The first thing Sarada noticed was the smell.
It was the sharp bite of antiseptic that irritated her nose and threatened to make her sneeze. Groaning, she cracked a single eye. Sarada winced as a harsh, white light blinded her. Blinking rapidly, unshed tears pooled in her eyes.
"She's waking up," a voice said.
"Out of my way!" Sarada heard her mother yell. Despite herself, she smiled.
With great effort, she turned her head. With what strength she had, Sarada held her eyes open and was rewarded with the sight of her mother looming over her with worried, tearful green eyes. She sniffed, and deftly hid a lock of pink hair behind her ear. "Hey," her mother said softly. "How do you feel?"
Sarada blinked. How did she feel? It was hard to describe. Her body ached in places she didn't know she had. Her mind felt muddled and warm. Her stomach was devoid of its contents, but strangely, she didn't feel hungry. But her tongue. Her tongue was the worst. It was dry and sore and cracked. "Thirsty," she croaked.
Sakura nodded deftly and quickly stood. When she reappeared, she had a small plastic cup clutched between her hands. "Here," her mother said, as her hands glowed with a soft blue light. She held them over the cup, and siphoned a globe of water upwards before directing it to her lips.
Sarada sighed in relief as the cool liquid ran down her throat and eased her discomfort. Swallowing, she asked the question. "Where am I?"
Sakura smiled sweetly at her, and it made Sarada's heart clench painfully. It was a look full of pity and pain. But, worst of all, it was filled with something she didn't want to see—understanding. "You're in the Leaf," her mother answered softly. "Inojin brought your team back five days ago."
Cold dread filled Sarada. She had failed. Worse still, she had been brought back to the Leaf as a failure. Her mother seemed to be able to read her like a book, for she frowned and lines creased her brows in worry. "Why was I asleep for so long?" Sarada asked, before her mother could attempt to console her.
"I think I should be the one to answer that," a voice spoke. A head of silver hair filled her vision as a man every man, woman, and child knew the face of appeared behind her mother. Kakashi Hatake; the Sixth Hokage. "But it would be better to answer that after your friend has awakened," he added, smiling pleasantly.
Kakashi nodded to her opposite side, and reluctantly, Sarada shifted her head. Himawari was slumbering peacefully in a bed next to her, with her mother and father nervously fretting nearby. Lady Tsunade ran her hands over her prone form; her hands glowing with a soft green light.
After a few moments, Himawari blinked. Sarada could see the confusion and pain on her friend's face. She knew the feeling intimately. She herself had just experienced it. The Hokage and his wife fawned over their daughter, just like her own mother had just done. The distinct lack of a father, however, made her heart flutter. Not for the first time, Sarada wished now more than ever that her father would come home. Maybe he would know the solution to her dilemma? He had been Bolt's master—for however brief of a duration.
Sarada could see it in Himawari's eyes. The exact moment she realized the same thing she already did.
They had failed.
Tears pooled in her friend's eyes. The Seventh began to panic, and flailed his arms as his expression morphed into something impish and foolish. He prattled about promises of ramen and piggyback rides. Sarada giggled, and hissed as pain lanced through her.
It was kind of funny, how little parents knew about their children.
Kakashi coughed loudly, silencing the room. "You did call me out of retirement for this, Naruto," he said.
The Hokage laughed nervously and scratched at the back of his head like an embarrassed fool. "Now," Kakashi said. "I need to explain some things to the two of you," he said, motioning with a single finger between her and Himawari. Sarada swallowed nervously.
"What do you remember before you fell unconscious?" Kakashi asked.
Sarada heard a strangled sob, and, to the man's credit, Kakashi looked guilty for having asked the question. "I remember," Sarada trailed off. Bolt. The pain. The seal. Her hand trailed up to her neck, where it felt like she had been branded.
"Good," Kakashi said. Sarada looked up and saw that Himawari had mirrored her gesture. "You've had a Cursed Seal placed on you," he said, without preamble.
The silence was deafening.
"When you were admitted to the hospital, I was called in by the Hokage as the most skilled seal master the Leaf had," he explained. "I've attempted to remove your seals, several times. As of yet, I've been unable to."
Sarada nodded numbly as the memories of their battle flashed in her mind. "Now," Kakashi said, drawing her out of her reverie. "I need you to tell me as much of what lead up to the sealing as possible. In as much detail was possible."
Sarada's mind drew a blank. She remembered Bolt kneeling. Remembered him weaving a long chain of hand seals. But she had been too focussed on the emotions in his eyes to memorize them. But she did remember the name. "He—he said it was the Cursed Seal of Obedience," she finally managed to say.
A dark expression flashed over Kakashi's face, and for a moment, Sarada felt her pulse spike. Then, it passed. "I've placed a counter-seal around the original," Kakashi explained. "It limits its power and influence over you."
"What does it do?" Himawari spoke up.
"Well," Kakashi said, smiling. "It's a little complicated, but the basis is that it contains and filters any chakra tained by the original seal—"
"Not that," Himawari cut him off. "What does the original seal do?"
Sarada could practically see the frown beneath the man's mask. "We don't know," he answered darkly. "But we should know soon. There is a video call later this afternoon with the Uzukage. That's why we woke you up. We need you to be present to answer any questions she has."
Sarada nodded numbly. That they didn't know what the seal placed on her did was disconcerting. The fact that the Sixth hokage didn't know was doubly so. The fact that they were forced to call upon the Uzukage, the most powerful master of seals alive, was terrifying.
Kakashi nodded stiffly. "We'll let you rest," he said, waving everyone out of the room. Even their parents. "I'll return in an hour to take you to the meeting," he promised.
With barely a word, the room emptied. Then there was only a tense silence that was louder than words.
Mitsuki stared out the window of his hospital room and up into the night sky. Stars twinkled in familiar constellations; a far cry from the every changing heavens the further they ventured towards the Land of Wind. Despite himself, he had missed the Hidden Leaf.
It had grown to become his home. When he left his father and brother behind, he had been determined to make his own way in life. Determined to learn right from wrong; justice from vengeance. The Leaf had been the only place he could go. He had worried needlessly over his place in the village until he met Bolt and Sarada. Since then, he had felt at home. At peace.
But now, a piece of that home was missing. Forever torn from him, and by its own will no less. In some small, dark part of him, Mitsuki respected Bolt. He had a will of steel that was unbending and unbreaking. Bolt's father had wronged him, much like his own father had wronged him, and he was not above airing his grievances with the man. Even if it meant abandoning his friends. His home. His family. The only life he had ever known.
Mitsuki wasn't like Bolt. He had ran away. He just accepted that he and his father would always have a strenuous relationship at best. Orochimaru was a dangerous man. No one ever really knew what the snake was thinking. Not even his own sons. Mitsuki felt a cold chill crawl down his spine as he recalled the genjutsu Sarada had placed him under.
He desperately prayed to what gods may be that his father was not raising him to be his next vessel. Waiting for him to mature and ripen, like some sort of fruit.
But Bolt. Bolt was different. He didn't just run away from his problems. If he thought you wronged him, he wasn't afraid of punching you in the face and letting you know.
Mitsuki frowned. He was nothing like Bolt.
A dark, eerie chuckling echoed through the silence of the night.
Mitsuki stiffened. From a shadowy corner of the room, two yellow, slitted eyes opened. He swallowed nervously, and reached for the first thing he found to defend himself with: a vase of wilted, dying flowers.
"No need for that, my son," Orochimaru said, stepping forward into the moonlight.
"What are you doing here, father?" Mitsuki demanded, his hand reaching for the call button that would have a nurse in his room in a matter of moments. "You're not allowed in the Leaf."
Orochimaru chuckled. "I'm one of the legendary Sannin, boy. With my skill and power, infiltrating this village is child's play," he answered.
"You didn't answer my question," Mitsuki pointed out, his hand ever reaching closer for the call button on his bed.
Suddenly, a snake slithered from between the sheets of his bed and bit him on the hand. Mitsuki hissed and withdrew his fingers from the serpent before it could strike again. Orochimaru laughed darkly, as if he was amused that his son thought he could escape from him by summoning a nurse.
"It's quite simple, really," Orochimaru spoke, recalling the snake that had bit him. He paused, and for a moment, Mitsuki saw his near permanent sneer fall from his father's face. It was disturbing. He saw a fleeting expression of—of, concern? Then, as soon as it left, the sneer returned. As if he was looking down upon the entire world. "I heard my son was in the hospital. Isn't that enough of a reason for any father to visit their child?"
Mitsuki smirked. The way his father spoke made it seem as if he was telling a clever joke. But his previous, fleeting facial expression betrayed his true thoughts. In some small way, he was worried about him. It was immensely gratifying.
Orochimaru quickly realized his mistake and pushed on. "I heard your little Uzumaki friend was the one responsible," he said. "Truly, the Hokage is an inept fool to allow a Byakugan to roam freely outside of the Leaf's walls. If you would like, I could have some of my agents hunt him down."
Mitsuki stilled at the look of dark glee that filled his father's eyes. "The Hyūga have been so very, very careful with their eyes. Even I have not been able to secure a pair to experiment on. Who knows what secrets are hidden in those eyes? Is there a higher level of activation in them, similar to the Mangekyō? It would be so easy—"
"No," Mitsuki stated with a cold finality. "You won't touch Bolt. You won't send your agents after him. You won't even monitor his location," he commanded.
Mitsuki wouldn't even let his father think of using Bolt as an experiment. It was unfathomable.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Very well," he rasped, slipping back into the shadows. "I can see you are well on your way to recovery. I won't harm your friend, for now. I can see you still haven't given up on him. How very like the Hokage of you, Mitsuki."
Mitsuki felt a surge of pride at being compared to the legendary Seventh Hokage. He felt all trace of his father's presence leave the room. He relaxed and let a sigh of relief slip from his lips. "But," Orochimaru spoke, his voice echoing from somewhere in the shadows. Mitsuki flinched. "If you ever desire power, seek me out."
Despite the dark words and ill omen, Mitsuki smiled to himself. In his own twisted, dark way, his father was trying to help him.
Maybe their relationship wasn't so fragile after all.
Sarada stared at herself in the mirror. Her skin was pale and her cheeks sullen. With a groan, she stripped from the hospital gown that clung stubbornly to her skin. She winced as the fabric of the gown, soft and downy, brushed against her neck.
Pain pulsed through her skin, and Sarada gently brushed her fingers over the offending area. Tilting her head to the side revealed the source of her pain: a small tattoo. It was a circle, no larger than a coin, with nine arms coalescing into a dot in its center.
It was a whirlpool.
A line of jagged, archaic text flowed around it; encircling it, ensnaring it. Sarada supposed the whirlpool was Bolt's seal, and the barbed wire-like seal surrounding it was Kakashi's work.
The surrounding skin was an angry red color, and it stretched from her neck, over her shoulders, and down her back and across her chest. Sighing, she quickly slipped into a bright red shirt and white shorts her mother had brought her from home. She had only just finished dressing when she heard a knock echo through her room.
Kakashi entered her hospital room without any preamble. "Hello," he greeted her. "How is the seal? Any changes?"
Sarada shook her head. "None. Just sore," she answered.
Kakashi nodded. "That is to be expected. Are you ready?"
Sarada nodded and Kakashi motioned for her to follow him. As she strode through the halls of the hospital, Sarada saw flickers of motion in her peripheral vision. Her Sharingan revealed them to be men and women with porcelain animal masks.
Why were ANBU following her?
Kakashi did not miss her knowing gaze. "They're for your protection," he whispered.
Sarada frowned. Why did she need protection? "Why?" Sarada asked.
Kakashi sighed, and for a moment, Sarada could hear the weight of all his years in his voice. "Protocol. Your father went through a very similar event in his childhood. We all know how that turned out, don't we?"
Sarada frowned as her thoughts turned inward. She would have to corner her father and guilt him into telling her about his "event." Kakashi led her from her hospital room to a large conference room on the second floor. Her ANBU guard followed her dutifully and with as much skill and stealth as they were infamous for.
A large, rectangular table sat in the center of the room. Chairs were arranged so that everyone of importance had a seat. At the head of a table sat a large television with a camera and tripod looming over it. An overweight man with glasses fiddled with some wires and the screen flickered for a moment. Sarada took a seat next to Himawari, who had already been in the room. Kakashi sat next to her, and Sarada had the strangest feeling that she was being guarded by the man who had been the Sixth Hokage.
The signal established, Sarada saw an older woman with washed out pink-colored hair. It was eerily reminiscent of her mother, who sat but a few seats away from herself. Sarada imagined that, at one time, it might have been the bright crimson that the Uzumaki were known for. It had faded with age, but the woman's shoulders did not slump and her chin was held high. She had not faded with her hair.
"Lord Uzukage," the Hokage greeted respectfully, bowing at the waist.
The Uzukage nodded her head in greetings. "Lord Hokage," she said.
Naruto cleared his throat nervously. "We, uh, need your expertise," he began with.
The Uzukage sighed and motioned for him to continue. "I, ah, know you trained Bolt in the art of sealing. He's applied a seal—rather accidently, mind you—to one of his fellow ninja. We'd like you to take a look at it," the Hokage said.
Sarada cringed at how poorly their leader was lying. And to another Kage, no less. The Uzukage frowned thunderously. "Let's not mince words, boy," she said. "What are we dealing with," she demanded.
Naruto sighed audibly, and Sarada saw Bolt's mother place a comforting hand on her husband's. "Bolt has defected from the Leaf. The team I sent to capture him was brought back, alive, but two of their members had an unknown seal placed on them," he explained. "I've had our resident seal master, Kakashi Hatake, take a look at it. He has intimate experience in the field, but has been unable to remove the seals or determine their purpose."
The Uzukage hummed in thought. "I suppose the two brats are the ones with the seal?" she asked, nodding her head in a distinctive forward gesture.
The Hokage nodded. Sarada stilled as she felt the Uzukage's crimson eyes fall on her. "Tell me what happened," she commanded.
Sarada did.
"Approach the camera," the Uzukage said, beckoning her forward. "I need to inspect the seal."
Sarada stood, with Himawari mirroring her. The both of them approached the tripod as a technician tilted the camera to allow for a better angle. A blush blossomed across Sarada's cheeks as she drew her shirt's collar away to allow the woman a view of the seal.
The Uzukage laughed. "Fascinating," she spoke.
Kakashi cleared his throat, and the entire room turned to face him. "What, exactly, about this situation do you find fascinating?"
Sarada returned to her seat as she spoke to someone off camera and beckoned over someone. A tall man with broad shoulders and distinctive amber-colored eyes appeared behind the Uzukage, hovering over her right shoulder. "Your son," she began, nodding to Naruto. "Has advanced far more than I could have ever hoped."
Naruto frowned, and a brief flash of anger overtook his features. "This is not a joke," he said with all seriousness.
The Uzukage waved him off. It was, of all people, Lady Tsunade who asked the very question Sarada had on the tip of her tongue. "What do you mean he has advanced far more than you hoped?" Tsunade asked, leaning forward.
"Princess," the Uzukage greeted the last Senju respectfully. "Young Bolt has reached the level all great aspiring seal masters aim to reach. He's developing his own script."
Sarada frowned. That hadn't answered her question. But, it seemed, to Tsunade and Kakashi, it had answered theirs. They both wore shocked, if awed, expressions. "For those not in the know," Sakura requested.
The Uzukage sighed. "I taught Bolt only the most basic fundamentals of sealing during his brief stay on my island. It was Uzumaki sealing basics, but basics all the same. Any ninja can learn the basics of sealing. It is why all explosive tags look the same. They are mass produced by dabblers in the sealing arts," she began.
"But, when Bolt left, I gave him a single scroll. This scroll contained an expansive library of techniques for him to learn and methods of sealing that have been lost since our clan was scattered to the four winds. The scroll, however, taught him a flawed technique. Purposefully," the Uzukage said with a smirk.
"For all great seal masters, without exception, can only go so far on another's work. When they reach the limit of their learned sealing script—the language in which we write seals—they make their own. You have only to look at your father," the Uzukage said, nodding to the Hokage.
Sarada knew who the Seventh's father was: the Fourth. "Minato was one of the greatest seal masters in a century. When he copied the Flying Thunder God from Tobirama, he was unable to decipher the man's script. So, he made his own. That is why their marks are different."
Sarada saw recognition flash across the Hokage's face before he steeled his features. Her gaze returned to the television. "The reason I say Bolt has advanced far beyond what I could hope for is because he has reached that level. He has reached the end of what the scroll has taught him, and is now improvising and creating his own language," the Uzukage explained, and Sarada could plainly hear the distinctive hint of pride in the woman's voice.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "Be that as it may, you haven't told us what this specific seal actually does," he pointed out.
The Uzukage nodded sagely. "I haven't," she said. "Because I can't."
"What! What do you mean you can't?" Sakura cried. Sarada blushed at her mother's rather forceful defense of her.
The Uzukage's crimson gaze moved to her mother, and Sarada could see the woman's eyes harden at the disrespect she was shown. "All great seal masters write in ciphers. Not only is this seal written in an entirely new language, it's written in code," she said. "It is impossible, even for one as skilled as I, to decipher it over a camera."
Her mother's frown turned thunderous. "You're the greatest seal master alive. You trained Bolt. and you can't even decipher your own student's work?" Sakura spat.
"Careful, girl," the Uzukage intoned. "If you knew what I could do with a brush and a sheet of parchment, you would never sleep soundly for the rest of your life."
Sarada didn't know when he heart had started pounding, but it made her head spin. Thankfully, her mother was cowed and sat back down. "But," the Uzukage said, clearing the air. "I do know that it is not what Bolt said it was. We Uzumaki have no 'Cursed Seal of Obedience.' Well, we do, but it is not something that could be applied so casually as what the girls have described. I also find it highly unlikely that Bolt, as talented as he is, could create a seal that does what a ritual requiring no less than three trained Uzumaki seal masters and dozens of days of preparation can do."
Kakashi leaned forward. "What is it, then?"
The Uzukage shrugged. "I don't know. That is why I'm sending my grandson, Kohaku, to the Leaf. He will decipher the seal for you," she said, gesturing to the man hovering over her shoulder.
Kohaku looked distinctly nervous. He ran his hand through his crimson locks, hiding them behind his ears.
Her mother frowned. "If Bolt is so talented, why can't you come? The Leaf and Whirlpool are allies, after all," she pointed out, her earlier anger somewhat lessened.
The Uzukage chuckled. "I have my own village to run, and ours is in a much more precarious situation than yours," she answered.
Sakura frowned. "How do you know your grandson will be able to decipher the seal, then?"
The Uzukage smiled. "Because," she said. "He is one of the only two in contention for being my successor. It only makes sense one would attempt to undo the work of the other."
The Hokage looked confused for a moment. Sarada thought it was a much more fitting look than the seriousness he had displayed earlier. "What do you mean? You told me Kohaku was your successor," he said hesitantly.
Sarada's eyes widened as she realized what the Uzukage meant. She saw the exact moment when the Hokage came to the same conclusion she did. "Absolutely not!" Naruto barked, standing abruptly.
The Uzukage had the audacity to laugh. "I've requested one of your children be sent to be fostered among us since the moment I learned they were in the womb. You denied me all those years, and yet fate still brought me one of your children," she said.
"Bolt is a member of my family and a ninja of the Leaf!" Naruto protested loudly. "You shouldn't have trained him, let alone considered him for the position of Fourth Uzukage!"
"Please," the woman chided. "We all groom our successors. You yourself have trained both the girls present, making them ideal candidates when the time comes. And do not think I am not aware of you teaching the young master of the Sarutobi clan. I simply did what was expected of me."
"They are my children," the Hokage ground out.
"You have two. One to continue the blood in the Leaf, and one to continue it in the Whirlpool—if he so chooses," the Uzukage countered.
"Be that as it may," Kakashi said, rather loudly. He ended the argument before it could escalate, and Sarada had to bite her lips to avoid laughing at how ashamed the Hokage looked to be scolded by his former teacher. "Bolt is a criminal. It's only a matter of time until he becomes a wanted fugitive by the Union. Supporting him—especially officially acknowledging him as a possible successor—is a highly politically disastrous move. The Leaf will not be able to support the Whirlpool in such a situation."
Sarada frowned as Kakashi brought forth the issue of their failure, and the repercussions of it. "It is only a matter of time," Kakashi said. It was true. She placed a reassuring hand in Himawari's lap. Her friend looked at her with unshed tears in her blue eyes.
When Sarada's gaze returned to the television, she felt the cold chill of fear crawl up her spine. Thousands of miles away, separated by land and by sea, the Uzukage sent Kakashi a glare that would have made lesser men empty their bowels and cut their own throats—even through a television screen.
"Is that a threat, boy?" the Uzukage hissed. "The Whirlpool will always stand by its sons and daughters. Our clan was brought to the brink of extinction once. It shall never happen again. The Cloud and Mist feared us so much that they attempted to slaughter every man, woman, and child with a drop of Uzumaki blood in their veins. If the Union dares to threaten us, they will learn the true meaning of fear."
Sarada couldn't move. The image of the Uzukage flickered erratically as the woman spoke, as if something was interfering with the signal. Through the static, Sarada saw Kohaku rest a hand on his grandmother's shoulder. In an instant, the interference ceased and the signal's quality returned.
There was a silence so tense and thick that it could be cut with a kunai.
Kakashi cleared his throat with a nervous cough. "I apologize," he said, with a casual wave that belied his tension.
The Uzukage nodded. "Expect Kohaku in a week's time. He will decipher the seal, I assure you," she promised, before the screen went black.
Sarada noticed the woman had said decipher—not remove.
Himawari awoke next morning to the sound of nurses flittering in and out of their room. They came and went at all hours of the night. They ran tests, took blood, and changed their IVs. Apparently, they were still officially considered in "critical condition" due to their seals.
This time, however, their nurse wasn't a nurse. It was the greatest medic of all time: Tsunade Senju. To be honest, she was intimidated by the woman. Despite her age, she appeared to be physically in her prime. She held herself with an air of superiority that came with being a powerful ninja and the last in a legendary line of blood.
"Yes?" Himawari asked, afraid of what the Fifth Hokage could possibly want.
Tsunade smiled down at her. "It's time for your physical therapy," she said, with a small, sad smile.
Himawari deflated. Another reminder of her failure. Another reminder that her brother was living on borrowed time. Any day now, the Kage would hold their monthly meeting and her father would have to tell them that Bolt had, officially, defected. He couldn't lie to them. Not again. Bolt was the worst kept secret in the Leaf. Everyone knew that he and the Hokage had a strained relationship. Everyone knew that Bolt had fled the Leaf at the tender age of twelve after the public humiliation his father brought upon him.
Himawari's hand reached up to her neck and caressed the inky black seal that resided there. She could see Tsunade frown out of the corner of her eye. "How are you feeling? Is the seal bothering you? I can call Kakashi here at a moment's notice—"
"I'm fine," Himawari assured the older woman. "Just—just," she said, reaching for a word that just wasn't there. No words existed for how she felt.
All the same, Tsunade seemed to understand her. "I understand," she said softly, taking a seat on her bed. "I grew up with Orochimaru. He was quite talented in the sealing arts, just like your brother. In fact, he taught me much of my basic medical seals. Well, before he defected. It's a strange power they wield, isn't it?"
Himawari nodded numbly. Then her words set in. She had compared Orochimaru and her brother. As if they were the same. As if they were similar. "It's not the same," she muttered with determination.
It wasn't the same. It wouldn't be the same. Himawari didn't think she could live with herself if her brother grew up to be the next Orochimaru. Mitsuki's father was an evil, twisted man who took pleasure in other's pain. He cared nothing for anyone other than himself, and was more than willing to murder, torture, and experiment on anyone to get what he wanted.
They weren't the same at all.
"Maybe not," Tsunade said, a pleased smile on her lips. "I need you to channel some chakra through your pathways for me. Of all the people injured on the mission, yours were the worst."
Himawari nodded. She reached for the pit of fire in her belly that radiated chakra. She grabbed hold of it and circulated it through her body, wincing as her muscles burned as if aflame. She felt feverous.
"How do you feel?" Tsunade asked, running her hands lightly over her skin as they glowed a soft green.
"Hot," Himawari answered, quickly releasing the control over her chakra. It pooled back in its forge, where its flames were reduced to embers.
Tsunade nodded. "I've managed to heal you and Sarada as much as I could during your medically induced coma," she said. "You're young, which is good. Your pathways still have room to grow. It's likely you'll experience a short term decline in chakra control, followed by a rapid rise in your late teens to early twenties as your body naturally stabilizes itself. Yamato was not so lucky."
Himawari sighed. "Is there no way to reverse what my brother's jutsu does?"
Tsunade shook her head. Her blonde hair swayed as she answered. "I'm afraid not. The body simply wasn't meant to handle having its chakra points closed—or opened—to such a degree. You know of the Eight Gates, yes?" Tsunade asked.
Himawari nodded. Most everyone did. Might Guy was heralded as a hero for his efforts in the war and his usage of the Eight Gates. "Think of the Eight Gates as the polar opposite of your brother's technique. The Eight Gates fully unlocks a person's chakra points. Bolt's technique fully closes them, with such force and power that they are damaged in the process. That damage adds up over time, leading to the chakra points growing weaker. If damaged enough..." Tsunade trailed off.
"They would lose control of their chakra," Himawari finished for her.
Tsunade nodded sadly. "It's a terrible fate for any ninja," she said. "Yamato was luckier than most. Though older, his body contains the cells of my grandfather. I think that's the only reason he has bounced back as fast as he has."
"Will it take long for me to heal?" Himawari asked.
Tsunade smiled. "Not if you do exactly as I say, and don't use your chakra unless ordered to," she answered, standing up. "Come on. I had Kakashi fetch Sarada."
Himawari learned a newfound respect for the former Hokage as the woman ran her and Sarada ragged. It was a special kind of training; one meant to minimize chakra usage but promote the growth and strengthening of their pathways.
It was hell.
Naruto sat before his computer screen; grim faced with cold eyes. His shoulders sagged in defeat as he watched the clock above his office door tick ever closer and closer to the designated time. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
His screen lit up with a hiss of static as the other Kage began to connect. He could see Gaara, pale with worry as he took in his haggard appearance. He was the only Kage he felt he could trust enough with the truth. He too knew what was to come, and Naruto silently thanked him for his support.
Chōjūrō was the next to connect. As a former servant of the previous Mizukage and the last living member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, he had an impeccable sense of punctuality. Then came Darui, and finally, Kurotsuchi. The leaders of the Five Great Nations traded greetings and pleasantries, though Naruto could tell they only half meant the words.
Then they moved on to more serious matters. There was the ever increasing tension between the Sand and the Stone as they argued over whom had more claim to the mines in the mountainous border between them. Cloud reported an alarming rise in the number of Jashin worshippers in and around the Land of Lightning. The Mist reported more success at purging its waters of mercenaries and pirates. Naruto himself reported on Orochimaru, his current projects, and the movements of his former experiments in the Land of Fire and its ally, the Land of Sound, to the north.
It was always a tense subject to broach. Orochimaru's reputation still struck fear into the hearts of many. The Leaf was still criticized—to the very day—for sparing the man due to his efforts in ending the war with Madara. Only Naruto's promise to continue watching over him had spared the man from being hunted down by the other villages.
Then they moved on to a subject close to his heart. The Tailed Beasts. "The Three-Tails hasn't been sighted in nearly a decade," Chōjūrō reported dutifully. That was to be expected. Isobu, the great turtle, spent most of his time in the depths of the abyss. Far below where the light of the sun could reach.
"The Two-Tails is quite happy with the range of mountains the Cloud has gifted her," Darui stated. Naruto smiled fondly. Matatabi took to following Bee around like a lost puppy. She hated when he told her that, though. "And Bee continues to wander," he added with a sigh.
"The Four-Tails has claimed residence of one of the volcanoes to our western border," Kurotsuchi reported. "The Five-Tails roams the frozen tundra to the north."
Naruto nodded. "Saiken, the Six-Tails, was last seen in the underground caverns of the Land of Rivers. He hasn't been sighted in nearly eight years," he reported. It fell to the Leaf, being the closest of the Great Five, to monitor Saiken's actions.
The other Kage nodded. Naruto frowned. Whenever they discussed the Tailed Beasts, they never referred to them by name. "And Chōmei?" Gaara asked. All, of course, except for Gaara.
"I haven't heard from him since the end of the war," Naruto informed them. "But my connection with him is still strong. He must be flying around the world." Monitoring the mobile Seven-Tails was an impossibility. The giant, six-winged beetle could fly the distance between the furthest isle of the Land of Water and the furthest peninsula of the Land of Wind in a single day. There was simply no method of tracking him.
"And what of the One-Tail, Kazekage?" Darui asked.
To the others, Gaara answered with a casual calm. But, to Naruto, he clearly saw the lines of tension in his friend's forehead. "Shukaku continues to roam the desert, but little else," he answered.
Satisfied that the Tailed Beasts were not wreaking havoc on the world, the Five Kage moved on to more mundane matters. Trade agreements. Renewing alliances. Planning for their countries' future growth and stability.
That last one, naturally, brought them to the topic Naruto always dreaded. The monthly reports of ninja whom were at risk for defection, and those that already had.
"The Mist continues to keep a watchful eye on its rogue elements. We have nothing to report at this time," Chōjūrō stated dutifully.
"The Sand also has nothing to report at this time," Gaara said.
"The Cloud has retrieved most of our rogue ninja over the years as we and the Mist have hunted down the various mercenary groups in the Land of Water," Darui reported. "Other than those already known, we have nothing to report."
Kurotsuchi cleared her throat. She wore an odd expression, half torn between annoyance and shame. "Two of our ninja, Kagami and Kagari Akiyama, have handed us their informal resignation from the Stone ninja corps," she reported.
"Really?" Naruto asked. Kagami and her sister had been the finalists in the Union's tournament. The elder sister took the title of strongest, but Naruto knew it had only been because he sent the Leaf's most powerful competitors to capture his son. Usually, such high profile ninja were the last to defect from their village.
Kurotsuchi nodded. "They've stated they wish to become bounty hunters. We have ANBU hunting them down as I speak," she said.
The Kage nodded. Naruto minimized a document that had been sent to him containing the intel the Stone had on the two girls. Naruto didn't need to read it. He had remembered, quite vividly, their fight.
All eyes turned to him. Naruto sighed with resignation. "Orochimaru is, as you know, under surveillance. Former agents of the Sannin are under surveillance. The Hidden Sound has made valiant efforts to purge itself of supporters to their old ways and have made every effort of cooperating with the Leaf," he began. With each word he spoke, he dreaded the report he would have to give.
Naruto inhaled a great breath and let loose a long, ragged sigh. "Bolt Uzumaki has, officially, been declared a rogue element of the Leaf," he said, and he cursed his traitorous body as his voice cracked. "I have sent a team to retrieve him."
His declaration was met with silence. It was not often, after all, that the family of a Kage defected. The five Kage nodded, and not a single one of them looked surprised. It was common knowledge, after all, that the oldest child of the Hokage publicly disagreed with the Leaf and its leader.
"Keep us posted," Kurotsuchi said, and one by one, their pictures faded to black on his screen.
Naruto let a long, ragged sigh tear itself from his lips. He powered down his computer, and let the darkness of the night consume the office. Only a pale sliver of moonlight streamed in from the windows. Naruto reached down and opened a drawer. In it, a small earthen jug was hidden away in a discreet green-colored cloth pag.
He poured himself a cup of rice wine as the clock continued to tick life away. He had only a few minutes to enjoy the bitter drink as he waited for his next appointment to join him. He didn't have to wait long. The door parted on silent hinges as Kakashi slipped into the room with barely a sound.
"Kakashi," Naruto greeted, pouring him a cup. The older, silver-haired man took a seat opposite him and graciously accepted the proffered drink. Naruto took a sip, and in the time he had taken his eyes off his former teacher the man had managed to slip off his mask and down the cup's contents.
Despite his grim mood, Naruto smiled wryly. The two of them sat there, in silence, in the darkness of the night. Eventually, he could wait no longer. His second appointment was waiting for him, and wives tended to hold it against their husbands if they were late—even if they were the Hokage. Naruto sighed. "Take care of him, please," he asked his teacher.
"Sure," Kakashi said casually, standing and walking towards the door. "But," he said, pausing and resting his hand on the doorknob. "This is my last mission, Naruto. After this, I'm no longer a ninja of the Leaf. I'm retired, retired."
Naruto nodded, and Kakashi slipped back out into the darkness of the night. He sighed, standing and throwing his Hokage cloak over his shoulder. Tonight, he didn't feel like wearing it. For the first time, in a long time, he doubted his dream. He made his way home, wandering through the dark streets and alleys of the Leaf's less developed districts.
Reaching his door, Naruto turned the doorknob with a sigh. He kicked off his shoes, and found Hinata sitting on a couch waiting for him. She had a scroll clutched in her hands as she sat there patiently awaiting his return.
Naruto found his eyes drawn to the scroll, rather than his wife's beautiful face. "Welcome home, dear," Hinata welcomed him, with that sweet, soft tone she reserved only for him.
"I'm back," Naruto returned, eyes still focussed on the rather official looking scroll.
Hinata was smart. She saw his gaze, and followed it. With a sigh, she handed it to him. Naruto unfurled it with a practiced ease born of years of paperwork behind the Hokage's desk. At the top of the parchment there was a sigil emblazoned in black ink. A large V with a flame kindled between it. The Hyūga clan's sigil. His eyes quickly darted over the words written there.
Naruto had wondered what his wife had wanted to talk to him about. Was it their son? Certainly, that was probable. Their daughter and her injuries? That, too, was something he could understand. In his heart, above all, he had feared the scroll would be a petition for divorce. He hadn't been the best husband over the years. He was married to the job more than Hinata, it felt like. He couldn't blame her if she fell out of love with him.
But this. This was much worse.
"You want to be put back on active duty?" Naruto croaked. It was a petition to be admitted back into the ninja corps. Signed by the clan head and three clan elders. Hinata had officially retired—not like Kakashi, since you never really retired from being a Hokage—when Bolt had been born.
"Yes," Hinata answered, with the same reserved determination he found so attractive in her.
Now, now it wasn't attractive. It was frightening. Naruto had watched the world as the hard won peace he and Sasuke had fought for slowly began to unravel. Tensions were high in Sand and Stone. Mist was on the brink of civil war over the marauding bands of mercenaries, whose popularity swelled ever larger each passing year as the Union's sanctions left ninja in every country bereft of their way of life. People everywhere lived in a near constant fear of the roaming Tailed Beasts, even after countless promises and reassurances that they weren't a danger to them.
The world was not a safe place. Not anymore. Naruto could feel the storm brewing in the distance. He didn't want his wife to get caught in it. He didn't want his children to get caught in it.
"Why?" Naruto asked. In his heart, he knew why, but he still had to ask.
"Because," Hinata said softly. "Our daughter doesn't need me anymore. She has changed from the little girl who followed her mother around grocery shopping. She's more like you, when you were young. Always sneaking off to slip in a training session. Shopping for the best prices on quality steel kunai and shurikens. There's no reason for me to stay home anymore. Not for her. And our son..."
Naruto swallowed. "Our son is lost, Naruto. Lost like Sasuke was. He's so angry and hateful of what the Leaf has forced you to become. You've done your best, I know, for your family and the village. But that's not enough for Bolt. He doesn't want a Hokage. He wants a father," Hinata said.
He could understand the feeling. More than anything else in the world. Naruto had cried himself to sleep more times than he could count wishing and praying that he would wake up the next day and find his mother and father waiting for him. He had been a fool. How could he have never seen the same pain in his son that had plagued him his entire life?
"And," Hinata continued. "And I trust you. Have trusted you. You said you would save Bolt. And you will. But Himawari's injuries tell me that Bolt is angrier than what either of us thought. If someone is going to put their body, their life, on the line to bring him home, then... then it should be me."
She said it with such determination in her violet eyes that Naruto felt his denial catch in her throat. Just like the time she saved him from Pain. Hinata wouldn't back down from this. He should have known from the moment he read the signatures of approval at the bottom of the petition. She had been so determined that she strong-armed the Hyūga clan—the Hyūga clan, of all clans—to allow their princess back into the ninja corps.
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Yes," his wife responded.
Naruto nodded sadly, knowing there was nothing he could say or do that would convince her not to put herself in harm's way. "Alright," he agreed. "But! But, I'm putting you on trial! If you want to be receiving missions again you'll have to prove you're still as strong as you were when we were kids!"
Hinata smirked demurely at him. "Would you like to find out exactly how strong I am, dear?" she asked.
Naruto backed away as he saw the muscles under her thin nightgown ripple as she slipped slowly into a Gentle Fist stance. "No, no! No, dear, that won't be necessary!"
He knew that wasn't a fight he could ever win.
Sarada creeped through the dark halls of the hospital. Her gown flowed behind her, and only her Sharingan illuminated the darkness enough for her to avoid stubbing her toes on chairs, desks, and gurneys that littered the halls.
She made her way to Himawari's room in a few short minutes. It had taken awhile to shake her ANBU guard, but there was little they could hide from her before the eyes of the Uchiha clan. Sarada opened her friend's door and slipped into the room before the hinges could make a sound.
Himawari was waiting for her. She sat on the edge of the bed and kicked her feet back and forth as she stared up at the moon. Sarada took a seat next to her. "We don't have a lot of time," she warned her. She was good, but she wasn't good enough to fool five ANBU into guarding an empty room for more than a handful of minutes.
"Yeah," Himawari said, not looking away from the moon.
"So," Sarada said. "What do we do?"
Himawari was quiet for a time, and Sarada could see her biting her lip as she stared at the moon. "We complete our physical therapy," she finally said. "Lady Tsunade says it will take six months to a year for us to not feel any effects from Bolt's jutsu. After that, we train. One of us will need to join the Union. From inside, we can sabotage as much intel on Bolt as we can without being discovered. Then, when we're strong enough, we go beat some sense into his skull—literally," she said.
Sarada smiled at that. "What about our seals?"
Himawari scoffed. "I know my brother. No matter what he's been through, no matter what you made him see in that genjutsu, there is no way he would ever hurt us. You should have seen him when we were younger. I used to follow him when he went out, and he'd follow after you like a lost puppy when you weren't watching. It was adorable," she said.
Sarada laughed. Himawari's words made her heart swell pleasantly. "What do you think the seals are then?"
"I don't know," Himawari answered. "But we'll find out when Kohaku gets here."
Sarada nodded, turning as she heard the door open. A masked ANBU stood in the door. The man sighed wearily and beckoned her to come with him. Sarada smiled sheepishly and jumped to her feet. She and Himawari parted ways with a wave and a smile.
She didn't have to wait long. Kohaku arrived, along with a small contingent of Uzumaki clansmen, nearly a full week later.
A/N:
There we go. Leaf centric chapter. I was actually surprised with how long I could write without running out of things to say. Anyway, we see the return of the Whirlpool in the story, including the Uzukage (Akane) and her grandson, Kohaku. For those who do not remember them, they are distantly related to Mito Uzumaki, the wife of Hashirama.
Next chapter is the start of the Land of Wind arc! Along the way, we see some old faces, meet some new ones, and go on a magic carpet ride.
Question of the Chapter — I've actually forgotten the past few of these due to the length and hype of the chapters... damn. Anyways, who or what would you like to see in the Land of Wind? I'm taking a very "Arabian Nights" kind of approach to the Land of Wind, so it will be pretty cool. At the moment, I've got Kankuro, Shiki and his team, a few old faces from the Hidden Sand, and the new characters we'll be seeing next chapter.