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Konoha Crush - Part 3
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Tsunade's life had changed a lot when her little brother was born. First, she hated the mere thought of his existence. Because it meant that her mother had moved on. She had found a new man, a new family.
But then she realised that her little brother was no more than that, a small child whose life was no better than her own.
Tsunade was the half-Senju. The child whose Senju father had died and who was left with a civilian mother, living in a civilian family. She was the child everyone looked at when she walked down the road. Because she was the granddaughter of a dead legend, a fallen princess. Her brother, Nawaki was a civilian boy, with a civilian mother and a civilian father, but a Senju sister. He was the child no one looked at when he walked down the road.
Naturally, her brother too grew up with the goal to prove himself. And soon announced that he would become Hokage as well.
It never bothered Tsunade that he chose her dream. The older she got, the more she loved her brother, and the more she realised that there were more ways in life to earn recognition and respect. And Nawaki was a lovely brother. He was never jealous of her, never blamed her for his frustrations. It was a friendly competition between them. A competition on who would become Hokage. And Tsunade was ready to let her brother win. Older siblings were supposed to let the younger ones win.
"Lady Tsunade," Shizune interrupted her thoughts. They were on top of Konoha's wall to assess the situation.
Tsunade looked down at the village that had once been her home. It was strangely quiet. Not at all like it was actually under attack. More Konoha shinobi than usual roamed the streets, groups of civilians were being led towards the Hokage rock in a hurry. An evacuation was in progress, but there was no fighting. At least not in the inner parts of the village.
Above the stadium, they spotted smoke. Both kunoichi knew that was the place where the fighting was happening instead. They could feel the insane amount of chakra that was released into the air somewhere in that direction.
They were about to head into the direction of the stadium. But then Tsunade's eyes spotted something else. Someone.
She blinked, looked again. It wasn't possible.
A woman was standing on top of the wall, not too far away from them. She too was looking down at the village. Wind pushed past her as she stood still, straight.
Without saying a word, Tsunade ran in her direction.
She couldn't shake off the feeling that she knew this person. Her posture, her height, the profile of her face.
Tsunade stopped once she reached the woman, still convinced she had to be mistaken. The hair and eye colour was not a match, and there was no detectable chakra flow that would indicate that a transformation jutsu was in use. And most of all, that person Tsunade was thinking of had died long ago.
But then she spotted the butterfly charm in the woman's hair. Next to it hung a single bell.
Their eyes finally met as the strange woman turned her head towards her, bell tingling softly. There was no surprise in her face. It felt like just another confirmation.
"Chiyome?" Tsunade asked carefully.
"I think you are mistaking me for someone else," she answered calmly.
"Bullshit," Tsunade blurted out. Even the voice sounded familiar. "You think a different hair and eye colour can fool me? You are even still wearing that same old charm and bell. How? How are you alive?"
She touched the butterfly charm in her hair, didn't answer. Her dark eyes observed Tsunade. One blink later, the colour changed, and her eyes were of a soft violet - Hyuuga eyes.
"So it was a transformation jutsu after all. It really is you."
"The hair I dyed. This way, it takes less chakra to uphold the illusion. Makes it almost undetectable. Though it seems you are quite out of practice."
Tsunade hardly cared about details concerning transformation jutsu. It really didn't matter in the bigger picture. What mattered was how her former teammate was still alive. And where she had been all those years. "Does Jiraiya know?"
"He doesn't. And he shouldn't. I've only been here temporarily and I'm leaving again, right now, actually."
Shizune never said a word. She could feel that this was nothing she was a part of. This was something big, and she ought to stay out of it.
"I don't understand," Tsunade continued. "What happened to you? Why did you never return to Konoha?"
"What happened to any of us? You of all people should understand, Tsunade."
Before they could continue their conversation, they both spotted Orochimaru down in the village. He emerged from Konoha's secret tunnels. Hiruzen and Danzo were after him.
"So Orochimaru really is here. And he's attacking Konoha, just like Jiraiya said." Tsunade turned to Chiyome again. Her voice was strong, demanding, when she asked, "Are you involved in any of this?"
"I'm not. I've left Konoha to live my own life, away from my clan. I have no intention of hurting the village. Which is why I'd appreciate it if you could step aside and would just let me leave. I don't plan on getting involved in any of this."
"So you are going to just leave while Orochimaru attacks Konoha?"
"We are not a team anymore. And I am not a shinobi of Konoha anymore. So what's happening here is none of my concern." There was a pause. "Are you still a Konoha shinobi?"
Tsunade was wondering about the answer to that question when their eyes fell on the three coffins that Orochimaru summoned.
"What kind of jutsu is that?" Tsunade asked. It was hard to make out the details. They were too far away.
Yet Chiyome seemed to recognise it immediately. "Impossible," she mumbled as the coffins slowly opened.
The First, Second, and Fourth Hokage stepped outside.
For a second time that day, Tsunade could not believe her eyes. "What the…"
She turned to Chiyome, hoping her former teammate could tell her more. But the woman was gone, vanished. Tsunade's eyes searched for her again, but it was in vain.
The three Hokage were still there, facing Hiruzen and Danzo. They stood on Orochimaru's side, looking just like they had the day they died.
The morning had started out like any other for Tsunade. And suddenly, she felt like she was surrounded by ghosts.
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Hiruzen and Danzo exchanged a nervous glance. Anbu and root members stood behind them for support. But they were not sure whether that was truly enough. Before them stood three of the strongest shinobi their village had ever seen.
It was Tobirama who was the first to look around. His eyes fell on the First Hokage, his brother. "How is this possible?" the Second demanded to know. "What is going on here?"
"Who are you?" the First asked Hiruzen and Danzo. He then recognised the Hokage building next to them. After all, he'd been the one to build it. "I can see we are still in Konoha."
"Hiruzen?" Tobirama asked, then he recognised Danzo next to him as well. His mind was visibly working on finding a solution for the situation, a viable reason why his former two students had aged this much and were now of a much older age than the Second Hokage himself. "Danzo. What year is it?"
"Hiruzen and Danzo?" Hashirama exclaimed, shocked. He looked around, then spotted the Fourth Hokage standing next to them. "And you are?"
"I'm the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze," Minato answered nicely. He had never met his two predecessors before.
"Fourth!" Hashirama, the First, immediately exclaimed. There was a happy smile on his face, despite the strange situation he found himself in. "We already have four Hokage? My, it seems my village is flourishing!" He then looked around, seeing that it had indeed flourished and was much bigger now.
"Judging from his eyes, he was revived by the same Jutsu as us," Tobirama concluded. He was the grimmest out of the three, focused on finding out what was going on. "So it seems the Fourth Hokage is dead. And you and I have been revived maybe forty or fifty years after our death."
He looked at Hiruzen for confirmation. The Third Hokage only nodded, still in disbelief. Ghosts of their past now stood before them. And not only did they look and move exactly like the former Hokage, they also seemed to have regained their memories, their soul.
Hashirama's smile vanished and was replaced by a stern frown. "So you died not long after me?" he asked his brother.
Behind the three revived Kage, Orochimaru started laughing. "This is such a lovely reunion. I'm honoured I could introduce all the Hokage to each other."
Tobirama had no weapons on him, so he formed signs for a jutsu. It worked, and a kunai made of ice appeared in his hand. He wanted to attack the man behind him. Clearly he was no friend. But this time, his body didn't listen to him. No muscle moved. So instead of attacking, he said, "You used my jutsu. Why?"
"Ah, it's such an honour to be speaking to Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage and creator of the Edo Tensei. I almost feel a bit embarrassed using this jutsu in front of you. Or rather, on you." Orochimaru added an exaggerated bow.
"You didn't answer my question," the Second Hokage reminded him. "Who are you? And why are we here?" He glanced back at Hiruzen and Danzo, hoping that they would give him the answer if Orochimaru did not.
"I'm the student of your student, Lord Second," Orochimaru said. "Danzo raised me and Hiruzen trained me. My name is Orochimaru Tsuchinoko."
"Tsuchinoko?" Tobirama remembered the name. And he didn't know why someone from the Tsuchinoko clan would belong to Konoha, yet alone be raised and taught by his own former students. They belonged to Kirigakure. They were enemies.
"Exactly," Orochimaru said, smirking. "You used your last breath to destroy my home village. I'm sure you remember."
The Second Hokage stayed quiet. His brother was not sure what they were talking about. Next to them, Minato silently observed the situation.
"But I bear no grudges." Orochimaru waved the thought away. "All I want is to perfect this brilliant jutsu. So let's test it. Fight for me."
The three Hokage were suddenly overcome by an invisible force. Slowly their consciousness drifted away. Their bodies moved on their own, following not their commands but the will of Orochimaru.
They attacked. Danzo and Hiruzen chose to dodge instead of countering. With three Hokage on the enemy side, the situation was grave, and they needed a plan first.
"Go after Orochimaru," Hiruzen told Danzo and his men. "He's the user of the jutsu. If he dies, the Edo Tensei will be stopped."
He shared a glance with Danzo, who only nodded in agreement.
Minato appeared behind them with a Rasengan spinning in his hand. Hiruzen and Danzo both managed to dodge. The jutsu hit the ground instead, completely destroying the thick stone of the streets.
"They can use jutsu as well. Be careful!" Hiruzen warned the others before searching for an opening to approach Orochimaru. But the three revived Kage were protecting him. Whenever he went for an attack, one of them would swiftly appear between them, blocking for Orochimaru.
When Danzo and his men managed to distract them, Hiruzen blinked past them to attack the source of all this madness.
He was exchanging blows with Orochimaru when ice spears came flying at him from behind. The Third quickly used a defensive earth jutsu to block them while simultaneously dodging Orochimaru's attack.
He glanced back at the Second Hokage, knowing that the ice jutsu could only be his. Two of his own Jounin were already next to him to stop him from further attacking their Hokage. It was a messy fight.
Before Hiruzen could focus Orochimaru again, Minato and Hashirama were next to him. He had to dodge a punch left, then a kick to his right. Despite his age, Hiruzen's movements were quick enough to keep up with the bodies of the Edo Tensei Hokage.
Hiruzen's kunai connected with Minato's throat. It was a hit the Fourth Hokage had not even bothered to block. A hit that would have been fatal. Except there was no blood. And within seconds, the wound healed. Minato went for a counterattack that the surprised Hiruzen could only dodge in the last moment.
Orochimaru was still amused and didn't shy away from explaining his newest undertaking. "I used a special form of clay when preparing the bodies. It takes on the shape that the soul remembers. And since it is clay, it will keep reshaping itself. No matter how often you land a hit, sensei, you can't kill them. They are already dead."
Danzo landed next to Hiruzen. Calmly he said, "Their bodies might regenerate, but they are at least not fighting at their full power. One good hit on Orochimaru will end this."
Hiruzen's eyes lingered on his for a moment. It was just like Danzo to simply accept the fact that they had to fight the boy he once raised, maybe even kill him.
The First Hokage stepped forth, forming signs. He put both his hands on the ground. Hiruzen and Danzo knew the technique.
"Get off the ground!" Hiruzen tried to warn his men.
Vines came sprouting out of the ground, searching for any living being closeby. They followed some of the Jounin up into the air, but they all managed to jump onto a roof to safety.
The First Hokage was not done though. He jumped onto one of the vines. His plants moved into the same direction with him, attacking the shinobi that was closest. The man couldn't dodge all of the vines coming for him, and one caught his foot.
Other shinobi wanted to help, but Minato and Tobirama kept them busy.
The man couldn't get away anymore, and more vines wrapped around his other foot and arms. And then they pulled, all into different directions. His joints got dislocated before the skin tore open. They kept pulling until the flesh tore as well and his limbs were ripped off.
Death only came when one vine did the same with his head.
Hashirama still stood on top of his jutsu. His eyes were completely black, even the sclera. There was no emotion to be found anywhere on his face. At that moment, he was a mere weapon that did not care that it ripped apart a Konoha shinobi.
"Splendid," Orochimaru concluded. "This is working out so much better than expected already. Just imagine how strong this jutsu will be once I perfected it."
He watched with sparkling eyes as Minato drove a Rasengan into the chest of an Anbu. It left a gaping hole in the kunoichi. She was dead within seconds, her insides turned into nothing more than pink mist from the force.
Hiruzen saw it as well and was distracted for just a second as his brain tried to comprehend once again how any of this was even possible. Ice caught his right leg. The Second Hokage had been so proficient in Water Release, he mastered Ice Release as well.
The ice quickly moved up his leg, keeping Hiruzen from running. Tobirama formed more signs for yet another jutsu. Both Hiruzen and Danzo knew their teacher well enough to anticipate his next move. Ice spears would come flying at Hiruzen, piercing him to death.
Danzo intervened before the Second could finish the sequence.
But Hiruzen already found himself the target of Minato's next jutsu, and the Fourth Hokage came speeding at him with a ball of pure energy spinning in his hand while he was still caught in Tobirama's jutsu.
He wasn't sure whether there was enough time to free himself and dodge. So Hiruzen was forced to counter. He used the same technique, and spun a Rasengan back at Minato, with the rotational force being the exact opposite.
The two chakra spheres collided. And then cancelled each other out.
"They are not fighting at full strength and yet our Jounin are barely able to keep up," Hiruzen told Danzo after he freed himself. "We have to end this before there are more casualties."
"You sent our best men after the onetails," Danzo noted.
"It doesn't matter now. Let's end this." He observed the area. It seemed the houses around them were already evacuated and there were no civilians nearby.
Hiruzen and Danzo had fought side by side for many decades, and they could communicate without words. As soon as Hiruzen started his next sign sequence, Danzo read it and knew his next move.
He signalled their own men to retreat to a safe distance. Hiruzen created an immense wave of water that came crashing at his opponents in a circle, forming a gigantic vortex around them.
Instead of fleeing, the three Hokage returned to Orochimaru, who was caught in the centre of the vortex. The Third Hokage added more signs to his jutsu, and the water froze. It was a technique he'd learned from Tobirama. And now he was using it against him.
Danzo jumped on top of it, speeding towards the centre. He presumed to find Orochimaru there, frozen solid, but all four men were gone.
Hiruzen and the others realised as well, and they started to search for them.
"Are they running?" a Jounin asked the Hokage.
Hiruzen shook his head. He knew Orochimaru was not done yet.
The ground beneath them opened. Both Hashirama and Tobirama emerged from it with such speed that eyes could barely follow their movements. Hiruzen was quick to dodge, but Tobirama caught one of his shinobi. The Second went for his vital points with a kunai. The man managed to defend. Yet all his counterattacks proved pointless. Each cut and hit he landed immediately healed again.
Hashirama created more vines. They caught the shinobi, held him down. Tobirama used yet another ice jutsu, and several spears came flying at the Konoha shinobi.
Hiruzen melted them with a fire jutsu before they could pierce his man.
Orochimaru watched the fight with a bright smile on his lips. He liked being protected by three Hokage. And he liked that his jutsu was already functioning so well. All he had to do was to ensure that his connection to the three bodies was not interrupted, and they would do the rest.
He watched as they continued to keep them all away from him.
At least until he felt an increase in chakra behind him. Someone used a jutsu, not far away. He turned to see a hand of stone approach him. He jumped to safety before it could grab him.
Orochimaru almost thought himself in safety. Then he realised the jutsu had a second stage. The five fingers turned into spikes that shot at him. The three Hokage were all too far away to interfere, so Orochimaru had to use a defensive jutsu himself.
He spit a strong current of wind at the spikes, managing to pulverise them before they could reach him.
But using a jutsu weakened his control over the Edo Tensei. He felt that his pawns were slipping away for just a second. His own chakra was connected to the seals in the bodies with a thread so delicate it became invisible to the normal eye. Keeping three of such threads intact while fighting and using additional jutsu seemed to prove too much of a challenge.
So Orochimaru was rather disappointed when he turned to search for the user of the earth jutsu and found Tsunade. The woman was troublesome. "I had not expected to find you here today."
Neither had Hiruzen. He was more than glad though.
"What is going on here?" Tsunade looked into the faces of her grandfather and granduncle. She recognised them - of course she did. But they did not recognise her. Their eyes were different, empty. So were their bodies, at least she thought so.
Orochimaru realised that the situation started to turn rather grim now that Tsunade joined the fight as well. Even though he had three of the most powerful shinobi protecting him, they could not use their former power to their fullest, and he was not sure whether that was enough against Hiruzen, Danzo and Tsunade. At least not if he could not use any jutsu himself without breaking the Edo Tensei.
Still Orochimaru wasn't going to give up and retreat just yet. This fight offered crucial data. He'd spent months preparing the bodies and seals for this day. It was the first time he got to test his jutsu on such a large scale.
The results already delighted him, despite the ongoing struggle to keep the three under control. And with the data he was collecting from the fight and the last scroll of the Edo Tensei he finally had acquired, he was most certain that he'd perfect the jutsu in no time.
He sent Hashirama after Tsunade, thinking it was utterly hilarious that Tsunade's own grandfather now tried to kill her. He knew Tsunade. She'd been his teammate for many years. And he knew that she had always looked up to the First Hokage. It even made him consider allowing Hashirama's consciousness to return. He wanted to show Tsunade the great results of his work as well.
Still he deemed it too risky. Controlling them while their consciousness was intact was too difficult.
"Next time, I can also revive that man and brother of yours, Tsunade. Would you prefer that?" he called after her while watching her exchange blows with Hashirama. They both had a punch that could destroy whole buildings.
But Orochimaru's carefree attitude soon vanished. Just like he anticipated, Tsunade complicated the whole situation. And the three Hokage were not enough to keep them all away from him. Again and again, Hiruzen and Danzo now managed to break through and challenge him.
Simultaneously, the consciousnesses of the three Kage were fighting against him, their wills constantly clashing with his. It was too much. So every once in a while, he'd lose control of one of the bodies, just for a moment, and all three Hokage experienced waves of consciousness. Some were only a second long. Others were longer.
"Tsunade?" Hashirama exclaimed when he opened his eyes just to find his own granddaughter swinging her fist at him.
She hit hard, sending him flying into a nearby building and breaking the wall.
Tsunade barely believed her ears. Hiruzen told her about the Edo Tensei. He told her that their souls had returned as well. Still she couldn't believe it. This could not truly be her grandfather.
By the time Hashirama got up again, his consciousness was already gone again. And once again, his only goal was to kill his granddaughter.
Tobirama too experienced these waves of consciousness. Each time it happened, he used the moment to scan his own body with chakra. And he quickly realised that this Edo Tensei was based on the same seals that he used for the jutsu, and that they were placed at the exact same spot still - the neck.
From that little seal inserted in the neck of the body, the user of the Edo Tensei was able to control them.
"The neck," he told Danzo while still in the midst of fighting him. "There's a sealing formula stored in the neck. You need to destroy it."
Danzo nodded. And without hesitating, he went for the Second Hokage's neck.
Minato came up with his own plan during the short periods in which his mind functioned properly. And the next time it happened, he used the Hiraishin, teleporting as far away as possible, to a seal in the forest that had outlived him.
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Sakura was on her way back to the town she and Naruto were supposed to stay at. The two Anbu accompanied her. One of them was carrying Naruto on his back.
She didn't know what to think of the whole situation. The two adults were strangers to her. But Naruto was still unconscious, and both Jiraiya and Tsunade had left her with them. So all she could do was to follow their orders like a well-behaved Genin.
"He's calling," she heard Naruto mumble. At first, it was only a whisper. Then his voice became stronger. "He's calling me. I have to go."
Naruto opened his eyes.
Sakura felt immediate relief to see him awake. But it quickly vanished again when she realised that there was something wrong with Naruto. She had never seen the expression on his face before. It was stern, cold. Almost emotionless.
"He's calling me," Naruto repeated, and his voice sent a shiver down Sakura's spine.
It was crazy, yet something told her that this was not Naruto.
It took the two Anbu a moment longer to notice. His chakra flow was still normal, and they did not suspect anything wrong when he woke up.
Kosuke let him down. Naruto simply turned away from them and started walking in the opposite direction, back towards Konoha.
The Nara reached for his hand. "Hey, kid. Jiraiya told us to bring you back to your hotel room."
Naruto pulled his hand away from him, and turned to face the man with a face full of anger. "Don't touch me, you filthy human scum."
Komachi immediately pulled out a paper seal Kagura had prepared. But as soon as she approached Naruto, the Kyuubi's chakra started to pour out of him. There was so much the sheer density and force of the chakra pushed her back.
"Naruto, what's going on?" Sakura cried out to him, shielding her face with her arms. The chakra of the ninetails pushed against her like a strong gust of wind threatening to blow her away.
"What's happening to the seal? How is this possible?" Komachi asked.
"It might be because we knocked him unconscious," Kosuke speculated. "It seems the boy doesn't hold back the beast's chakra at all anymore."
"Make this stop!" Sakura now yelled at them.
Kagura joined her two teammates, realising the situation was serious. She pulled out her sealing chains, ready to push the chakra back once again and reinforce the seal.
But there was more. The three Anbu almost didn't catch it because the chakra of the ninetails was too strong and thick. But someone was approaching.
"The onetails," Komachi whispered, hoping her senses were wrong. "The onetails is coming."
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In the forest outside of Konoha, Minato felt a change in the body that was not his own, even though it looked like it. He was no longer in the reach of the Edo Tensei. And there was no invisible force trying to take control of his consciousness anymore.
"I'm dying again," he realised, looking at his hand. "This body is crumbling."
It was better this way, he knew. It was better to die again than to be used as Orochimaru's weapon against Konoha. Still, as long as he could still move and use chakra, he had to fight for Konoha, defend it until his last moment, just like he'd done before. After all, he was still the Fourth Hokage.
The day he died was still fresh in his mind. To Minato, it felt like it was still the same day, like his son had only just been born. That day, the ninetails broke free. And Minato could feel that there was a tailed beast close-by once again.
He had to go and find out what was happening before this body of his would fall apart completely.
So he started running towards the strong and dark chakra. It was not the same as the ninetails. He would recognise that one everywhere.
Minato was not the only one trying to find a tailed beast. Jiraiya had investigated the stadium, just to learn from a wounded Kakashi that the onetails had run off. And it just so happened that it had run off in the same direction of Naruto and the others. So he'd decided to take up the pursuit.
Jiraiya was convinced he was still drunk when Minato rushed past him. Or maybe Tsunade had drugged him to steal his money. He hadn't had the time yet to check his purse.
Minato noticed him too and stopped. "Sensei," he called out to him with a smile on his face, waving in his direction like he just met a friend at the grocery store.
Jiraiya pinched his own cheek. He tried to count just how many bottles of sake Tsunade and he had drunk the night before. He couldn't remember, but it had to have been a lot.
The two men stopped in front of each other.
"It seems Orochimaru revived me and the First and Second Hokage. At least temporarily," Minato explained.
Jiraiya could hardly believe his ears.
"You don't look too different. How much time has passed since…" Minato was searching for words. "Since my death?"
"Naruto is twelve years old now."
"Twelve," he breathed. "How is he doing? Does the Kyuubi cause him any problems?" He had many questions, still he stopped himself. Little bits of clay and sand were breaking off his body. There was no time to chat. So instead of waiting for an answer, Minato shook his head and said, "I assume you were also on your way to this tailed beast. Let's go. You can fill me in on the details on the way."
They were just about to leave together, when suddenly, a different chakra rushed past them. It was not the onetails, yet just as dark and evil.
"The ninetails?" Pictures of Kushina flashed Minato's mind. Part of him hoped he'd find her with the Kyuubi. Yet he knew that the beast had broken free from her 12 years ago. And he had been forced to reseal it. With the help of his wife, he'd sealed it into his newborn son.
"Naruto," Jiraiya gasped. "We have to hurry. The chakra of the onetails is also in that direction."
Jiraiya had barely finished his sentence, and they were both already on their way, speeding through the forest of Konoha together once more.
His eyes kept glancing at the figure next to him. Minato's eyes were different, but other than that, he looked just like his old student. His voice was the same, his expression and movements.
He wondered, was Orochimaru really capable of reviving a human being? Minato of all people? And what else could he do with such a technique?
Jiraiya averted his eyes again. If only I could talk to him one more time, Jiraiya had thought so many times after Minato's sudden death. He'd been away on a mission and only learned of the incident days later. Rumours had travelled faster than the messenger and Jiraiya heard in a bar in the Land of Sound that the ninetails had broken out and that the Fourth Hokage had been killed.
But now that Minato was somehow next to him again, he feared talking to him. What was he supposed to tell him? Kushina was dead. Mikoto was dead, slaughtered with the rest of the Uchiha. And Naruto lived a life full of struggles due to the ninetails, a life he basically knew nothing about because he'd been away on missions for years.
Maybe this time, silence was the better alternative.
"Jiraiya-sensei!" It was Sakura's voice echoing through the forest, calling him.
They stopped, and she came sprinting towards them.
"Jiraiya-sensei! There is something wrong with Naruto. The Anbu sent me back to Konoha to get reinforcement. And there is a monster too. They said it's the onetails. If you don't come, then Naruto is-"
"Take a breath," he told her. She was speaking so fast, it was hard to follow her. "We were already on our way."
She nodded, then looked at Minato for the first time. He seemed familiar, but Sakura couldn't pinpoint why. Her thoughts were too much of a mess.
"Come with us," Jiraiya decided. "This forest is too dangerous right now for you to walk around alone. Stay close."
"Don't we need more reinforcement?" she asked, unsure.
Jiraiya shared a glance with Minato. It was a matter of time. They had to solve this before the Edo Tensei lost its effect. But with his former student at his side, Jiraiya felt confident to say, "No, we don't need reinforcement."
The first thing they saw once they reached the others was the onetails. Kagura, Komachi and Kosuke were all fighting it.
Naruto was nowhere to be seen.
Kosuke had the onetails caught in his Shadow Possession Jutsu and Kagura had additional metal chains wrapped around it. Komachi was the only one close to it. She kept attacking the beast from several angles, with her hands coated in her own chakra.
She tried to cut through the onetails' chakra to get to Gaara. They needed his blood. But the chakra coat surrounding Gaara was too thick, and she couldn't reach him.
It was no longer sand that protected the boy, but the tailed beast itself. And not even Kosuke's shadows and Kagura's chain were enough to fully restrain it. The latter proved barely useful at all. The seals on the chains were tailored towards Naruto. Against Gaara, they were not much more than normal metal.
"Komachi!" Minato quickly recognised her despite the transformation jutsu she still had active from talking to Naruto.
The look on her face when her eyes found Minato was one of sheer horror. She froze in the midst of the fight. Her first intuition told her that this had to be genjutsu. But she could feel no disruptions in her chakra flow. Maybe she had suddenly died, so quickly she never realised it.
One paw broke free and came crashing down at Komachi, who was still just staring at Minato in disbelief.
He noticed, and in the blink of an eye, he was next to her, blocking the paw with his Rasengan. The jutsu was especially effective against tailed beasts, which only consisted of pure chakra.
The chakra in the paw was caught in the vortex of the Rasengan, causing it to dispel for just a moment before it formed back again.
"Sorry, I guess I forgot that I've been dead for 12 years. You probably didn't expect to see me here." Minato was smiling at her as they both jumped back to safety.
Kiseku and Kagura did their best to gain more control.
Minato took Komachi's hand and pointed at a small tattoo on her wrist. It was one of his Hiraishin seals. "How often have I saved your life with this now? I told you it was a good idea."
To Minato, not a day had passed since he last talked to his former teammate.
But to her, it had been twelve long years, and she couldn't exactly appreciate his teasing. Nor could she understand how it was possible that he was even there.
"There's an Edo Tensei seal in my neck," he explained when he'd seen enough of her confused looks.
"Edo Tensei? Impossible." Only then did Komachi realise that Jiraiya was with him. She looked at her former teacher for confirmation, but he only shrugged.
"Where is Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, scanning the area.
"We had our Shadow Clones take him further away from the fight," Kisuke explained when Komachi was still too baffled to really speak. "We managed to temporarily reinforce his seal, but he's rather unstable right now. And it seems the onetails is after him."
Minato carefully listened.
"You should take Sakura and go to him." Komachi offered, knowing that this might be the only time Minato could see his son. And the only time Naruto could see his father. "Together with Jiraiya, we can handle the onetails."
Minato shook his head. "Even if I died, I'm still the Fourth Hokage. I can't let a tailed beast run around in our country."
"But-"
"Please, Komachi. The last thing I remember is saying goodbye to Naruto. That's my last memory before waking up here today. I can't do that again. Besides, I'm not sure it would be fair to Naruto. I don't exactly have much time left."
Next to them, Sakura's head was spinning. The words of this stranger made no sense to her. He did look an awful lot like the Fourth Hokage, but that one was long dead.
"I don't want to interrupt," Kagura said, still holding tightly onto her chains. "But we have to do something, soon. This boy is one step away from death, and if that happens, we are in for a truly bad time."
"I have one Hiraishin kunai," Minato informed her. "I'll get the blood."
"Minato, your face." Komachi pointed at his cheek. A big chunk of clay had fallen off, leaving a dark hole.
Minato only smiled. "Guess we better hurry."
"Are you sure you don't want to go and see Naruto?" Jiraiya asked. "Komachi's right. We'll handle this somehow."
This time, he hesitated. But the situation reminded him too much of the day he died. Just the onetails instead of the ninetails. And Minato knew that he couldn't be selfish. Not again.
"Then I'll take Sakura and go to Naruto. I'd rather not have Shadow Clones watch over him," Jiraiya decided. "Can you handle this without me?"
Minato nodded. "Thank you."
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The battle between Tsunade and Hashirama was a brutal one. Not much time had passed and Tsunade was already breathing heavily, feeling that her stamina was draining quickly. The First Hokage, on the other hand, seemed to have unlimited resources. His attacks just kept coming, and even if Tsunade managed to land a good punch herself, his body quickly regenerated.
Tsunade had spent the last ten years doing nothing more than enjoying life in bars and gaming halls. Her agility used to be better, so did her chakra control and basically everything else. Additionally, most of her own jutsu proved useless. She was not fighting against a human being with muscles and cells to manipulate. She was fighting against a dead body covered in clay.
What saved her were the short phases of consciousness, when her grandfather would halt and abandon whatever move he was performing.
Shizune had wanted to help, but Tsunade sent her away. She didn't want her involved. This was between her and her grandfather, and she feared too much that Hashirama could kill the one person she had left in her life.
So Shizune watched the fight, before returning to the Hokage and the others, deciding to be helpful and heal those injured by Tobirama and Orochimaru.
Tsunade was just about to go for an attack herself when she noticed that Hashirama wasn't moving again. His eyes were still on her, still all black. But there was something in his expression that changed. Despite his body being made of clay, it was much softer now.
"Tsunade."
Tsunade stopped too. Hearing her name with his voice felt like a punch in the stomach.
"My, you're all grown up." He was laughing, and while she could barely remember anything at all about her grandfather apart from stories and pictures, she did remember this hearty laugh.
Tsunade knew that Orochimaru had always shown great interest in the Edo Tensei. Some nights, they'd tried to figure out its working mechanisms together. Back when they were still a team. And back when she didn't believe that Orochimaru would ever abuse such a jutsu and use it against Konoha.
"I wish you and I could talk," he told her. "But it seems this jutsu is able to suppress my consciousness." He looked around, unsure what had just happened and spotted his brother. He was in the midst of fighting, wielding a sword made of ice. "Of course it's Tobi who came up with such a technique."
Tsunade felt like she ought to come up with a special question, ask her grandfather something she had always wanted to ask him. Because there used to be a million things she'd wanted to talk to him about as a child.
He once was her hero. The First Hokage. The greatest Senju.
But now her mind was blank. She could only wonder, how did it come to this?
One moment Hashirama was still himself, the next he was gone again, and Tsunade was his target once more.
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"The neck," Tobirama told Danzo once more. He was ready to let his former student end his life, but he was closest to Orochimaru out of the three Edo Tensei bodies, and the man had the most control over him.
So Tobirama's consciousness kept drifting away quickly, and his other self would not allow Danzo to get anywhere close to the seal.
Danzo glanced at Hiruzen. With Minato and Hashirama out of the fight, the two of them were able to give their full attention to Tobirama and Orochimaru. And Hiruzen had decided that he ought to be the one to fight and kill Orochimaru.
Danzo was not convinced of the arrangement, but he stuck to his task. And his task was killing the Second Hokage, his former teacher.
He knew all of Tobirama's moves, yet the man did a good job at protecting his one weak spot. And Danzo ended up considering whether this was one of the fights that forced him to reveal his right eye, his Sharingan.
His hand was already on the bandages, ready to pull them off, when Tobirama once again stopped. He fell to his knees, revealed his neck.
"Now."
Without hesitating, Danzo drove a kunai into the spot and pulled out the seal.
Immediately, the connection to Orochimaru was cut off completely. And while Tobirama regained full control of this body he currently inhabited, the clay it was made of also started to crumble.
There was no time to waste. Tobirama grabbed a kunai lying around and jumped up to attack Orochimaru.
There was a second of confusion in Danzo's eyes before he understood and followed Tobirama.
Orochimaru was trading sword blows with Hiruzen when Tobirama and Danzo both joined in. He did his best to dodge. Left, down, up, right. But it was impossible against the three of them. Despite the decades that had passed, their movements still complemented each other perfectly. It was like they had never stopped being a team.
Orochimaru just so managed to form the signs for an earth jutsu. The ground beneath him opened up, and Orochimaru slid down into a deep hole. Hiruzen and Danzo knew the technique. Both of them started forming signs, and when Danzo spit oil down the hole, Hiruzen ignited it with a fire jutsu.
"I don't think we got him," Hiruzen said. He signalled his shinobi who were standing close-by, waiting for orders. "Search the area. He'll have to re-emerge soon."
They nodded and spread in different directions.
Hiruzen was about to join them, when Tobirama fell to his knees. More and more clay broke off, until he could no longer move.
"Sensei," Hiruzen said. He was many years older than the Second Hokage now, and had lived decades longer. He was the current Hokage, the leader. And still the roles they had once had were deeply rooted inside of them.
"You two have gotten old." It almost sounded like he was teasing them. But then a smile formed on Tobirama's lips. "I'm glad to see that you two were able to grow this old."
He looked around Konoha, one last time. The smile was replaced with pain and concern. And longing. "Are they…?"
Tobirama didn't dare to speak the question out loud. Still Hiruzen had an answer. "Old as well."
Tobirama closed his eyes, nodded. "Tell them…" He hesitated, not really sure if this was really the right thing to say. He looked at his hand. It was falling apart, returning to dust. In just a moment, Tobirama would be gone again.
"Tell them I love them."
With those words, he vanished.
Only dust remained. Dust and a dead body that did not belong to Tobirama.
"Liar," Danzo commented.
"You think that was the right moment for honesty?"
They both looked down at the body. It was no one they knew, no Konoha shinobi. Danzo told one of his own men to take him away for investigation.
Then an Anbu appeared next to them, informing them that Orochimaru had been spotted.
Tsunade was still fighting Hashirama. But they knew that he too would vanish once more if they stopped Orochimaru. So they both left in Orochimaru's direction.
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Plants and trees filled the streets of Konoha in the area Hashirama and Tsunade were fighting at. And whenever Tsunade was too close to one, its roots snatched at her, trying to lock her down for Hashirama to finish her.
She was able to cut the vines easily using her hands as chakra scalpels, but it cost her a lot of chakra.
Until one time, she was not quite fast enough. A vine wrapped itself around her leg, and Hashirama was too close to her. She couldn't free herself. There was no time. He slammed his fist down at her with the intention to crush every single bone in her body.
Tsunade was forced to block. She shielded her vital parts with both arms, reinforcing her muscles to harden them.
Her own body was able to resist the impact, but the blow sent her flying across the street, right into the next wall. The vines that had held onto her were ripped apart.
It was then that she decided to activate the Byakugou seal on her forehead. The blunt trauma from her crashing into the stone wall surely left inner bleedings, and she had no time to worry about such issues when her grandfather was already sprinting at her again.
The seal that spread on her body automatically sped up the healing processes in her body, forcing her cells to work at a much higher rate.
She dodged more punches and kicks, going for a counterattack whenever possible. Though she was not exactly sure yet how to end this fight.
Hashirama's body was already moving to properly dodge one of her punches. But then he stopped. And Tsunade's fist connected, completely shattering the clay and pushing him to the ground. It revealed another body inside of it. A corpse. Tsunade didn't know the man.
The clay quickly gathered around the dead body again and once again formed Hashirama's features. He was lying on his back, watching as his hand regenerated.
"You have a good punch," he praised his granddaughter.
The words felt like torture to Tsunade. She needed a drink. A drink and some peace of mind.
A part of her was still waiting to wake up any minute in between empty sake bottles.
"It makes me happy to know that you got something from me." He got up again, faced her. "Hiruzen is the Third Hokage. It seems the Fourth has died. Tell me, is there a Fifth?"
"Not yet."
That surprised Hashirama. After all, Hiruzen was not the youngest anymore. And there had already been a Fourth.
"It seems Tobirama chose Hiruzen as his successor. It makes sense. He was his student. But who is this Minato-guy? I don't recognise his name."
Tsunade felt uncomfortable. Her grandfather had to be assuming that she was still a part of Konoha, involved in its politics.
Shame overcame her. Her own grandfather had built this village. And she'd left it. She'd had her reasons. But Hashirama Senju would hardly understand those. After all, Hashirama Senju was the First Hokage. He'd lived and died for the village.
Before she could answer, Hashirama took a few steps back, clasping his head. Orochimaru was regaining control.
Tsunade tried to remember everything she ever knew about the Edo Tensei. She had to find a way to stop this. Then she realised that they had moved further and further away from the fight, and that her grandfather had been conscious more often, and for longer times the further they moved.
"Grandfather," she said. Hashirama's eyes found hers. He was still resisting the influence of the Edo Tensei. "Don't move."
Tsunade kicked him. It was a strong kick that sent Hashirama flying down the street, away from Orochimaru. Until eventually, he collided with a house. The building collapsed, burying him.
It didn't take long and he came crawling back out of the debris, coughing. "That was also a good kick," he rasped. "Too good, almost. This poor house. Be sure to tell the family my condolences and help them rebuild it for me."
The influence of the Edo Tensei was gone again. Hashirama noticed too.
Tsunade approached him, wondering how long she'd be able to talk to him this time.
He ran his hand down his neck. "It seems there's a seal here. We might be able to stop the jutsu if you destroy it."
"Destroy it?" Tsunade didn't want to think about ending her grandfather's life. Even if this was not truly his own body, and even if he had already died, she still wanted to spend more time with him.
"You have to return to the others, no? This Orochimaru seems like he's trouble."
"He used to be my teammate," Tsunade shared with him.
"He was? Well, I don't know what's happened between you two, but it seems he started walking the wrong path." He got up and shook all the dust and debris off his clothes. "I can't believe that decades have passed since my death."
He looked around, gauging the danger Konoha was in, and the evolution it had gone through. The village was quiet. Empty, almost.
"I can sense the chakra of the onetails," Hashirama noted. There was sadness in his voice as he thought back to all the events that involved the onetails. "Is Hanako still…?"
"No," Tsunade said, knowing what he was asking. "She died giving birth. It's sealed in her son now. Gaara."
He nodded. Last time Hashirama had seen his daughter, she was still a little baby. Hearing that she had died in childbirth sounded just as crazy to him as everything else happening around them.
"So I have a grandson. Is he growing up here in Konoha? What is he like?"
She could read from his expression that he considered them family. He expected them to be close, that she knew him. But to Tsunade, Gaara was a stranger.
"He grew up in Sunagakure." That's all she had to offer.
Hashirama was disappointed, though he tried not to show it. "I fear this is not the right time to talk. As much as I wished we could just sit down on top of the Hokage Rock and get to know each other while overlooking the village."
He looked up towards the Hokage Rock that stood above Konoha, and for the first time, realised that there were three other heads next to his. Each Hokage had their head carved into the stone. The sight put a genuine smile on the First Hokage's lips.
"I always hated the idea of having my face up there. But this is such a nice tradition. Make sure it is kept up for me, will you?"
Tsunade started chewing her lips.
"I think you should destroy the seal. And then you should go and protect Konoha. I don't know if this jutsu will take control of my mind again, so it's better if I go back to death. I can't let anyone use me against my own village."
She hesitated. "I have one last question. Why did you do it? Why did you have the ninetails extracted from you? You could have lived a much longer life. You could even still be here today."
"For peace," he stated with a strong voice. But his expression grew softer quickly, more unsure. "I wanted to believe that a world without the tailed beasts exists. One where no one has to face them. Where they are simply sealed away and never abused for power."
And then everything about him changed.
"But I was also tired," he admitted. "I was tired of being responsible for a whole village. I was tired of having to choose the village over my own family again and again. And most of all, I was tired of still seeing loved ones die." He shook his head. His eyes wandered around, looking at everything but Tsunade. "So I told myself that letting go of the ninetails and its powers was a magic fix. I quit. And I left the mess to my brother."
Those were not the words of a hero. It wasn't what Tsunade had expected to hear. The first answer she'd expected - the gallant one. Her grandfather had done everything for peace.
And yet the second one felt so much more sincere to her. It healed something deep inside of her, made her connect to this man. To her grandfather.
He laughed just a bit. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I haven't told anyone. Not even Tobi. Maybe because it's too surreal to be here with you. Like a dream. Maybe I am dreaming. Or maybe this is the afterlife?"
Tsunade's head sank. Her eyes found the ground in front of her. "I quit too," she told him. It was only a matter of time until her grandfather would be gone again. And she could tell herself that all this had been just that - a dream, nothing more. "I left Konoha. I was tired of all this fighting. And of death too. So I quit as well."
She expected him to be judgemental of her actions, despite the things he'd just told her. But Hashirama only smiled. "You really did take after me."
Something broke in Tsunade, just to be put back together again right away. Her father had died when she was still little. So had her grandfather and granduncle. She loved her civilian mother, but she had always longed to belong to that part of her family that consisted of respected shinobi. She wanted to be like them, so badly.
"You say you quit, but you are still here today. So even if you quit, you also returned." He didn't expect an answer from her, but instead, continued to speak to her in a soft and loving voice. "Madara and I wanted this village to be a place of peace. I don't know what happened after I died, but if you are here today, protecting this village because it was once your home, then I know I did something right."
Tsunade felt like she had only accidentally stumbled into this mess.
Hashirama touched his neck again. "He's moving. He's coming closer again. I can feel it." He took a kunai and offered it to her. "I can't destroy the seal myself. This body won't let me. Please, before I turn against you again."
She took the kunai, but she wasn't sure if she could do it.
"Tsunade," he said her name once more, pronouncing each syllable like it was his favourite name. "I'm very grateful that I was able to meet you today."
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Minato was swirling through the air like a whirlwind, shoving a Rasengan in the face of the onetails. It was not enough to reach the vessel inside of it though.
"Here," Komachi called over to him. She was on the other side of the beast.
While the onetails regenerated, Minato used the Hiraishin, and within a blink, he was next to his old teammate. Another Rasengan was already spinning in his hand.
Komachi had found a weak spot, a place where the chakra of the onetails was not as dense. He used his jutsu there, dissolved even more of the beast's cloak. Komachi's hand was glowing with chakra as she used it as a knife to cut even deeper and reach Gaara.
A small cut on the boy's shoulder was enough. She collected the blood in a sphere of her own chakra, then quickly retreated to call Kagura.
The onetails knew what was happening. He swung his tail at her, trying to stop what was about to happen. But Minato was right there to block the blow.
Kagura let go of her chains, leaving the restrainment of the tailed beast to Kisuke. She took out a scroll and started writing seals with ink that was mixed with Gaara's blood.
It made her the new main target of the onetails. And Kisuke alone was not able to hold it back. It broke free. Spears made of crystal started flying through the air, ready to pierce anything in their way.
Minato and Komachi exchanged a short glance, then started forming signs of the same sequence. A barrier wall appeared between them, shielding both Kisuke and Kagura.
Once Kagura finished the first seal, she applied the rest of the ink to her chains.
The next time she wrapped them around the tailed beast, the seals on the chains started glowing. They burned through its chakra, until they reached Gaara. It was the connection she needed.
Kagura activated the seal on the scroll and immediately, the chakra of the onetails was being sucked back into Gaara. The beast was howling, crying, as it tried its best to resist the vortex it was caught in.
But it was all no use. And soon, the chakra of the onetails was gone, sealed back inside of Gaara. The boy collapsed, was unconscious. Kagura caught him and ensured that the seal was properly reinforced.
"We have to take him back to Konoha. Deliver him to the Hokage," Kisuke said.
Komachi's eyes were on Minato again. The fight had left its marks on him. His body was breaking apart more and more. The Edo Tensei was nearing its end.
"Want me to take him?" Kagura offered.
"No," Komachi quickly said. "We can't leave Naruto. Not while he is unstable as well."
"But we also can't keep the Kazekage's kid here with him. It's almost like the two tailed beasts are reacting to each other." Kisuke put a finger to his chin, thinking. "Let's ask Jiraiya."
Kagura and Kisuke quickly left to return to Naruto. Komachi waited when she realised that Minato was not moving.
"Don't you want to see him?" she asked.
Minato smiled, but it wasn't a sincere one. He nervously scratched his head. "I'm not really sure what to say to him. Coming back to life to fight a tailed beast seems pretty easy compared to coming back to life to talk to your twelve-year-old son for the first time ever."
"He's probably still unconscious."
He slowly followed her, but then stopped again as soon as he spotted Naruto. He was lying on the ground, his head resting on Sakura's lap.
"Who's the girl?" Minato asked.
"His teammate."
Minato's next smile was more honest again. "They seem close." He looked at his hands. His time was almost up. "I wish I could stay longer. I wish I could be there for Konoha, and for Naruto too."
He turned to face her as his artificial body was falling apart.
"Thank you, Komachi. I was happy to find you with Naruto today. It takes at least one of the many worries off my mind to know that you are here with him."
Komachi bit back tears. She'd watched over Naruto ever since he was still a newborn. But not in the way Minato thought.
She didn't tell him, thinking it'd be selfish. Instead she nodded and watched as Minato walked towards Naruto and Sakura, leaving a trail of dust behind.
All clay crumbled, and Minato vanished again. All that remained was the body of a dead man no one knew, the sacrifice of the Edo Tensei.
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Naruto was in a dark place. He was surrounded by water. It was all around him. And he was sinking.
He panicked, started to flail. He wanted to return to the surface. But he had no idea which way was up.
"Breathe," a woman whispered. "This is not real. So breathe."
Naruto sharply inhaled. Immediately a burning pain spread in his chest. This was exactly like he envisioned drowning to feel.
But he was too young to die. He had not become the next Hokage.
"Breathe," he heard again. The voice sounded familiar, but he didn't know the person.
He couldn't breathe in more water. It was too painful. Naruto kept drowning, sinking deeper. There was no way out.
Until eventually, he noticed that dying took awfully long. He'd held his breath for what felt like forever, yet there was no pain. He felt normal. Even without breathing, his heart kept beating.
It all felt like a dream now, and maybe it was a dream he'd had before but could not remember.
I want to be somewhere else, he told himself. If this was a dream, his dream, he would be able to control it. One of his old teachers taught him.
He thought of freedom and sunlight, the opposite of the dark sea he was lost in.
His surroundings changed in an instant. Light blue was above him, fresh air surrounded him.
He was above Konoha, flying, soaring. He took a deep breath of the warm summer air, and his struggles and pain in the deep waters were already forgotten.
Naruto knew of no goal or purpose. He simply appreciated the immediate joy of aimlessly soaring through the sky.
Wanting to share this experience with his teammates, he landed on the training grounds. He searched for Naho and Sakura and Sasuke. And Kakashi too. But the training ground was empty. He ran into the village. There was not a soul to be found. The streets were empty too.
A strange feeling spread through him again. Something told him that they had left him. They abandoned him. Slowly, the darkness returned.
Naruto sped down the streets. The sun was gone. He ran to the Academy, somehow thinking he'd find his teammates there.
In the garden of the Academy, a boy was sitting on the swing, slowly rocking back and forth. He had bright red hair, and he too looked familiar. But again, Naruto couldn't tell who he was.
"What are you doing here?" the little boy asked when he noticed Naruto.
"Where is everyone?" He looked down at himself, realising that his body was smaller somehow. He looked like a child from the Academy.
"This is my place. Get lost."
Naruto ignored him, and instead picked up a ball from the ground. "Do you want to play?"
He loved playing football as a child, though no one ever wanted to play with him. This little boy wanted to play games too, he could tell.
He kicked the ball to the boy. "Come on, shoot it back!"
"Shukaku will be angry if I play with you. He tells me I can't have friends."
"Shukaku? Is that your teacher or something?"
The boy shook his head. "Shukaku is the monster. My monster."
Naruto walked over to him to pick up the ball himself. But just as he reached down, hands suddenly popped out of the ground. They tried to grab him. Hand after hand emerged.
Naruto stumbled backwards, shocked.
Heads followed. A dozen heads belonging to other children. They were weeping, crying, as they tried to crawl out of the earth.
The sight didn't affect the little boy on the swing in any way. "The monster will kill you too if we play. I will kill you."
Naruto took another step back. "You killed them?"
He nodded. "Shukaku made me. They didn't want to play with us. So we had to kill them."
There was a monster in Naruto too. It had taken him long to realise. But was he like this too?
He stared at the weeping children, then looked back at the boy with the red hair. All he wanted was to run away from him. He wanted to run and never meet him again.
Naruto was already back at the door, leaving. He looked down, realised that he was standing in water once again.
Behind him, the boy kept swinging, all alone.
Then, everything around him turned black again.
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When Hiruzen and Danzo found Orochimaru again, he had a little girl in his arms. A kunai was pressed to the child's throat.
Anbu had surrounded him, but no one attacked just yet. They had waited for their Hokage.
The girl was crying, calling for his mother.
Danzo took a step forward and Orochimaru moved the kunai even closer to the girl's throat. The man hardly cared. As long as Orochimaru was taken care of, one sacrifice was not too much to pay.
But Hiruzen held him back.
Behind the Anbu, three strangers appeared. They wore the same black cloaks, but did not belong to Konoha.
"Where is the onetails?" Orochimaru snarled at them. "You were supposed to make sure it gets released inside the village."
"I'm sorry, Lord Orochimaru," Tayuya said. "There were too many Konoha shinobi. The onetails managed to flee."
He grunted in dismay. "What are you? Weaklings?"
Hiruzen, Danzo and the Anbu were still carefully observing the situation.
"Anyway, I'm done here. We are leaving," he told them, and once more, Orochimaru let go of the girl to vanish in the ground.
"After him!" Hiruzen yelled.
Orochimaru's three shinobi fled while everyone approached the hole in the ground and the little girl.
"Explosive tags!" one of the Anbu started yelling. "She's covered in explosive tags!"
Everyone's reaction was to jump away from the girl, to safety. She was still crying, not realising that Orochimaru had turned her into a living bomb.
Hiruzen was the only one who ran towards the child instead. He grabbed the tags, all of them, ripped them off her, then pushed the girl away, as far away as possible.
A second later, the explosive tags went off.
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Tsunade was lying on the ground, arms stretched out away from her. She was staring into the sky above Konoha, watched as the clouds slowly drifted by.
A dead body was next to her. It wasn't her grandfather, at least not anymore.
It took a while until she was able to get up again. The seal on her forehead was gone. But she felt drained. Hashirama had given her a hard time, despite being dead.
She thought about searching for Orochimaru again, but the village was silent. There was no fighting anymore. No tailed beasts somewhere out in the forest. Everything was quiet, peaceful almost.
Until a shinobi came running towards her, screaming, shouting. His face was full of panic and urgency.
Tsunade wasn't sure what had happened, not even when she was already following him. But she knew this feeling well. This whole situation. She used to experience it all the time. The dread. The anticipation of hurt and death.
They had to push past a group of shinobi that all stood around somewhere, agitated, speechless.
And then Tsunade saw the Hokage. He was on the ground, lying in a puddle of his own blood. One of his arms was gone. So was part of his leg.
A medic-nin was doing his best to stop the bleeding.
Tsunade rushed to his side, pushed the medic away. Her body moved on its own when she started healing her former teacher. There was no active thought, no plan. All she knew was that she had to stop the bleeding.
She had to stop the bleeding, but his wounds were too severe.
Despite all, there was a smile on Hiruzen's face.
"I'm so glad you returned," he told her.
Tsunade felt like she had no air left in her to answer. She could hardly breathe. None of this was fair, she thought.
She cursed whatever had caused her to return to Konoha.
And yet she couldn't just turn away and leave again.
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Tsunade was sitting on top of the Hokage Rock. Konoha was wide awake. Villagers were returning to their homes now that the evacuation was over. Shinobi were roaming the streets, ensuring that there were no enemies left.
The Hokage building was completely lit up. Inside, the highest ranking shinobi were arguing. She didn't see it. But she knew that was happening.
She stared at her hands. Bloodstained. She hadn't bothered washing it off.
Behind her, she felt Jiraiya approach. He didn't say a word, just sat down next to her.
Neither of them spoke. Neither of them moved.
"I can't save anyone," Tsunade eventually said.
"You know that's not true," Jiraiya calmly answered. "I know you've saved my life dozens of times."
"I couldn't save Dan. I couldn't save sensei." She looked at Jiraiya. "And I couldn't save Orochimaru either. If I had been able to cure his disease, then maybe…"
"Orochimaru's actions are not your fault. And the Sage's Bane is not an excuse for his actions either."
She looked away again. Despite all the years they had not seen each other, an air of familiarity still surrounded them.
"I met my grandfather today," she told him.
"I met Minato," he returned.
She nodded, wondering how he felt about meeting that ghost from his past. Then she remembered another encounter she'd had. On any other day, a day less crazy than this, she would have never forgotten about it.
"Chiyome is alive," she blurted out, not really caring to prepare Jiraiya first for the news.
His eyes widened. "You mean Orochimaru revived her as well?"
That thought had crossed Tsunade's mind as well.
"No, she's alive. I saw her today, and it was no Edo Tensei. Though with how absurd this day has been, I might have been hallucinating."
"What do you mean 'she's alive'? Where is she?" He jumped up, ready to run after this ghost of their past, turn it into an actual living person again.
"She was here, in Konoha. I met her when I was returning. She was leaving, didn't want to get involved."
"Where did she go? In which direction did she leave?"
Tsunade paused for a moment. She knew that no matter her next words, Jiraiya would leave to find her. Even if Chiyome didn't want to be found.
She genuinely had no idea, so she could only offer a shrug.
And just like she'd anticipated, a second later, Jiraiya was gone.
She turned back towards the Konoha, and continued to silently watch it, her grandfather's village. Her home.
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A/N
Part of me hated writing this chapter. I'm so bad with fight scenes, I just kept procrastinating. And then instead of writing those awesome fights and flashy techniques, I feel like my characters mostly just chatted, haha :D
But another part of me also really loved this chapter. I have thought SO much about the background story of several side characters, and I feel like this chapter shows or at least hints at a lot of it. I probably could have (and had planned to) write a lot more, buuut… this chapter also turned out longer than expected, and I really don't want to spend any more time on this Arc.
I feel like this chapter ended up being mostly about Tsunade. I love the fact that she's the granddaughter of the First Hokage. That's so cool. Sooo… I wanted her to be inspired by Hashirama and return to Konoha herself instead of being Talk-no-Jutsu'd by Naruto.
Then there's Minato's former teammate. Komachi is turning into one of my favourite OCs from this story. I think it's nice that there are actually people alive who knew both Minato and Kushina and who care for Naruto.
I want to give Naruto a female "parental figure." In canon he has Kakashi and Jiraiya. And Tenzo a bit. I thought about Tsunade filling that role, considering a lot of people prefer canon character interactions. But Tsunade in this really isn't that close to Naruto since I want her to focus more on her own story and Senju heritage.
And of course we also have Chiyome for some Hyuuga-representation among the Sannin-Generation. She's also the woman Naho met in the forest (cause obviously, with a 4th team 7 member, I also need a 4th team Hiruzen member for the analogy).
Next chapter will have more team 7 again :)
Also, feel free to let me know whose story you are interested in the most so far. This story doesn't really have one MC, and while it's mostly about the team 7 members, chapters such as these barely featured them. So I'm interested to know what made people stay this long :D