Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience these last few weeks! I appreciated the comments I got in response to my hiatus that showed support and love. It means more to me more than you guys will possibly understand, so thank you for that. I'm doing slightly better, but all in all, my Writer's Block has greatly improved. We're back to our regularly scheduled stories!
Last Time:
"If it's all right with you," Hiruzen's voice was even, and he sat with his back straight and his eyes focused on Kaguya, "I'd like to name Marshal Namikaze Minato as my successor."
Minato didn't react. The High Council, on the other hand, sat with wide eyes as they all looked to Kaguya, who sat with an unclear expression at first. Then, she smiled.
"Quite a fine successor indeed," Kaguya agreed. "You'll make a formal announcement of your retirement to your people within a week, and just before the new term begins at Elemental Academy, you'll be sworn in as the new Grand Marshal, Namikaze Minato-san. Is that clear?"
Minato simply nodded.
Synchronicity: Chapter 22 – Grand Marshal Sarutobi Hiruzen
Time seemed to fly by for Hiruzen now, whereas before, everything seemed to move at a snail's pace. His days always seemed to drag, but now, they carried on in the blink of an eye without so much as considering him.
He always knew that his tenure as Eden's Grand Marshal wouldn't last forever, but he couldn't help but feel somber at the realization that it was finally coming to an end. He could remember the days when he longed for simpler times, and for days when it didn't feel as though the fate of humanity rested upon his shoulders, but with that weight beginning to come off his shoulders, he didn't feel light, but he felt empty.
"It's rare for you to call us out to drinks like this, Master Hiruzen."
Hiruzen looked up from his full cup of sake to see his three disciples standing in front of him. Otori Jiraiya, Senju Tsunade, and Hakaru Orochimaru. For a moment, he could see the three of them being tweens and grinning up at his with childish delight and massive grins, but now, they were much older with smaller smiles and not an ounce of childishness seemingly left in them.
"Are you all right?" Tsunade asked as she slid into the booth first and took a seat beside Hiruzen. Orochimaru slid in and sat on Hiruzen's left, while Jiraiya pulled up a chair.
"I'm quite all right," Hiruzen answered in an even tone with a small smile. "I just felt like getting a drink with you all."
"It has been a while," Orochimaru admitted as he picked up a cup and held it out as Jiraiya began to pour. "You returned from Haven a few days ago. We expected to hear something from you as soon as you got back, but when we tried to contact you, Lady Biwako mentioned you had seemed off and that we should give you time to process."
"Ah." Hiruzen nodded, "Mm, yes. A lot happened in Haven, to say the least."
"Can you tell us about it?" Tsunade asked. "Not as your Marshals, but as your students?"
Hiruzen looked at each of them. They watched him with a certain intensity, and underneath the weight of each of their stares, he smiled. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade all exchanged looks with one another before watching Hiruzen finally take a sip of his sake.
"I'm retiring as Eden's Grand Marshal," Hiruzen announced.
Jiraiya's, Tsunade's, and Orochimaru's eyes widen simultaneously at their teacher's news. Neither of them knew what to say or how to respond to Hiruzen's announcement. Instead, they all took a sip of their sake one by one and waited quietly as Jiraiya refilled their cups.
"You don't have anything to say?" Hiruzen asked.
"Is there anything to say?" Orochimaru asked.
Jiraiya sighed, "A Grand Marshal can't serve forever, but I suppose we're all just shocked that you're retiring. It's one of those things where it's expected to happen, but when it does happen, you can't help but feel uneasy about it."
"I suppose you're right," Hiruzen agreed.
"What made you decide to retire?" Tsunade asked.
Hiruzen held out his cup and watched as Jiraiya poured, "Supreme Outsutsuki. She feels that over the last twenty years, I've made a series of decisions that have more or less compromised the integrity of Eden."
"What's happened to Eden over the last twenty years isn't your fault," Orochimaru argued. "It's proven that Terrors are attracted to large sources of Chakra, and with Eden being the largest citadel there is, it's not uncommon for frequent attacks to happen here."
Hiruzen shook his head, "That may be true, but I can't help but agree with her. I'd made some questionable choices as a Grand Marshal, and I've placed Eden in compromising positions because of my own stubbornness."
"You did what you had to do to ensure that Eden remained standing," Tsunade argued. "Being a Grand Marshal isn't easy, Master Hiruzen. You've done nothing but a remarkable job."
"Even if you say that the decision has already been made and I am to retire as its Grand Marshal," Hiruzen reiterated. "I'm going to make the announcement in three days, and I'll be announcing my choice of a successor at that time as well."
"And who have you chosen?" Orochimaru questioned. Carefully, he took a sip of his sake but seemed to keep an eye on Hiruzen. Then he noticed how Hiruzen looked across the table and smiled at Jiraiya.
Tsunade looked back and forth between Jiraiya and Hiruzen, but then she noticed Jiraiya smile as well, "You named Jiraiya as your successor?"
"No," Jiraiya answered, "he hasn't. Believe it or not, he chose his successor thirty years ago, isn't that right?"
Hiruzen nodded, "I did."
"Thirty years ago?" Orochimaru repeated.
"It's Minato," Jiraiya answered.
Orochimaru and Tsunade exchanged a look before looking back at their teacher.
"Is that wise?" Orochimaru asked. "I won't deny that Minato does have the skills and talents to be a phenomenal Grand Marshal, but he won't exactly be accepted by the masses with open arms. Not only that, how are the people going to react when youannounce that he's your successor? If anything, in the eyes of the people, you've been at odds with Minato for years."
"It's true," Hiruzen answered. "In the eyes of the people, it's going to seem idiotic that I'm choosing to leave this citadel in the hand's of the man who seemed to threaten it's very integrity for years for the sake of his own family; however, I didn't do what I did because I feel any type of animosity towards Minato. As I told Minato the other day, as a husband and a father, I understand very well why he did what he did, and I assured him that I did all that I did because it was my duty as a Grand Marshal. Had it been any other way, then things could've been – no, they would've been – much different."
Jiraiya leaned against the table, "How are you going to get the people of Eden to accept this decision, Master Hiruzen? I mean, this'll cause a stir, unlike anything we've ever seen before and will most likely ever see again."
Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, you're right. But with us being in the times that we are now, I do believe it's best if things were rattled just a bit, don't you think?"
"Drastic times call for drastic measures, I suppose," Orochimaru muttered.
"How do you feel about all of this?" Tsunade asked. "And I'm not talking about Minato, I'm talking about you stepping down?"
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad," Hiruzen admitted with a light chuckle. "I've served as Grand Marshal of Eden for forty-five years. That's a majority of my life, and though I can admit to the three of you that there were days where I wanted to quit, and days where I wish I could've gone back in time and told my younger self to reject former Grand Marshal Tobirama's request, I wouldn't trade a single day of my service in for anything in the world."
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru couldn't help but smile a little.
"I want to thank the three of you for serving as my Marshals for as long as you have, and for going on this journey with me." Hiruzen made sure to make eye contact with each of them as he looked around at them. "I consider myself blessed to have been able to train the three of you and to watch you grow into the remarkable individuals you are today. I couldn't be prouder of the three of you, and I'm glad I'm able to say that I was your teacher."
Orochimaru chuckled, "You're going to make Tsunade cry if you keep talking like that, Master Hiruzen."
"Shut up," Tsunade argued as she sniffled and down her cup of sake in three massive gulps.
"Slow down," Jiraiya warned as he gently pulled on Tsunade's nose. "Get some food in your stomach first before you start throwing back sake like that."
Hiruzen chuckled at the three of them begin to bicker with one another. Despite the three of them being well into their fifties, they still managed to bicker at one another like children. It was a nostalgic sight, and Hiruzen hadn't realized it until now, but he hadn't sat down with the three of them like this in a very long while.
"Once I'm retired," Hiruzen spoke up and immediately got their attention, "would you mind drinking like this with me every once in a while?"
"Of course not," Jiraiya agreed. "We'd be more than happy to sit down with you, Master Hiruzen. Always."
"I suppose if it doesn't interfere with my schedule, I wouldn't mind joining you every now and then," Orochimaru agreed.
"I'm always free for a drink," Tsunade declared.
Hiruzen smiled, "Thank you. All of you."
"Now you're really going to make Tsunade cry," Orochimaru teased.
"I am not!" Tsunade shouted through watery eyes.
Jiraiya laughed, "I think we've reached out sentimentality for the night, don't you think? Let's order something to eat."
Together, the four of them shared a meal for the first time in a while. They reminisced about the past when things seemed to be simpler and how things now seemed to be changing faster than they could possibly imagine. They didn't talk about work. They didn't talk about Terrors, both Abnormal and Normal, and they didn't talk about Haven. It was the easiest night the four of them had experienced in a long time.
At the end of the night, they wandered out onto the street and saw very few people out and about. When Jiraiya glanced down at his watch, he saw it was nearing two in the morning.
"I suppose it would be too late for me to stop by the lab and get some research done," Orochimaru admitted with a yawn.
"I'm sorry to have kept you out this late," Hiruzen apologized.
"Don't apologize," Jiraiya told him as he knelt in front of Tsunade and allowed her to climb onto his back. He stood up and hoisted her up, then chuckled as Tsunade nuzzled her cheek against his, "It was great getting to take it easy for a change."
"Thank you for the drinks, Master Hiruzen," Tsunade slurred with a cheery smile.
"I'll walk you home, Master Hiruzen," Orochimaru offered.
"Goodnight," Jiraiya called as he began to walk away with Tsunade on his back.
After parting ways, and after Orochimaru walked Hiruzen back to the Grand Marshal Estate, Hiruzen went into his study rather than his bedroom. Before tonight, he had mulled over how to address the people of Eden on his retirement, but after spending a night out with his former pupils, all uneasiness he had felt before had dissipated.
He opened a drawer of his desk and removed a blank scroll. He carefully unrolled it and smoothed out the paper before preparing an inkwell and brush. Admittedly, it was an oldfashioned way to write, but it was a tradition for the Grand Marshals of Eden to write their inaugural address and farewell address in a scroll. Hiruzen had received Senju Tobirama's addresses on the day of his inauguration, and before that, Tobirama received the addresses of that of his elder brother, Hashirama.
Now, Hiruzen was preparing to pass on his addresses to Minato. How Hashirama had explained it, it was a way of assuring future Grand Marshals that whatever doubts they may be feeling before taking on the role of Grand Marshal aren't new. That previous Grand Marshals faced their own adversities and challenges during their tenure, but all in all, it was going to work out so long as they put Eden and its people first. With the passing of these addresses from one Grand Marshal to the next, it carried the hope for the future through generations.
He wrote until dawn, and once he signed the end of it, he gently blew on his name and waited for the ink to dry. He looked over it once more, and once he was satisfied with it, he gently rolled it closed. He looked behind him where, in a glass case, two scrolls sat side by side.
The one on the left was white, while the one of the right was black, and on the base of each hilt, Senju Tobirama's name was carved into the wood. For a moment, Hiruzen thought back to the moment when Tobirama had asked him to succeed him. He'd just been a teenager then and didn't fully understand the severity of the Grand Marshal position. He'd accepted, thinking that being a Grand Marshal meant getting to relax since things were quieter then, but when Tobirama had been gravely injured, and Hiruzen succession was moved up, he felt the entire weight of his new title crash in on him.
He was naïve back then, but he knew that if he knew back then what he knew now, he still would've accepted with a moment's hesitation. And he would've accepted with a straighter back and higher head. But knowing that he couldn't change the past, he was going to make sure that he addressed the people of Eden just as confidently as he wished he could've accepted his successorship all those years ago.
On the day of his announcement, Hiruzen's family stood behind him. Though they'd been upset about his forced retirement, they were admittedly relieved to see Hiruzen finally get a break. His wife Biwako, their son Adachi, his wife Katsumi, their son Asuma, his wife Kurenai, and Adachi's son Konohamaru all were behind Hiruzen as he walked out onto the podium for the last time.
"People of Eden," Hiruzen began, his voice booming with confidence and authority so that he commanded the attention of each and every person watching him at that moment, "I stand before you today having served you for forty-five years as your Grand Marshal. I was bestowed this honor by Grand Marshal Senju Tobirama, and it is with great pleasure and great pride that I can say, with your help, we've managed to maintain and ensure that Eden continued to grow, thrive, and prosper against any and all adversities we've faced during my tenure."
There was a resounding round of applause mixed with cheering that resonated across Eden. Hiruzen had experienced it many times, but today's felt different. He supposed that the feeling of him being the recipient of that praise was reaching its expiration, and he could slowly feel the seconds tick by as he stood there before them. The reality was settling in, but it didn't make him feel somber as it had before.
"And," Hiruzen wore a melancholy smile, "it is with a heavy heart that I announce that my tenure as your Grand Marshal has finally reached its end."
Silence slowly fell over the crowd.
"It has been nothing short of an honor and a privilege to serve you as I have these last forty-five years, but it is time for me to step down from my position as Eden's Grand Marshal and place Eden, its people, and its future in the hands of its next Grand Marshal," Hiruzen continued. "I will admit that I mulled over what to say to all of you at this moment, and even more so these last few days, but after sitting down with my former students, it became clear to me for what I needed to say.
"I want to leave all of you with a necessary message," Hiruzen stated. "In recent years, Eden has been faced with adversity that many other citadels would've crumbled beneath, but here in Eden, we've stood firm against anything and everything that has beaten against these walls our ancestors built nearly five centuries ago. I want you all to continue to stand firm against the Terrors and Nightmares that threaten what we've fought so hard to protect here.
"I can admit that my traditionalist way of viewing the world, and my unwillingness to accept what was changing around me, has led me to make decisions that could've otherwise jeopardized the integrity of our citadel. And I apologize for that. I served you as best as I could, for as long as I could, but it has become evident to me that the times that Eden is destined to face are something I cannot adapt to. And it isn't due to an unwillingness, but my incapability to do so, and that is something I was unable to accept until recently.
"However, I know you, the Citizens of Eden, are made up of some of the most brilliant, remarkable, and resilient bunch of Hunters and Huntresses that have blessed this time that we are in," Hiruzen spoke proudly, and just as he had promised himself, he kept his back straight and his head high. "When I first addressed the Citizens of Eden at the young age of twenty-five, many of you were skeptical of whether or not I'd be able to keep up what former Grand Marshals Senju Tobirama and Senju Hashirama had started, and to be quite honest with you, I was skeptical of whether or not I'd be able to myself.
"But I must say thank you for opening up to the idea of me serving you as Grand Marshal, and for allowing me to do so. And I ask that you continue to do the same for the man I've chosen to succeed me in this role as your Grand Marshal. We, as a people, have become comfortable with our strength, but I ask that you change your mentality on our comfort and our strength. Times are changing, and we too must change along with it if we are going to continue to survive.
"And I don't doubt for a second that my successor will ensure that Eden solidifies its foundation, that I've unfortunately compromised, and makes it so that Eden stands for another five centuries long after I've gone, and that he's gone. As I retire from my position of Grand Marshal of Eden, I name my successor to be, Marshal Namikaze Minato."
If someone had suddenly dropped a pin on the edge of Eden, Hiruzen was sure he heard it. The silence was expected, but it was far more deafening than he had anticipated. He let the silence remain for a little while, and he allowed the news to settle in over the Citizens of Eden.
He sighed, "Eden has been strong and will remain strong against anything and everything it has faced and will face in both near and distant future. A change – a truly drastic change – is necessary. I believe Namikaze Minato, a man who has done nothing short of miracles and been nothing but tenacious is the very man Eden needs for what we're about to face.
"Despite all that Namikaze has faced in response to his own actions, due to my decisions as his Grand Marshal, he has always fought to keep Eden and its walls standing. Despite all that has happened to him as a Citizen of Eden, he has done his due diligence to serve Eden and protect it to the best of his ability.
"When a horde threatened these walls just six months ago, Namikaze fought on the front lines and protect Hunters and Huntresses who would've preferred to see him fall at the hands of a Terror, but despite the animosity they might've felt towards him, he protected them. And most recently, he protected our children in Momobami Forest. He has fought tirelessly not only for his family, but for this citadel, and I wouldn't want anyone but him to succeed me in this role."
Hiruzen silently prayed that he could get through to them. He never doubted his decision before, but for those few seconds of silence, he wondered if he should've chosen someone else. But, his doubt faded just as quickly as it had appeared as he heard clapping come from the crowd gathered outside. First, it was one person, then there were two. Then the number grew to thirty, then two hundred, until eventually there wasn't a person who wasn't clapping.
Hiruzen couldn't help but smile at their acceptance of Minato as his successor. He let out a sigh of relief as he looked out over them once more, "I thank you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. I ask that you continue to stand firm against all things that threaten this place, and I ask that you stand with your next Grand Marshal, Namikaze Minato, in continuing to grow Eden. We will not bend or break against anything, for we are humanity's stronghold. For the Glory of Mankind, we shall not fall!"
"For the Glory of Mankind, we shall not fall!" the Citizens of Eden responded to Hiruzen's final words with a resounding cry that shook the very walls of Eden that day.
Hiruzen waved to the Citizens of Eden one more time before stepping off his podium. He headed back into the Elite Special Forces' building. There in the waiting room, he could see Biwako had light tears streaming down her face while both of his sons simply looked proud. His grandson seemed mesmerized, but all together, they were pleased with Hiruzen's address.
Hiruzen gently kissed his wife's forehead before wiping away her tears, "There's no need to cry for me, Biwako. I've done what was required of me, and now it's time I leave Eden in the hands of someone else."
Biwako nodded in agreement, "I know. I know. It's just bittersweet is all."
"I know." Hiruzen hugged his wife and let out a heavy sigh. "I'll admit, for a while, it felt like that this day would never come, but now that it's finally happened, it almost feels like my time as Grand Marshal happened in a blink of an eye."
"Well, I can promise that it was more than a blink of an eye," Asuma argued, and Hiruzen chuckled. "But, now that you're retired, what are you going to do with all your new free time?"
Hiruzen stood there quietly for a moment as he thought about his answer. Then, he said, "I'm going to go to sleep."
To Be Continued…
