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Konoha Crush - Part 2
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Jiraiya was snoring and just so slightly choked on his own saliva. It woke him up. The man scratched his crotch, then opened his eyes to see Tsunade sitting at a table close to him, reading some magazine. In front of here, Shizune had served a sumptuous breakfast.
"This is what my eyes like to wake up to," he said as he looked down at the yukata she was wearing.
She glanced at him, then continued reading. "Your brats were here earlier."
"They said they were leaving. Naruto wanted to return to Konoha." Shizune's voice carried much more worry than Tsunade's.
Jiraiya laughed. "I'm sure they'll find the way." He was about to get up, join the breakfast table. All the drinking the night prior left him with a ravenous appetite. But then, his brain finally processed Shizune's last comment. Colour drained from his face. "They left for Konoha, you said?"
Shizune nodded.
Jiraiya jumped from the couch. "When? When did they leave?"
"I don't know. A while ago. Before breakfast."
"Oh no, how could you let them leave?" Jiraiya stumbled towards the door. "How can those brats just abandon a mission?"
"What's going on?" Tsunade asked, though she hardly sounded interested.
"I told you Orochimaru is back in Konoha!" he almost yelled at her. It was all the explanation he thought she needed, but both women kept looking at him in confusion. "I brought Naruto here to keep him safe. Orochimaru… he and Suna might be planning to attack Konoha. During the tournament." Jiraiya stopped for a moment. His mind kept catching up still, and even more horror overcame him. "Which is today!" He pulled the door open, and ran off.
Tsunade and Shizune stayed behind.
"You think Orochimaru would really attack Konoha?" Shizune carefully asked.
Tsunade's eyes were still on her magazine, though she could hardly focus on the words and pictures anymore. She stared right through the page when answering, "Does it matter?"
"Of course it does!" Shizune replied without hesitating. "It's our village. Don't you care what happens to it?"
Tsunade only snorted. Sarcastically she said, "Of course, as soon as I am in a neighbouring town, Orochimaru has to return to Konoha." She looked away, whispered to herself, "If only I didn't get banned at the gambling hall in that other town. It was so much quieter there."
"Lady Tsunade, please. We are so close to Konoha. You can't possibly ignore this. You and I are still Konoha shinobi. Even if we left the village, we still swore our loyalty to the Hokage - your teacher. I really can't sit around here while those children are out there, maybe even lost, with a half drunk man running after them and a man like Orochimaru likely close-by. What if they run into him? You've heard the stories of -"
"Shizune," Tsunade interrupted her. "Sheesh, you are talking a lot today." She held out her hand to Shizune, expecting something. Shizune only stared at the hand in confusion. "Your wallet. Give it to me."
"My wallet?"
"Yes, I know you saved up all that money. It's a waste having it rot in there. And I could really use a few more coins for the game tonight. So give me your wallet. And we can go."
Shizune wasn't sure. The deal hardly seemed fair. Still, she gave Tsunade her wallet.
The woman took it, looked inside, smirked. Then she added, "We are not actually going to enter Konoha. We'll walk there, see if we can find the brats on the way. And once we reach the security zone, we'll turn back."
It was not much, not considering how much Shizune had to pay for it. But it was enough. She agreed, and the two women left to go after Jiraiya.
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Komachi was following Naruto and Sakura. They were on their way straight back to Konoha. Anger was boiling inside of her, but she didn't show it. Both Kagura and Kosuke were with her, and an open display of such emotions didn't quite befit an Anbu captain.
Still she couldn't believe that her former teacher had been assigned with Naruto's safety and got so drunk that he probably forgot the boy existed. Then again, it did not really surprise her after all. She could still remember countless instances where Jiraiya got them all in trouble. Minato, Mikoto and her. They'd learned quite early that they always had to double-check their mission assignments and maps, and never blindly trust their teacher's word.
Jiraiya liked to claim that he meant to teach them autonomy. On some days, he was so convincing that Minato actually believed him.
"Shouldn't we stop them?" Kagura interrupted her thoughts. "If we wait much longer, they'll be back in Konoha. The Hokage won't be happy."
"Jiraiya might still catch up. He's careless at times, but he's not stupid." Komachi wanted to believe that her words were true.
Kosuke was quiet as usual. But his eyes never missed a thing. A small smile formed on his lips. "That boy sure is slow on the uptake. After that mission in the Land of Waves where we had to step in, I was certain he finally figured out that he is being watched."
Kagura laughed. "Komachi went into his apartment once and talked to him. The next day he thought it was a dream."
"Stop it. Both of you. We have to decide how we are handling the current issue should Jiraiya not catch up after all."
"We could use a transformation jutsu and just talk to him," Kosuke suggested.
"Scratch the transformation jutsu," Kagura said. "Who cares if he knows about us."
Ahead of them, the Hokage Rock was already visible in the distance. There was not much time left.
"Kagura, go back and find Jiraiya. Drag him here, whether he wants to or not," Komachi decided. "Kosuke, you and I will do as you suggested and hide our identity before showing us to them."
Her two teammates quickly agreed. Kagura turned and left in the opposite direction, back towards Jiraiya while Komachi and Kosuke appeared in front of Naruto and Sakura. They were still wearing their Anbu attire, that they didn't change, but Komachi's olive blond hair was now of a dark brown, her facial features slightly different.
Naruto and Sakura came to an abrupt halt as soon as they saw that two Anbu were blocking their way.
"This road is closed because of the tournament," Komachi explained.
"They closed the road for the tournament?" Sakura asked. She had never heard of anything like that. "Aren't there lots of visitors that travel to Konoha for the tournament?"
"It's a security measure."
"That's stupid!" Naruto tried to walk around her, but Komachi wouldn't let him. "Then we'll just go straight through the forest."
"I'm telling you that you are not allowed to approach the village. Turn around and leave." It would have been too easy had Naruto just done what she asked. Of course, the boy had to protest and disregard the Anbu's instruction. Komachi was not surprised.
"But we aren't even that close to the village," Sakura kept trying to reason with them. "What if we just wanted to pass Konoha?"
"As I said, this road is closed."
"That's bullshit!" Naruto decided and again attempted to push past Komachi. Immediately she had his arms pinned to his back and held him in a tight grip.
"What are you doing?" Sakura yelled at her. "We are Konoha shinobi. We have a right to return to our village!"
Throughout all this, Kosuke never said a word or moved a finger.
"I want to talk to your commander," Komachi calmly said. "Until then, you are under arrest for disregarding orders of your superior."
"You can't do that," Naruto yelled at her while struggling to free himself. "We did nothing wrong. And you are not our superior, we don't even know you."
Naruto was not strong enough to free himself, no matter how hard he tried. Sakura herself was not happy with the whole situation either, but she was not going to physically attack one of their Anbu. Eventually she did tell them that she'd go back to get Jiraiya, the leader of their mission.
Naruto yelled after her not to go, to free him instead. She left regardless. And Naruto was left alone with the two Anbu, waiting for her to return while throwing insults around.
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Kakashi barely believed his eyes when he spotted two of his students behind the hole the ninetails had left in the wall of the stadium. He wanted them gone, in safety. But he had no time to worry about that.
The stranger that joined the fight was causing them problems. Tayuya called him Sakon, but Kakashi had never heard of him either. Usually, that was supposed to be a good thing. Most of the highest ranking shinobi one could find on some page of a bingo book. Though there was always the possibility they used a code name. And Kakashi had not gotten a good look at his face yet as his head was covered by a black hood.
His movements were so fast that the sand protecting Gaara had trouble keeping up. And when the stranger used the Shadow Clone jutsu, they attacked from several directions at once. Gaara's defense broke apart.
The Konoha shinobi were still trying to protect and restrain him at the same time. One of their Jounin was fighting Sakon when the tail of the beast came crashing down on him. The man was gone instantly, crushed by a mass of chakra.
Red puddles of blood and human tissue started to cover the ground of the arena. The onetails destroyed anything it touched.
Kakashi knew that his usual moves would not be enough. He was still bleeding. And they were about to lose control of the situation. He had to step it up.
So he channeled more chakra to his left eye. Activating the next stage sent a sharp pain through his head. It was soon gone again, and the Sharingan in his eye changed its pattern.
The Uchiha and the tailed beasts had a long history together. For centuries, the clan used them in battles and was known as one of the few not only capable but also brave enough to seal and control them. It was their eyes that allowed them to be successful more often than not.
Kakashi had no idea how they'd done it. After all, he was no Uchiha. All he had was one eye.
But those beasts were chakra beings, and he certainly knew that the Sharingan helped control one's chakra flow. He had to apply the same principle, widen the eye's reach.
While he was trying to test the influence his eye could have on a tailed beast, the onetails continuously tried to break free and leave the arena. More crystal spears appeared. This time, they did not emerge from the ground, but were flying through the air. It was clear now that it was Gaara who produced them. Or the onetails. But could a tailed beast really use ninjutsu?
Not far from Kakashi, Yamato was hit by one of the spears. It pierced his shoulder, pinned him right to the wall behind him.
It was enough for the beast to break through. It went for the hole in the wall. More debris flew through the air as it crashed into parts of the wall, tearing down even more stone to make the hole bigger.
Then it spotted the Genin standing outside of the stadium. It stopped, turned towards them. Sand whirled violently all around Gaara and the chakra beast that had formed around him.
Kakashi started running towards his students, sensing that the onetails would attack them next.
Out of nowhere, Temari appeared in front of Gaara. She called his name, told him to run. "If you stay here, they'll kill you!"
Gaara slowly opened his eyes. It was the first time he showed any kind of reaction since the onetails had started taking over. He reached out towards Temari. His face was blank, lacking any sort of emotion.
"You are not my family," he mumbled. Chakra coated his arm too. A claw formed at its end. He hit Temari with it, sent her flying against the wall behind her.
Kankuro ran towards his sister. Ino followed him, and then Shikamaru and Chouji followed her. They were met by a displeased Asuma.
Sasuke and Naho both hesitated. They stood behind the hole in the wall, neither entering nor fleeing. They both saw the destruction the tailed beast had caused in the stadium.
Gaara's eyes fell on Sasuke. Quickly he decided to continue what he'd wanted to do before. He wanted to kill.
Kakashi opened his mouth to warn them. But there was no time. Not a single sound crossed his lips and the tail of the beast was already crashing down on his students. It would kill them, smash them just like it had smashed the other Konoha shinobi already.
The tail had to go. Fast.
It was like his eye felt his dread and offered a solution. Reality split, and the tail of the beast vanished in its tear.
Kakashi jumped to his students, unsure what exactly had saved them right there. It felt like a miracle almost. Though his left eye was tickling strangely.
"What are you doing here? I told you to leave," he snarled at them. More chakra was already forming into a new tail. Again his students were only one good strike away from death. And Kakashi wasn't exactly sure whether he'd manage a second miracle.
Both Sasuke and Naho seemed well aware of the situation they found themselves in - the immediate danger. The girl was clinging to Sasuke's shirt, her eyes wide like she'd just looked into the face of death.
"Run," Kakashi told them. "This is no place for either of you. Run. Get as far away as possible from this beast."
Naho was ready to follow her teacher's orders. But Sasuke was frozen. His eyes were locked on the dead bodies and the blood and destruction they were surrounded with.
Only when Naho called his name did he react. He looked at Kakashi, at his eye, then at Gaara and the chakra of the onetails surrounding him. He agreed to leave with Naho.
Just when his students were leaving, Kakashi already heard the voice of their opponent behind him. It was Sakon.
"Tayuya, now!"
While he focused on his students, the two strangers had kept attacking Gaara. Gaara's sand was fending off Sakon when Tayuya appeared behind him, a kunai in hand.
She attacked Gaara and the sand was too slow to protect him in time.
Gaara noticed. Part of the chakra surrounding him he seemed to be able to control. He formed it into a hand. It was so dense still that he was able to physically grab Tayuya with it when she was close. The chakra hand started to choke her.
Gaara was laughing while Tayuya struggled to free herself. But the hand holding onto her seemed to feel no pain, nor was she able to damage it in any way. All it did was to keep choking.
Until a gush of wind blew through her red hair, and Gaara froze.
He pressed his hands onto his temples, clenched his teeth.
Tayuya fell to the ground, coughing.
Sakon and his clones attacked while Gaara was still overwhelmed. This time, neither him nor his sand managed to defend him.
"Gaara, watch out!" Temari tried to warn him, but her brother never reacted to her voice. He kept grunting, holding his head in pain. So Temari jumped in front of him herself. She fought the Shadow Clones, then exchanged blows with the real Sakon.
Sakon managed to grab her weapon, kick her on the chest.
She fell backwards, crashed into her brother. But it bought enough time for Gaara's sand to catch up. It protected both Gaara and Temari.
Slowly Gaara opened his eyes again, still in pain. He couldn't quite understand why Temari was standing in front of him, why she was fighting for him. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to save your life."
"Why? Why would you do that?"
"Why? 'Cause you are my brother."
"No," Gaara yelled at no one in particular. One hand was still clenching his head. "All this makes no sense. Just leave me. Leave me alone. All of you."
The chakra around him became more violent, whirled all around him like a storm. His eyes found Tayuya again, who was still sitting on the ground gasping for air. Gaara couldn't bear to look at her.
One more move from Sakon triggered a shockwave. Chakra sped past them, pushed everyone inside the stadium away until they hit the hard stone wall.
Then the chakra was gone, and so was Gaara.
"Find him!" Kakashi yelled at his fellow shinobi. He too wanted to go and search for the Jinchuuriki and his beast. But he was overcome by a sudden weakness. The bloodloss started to become too severe.
Next to him, Genma caught both Kankuro and Temari in a stone prison. But Tayuya and Sakon managed to flee. And they were the much bigger threat. Them and the Jinchuuriki who was now loose, likely on his way straight to the village.
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There once was a time when Tsunade Senju had dreams. Back when she still prided herself with being the granddaughter of the First Hokage, founder of Konoha. Her grandfather was Hokage, her great uncle was Hokage. It was only natural to her that, one day, she would be Hokage as well. After all, they had called her the Senju princess, the heir to Hashirama's legacy.
The Senju side of her family died when she was still little. By the time she graduated the Academy, only her civilian mother with her new civilian boyfriend were left to congratulate her. Tsunade hated that. Hadn't it been for her grandmother, a respected Uzumaki, one could have mistaken her for a civilian too. When Tsunade really wasn't. She was a Senju. She was destined for greatness. And that she had to prove.
Naruto Namikaze now reminded her an awful lot of the girl she once used to be. The girl that was ready to become Hokage just to prove a point.
All that Tsunade was thinking about as she and Shizune were running down the road, towards Konoha. She barely remembered the last time she'd been there.
Jiraiya had already reached Naruto and Sakura when Tsunade and Shizune caught up to them. Tsunade was relieved that it happened before they reached the village. Now Shizune would have no reason anymore to demand they return there. They'd be able to turn back.
Naruto was complaining. As soon as he spotted Tsunade, he pointed his finger at her and yelled, "There! There she is. Go, restrain her and take her to Konoha. It's an order from the Hokage."
No one moved.
Tsunade's eyes fell on the two Anbu that were with them. She could feel that they were using a transformation jutsu to change their appearance, which made her wonder who they truly were. But then she reminded herself that she really did not care. She had fulfilled Shizune's wish. They had found Naruto and Sakura. It was time to head back to the city again.
But then it happened. An immense surge of chakra rushed past them, one that was so strong even the two Genin could clearly feel it.
"What was that?" They both asked, unable to make sense of the strange sensation.
Everyone else turned towards Konoha.
"Is Konoha really under attack?" Shizune asked.
Her question immediately sent both Naruto and Sakura into an alarmed state. The two Genin couldn't quite believe their ears, yet the look on the faces of the adults around them told them something truly odd was going on.
"Is that why you are not letting us pass?" Sakura asked the Anbu. "Is Konoha really getting attacked?"
"If that's the case, then let us go. We need to help!" Naruto complained.
Tsunade and the others remained calm, but there was a strange feeling of dread growing inside of all of them. Their instincts were sensing danger.
Jiraiya couldn't take his eyes off the Hokage Rock anymore. When Naruto started yelling at him to do something, he glanced at Tsunade, then at Komachi, then Naruto.
"I'm sorry," he told his former student. "I know I said I'd take care of Naruto. But here we are. And if Orochimaru is truly back in Konoha and attacking it, then I can't just stay here."
"Orochimaru," Sakura repeated, trying to figure out the meaning of all this.
"I have to go back," Jiraiya decided. He looked at Komachi. "Please, look over the kids for me, will you?"
Komachi sighed. "So you are disregarding the Hokage's orders?"
"He's my teammate. That makes me responsible for him." He looked at Tsunade again. "He's our teammate."
"I stopped being anyone's teammate when I chose to quit being a shinobi," she defensively replied.
Jiraiya could only shake his head. Then he turned back to Komachi with a pleading look on his face.
"I understand," his former student said. "Go. I will stay with the children."
"What? No! We are going back to Konoha too!" Naruto immediately announced.
Jiraiya ignored him and continued on towards the village.
Naruto decided to follow him, run after him. But one well-aimed hit from Komachi knocked him out. She caught him before he hit the ground, and gently laid him down on the grass next to the road.
Sakura had fallen quiet. The severity of the situation was slowly crawling onto her. Still she didn't really understand. "What is going on?" she carefully asked Tsunade.
The Sannin had her arms crossed in front of her. She didn't want anything to do with this.
"We have reason to believe that Konoha is under attack as we speak," Komachi explained in her stead. "As you should know, Naruto is our Jinchuuriki. We can't let him get into any danger."
Sakura frowned at her unconscious teammate. "You didn't have to knock him out."
"I'm going back to Konoha too," Shizune decided.
"You are doing what?" Tsunade had to make sure she didn't mishear.
"I'm not staying here while our village is being attacked."
"The protection of the village is the Hokage's duty. Not ours. I'm sure that old guy has it all under control."
Shizune's lips parted to say something, then closed again. She shook her head, then decided to speak after all. "Didn't you grow up in Konoha? It's your home. How can you care so little?" When there was no immediate answer, she continued, "My brother would be ashamed of you. He was ready to give everything for Konoha. He went so far as to give his life for it. And what are you doing? You are making his sacrifice obsolete by abandoning the village."
Tsunade was taken aback by the sudden harsh words. This was nothing she was used to from Shizune, who was usually always friendly and polite.
"Dan wanted you to become Hokage. He wanted that so badly. It was all he ever talked about. And now you can't even return to the village to ensure its safety?"
Tsunade averted her eyes. A hard frown formed on her lips.
Shizune waited for a reaction that never came. "If that is your decision, then I will not let you pull me down with you. I will go and help protect Konoha myself. Because that is what Dan would want."
Like that, Shizune left to go after Jiraiya.
Silence remained. Komachi eyed Tsunade, but never said a word.
"You are going too?" Sakura asked when Tsunade took a few steps in the direction of Konoha. She didn't want to be left alone with the two strangers, even if they were Konoha shinobi.
"It's not like I want to. But I can't just let Shizune run off on her own."
"Take me with you, please." She hadn't planned for those words to leave her mouth. And part of her immediately felt like she was betraying Naruto. But Sasuke and Naho were back in Konoha. And they were her teammates. "Naruto is safe here, right? And I have teammates in Konoha that I have to know are safe as well."
"Believe me, little girl. If Konoha really is under attack, then you are better off staying here. In any case, I'm not taking you anywhere with me. The last thing I need is a child I am responsible for."
Sakura wanted to protest, but Tsunade was already gone. She stayed behind with the two strange Anbu and an unconscious Naruto.
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Danzo slowly walked down a hallway in the underground tunnels. Every now and then, he passed a dead Anbu who'd been stationed there. His destination was at the end of the hallway, a strong door fortified with several seals.
He saw from afar that it stood wide open.
Danzo knew whom he'd meet there.
Inside the room, Orochimaru was skimming books. A smile formed on his lips when he spotted Danzo in the doorway.
"Oh, how nice to see you again. How long has it been?"
"Stop what you are doing right now," Danzo demanded. "This is a betrayal against our village that I cannot ignore, Orochimaru. Why?"
He snickered. "I assume you already know the answer."
There was movement in the hallway behind Danzo. Another enemy appeared, attacking him from behind. He duck away from the attack with ease, despite being decades older than the young Sound shinobi. He formed signs. It was a long sequence, but he formed them with such a speed that he was done before his opponent even realised that his attack had missed.
Danzo grabbed the boy's face, pressed his palm on his mouth. His finger dug deep into his cheeks. And then, he sucked the air right out of his lungs.
He caught up blood, choked on it.
Calmly Danzo let go of him, and the boy collapsed. Dead. He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped off the blood that was sticking to his hands.
"You haven't taught them well," he told Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was more amused than upset. "That one never had any potential. He was no favourite of mine." His eyes began to glow. Like a child telling their parents about their good grades, he went on, "I have collected many specimens that you would find so exciting as well. So many extraordinary bloodlines. All I am missing is an Uchiha and a Hyuuga."
"What happened to the Uchiha you received from me?"
"Oh," he chuckled again. "I'm afraid those all proved rather useless. I want someone from the main family, but you have made that awfully hard, Danzo."
"But that is not why you've come here today," he noted, looking at the scroll in Orochimaru's hand.
"No, not today. Today I came for the last part of the Edo Tensei."
"So you chose to attack our village for a scroll."
At this Orochimaru bursted out laughing. "A scroll! You talk like this is merely a piece of paper when in reality, it holds the secrets of life and death. This scroll allows you to control death itself. How can you show this little interest in it, Danzo?"
"I have shown interest. Enough interest to give you my part of the scroll. Just for you to run away with it. I am not putting up with this behaviour any longer."
Orochimaru put the scroll away into his pocket. "You are not my father, Danzo. My father would have handed this scroll over to me too when I asked. And my father would have allowed me to continue my research. He would have let me save my own life. But you did not. You sacrificed me, for what?"
"I hate to say it, but maybe that boy Minato had a point. You are not acting with the benefit of our village in mind. You never have. And today clearly showed that you have become a threat to Konoha. Even Hiruzen will see it."
"The village," Orochimaru repeated. "It's always about the village. Maybe you should be the village's father. Oh." Again he giggled. "My bad, your teacher Tobirama chose Hiruzen for that role, not you."
"I assume the attack on the Wind daimyo was your doing. Why? Just to create a distraction to steal this scroll?"
"Oh no, that was part of the terms I negotiated with the Kazekage. Rasa wanted him gone, together with his little brat." He put a hand in front of his mouth, pretending to be all surprised. "Now it slipped my tongue. What an awful ally I make!"
"Why would the Kazekage have their own daimyo murdered?"
Orochimaru shrugged. "You should ask him. I for my part have gotten what I came for. So if you'd excuse me now, I'll take my leave. I want to return to my own village."
He walked over to the door. Danzo kept standing in the doorway, blocking it. The two men were close, yet both seemed calm, hardly moved.
Orochimaru moved his lips closer to Danzo's ear when saying, "Is that contempt I spot on your face? Do you wish you had killed me back when I was a child still?"
Danzo didn't answer. Instead he grabbed a kunai and went for Orochimaru's throat. The blade couldn't find its target.
"Why would you ally yourself with Suna?" Danzo asked as he sped after Orochimaru. They exchanged blows inside the room, eventually moved out onto the hallway.
"Because they gave me what I wanted," he answered simply. "They gave me their part of the Edo Tensei. And now I have all of them."
"Their part of the Edo?"
"My, you never figured it out, Danzo? Tobirama split his knowledge into four parts. One he gave to his cousin, Touka, who just happened to accompany Hanako to Suna. Silly of the man to basically give such valuable information to another village, wouldn't you agree?"
Danzo was an experienced shinobi. Yet Orochimaru knew his moves well and correctly anticipated each attack. Danzo on the other hand felt like this was not the same Orochimaru he had fought the last time they met. Something did not quite feel right, but he couldn't pin down what it was exactly.
The fight stopped when they both heard someone approach. Hiruzen appeared around the corner with two guards following him.
"Orochimaru, what is the meaning of all this?" he asked as soon as he spotted his former student.
"Sensei, don't you have more important matters to attend to right now? I do feel honoured though."
Despite his words, Orochimaru was not looking forward to fighting four Konoha shinobi down in the narrow tunnels. He formed signs, and in the next moment, the ground was shaking. Stone rose around Orochimaru, protecting him while simultaneously breaking through the ceiling to create a way outside.
"After him!" Hiruzen yelled and all four of them took up pursuit.
The strong room was located beneath the Hokage building, so the hole led them straight into the streets of Konoha.
"Ah, what a beautiful day." Orochimaru took a deep breath. "The weather here sure is better than it is in Otogakure."
Hiruzen, Danzo and the two Anbu surrounded him, set on not letting him leave with the scroll he'd stolen.
"I see you two are not going to let me leave again. Do you want to see the new jutsu I have been working on first? With this last scroll, I will finally be able to complete it."
"How did you get the other three parts?" Hiruzen asked. He knew that Danzo had given him one when Orochimaru was still part of Konoha. But there were still two left. Two parts that Tobirama had given to people he trusted.
"Oh, I found one here, traded for one there. It really wasn't too hard. But you should be glad. Your part was just rotting in a cellar. I'll put it to good use."
Orochimaru decided that he should show them the jutsu he was close to mastering. It was one of his bigger prides. And he had prepared it for this occasion, just in case he did need it.
He pulled out three separate scrolls that all looked the same. When he activated the sealing formula written on them, three coffins appeared.
"Stop him," Hiruzen commanded. The two Anbu attacked, but more of Orochimaru's own shinobi now showed themselves and intervened. They protected their master as he continued with a sequence of signs.
The three coffins simultaneously opened. Hiruzen and Danzo froze. They couldn't believe their eyes.
Three bodies stepped out of them. They were a perfect copy of the First, Second and Fourth Hokage.
"Impossible," Hiruzen whispered, the Third Hokage. He was the only one still alive, Yet he was now staring at the faces of those who'd come before and after him.
"What do you say, sensei? Danzo? Are you proud? Currently I am working on bringing back the souls as well. Do you want to see my progress?"
More signs followed. And the three Kage opened their eyes.
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A/N
Hello! :)
I actually very spontaneously decided to bring Minato back in this story too. I mean, it's already an AU and while writing this, I was suddenly like: "Why not? What is stopping me?"
So here he is. Minato. And Hashirama. Aaand Tobirama, my personal favourite!
I don't want to spoil or anything, but I think with both Tsunade and Jiraiya returning to Konoha, it's time for a reunion.
Also, I tried to imply it here without it coming off as awkward, but Danzo and Orochimaru have quite the close relationship in this AU. I have another fic planned that is set during the Sannin Era and that I have yet to write, but Danzo actually raises Orochimaru in that one :) So he is a bit like a father to Oro. I thought that fitted pretty well since imo, they have a similar way of thinking. Not really much of a topic in this fic though since Oro has left Konoha a long time ago, but I wanted to mention it.
Anyway, I'm hoping the last part of this didn't feel too rushed. My motivation to write action-heavy chapters is not the best :D