This is mainly 'filler'…on with it!
Chapter twentieth-one
It was a light tap on the forehead that woke Naruto Senju up. The tap was insistent, and repeated throughout a couple of minutes. Slowly, the man opened one of his eyes, to look at the tiny chameleon that had managed the incredible feat of climbing the stairs, avoid to be squashed by random people passing by, open a door and enter the room to now tap against the Hokage's forehead.
It was to be said, chameleons were headstrong and, once set on something, didn't stop until they actually managed the feat.
With a small groan, Naruto manage to mutter something incomprehensible that, however, was caught by the chameleon, which relayed his own message with a set of rasps and clicks of the tongue. A second later, the Godaime Hokage was up, albeit a bit wobbling on his legs, and heading downstairs. The small chameleon then dispersed in a puff of smoke, since he had done his job.
In the kitchen, an unknown female with white eyes was actually preparing him breakfast, which, for once, was a nice change.
"Naruto-sama," the woman, belonging once to the Hyuga clan, had the usual silky smooth skin, the light brown hair in tresses, and was sporting a bare forehead like it was something to take pride on, "I hope I didn't wake you up."
"No…hum…"
"My name is Junko, Naruto-sama," the Senju woman replied, "I took the charge of preparing you breakfast, I shouldn't have?" Now, the question, if asked with a normal tone, would have earned the normal answer of there being no need to bother. The point was that said woman had asked it in the same pleading tone of a kid who wants a candy, meaning that she was probably on the verge of tears, and Naruto had always been weak against crying females.
"It's…it's fine," the clan head replied, sitting down numbly, and letting out a deep big sigh of relief.
His daughters were fine. He should have checked with the chameleons before, but he hadn't had any free time. Those two…he just hoped they both had slept somewhere warm. Were there any beds actually, at the chameleon's place? Still, they were safe, and that was more than enough to force him to sit down, before he simply fell on the ground, the tension and the dread on his shoulders already lowering.
"Please enjoy," the words were filled with hope, and at the same a mixture of dread, like someone who gets tested and is afraid of the results.
"It's good," the Senju head replied, eating with calm, "you're a good cook, Junko-san."
"Please Naruto-sama, only Junko will do…" the woman was actually trembling, reason enough for Naruto to raise an eyebrow in perplexity.
"Is…is everything alright, Junko?"
"I…I'm sorry if…" but another loud sigh and a roll of Naruto's eyes made the woman quiet down.
"Calm down Junko, take a deep breath, and tell me what's wrong. I don't bite, I don't hit, and I am not a prick…nor do I have a stick up my ass, so ask, if you don't tell me what's wrong I can't do anything about it," with that, the woman stood still for a moment, just like a deer who is about to run off, only, instead of running away, she broke down in quiet sobs.
"Hey…what's wrong?" Naruto quietly stood up, moving closer to the, now crying, woman.
"It's…just…It's too much…you're too kind to be real. You went against the clan to free us, and…what if this is a dream? I mean…I'd…" with another quiet sigh, the Senju head did the only thing he had been trained to do when he had a crying female in front of him. He gently ruffled the hair of said female. Even if the female was probably one or two years older than him, he still did it.
"Hush…it's alright. Next time, pinch your cheek if you still have doubts, okay?" the woman nodded, numbly, and with a light blush on her face. After all, she was being… petted, on the head.
"Good, thank you for the meal, but don't wait for me at lunch: I'll probably work till late tonight too, so there's no need to wait for me for dinner either," as Naruto pointed that out, and moved to leave, Junko stood there mumbling and looking around with a mixture of embarrassment and light shock on her face.
Outside, in the garden, the sun barely filtered through a couple of looming by clouds. Not as dark as the day before, but still…with a deep sigh, he turned to look at the loud cheers and laughter that came from the right side of the compound. A group of eight and nine year old kids were playing with a ball, happily passing it to one another.
It was a bit sad that the younger one still couldn't go outside the houses, but it was to avoid accidents with the main family. He didn't trust the Hyugas not to use the caged bird on three years old, just as a mean of revenge. Thus, until the kids grew to the point where they could safely tuck their own eyes out, to have the seal removed, they had to stay indoors.
"Sensei!" Neji, in his Senju outfit, a dark blue blouse with long sleeves, that had the symbol of the clan embroidered with a golden colored string on the chest, and a pair of matching dark blue trousers, quickly reached for his teacher. Naruto was wearing his normal attire, consisting of his blue metal plated armor, with a white neck fur line, and this time, he actually had his Hokage hat on, with the Hokage's robes opened on the front, so that one could see he actually wore also his armor.
"I think I'm never going to get used to this," the Senju head replied, pointing at the hat, "Still, Neji, was it your idea to send Junko-san to cook me breakfast?"
"Well…I thought you'd be sleeping till noon, which is when the funerals are…" the voice trailed over, before returning a bit more forcefully cheerful, "still, sensei, if Junko-san wasn't…"
"It's fine, Neji, it's fine," Naruto dismissed the issue, using his right hand to reinforce the argument of letting it drop, "anyway, I've got to summon back Karin and Yumi, turns out my oldest daughter's too smart for her own good: she managed a reverse summoning circle…I'll have to up her Fuinjutsu lessons, I suppose…" With a quick set of hand signs later, Naruto slammed his right hand on the ground, pouring enough chakra to bring forth a more decently sized chameleon, Ryuu. The summon took a moment to arrive, probably to load up the 'passengers' and, when it did, the chameleon with the rock-like back grinned, showing his sharp set of teeth.
"Oh boy, I've got to tell the others!" the chameleon spoke with his normal guttural tone, "We've got a Hokage as a summoner, this is precious!"
"Yeah Ryuu…you wouldn't mind spitting out my daughters, would you?" there was a hint of anxiety, in Naruto's voice, as the chameleon rolled his eyes, before proceeding to do so.
Out of the beast's mouth came, covered in saliva, the two. Karin was holding Yumi tightly, and was mixing disgust for the saliva with shivering for the fright, since being eaten wasn't something easy to…digest. She shivered again at the horrible pun her mind had come up with, but it all stopped, when she looked to her side, where Naruto stood, in his Hokage's robes.
She eyed him with tears in her eyes, before stumbling up to push herself against his chest, crying, as Yumi instead was quickly moved back to her usual position, in Naruto's arm. Seeing the touching scene, and the probable privacy requirement, both Neji and Ryuu left the family alone to catch up.
Karin was nuzzling herself against her father's robes; firstly, because she had to remove the saliva of the chameleon, and secondly, because the waves of his aura were now, once more, kind and warm. There was a bright sunset in the ocean that was Naruto's aura, and with a light mental giggle, she basked in it.
Yumi was simply hugged and hugged back, finally seeing her father again, and not wanting him to disappear again, thus the reason she was holding him tightly.
"Otou-san…I was so scared! Why didn't you come to save us!? There's something I need to tell you, it concerns Tsu…" with a tired sigh, Naruto gave a light kiss on Karin's forehead, making the girl stutter, blush, and stop talking.
"Aw…" Yumi was about to retort the unfairness, when she received one too, making the three year old start giggling.
"I know, I know…I'm sorry…I was planning on coming during the exams…but…it all went to hell after that," Naruto muttered, "Listen, I have a lot of places to be today, I'm the new Hokage, after all," he added, with a small smile, "look for Neji and have him answer all your questions, and let him fill you in on what has happened, okay?"
"Otou-san…can't we come with you?" Karin hesitantly asked, her eyes starting to water, her lips to tremble, and a light sob coming out from her face.
"You know I was the one to invent the puppy-eye jutsu, Karin-chan," Naruto whispered back, with a light grin, "Be good, and don't be surprised, our family just grew a lot recently," he added, before letting Yumi on the ground, where the three year old simply looked up, keeping her tiny arms raised because she wanted to be held again.
"I have to be in a lot of places today, so I'm sorry I won't be around much…but hey, if you miss me, you can always go to the Hokage's tower, my door is open," with a light wink of his right eye, Naruto moved to leave.
Karin looked at her father's back leaving, and couldn't help but keep a sad frown on her face.
"Kaa-san," Yumi muttered, "is Otou-san coming back soon?"
"Yes, Yumi-chan, he is," Karin replied, with a bright smile, before holding the hand of the three year old, and walking around, looking for Neji. Just how many things had changed, while the two had been in captivity?
*Hokage's office*
Naruto looked at the vast amount of paperwork that stood, menacingly, on his desk. His eyes turned to the two corners of the room, where the two Anbus, assigned to guard him, where standing in silence.
"I suppose the only thing that wouldn't get destroyed, in an apocalypse, would be the Hokage's tower and the paperwork," the Senju muttered, before moving to the desk, and sitting down on the chair.
At least it was comfortable. Still, the thought of comfort was second, to the amount of papers that had to be looked at, signed, controlled, re-looked, edited, changed, cut, or burnt. Then there was the casualty list that was ever growing, as more and more people were found beneath the rubble, and more missing in action revealed themselves to be killed in action.
The hospital, especially, had brought many under together with it.
"Gekko Hayate, missing…wait, Anko was in the hospital too, right?" going through the list, his heart sunk for a brief moment, at the name under the 'S'.
"Senju Anko…missing," he clenched the paper slip calmly, it couldn't be, right? The woman was stronger than that. He knew he shouldn't be worrying about her, not any longer, but still…
"Hokage-sama, you have a visitor," the secretary spoke quietly from the other side of the door, and as Naruto ordered for a brief moment the papers, he then replied with a calm tone.
"Let him in."
The next moment, Asuma Sarutobi entered the office, his face grim. The man looked at Naruto for a moment, before hesitantly starting to talk.
"Hokage-sama…a problem came up while we were looking at the casualties, and at the missing in action," the Senju merely nodded, letting the man continue, "it wouldn't have been seen for a long time, but we checked just to be sure…someone kidnapped some kids from the orphanage, and from various civilians, and brought them outside of the village during the battle."
"Kidnappers? Are we sure they aren't casualties of war, or simply beneath the rubble?" Naruto retorted.
"At first glance, it would appear so, but…Konohamaru, my nephew, was with his two friends from the academy, and he was seen entering one of the refuges…but he didn't come out."
"Wait…are you implying someone knew where the refuges where, managed to enter them, and kidnap children, without anyone else knowing? You realize that's impossible," the Senju rebutted, only for Asuma to pass a hand through his hair.
"It seems so, but it's all there is. There are missing children, and some can't be excused as casualties of war or still under the rubble."
"Look, Asuma-san," Naruto spoke quietly, "first let's clean the rubble out of Konoha, then, if we don't find anyone among the living and the dead, we can start worrying about kidnapping. Konohamaru might have gone outside once more to help: he was a kid, right? Kids do stupid stuff like that, and probably he got caught up in a falling building, or was wounded and is in the temporary hospital tent."
"I understand, Hokage-sama, I'm sorry I took your time," as Asuma slightly bowed to leave, Naruto spoke once more.
"Chouji was a good shinobi, but, more importantly, a good boy," the words came out softly, kindly, even, "however, with the upcoming times, I'll have to fill in the squads…can I rest assured you'll do what you can to make the new team work?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama," and with that, the Sarutobi was dismissed.
Naruto's paperwork troubles ended after piling up the papers he intended on signing and then using his Suiton mastery to let the ink seep through the pages, thus leaving the signatures on the entire pile.
"Hokage-sama, it's time to assign the missions," the voice came from his secretary, whoever the woman was: he'd have to remember her name, eventually. With a heartfelt sigh, he stood up, and left the office, silently followed by his two guards. The mission assignment desk stood there in disarray, chaos was the most apt term to describe it. Many chuunins were rummaging through the papers, trying to come up with missions that could safely be given out even in the common state of chaos.
"Hokage-sama, we are…in a bit of a predicament," Iruka Umino was the Chuunin who spoke first, the man had been his elder chuunin-sensei during his time at the academy as a teacher, and, prior to that, his examiner.
"I hope the missions have been divided by rank," the Senju spoke quietly, moving to the pile of the B and A ranks.
"Summon the Anbus that are free, they'll enjoy doing B-rank assassinations, I suspect," he muttered to the thin air, as one of his guards disappeared, he then added to the chuunins, "men, all D-ranks around Konoha are suppressed until we clean the rubble, send the Genin teams that have completed at least twenty D-ranks on C-ranks one, possibly escort missions. S-ranks are suppressed for the following month, we need to get back in strength, but losing even one of our shinobis is unacceptable, until we recoup."
"Sir, what about the A-ranks?" a chuunin asked.
"Have the free Jounins complete those solos, send messages to all people on leave, on rest, or who simply weren't here to come back and take missions. I'd stay, but unluckily I have little time on my hands, for the following days, so follow the guidelines," with that, Naruto turned to leave, among a chorus of 'Hai, Hokage-sama!'
A man could grow to like such discipline. That man was, indeed, growing to like it. As Naruto walked outside, deftly avoiding the secretary on guard, his own bodyguard said nothing, appearing at his side and removing his Anbu mask.
Said guard, with silver hair, took out a copy of Icha-Icha, and began carefully reading it, as the two walked through the streets.
"So…you've made it," Kakashi pointed out, letting another page flip, "How does it feel?"
"To be Hokage? Stressful," Naruto retorted, waving gently at a couple of people, who looked at him with awe, and a good mixture of respect, considering the polite bows, "but it has its quirks."
"Are Karin-chan and Yumi-chan alright?" the silver haired Jounin asked.
"Indeed they are," Naruto replied, "I found out only this morning, after spending the entire yesterday at praying they were fine," he added.
"Strange way of praying, killing people," Kakashi pointed out.
"There's a cult that does such a thing, not that I'm interested, but hey…I had to occupy my mind," the Senju replied, as, suddenly, the boy stopped.
He was eying the remains of the Ichiraku ramen stall. Not only was it in rubble, but a note had been left on a wooden pole, with a clearly feminine handwriting.
'Closed for mourning'
"Hello, Naruto-kun, what would you like to order?"
"Well, today's the day my favorite customer came back to my stall…remember kid: I have only one law, I never kick out any customer. No matter who he is."
Wars were never easy. Yet, for once…he wouldn't have minded spilling the blood of an entire nation. The hatred he was feeling in that precise moment was boggling. It was like a real weight, pushing against his head, his shoulders, menacing to come out by cracking, destroying, incinerating. They had no right to take him away. The old man had always been kind. They had no right to do this to him. They had no right, none at all.
They would pay, down to the last man, to the last woman, to the last child. By the time his hands would reach against the Tsuchikage's neck, there would be no longer an Iwa, no longer a land of Earth.
And when they'd write about what brought forth such a display of cruelty, the answer would be because on that day, they decided to invade, they killed the wrong man.
"Naruto," Kakashi spoke slightly alarmed, seeing how the man was actually making cracks appear on the ground he was walking on, "calm down…you're scaring the people around us."
A quick sucking in of air and Naruto shook his head, slowly letting it all go. He had time. He had to first help Konoha. Yes, blood could wait. First came rebuilding. Turning around with a slightly bright, and fake, smile, he nodded, before continuing his walk.
The hospital tents came into view, and with them, the slightly more cleaned area of Konoha. The rubbles had been removed largely, and what little remained didn't make it difficult for people to navigate. It was after taking a deep breath, that Naruto opened the flaps of the tent and walked inside. Quickly, his eyes scanned the carnage. The most critical hours had been those of last night, but today was going to be just as bad, if not worse.
After the first few days, one generally recovered, slipped into a coma, or died. Those were the three outcomes in any given hospital. The better equipped the hospital was, the better it turned out to be. It was there, eying around, that he saw a familiar sight of blond pig tails.
His eyes narrowed significantly, but he decided not to make a fuss, certainly not there, where people were in need of being healed.
The medic-nins were scurrying around patients with their medical triage, being forced to stitch and close quickly those they couldn't fully heal, in hope they kept themselves stable enough for more supplies to come through.
"Kakashi, have the medical packs for the emergencies distributed," Naruto muttered, "I'll stay here and see if I can help."
As Kakashi flickered away, mentally noting he should have been called 'Inu' instead of his real name, Naruto began working. It was a gross understatement, but the Senju did help. Until his hands were covered in blood, and his Hokage robe was dirtied. There wasn't even a single word coming through, only thankful gazes from nearly exhausted medic-nins being left to rest, or from patients who pulled it through long enough to open their eyes.
The only problem was the sheer amount of wounded around, and he had entered only one of the many medical tends. There simply was no way to heal all of Konoha's wounded, no matter how much chakra one actually possessed.
"Sensei," a voice muttered, making Naruto turn in the direction of the sound, and stare for a moment. Kiba Inuzuka was standing, half of his face bandaged, and only one eye clearly visible. He wasn't in a bed, probably because his legs were fine, and yet, possibly to make sure he didn't actually have something life-threatening, he was kept in the tents.
"You look like a mummy," Naruto pointed out, moving closer, and slowly taking a look.
"Yeah…my eyes are both fine, but the guy was kind of in a hurry…no idea what he said I had, but I can't fall asleep, and it sucks," the Inuzuka retorted, before adding, "I was fine at the compound, but Neji can be such a worrywart that it wasn't even funny."
"Ino is in here too I suppose? I heard from her father she was at the compound too, so if Neji worried for you, then he might have done the same for her," the boy pointed out, before letting his glowing green hand rest on the side of the boy's head.
"I think they're all around. Lot of family members got wounded, some other died…there's a morgue with pictures of the deceased somewhere near…sensei…is my sister?" at the question, Naruto showed an apologetic smile.
"I don't know, but if she isn't, I'll tell her you were worried about her."
"Don't waste your breath…I'm sure she pulled through just fine," Kiba muttered back, "I think Katsumi's in the next tent…heard her mother got hit pretty badly."
"I suppose I'll go have a look," Naruto's reply wasn't cold, but it was…kind of indifferent. It was more likely he would be worried about Katsumi, then about Kushina.
"Oh and…congratulations, Hokage-sama," Kiba added with a light chuckle, before grimacing, probably from the pain.
"Thank you, Kiba," flashing a light smile, Naruto moved forward, looking through the other wounded, until he came at a stop near the bed that held all the attention of Tsunade Senju.
Tsunade had her hands covered in blood, and the bare flickers of green light that came from her palms were all diverted into the stomach area of the woman on the bed. Said woman, with red hair, was extremely pale, and with two empty blood sacks nearby. Holding one of the woman's hands was Katsumi, who was keeping her eyes transfixed on the form of her mother, because it was Kushina Namikaze, the one in the bed.
Tsunade didn't even seem to recognize him: probably the Hokage's robe covered enough, as the thing she muttered first and foremost was.
"Minato, just where the hell were you?" With those words, Katsumi's eyes moved up, to stare at the figure that, however, was not her father. With her mouth opening wide, and her eyes bulging, she held more firmly her mother's hand, no voice escaping her throat.
"Minato?" Tsunade's eyes turned to stare at the face, and then her own amber eyes hardened for a moment, before returning to the task at hand, without another word.
"The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died yesterday, during the battle with Orochimaru," Naruto whispered, before looking at the situation at hand, "I think it was you, who told me that in case of medical emergencies, triages had to be performed, right?"
"I am not going to let my remaining family die, Naruto!" Tsunade snapped back, as Katsumi looked at the scene worriedly. Her brother hadn't just told her grandmother to let her mother die…right?
"You have already used the Infuin: Kai, all on one patient…even if you do stabilize her, how many more have died because you concentrated on one alone?" Naruto whispered back, before putting a hand on the Senju's shoulder, and applying a light pressure.
Tsunade Senju fell down like a bag of potatoes, and as she crashed on the ground, Naruto made a gesture for the closest able shinobi.
"Bring Tsunade Senju to the prisons, she is accused of kidnapping of clan members, and treason in regards with Konoha," the voice was quiet, as it pronounced the charges, but with those words, Katsumi's eyes began to cry.
Her mother was going to die. Her grandmother was going to die. She was going to be left alone, and there was…
A hand dropped on her head, just as another one began to glow green on her mother's wounds.
"Stay still, I'm syphoning your chakra," Naruto muttered, as his right hand began the inner process of mending the wounds, "Tsunade did most of the job, but she was at her wits' end. She'd have died of chakra exhaustion, had she gone on."
Fighting back the tears, Katsumi's voice was creaked with grief, as she spoke.
"Oniisan…please…save my Kaa-san," the only reply she got was a slightly tighter grip of her head that then relented. A sort of silent positive reply, probably. Minutes passed, before, in the end, Naruto removed his hand.
"She should be stable now: she needs rest, like you do too," the Godaime Hokage whispered, "head over to the Senju compound, tell them I sent you to get some rest, okay?"
"She'll…she'll be alright, right?" as Katsumi's blue eyes settled with hope on Naruto's face, the man nodded slowly, once, before ruffling the girl's head.
"Now go, hop-hop," and as he watched his younger sister leave, he turned to stare at the slow breathing body of his 'mother', Kushina.
"You're alive because I bear no grudge against my sister, but that is all, Namikaze," and then, giving his back to the woman, he walked forward. On the positive side, he now once more had his chakra reserves filled: more people he could save.
As he walked out of the tent, even more covered in blood than before, his eyes lingered on the central area, where the bodies stood in plastic black sacs, pictures of their faces atop them, and people crying, or looking with grief at the horizon. He looked at the photograph, and, in doing so, his eyes caught a familiar colored hair coming his way, limping.
Turning his gaze, he stared at the woman known as Anko Senju, walking with the help of a wooden pole, her left leg being held by an emergency splint.
"So you're Hokage now, huh?" the woman muttered, her light brown eyes looking at him with a mixture of guilt and sadness.
"I'm glad you're alive," Naruto replied, "Our daughters would be…"
"Save me the circumstance words, I went to the compound first: Karin was told everything by your mother, and Yumi isn't even my daughter to begin with," the woman muttered back.
"I know, yet she is my daughter, as much as she is yours," the Senju retorted, his tone hard, "let me have a look at your leg, Konoha is in dire need of every able-bodied man and woman we can have."
"Suit yourself, I wouldn't waste time with someone like me, Hokage-sama," Anko whispered back, sitting on a nearby bench, placed there for the mourning men and women, probably.
"What would that mean, Mitarashi?" Naruto retorted, his voice a quick snap, and yet…yet it was like he had slashed her heart with a rusty, and blunt, kunai.
"Ouch…that hurt," she murmured, glad that at the same time he was removing the splint…she had blurted that out without even thinking, when the man had used her old surname, instead of her married one.
"And I mean it…there's no need to waste time healing me, of all people." Pain was something she would gladly suffer: it was, after all, her punishment for having toyed with the man's heart, and, at least in her mind, the only way to atone.
"Be still, you're a Jounin, not an academy graduate," the grey haired man replied, letting his hands work their job on it, "It's a compound fracture, you shouldn't have been walking with it."
"They needed the bed, and I didn't have intestines flying out," the Kunoichi retorted, wincing as he began healing her left leg.
"You jumped out of the window and landed badly?" Naruto queried, his eyes scanning for other wounds.
"No, I got ambushed by an Iwa with Doton Jutsus…damn bastard nearly had me, then it all crumbled down, and while he was gawking about how it should have been impossible, I made him a new hole with my trusty kunai," Anko mock-cheerfully said, trying her best fake smile for the occasion.
"You were lucky you got out of the hospital before it was pulverized," the Senju muttered.
"I was out five minutes after you left," the woman whispered back, "I planned on leaving, you know? Get the S-rank money mission from the bank, spend it in booze and drink myself to death. Maybe, when sober, look for Tobirama everywhere…or wait till a Root guy came to me, things like that…then I remembered I hadn't even cashed the money, and when I turned to get back, there was chaos going on. I was so scared something might have happened to you that I realized I was just running away from reality."
Naruto merely said nothing, continuing to take care of the broken bone, as Anko kept on rambling.
"I know I can't be forgiven easily, maybe I'll never be forgiven at all, I'll probably spend the rest of my life as a hag, spending Friday nights crying in a corner of a second rate bar, but…can I hope, maybe in a couple of years, or decades…for another chance?"
"I gave you one, the night I told you I remembered everything," Naruto spoke quietly, but his gaze this time was cold, fixed in Anko's own, "And you blew it."
"I…I got it," the kunoichi replied with a grimace on her face, as her head dropped down, to look at her hands, more specifically at the one with the ring.
"So…should I give this back?"
"Katsumi doesn't need to know her father was a bastard who toyed with other people's lives," Naruto retorted, "We will have 'a fallout' of our marriage, in the course of the next months, because of stress on both parts," he added, carefully, "I expect you to play along."
"Konoha comes first, right?" Anko whispered back.
"No," the Hokage shook his head, his gaze narrowing, "My family does. I would have forgiven you, Anko. Trust me, I would have. I would have understood, I would have been angry, of course, but I would have understood your reasons. Yet…you chose your own demise, and I'll probably never truly love anyone ever again, because of what you did…so it's fair, I suppose, that I'll never forgive you for this."
As his hands stopped glowering green, Naruto stood up, and moved to leave, having done his job.
"I should report to the mission assignment desk, Hokage-sama?"
"You should, Mitarashi-san, you should."
*Prisons*
Ibiki was basically glowing. In the dim light of the prison's corridor, the bald man was actually giving off his own light of sadistic glee.
"So, we've got everything right now: A Sannin, Kiri Shinobis, Iwa shinobis, Suna shinobis, 'Root' members, Akatsuki…hey, we even have two of the Kazekage's children, oh, and must I remind you that we also have some Kumo Genins too? They're like, the icing of the cake, so cute and young and easy to squirm…"
"I heard that!" a voice ran through the hallway.
"I expected that much," Ibiki whispered, "It helps in making them nervous," before adding in a higher tone, "Good, so when we get those Kiri to maul your ass, you'll be prepared. Sand and glass bits will do the trick, right?"
"I just didn't hear him say that," another voice muttered, "I am not ass-raping a Kumo shinobi, I've got my pride!"
"And here they go, starting to rant," Ibiki whispered again, "that's why we keep the sound on in the cells, makes them more nervous: it helps to break them up sooner."
"I see," Naruto muttered back, "we should start with Akatsuki," he pointed out, and, with a small nod, Ibiki gestured for the man to follow, to a slightly more secured cell, that held chakra suppressing seals on the four walls, and a set of iron manacles binding the red haired boy with the kanji for Love, written on his forehead.
"Gaara no Sabaku, Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi," Ibiki gestured, "Didn't say a word at all, and we can't actually mind-rape him, Shukaku would eat Inoichi."
"Mind dive," Naruto retorted.
"It's a mind-rape, Inoichi is someone I like, as a person, but it's a mind rape if the target is unwilling," the T&I chief literally growled back.
"Fine, I'm not discussing semantics at this time," the Senju rolled his eyes, before opening the door of the cell, and stepping in.
As his chakra was suppressed, and the door behind him closed, Naruto locked his gaze with that of the Ichibi Jinchuuriki.
"Are you going to talk?"
"…"
"Don't eat your words, mind you," Naruto added, with a light joking tone.
"…"
"I'm not going to torture you, but I do need answers," he pointed out, his gaze growing colder.
"Blood," Gaara spoke quietly, eying the dirtied robe that Naruto still had on, "where did it…"
"Come from? From the wounded, the deceased and the people smashed under the rubble that once was Konoha," the Hokage snapped back, "I was in the medic tents till now, healing the wounded…those that you and are your friends harmed...for being an organization that seeks peace, you have a bloody way of proving it."
"I'm…sorry," the red haired boy spoke, his eyes moving downwards.
"Sorry won't cut it," Naruto snarled, "Do you know how many good men and women we lost? How many children in the hospital wing? Do you have any idea how many are right now mourning their families, their friends, their beloved ones?" Since the question was rhetoric, Naruto poured more words into the argument, after taking a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second, and slightly shaking his head. "Obviously you did not think about this, because if you had had at least a hint, then you probably wouldn't have attacked, and you wouldn't be here to begin with."
"We didn't know of Iwa," Gaara whispered, "we planned for Suna to go through the less civilized areas…we didn't want anyone to be hurt!"
"You know, your brother is in a nearby cell," Naruto pointed out, "I'm sure you don't even like him, since, after all, he considered you nothing less than a monster…to think I even defended you," as he spat that out, Gaara's eyes widened once more, "monsters are not born, they are made, and while I don't know whether you were or not one in the past…now I know you are one."
"I helped the wounded near the hospital's ruins!" Gaara shrieked, his arms flailing, but being stopped by the shackles, "I protected them! I am not a monster!" as the screams echoed through the hallway, Ibiki kept on jolting down the notes, standing hidden from view. He had to tell the Hokage what he believed was the truth and what wasn't, after all.
"You are," Naruto whispered back, "The moment you let innocents be harmed, the moment you decide one life is more worthy than another, the moment blood spills on your hands, you become a monster known as shinobi, you become a murderer, an assassin, a killer…but how evil of a monster, how horrendous, how cruel…is something you decide on your own. You have made your choice, you are a monster."
"I…I am not!" Gaara's eyes actually began to tear, as his tone began to show signs of pleading, "I am not a monster…I am not the demon…I'm Gaara! I…I didn't want anyone to get hurt! But Nagato said it was necessary! He said I didn't even need to kill, that I just had to take the child…"and then the boy closed his mouth shut.
"So…the children's kidnapping was Akatsuki's work," Naruto muttered, "I'll give it to Asuma, he wasn't being overly paranoid."
"How many times, did Konoha steal the future of its own children?" Gaara whispered back, harshly, "How many shinobi nations take the young, and feed them lies, bringing them to fight for honor, glory and money, only to deliver mud, blood and hate? We decided to steal your future, to save it from harm."
"Our future…we are so very similar that it makes me sick," Naruto whispered back with a grim chuckle, "I too think that the young generations are pretty much the future of Konoha…yet you didn't just steal it away…no, you kidnapped it. You snapped it, you broke it, you cut it…and you actually think it will accept it? Pathetic, truly pathetic," the Senju shook gently his head, before giving, this time, a gaze of pity on the boy, "and the worse thing is…you actually believe it."
"What are you going to do with me?" Gaara's eyes closed, as the boy tried his best to regain his composure.
"Letting you go," the Godaime Hokage spoke three words, and with those three words, Ibiki actually gasped loud enough to be heard, Gaara opened his eyes in shock, and stared, hard, to find out if the man was lying or not.
"Hokage-sama, you're serious?" Ibiki muttered, from behind the bars…he didn't even get to torture the guy, not even once!
"Yes, if we don't, it is probable they'd send someone to bring him out anyway, and we can't have that, not with Konoha in these conditions," Naruto spoke quietly, "However…I expect you to deliver back Konoha's future, Gaara no Sabaku."
"Why…why do you think I would do that?" the red haired boy queried, perplexed.
"Because I do not deal with lies: you will be freed, and you will free in turn the kidnapped children…if you don't, then I can guarantee you that I will do all that is in my power to find Akatsuki, and crush it…you claim you are working for peace, disprove the theory by not keeping your word, and I will have enough proof to feel no remorse, when I will come personally…" as the threat hanged in the air, Gaara spoke again.
"I'm just one, I can try, but if I don't manage?"
"I doubt kids would be easily transferable, you certainly know who was assigned to them, and where they should be headed. Ibiki, free the prisoner and send him on his way…no need to have Konoha shinobis follow him," Naruto added, turning to leave.
"Why? I'm a criminal, a monster…you called me one yourself!" as Gaara screamed that, the Hokage retorted, both his eyes narrowing.
"I was hailed as a monster too, but all I needed was one chance to prove I wasn't. I kept showing the world I was not one, and in the end, the world bowed to my will. You are a monster, but that doesn't mean the future will keep you as one. Everything changes, Gaara, nothing can be set in stone, no matter how much one tries…that's one of the reason wars come around: peace cannot last, as neither can war."
With those final words, he left the prison cell, signaling to Ibiki. A second later, the head of the torture and interrogation department went through a set of hand signs, and Gaara slumped, asleep, in the cell.
"Keep the chakra bindings on him," Naruto pointed out, "Shukaku awakes when his hosts sleeps, drop him off to the south of Konoha. Do not follow, but look at the direction he heads to. That should give us the direction Akatsuki came from," then, biting his thumb, he summoned a small chameleon, "this little one will stay hidden on Gaara's body, and disappear once we have the sure location of the kids."
"Hokage-sama, the boy spoke of a certain Nagato…I think Jiraiya-sama should probably be called back, maybe he could help shed a light on…" as Ibiki's word rang through Naruto's ears, the Hokage sighed, shaking his head slowly.
"That is…no longer a possibility," with those words, Naruto's second visit was to the Kumogakure Genins, of all three, only the girl stood in a corner, unbound. The other two had respectively the arms and the legs shackled, and seemed to be pretty scared. All in all, even he would have been scared, to be captured after an invasion.
"Hokage-sama, we did nothing!" the kunoichi was actually the one who blurted it out first, "Our sensei did everything without us knowing! She told us she worked for Akatsuki!"
"And your sensei is…" Naruto raised his right eyebrow in wait for the revelation, and as Hayari took her breath to speak, Mogura was the one who retorted.
"What will happen to us?"
"If you're innocent, you'll be left to go. I am not going to strain Konoha's relationship with Kumo, however, before that, know that it's unlikely for you to obtain anything by bargaining on your sensei's name. I just need to get the papers concerning the teams for the exams, and I sincerely doubt it would be take me long. I have a lot of things to do, so, the sooner you tell me everything you know, the sooner you will be let go."
"It all began during the second test," Hayari spoke, "Sensei told us the Raikage had given us a secret A-rank mission, to let the Namikaze's team win for the finals, so we let them find our scroll," the girl, as soon as she said that, was on the receiving end of a growl, from the boy who had his feet shackled.
"Why don't you just tell him Kumo's patrols routes while you're at it?" Shinkansen sneered, before spitting in the kunoichi's direction, only for the blob of saliva to freeze mid-air, and be flung back at him, straight on the forehead. To Naruto, it took but the twitching of a finger.
"To think that Konoha values teamwork above all…anyway, was there any reason behind that?"
"Yugito-sensei said that the Raikage wanted to have intel on the Namikaze's abilities," Hayari added, visibly saddened at the way her teammate had treated her, "but then, when the day of the finals came, sensei started to act strange. She came back to the inn in a hurry, and said we had to leave quickly…by the time we got halfway through the village, the gates were closed."
"Closed? Why would the gates be closed?" not letting any sign of perplexity be shown on his face, Naruto waited for the story to finish.
"So, sensei left us there, after knocking out a guard…said she worked with Akatsuki and that we should just forget about her…then she disappeared the next moment…and obviously the other guards captured us," with those words, Naruto nodded, before turning to Ibiki.
"Have someone query why the gates were closed…if their version holds, you can release them once the Kumo ambassador comes through and explains why their Nibi Jinchuuriki decided it would be fun to try and escape the village…like she knew it was going to be invaded."
As he said that, all three Genins in the cell winced, at the implication.
"Hokage-sama…with respect, you're no fun if you keep giving my prisoners hope they'll get released," Ibiki muttered, as Naruto, rolling his eyes, moved to the next prisoners on the list, an Iwa kunoichi who seemed scared out of her wits, especially when she saw the blood stained Hokage's clothes.
"Ketsueki sutendo Hokage…I'm going to die, right?" she muttered, barely holding her breath.
"Blood stained Hokage? Damn, here I was hoping for something cooler, like soul reaper, destroyer of armies, breaker of sieges, you know…still, considering you called the Yondaime the Yellow Flash, which can kind of be referred to night problems…I think Iwa doesn't have much of an imagination, does it?" the joking tone made the kunoichi snap, her hands bound by chains.
"I will not yield, Konoha scum! We had our revenge with the blood of your fallen! We destroyed all that you held dear! How does it feel, huh? We got what we wanted, the yellow flash is dead! Konoha's strength is broken, and…" and then something slammed into her guts, forcing her to gasp and gurgle in pain, as the screams echoed through the hallway, making even the Kiri prisoners wince from their spot. The Kunoichi kept screaming until she buckled over, retching whatever she held in her stomach, but still screaming, without even stopping. Her hair, a dark black color, fell over her face, becoming encrusted in the very same puke that was coming out of her mouth, as her head flayed to the sides.
Tears began to fall down her face, from her dark brown eyes, as more and more pain jolted through her body. A second later, a snap of Naruto's finger, and it was gone, the pain was gone. The Kunoichi, for all her training, had even gone as far as releasing her bowels, and she was breathing raggedly, her eyes red from the effort of crying, her entire figure trembling.
"Fuinjutsu: Pain," Naruto whispered, as the slamming in the guts had been the ink-like symbol, flying from the man's hand to hit at the woman's stomach, "It sends pain, as you can quickly understand, through the touched opponent…it should be inscribed…but my Suiton mastery carries over to Ink, it seems…so I didn't even have to move from my position."
"Yo…You…a…ar…"
"Tut-tut," the Hokage's right hand's index finger moved right and left, in a 'no' motion, before turning to Ibiki, who was staring in awe at the Senju, "Ibiki, I am sure the kunoichi here will most gladly talk about Iwagakure…now, I suppose it's time for the inner problems of the leaf," with that, Naruto moved once more to another cell, where Sai, of all people, was standing tied, but not gagged.
"Root affiliate 012420, codename Sai, what was your objective?"
"I serve Konoha," Sai replied smoothly.
"As the Hokage, I represent Konoha," Naruto retorted, "You were in the same team as my daughter, Sai, do not force me to take actions you will regret."
"I serve Konoha," the pale boy with raven hair spoke, once more keeping up a fake smile.
"Danzo is dead Sai, you serve the Hokage now," the grey haired Senju replied once more.
"Hokage-sama," the voice was emotionless, yet Naruto couldn't help but think the boy was trying to mock him, "I serve only Danzo-sama."
"A pity then…Ibiki, go through torture with him," for a moment, the scarred Jounin stood still. He had thought the Hokage would do the same thing he had done to the Iwa kunoichi to the man in question, but instead, it seemed the man wanted to give the boy, probably no more than thirteen, a lesson the long and hard way…it was better for him.
"Now…Sunagakure, Kankuro of Suna," as Naruto politely commented to himself, he slowly walked in front of the cell, that held said puppeteer, his arms tied together by manacles, just like his fingers.
"I'm without my puppets… Was there a need for this?" the boy asked, raising his conjoined hands and the small iron manacles to block them.
"One can never be sure," the Hokage replied.
"Yeah, anyway, it's not like I'm going to talk," Kankuro spat right back at the Godaime, only for Naruto to chuckle, lightly.
"What's so funny?"
"You know your father, the Kazekage, was killed by Orochimaru, right?"
Silence was the only reply that the puppeteer from Suna gave back, as his eyes displayed, for once, shock.
"Wait…but…that's impossible!" Kankuro basically screeched, only for Naruto to shake his head.
"It appears he was donning the Kazekage's skin. You are here as a political hostage, until the situation solves itself," the Hokage replied, shrugging, "However, considering how badly Sunagakure acted in our regards, it is probable you'll have to learn to live in Konoha. A puppeteer brigade wouldn't be bad. We actually have the wood to build puppets, here."
"Aren't you too young, to play Hokage?" Kankuro snorted back, offended by the lack of respect for his home village, only for Naruto to retort.
"Aren't you too young, to think I won't have you tortured for everything you're worth? I thought naivety went away with age," the boy actually winced, considering the stern tone of the man in front of him, who seemed far more serious and Hokage-like than a moment before.
"Hey…no need to be so serious, really, I got it, I'll cooperate."
"Oh, good: this was quick, Ibiki, no need for the bull," at those words, Kankuro raised an eyebrow.
"Why would a bull…oh…I'll cooperate double time!" with a light snicker from Ibiki, who actually had no bull at the ready, Naruto left the prison cell. It was time for the final rounds.
His eyes lingered upon the sleeping for form of his once mother, Tsunade Senju, who was asleep in a padded cell, her entire body wrapped in chakra sealing bandages, while her appearance, for once, showing her real age.
"Kaa-san," the Godaime whispered, "I know you're faking…and I can even imagine you had your reasons for doing this…but you went behind my back and that…you knew I would never forgive."
"Shut up you brat," Tsunade retorted, her amber eyes opening slowly, "It was to keep them safe."
"You should have told me nevertheless. I don't know if they told you, but the Sandaime died, as well as the Yondaime," Naruto's voice was cool, and quiet, as the woman merely closed her eyes, once more.
"I suspected the Yondaime's death, but not Hiruzen-sensei's one."
"You misunderstand…Minato Namikaze was killed, really killed. He did not fake his death," as Tsunade's eyes opened in shock, Naruto showed an awry smile, "And this confirms the faction you belong to…Hiruzen, you, Orochimaru, who else? So easy, right, to take my trust and smash it down," this time his voice became a light snarl, "I don't even want to know the reasons you did this, and the only reason I do not ask for your death is because you are needed, for Konoha's rebirth. Get some rest, you'll need it."
"Naruto…" but the man had already left, leaving behind the prison's hallway, the prisoners, and moving, with eerily quiet steps, outside, to where the sun was, lingering behind small bundles of clouds.
He had so much to do…but first, came the funeral. He passed by the Kiri's cell without even stopping. Except for Mangetsu, held in a jar and trapped by two blood inscribed seals, the Genins were all bound and shackled. They wouldn't talk, and there was no need for torture, if Naruto could salvage the situation…by blaming it all on Minato.
*Funeral*
Funerals with rain, or generally with bad weather, were the common trope of second rate stories. The world doesn't mystically care that somebody dies on a specific day. He does not control the clouds to suddenly start raining down on a group of black-dressed individuals, only because it makes a fitting picture for someone to stare.
There was a funeral, to great men and women. There were people crying, giving quiet sobs, holding each other in pain and agony…and yet the sun was there. The birds chirped, the crickets went around, dogs barked while cats mewled, and everything went around. It was noon, and yet the sun didn't even feel all that hot.
The wind was letting a small breeze cool down the people around, the silence that echoed through the entire procedure was, to a certain point, even deafening. Yet Naruto stood there, in a now clean set of robes, with Itachi, of all people, at his right.
There had been murmurs, about the Uchiha prodigy and his return. There had been accusations, and there had been words of mind control on their Hokage. Yet…there had also been proof. Inoichi had been sent to watch the selected few memories that completely released Itachi from all charges, together with Naruto to ensure nothing else would be seen by the Yamanaka.
Following that, the council had numbly accepted, as reparations, and after the Hokage's own insistence, the placing of Itachi Uchiha as the Hokage's right hand man, his reinstatement as a Jounin, and the removal of all bounties on his head.
So, while some people murmured about why the Uchiha heir was there, others retorted in equal murmurs on the reasons, and soon the news spread.
The Hokage and Danzo had worked to keep power for themselves.
They had slaughtered a clan of innocents to harness their eyes for their own purposes. They had kidnapped and held prisoner a Uchiha woman, kidnapped Naruto Senju's son, and involved him into wicked experiments that no-one would have thought possible. By showing this, it became crystal clear that Kiri had never been involved, though, with the fact that Kiri shinobis were seen fighting near the Sandaime, and one was in the hospital, yet to awaken, the situation with the hidden village of the mist was at a stalemate.
At least, until the Mizukage came around with a solution that would benefit both, seeing how Naruto had his hands full with everything else.
Yet…as the funeral went on, it was with a bit of surprise that the limping, and yet recovering, form of Kushina Namikaze reached for the front rows.
She wasn't wearing black. No, she was wearing her normal Jounin uniform, the same she had in the medical tent, probably having headed straight to the funeral, from there.
"You…you killed him!" she snapped, pointing her fierce gaze at the figure of Itachi, who seemed unperturbed, albeit Naruto knew better, seeing his shoulder tense just so slightly.
"It was within his right to do so, Namikaze-san," Naruto retorted, as everyone was staring, in silence, at the confrontation. Mentally, Naruto was glad that Katsumi had been left in the Senju compound to sleep…he mentally noted to thank Neji, later on.
"He killed the Hokage! And he's here, scot free! What law is this!? What justice!?" as Kushina coughed, her hand getting slightly covered in blood, as the bandages on her abdomen began to tinge a light red color, Naruto moved closer.
"Do not force my hand," the Hokage hissed, "You lost a husband, and for that, I can understand your pain, but such actions, now, of all times…we are at war, if you haven't realized it! And if we fight among ourselves, what do you think will happen, huh!? If you want to blame someone, blame the so precious clan laws, that you so highly regarded, years ago…did you not?"
The rhetoric question worked, as Kushina's ire was replaced by guilt, and grief, before the woman, shaking her head, turned to leave in silence.
What had she expected, to convince the people of Konoha to fight off Naruto? She had been stupid, and hot-tempered. Minato always told her that she should have thought, before acting…yet why did he have to go and die? Why then? Why couldn't he dodge, do something smart, like always, and escape?
Worse, Itachi had received a full pardon, from…from her son, to top it off!
What could actually go worse, right there and then? Her son had forgiven his father's murderer, and, if anything, he even had accepted it as a natural thing!
As Kushina Namikaze left the graveyard, Naruto turned his attention, with a sigh, to the people present. If there was one thing he wasn't, it was being stupid. To think that some people truly didn't know when to stop it. With a small nod to the Anbus posted on the nearby walls, a set of shunshin happened a second later. Itachi merely narrowed his eyes for a second, before nodding and resuming his normal posture.
The funeral went on without a hitch, after that, although, by the time the main Hyugas that had gone returned to their mansion, they would find their numbers…halved.
After all, trying to have your revenge while everyone else was at a funeral didn't bode well with the Hokage…as the severed heads and the gouged out eyes made it clear. There was not going to be another chance.
But as that was the discovery for the Hyuga to make, Naruto, on the other hand, stood quietly watching the graves. Names had been inscribed on the memorial stone already, so many that said stone had to be doubled in size. However, at the same time, some people stayed behind.
Naruto stood quietly, knowing full well that just as the undertaker's job was to guide the dead to their resting place, so was the Hokage's job to guide the living through life.
The first to come was Shikamaru, followed by Shino, the one who spoke first was, abruptly, the Nara.
"What about the exams' results, sensei?" at the question, the Hokage knew fully well that the real intentions of the boy were to know if he'd have to go to battle as a captain, or a mere soldier.
"You and the rest of the Rookies will not participate in battles along the main front, nor skirmishes," the Senju spoke quietly, immediately bypassing the actual question, "You are still too young for that, Shikamaru, and don't you dare open your mouth to retort!"
As quickly as the snap from Naruto came, just as quickly the Nara closed his mouth, he had been about to retort, but he felt that it would just be troublesome, to incite the ire of the Hokage, especially when he seemed to have such a short fuse, recently.
"You will go to battle, probably, and you will have your blood on your hands," Naruto whispered, calming down, "But not until I am sure you, and your team, can have the job done. Expect no more D-ranks, however, so you'd better not slack off now. I spoke with Asuma already, and your replacement should be ready by the time I tackle the paperwork problem…"
"Nobody can replace Chouji," Shikamaru muttered back, only for Naruto to give him back a grim smile.
"I know, Shikamaru, I know. However…if the kid I knew of, the one who snuck me coffee when in the hospital, remained the same throughout his life…then I think he'd want us not to mope and go eat something, possibly at Yakiniku…he was always fond of that place."
"If you can eat as much meat as your bodyweight, you get to walk out without paying your lunch," Shino pointed out, with a tone that actually seemed to be showing a bit of lingering sadness, "Kikaichu were excluded, however."
"I see…well, was there anything else, you needed?"
Shaking their heads, both boys left the Hokage there, just as a man Naruto had never seen before walked right next to him.
"I believe there's a story, behind that scene with the red-head," the man spoke quietly.
"Oh Kami…you didn't return?" Naruto rolled his eyes, letting a small chuckle escape his lips, "This is so precious."
"I'm a second away from doing it, actually. It's not fun going around Konoha, when it's in ruins," the 'man' retorted, "And I'm like this because Hotaru's 'Sensei' senses were tingling. That woman, she's what, fifty or more? And yet she still can act like a teenager, sometimes… argh, I knew I should have nailed it with the librarian."
"So she actually wasn't lying when she said you flirted with her?" Naruto asked back, a smile on his lips.
"Obviously, but you see, the cold, ice-hearted Nidaime Hokage couldn't possibly be a flirter, he had to be a stuck up assassin of doom, destruction, and who wouldn't certainly scoop as low as make a joke…ever," Tobirama snickered, "The reason I invented the Bringer of Darkness Jutsu to begin with was to pry away the power of the Doujutsus users…but it was also fun to make sure nobody could cheat at blind-man buff's…yet nobody recalls that second use."
"Oh, don't feel offended, still, how did you get past Itachi's sharingan?" Tobirama chuckled quietly, before raising his right hand's finger.
"This, my dear clone of the future, is but a solid henge. It requires the use of a shadow clone application upon oneself, with said clone assuming semblance, but not inner substance, thus granting a coating that is solid, and that thus fools the pesky red eyed thing."
"I'll remember that, might be useful in the future," Naruto pointed out, "No chance I can convince you to do paperwork?"
"I'm a construct made of grave dirt, ceramic, I think lattice too, bounded by the soul of a hormonal Kunoichi, if her rants at the back of my head are of any indication, and given unlimited amount of chakra. I could go for world domination. Why should I do paperwork?"
"You didn't like paperwork? My, I'm shocked," Naruto retorted, his face showing the brief glint of amusement, "Still, you could help Konoha out in the war…"
"Kid, I did my part when I was alive," the Nidaime replied, "I fought, killed, destroyed, drowned, I didn't earn the fame of the Edo Tensei creator because I was a saint," his voice grew more serious, as he kept on speaking, "with an ever-regenerating body, the only thing that can stop it is sealing until the owner releases the jutsu, or granting an actual release of the soul…kind of poetic, but those two are the only ways…so the true purpose of the Edo Tensei was to have highly powerful shinobi use highly powerful suicide techniques in the middle of enemy's formations. I never perfected it, because I always used prisoners, and even then, I was loathe to…yet remember that the strength of the technique is only on par to that of…"
"The mind that guides the body, and the body that sustains the mind," Naruto concluded the man's sentence, "The Edo Tensei's requires a body that is as most similar to the original deceased as possible, for increased chakra capacity. Then, it requires a soul, to act as a bridge, to bring back the mind…finally, the technique must be executed flawlessly."
"Good job, you ate your veggies and did your studies," Tobirama replied while raising his right thumb upwards, "Anyway, I gave blood to Konoha enough times in life, and I bled for her in death, that I am not going to fight at all…everyone dies, one should just accept it."
"You're making a line behind you," Naruto muttered, "was there anything you wanted to tell me?"
"Oh yes, if you're going to fight Iwagakure, there's something I want you to know, about Mu's technique…and the Raijin."
With interest in his eyes, Naruto quietly listened…who was he to pass up on lessons from his 'deceased' mentor? After all, he had trained under his words, albeit in written form, so listening to him actually came natural.
"First off, whoever the Tsuchikage is, never, ever go to fight without a water source. Hidden in your pockets, or wherever you want, but bring water. Even I had a water satchel, and the reason is simple. Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu is a technique that detaches things from reality, through a complex use of wind, earth and fire. It actually grates at the attacked thing until it turns to dust, hence the name…however, water nullifies said attack, because it defeats fire and goes head to head with wind. Earth wins, however, so be careful because it will still hurt…but it won't pulverize you, if you keep water on you, to use as a quick shield."
"Shouldn't…"
"Shouldn't I simply Kawarimi elsewhere, or use water from outside? No. First thing, it creates a shape, conical, cylindrical or cubical. Then, once that is done, the technique, within those boundaries, has immediate action. No one-second charge, no yelling, nothing. It goes off. So, in the time it takes to set up the boundaries, use water to pass through them. Nothing else is going to cut it, understood?"
"You could go and fight the Tsuchikage," the Nidaime rolled his eyes at the suggestion.
"And what would you learn? Nothing! I'm dead, consider me deceased. I'm just a voice in the back of your head. I was lucky the suppression of chakra didn't outright destroy the seals on the body. Once chakra came back, so did I…but I'm not staying around much longer…albeit Hashirama is waiting to kill me on the other side, so maybe I'll postpone it for a while."
"Why would he?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"You know, Hashirama had raven hair," Tobirama spoke quietly, looking around, "Mito had red, I had grey…now…Tsunade Senju, had blond…just like a certain Nawaki…care to…take a guess?"
"You didn't."
"On my defense, I didn't know until two hours ago, when I went to have a look through the Senju compound and saw the pictures. Probably I was dead drunk and she was lonely, Mito never told me! I'm just that good at forgetting important stuff, I know…"
"So…you're my great-great-something?"
"Well, that, or when you entered from the main seal matrix you should have turned to goo, or pudding. Blood pudding, gory blood pudding." Tobirama's voice acquired a mock-seriousness, as he actually nodded at said statement.
"I…see…"
"Stay well, now, I'll be going!" with that, he turned to leave, only for Naruto to cough.
"What? I'm just going behind that building to disappear, it's not like I can do it here!"
It wasn't really to Naruto's surprise, when Hotaru came by, giving him a quick nod and then taking off again…sniffing the air, even.
Shaking his head, the Hokage groaned. So he had such screwed up great grandfather, good to know. He should have asked him if he wanted to give out some history lessons…a pity. That was when he recalled that his 'ancestor' hadn't mentioned anything about the Raijin…trust in Tobirama, to forget important stuff.
As he turned to leave, he was surprised to see Ayame, of all people, waiting for him. He had thought she'd never talk to him again.
Or, truthfully, he had thought she'd blame him, for everything that had happened. Instead, the girl walked straight towards Naruto Senju, and muttered.
"My father…he would have been so proud of you," Ayame's voice was barely hearable, "You know, before dying, he…he told me," her voice began to creak, "he told me that as long as Naruto would stand to protect Konoha, the village wouldn't fall. He didn't even mention the Yondaime, or the Sandaime, or anyone else…he mentioned you."
"Ayame…" Naruto's murmur was met with the woman shaking her head.
"You know…I became stronger, I trained to become a ninja, a cooking Nin…I would never beat you, or your wife, or…but I'm stronger now, I can fend off for myself…and I heard that wave's economy is kicking in, and a stall there would…would actually sell pretty well," the girl spoke quietly…
"Ayame," the grey haired man looked at her perplexed, not understanding where the girl was going.
"Let me finish. I had a crush on you, a really bad one, and it worsened with time, until it became love. Yet you…you were taken, and I still tried to appeal to you in a different way, but I was…I was dissuaded to continue it, but now…now I can tell you, straight to your face: I love you, and I'm going to leave the village, head to wave, and do my best to forget I confessed to you after a funeral."
As the woman turned to leave, and hurried away, Naruto stood there, dumbstruck, until he felt a familiar presence right next to him.
"If you don't follow her, I'll Amaterasu your balls and Tsukuyomi you into a frothing mess in a corner," the hanging threat was enough to make the Godaime Hokage actually jolt from his spot. Behind him, Itachi looked at the scene with a bright, wide smile. Something that actually made Sasuke who had been watching from afar, rub his eyes, repeatedly…it had to be a Genjutsu, right?
*Hinata*
She had been kept at house arrests, when the tournament had started.
She had then been knocked out by her father, of all people, and had woken up gagged and bound on her parent's shoulder, being carried quickly away from Konoha.
To where, she had no idea.
"Mpfhh!"
As she tried to free herself, once more, her father merely scoffed, before pushing a pressure nerve, and bringing her, once more, into oblivion.
All that she knew, when she awoke again, was that this time they weren't moving, but were camping, in the woods.
"Hinata," Hiashi spoke quietly, "I understand your ire, but rest assured that, in the other life, you will most certainly find peace."
"mpfh. Mphfff!" the gag in her mouth made it difficult for her to actually 'explain' just where Hiashi could put the skewer with the roasted bunny in his body. However, the older Hyuga merely shook his head with a light sigh, before replying.
"There is no-one coming to look for us, Hinata, by the time we cross the border, and reach Otogakure, you will have come to terms with the fact that you are, indeed, useless, even to the eyes of your sensei…but at least, in death, you will serve the purpose of bringing back Hanabi," with those words, Hinata's eyes bulged in shock.
Had her father gone mad? Hanabi was dead, how would killing her actually bring her younger sister back? And what about Otogakure? What did it have to do with everything else!?
"I see you do not understand. Very well, I will indulge you with the tale of how Orochimaru-san offered me my youngest daughter back, should I provide him with…goods, that he had a need of," Hiashi refrained from mentioning his body, as the good in question.
"Mpfh!" 'Like hell!'
"I was skeptic too, but he did bring back from the dead both the second Hokage and Jiraiya…who I didn't even know had died, till then," Hiashi spoke quietly, letting his pearly white eyes fix themselves on Hinata, "you were always the weak child…your mother's favorite. Hanabi would have been the perfect heiress. Emotionless, and controlled…a real doll."
The tone was sickeningly sweet, so much that, for a single moment of dread, Hinata's mind went haywire, thinking about…stuff that was too disgusting to even be mentioned.
"Not like you, shoving your thoughts out of your mouth, going against the clan, and doing kami knows what business with that sensei of yours. I never really liked the Senju: he did well in bringing out of Neji from the clan, he wouldn't have blossomed as a Hyuga otherwise, and I gave him over the branch family…all in exchange for him not following us."
With those words, reality hit Hinata, like a ton of bricks. It couldn't be. Her sensei wouldn't have…
"I gave him the caged bird seal, but he would have needed something more failsafe, to guarantee he stood well within the law. So I signed him a document, granting clanless status to the branch family…and letting him adopt it all…" Hiashi's eyes moved sideways, as he kept on quietly speaking, "He was even eager to accept."
"Mpfh…Mpfhhh! Mpfhh!" as tears began to fall down Hinata's eyes, the dark blue haired girl shook her head fiercely. It just wasn't possible. Her sensei was not one who would do anything like that: her father had to be lying...he had to!
"Anyway…you should just lay down and sleep, Hinata: there is a long way to go, and I will not ungag you until I will feel relatively safe you are harmless," with those words, Hiashi returned to his dinner, and a thought occurred into Hinata's mind…
If he was going to keep her bound and gagged…how was she going to…
"MPFHHH MPFHHHH!"
"That is none of my concern," was the mere reply of Hiashi.
*Orochimaru – Days later*
Kidoumaru's body was, in one word, weak. It was disgusting. It was horrendous. It had spiders where normally nobody would keep said animals. Yet it was that or one of the others. Tayuya wouldn't cut it, she had little to no physical skills, and was more of a Genjutsu specialist. Jirobo was strong, physically, but didn't possess the agility he needed. Sakon and Ukon were one, and albeit both were loyal, using one of the two would have left him with clear loyalty issues, and he couldn't have them, while escaping Konoha.
Now, he faced Hiashi, who had, obviously, come to request his services, just like he had promised. Yet he didn't have any use for him. He was already past his prime. The girl, on the other hand…
Still, it would be three years, before he could reperform the jutsu again. What to do? Truly…what to do?
With a gesture of great intelligence, his brain provided him the answer. Swiftly, his neck extended, biting into both Hiashi's and the girl's neck, while the man had been caught by surprise, and was thus now on the ground holding the bitten area in pain, the girl had been far easier, being that she was, after all, tied up.
All in all, he'd see which, of the two, would survive. That was going to be one good gamble.
And if neither of them did, well, there was always the mutt-boy.
His eyes then went to the Kaguya, who was standing to the side, his posture had tensed, and then slowly relaxed. The poor fool thought that he, the great Orochimaru, could be defeated? Sure, he was far more loyal than anyone else, going as far as willingly offering his body to him, but it was also sickening, especially when Kimimaro, in question, probably had no more than three to four years to live. Orochimaru would live for all eternity.
He was going to be immortal, and for that, he needed a well-cared body, a well-toned, trained…Hiashi gurgled for air, and then stood still, dead.
"He was a failure, then," Orochimaru muttered, as the Hyuga girl, instead, kept on being wracked by pain, but didn't seem to stop breathing. Maybe there was hope.
"Give her to Kabuto, Kimimaro," as the snake sannin ordered that, the Kaguya tensed again.
"Orochimaru-sama…Kabuto-san has left a few hours before your return," the golden eyes of the snake sannin narrowed themselves, as a small hiss escaped his lips.
"I wonder…did he bring Tobirama with him?"
"As you instructed, Orochimaru-sama, the boy was to be kept under his tutelage," Kimimaro duly noted, before narrowing his own eyes.
"I fear that I might have been deliciously backstabbed," the snake sannin chuckled, before erupting into a full out laughter, "It's always the quiet ones…"
*Kabuto's location*
"So, Tsuchikage…I suppose this will sweeten the deal a good load…" as the formerly Snake sannin's spy, formerly Konoha Genin, formerly spy of Root, formerly spy of Akatsuki's Sasori spoke, his hands were on Tobirama's shoulders, the boy showing a green and a blue eyes, and a happily smiling face as it was taking in everything, in his surroundings.
The Tsuchikage, Oonoki, smiled. He could use the boy, or, worse to worse, offer him up for peace to the Hokage. Even better, he could make it an exchange hostage, if, and that was a big if, his granddaughter was still alive.
The fool woman had decided to participate in the assault, and Kami only knew if she had been fool headed or not in going with a fake name. Kurotsuchi never saw a war before and always had been hot-headed. It was luck that Oonoki hadn't taught her the dust release, otherwise, the leaf tree-huggers would have probably realized who she was, and held her for ransom.
He'd exchange the boy for the rest…maybe after having some samples taken to recreate that bloodline.
"Indeed it does, Yakushi-san…welcome to Iwagakure…or should I say, welcome back?"
The shinobi in question smiled brightly, before replying.
"It's an honor to serve, Tsuchikage-sama."
*Konoha*
"So…she's the Tsuchikage granddaughter," Naruto pointed at the Kunoichi, who was huddled in a corner, and rocking back and forth, "and why is she like that?"
"I think, Hokage-sama, that it has something to do with your presence here, albeit she herself did request you," Ibiki replied, "You did a wonder on her, last time, you remember?"
"Oh…yes, so, she opened up, after that?"
"She did, unfortunately she had actually taken the name of one of her teammates that had been assigned to the mission, so she was out of her way…wanting to play the heroine, make a name for herself…meaning that Iwa can just bury her and claim merchant ears…"
"All while killing Konoha shinobis in the process, of course…I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe, we could send her in the same cell as the Kiri shinobis…but I'm too good for my own wellbeing," the Hokage sighed, eying the girl who shrunk further down in the corner of the room. There had no longer even been the need for chains; the kunoichi had practically begged not to be brought out of the cell: the bars protected her from him.
"So Kurotsuchi-chan," Naruto hissed, showing a small, amused, smile, "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"P…Please…let me go," the girl begged, "I'm worth…a lot, really…Ojiisan will…will certainly want me back, please."
"Oh…yes, why not?" Naruto shrugged, as the kunoichi's eyes widened in shock, before the man's voice grew to a low growling sound, "And while I'm at it, I'll just so magically resurrect every single person you killed. You hit the hospital, you know the casualties of the following days, due to infections? You hit the orphanage: you know how many kids had to sleep in the streets, among the rubble and the corpses? Yeah, you are not leaving, Iwa scum, you are staying right there, and trust me, I will make sure you break...again, and again, I will have your soul torn to tatters and flung around, and by the time the torture team will be done with you…you will have nothing left…nothing at all, that will define you as a human."
With that, he turned to leave, just as, this time a woman, actually entered the cell, sporting her purple hair and a wide trench coat.
"Hello there hon…my name is Mitarashi Anko, my ex-husband just left me here without even saying hello, and I'm royally pissed…want to play a bit?"
*Senju compound*
A girl with hazel hair stood just outside the gates of the compound, sporting a white dress with small blue lilies sewn upon them. Her eyes, dark, had small bags beneath them. She was holding both of her hands clasped together, and was currently waiting. Meanwhile, within the walls of the compound, Karin was pacing in her room, in circles.
"Yumi-chan?" she asked the three years old, who was making a nice drawing of a butterfly, "Otou-san wouldn't fall for another witch, right?" It wasn't difficult, for the sensor girl, to feel who was just now waiting outside the compound, and the reason said girl was doing said thing.
"Ayame-san is pwetty!" the toddler retorted, only for Karin to sigh.
"Oh yes, but she's not good enough for Otou-san," the red haired girl replied, "I am, she isn't."
"But Kaa-san…she makes ramen!" as the three years old retorted that, the red eyed Senju pouted, rolling her eyes.
"I make ramen too."
"Yours is yucky!"
"Mine is perfectly fine!"
"It's spongy!"
"You're just…too young: it's an…acquired taste!" Karin snapped back, only for the three years old to shake her head vigorously.
"No-uh, it's yucky, spongy and usu…usually burnt!" Yumi retorted.
"They say the heart of a man is conquered through the stomach," Karin muttered, "Fine! I'll show him…and you, that I have become better at cooking Ramen!"
"Oh, that sounds like a challenge," Naruto sing-sung, entering his daughter's room, "Ayame is downstairs, cooking together with Junko. Be nice hosts, and round up the entire compound, you know we are holding a party, right?"
"Y…Yes Otou-san!" Karin replied, blushing furiously, hoping to Kami her father hadn't heard the beginning of their discussion.
"Otou-san!" Yumi, after the previously horrible experience of being kidnapped, had become, for lack of a better term, clingy like a monkey, whenever her father was nearby. Naruto merely held her up, bringing the three years old on his shoulder, before heading downstairs, whistling as Karin followed.
"So, we have enough for eight-hundred?" as Naruto queried that, Ayame sighed, looking at the situation.
"If the kitchens, and the cooks, in the other houses work at our rhythm, then, maybe there will be seconds…maybe."
"Normally I'd say it wouldn't be enough, but the Akimichi are still mourning Chouji, and are fastening," Naruto whispered, "So everyone should be satisfied…"
Outside, as the Senju's clan members began to set the tables, helped by their clan head, people began to arrive, and aid in earnest. The last of the rubble had been removed a week prior, Konoha was once more rebuilt, and, as a festival would have been a waste of money, especially in such dire circumstances, claiming it a holiday and giving people a day to themselves made it still an occasion to celebrate.
As the clan's, the important villagers, the friends arrived, Naruto Senju, at the head of the table, with his daughters on one side, the Uchiha clan on the other, and the rest of the clans down alongside the table, gave the start to the festivity. For that day was the start of a new Konoha.
A Konoha guided by someone who was thrust in the world by deceit, who grew seeking truth, and who earned his position with blood.
For in the world of shinobi, actions speak louder than words, but it is words whispered in the dark, that mark the direction kunais fly and swords are swung.
It is in the darkness, that the deeds are done, but in the light, consequences are cast.
Naruto Senju, Godaime Hokage of Konoha, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, the Nidaime no Sairai, the Ghost Lance of Konoha, the Frozen Wave, the Blood-stained Hokage, watched the people laughing, speaking, smiling to one another, like if the looming war didn't matter at all. In that moment, it didn't. As he turned to Ayame, he smiled, before exclaiming.
"Neh, Ayame-san, I'd like more ramen, please!"
"Feast upon it and gorge till you choke, Senju…for I will have my revenge!"
Author's notes.
(Who read the ending of The Real Monster?) ((Yeah, it's a reference))
Next chapter shall have the dreaded Time-Skip of Doom, known as the Shippuuden Arc!
As to why nothing was mentioned about Akatsuki, Kiri & that…I like to keep readers on their toes.
The cursive line is the thought of someone at the table, obviously. (I didn't mention 'all' the clans just to let you guess)
This was the filler about the immediate consequences, and the actions undertaken.
Aka (What happened then with Konohamaru!?- Next chapter, Timeskip)
On a side note, tomorrow afternoon (Italy time) I have an exam! Yeahy! (Wish me luck, if you want, that is)
So, we now have the following 'truth' arcs:
Who brought Iwagakure in the fray?
Who closed the gates of Konoha?
Who wants Naruto dead? (except the obvious guys at Akatsuki)
What is Akatsuki's goal?
Q&A
Glad you all liked the previous chapter!