone I love, you dumb beast!"
Hitomi's battle cry could be heard by everyone. She down came much like a falling star with a single blue streak following her wake. She hit home at breakneck speeds, blood flew into the night. Kurama bellowed painfully again, wishing he was able to clutch his left eye. Blood darkened his once perfect vision. It was a deep darkness that the bright, fat moon could not pierce. "MY EEEEEEEYE, YOU BIIIIIIIITCH!"
Chains rattled angrily once more. They held the Nine Tailed Fox faithfully in place. Somehow, Gamabunta managed to maintain his consciousness. The Frog Boss chortled, punching the other beast playfully. "An eye for an eye, Foxy! This reminds me of what you did to me a century ago!"
Kurama didn't take the joke well. This was some of the greatest pain the demon lord had ever felt. Kurama made a proclamation no single villager in Konoha would never forget. Haunt their deepest nightmares for every single October tenth to come. "WHEN I BREAK THESE BINDINGS, YOU ARE ALL DEAD! I WILL DEVOUR YOUR CHILDREN WHOLE; I WILL RAZE YOUR INNANE VILLAGES TO THE GROUND! YOU HUMANS WILL PAY FOR THIS! MARK MY WORDS JUDGEMENT AS THE DEMON KING!"
Hitomi's husband sweated coldly. "She went overboard, again!" He was thankful to every single god when he saw Minato out of the corner of his eye. "Good, you're here!" Yukimura grunted, putting all his will into the chains. "Whatever your plan is now would be a real good time to use it, Minato! I've put all my chakra into restraining this beast and I'm nearly at my limit! Hitomi's lightshow back there DID NOT help things!"
"Strange," Tsunade remarked to Mito. She deposited Hitomi next to her, trying to ignore the Sanada husband and wife's squabble. Hitomi was really lucky that Tsunade caught her on the way down. The height Hitomi fell from could easy kill any ninja. Tsunade sort of agreed all of that was unnecessary. Cool, but unnecessary. "I wonder why the Fox hasn't been put under hypnosis or summoned directly into the village. Didn't Grandpa say Madara summoned him during their battle at the Valley of the End and had to use the Sharingan to keep Kyuubi under his control?"
"As a matter of fact, dear. Yes he did. But I was prepared for that." Mito said offhandedly. Not all batting an eye lash at Kurama's belly aching. Good thing she was used it. "The seal I used to contain Kurama was one I had refined over several decades. Including some safeguards. Even if my Biju were extracted, it would be unable to either be summoned or controlled by something like the Sharingan at all. However this is a double edged sword, since Kurama is still quite sore about being locked up for so long."
"Then it is all the more important we wrap this up as quickly as possible!" Minato exclaimed severely. The Fourth Hokage stepped forward, looking down at the infant in his arms. Naruto had fallen asleep and was completely content in his father's embrace. He felt a pang of fatherly pride and deep sorrow all at once. The Yellow Flash knew his son would become a great ninja, but at the same time he wouldn't be there to see him grow up and he had forced Naruto to bear a horrible burden the rest of his life.
"You alright, Minato dear?" Mito queried concernedly.
"It's just not right…" Minato said to Mito grimly, handing the boy to her, "I know as Hokage my duty would call to sacrifice my life for the village, but I can't help but feel a little sad. He's going to grow up without me, but at least he'll have his mother."
Mito then smiled at him. It was surprisingly cheerful on her usually graceful and reserved face. On the plus side it made her look almost twenty years younger, it reminded him much of Kushina in her more playful moments. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that, Minato. You'll get to see your son grow up…I guarantee it." She said.
The Fourth Hokage felt a sharp pain at the base of his neck. The last thing he saw was the dark robe of his predecessor. Sarutobi with a triumphant smile on his face the last thing he saw before everything went black.
"A bit rough, don't you think, Saru?" Mito remarked casually. Kurama roared once again, causing Naruto to start crying. "Oh, there there, sweetie. It will all be over soon." Her voice was calm and soothing, coming from years of experience raising the children of the village. Like her husband and Sarutobi, she had firmly believed in the importance of nurturing the next generation.
"What are you doing, Hiruzen…?" He gaped slightly. Yukimura couldn't believe his oldest friend would attack the Yellow Flash like that.
"Hokage-sama what have you done?!" Hitomi screeched indignantly.
"My duty as the Hokage, my dear." Sarutobi intoned solemnly. Yukimura immediately could see just how old the man named as the Third Fire Shadow really was. Everyone could see his true soul. "Minato had a plan, but it would cost him his life. What the village needs in a leader right now is someone from the current generation, someone who's not mired in the old ways and will be able to adjust to the changing times. I'm too old to take back the reins of power, Hitomi. The village needs Minato, not a decrepit fossil like me."
"What exactly was Minato's plan?" Yukimura looked at the tiny bundle in the elder Uzumaki's arms. He knew enough of Bijuu to know the answer to that grim question. He only hoped it was not as he dreaded.
"Minato created a special seal with input from Kushina and myself." Mito replied, her eyes not breaking from Naruto. "The Four Symbols Seal, It's derived from the jutsu of my old village. It's very powerful and can contain Kurama with little trouble. It was meant to be half of our ultimate weapon in the event Condition K became a reality."
"What's the other half of this plan entail?" Hitomi asked fearfully, feeling a great dread welling up inside her. Her fears were confirmed with Mito's next words.
"Another of my clan's sealing jutsu, one of if not the most powerful we've ever created. The Shiki Fuin…the Dead Demon Consuming Seal." Mito replied, explaining things like it was completely expected. Both Sanada could sense she was accepting of this cruel solution. "It summons the Shinigami itself, ripping the soul of its victim out and imprisoning it inside the Reaper's stomach for all eternity with no possibility of escape!"
Sarutobi continued somberly, "But using the Shiki Fuin has its price." Both Sanadas didn't want to hear it, but the Third Hokage said it anyway. "In addition to sealing the victim…the Shinigami also consumes the caster's soul as well. Forcing both of them to battle for the rest of eternity." Hitomi finally broke down and wept. Her heroes were sacrificing themselves for them. It saddened her, and made her happy all at the same time. That's how much they loved all the people of the village. At the same time, Tsunade cried inwardly. Her last living relative was leaving her. Jiraiya joined them. He could only silently watch as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
For once, Tsunade did not swipe it away or curse at him. Shizune held Tsunade's hand, looking up at her teacher with tear stained eyes. Tonton nuzzled her master's arm, letting out a tiny oink. They were all there for her. Sarutobi patted his student on the head "That's why Mito and I conspired to seize control when the time came. Minato would be incapacitated, and we would perform the sealing ourselves."
"But how could you? It would have taken forever to learn all the specifics of a sealing array so complex!" Yukimura demanded, momentarily losing control of Enkidu. The Chains of Heaven rattled loudly. Kurama let out an inhuman roar heard for miles. He was almost about to collapse from exhaustion. He had held on for so long.
"You're forgetting why I'm called the Professor, Yukimura, I learn things very quickly!" Sarutobi's voice rose, strength the Third Hokage hadn't known in years surging through him as his hands snapped into a long series of hand seals. "Mito, get ready. This will be our final duty to this village!"
"Right there with you, Saru!" She said, feeling one last burst of energy course through her body. She gathered all her remaining strength to summon forth a special altar with a ring of eight lit candles to the field. Tenderly she placed Naruto down on the cushion. "Jiraiya, Tsunade do whatever you can to hold it at bay! Hitomi…Guard the child with your life! It will take Saru and I some time to get this ready."
"Yes milady!" All three of them said together. Hitomi stood in front of the altar, dagger in hand, her Sharingan coming to life. "Alright you overgrown powder puff! We're not going down without a fight!"
"Hitomi…I…can't hold it…" Yukimura gasped, finally succumbing to exhaustion after holding back the demon lord for so long.
Kurama smirked in triumph, feeling the chains holding him start to dissipate. A single nightmare inspiring blood red eye focused on the squalling infant in front of him. As the chain holding his foreleg came free his paw whipped forward, fully intending to shred the infant into pieces. They say in moments like that time slows to an absolute crawl. To Hitomi Uchiha and her husband, Yukimura Sanada, it did.
Mito Uzumaki and Hiruzen Sarutobi were the two oldest living denizens of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. To the younger generations they were the wise old grandparents who could always be counted upon to give a few words of advice or reassurance should they be asked. And like the loving people they were, it was guaranteed they would protect their children no matter what.
Both of them moved with speed belying their age and put themselves in front of the altar, letting the black talon pierce both their bodies, Sarutobi's helmet flew off his head, crashing to the ground with a sharp crack, shattering into pieces. Their gambit had succeeded, the tip stopped inches from the newborn's face, but the damage had already been done.
"Well…this was probably…the dumbest…idea…we ever had, Saru. What do you…think?" Mito laughed, coughing up blood. Her once pristine white kimono was now slowly being dyed red with her own blood.
"An impulsive act…not very…befitting a Hokage…if…you ask me!" Sarutobi replied, finding it hard to talk since his lungs were shredded into ribbons.
"Mito-sama…Hokage-sama." Hitomi's voice cracked. She was rooted to the place where she landed after Mito had hurled her out of the way. There was no feeling in her legs.
"Oh child…please…don't cry for us." Mito cooed gently, coughing up another lungful of blood, "This is…how we wanted it. Both Hiruzen and I…have lived long…full lives, and…we accepted our fate…a long time ago. Isn't that right…Saru?" She started coughing again. His hand came up to brush a few strands of hair out of her face. Even being almost 90, Mito Uzumaki was still a creature of beauty.
"Indeed my…dear. This is how it should be. Let the old…sacrifice…themselves for the young." Hiruzen agreed weakly. He looked to Yukimura. Despite his poker face, the Sanada Patriarch was mourning the loss of a friend. "This is a given in our line of work, old friend. One day…You'll understand." The Third Hokage rasped painfully, blood dripping from the corner of his happy smile. It only spoke of satisfaction; A single life well lived. "We've done…our duty for the village, Mito-chan. It's time to end this for good."
"Yes…it is indeed time." She returned, looking down on the infant front of her. He had his father's spiky blonde locks, and his mother's round face. Mito uttered up all of her remaining strength to give her clansmen some final words. "Oh Naruto…Such a precious child. I…know…you will become a magnificent shinobi…worthy of the Uzumaki name. Obey your noble…father and your beautiful mother. They will …help you to grow from here on out. Hitomi…would you…do the honors and finish the job we started?"
"Indeed…my dear. Consider this my…final order." Sarutobi rasped, his eyes slowly going dark.
She looked to Kurama, her Mangekyou blazing with loathing for the beast. This would be a privilege for her. "Yes Hokage-sama! Enjoy your new home, Fluffy! Eight Trigrams Seal…activate!" Hitomi uttered, the array on the altar started glowing…and then all went white.
(One week later)
It had been exactly seven days since the fox had been defeated thanks to the noble sacrifice of the Third Hokage and Mito Uzumaki. The entire village felt their deaths, and a somber air hung over everyone. Those most directly involved in the incident were gathered at the Hokage's office for a private remembrance. Minato had delegated all of his paperwork to a couple of shadow clones while he sat quietly at his desk, gazing out the window on the village. Usually looking over the place he called home was a soothing balm for the Yellow Flash, but now it was just a reminder of the price they paid.
Kushina sat in one of the two chairs before his desk, cradled in her arms was their precious son, quietly sleeping in his mother's embrace. The redhead hadn't taken the news of Mito's death. She had instilled a strong lesson about using love for her family to counter Kurama's hatred. And now she would put it into practice, giving the love to her son and showed there were those who cared for him.
"I still can't believe they're really gone." She said, hugging Naruto close to her chest as she gave her husband a sad look. "But they are…Mito-sama and the Third gave their lives to protect our baby." Minato sighed, unable to look his wife in the eye. Kushina was grieving for her dead clansmen, truly one of the finest kunoichi to ever live.
"It should have been me who died. This was my plan from the beginning; no one else should have suffered." He said. "Sarutobi picked me to become Hokage because he knew I'd do anything to protect the village, even give up my life, just as the Senju brothers did before me." He looked up to the pictures on the wall, showing his predecessors before turning to look back out the window.
Hitomi got up from her place on the sofa and walked around the desk so she was standing next to Minato, looking out on the village. She brought her hand up, as if to put it on his shoulder in a comforting gesture, instead the Sanada matriarch then wound up and whapped him upside the back of the head. "You're an even bigger idiot than I thought!" She snapped. "Sarutobi and Mito-sama gave their lives because they both knew you were more valuable alive than dead!"
Minato winced as he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head, looking to her husband. "She's right, Minato. Hiruzen had been planning this from the start." Yukimura said, "He told us flat out he was too old to take the office again. You shouldn't feel guilty about what Saru and Mito did." He looked down to Naruto, rubbing the little boy under the chin. "Your son is alive because of their actions. You can't fall into despair now at such a critical point."
"Indeed," Tsunade said, storming into the office with purpose. "He spared not just you, but the entire village from certain doom." Everyone looked to the Slug Princess, there was an angry fire in her brown eyes, "I was called back here by sensei himself because he had been stricken by a nasty illness and he wanted me to diagnose him. I performed the autopsy and the reports just came back. It wasn't a virus…He was poisoned!"
Everyone nearly leapt out of their seats. "What…poisoned? What do you mean he was poisoned?" Jiraiya questioned confusedly. Not wanting to accept that anyone would ever want to harm such a well-loved man.
"Yes, Jiraiya." Her eyes narrowed on the second Sannin. She held up the test results of the toxicology report. Jiraiya snatched it from her grasp. The Toad Sage couldn't believe what he was reading. "I checked three times and then had Shizune do it all over again just to be sure. I have to give whoever created this little number credit. They created this poison to appear as a natural disease. It was slowly eating away at sensei's lungs. To someone lesser skilled it would have been a result of all the tobacco he smoked. I'm sure of it!"
"Well this is an unexpected turn of events." Yukimura remarked uneasily. To think, there was someone this devious hiding in their midst. "How long did he have, Tsunade?"
"By my estimates: another two months. If he had died, then we would have really been in a difficult situation." Tsunade said. "Tell me Minato…had you named a successor in the event you died?"
"No…I hadn't." The Yellow Flash admitted, shaking his head. "I mean, I probably would have picked Kakashi if I lived long enough, but I hadn't given it any real thought if I went prematurely. There's so few who could have taken my place." All of his grief vaporized in a second, horrified at the thought of no one being around to replace him. Minato immediately turned all business. "Tsunade, do you know who could have made this poison? They would have to been on your level of skill to make something so complex."
The Senju heiress folded her arms, "I do have some suspicions, Minato. There's maybe one person besides me who could manage to create something like this…Elder Koharu."
"Saru's old teammate?" Yukimura questioned thoughtfully, his mind kicking into gear. All his own years of study on poisons suddenly came forward. Koharu was nearly as infamous as Chiyo, or her grandson Sasori the Red Sand. Despite being of a Samurai lineage, Yukimura had his own interest in the Ninja World. "Yes, yes, it is plausible. I recall she liked to use poison in her youth. And she's always been of a far more militant mindset than Sarutobi or Minato. I don't think she ever fully put stock in Tobirama's teachings. But she couldn't have acted alone. There's someone else pulling the strings here."
Tsunade looked to Jiraiya, and then to Minato, and back. "Danzo…" All three of them said together. They were too aware of the bandaged elder's feud with their sensei, and his warmongering tendencies, constantly advocating for stronger measures in dealing with their neighbors. It was a constant headache for Minato in having to deal with the three old councilors, clucking at his decisions.
"I should have known that old fossil would have had his hand in this." Hitomi growled, she had never trusted any of the elders, they always seemed to have such a sour disposition and would have done anything to hold onto what little power they had. "What are you going to do about this, Minato? I can't imagine you're going to let this go unanswered."
"No…I'm not." He responded gravely. A dangerous gleam appeared in Minato's sapphire orbs. It was the same expression he wore when he faced down his enemies. It was a gaze that inspired enough fear in the ninja of the Village Hidden in the Stone to issue an order to flee the area in the event he ever appeared. And now The Council had just invoked the Yellow Flash's wrath. "I'm going to start looking into the pasts of all three of them. I want to build as solid a case as possible, and then. I'll remind them that I am the Hokage and my word here is law."
"Now there's the young man I trained. The village needs their leader now more than ever, Minato." Jiraiya praised Minato, clapping his favorite student on the back. "Mito-sama and Sensei have entrusted their Will of Fire to you, and one day it will go to Naruto. Don't let their sacrifice be in vain. Keep living and keep the village safe best you can. I know they'd be proud of you."
Minato's hard features softened some. "I know, sensei. I would never turn my back on my people. I just wish I didn't have to resort to these kinds of measures." The solemn moment was broken by the sound of Naruto gurgling. The entire room brightened up at the sheer cuteness the little boy emanated. Kushina reached out, taking Minato's hand. He squeezed affectionately back, truly happy for the life his love brought into the Ninja World. Naruto would eventually become everyone's beacon of hope. This much the couple knew.
Even in the shadow of a horrible tragedy, life still continued, and life in Konoha would go on.