Author's Review Response:
To Wendel Santana: Thanks! I'll keep on going as long as you commenting!
To SPark 681: …Maybe he will, maybe he won't. It might happen sooner, or perhaps later. Keep reading to find out.
To Jokatox: I understand your gripes. I'll try and limit the () in the story, but I won't make any promises that it will never happen again. As for putting (Naruto) after Ventos, people get confused whenever I just say Ventos alone. That's why I do it. I'll try and not do it as much, but I cannot make any promises that I'll not do it again.
To redlox2: I'm glad that you're still reading in general. Hopefully, you'll like what happens in the future.
With that being taken care of, on with the show!
Council Chambers, Konohagakure, 91 N.E.
Two days later, in the Hokage's tower, a variety of people were present. The meeting room consisted of the Yondaime Hokage, as well the current advisory; Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Now you might be wondering, why the hell is somebody like Jiraiya and Tsunade filling the advisory role instead of those old geezers like Danzō, Homura, and Koharu? Toi give you an honest answer...
…They're all dead.
Yes, all three of the comrades of the late Sandaime had been locked up before their deaths. For what, you ask?
Treason.
See, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew of the dirty politics that his former teammates were involve in during the later years of his time in office. That meant the Sandaime knew about their exploits in covering up scandals, doing business with the branch of the yakuza empire, and most importantly, providing and exchanging information and resources to the likes of Orochimaru through Danzō's Ne (Root) Foundation ANBU working against Hiruzen to one day usurp the Sandaime and seize control.
Learning of this, Hiruzen was so appalled that he took it upon himself to create his own special elite and top secret ANBU task force specifically to counter the Ne Foundation and uproot the traitors from the shadows with evidence. During this time, Hiruzen handpicked familiar faces like Yugao Uzuki, Shisui, Uchiha, and Hayate Gekkō for the job. However, the Sandaime also chosen lesser known people, namely like the branch house clan head Hizashi Hyūga and failed Ne Foundation experiment Tenzo (or Yamato as he likes to be called nowadays).
These elite counter ANBU where known to be called in public as the Left Hand of the Sandaime, Kaibun (or Cinder), and their unit of ANBU bringing to light the traitorous affairs of the former Konoha Advisory would be later known as Squad 0.
And after justice was served by Kaibun utterly crushing the Ne Foundation, Tsunade and Jiraiya were forced come back to take over where Danzō and the other old fools sat. Although they were not pleased at their Sannin traveling rights being temporarily barred, it proved to be a great decision once the Kyūbi attack of October 10th happened. Andto wasn't too much of a hassle for Konoha since the toad sage had an understudy handling his spy network and Tsunade was running the medical division at the hospital with Shizune as an assistant.
And to this day, the Left Hand of the Sandaime is still active, waiting for the orders of the Yondaime on standby.
Moving on, the next body of people was the ninja council which were comprised of Konoha's noble clan leaders. All those present consisted of Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi, Tsume Inuzuka, Hiashi Hyuga, Shibi Aburame, and Fugaku Uchiha.
Then, there was the Civilian Council. This Council was inhabited by fifteen upstanding and high ranking civilians of the working-class that bolstered the economy through taxes, keeping Konoha afloat. The Haruno couple led the folk.
And finally, we have the guests of the meeting. Present as allies was Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure, Mei Terumi. And with the red headed lady was her trusted bodyguard, Ventos Drakkenborne. The teen advised an urgent request for the meeting that was held today
Minato took a moment to gaze upon the young mage with the sense of longing that was also fueled by a bit of nostalgia.
'Holy—Ruki-chan wasn't like joking at all. If it weren't for that peculiar looking scarf I'd be looking at a mirror right now...You've grown so much, haven't you, son?'
"I know that it's early, but I have called this meeting in regards to our fellow allies—"Minato started gesturing to the busty redhead and the Dragon Slayer.
"—about a common threat we both share that reared its face recently, Orochimaru." The older blond finished, which was responded by gasps (civilians) and glares (ninja/advisory).
Minato gestured to Mei, allowing her to give the briefing about the situation at hand. Clearing her voice, she elegantly spoke.
"As you all know, the snake summoner is a S-Rank fugitive. In our case, one of his spies were infiltrating our resistance bases during the time of the civil war in search of classified information. Once we manage to identify that person, he not only managed to get away, but murder five of our ninja with a scalpel before fleeing. We've never seen him since." Began Mei before a fat civilian snarked.
"Well, that's your problem! What does this have to do with us?" The obese man said with their council roaring in agreement before a loud "SILENCE!" bellowed from an angry Minato hushed them.
"Alright, I'm not going to dance around the matter. Orochimaru is planning on to invade Konoha sometime during the Chunin Exams." The Terumi revealed.
"EH!?" exclaimed the toad and slug sages respectively.
The sudden revelation created quite a stir amongst the Ninja council, given that their children and clan heirs were taking the exams. Faces morphed into horror and fear, thinking about worst case scenarios revolving around Orochimaru and his sadistic experimentations.
"We got to do something, my little pup is in there!" screamed Tsume.
"All of our children are in the exams!" Shikaku corrected.
"If we don't think of something fast, all will be lost!" said Choza.
"ORDER! I WILL HAVE ORDER IN THIS ROOM!" Minato commanded.
The commotion ceased had yet again with Minato composing himself back to his well-mannered state. Panic was the last thing he needed after hearing of his fellow ex candidate's scheme of invading his homeland.
Even as a genin, Minato had always thought there was something ominous whenever he gazed at the snake from a particular standpoint. The pale bastard seemed to be the pinnacle of inanimate with the side of cunningness, however, underneath the prodigy was a vain, ambitious, and sinister beast of a man who was hell-bent on conquest and immortality. Just the mere thought that man along with his cronies targeting Minato's beloved village and family bothered the Hokage to no end.
"How did you drew to this conclusion, Mizukage-sama?" Asked Tsunade, curious at the redhead.
Mei turned her attention to Ventos, who at this point of the meeting, kept himself in check despite being in the same room as Minato. Inwardly taking deep breaths, he stepped forward while he cleared his throat to get everybody's attention.
"If I may, I'd like to answer that question on milady's behalf." Ventos spoke with a heavy Runic accent.
"Ah yes, you're one of Kiri's war heroes my eldest daughter mentioned a few days ago. What was your name again?" Minato queried, curious to hear the teen's response.
"Ventos, Hokage-sama." The pastel blond quickly reinforced like steel.
Minato frowned at that answer. From the tone of his voice, he could tell that Ventos didn't want to be around him, let alone speak to him. Not that he could blame him, it was his fault that he turned out that way. Though, that only further the assurance of the possibility that the young man was his son. That one notion brought hope and it excited the elder blond man.
"What information can you provide our council, Vento-san?" Shibi respectfully asked.
Ventos then gave the entire council a complete briefing in regards to his encounter with Orochimaru after intercepting Konoha's Squad 7. He told them of Orochimaru's assault and his schemes to harvest the Sharingan, prompting a death glare on Fugaku's part.
Furthermore, Ventos went into great detail on how the Sannin nearly murdered Ruki, which caused Minato's killing intent to spike from his paternal anger while Ventos rolled his eyes.
Finally, the mage ended the explanation with his team rescuing the genin squad and his square off against the traitor himself. Needless to say, the entire council, excluding Mei were shocked beyond comprehension. Participating in a civil war was one thing, but managing to go toe to toe with an S-Rank rōnin/Sannin and without a single scratch or bruise was a feat on its own.
Tsunade and Jiraiya had a questioning gaze upon pastel blond at such accomplishments, especially Jiraiya. He'd figure Ruki, the Child Of Destiny would be able to able to at least stall the traitor, but for a random genin to not only stand up to him but cause him to retreat was an anomaly. Ventos was an anomaly.
"So you mean to tell us that you, a mere genin, had encountered and successfully pushed back Orochimaru?" Jiraiya cynically asked.
"Aye, but only temporarily. He escaped afterwards." The teen answered, detecting Jiraiya and Tsunade's suspicion in the air.
'The bastard wasn't even trying to engage in a fight anyway...' Ventos grunted in his mind.
"Yeah right! This feeble attempt of painting yourself in a better light then our Hokage's daughter and the Uchiha won't be taken accounted for! For all we know this briefing is exaggerated, dare I say farce! So on behalf of the Civilian Council, I demand you tell us what really happened, boy!" Mebuki Haruno howled with the rest of the villagers backing her up.
Minato was about to silence his annoying civilians until a massive wave of killing intent flooded the entire room, nearly drowning councilmen with such pressure. A good portion of the civilian council sweat profoundly as all of the clamped their mouths shut.
The Ninja Council flinched a bit from Ventos' death stare, sensing the thick tension releasing into the air.
The Hokage and his advisors kept their cool on the outside, but their minds were another story.
'This level of killing intent cannot be genin level!' All three thought together.
When Ventos settled down, Mei stepped forward to speak once more.
"In all due respect, Hokage-dono, I am quite shocked and appalled at the level of belligerence that your people has demonstrated to my shinobi. If your so-called 'civilian council' is this unprofessional to fellow allies then I doubt we'll be attending any more of these meetings again."
"I understand, Mizukage-dono. And I apologize for their unacceptable behavior. I'm sure that their conduct will be adjusted to the highest level of professionalism, am I clear?" Minato apologized to his fellow Kage before glaring at the civilians, prompting them to nodded feverishly.
'Troublesome villagers...' Shikaku mentally sighed.
"I'd hope so. Now let's get back to the business. Jiraiya-san, Tsunade-san, from what I recall, you and Orochimaru were teammates at a certain point of your lives, correct?" Mei assessed in a questioning manner. The two Sannin nodded.
"Yes, we all were on a team back when Hiruzen-sensei was a jōnin instructor." Tsunade answered albeit somberly as she was reminded of the Sandaime's sacrificed during the Kyūbi attack.
Seeing where this was going, Shikaku came back into the conversation.
"If I may bring myself back into this discussion, I believe that I have an idea of what you are alluding to."
"Is that so? Enlightened me then, Nara-san."
Shikaku proceeded to come of with an elaborate and strategic plan that involved both the Gama and Nameku Sannin intercepting and engaging the Hebi Sannin with the backing of the Yondaime and some of the best jonin in Konoha.
"Your clan's famed intellect never ceases to amaze me." Mei complimented, who Shikaku acknowledged.
"But will it be enough to overcome that hebi-teme's craftiness?" Tsume countered.
"Not entirely. Rumors say that he not only built himself his very own village but also is accompanied by another village." Said the Mizukage.
"But who would dare to ally themselves with Orochimaru of all people!?" Screeched Mebuki.
"I say it's either Kumo or Iwa. Our relationships with those villages aren't the best at the moment. Not since the third war and the kidnapping attempts" Inoichi figured, given the history between the three villages.
Most of the entire council came with that agreement, all except the Gama Sannin, Mei, Minato, and Ventos.
"No, no, no, that can't be right! When Jiraiya-sensei came back with Tsunade a month ago, he informed me that Kumo has converted to neutrality after the Yondaime Raikage came into office. Also, Iwa hadn't made a move towards our borders in the last sixteen years. They even wish to discuss the possibility of a peace treaty." Minato reasoned.
Grumbling echoed amongst the civilians with frustrations rising in the meeting room. Take the Inuzuka matriarch for example, with said clan head jumping up from her seat and slamming her hands onto the table from all the pent up distress she was feeling.
"This constant blaming is getting us nowhere! Who gives a shit with the "who", I, for one, would want to know is "what", as in what are we going to do to maintain not only the safety of our village but the safety of our children from that power-hungry, pedophilic, snake-skinned piece of shit!"
All voices came to a screeching halt at that maternal outburst. The shinobi council, in question, nodded as the Hokage silently apologized for his ignorance as the meeting proceeded to continue with the counter-attack.
"Mizukage-sama, if I may, I would like to ask of you of your involvement to this situation in the grand scheme of things." The Uchiha patriarch questioned.
"Yes, please tell us of your contributions to this game plan. The Shinobi council and the advisory would all like to have a sneak peek at your playing cards." asked Tsunade, pondering what the redhead was coming up with.
Mei smirked at everybody with a cheeky smile. The lady then proceeded to move next to Ventos and patted on his back.
"Ladies and gentlemen, there is no need to fret. I've got my ace right by my side with the king, jack, queen, and wildcards on standby. It's only the matter on how and when it's played. Vento-kun, please be a dear and present them the rundown."
"At once, my lady." The mage complied respectfully.
The blond shifted his attention back to the other members of the council.
"What my guil—I mean my team, will be doing is damage and enemy control. My assumption of how the invasion will start is an explosion during the finals, which is the perfect time for an assault since everybody is gathered in one place. Once it goes off, I'll give the cue, deploying half of my teammates evacuate the civilians from the facility while the other half engage with the grunts over at the borders, granted we'll need the help of your genin of course. I'll be assisting with aiding the Kage taking down the common foe. After Orochimaru is taken care of, my teammates and I will be awaiting the Mizukage's next orders."
Murmurs filled the room but this time, it was more of a civilized melody of consulting voices and reasonings rather than rantings and bias. The Mizukage, similar to Kushina, wasn't as patient as most women, cleared her throat to gain the masses' attention.
"So...is this a go or a no go?"
Minato second on the question.
"You heard the Mizukage! All those in favor of the plan, "yay", and those who aren't, "nay", chose now."
Much to Ventos' surprise, a miracle occurred in the meeting room in the form of a unanimous vote. The Civilian Council, Shinobi Council, the advisory, and the Hokage all agreed with the plan as a loud unified "Yay" echoed in the office. In his mind, Ventos could imagine Helheim freezing over from such an act, though he shrugged off the sarcasm his soul held internally.
And with a smile on his face, Minato closed the off the session, dismissing everybody in the room save for Ventos, who he asked to speak to via a favor from Mei. Unfortunately for the younger blond, she complied by leaving the two alone.
The young man stood face to face with the man who nearly destroyed his life. Numerous feelings stirred up when just being in the presence of this man; anger, sorrow, uncertainty, and most importantly,...betrayal.
This self-righteous, overly-superstitious, child-neglecting, pathetic excuse for a human being had sold him out!
When Magius told him why the civilian's of Konoha ostracized him scornfully, it left him at flustered state. He wasn't a Jinchuriki, he didn't even have shown any signs of possessing a bijū, let alone containing one. However, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious the situation became. It didn't take long until Ventos found out about the so-called prophecy. In fact, the legend itself was butchered when the toads acquired it. You see, there isn't a single child of destiny, but two.
As two worlds are intertwined, a blessed warrior from each world emerges; a warrior of radiance, and a warrior of shadows. Opposites they may be, but put together they shall bring balance and peace two both realms face chaos incarnate.
But the one thing that really pissed off Ventos was that it stated that both children are male.
In translation; Ruki wasn't the Child of Destiny.
By the time Ventos found this out, everything became clear to him. Minato somehow lied to the villagers, stating that the strongest demon was split between its chakra and soul so that the civilians could use hi— "Naruto", as a sacrifice while Ruki, who had the demon, trained to be the supposed 'hero of the world'.
In conclusion, all of the drama, lynchings, and loneliness had been for naught. The searing rage inside of the boy's heart brewed up like his runic namesake.
Minato fucked up, tremendously.
"Is there a reason for me staying behind, Hokage-sama?" asked the swordsman, mentally berating is so-called 'father' which was spacing out like an idiot.
"Oh, pardon me! I simply wish to discuss your exploits around—" Minato muttered only to be cut off by the teen.
"—You mean my endeavors and success of my team's career? Is that what you were going say, Hokage-sama?"
"Y-Yes, that's correct." Stuttered the anxious Yondaime Hokage.
Then the young blond proceeded to confirm all the events that took place pre and post the civil war in Kiri. While Ventos went into detail on the matter, Minato couldn't help but marvel at the confirmation and imagine just how strong his son had become. He and his team single-handedly took down the Sanbi jinchuriki, who was the Yondaime Mizukage and his army with the backing of Mei.
Despite the heavy amount of pride he felt in regards to him, that feeling was instantaneously replaced with unbearable shame for not only pushing his son away but purposely tossed him to the wolves. The elder blond couldn't help but internally and bitterly laugh at the irony of it all.
'It seems that mine and Jiraiya-sensei's plan worked out after all... but at the end does not justify the means. I was wrong to disregard you, musuko.'
"That's quite the number of feats under your belt. It's no wonder you were able to get through the second stage. You are a very gifted young man." Minato complimented, yearning for a positive response.
Ventos, however, didn't take such comments as anything but ash running down his throat. As a child, he had always wanted to hear those words come to life from his 'father' but as it stands now, this was not only an insult, but it was also a complete waste of his time.
"Is that all you wanted to talk about, Hokage-sama? I have other important matters to attend to."
Ventos won't ever admit it but he enjoyed seeing the hurt look in the Yondaime's eyes. It was a satisfying feeling in all honesty, and yet that emotion left his heart feeling all the more tainted. Not wanting to continue with this feeling, Ventos shrugged it off. Ventos began to walk to towards the door until a his wrist was grabbed by a hysterical looking Yondaime.
"Wait! Don't leave again, Naruto." Minato implored, tears fell from his eyes.
"Naruto? Sorry, Hokage-sama, but you're mistaking me for somebod—"
"No! I know that it's you, son. I've seen what that traitor has done to you. Everything."
Ventos just stood there, contemplating on this new revelation. That bastard knew who he was? Tch! Give him a break! Feeling the burning sensation of rage, yellow electricity surged from Ventos' right wrist, shocking Minato into releasing the younger blond from the Yondaime's hand.
"ARGH!" Shouted the Namikaze clan leader, cradling his right hand while looking back to his wayward son.
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama," The pastel blond said flatly. "I did nit mean to harm you. I have a bio electrical field around me that triggers whenever a stranger comes into contact with me." Ventos explains while he reaches for the door.
While turning his head to the older Hokage, Ventos said, "I took this recaution after an...unsettling event occurred in my earlier life. Of course, I wouldn't expect you to understand. After all, we aren't relatedr. So please refrain from assuming such things, Hokage-sama. Your son has been dead for almost a decade, move on with your life. I am Ventos Drakkenborne, protector of the Godaime Mizukage. Good day."
With the door closing with a gentle click, Minato collapsed on the floor in tears with his both normal and burnt hands against the floor. He kept relaying apologies to his son like prayers while a constant sentence ran through his mind as his own twin sister flashed in his mind.
'No! Musuko, come back! Please! No, what have I done!? I have failed! I failed you, my parents and Naruki-nee! I failed my own family! Damn it all...DAMN IT ALL!'
To Be Continued...
Author's Note:
Short chapter today. I don't really have much to say, it's kind of somber for me at the moment. But I will say thank you all so much for hanging on with me in this story. Your support means more than you true can fathom. I'm heading out now. Stay safe and golden. Have a blessed day. Shadow, out!
-DarkShadowGames451