Edited: as of November 2021.

Mito... still wasn't sure about Lord Uzumaki... although, after the incident with the Hyuga, she was no longer questioning if he was the real thing.

Mito hadn't been with her clan, when their village was destroyed. She had moved away, near 300 years ago. Back when Konoha was first founded, she had left her clan, to be with Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage.

She had helped the man achieve his dream, of uniting the clans of Fire Country. The Clan wars had been devastating, back then... and Hashirama's sheer optimism could not be denied.

Mito had sacrificed much, in helping that man gather the clans... and when he died, before seeing his dream fully realized, she devoted herself to making it a reality. To create an era of peace... which lasted for nearly 200 years.

Oh there was the occasional blood feud, but those were usually resolved quickly enough. Due to the intervention of the Hokage, and even when they lasted years, they were no where near as bad as a true war.

However, this arrival of Lord Uzumaki. For the past 50 years, more and more sightings had been made. It's said, within the whispers of the clan, that the reason this newest war has lasted so long... was because Lord Uzumaki kept sticking his nose into it.

The war had lasted 50 years. Mostly because Lord Uzumaki kept making appearances and pissing off Kiri. It's said, in even more hushed voices, that the war was nothing more then a game of Chess between Lord Uzumaki... and Madara Uchiha.

They were playing with the lives of millions, trying to outwit each other... trying to claim this world as their own... Mito honestly didn't know who she wanted to win.

The man, if Lord Uzumaki was indeed a "man", was too horrified by a perceived injustice... and forced the "Wrong Doers" to act according to his own values. Toppling governments with such little thought or concern for the consequences. It wasn't just that he wanted to, many people will admit to wishing they had the power to change the world... it was the fact he could.

For Mito, his identity was confirmed, when he learned what the Hyuga did to the branch families. It wasn't that the Hyuga weren't bastards, in there own right. Kami knows she has spent centuries trying to convince the Clan to let her fix the seal.

No the issue was Lord Uzumaki saw an injustice, and with the slightest effort on his part, corrected it. He took choice out of the equation. After all "Do as I say or die," is hardly a choice.

He just walked his way into the heart of the Hyuga Compound, no backup... no weapons... and beat the ever loving shit out of the entire clan. It made no difference that there leader came to thank Lord Uzumaki for "saving the branch families"... the god merely waved him off, with a warning to do better.

That was so... Lord Uzumaki. The Hyuga clan had been conquered with such ease, and not a single life lost. Not even a single serious injury, as they all had bumps and bruises and killer headaches at the worst.

This man so embodied the Legends of "Lord Uzumaki" that he could be no one else. A spirit of vengeance, holding not the slightest taste for mercy... yet contradictorily working so hard to preserve life, even that of his enemies.

He was no idealist. It wasn't that he didn't see the danger of letting some people live... and he had, perhaps, taken more lives then Kami herself... but he still valued life, above all that... if anything, from the stories, those that had truly insulted his sensibilities... wished for death verses what he had damned them to.

Lord Uzumaki didn't spare the Hyuga heads, for any fear of political backlash, or that he didn't believe their crime was worthy of death. No, it was simply because he could afford to. He gave them his ultimatum, and they had chosen to live... he would have wipe out the entire clan if they had said anything else.

Making enemies of such a powerful clan, was truly no real threat to him. He spared lives, because he could afford to, because he was so far beyond any of them, nothing could hurt him.

Mito... was scared. Not worried, not troubled, scared. Lord Uzumaki had taken an interest in them. Particularly in these last 50 years of war.

Throughout history, he had appeared. Helping the Uzumaki where he could... but now... he was living with them. That had never happened before... and she feared what this could mean for the days to come. Not just a fear of the future, but just what Lord Uzumaki would do to save them... He already sacrificed an entire village... what more was he willing to discard?...

Mito feared... she was living in an era of damnation. The one true God of Lord Uzumaki, was playing his game of "good vs. evil". With Shinobi world as the Chess Board.

Was she seeing the beginning of that ancient prophecy... the last of Susan's warnings to them... was this the beginning of the end of days? Was the Doctor close to giving up the pretence of a hero? Would they soon be faced with the Time Lord Victorious... or worse yet, the Valeyard himself...

• 12 Years Ago:

The White Fang, stood within the far from peaceful meadow. Screams and death surrounded them. Most of his men were down, though still breathing.

"You have a choice, Sakumo Hakate,"

He looked up, but couldn't see who was speaking. He could tell someone was there, but couldn't make out anything about them.

"Abandon your companions, and complete your mission, but at the cost of all your men." The voice spoke with such scorn at the mere thought. "Or turn tail and run. Save everyone under you... and prolong the war by a couple more decades. Either way, I'll hold them off."

Hakate was about to ask "How" but a voice screamed over the battlefield.

"Lord Uzumaki!" A much more familiar face stepped to the front of the army. "I was hoping you would make an appearance."

"Madara," acknowledged the voice... and suddenly outrunning this army seemed possible.

Hakate really would be able to complete his mission... or save his men... the choice was easy.

Lord Uzumaki looked back, seeing the White Fang lead his team back to Konoha.

"Good bye, Sakumo Hakate," Spoke the Time Lord. "I wish I had a chance to know you better."

"Have you seen it?" Madara grinned. "Is this the moment? The moment I finally kill you!?"

"Not exactly," Lord Uzumaki eyed the army, slowly backing away from him... hiding behind Madara. They believed this to be a Battle between gods. They had no hope of helping their master.

While the Doctor wasn't a fan of being viewed as a god, he needed to buy time.

"What I saw... was your death," The Doctor played up the megalomaniac side of his speech. Knowing it would keep the Wanna be god's attention. "But not by my hand. Oh, you'll die soon enough, no skin off my teeth, and that man I just let escape? He's the first step.

"It's a domino effect. See, he's got a son. A son who will be inspired, by dear old dad, to become a great Shinobi. And that son will become the teacher to who ends you. Child of prophecy, you might call him. Child of the 4th Hokage, and one of my descendants. That boy will lead the world into a Golden age. Well, a few years after killing you. Global peace, a united world, everything you dreamed of... but it will happen without you."

Telling the psycho his future, to insure he would do everything to stop it... and thereby insure it happens.

Madara growled, in clear anger, before pointing at the retreating Shinobi. "Kill them!"

As his cronies charged forward, Lord Uzumaki quickly turned away. Pulling something from his coat, and pointing it at the retreating figures, a whirring sound cut through the valley, as a blue light shined. A wall of fire, as thick as a ball field and as long as several miles, erupted between them. There was simply no way for Madara's cultist to get to them.

Lord Uzumaki turned to Madara, casually stretching, "Care for an epic battle? Between good and evil? I'm rather good at those. And I need to keep you here long enough for them to escape."

Madara roared, charging towards the still stretching Uzumaki God.

• Present Day

"I'm not a good man," Lord Uzumaki explained to Minato. As the two sat in the Hokage's office. "You can't have caused nearly the level of death, I have, and still be able to claim goodness... but it's more then that. I play with people's lives. My definition of 'mercy' is convincing demons to take their own lives, rather then face my wrath... you'd be amazed how many take me up on that offer...

"But then, their are the lives I full out manipulate. Oh I give them a choice, but I'm usually able to word it in such a way they do what I want...

"This war was only supposed to last a few years... but I meddled. Gave the wrong man a choice he couldn't accept... and failed to realize he wasn't as easy to kill if he chose the wrong one. Ever since, we have been locked in an 'epic' battle of wits... I might be wittier, rather clever me, if I do say so myself, but he can easily compete with me in raw power... been so long since anyone could...

"So I have been trying to chip away at his minions. Stop the war by preventing the rise of his followers. Been doing it nicely, giving them a choice of a better life... Basically been toying with their lives, altering their destinies into something that could help me...

"I'm not a good person, Minato. I stain my soul, so that everyone else can continue on... in the way I believe is best. I could have saved those orphan kids, anytime I liked... but I needed Jiraiya to take them on... I could have saved all of Uzushio... but instead, I simply prolonged it's fall. Kept them dragging on, until it suited me to allow them to die... fixed point or not, I should have done more to save them... instead, I chose when they died.

"I toy with lives so easily... and it's getting easier... I fear what staying on this world is doing to me... but I can't leave... The Uzumaki clan... for the first time, in 10s of thousands of years. I have a connection with family... a clan of my own. I don't have to tell you, how important that is to a lonely orphan boy."

Minato sighed, remembering his own dreams of family, while growing up in the orphanage. His family were immigrants, who died on the journey to Konoha... he had been alone since he was a toddler, found struggling for survival by the Village Shinobi. He understood all too well, what he would do to keep the family he built... if he had Lord Uzumaki's power, the sheer temptation of it, he would burn the world to protect those precious to him.

Minato explained, "I don't really care about 'alternate realities' and 'differing time lines'. Especially since, I have seen, in your head, instead of 1 long war, we would have had 3, admittedly shorter, but just as devastating 'epic conflicts'. Those moments of peace would have been filled with tension. Where one wrong word, to the wrong person, could have resulted in another long bloody battle... at least, this way, we actually have a chance of truly ending the conflict.

"I grew up in a world at war... and I've seen enough to know you ARE a good man. That's entirely the problem. Instead of outright killing everyone that would enter Madara's inner circle. Even just waiting for them to join, before removing them... you are giving them all a chance at a better life.

"Even knowing all the pain they could cause, or how easily they could turn against you, you give them that chance. During a war, I believe that's the definition of a good man." Minato insisted. "Saving a single life on the battlefield, even when it's that of your enemies, is the definition of a good man at war... as for Uzushio... prolonging a single life by a day, is a miracle... and you gave them years.

"I know all about fixed points, and the dangers of altering them," Minato reminded. "you did all you could, for the people of Uzushio. Any more, and you would have damned our entire world...

"It's not easy, having the lives of so many depend on you. I only have one little village, and I feel the weight of that. I can't begin to comprehend the dozens of galaxies that rest on your shoulders. Any half decent leader, would occasionally spend time tormenting themselves, as they debate if they made the right decisions."

The Doctor eyed him, "...I'm not a leader."

"No," Minato acknowledged. "You're something far worse. You're a hero, Doctor, the Healer and wise man for the universe at large. It's protector. All of the responsibility of a leader, and none of the benefits." Minato gestured at his comfy office.

The Doctor smirked, "I suppose so." downing his own glass... and immediately erupting into a coughing fit. "Ugh, how do you drink this shite!"

Minato just smirked, as he pour them each another shot.

"I COUGH, I didn't just want to talk to you about my moral failings," informed the Doctor. "I have a request, hero to leader."

"Oh?" Minato paused, his tiny bowl in front of his face. Putting it down, to give the ancient Shinobi his full attention.

"Yes," The Doctor pushed his bowl away from him. Giving it an overly comical 'grossed out' expression. Likely intentionally, in an attempt to put Minato at ease... if the Sake even really bothered him, who can say. "Kiri is planning on committing genocide against all their clans with 'Bloodline Traits'."

Minato froze.

"I can send out my clan, with the aid of their Evacuation TARDISes, to get as many clans out as possible... but they will need somewhere to go."

Minato sighed, seeing where this was going. "I imagine you want me to offer them the same protection, I extended to your clan?"

"Most of these clans have dormant abilities," The Doctor admitted. "But I can bring them to the surface, and turn them into more dominant genes. As I did with the Uzumaki Clan. This will, no doubt, piss off Kiri even more, but the thought of peace talks is already far from their minds. Not to mention this will only increase the power of your village...

"As well as prevent many enemies from emerging." The Doctor added. "Many of the survivors, of this genocide, will turn to crime and violence... many of the more powerful will even be ensnared by Madara. But if we save their clans, those same people will be loyal to your village...

"This is one of the events I had to allow happen, in order to mold a better future."

Minato sighed, "So now you're going to spell out my choices. Don't worry, I can figure it out on my own. I can either let these people die, and let the survivors become threats to Konoha. Or, I can allow your clan to save them, and accept them into my village. Probably give them a seat on the council, and full rights as a Shinobi clan, and in return they will fight for the village, as their own."

The Doctor shrugged, "That's the gist of it." He acknowledged.

"Well the choice, I'm afraid I need to request something of my own," Minato eyed. "Your Genin failed their test, again. I'm afraid we can't keep waiting for them. I would like your clan to start sending their Shinobi into the fight. I know better then to request the aid of the TARDISes, but we need more boots on the battle field."

Lord Uzumaki frowned, "I don't like the idea of risking my descendants... but I also know they are mine, and not happy sitting on the sidelines as people die... Still it's not my decision. Contact the Honorable Grandson... but I'll tell him I'm okay with them helping."

"Thank you, Doctor." Minato sighed with relief. Imagining the power of a platoon of fully realized Uzumaki, on the front lines. They could save a lot of lives.