Hey there...it's good to see you again everyone (figuratively speaking of course...on the seeing part).
As you can see...Chapter 3 is out,
I know I said it will be a long time for my next update...but I received many PM's of people liking it and not wanting to wait so long. Those messages broke my heart so to speak and so I pushed everything else and finished chapter 3...I hate having someone disappointed at me so here you go.
Enjoy:
(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto,Dmc or any other elements you may see in this story)
(Konoha-Hokage office-the day following Naruto's escape)
The third Hokage was both angry and sad at the same time; tears were streaming down his face as he sat in his office. The pain of failing not only Minato and Kushina, but also Naruto had hurt more than anything else in his life. He had let the one thing that Minato left behind to suffer a life worse than death. He allowed himself to be pushed around out of fear and senile belief that they would honor Minato's wish. He should've done what was done with Kushina and Mito and kept it a secret, but since he didn't an innocent boy had to suffer and die at an age that no child should because of him.
When he finally managed rain in his emotions he signaled Kakashi, Guy, Anko, and Yugao forward, and told them the truth of Naruto's heritage and told them everything about his god parents. Guy and Anko, who were not familiar with the boy had felt sad for the quality of his life, and even somewhat heartbroken at having to suffer such a life in his young age, while Yugao and Kakashi who already knew about him, held their heads down in shame for not having been able to help him. While she was shedding tears, Yugao couldn't help but remember how close she had been to Naruto's mother since she was Kushina's apprentice, and had the pleasure of knowing Naruto before he was even born when she was just a 17 year old chunin. Ever since she knew about Naruto, she had asked the Hokage to take care of him only to be refused since she was one of the most promising ANBU operatives and would not be free enough to take care of him. Kakashi though held his head down in sadness as he could almost see Minato-Sensei's and Kushina-san's disappointed faces looking at him having the chance to retire from the ANBU, in order to take care of Naruto. He however had refused as he couldn't see himself taking care of another person on that level, and as much as he wanted to cry his tears were already spent with his red eye as proof showing that he had been crying for a while.
When all of them had regained control over their emotions he signaled the ANBU hidden in the room away and said, "I want all of you to go on an S-rank mission for me, I want you to track down Tsunade and Jiraiya and get them back into the village as soon as possible. I plan to make them pay for ignoring their duties as Naruto's godparents when they should've been here and done more. But I let my own belief blind me to what I should've done and forced them to at least come back and check up on him. If they don't come back through persuasion, then give them this document that states if they don't come back then I will mark them both as S-rank missing Nin."
The third had a dark look on his face as he handed them the scrolls saying that if they don't come back then they will be marked as S Ranked missing Nin. The assembled Ninjas nodded their heads with emotionless expressions, and then left the office to bring back the two wayward Sannin that were supposed to watch over Naruto.
Despite all the good that Jiraiya's spy network did in protecting Konoha, he never even bothered to get to know his own godson. He should've forced Tsunade to come back and helped her get over it but he didn't simply letting her do what she wanted.
Hiruzen sat down in his chair and looked at a pile of paper work, he then sighed as a memory of what happened a couple years ago when Naruto went to the park. He remembered the way the civilians and shinobi alike stared at him when he arrived at the playground. Naruto walked towards the center of the park, but stopped when he noticed the stares that people were giving him.
He then crumbled his hat as he remembered another memory. He remembered a child probably a year or two older then Naruto punch him in the face. The two children began to fight with other kids joining in the battle. It soon became an all-out brawl, with all the kids beating up the blonde. Hiruzen got himself ready to help Naruto, but stopped when he saw the parents come up to their children and lead them away. But his blood froze when instead of hearing the parents reprimanding their children for beating up the blonde, they congratulated them instead for the deed.
Hiruzen then raised his hands up toward his face and covered his face in shame as he shed tears in remembrance of another memory. That memory wasn't the first time he had chickened out on helping the young blond. It was one of several others where he didn't help him out of fear. Fear of being of the part of the minority that didn't see him as the demon. When he saw Izumi, Ayame and their parents help the blonde he had wished that he had their courage to do what they could.
It was shameful of him, He the Third Hokage nicknamed "The Professor" fearing his own village and not having the courage of two six year old girls….what would his teachers think?
He had wished countless times that he had the strength and courage that they had, the strength and courage that proved that they weren't afraid to be part of the minority. But then again he was the one who had set the line when he followed Minato's wish and told everyone about the Kyuubi. He should've done what was done with Mito and Kushina, and kept it a secret that only he knew, then he wouldn't be afraid of being a part of a minority, and Naruto wouldn't have lived that kind of life but a life filled with the love that he deserved to have.
'Minato, what use was the peace you sacrificed your entire family for… if we can't thank the one person who you wanted to be seen as a hero for giving us this peace most of all?' Hiruzen had more tears falling down his cheeks as he remembered Naruto who was sitting by himself as tears fell down his cheeks. 'Minato, you selfless idiot… your child had done nothing to deserve this fate; no one deserves to die so young, but with what you did to him. You had cursed him to a life of hell by not letting me or Jiraiya do the sealing in your place…'
He then thought of what Minato truly did to his own son and what the term Jinchuuriki truly meant. Jinchuuriki can be translated to human sacrifice. Jinchuuriki's weren't a sacrifice because they were given to have bijuu sealed within them. They were a sacrifice because they were sacrificed in the name of peace, they were the very scapegoat for the leaders of villages and civilians alike, and they also represent the physical manifestation of the people's fears. They were sacrificed not to the demon, but to the very populace that they are supposed to protect. The Jinchuuriki's weren't a sacrifice of their own will… they were called, and sometimes even, forced to be a sacrifice. They were made to sacrifice any semblance of a normal life, sacrifice their families and sacrifice any precious bonds that they might have had with someone else. The very fate that Minato had casted on Naruto the night the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, the very fate he casted on his own son.
He then crumbled his hat more as the tears fell freely down his face. 'Minato you stupid fool, you stupid and noble fool. Why did you have to be so foolish and leave your own son alone in this world that many would hate him for what you did to him despite your wish.'
"Excuse me…Lord Hokage," a bear masked ANBU said worryingly as he entered the room. He had heard of Naruto's death and knew that the Hokage had held the boy not only in high regard, but also very close to his heart as well. He didn't want to do this and tell the Hokage that the council had called for his presence, but was afraid of what the council would do to him if he didn't.
The Hokage turned to the ANBU, who could see the tears that down the third's face. The ANBU flinched when he saw those tears and felt a pang of sadness hit his heart; he like a few others didn't see the boy as a demon and saw him as a person who was cursed at birth with being the container of Kyuubi, however he like all the rest had ignored the boy and didn't have much interaction with him. The only group of people would treat the boy nicely were the two Uchiha members and the owner of the small ramen stand and his daughter with the two young ones not knowing of his burden, and had accepted him for himself.
"What is it Kuma?" The Hokage asked in strained voice. The ANBU was quiet for a moment and sighed as he gathered the strength and said, "Lord Hokage the council has requested your presence on the matter of Naruto Uzumaki's death." The ANBU looked up at his leader waiting for his reply and saw that the Hokage's head was down. When the Hokage raised his head, instead of the eyes of a broken man, he saw the eyes of a man who looked ready for war. The tears still streamed down his cheeks, but his eyes showed an iron will that would break only in death. The Hokage turned toward the ANBU, whom felt like bowing upon feeling the KI and the powerful aura that was radiating from the shinobi that was known throughout the world as the "God of Shinobi". "Tell them I will be their soon after I settle some things."
The ANBU quickly nodded and left the room using the Shunshin. After the he left Hiruzen turned and looked at the Fourth's head on the Hokage monument with a look that could bend steel if possible. 'Minato, I'm sorry that I was too much of a coward to help your son. I will not have him be remembered as the Kyuubi's reincarnation! And for that I most break the promise that I made you of revealing the truth about him until he was a Chunin, but he cannot be harmed by Iwa and Kumo when he is already dead. It is time that the people learned of what they had done to the savior.'
The last though that the Hokage had before he left the room was, 'Naruto I hope you can forgive this old fool for not having the strength and courage to be there for you. I hope that you can forgive me wherever you are or when my time comes.
(Konoha-council chambers-5 minutes later)
The Hokage made his way toward the council chambers with a face that seemed to be set in stone and a will made of iron. When he reached the door to the chambers he opened the door and made his way towards his chair in the chambers with the intent to make sure that Naruto would not be remembered as the fox reborn, but as the hero who the people of Konoha had scorned, beaten, and in the end killed. They would know that they had did a unredeemable act by what they did to him that no matter how hard they tried the stain of such an act would never be removed. They had not only killed a child, but the son of their hero who they saw as a hero, but had damned the one thing that he had left behind and wanted to be seen as a hero.
The Hokage would make sure that they know that even if it took a river of blood for them to understand their crimes.
After the Hokage sat down in his chair, a man on his left who was one of his former teammates known as Homura Mitokado, Homura was depicted with grey hair, a beard, glasses as well as a constant frown that he's had always worn, even in his youth. He also had a strong jaw-line a facial structure he had retained even in his old age. As a member of the Konoha Council, he wore similar garbs to those that Hiruzen would when acting in his capacity as Hokage. A woman on his right, where the shinobi side was, sat his other former teammate, Koharu Utatane. In her youth, Koharu was a beautiful kunoichi with dark eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a twin bun locked by a traditional Japanese hair pin with two pearls dangling off the side. In her old age, she maintained her original hairstyle without the bangs. The pearls on her hair needle have also increased and tassels were added to the other end. Her earrings were also considerably longer. As a member of the Konoha Council, Koharu wore a simple long kimono, closed by an obi, a jacket, and a sash over it.
In the back of the room where no one could see him, was a man known as Danzo Shimura. Danzo was Hiruzen's rival since they were kids and was always overshadowed by Hiruzen's accomplishments. Danzo appeared as an old frail man, who would normally walk with a cane. He had black shaggy hair, and his right eye was kept bandaged. Danzo has had an x-shaped scar on his chin ever since his youth. He wore a white shirt, with a brown robe over top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder. The robe concealed his right arm which was bandaged, and covered with three big golden braces. He looked like a man that had endured numerous battles, but he had a personality that made a brick seem lively.
On the right side of the council sat the Shinobi council which consisted of the clan heads from the clans that helped made up Konoha's shinobi forces. It consisted of Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Tsume Inuzuka, Shibi Aburame, Hiashi Hyuuga, Unkai Kurama, Asuma Sarutobi, and Fugaku Uchiha, who was Izumi's father and Mikoto's husband with one empty seat, that was reserved for the Senju clan whose last remaining member was Tsunade of the Sannin.
On the left side was the civilian council made up of six of the richest merchants and somewhat influential people, who had some ties with others and they represented the market business in Konoha.
Danzo stepped out of the shadows and made his way towards Hiruzen and said, "Hiruzen you took quite some time getting here, as the Hokage you know that you have responsibilities that you cannot ignore and being late to a council meeting is one of them."
The Hokage was quiet and didn't even bother looking in Danzo's direction, Danzo who was annoyed that his old rival was ignoring him started glaring at him with his one eye and was about to speak, but stopped when he felt Hiruzen's killing intent. Everyone in the room was afraid when they felt that killing intent, the last time any of them had felt any killing intent from him was the night when Kyuubi was sealed into Naruto, and a member of the civilian council members said to kill him despite him being a baby.
"Danzo," the old man said that sent a chill down everyone's spine. "I am the Hokage the leader of this village, you are an adviser which means that you are to give me advice not tell me what to do."
The Hokage then turned away from Danzo and turned towards the civilian members and glared at them. All of the civilian members tensed up and were close to shitting themselves from his glare, the Hokage then said harshly, "I hope you are all proud of yourselves."
"Of course we are, we finished the Fourth's work, and we have killed the…" a fat merchant started.
"His son," the Hokage said. Everyone in the room looked at him and after the realization set in the clan heads started glaring at him, while the civilians' faces clearly showed that they were stunned since they had a flabbergasted expression on their faces. Another representative being the first person to recover yelled out.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE KILLED HIS SON?! HE'S THE DEMON AND WE ALL KNOW IT!".
The other council members finally managed to regain their senses, Tsume snarled as some of her teeth and nails elongated as she glared at the man. "Who was his mother Hiruzen?" Tsume asked.
The Hokage looked down and was about to answer when a feminine voice said, "His mother was Kushina Uzumaki." Everyone turned to where the voice came from and they saw Mikoto glaring at the Hokage. The shinobi council gasped at that except the civilian council looked like that they didn't care in the least. The first one to say anything was a balding council man who had hated Kushina said; "of course that demon is the son of that Whirlpool whor…" he started but couldn't finish, because of two large amounts of KI bearing down on him, with the sources being Tsume as well as Mikoto, which caused some civilian council members to panic.
"Hokage-sama, control your shinobi please!" yelled the first fat merchant from before.
"That is enough!" the Hokage shouted, but then he felt the KI change its target to him and was face to face with an angry Tsume. Tsume looked at him with rage in her eyes and her nails were digging into his table, and she did not looked happy and looked like she was getting ready to kill him as she yelled out, "You bastard! Why didn't you tell us that he was Kushina and Minato's son?! What the hell gave you the idea that he wouldn't be safe with me protecting him or any of the other clans who are friends with them?!"
The old Hokage sighed and said, "It was for Konoha's protection. If Iwa and or Kumo ever found out Minato had a child, then they would have sent assassins after his life or even threatened the village with war, demanding his death for fear of his power, and giving him to one of the clans would be showing favoritism and would raise suspicious as to his importance. Although it seems that it didn't help him in the end, in fact I wonder what would've happened if I did say something about Naruto's parents, then maybe he would still be alive and protected by the people. They would've probably seen him as a hero for being his son. Yet instead of Iwa, Naruto was killed by the very people that Minato wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero for. Minato is probably rolling around in the Shinigami's stomach in pure anger for what this village has done to him."
"Can you blame him Hiruzen? All of us were friends of Minato and Kushina, what the hell gave you the idea that we would do anything to hurt him! I can say for certain that all of us would have gladly fought to protect Minato's child! Minato was a friend to all of us and we would gladly fight to protect his children, you had no right to hide this from us!" Choza roared out as he glared at the old man.
"OH SO NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT HE WAS MINATO AND KUSHINA'S CHILD THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR HIM?! AND WHAT IF HE WASN'T THEIR SON, DOES THAT MEAN THAT HE'S ANY LESS OF A HUMAN BIENG?! DOES THAT MEAN THAT ITS OK TO BE TREATED THE WAY HE WAS BY EACH OF YOU AS WELL AS EACH OF YOUR CLANS?!"Yelled the old man as he looked around at the people who claimed to be Minato and Kushina' friends as they all flinched and looked down in shame. The old man sighed as he also lowered his head down in shame and said, "I did what I thought was the best thing to do around the time, I wish I could go back and make things right but I can't."
"That's right you can't make things right," Mikoto said coldly as her Sharingan came to life as she glared at the Hokage. The Hokage shivered at the sight as she glared at him, Fugaku stared at his wife and knew that he shouldn't say anything if he valued his life. "I hold Naruto's death on your head Hiruzen as I told you that day. He deserved better! You should've done more; the Will of Fire you had when you were younger has vanished and has been ever since you pretty much decided to be the council's bitch! You are not my Hokage. He never knew why he suffered because you kept it from him. Reap what you have sown Hiruzen because the blood of an innocent child is on your hands because of your actions," Mikoto said coldly.
After that she left the room, if she had turned to look back at the man who was the Hokage then she would've seen tears starting to stream down the old man's face.
(Konoha-later that afternoon)
Izumi ran through the streets with her mother close behind her while carrying Sasuke in her hands who was making gurgling noises and waving around, and saw that people were partying and drinking in celebration of the riddance of what the people were saying the 'demon spawn,' Izumi wondered what they were talking about but, stopped when she got to Ichiraku's sat in one of the chairs..
"Hi Teuchi-ojisan!" the small Uchiha cried happily, a large smile on her face. The aforementioned cook smiled back at the girl, a pang of grief however appearing soon after that only Mikoto saw. No doubt it was caused by the absence of her usual eating partners. "Where is Ayame-chan? And isn't Naruto-kun here yet?"
Indeed, as she couldn't see Ayame anywhere near the restaurant. Unknown to her, Ayame had heard the news about Naruto while she helping her father in the kitchen. When she had heard news from some costumers the plate that she had been delivering had slipped from her hands in her shock, and soon after she had broken down crying as her father hugged her and tried to console her. Soon after she had cried herself to sleep and he had taken her to her room and she hadn't woken up yet.
"Um, well, Naruto is," the man began, his eyes avoiding the gaze of the small girl. They met with her mother's eyes, which held a saddened look at the reason as to why the boy wasn't here. However the gazes also held traces of something akin to a plea to keep quiet, as if asking him to stay quiet as to keep the childlike purity that Izumi still had. "He was sent away by the Hokage so he won't be back for a bit."
Although the lie worked on the girl, her countenance still fell, "But he promised he'd meet me, Ayami-chan and Kaa-chan here today." Izumi was saddened and Mikoto noticed her daughter's downtrodden expression and tried to cheer her up by saying, "Now, now, no long faces. Naruto-kun wouldn't like to see you like this if he was here, so why don't we see a smile, neh? He's always said that he likes it when you smile, even calling you cute." Instantly, Izumi face broke out into a furious blush that would put a tomato to shame at the thought of her crush calling her cute.
After they had a small order of ramen to go, they then made their way back to the Uchiha compound as the people were partying, Mikoto couldn't wait for the third to make his announcement and tell them that Naruto was the son of their hero, the one they had beaten and in the end killed. Izumi herself was wondering who or what the demon spawn was.
When they passed through the gates, Izumi bumped into another man and got separated from her mother, she then looked up and found herself looking at another member of the Uchiha clan talking to another man the first man then said, "I know I'm just glad that the Demon brat is dead."
"Demon brat?" Izumi asked curiously. The man looked down hearing her voice, and decided to tell her the truth seeing no harm in it.
"Hm? It's just that kid Naruto Uzumaki." he answered, unaware of the spike of killing intent directed at him. Before he could get another word out, he was punched in the face by a furious Mikoto. Mikoto then looked down at Izumi and saw a shocked face that then turned into sadness as tears gathered behind her eyes.
"N-Naruto-kun...he's..." she sobbed out, fresh tears started to flow like a fountain, as the realization that her best friend and crush was gone. She then fell to the ground and screamed out in sorrow for her friend, "Naruto!"
(Hi no Kuni-Tanzaku Gai-the next day)
A woman with blonde hair and wearing a green jacket with the kanji for 'gamble' written in black on the back, inside a red circle, underneath it she wore a grey, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matches her pants. Her blouse is closed quite low, revealing her sizable cleavage; the last thing was her open-toed sandals with high heels. She was currently in front of a slot machine and placed some money in hope to get the jackpot.
"Come on, come on", said another woman wearing a long black kimono with trimmings, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels. She was standing next to the machine, hoping the woman playing won't lose as she held two buckets. The next screen landed on another 7. "Come on, come on, one more 7," the woman said with brown hair, wearing black said. Her eyes lit up with hope. The woman with blonde hair eyes widened a bit. 'Could I really win.' she thought to herself. Suddenly the final screen stopped on a 7. She won!
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAY," screamed the woman in black. "Tsunade-sama you finally won!"
"I...won," the woman now known as Tsunade stuttered. 'That's impossible, I never win!'
Tsunade was wide eyed, as she filled the buckets with the money that she had won from the machine; after she filled the bucket with her winnings she tried again for the jackpot on a different machine and won again, and again.
Shizune was so happy her master Tsunade was on a roll, two buckets full of money were on the floor, and no matter how many times Tsunade played the game she just kept on winning. 'But how I never win unless…,' trailed of Tsunade as she was filled with worry.
"Tsunade-sama you're finally winning," Shizune spoke with happiness. "Finally you might be able pay off your debts"
'This can't be good, I never win especially not this many times in a row,' Tsunade thought as she won again and placed the money into her bucket. 'Something is definitely not right here.' "Shizune we are leaving!" Tsunade ordered.
"But why," Shizune asked. "You're winning, and this place as some great hot springs we could use."
"Don't argue with me damn it!" Tsunade spoke with a tone that meant no arguments, making Shizune wince when she hear the tone of voice her master use. "I simply can't win; it's not possible for me to get this lucky! We need to leave now!"
Tsunade picked up the two buckets full of her winnings, and walked towards the door in a hurry mentioning for Shizune to follow.
When the two ladies reached the front door of the casino they saw two men in front of the doors. Tsunade and Shizune recognized both of them. They were Guy and Kakashi, wearing the standard Jounin shinobi outfit and Guy in his usual green spandex suit. When the two saw them, Kakashi pointed at them and walked over at them with Guy following him with a series face that worried both women as they knew Guy and weird behavior.
"Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san it has been while hasn't it," Kakashi said emotionlessly as he looked at them. Tsunade glared at the two and said, "What the hell do you two want?"
Kakashi sent an eye smile her way and said, "Now that the way to talk to old friends is it?" After he said that his eye smile quickly faded away and he said, "Doesn't matter really, either way the Hokage-sama has ordered you and Jiraiya-sama to return Konoha and we are to make sure that you do go back."
Tsunade glared at the two and then dropped the buckets that she held and cracked her knuckles, "Why the hell would I return back to the Konoha? I vowed to never return to that place that has robbed me of everything I loved."
"Because if you don't, you and Shizune will be placed as missing Nin by order of the Hokage himself," Guy mentioned seriously said.
Shizune who was behind Tsunade gasped as Tsunade's eyes widened and then her face turned into a perfect image to represent rage as she yelled, "You're lying! You got to be… I have Sannin travel rights, and Sarutobi-sensei has let me do as I wished for the last couple of years so why would he start now?"
"I assure you Tsunade-sama that we aren't lying and have proof that you are to return to Konoha immediately by any means necessary," Guy said as he pulled out a letter in an envelope from his pouch and threw it to Tsunade who caught it effortlessly.
After Tsunade grabbed the envelope she opened it up and grabbed the letter in it and saw that it was written in her sensei's hand writing. When she finished reading she could not believe what she was reading, that her own sensei would do this to her.
Guy and Kakashi were glad that before the ninja left to track down the Sannin, the old Hokage had gave them each a scroll with his threat and his specific orders to return to Konoha, otherwise they might've gotten into an all-out brawl and destroyed several buildings in the process in an attempt to subdue and return Tsunade.
"Why Would he do this now of all times?" Asked Tsunade in a voice filled with fear over the meaning of this letter.
Kakashi looked at her with an uncaring look in his eye and said, "That is what you will find out when you get there now is it. Now if I were you I would hurry back to Konoha." Shizune then led Tsunade to their rooms to pack their bags, after they left Kakashi grabbed the two buckets filled with chips that Tsunade left behind in her stupor and made his way to the counter. "How can you think of doing something so UNYOUTHFUL my eternal rival?" Guy asked with his usual actions as he looked at his partner for the mission.
Kakashi thanked the woman at the counter as he gave her the chips while she was staring at him weirdly with guy in his "Good Guy" pose as she exchanged the chips for cash and gave it to him. When he looked back at Guy he sent him an eye smile and asked, "I'm sorry, did you something Guy?"
This caused guy to collapse to his knees and start talking about his "Rival's Hip Ways". Kakashi shook his head and made his way out of the casino to find Tsunade and Shizune and make sure that they don't try to skip town with Guy following him with anime tears falling from his eyes.
(Yu no Kuni-Local Town-Hot Spring-same time)
A tall man with dark green kabuki pants and a kabuki shirt, under it was a fishnet shirt as well. Over his shirt, he wore a red sage coat with matching yellow circles in front. He had long spiky gray hair and a noticeable wart on his nose. On his back was a large scroll and on his forehead was a forehead protector with kanji for 'oil'. He was currently in front of a hot springs not too far from the border of Konoha and was currently peeping on woman for his next book. This was the toad sage Jiraiya. Jiraiya giggled perversely as he wrote something down on a small notepad that he had always kept on hand. "Hey ladies; there is a pervert spying on you," a familiar voice yelled. Jiraiya's eyes widened, and before he could react the door to the springs burst open and about twenty woman all clad in towels turned and glared on him releasing a large amount of killing intent on him. One of the woman stepped forward and yelled, "get him girls!"
After with that said, the entire group of woman charged at him and savagely beat him to a bloody pulp. After an hour of Jiraiya getting beaten, with a person maniacally laughing can be heard in the background, Jiraiya was beaten with bruises all over his body with blood pouring out of his body at certain parts, after they left satisfied with their work he then heard a familiar voice say, "See Yugao-chan, I told you we would find the pervert here." Jiraiya got up and looked for the familiar voice and saw Anko who was grinning evilly next to Yugao. "Yes Anko-chan you were right, I should've expected this to be perfectly honest," Yugao said as she shook her head in disappointment.
"Ah well what is some of Konoha's loveliest kunoichi doing here of all places?" Jiraiya asked with a smile as he looked at the two kunoichi. Anko's grin faded away and was replaced with serious look on her face that scared Jiraiya even more when she wasn't, the reason why was because Anko was only serious If the matter called for it, and that was rare. Very Rare.
Yugao stepped forward and glared at him and said, "By order of the third Hokage you are to return to Konoha immediately Jiraiya-sama, failure to do so will have to face the consequences." Yugao glared at the man and wanted nothing more than to cut him into pieces, not only for spying on woman in the hot springs, but also because of him abandoning his responsibility as Naruto's godfather when he needed people to watch over him. Yugao wouldn't admit it openly, but she was questioning the supposed greatness of Konoha's best and wisdom of people like the Hokage and Sannin.
"What consequences? Never mind that now you're going to have to tell him to wait a bit because I still-" started Jiraiya only to be interrupted by Yugao.
"It's not a request Jiraiya-sama it's an order and if you don't return soon you will face the consequences that were made by Hokage-sama." she said as she glared at the man. Jiraiya looked at her and asked, "What consequences sensei knows that I can go as I please and I got my spy network to maintain."
"While that would be the case normally it's not anymore, see the Hokage has demanded for your immediate return and if you're not back in a couple of days you will be marked as a S–ranked missing nin," Anko said with a smirk that practically yelled 'Victory!'
Jiraiya quickly turned and looked at Anko with wide eyes and pointed at her as he said, "You're lying, you have to be, sensei knows how important my spy network is to Konoha!" when he was done talking he had expected her to confess and tell him the truth. What he did not expect was for her smirk to grow, and to pull a letter out of her kunai pouch and throw it to him. As he caught it, he quickly opened it, hoping that it was some kind of prank that they were playing on him.
When he opened it up and saw his sensei's writing he couldn't help but feel slightly afraid and was wondering what had his sensei so riled up. As he read it he couldn't help but gape in disbelief at his sensei's threat. He looked over at the two kunoichi who had looks of victory on their face and said, "What happened? What could've possibly happened to piss sensei off this much?"
Yugao looked at him and said, "I'm not saying anything Jiraiya-sama, but we weren't the only ones sent out to find you. Kakashi and Guy were also sent out to find Tsunade-sama and bring her back to the village with the same threat that you received."
"WHAT? Why? Please tell me why?"
"We won't tell you why Jiraiya-sama, but I will say this. Its judgment day for you and Tsunade-sama," Yugao said as she glared at him with Anko's smirk growing even more if that was possible. After she said that a feeling of foreboding washed over him and he had a feeling that he and Tsunade were going to get it for whatever it is that they had done.
(Konoha-3 days later)
A couple of days have passed since then and both of them were feeling something else on the matter. Jiraiya wondered what could have made his sensei mad enough to call both of them back, and go so far as to declare them both missing nin if they didn't come back by the end of the week, and was somewhat scared for what might happen. Tsunade on the other hand, was the picture perfect for anger if the scowl on her face was anything to go by, but on the inside she was resisting the urge to cry. Ever since her return back in to the leaf village; the Hokage had placed one ANBU squad on watch, making sure that she didn't drink any alcohol, and she had difficult time controlling herself as the memories of her loved ones that she lost in Konoha that were kept out of her head by drinking, had come back to haunt her, she had always known if she returned to the village that those memories would return back to her and bring her nothing but pain again.
She was angry at her sensei, but she couldn't help but wonder what happened to her sensei, she had vowed to never return to Konoha and he understood her reason, he didn't try to stop her at all. Now he was giving her a choice to either come back to the Leaf Village peacefully, or be marked down as a missing Nin. For her and Shizune's sake, she knew that she couldn't afford to be marked down as a missing Nin. She had run into Jiraiya earlier and he didn't have any idea as to why their sensei had gone this far, but both of them had a feeling of foreboding, they noticed that the people were happy with only a select few who seemed sad over something. Shizune tried to get her to relax and calm down, but it was to no avail as both worry and fear kept haunting Tsunade to no end.
Right now, the two of them were in front of the door that led to the Hokage's office; both of them looked at the other's eyes and waited for the other to open the door. Jiraiya then sighed and opened the door, having grown tired of waiting for Tsunade to open the door and decided to just get it over with. When he opened the door he saw their sensei looking at them with a stoic look that also radiated an aura of power that made the two Sannin afraid. In front of them was the true man who was named the "God of Shinobi".
"Hello Jiraiya and Tsunade; it's been a long time hasn't it," the man said coldly. Both of the Sannin looked at him as if he had grown a second head. Jiraiya was the first to get over the way his sensei was acting said, "sensei it's good to see you again, and I'm sure that Tsunade-"
Before he could finish what he was saying Tsunade interrupted him by saying, "Cut the crap Jiraiya, and let's get straight to the point sensei, what is this really about."
Hiruzen looked at her with cold eyes and said, "Indeed; I'm rather glad you asked me that Tsunade, you see I decided that it was time to clean the house so to speak."
"Well that's great sensei when are-" Jiraiya said, but he was interrupted again by Hiruzen this time who said, "I already did. MY ADVISERS are out of the way for now, and I'm dealing with the civilian council and taking away more of their power by the day."
"That's great news, sensei, but if you are already doing well then why did you need us to come back?" Jiraiya asked curiously.
"Because, both of you are next on the list," he stated evenly causing both of the Sannin's eyes to widen in disbelief. "WHAT? WHY?" Jiraiya yelled; surprise and disbelief written all over his face.
"Tell me, Tsunade, Jiraiya do you have any regrets since leaving the village?" he asked coldly and with the same hard look never leaving his face.
"Well some yeah, you know why I can't stay sensei. I have a spy network to maintain, one that has stopped many threats to this village and saved thousands from dying. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… no matter how much I would prefer they didn't," Jiraiya said explaining himself as he wondered where this talk was going.
"I don't have any regrets since I left the village, and you know why sensei," Tsunade said trying to put up a strong front, but she honestly couldn't believe what was happening, since the old man's words had stuck to her and she was trying to understand what it was that was happening.
The Third was quiet for a few minutes as his face remained s stoic as it did ever since they first entered the room and his next words were like knife being driven into both of their hearts, "not even leaving behind Naruto, your godson to fend for himself?"
Both of their eyes widened as tears started to stream down Tsunade's eyes, as she was reminded of the little boy that Kushina and Minato had and how she was named his godmother before she had left the village to keep her memories bottled up, she then glared at her sensei and yelled, "don't you dare use-" But before Tsunade could finish what she was going to say Hiruzen released his KI and narrowed his eyes at his female student. He then spoke in a voice just above a whisper, yet it seemed like he yelled to the two Sannin. "I have EVERY right to ask that of you Tsunade, unlike YOU who should demand of me to not use her name like that."
After he said that Tsunade started realizing that he was right, she had abandoned her duty as Naruto's godmother, Tsunade then started shaking her head and sobbing as tears started to go down her cheeks. "Now hold on sensei I know that we haven't-" Jiraiya said, but was interrupted by his sensei again who glared at him and said, "Oh that's the understatement of the century Jiraiya. You don't know a damn thing about him like I do, like I had encouraged you to be, hell even a letter would have been better than nothing! I have decided that you will pay the price. As of now all of your accounts and assets have also been frozen, and you will be demoted in rank as well. At the moment neither of you can leave the village."
"But, but sensei how will we support ourselves then and…..wait did you just say "would have been"?" Jiraiya asked as he looked at his sensei with wide eyes.
"By doing D ranks that all Gennin do, since both of you will be just that after you avoided all of your responsibilities especially as Naruto's godparents!" Hiruzen yelled back at him angrily. He then lowered his face and voice as he said "And yes, I did." Jiraiya was stupefied by the answer so much that he couldn't talk.
"I'm sorry," Tsunade said, once she had been able to control her tears, as she was once again in a long time, completely sober and had been like that for the last few days. With the haze gone from her mind all of the pain she normally drunk away was flooding back into her making it difficult to even bother going on.
"Then we'll make it up to the kid starting now, I swear it sensei, where is he now?" Jiraiya said after he had managed to regain control of himself as well, in an attempt to calm his sensei.
Only for it to back fire on him.
KI started to leak into the room causing the two Sannin to stop what they were doing and look at him fearfully, Hiruzen turned around and looked at both of his students and he said coldly to them, "Sorry doesn't bring back the dead Tsunade. It's not my forgiveness that you should be asking for, it's Naruto's and no amount of "making up for someone" can do them any good once they're dead!"
Both of the Sannin's eyes widened in disbelief and Jiraiya asked while trembling, "De-dead?"
"Yes Jiraiya, dead… Naruto died a couple of days ago, when his apartment destroyed and demolished with him sleeping in it a few days ago. I am going to tell the village tomorrow about who they have been abusing all of these years and the funeral will be held on the end of the week."
Tsunade's tears started to come out faster as she said, "it can't be."
A frown formed on her sensei's face as he said, "I'm afraid so, I have already cried for him several times, but I won't let him be remembered as the demon that was killed. You can grieve, but I expect to see both of you at the funeral, even if I have to order the ANBU commander himself to drag both of you there."
After he said that ANBU entered the room and led them to where they would be staying.
(Konoha-Tsunade-15 minutes Later)
Tsunade was currently in an apartment that was similar to the one that Naruto had. She looked at the room and saw that the plumbing seemed to just be barely working and the paint on the walls was chipped and cracking as well. When she first saw the room she thought, 'did Naruto have to live like this?' when she asked one of the ANBU guards that escorted her to the apartment she was surprised when one of the ANBU told her that Naruto lived in something even worse than this. Shizune was given a good apartment with plenty of food with a weekly income, and was told by the old Hokage that she couldn't help Tsunade until he allowed it, he had also arranged for her to meet Inoichi to help her get over her the past.
As Tsunade sat there, the memories of all those that she lost kept coming into her head. So far she had lost her fiancé and brother on a fool's quest of becoming Hokage. If that wasn't enough, she was stupid enough to go drink and gamble so much of her family's fortune disgracing her heritage and making her clan's name a joke among the elemental nations. It was so bad, that people even began calling her the "legendary sucker" making casinos begin to rub their hands and laugh in glee when they learned she was coming.
Tsunade missed out on a chance to raise a child that she could've considered her grandson or even her on son, but because she was so lost in her drunken state that she refused to take responsibility for the young boy that she promised Kushina to take care of if anything had ever happened to her or Minato. If only she kept her promise, then maybe some of her own pain could have been healed and the pain that Naruto went through could have been prevented. If only she was there for Naruto, then he wouldn't have been cheated out of being a shinobi and would have lived a true happy life, he would have had her clan's name backing him as well as his own birth right. If only Tsunade kept her promise to Kushina then Naruto would never have had to experience so much pain before he died. He would've had a real chance at living and not that miserable life that was his own.
"This is what I deserve." Tsunade said miserably as she looked around her and then brought her hands to her face and began to cry for the rest of the night.
(Konoha-Jiraiya-at the same time)
Jiraiya sat in an apartment similar to Tsunade's with a rare expression of seriousness as he thought about what he had done. True he couldn't watch Naruto constantly due to his spy network, but that didn't mean that he couldn't have visited him every once in a while just to say hi or maybe have a chat with him for a bit. He knew that Naruto's life was going to be bad, he had told Minato that from the start before he sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto and had begged his student to let him do it, but his stupid apprentice just wouldn't listen, and thought Naruto would be the symbol of hope for everyone of a brighter tomorrow.
All it did was make his godson into a target for their hatred and a reminder of a dark day, a horrible one where so many people had died.
It was during his time away from his sensei after the confrontation with him and Tsunade over what they did to Naruto, did Jiraiya realize how much of a failure he had become. How much he should have done for Naruto, but didn't do it, and now couldn't because the boy was dead. He had failed them. He had failed the people that were closest to him and those that were the closest thing that he would ever had to a family. Minato the son he never had, Kushina the daughter he never had, and Naruto the grandson that he had failed. He had failed all three of them in less than a day, as he thought, 'I'm sorry… I'm sorry I failed all of you.'
Jiraiya was brought out of his musings when he heard two 'poofs' and saw smoke appear in front of him. When the smoke cleared he saw two toads wearing cloaks in front of him, one had green skin and white hair, and was wearing a lighter colored cloak, while the other one had whitish skin with purple and was wearing a black cloak. They were the Fukasaku and Shima the two sage toads of Mount Myoboku. Jiraiya blinked a few times to see if his eyes were deceiving him and then said, "Ma, Pa, what are you doing here," Jiraiya asked.
Shima looked at Jiraiya and said quickly, "Jiraiya-chan it's good to see you, but we came to tell that something has happened." Jiraiya's eyes widened and he asked quickly, "what happened Ma that has you two so riled up?"
Fukasaku then stepped forward and said, "Jiraiya-chan it's about the great prophecy, it has changed!"
Jiraiya gasped in surprise as Fukasaku then told him of what happened to the great prophecy. After they told him of what happened to the prophecy, they then left Jiraiya alone to collect his thoughts as they kept running back to what they said to him. He then jumped up and ran as fast as he could to the Hokage tower to let him know of what happened.
(Konoha-Konoha cemetery-3 days later)
A few days had passed since Jiraiya had told Hiruzen about the change in the prophecy, and he and Tsunade were officially demoted to Gennin. Right now a bunch of people were gathered in front of a memorial wearing black. Surprisingly there were a lot of civilians there, though they weren't cheering like they originally did when they heard that he had died. Many of them were crying and felt a deep regret for what they had done to him, at first they couldn't believe that he was the son of the man that saved them and all of the monstrous things that they have done to him. Many people had committed suicide when the Hokage had told them about who Naruto's parents were. The Forth Hokage simply asked for the child to be seen as a hero. And they spat on his wish and claimed that they knew what he wanted, when he had already made it known.
Everyone that had cared about Naruto and knew that he wasn't the beast was there, which included the Ichiraku's, Hiruzen, Anko, Yugao, Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Mikoto who was carrying Sasuke in her hands, and Izumi as well as most of the clan heads and their own clans. While Jiraiya and Tsunade felt guilty and sad about Naruto's death. Their sadness was nothing compared to Izumi's as well as Ayame's since all three were best friends and had a close relationship. Mikoto sometimes would have to force her to eat and go outside and get some fresh air. Mikoto noticed that the way Izumi was acting was similar to a woman who just lost her husband in a war, and she wished her daughter would not fall for the despair that she was feeling, and while Ayami was feeling the same she had been able to accept the truth of what had happened but that didn't mean that she was any easier to deal with in Teuchi's mind as he had to sometimes call upon Mikoto's to help.
Near the end of the funeral Izumi and Ayame were standing next to each other while staring at the photo of their late friend. Izumi then clenched her hand into a fist as a look of determination came across her face and thought, 'Naruto you talked about being Hokage, so you can be acknowledged and to become a hero to the village. You ignored people's hatred towards you and strived to protect them as well as the village. I promise you Naruto that I will protect this village with my life if I had to in your place and I promise I'll never forget you no matter what!'. Had people looked into her eyes at that moment they would've saw that her eyes were no longer the same, her eyes were now red with a single black tomoe in each of them with a Will of Fire that could never be extinguished.
(Konoha-Hokage office-2 years later)
Hiruzen was in his office working on a large stack of paperwork, but unlike before the paper work that he was dealing with now actually mattered. The paperwork that he was working on now would deal with the academy and other important matters that dealt with Konoha's military actions. Some of the papers that he was working on now would reduce the power and influence that the civilian council had. While they would still have a voice their power was now severely limited since they could no longer have a voice in military matters and only vote on matters that concerned the village's economy.
The reason that there was a civilian council in a shinobi village was because one of his sensei's Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage of Konoha had felt that the civilians didn't have a voice in the village and thus allowed civilians a place on the council.
When he announced the plan to the council, he noticed that he had gained looks of approval from the Shinobi Council and surprisingly enough Danzo of all people. Danzo had been enraged when he heard that Naruto had died, not out of pity for the boy, but for the fact that they had lost the Kyuubi's power. When he had announced that Naruto was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki Danzo immediately called for him to become the boy's 'guardian' so that he could train him to be a mindless weapon for Konoha. Danzo was also not surprised when he had announced Naruto's heritage which raised warning flags in his mind till he concluded that he (Danzo) had already known of Naruto's status which explained his strong interest in Naruto and his want to train Naruto as with his Uzumaki genes, Hokage blood and jinchuuriki status he could have become one of the strongest ninja in the world.
Hiruzen had immediately denied, but it was put to a vote that would decide Naruto's fate for the future. The shinobi council had outvoted the civilian council, and if it wasn't for them then Naruto would've ended up in Danzo's hands, since the only thing that he really enforced was the S-rank law that he had made to hide Naruto status from him and the younger generation.
Looking back on the old curriculum plan that was in place before Naruto had died, made him sick to his stomach as he looked at the plan and was surprised that even more people hadn't died because of it.
The old curriculum plan dealt with the basics and JUST the basics. While it would be enough to deal with low missions like D-ranks, but there was still a good chance that they could die on C-ranks. The reason for the old curriculum plan was because of the Kyuubi attack eight years ago had killed a good number of their shinobi, crippling their forces greatly in the process. The civilian council had thought that it would be a good way to quickly rebuild their forces.
He had also added Tsunade's medical program into the academy, thus allowing some people to become medics and save their comrades from dying while out in the field. The reason why that it wasn't put into place years ago was because the civilian council had denied it and decided that it would be best to conserve money
The new curriculum plan would not only reduce the death rate of the Gennin that went out on their first mission outside the village, but it would also insure stronger generations of shinobi. The plan now allowed student to learn Kenjutsu; with the Gennin exams now consisting of Taijustu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Shurikenjutsu as well as Iryo Ninjutsu and kenjutsu with each student specializing in their fields with room made for shinobi with specific abilities. They would also be required to learn at least two C-rank or higher Jutsu in order to graduate from the academy.
The people in the shinobi program would learn nothing but the truth about what it meant to be a shinobi and they wouldn't talk about the glory that one would receive or the fame that they would get. No, they would learn in details about what it meant to be a shinobi and their life styles and nothing less.
They would also be required to go on a C-rank mission that was supervised by several Jonin and Chunin to take a life, so that they wouldn't freeze out in the field on their first kill. It was a traumatizing event for people that killed for the first time and if they were out in the field they couldn't afford to have them freeze up since it would cost them their life in the end.
Looking back at the old casualty rates he couldn't help but sigh, as he blamed himself for their deaths. As he thought about their deaths and looked at the one that he wanted to use now, he couldn't help but wish that he had implanted it sooner.
He wasn't just implanting the new system to build up their forces, but also to prepare the next generation for what might appear in the future. He had received reports months ago that they encountered creatures that could only be described as demons. He had ordered his troops to avoid contact with the creatures, and not to provoke so as to maintain their lives and safety. He had a feeling that they were only the beginning of what's to come in the future.
The only drawback for the new curriculum was that now it would take an extra year longer for people to graduate the academy since the main graduation age now would be fourteen, but they would have stronger shinobi because of it and would now follow other the other shinobi villages example by having them graduate at a later age. It would have been more than one year, had he not removed some worthless lessons that were taught in the academy like history and theory lessons.
Tsunade and Jiraiya were Chunins at the moment since they ran out on missions almost all the time. He wasn't surprised that they were already Chunin considering the fact that they had years of experience under their belts.
Tsunade had to go to Inoichi for weekly sessions of therapy to help her deal with her past and also to deal with her Hemophobia (fear of blood). The reason that she had developed her fear of blood was because of her fiancé's death when she tried to heal him, and also from all the battles that she had witnessed during the Second Shinobi World War. Her fear had stunted her abilities to heal others, because if she needed to operate on someone she would merely watch from behind and let her apprentice Shizune do it while she oversaw the operation. She still had some issues, but it wasn't as serious as it was before the therapy.
He also thought about what happened to the prophecy that Jiraiya had told him. The old one had been shattered right after Naruto's death. Did that mean that Naruto was the child of Prophecy for the old one?
As images of Naruto appeared in his head so did images of Minato and Kushina. However as thought of Naruto his mind took to another child who had changed. The little girl that was always with Naruto (Izumi), had changed after his funeral. While before she could have been described as calm but happy, now she could only be described as stoic; a true ninja quality. She had come to him while he was first making the new curriculum, and stated that she wished to become a ninja and test the new program for him to protect the village. He had agreed half-heartedly as he thought she would give up; however the results had surprised him; it had surprised him very much. While she was known as being a prodigy and one of the smartest to emerge from her clan, to have finished the entire schedule in two years instead of the eight years estimate had made her well known in the village, and a prodigy that can be compared to the likes of the fourth Hokage himself or Kakashi Hatake who had been known to be the prodigy of the century; only to be outdone by a little girl. She had been promoted to Gennin on that day to the displeasure of her mother who wanted her to enjoy her childhood. However she had chosen her path and no amount of pleading from her mother could change her mind so he assigned her as an apprentice to her mother and uncle who was known as "Shunshin no Shusui" an A rank ANBU captain. As he was thinking about this subject his mind wandered back to the source of both his and the girl's determination…Naruto.
As the memory of Naruto started to surface in his mind, he then stood up and left his office through the window. He needed to visit the graves of people that he had failed in life, and hoped that they found peace in the afterlife.
(Konoha-Uchiha district-same time)
In the Uchiha Compound, we can find Izumi who was wearing a black shirt and white shorts as she practiced her Kenjutsu against a wooden dummy. Shisui was leaning against a tree as he watched her strike the dummy with her ninja-to. She asked him to increase her training regimen so that she can advance in rank after he helped her learn how to properly use the Sharingan and master it.
He had taught her how to use the Sharingan, and Mikoto had been training her hard as well since she couldn't convince her to take her time to become a ninja, she had decided to make sure she can fight anything that she could face in the world. They had also taught her to not always rely on her bloodline to help her and to only use it when she truly needed it right now since her reserves still needed to grow.
As soon as Izumi finished her sword kata, she started to breathe heavily and leaned on her sword to rest; Shisui walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Izumi-chan I think it's time that you took a break."
"I can't stop Shisui-ojisan. I need to become stronger if I'm going to protect this village. I promised Naruto that I would do it for him," Izumi said, while trying to catch her breath.
"While it's true that you have to be strong in order to protect the village, what good will you do if we are attacked while you're training and because of that you are unable to defend yourself or the village, do you think Naruto would be happy if you died because of something like that?" asked Shisui.
Izumi stared into her uncle's eyes, and after a few seconds nodded and conceded and sheathed her sword as she headed back to the house to rest, while Shisui stared at her back.
He was proud of his niece for the effort that she was showing to get stronger and protect the village and he knew she was too strong to fall to the "Uchiha's curse of Hatred" and he knew that she would one day accomplish many things.
'And it's all thanks to you Naruto wherever you are' thought Shisui as he didn't believe that Naruto had died that easily. Someone who could prank ANBU operatives and escape simply wouldn't die from something like his building being destroyed, however since he had no proof he had not said anything and he had actually liked the boy so he wished him happiness wherever he was and whatever he was doing.
DONE!
So what do you think? I hope it met your expectations.
I have yet to be approached about my Killer Bee. Please people chapter 4 depends on Killer Bee and in my story, we won't be seeing him again till the end so please have some mercy on him. If no one approaches me, I'll have to write Killer Bee with little-to-no rhymes which will ruin him in my opinion.
The holiday that I mentioned won't be until the 15th. So by the end of that week you will defiantly be seeing chapter 4 and maybe 5.
That's all I have to say...bye till next time...