ARC 2: The Leaf (episodes 13 - 21)
EPISODE 13: Death and The Leaf
When Jim opened his eyes, he was feeling much worse than the day when he awakened at the medical cabin, after the battle versus Jounen. He was on the same bed of branches where he saw himself and Maida in the visions.
Maida's healing abilities and her mangekyou sharingan had reverted the last things that happened to him. His eye was not crushed and his life was intact, as if Zet's branches had never grabbed him. In spite of that, he was in a bad condition because the impact of opening half of the body's chakra gates and the aftermath of the battle itself were still fresh on him.
He extended his right arm to the side and he immediately felt someone else's hand. He didn't have to see her to realize that it was the hand of the woman he had been with the last months. It was Maida, the one who made him feel the power of love once again.
The awareness of her death struck him like an ice blade that was cold and lifeless, just like her hand. The impact of this realization was even worse than the battle's aftermath.
His eyes began to get wet and he cried, but it was not because of his physical pain. He had lifted himself from the branches and saw Maida beside him. Her eyes were closed and she had not suffered as much physical harm as him, but she was never going to be with him again. The unique and great love that he had found was now gone. An emotional loss of this magnitude was hard enough to make anyone cry—even a brave ninja like him. Despite all his training and his previous hardships at the Clan of the Stone, he was human and had real feelings for her.
Unfortunately for him, seeing Maida was just the beginning. He began to grasp what happened in the village when he looked around and saw the destruction everywhere. He also saw familiar faces, like Chief Barton, on the ground, all over the place. It didn't seem like anyone at the plaza was alive.
"Can anyone hear me!? Is anyone nearby!? I need your help!"
He yelled from the top of his lungs, but no one answered. He tried to stand while also lifting Maida with him, but she was way too heavy for his current condition. He didn't have the strength to carry her body's weight and himself in that state. Nonetheless, he had to help any other survivors and he also needed some way to cure himself. Although he was alive, he wasn't fully healed from his previous injuries.
Somehow, he knew that no one was going to come. He could feel it. It was as if he had already seen it was going to be that way. This new feeling seemed a little strange to him. However, it also reminded him of his visions before; it felt very similar. It was as if something in him had changed. It wasn't just a mere premonition. He really felt as if he could "feel and see" that everyone was dead, even before he had seen it in person. He ignored the new feeling, but clearly, something had changed in him…
"Can anyone hear me!?"
He yelled again, even though he already knew the answer.
Nonetheless, he wanted to believe that there were survivors and he knew that he was going to need someone from a healing squad to help, since he had no skills or training as a medical ninja. He looked around and there was only one place where his intuition told him that he could find some help. It was at the village's south exit nearby, which led straight to The Leaf.
It was a long stretch though. The Leaf was miles away and even if the ninjas there would intersect him one mile before reaching Konoha—The Leaf's main and largest village—he still had to walk miles to reach them. This was going to be an odyssey in his condition, but every minute was critical to any survivor at his small village. Therefore, he didn't waste any time.
With pain in his heart, he had to leave Maida's body behind on the bed of branches. This was the only way to save the others. He grabbed one of the large branches, which was broken, and used it as support. He had to get close to The Leaf as soon as possible. He was sure that they would help them; and they had to have many skilled medical ninjas.
He didn't notice any difference in his right eye, but having one of Maida's sharingans was influencing his way of thinking already. He was already acting based on what it could perceive. The truth is that he would have never left the village that day without her eye's vision. However, it allowed him to see that going towards The Leaf was the best course of action to take next.
He was just one-sixth of a mile beyond the south exit, and he already felt that there was no way he was going to make it for another three miles. His struggle was the equivalent of having to walk three miles either using just one leg or carrying sixty pounds along the way. He knew he couldn't do it, but he kept going anyways. If there were survivors at the village, he and The Leaf were their only hope for help...
Along the way, he thought about the people from the village and the moments that he had shared with them. Many people, including Carl, Kenn, and the chief, came to him in the form of memories. That helped him to go much further, until he had no other choice than to stop.
Then, a light of hope knocked on his door. As he looked at the path towards The Leaf, he saw a large group of men were coming his way. They were still about half a mile away, but judging from their clothing, it was likely that they were an Anbu squad of ninjas from The Leaf.
Jim became desperate at that moment. Every minute was crucial to save the survivors. He needed to reach them fast!
"Hey! Hey! I need your help!"
He could barely yell and was starting to feel dizzy, as if he was going to lose consciousness again. He began to walk towards them again and increased his pace. He had to ensure he could lead them to the village before anything happened to him.
When he was getting closer to them, the branch he had been using got stuck and he fell on the ground. He was feeling worse, but the group was very close to him already, and he kept moving towards them.
Suddenly, two ninjas with masks fell from the trees nearby and both stopped him. One of them put his foot on him and the other pointed his sword at him. They had moved really fast. The two were wearing fox-looking masks, body armors, and headbands with The Leaf's symbol on them. Clearly, they were Anbu agents from The Leaf.
"My village is two miles away… we suffered a major attack. The other survivors need your help, please go there and help them! Leave me and go!"
Jim was at his limit and, based on his condition, it was obvious that he needed medical attention. However, the Anbu team had other priorities, which included neutralizing any close threats. In their eyes, even Jim had potential to be a trap or the start of one.
They began to tie his hands when the large group arrived, and the old man at the center of the group stopped them:
"Leave him like that, don't tie him, and also, heal him now. We need a medical ninja with him now!" ordered the old man.
"But, lord Hokage this man may…"
The Third Hokage interrupted the Anbu member in a way that made it clear it was an order, even though he didn't raise his voice at all:
"Do it now."
They untied Jim and he started to move with his hands and feet on the ground, getting closer and closer to the man at the center. When he was three meters away from the Hokage, all he Anbu members unsheathed their weapons. The Third raised his hand to stop his Anbu guards.
"What happened to you?" asked the Hokage of The Leaf. And Jim answered:
"Our small village was destroyed by powerful rogue ninjas… please save the ones that survived… hurry… there is no time…"
It was clear that the survivor had been involved in a major battle. He looked like a total mess and was hurt. His fatigued voice and the way he looked showed that something truly serious, like what he described, had happened to him.
Jim couldn't distinguish the Hokage's face clearly, but he could see his Kage vest and the large red hat, which were proof of his identity. However, the Hokage and everybody else saw Jim's face clearly. The Anbus reacted instantaneously:
Two guards jumped at the sides of the Hokage, two others pushed Jim's face to the ground, one grabbed his hands, and all the others were ready to attack either with their weapons or their jutsus.
"He has a red sharingan eye!"
"Guard the Hokage!"
The Anbu squad was concerned with what they saw, but the leader of The Leaf seemed extremely calm and confident. He looked as if he knew that nothing was going to happen—at least, not from the wounded ninja they had found.
He talked slowly, but firmly:
"You guys overdo it with your guarding duty sometimes. I am old, but I can still take care of myself. Didn't any of you recognize that this is one of the members of our new ally clan? Our alliance has not been sealed on the document, but their small village is part of The Leaf already, so he and his friends are part of us. They have been since my last talk with their chief. Now, half of you will go help the survivors at their village and the others will come with me."
The Third Hokage didn't seem concerned or scared about the sharingan at all.
Then, the old man got closer to Jim and whispered:
"Do not worry, we will help them."
The Hokage's voice was reassuring and those words were what Jim needed. After he heard them, he allowed himself to let go. He passed out slowly, knowing that the help that they needed was already on its way.
"Sir, allow me to stay nearby in case anything happens," said one of the guards.
The Hokage smiled.
"Sure, you can come with me if that makes you feel better."
Considering the situation, the Hokage was too calm, but he had very good reasons for it—reasons that no one but him knew about at that moment…
"What should we do with him?" asked two of the other ninja guards.
"Bring him with us to The Leaf. He needs special attention from our medical experts to recover quickly. Unfortunately, he may be the only survivor from our new ally village, so make sure that you treat him well."
Another group from The Leaf had already reached the small village before Jim met this Anbu squad, but the Hokage didn't want to give him the bad news in his condition.
Was the old man hiding something? How could he know with such certainty that Jim Namikaze would be the only survivor?
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had other plans for Jim Namikaze.
That much was already clear from the look on his eyes…
NEXT- Episode 14: The Hokage's Test