WOTB: Kakashi Hiden Battle in the Sky
Prologue:
It had now been a year since the Fourth Shinobi World War and efforts to rebuild were still in progress. Many of the northern lands on the Continent had been ravaged by the War and there were still White Zetsu that had survived and had become little more than bandits and were somehow multiplying. Not only that there was an influx of refugees from the Land of Lightning and Land of Hotsprings, the hardest hit areas of the War.
Kumogakure itself was now nearly fully rebuilt. Yamato had been sent to aid in the rebuilding efforts personally due to his increased mastery over Mokuton and his Doton mastery to recreate the mountains that the Cloud village was famous for. Not only that, several Iwagakure ninja like Kitsuchi were sent to aid in that exact purpose. And finally, from the Land of Waves Tazuna's Carpentry Company had been hired to rebuild the structures like they did in Konoha after the Invasion of Pain. But Tazuna discovered the difficulty of getting men and supplies into the mountain range from the Land of Waves.
Thus…he decided to change the game. He hired the best minds and began to work on his new life's work: the airship. Which would allow massive amounts of cargo and people to be taken over air without the need of ninja aid. He met with Naruto and the financial advisors of the Land of Fire to get the loan he needed to create the first few prototypes…it would take more time to construct the first full airship but it was going to be kept in total secrecy…at least he hoped it would be….
Chapter 1: Readjustments and New Stakes
Land of Waves
What used to be one of the poorest nations on the Five Great Nations was now an economic powerhouse despite its small size. The Land of Waves was now known internationally not only for the 'Great Naruto Bridge' but rebuilding of Konoha after the Invasion of Pain, as well as its work to rebuild Kumogakure after the Fourth Shinobi World War. Small towns had grown into cities throughout the island nation and the people were happy, almost like a golden age had started within the small nation.
…but it was not to last. Over the past three weeks several people had been taken from their homes, men in black cloaks…with a note symbol on their headbands were being witnessed at night. Local samurai had tried to fight these black cloaked men…only to be killed by spikes of ice…or blasts of pure sonic attacks. It took less than a month for things to come grinding to a halt within the Land of Waves and people started to barricade themselves within their homes to prevent themselves from being the next victim.
Inari was not going to let that happen, he had lived through that hell before when Gato controlled their country and was not going to repeat it. He immediately called Konoha for aid and when Naruto received the request, he sent Sai to investigate.
The former ROOT ninja, now ANBU Captain had quickly managed to find and infiltrate the group that had been terrorizing the civilians of the Land of Waves. Sai had infiltrated the region as part of the civilian laborers who had been forcibly conscripted by the group to attend to their base. A plus was sending the freed man back to his family while the ANBU assumed his identity. It took several weeks for him to get used to the routine, and he made sure that the other laborers…well slaves at the end of the day would have a means of escape. To Sai's surprise, the notion of people being forced to work against their will had started to enrage him, but he focused on keeping his emotions in check.
Their leader seemed to be a Hyōton (Ice Release) user named Rahyō and he called his organization the Ryūha Armament Alliance. Initial intelligence seemed to point to an elderly shinobi named Garyō…from what Sai had deduced he had passed away recently. But one thing that he noted that was odd…and concerning were their uniforms: dull gray with a green and black camouflage pattern. Rahyō himself was a rather tall man with long black hair worn in a topknot, and he had a pair of swords on each hip. His uniform was a bit more protective, on top of the flak jacket he had armor over his shoulders and collar bones to protect him from bladed attacks, but it was the same color pattern as the rest of his men.
That is odd… Sai thought. Those uniforms…they are…
Images of the Invasion of Konoha from the Otogakure and Sunagakure forces flashed in his mind. He was still a trainee, the equivalent of a genin in the normal ninja force, in ROOT during that brief war between Konoha and the latter villages had he had killed several Otogakure ninja when they had managed to breach Danzo's fortress under the village. The battle there was unknown to the rest of the village and overshadowed by the greater conflict outside, but it was no less bloody. And the thing that struck Sai the most about the Oto ninja were their uniforms…which he was seeing now.
So that is it…Orochimaru managed to find some new conscripts, Sai thought as Rahyō started to address his men.
"The Five Great Nations have caused too much damage to this world! Their last war with Akatsuki had caused damage to areas that will never recover from, and they are haughty enough to think themselves that they can do no wrong?" Rahyō asked his men who gave a resounding 'NO!' with several boo's thrown in. "And now they are making that alliance permanent? The minor nations will not stand for this and their monopolization of the continent's resources!"
"That's right!"
"My family is going to starve because of them!"
"They're fat pigs who don't care about anyone under them!"
Rahyō gave a nod and a smirk appeared on his face. "But fear not, my master will balance the scales!"
I need to head out before I am spotted…. Sai thought as he adjusted his outfit and picked up some of the gardening tools he used during his infiltration.
"We do have a…visitor here," Rahyō said with a smirk as a white snake dropped out of his wrist. "After all, the master didn't forget you, ROOT boy."
Sai gave a sigh as he jumped and dodged dozens of kunai and shuriken launched at him from Rahyō and his men. The ANBU then withdrew his tanto an began to deflect each blade launched at him as he made a defensive retreat. He let his scroll out and then drew several animals onto it…and with a seal he created a gigantic dragon!
"I believe my friend here will have a bit of fun," Sai said as he drew several creatures onto the scroll. "Chōjū Giga (Super Beast Scroll)!"
In an instant dozens of lions jumped off the scroll to rush the Ryūha Armament Alliance, many of the insurgent shinobi tried to fight off the ink creatures only for Sai to jump onto yet another one and took off into the sky. The ANBU Captain had made it up to a high altitude only for the atmosphere to get colder than usual. His eyes snapped up as a crystal ice mirror appeared, much like those that Haku had created during his battle with Naruto and Sasuke, and later against Kakashi's Division in the Fourth Shinobi World War.
"Thought you could escape me, little rat?" Rahyō uttered as he launched himself out with a wakizashi drawn.
Sai barely managed to block but his bird was cut from under him and he was sent falling from a high altitude. He then saw another crystal ice mirror manifesting in front of him and he threw ink on it to stop the Rahyō from entering it from his reflection he landed on it to provide himself with a springboard and he created yet another ink bird to fly on this one modeled after a far faster species of bird.
"Need to head to basecamp, I can't capture Rahyō alone…" the former ROOT ninja allowed himself to smile a bit. "Good thing I brought back up."
In the forests of the Land of Waves, near the old training area where Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had trained in their youth with Kakashi, a small basecamp had been made for Sai and his team. There were a few other members of Konoha's ANBU there and they were not only lead by the former ROOT ninja, but…the Yellow Flash himself.
Namikaze Minato looked up into the sky from a vantage point in the trees. The Yondaime Hokage had eschewed his cape and hat and was wearing the new Konoha Flak Jacket that had been rolled out after the War. Unlike past designs it lacked the scroll pouches on the chest and stomach and made up for it with thicker layers of lightweight armor within the cloth. On his waist he had several pouches of his unique tri-kunai that had the Hiraishin formula written onto them.
He had spent the last few months catching up with his wife Kushina, as well as his former students Kakashi and Rin. He had also gotten to know Naruto and Hinata much more, Minato had also met his son's surrogate father Umino Iruka and the three, himself, Kushina and Iruka shared several stories about Naruto over Ramen at Ichiraku. And speaking of Ichiraku, after he had learned on how his son's childhood was…he was grateful for Teuchi for treating Naruto decently. Kushina did have to be restrained to not go on a rampage on the villagers for mistreating their son when he was a child.
Still…Naruto became a fine young man. Fiercely protective of his friends and adopted family members, as well as his teammates, sensei's and girlfriend. Minato found himself getting along very well with Hinata, the two had similar personalities after all. Kushina loved to dote on her self-professed future daughter-in-law and already was planning on becoming a grandmother!
"Heh…well she always did love thinking of the future," Minato said as he leaned back on the branch. "Though I suppose it is good to think of that but…."
The Yondaime Hokage looked down at himself for several moments. Despite being age 40, he looked younger than his students Kakashi and Rin due to being brought back to life for good during the Fourth Shinobi World War. What is more…he and Kushina were now the sole survivors of their graduation class at the Academy. Shikaku, Chōza, Inoichi, Fugaku, Mikoto, Hiashi, Hizashi and Hana…all their friends were gone. He had gone to have sessions, alongside Kushina with one of Konoha's therapists to try to get over the bout of survivor's guilt he was having.
"A good mission should do me some good now, especially out on the field," Minato said to himself as he then looked up…and saw Sai on his bird in the distance. "…looks like I'll be thrown into the action again."
Time slowed down for the Yondaime Hokage as he channeled his chakra to his feet. He closed his eyes as he focused and then vanished at full speed. Minato's shunshin, his body flicker was equally as fast as his trademark Hiraishin and it allowed him to react and travel over long distances when he had not marked with one of his tags. In less than a second, he appeared on Sai's bird.
Sai looked up and he tried to hide his surprise. "…you live up to that Yellow Flash title, Hokage-sama. I believe I wasn't carrying one of your kunai however."
"Heh, you weren't," Minato said with a smirk. "I just used my shunshin to get here."
Sai nodded. "Well then, my cover was blown. I did manage to learn a few things about the Ryūha Armament Alliance."
"I'm all ears. I assume this will lead to the second part of the operation in capturing the leader of its organization?"
"Exactly. It appears that the Armament Alliance has shifted both leaders and allegiance," Sai replied as Minato's eyebrow raised. "Garyō, who was believed to be the leader was supplanted by a Hyōton user named Rahyō. And what is more…they are being equipped by Otogakure. The uniform is unmistakable."
Minato nodded. "Then we'll have a lead on Orochimaru and his whereabouts if we capture Rahyō then? Excellent."
After Minato had learned that Orochimaru had invaded Konoha and had killed the Sandaime Hokage, he blamed himself for sacrificing his life so early in his term as Hokage. If he had just been there Hiruzen would have survived and the invasion would have had far less deaths. He blinked at himself and he sighed.
There I go, blaming myself again for things out of my control… Minato sighed, and he forced himself to focus. "They'll be on high alert, correct?"
"I'd assume so, they did manage to find a spy within their midst."
"Then a full-frontal assault is something they won't be able to counter," Minato said with a smirk. Jiraiya-sensei might take a page out of your book for this.
After several moments Sai flew Minato towards the Armament Alliance base. The terrorists were on high alert and had fanned out after the ANBU Captain's infiltration, but they didn't realize that their target had returned. To cover the return into their airspace Sai had flown in formation with a bunch of migrating birds. The Yellow Flash gave an approving nod as he looked down and he reached out with his senses to 'tag' the targets in his mind.
"Alright Sai, I'm ready," Minato said as he bit his thumb.
"You sure you can handle them on your own, Hokage-sama? I know of your reputation but there are a few members of this group that have a strong Kekkei Genkai."
"Heh, don't worry. I won't be going in alone."
With that Minato jumped off the bird and dove forward at high speed to the ground. He then withdrew several of his unique kunai and tossed them down at the ground at each target point. Despite the altitude and the speed of his descent he had each kunai impale themselves either behind or around where the enemy were. He then did a seal…
"Kuchiyoise: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu (Summoning: Toad Food Court Destroyer Technique)!"
In a massive explosion of smoke Gamabunta himself had been summoned by Minato who crashed to the ground like a meteor The amount of chakra that the Yondaime Hokage had used to summon him made the Toad Boss immense, at 150 meters tall as he crashed to the ground and impacted with several tens of thousands of tons of force.
"What the hell?!"
"Where did the giant toad come from?!"
"Did they send Naruto Uzumaki himself after us?! That's one of his techniques, right?!"
"Crap we didn't prepare for a battle at that paygrade!"
The release of air had slowed Minato's descent enough to stop his terminal velocity and he then teleported right to his nearest tag. The confused missing ninja of the Ryūha Armament Alliance didn't even see the yellow flash appear and just as they realized something was wrong…the Yondaime Hokage knocked them out with a single chop to the neck and moved onto the next group.
In mere moments Minato had incapacitated and captured nearly a hundred members of the terrorist force as he moved to within the base itself with his high speed shunshin. Gamabunta himself gave an annoyed grunt.
"If you were gonna summon me, I might as well make a rampage to keep them busy Minato!"
The toad boss withdrew his dosu blade and jumped right towards one of the towers that were around the Ryūha Armament Alliance camp and cut through it cleanly and sent its defenders falling to the ground. Dozens of the terrorist shinobi tossed kunai with explosive tags and unleashed torrents of elemental ninjutsu at the giant toad…all of which didn't even get through his skin.
"Gonna have to do a lot better than that ya punks!"
While Gamabunta raged through that section of the camp Minato had penetrated its defenses. He had killed a few guards by appearing right by them with his immense speed and cutting their jugular veins before they had even realized he was here. He could sense the chakra of Rahyō as the newfound leader of the Armament Alliance tried to regain control of the situation while surrounded by a dozen guards.
"A giant toad?! Isn't that what Jiraiya summons?!"
"Jiraiya's been dead for over two years now!"
"Then it must be…" one of the guards noticeably swallowed. "Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Why would the Rokudaime Hokage be out here of all places?!"
"Well this place does have something called the 'Great Naruto Bridge'…"
"Silence, don't panic!" Rahyō snapped as his eyes darted back and forth. "Our benefactor wouldn't keep us without the ability to combat the Orange Hokage even if he was sent here!"
"But he went toe to toe with Madara and the demon Tobimaru and won!"
Before anymore could be said Minato tossed a few of his unique kunai right over the guards' heads and just as they turned to see…the Yondaime Hokage knocked them all out before they even realized he was in front of them. Rahyō yelled at his men just as they fell to the ground like puppets who had their strings cut. A bead of sweat trickled from the Hyōton terrorist's forehead as Minato appeared behind him…with his kunai at his neck.
"I suggest you surrender," Minato said coldly as his blue eyes became hard and he exerted a bit of killing intent as his blade pressed against Rahyō's jugular vein and broke the skin. "I wouldn't want to kill you, you see…"
"W-Who…what…how did…."
Rahyō uttered as he saw Gamabunta completely destroy most of his camp while his men were fleeing like roaches exposed to the light. In just a few minutes after finding the spy in his camp…things had already gone so awry. Everything collapsed around him as his eyes widened.
"The…the Yellow Flash…." Rahyō uttered and he tried to calm himself. "So the Orange Hokage sent his father to deal with us?"
"More like I volunteered, I wanted to see the place where Naruto had his first real mission and meet the friends he had here," Minato replied as he kept the blade steady. "Neither of us appreciate the fact you killed so many innocent people here."
"No one is innocent, we're all humans after all," Rahyō said with a cruel laugh. "While you were out fighting the Fourth Shinobi World War, what do you think happened to the civilians? What do you think happened to wandering shinobi who still tried to earn enough money to survive? What do you think happened to the non-aligned clans to any of your ninja villages?"
"You're trying to justify slaughtering innocent people, its not going to work," Minato said simply. "Surrender."
"They died, since they were weak, my Armament Alliance was growing in strength, so I guess we reap what we sow…but…." Rahyō started with a smirk as Minato's senses flared and he then dodged several knives that curved to try to hit him, but he teleported out of the way. "You didn't predict my benefactor sending his lieutenant here."
Minato landed on a wall and he saw a man in a dark cloak which had been inspired by Akatsuki's old ones…with distinct Otogakure designs added. But what was most striking was his glowing red eyes that could be seen through the shadow over the top of his face and the Yellow Flash realized what those eyes were.
Sharingan?!
Rahyō used his shunshin to appear next to the man with the Sharingan the multitude of knives surrounded both as a strange little creature with a single Sharingan eye appeared behind them…and it morphed its eye to a Mangekyō design Minato didn't recognize. The Yellow Flash moved at full speed to try to capture his target but both Rahyō and the Sharingan man vanished into a swirling vortex produced by the strange creature.
He skidded to a stop after landing behind the vortex and frowned. "Well…things have just gotten more complicated…."
Konoha, Days later
Minato and his ANBU team gave their report to Naruto about the latest complication in the new terrorist group. Not only was Orochimaru's influence in the Ryūha Armament Alliance confirmed a new user of a Mangekyō Sharingan had appeared and was completely unknown to everyone. Naruto's look had changed since the War had ended, his hair was now shorter and he had discarded his old black and orange overcoat for a black long-sleeved shirt with a orange trim and a red armband with the Uzumaki symbol on it.
Naruto even contacted Sasuke-who was serving his sentence out in the Land of Iron, to see if he had any ideas on who this man was that was working for Orochimaru. Sasuke had no knowledge of any other Uchiha survivors but himself after Tobimaru's engineered purge of both branches of the Uchiha Clan so that left genetic tampering that Orochimaru had made.
Naruto pursed his lips. "Orochimaru either managed to secure a bunch of Sharingan eyes or made his own fake ones, correct dad?"
"That would be my guess," Minato said as he breathed out. "I didn't even know that could be possible on either count. During the Third Shinobi World War, most Uchiha before they died made sure their eyes were destroyed so the enemy wouldn't be able to secure their dōjutsu."
"…could it be that Orochimaru found one of Tobimaru's old laboratories? Or even raided the Uchiha Clan cemetery for usable material to recreate Sharingan eyes?" Sai asked out loud. "I talked to Rin-san and she said that Danzo had managed to secure Pain's Rinnegan from a lab in what used to be Mountain's Graveyard."
"That could be the case," Naruto said as he leaned back and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Scattered over his desk were several cups of cup ramen and finished paperwork. "At least you managed to secure much of the Ryūha Armament Alliance's forces in that attack though."
"I heard Ibiki is now," Sai said as he straightened up. "I need to submit my intelligence to him to make his work a bit easier."
"No doubt," Naruto said, and he smirked. "Oh, and tell Ino I said hi too."
Sai gave a smile back. "I will. Is it really that obvious we're together?"
"Kinda…Hinata-chan told me Ino was going on and on about you during their mission together," Naruto said with a grin.
"Heh, I see. Well yes, I'll send her my best," Sai said as he went to leave the room and when he opened the door Shikamaru walked in with his latest report of the Shinobi Union.
"Hey Naruto, not to add more to your workload but I'm going to need your signatures for the Union's new headquarters," Shikamaru said as he walked over with the paperwork.
"Yeah, no problem. Plans still going ahead for it to be held in the…former Land of Frost?"
"Yes," Shikamaru confirmed and Naruto's nose twitched. "What?"
"Shikamaru are you smoking again?" his friend asked with a frown.
"My usual honoring of Asuma-sensei," Shikamaru replied as he waved him off. The Nara Clan leader's look had changed the least, he wore Konoha's new flak jacket, but his outfit was the same. "Keeps me from having the jitters doing all this work. Don't worry, I'm not going to get addicted."
"You better," Naruto said sternly, and the Nara leader laughed.
"Really sounding like a disappointed parent now, you've grown really into the Hokage role in peacetime Naruto," Shikamaru said with a grin. "Really reminds me of when old man Sarutobi used to scold us whenever he caught us skipping classes at the Academy!"
Minato blinked. "Wait you skipped classes Naruto, Shikamaru-san?"
"Well…when we were still first years, yeah," Naruto admitted sheepishly to his father and rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh boy…better keep that a secret from Kushina. Even if you're the strongest shinobi on Earth now Naruto on top of being Hokage…she's your mother and will be really angry that you didn't stick to your classes," Minato said as Naruto imagined his mom's eyes glowing and her hair levitating and he gulped.
"Y-Yeah, understood," Naruto said with a laugh. "That secret isn't gonna get out at all. Oh, and dad, dismissed!"
Minato nodded with a grin. "I'll check in later."
"Just about to go out for the day dad," Naruto said as he stood up and stretched while he rotated his arm. "Got a date with Hinata-chan tonight after all."
"Heh, have fun then," Minato said with a grin.
At the same time at Konoha Hospital, Kakashi was having his scheduled checkup. The Copy Ninja had gotten a legendary commendation after the War for his leadership of the Third Division on top of returning Obito's eye to Konoha. He no longer had the Rinnegan, but he had found out he wasn't going blind in Obito's keepsake anymore anyway. Tsunade used a small flashlight to check the cornea and retina of his Sharingan.
"I have to say, even though it was brief that Rinnegan transformation to your eye repaired all the old damage that your Mangekyō Sharingan had made to your eyesight before," Tsunade said as she sat back. "And this hasn't changed at all since the War ended, correct?"
"No, I have perfect vision through it yes," Kakashi said as he was about to pull his headband over his Sharingan again.
"But that's not why you're here, is it?" Tsunade stopped him seriously. "Let me check your biological eye."
The Copy Ninja winced. "Really so transparent there huh?"
"When I saw you weren't reading your smut out in the waiting area, I had some suspicions."
Kakashi gave a sigh of defeat and let Tsunade check his original eye. The Godaime Hokage pursed her lips as she saw that there was accumulated damage within it, constant eye strain on top of routine work as a shinobi had degraded Kakashi's original eye immensely. Even when flashing a light onto it…the pupil barely dilated.
"…Kakashi, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. In a week or two…you'll be completely blind in this eye," Tsunade said as she leaned back. "Either it's a genetic condition that runs in your family or your insistence of using only one eye to do the work of two has caught up with you."
Kakashi blinked at that once, then twice. "Wait…I'm going to go blind? In my good eye?"
"There's a milky covering on the lens and your cornea and retinas have degraded…" Tsunade sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "If you had came to your scheduled checkups like I told you to months ago, we may have been able to catch this and correct it. But you kept putting it off."
"I did have a long string of missions after the War ended, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said with a wince.
"No excuses," Tsunade said and she groaned. "And if you rely on your Sharingan the same way you relied on your original eye it might end up in the same boat."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Surgery," Tsunade said, matter-of-factly. "Your body didn't reject Obito's original eye which shows you're compatible with his other eye that we have in the vault. I'm going to schedule you for the transplant immediately."
"So…I'll have both Sharingan in my eyes instead of just one?" Kakashi asked and he frowned. "Won't that just drain my chakra?"
"Not if I can help it," Tsunade said and she chuckled. "Rin is skilled but her original transplant of Obito's eye was imperfect which is why you can't turn it off. Can't blame her though, it was a warzone at the time, and she was only 13. No, by the time I'm finished you'll be able to activate and deactivate Obito's other Sharingan in your eye socket."
Kakashi paused at that. He had considered transplanting his late best friend's other eye in the original's place in case his Sharingan lost its sight completely, but with Tsunade's new diagnosis that was unnecessary…but his biological eye failing him was something he wasn't prepared for. The Godaime Hokage wrote down a prescription on some paper as she began to get more paperwork ready.
"Alright, until we get a date for the transplant, I'm prescribing some eye drops and a contact lens for your eye," Tsunade explained as she handed the Copy Ninja the paper. "With any luck, you'll have your vison completely restored by next week."
Kakashi nodded slowly. "Thanks. Just got to take some time to process these new…developments."
"I'm sure your teammate would help you get into the right mindset," Tsunade said as she started to fill out the papers. "Rin's off duty from the hospital now after all."
"Thanks, I'll go talk with her," Kakashi said as he hopped off the table and used a Shunshin to get dressed in a flash. "Oh, and good luck on your date with the Mizukage later, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade paused and her cheeks turned red a bit. "Uh…yes thank you."
A minutes later Kakashi had found Rin walking down the street. She was out of her hospital outfit and was in her Jōnin attire, and she wore her long brown hair in a single ponytail now. His former teammate performed a stretch and a bit of a yawn as she rotated her arms and he remembered how he, Rin and Obito first became a team under Minato. Kakashi had graduated from the Academy a full six years before Rin and Obito did but he had lost his first set of teammates in the intern during the Third Shinobi World War. The young Hatake had already made a name for himself during the War and Rin had been starstruck…and then quickly gotten a crush on him, which in turn made Obito form a rivalry with him to try to show Rin he was the best.
Their dynamic…wasn't exactly the best, Kakashi acted a bit like how Sasuke used to, Obito acted like Naruto and Rin somewhat acted like Sakura. But over time, the three began to feel more and more like a team until…the battle of Kannabi Bridge in the Land of Grass. Even all these years later…the carnage of that battle as well as the loss of Obito still felt like a fresh wound.
The Fourth Shinobi World War was a special type of Hell, the death toll and damage to the continent was something that would be recounted for centuries. But the Third Shinobi World War was another type…a much more personal one. Village against village, news of the losses on every front and the economic strain made even some of the cheaper items in Konoha expensive for the civilians and shinobi who lived there.
"Kakashi?" Rin asked and Kakashi blinked several times and shook his head. "Daydreaming about something?"
"A bit yeah, just got…caught up in the past for a bit."
"…happens to me too," Rin said softly, and she sighed. "You're not the only one who visited his grave in the mornings for hours."
Kakashi breathed out. "Obito would probably get mad at both of us for getting depressed for no reason, right?"
"Heh, probably. He always loved to cheer us up after all. Even you when you couldn't nail a jutsu down in the first try he'd get to crack a smile at," Rin pointed out and the two laughed. "So how was your physical?"
"All but one thing check out perfectly."
"Obito's eye? Is it starting…?"
"Oh, no, that was fully repaired when it became a Rinnegan during the War temporarily," Kakashi replied as they walked. "Its…my original eye actually."
"What? What's wrong with it?"
"Tsunade-sama isn't sure if its due to overuse or a genetic factor but my original eye is in the process of going blind," Kakashi explained as he sighed. "She said if she had caught it earlier the damage could be reversed but the only option now is to…transplant Obito's other eye."
"Huh…." Rin said as she put her hand to her chin. "I bet Obito would be happy with that though; he did transplant the original one to you, so he'd be able to see the future, this'll just be more of a follow through."
"Yeah but I'm…well…" Kakashi started and he sighed. "Not sure if I should do it. Part of me wants to leave Obito in peace and not…well…rely on him."
Rin punched him in the arm, and he winced. "Kakashi you're supposed to be a genius! Don't be dumb about things like this!"
"Okay, okay!" Kakashi said as he rubbed his arm.
Down the street a familiar redhead was going throughout the village. Kushina was humming to herself as she bought the ingredients, she would need to make a 'super dinner' since Minato would be back from his mission shortly and Naruto and Hinata would be over to eat as well! She gave a happy grin at the thought of having her son and future daughter-in-law over! The Uzumaki matriarch wore a green sundress with a white blouse and she wore her hair now in a long ponytail.
"Then after the big dinner I can get ready for my own mission," Kushina said to herself as she looked up into the sky as several birds flew above and then settled on the Hokage Monument…as well as the fact that the village several hundred meters below its original elevation. "The village has changed a lot…. the battle with Pain is still visible a year later."
She pursed her lips and remembered the briefing about that. The same person who brought her back to life on a whim for Tobimaru had, in turn, invaded Konoha singlehandedly and destroyed it. While many of the buildings had been rebuilt…they did not have the same pull to her as they used to. Kushina blinked when she realized she was in front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
"Well at least they gave Inoichi's little girl a bigger shop," Kushina said out loud as she looked downcast. "Hard to believe Minato and I are the last members of our graduating class alive…Shikaku, Inoichi, Chōza, and Hiashi passed away during the War…Fugaku, Mikoto, Hana and Hizashi died before it…and I can't even talk with Jiraiya-sensei since he's gone too. Damn it!"
Ino herself came walking out while sweeping and she noticed Kushina. "Oh, hello Uzumaki-san!" she said with a smile. Over the past year Ino had changed her look a bit, she was wearing her hair out of its ponytail and had changed her purple clothing to hide her stomach and her skirt had been replaced by a longer, more elegant battle dress. She had also started to wear pink lipstick to give herself a more mature look. "Its good to see you, how are you doing?"
"Oh, very well Ino-san," Kushina said with a grin. "How's the shop doing?"
"Very well, though clan meetings are exhausting. Now I know why dad was exhausted most of the time after them," Ino said as she leaned back. "Me, at 18, already the leader of the Yamanaka Clan. Can't say I expected that."
"I'm sure you're doing a wonderful job, Ino-san," Kushina said cheerfully and then she checked her list. "You think you could help me find the right flowers for tonight?"
"Oh, of course! I'd be happy to help!" Ino replied with a happy grin. "Please come in! We just got several rare flowers from the Land of Earth! Heh Naruto even swung by to pick up some seed packets, he's getting back to his gardening again."
"Gardening?" Kushina asked and sounded a bit surprise.
"Yep," Ino said as they walked into the shop. "Back when he had his old apartment, he'd sometime bug me about the best way to keep his plants in his window box. I'd tell him the best way to keep his little garden alive and he apparently did everything I said."
"Huh…I didn't know he had a green thumb," Kushina said as she sighed. "I missed out on so much."
"Naruto did really well for himself though," Ino said as she checked the flowers and then reached for the mister and sprayed a few to make sure they had a good watering. "True…it was a bit rough at the start, but he did become the hero of the village and even Hokage before the War started."
"I know…but I'm his mother…" Kushina said as she breathed out in frustration and stomped her foot to the ground. "Why couldn't I have broken out earlier?! My son needed me, and I couldn't be there for him!"
Ino jumped back. "Whoa, whoa, Uzumaki-san please calm down!"
"Oh…right…sorry…" Kushina said as she breathed out to calm down. "Both Minato and I've been a little…distressed on how little we actually know of our son due to…being either imprisoned or dead for all his life."
"I get that," Ino said gently and put her hand on Kushina's shoulder. "Maybe you should talk with Iruka-sensei about this."
"Iruka-sensei?"
"Well…Naruto kind of saw him as a parental figure, at least back at the Academy. He'd make mischief and do dumb pranks most of the time to get Iruka's attention regardless if it were negative," Ino said with a smile. "I'm sure he'd be able to fill in the gaps and help you connect with Naruto!"
Kushina smiled. "I'll give him a talk then!"
At the same time at the Hyūga Compound, Neji had settled into his new role as Hyūga Leader extremely well. Since the War had ended, he had grown his hair out once more and was wearing a modified version of the Hyūga robes that Hiashi used to wear. Despite some resistance from some of the more conservative members of the Hyūga Council, mostly due to Hinata having awoken the Keihatsu Byakugan and Tenseigan, the transfer of power had been approved. The former Branch members were overjoyed that the prodigy had became the leader of the entire clan since he had been part of it.
He was overseeing the sparring of several members of the Clan and offered tips to improve their form. Hanabi rushed in and she breathed in and out. His younger cousin had been promoted to jōnin right after she passed her Chūnin Exams. Neji had been impressed, she had been promoted to jōnin a full year younger than he had and was the youngest person to ever achieve that rank in the entire history of the Hyūga Clan.
"Sorry I'm late Neji-nii-san, I just was finishing up a mission!" Hanabi exclaimed as she rushed in, panting a bit. She had nicks and scratches on her face that had been bandaged up and she wore a yellow kimono with a Konoha flak jacket over her chest.
"Heh, even as jōnin the Tora mission is still difficult, isn't it?"
"Grr…that cat is a demon! It even avoided my Byakugan's sight and I don't know HOW it did so!"
"Well...Tora has been retrieved by ninja for years now, he knows all of our tricks," Neji said as he leaned back. "Though I assume you have to get ready for your date with Konohamaru, correct?"
Hanabi grinned cheekily. "Heh, you know it!"
After the War Konohamaru had also been promoted to jōnin extremely quickly and Naruto had even made him his formal student. As such in the short time after the conflict had ended the young Sarutobi had became much stronger, and even went to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode!
Hanabi herself had mastered several hidden techniques the Hyūga Clan had created, as well as started to integrate more ninjutsu into her combat style. She had even learned Hinata's Rasenyari as well as the Rasengan itself from Konohamaru since it fit the Hyūga fighting style extremely well.
"What about youuuu Neji-nii-san…don't you have a date with Tenten-san coming up soon?" Hanabi asked teasingly.
"Hm, yes," Neji said with a smirk. "Lots to prepare for there…"
At the same time, back at the Hokage Tower Naruto finished his paperwork for the day. He leaned back and did a stretch and lifted his arms over his head as he heard a knock on the door. He could sense who it was, and he grinned.
"You can come in, Hinata-chan!"
Hinata came walking in and she smiled. "Just finished my own mission for the day…"
Hinata was dressed in her new mission gear. Since she was now far more confident, she showed off a bit more skin. Her top was a sleeveless and seemed to push her bust out to show it off as well as open down the middle to expose her cleavage much like Tsunade's own outfit, and she also showed off her stomach a bit as well, and now instead of long pants she wore extremely short shorts. Her hair style had also changed a bit, she still wore it long, but she no longer had the and her two bangs now went down to her chest.
Naruto could not help but give a whistle. "Man, love the change to your mission gear Hinata-chan."
"Well…I thought it was time to put away my old outfit," Hinata explained with a slight blush. Since she had fully mastered her Tenseigan her eyes were back to their usual color as well.
He grinned and walked over to his girlfriend and drew her into a slow kiss. She smiled into the kiss and closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. The two kissed slowly and a little heatedly for a few moments before they broke apart and cuddled. Hinata smirked up at her boyfriend and then kissed him again.
"So…we should have a little time before the big dinner at your parents…" Hinata said slowly. "Any idea what we could do to pass the time…?"
Naruto smirked as he saw the look that his girlfriend gave him. He picked her up bridal style and the two vanished from the Hokage Office at full speed. The two then arrived back at their house less than a second later and the young Hokage put Hinata down and she unzipped her top and tossed it off and showed off her huge, soft breasts to her boyfriend right after they got over the landing. Naruto took off his own shirt as the two hastily undressed and kissed slowly throughout it.
Hinata yanked her shorts off and left herself completely nude in front of Naruto who joined her. He saw the thick but neat bush over her womanhood and there was already a bit of wetness down there. He took a bit to admire her huge, soft breasts with tiny pink nipples at the peaks and she looked at his manhood which was hard.
Hinata pushed Naruto back onto the bed and she went down and began to slowly suck on his manhood, keeping him hard while her huge breasts jiggled with every movement. He gasped at that and put his hand onto her head. She bobbed her head a bit faster as her breasts jiggled a bit more and moaned softly as she felt her own bushy womanhood.
"Mmm…that is so good…Hinata-chan…"
Hinata gave a bit of a smirk and stroked his manhood a bit more while she licked the tip. The Hyūga used every skill she had learned in the Kunoichi Seduction Class she had attended with Sakura, Ino and Tenten upon turning 18. The skills she had learned, needless to say, had helped immensely in the bedroom. She bobbed her head a bit more as she eagerly fingered herself and her huge breasts jiggled more.
"OH…that is…REAL good…" Naruto said as his girlfriend stopped sucking on him.
"We're…getting to the main event," Hinata whispered and panted a bit before she moved up and straddled him.
Hinata's bushy womanhood then engulfed Naruto's manhood and she sank her hips down slowly. Her lower pink lips quivered as she gasped in pleasure and adjusted to the girth and width of her boyfriend's member. She slowly began to rock on him as her huge breasts jiggled in front of Naruto's face and he gently grasped her rear.
"Oh…yes…Naruto-kun…." Hinata moaned softly and she started to bounce on him, her breasts jiggled more.
"So…tight…Hinata-chan…" Naruto gasped as he thrusts up into her slowly as she bounced slightly faster.
He then sat up and kissed Hinata passionately while she bounced and rocked on him faster, her womanhood squeezed him a bit more. She put her hands-on Naruto's shoulders and began to bounce on the balls of her feet and the bed started to creak under their movements. Naruto and Hinata kissed heatedly as she bounced and rocked her hips even faster.
"Oh…YES…!" Hinata moaned as she bounced and rocked even faster on Naruto.
"Hinata-chan you feel so GOOD…" Naruto whispered as they kissed again.
The Hyūga panted and moaned as she bounced even faster on the young Hokage and they slowly started to feel close. Naruto laid back and Hinata kissed him again, bouncing even harder on him while the bed creaked. The Hyūga's eyes then turned into their Tenseigan form as she got close and her purple chakra cloak bursts around her as the young Hokage's Rikudō Sage Mode flared up around him simultaneously. Both cried out as they came, and Naruto emptied himself into Hinata who rocked and bounced faster before the two powered down and gasped and panted.
"That…that was awesome…" Naruto panted as Hinata relaxed on top of him.
"Mmm…yes it was…well worth the wait from the mission…"
"Heh…" Naruto grinned and he gently pulled his girlfriend into a slow kiss.
After a few minutes of basking in the afterglow, Naruto and Hinata got out of bed and washed up together in their bathroom. They had a little bit of fun inside it but focused mostly on getting cleaned up to hide their 'session' from the dinner that they were going to have with the young Hokage's parents.
Soon both Naruto and Hinata were dressed in their casual clothes. The young Hokage wore a orange hoodie with gray pants, while the Hyūga wore a white dress with a pink undershirt. Hinata had finished combing and brushing her long blue-black hair and she leaned back with a smile.
"I think I'm ready to go now," she said as Naruto walked over and hugged her gently.
"Heh, great! You look stunning Hinata-chan!"
Hinata's cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "But…this is just my casual clothes, nothing too special…"
"Still! You look amazing!"
She smiled at that and then hugged the young Hokage happily. Naruto smiled and hugged her back and the two just held each other slowly. After they basked in the moment for several minutes, they left their bedroom. Akamaru rushed over and he jumped up and licked their cheeks and they laughed.
"Yes Akamaru, we didn't forget about you," Naruto said as he pat the big dog's head.
Akamaru barked happily and nuzzled both before going to the door. "Yes, we're not forgetting you Akamaru-kun," Hinata assured him as she patted his back.
The ninken gave an affirmative bark as 'That's' right, I'm not missing Mrs. Kushina's cooking!'
"Well then, lets get going," Naruto said as he offered his arm to Hinata who linked with him and rested her head on his shoulder.
With that, the three walked out of the Hokage's house and began to head towards Minato and Kushina's residence up the street. Several shinobi and civilians all nodded respectfully to Naruto and a few kids ran over to get the young Hokage's autograph, even a few asked for Hinata's as well.
Land of Sound, Otogakure
Orochimaru reclined on his throne and he waited for Shin's report. His throne room was dark, only lighted by a few candles that were put in the mouths of snakes that had been carved into the rock. The Snake Sannin had monitored the situation around the World at that moment. Unlike before when the Five Great Nations were fractured, they had fully become a lasting alliance born from the Allied Shinobi Forces and had transferred into the Shinobi Union. With the Gokage effectively being the Daimyo of their nations as well, ninja were in the forefront instead of the background in the past. What intrigued him most was the refugees that were crossing national boundaries daily from the Land of Lightning, hundreds of thousands of people who no longer had a home due to the Ten-Tails and Tobimaru. In his twisted mind, Orochimaru saw them as a never-ending line of potential experiments…
"Oho…things have truly changed," Orochimaru said as he licked his lips. "But my forces are quickly growing in power, the Armament Alliance is just the first step…"
He got off his throne and then went to his lab. The lab was the only place that was brightly lit but had a sinister vibe around it. Human body parts floated in jars; the incessant beeping could be heard throughout the entire facility. And finally, there were cages filled with human test subjects in various stages of the Cursed Seal testing. Their screams and torment from the cold experiments Orochimaru inflicted on them gave another unsettling vibe of his work. He had gotten quite a few new test subjects for his enhanced Cursed Seal-one which was greater than even the 'level 2' that had been peaked before. Despite Jugo's death in the Fourth Shinobi World War he still had recreated the enzyme needed to recreate the effects of his seal. Inside were also several large tubes filled with liquid…what looked to be embryos and fetuses were floating inside the insect and he smirked.
"The next step has begun, not merely Kage Bunshin…." Orochimaru said with a bit of pride. "I'll be able to create the perfect vessel for myself, and recreate it over, and over again…."
In a larger tube there was a pulsing mass of flesh mixed with what looked like wood and plant matter…the radiated a massive amount of chakra. The Snake Sannin rubbed it with a smirk as he checked the readings on the computer screen. His new pet project was coming along well…inside a small eye started to open…with a Sharingan with a single tomoe.
"Ah yes…Project Ten-Tails Seed is proceeding nicely," Orochimaru said with a smirk. "Unlike Tobimaru…I intend to create a new beast suited for my perfect body. One which won't turn on me…"
He heard a loud scream from the holding cells and then the mad scientist went over to check the progress of Cursed Seal Level 3. Orochimaru walked over to the cell as the man thrashed against the binds, he had fully mutated into the Level 2 form of the Cursed Seal and had a more reptilian appearance complete with a long tail, scales and even his face had been reshaped to look more like a crocodile and his long black hair flowed down his back.
"Oh...lets see if your body can take the final mutation," Orochimaru uttered as he watched with an impassive smirk.
"F-F-FUCK…YOU…." the prisoner yelled as he tried to break the bonds. "I-I'M GONNA…KILL YOU…YOU SNAKE…FREAK…."
Orochimaru activated his Byakugan to check the chakra flow of the prisoner. "Ahh…that's it, the next step is about to happen."
From the prisoner's back his flesh sizzled and bubbled up and he cried out in pain. Claws burst out, shaped like a crab's and screamed as more of his body began to mutate. Drool, mixed with blood, leaked from his reptilian jaws as the influx of chakra from the Level 3 mutation warped his physical form. From his shoulders two huge eyes burst out and then his entire body started to tremble…
"Oh…yet another failure," Orochimaru said offhandedly as his Byakugan deactivated.
What was left of the prisoner was nothing more than blood and viscera that was scattered around the cell. The final part of the mutation…had broke the prisoner's body completely apart and even had exploded. Much like the 60 others that the initial testing had done.
"Back to the drawing board, I'll need to create a better mix of the chakra to initiate the level 3 mutation," Orochimaru said as he recorded the results of the latest test into the journal. He then pressed a button in the cell…and flames flooded it to completely sanitize it.
It was at that moment Shin Uchiha and Rahyō appeared out of a space-time vortex. Orochimaru smirked as he went over to greet his lieutenants.
"Now…what is the latest of my little pet project….?"
"Konoha got involved," Rahyō said with a frown. "They sent the Yellow Flash, most of our men were apprehended."
"Oh, a pity, but no great loss. They hadn't gotten word of our true objective in the Land of Waves," Orochimaru said with a smirk. "Though Rahyō-kun, you do want to increase your own power, don't you?"
"Of course, I do! I need the power to fully challenge the Five Great Nations!" Rahyō replied and Orochimaru grinned.
"Just what I needed to hear," Orochimaru said as he then extended his neck and then bit RIGHT into the Hyōton user's neck.
Rahyō gave a loud yell of pain as the Snake Sannin injected the Cursed Seal right into his neck. Four tomoe appeared…showing it was an enhanced Cursed Seal of Heaven, an improved version of the same seal inflicted on Uchiha Sasuke years ago. Orochimaru's head shot back to his body and he licked his lips.
"Now Rahyō…if you survive, you'll take the first step to greater power," Orochimaru uttered as the Ryūha Armament Alliance leader fell to his knees…and new inhuman screams echoed throughout the facility.
To be continued….
Author's Notes:
Told you I would have the first interquel ready! I am aiming for each of them to be around 5-10 chapters and their rating will be higher than the initial story of War of the Biju at rated M. The themes will be a little more adult (as you can see from the lemon and the nightmare fuel of Orochimaru's experiments). For the first three Hidens, Orochimaru is the shadow big bad with Toneri being the big bad of my version of The Last…and the Ōtsutsuki Clan will be appearing in force. Allusions to Kaguya, Momoshiki, Kinshiki and Urashiki will start appearing…and Tasogare's movements will start too (showing what has happened to Kabuto).
Also updates from what happened after the War with the Shinobi Union being formed, Hanabi and Konohamaru being promoted to Jōnin as well as the refugee crisis forming due to the massive loss of land in the Land of Lightning. The latter like in real life…there is no easy fix. Hell Kumogakure, despite being fully rebuilt now is nothing more than a shadow of its former self, only retaining its 'Major Power' status thanks to the existence of Bee and Yugito.
And Kakashi also now has a new problem, his Sharingan is fine…but his normal eye isn't, and he has to face the dilemma of taking Obito's other eye to replace his normal one. On top of reconnecting to Rin, his sensei and Kushina too!