HOPE, A THING OF THE PAST – WELCOME BACK
The Hidden Leaf Camp
Mitsuki takes advantage of the commotion amongst the villagers to slip away. They have been noisy ever since the allotted departure time passed, the reason, the 9th Hokage has still not returned. In situations like this the authority to make decisions theoretically falls to Shikadai but everyone knows that isn't what will happen. If Sarada is declared to be dead, then Mitsuki will be named the next Hokage. It's not a job he has ever dreamed of, not a job he has ever coveted yet one that he cannot refuse if it falls into his lap.
Mitsuki, ignoring the racket behind him, falls onto the floor before laying his back against a rock. The rock isn't comfortable, it has a surface as cold as ice and as rough as gravel but he doesn't care, right now all Mitsuki wants is to wake up from the nightmare he has found himself in. With Sarada dead, Boruto dead and his sensei dead, would the world be worth living in anymore, one memory saves him. The memory of Hatake Kakashi; Kakashi lost his father, both teammates and his sensei before even reaching adulthood and yet still managed to become Hokage.
"Are you alright Mitsuki?" a feminine voice asks from behind.
Mitsuki turns his neck to the side, looking over his shoulder as much as his body will allow him without the manipulation of his powers. He is greeted with a concerned face, the concerned face of the last survivor of team 7. The face of Uchiha Sakura.
"I've got a few bumps and bruises but nothing that won't heal" Mitsuki smiles as he turns his head back around.
Picking a stone up from the ground and flicking his kunai against it, Orochimaru's son sharpens the blade, flick by flick as sparks dance from the steal before landing on the nearby grass.
"You're lying" Sakura notes.
Mitsuki stops sharpening his kunai, once more tilting his head to gaze into the unwavering eyes of Sakura. He pauses for a moment before sighing and throwing the stone away. Collapsing back onto the rock he closes his eyes and drops the kunai.
As the snake-like shinobi rolls his loose blue sleeve up his arm it reveals his pale skin. His arm isn't as normal though, one long gash occupies the length of it, deep enough to hold a pen, it is a gruesome sight that a lesser shinobi would be traumatised by.
Sakura places her hands above the gash, green energy flowing from the tips of her fingers as the gash begins to close, this is the medical ninjutsu that nobody can claim to match, the greatest in the village, the greatest in the world.
"You really must tell us when you get injured" Sakura begins as if scolding a young child, "Your welfare is vital to the vil… to our survival".
The slip causes an awkward silence that lasts a few moments.
"Sorry".
"Morale is also important" Mitsuki notes, "I'm one of our three strongest shinobi, I can't afford to be seen getting injured".
The point is highlighted even further by Mitsuki's current situation, if neither of his teammates returns then he will become Hokage. The Hokage in that situation would be the only hope that the village has left for survival. To see that hope in such a bad state would be devastating, even for the most strong-minded individual.
"Do you know what this technique Sarada has been working on does?" the mother questions. Sakura doesn't have much hope when she asks but feels that she should anyway. The fact that she, Sarada's mother, doesn't know what the technique does is testament to the great pains Sarada has endured to keep it a secret.
Mitsuki drops his shoulders slightly as if relaxing, "I don't know… but she has been focusing on it every spare moment, it has to be something special".
"I hope so".
The green medicinal chakra disappears from the gap between Mitsuki's arm and Sakura's hands, representative of his wounds healing. Now all he can do is wait for it to get better naturally. A few moments pass as the duo enjoy the silence, despite appearing blasé to the outside world, inside Mitsuki's head a bundle of emotions are untangling themselves. He is grateful to Sakura for her healing yet he is struggling to show any happiness given the current situation.
That all chances one a set of figures walk into view.
"It's Boruto!" Mitsuki yells as a smile comes to his face. "And he… he's got some people with him". He starts as he looks sideways to see his healer's reaction.
"This…" Sakura mutters as she walks slowly towards the figures with an outstretched hand, "Oh my god".
Mirai and Boruto dissipate their clones, gradually lowering their fellow shinobi to their feet. Without exception, they are all able to stand without support now, every one of them is an incredible warrior with a story firmly written into ninja history.
"Naruto" she begins, "And… is that you Kakashi sensei… and you Lady Tsunade".
Kakashi's eyes contort in a manner that makes it obvious he is smiling, an expression he is famed for. "It is good to see you Sakura".
"Lady Tsunade, Sakura is your disciple from the future" Hinata notes with a smile.
"Tsunade had a disciple". Dan is quick to tease Tsunade who has usually had such an apathetic attitude towards such things.
"Nice to meet you" the 5th answers awkwardly.
Sakura then takes a few more steps towards Naruto, getting almost uncomfortably close before leaning in closer, inspecting the very contours of his face.
"Is it really you?" she asks.
"Sakura, it's me".
Boruto winks to Sakura before pointing a finger at his father. "Believe it".
As Hinata begins to laugh Naruto crosses his arms and adopts a grumpy face. "I can't believe I am being picked on by my own son, we only just met a short while ago…".
Naruto's complaints are interrupted by Sakura's tight embrace. Little can be heard apart from the wind blowing through the trees, the leaves falling to conceal the earth below them, it is on a foundation like this that the village hidden by the leaves was created. It is for moments like this that the hidden leaf was created, it is with moments like this that the hidden leaf has survived.
"Welcome back Lord 7th".
A few nearby villagers notice the newcomers.
"What's going on".
"Who is that with Lady Sakura".
Two retired shinobi are stood amongst these villagers, the patriarch and matriarch of the Nara clan, Shikamaru and Temari.
"Shikamaru… is that… is that?".
Shikamaru nods, "Yeah". He takes hold of Temari's hand and tightens his grip on it, "Never mind the cheesy grin and the whiskers, this feeling is unmistakable".
"The chakra?".
"No" his head shakes, "Remember the feeling of hope building up inside you, that feeling is Uzumaki Naruto".
"HEY EVERYONE" Mitsuki yells at the top of his lungs, "LORD 7th HAS COME TO SAVE YOU".
A few seconds' pass before the villagers realise that the blonde-haired youngster before them is the 7th Hokage, then the silence is no more. The village erupts in a raw of elation, there is no mistaking the face of the man before them, it is Uzumaki Naruto, it is the 7th.
Sarada approaches her mother with a smile on her face. Usually the 9th Hokage likes to maintain a composed demeanour but not even her thick-rimmed glasses can hide the excitement written in her eyes. There was only ever one source of hope and after so long, that hope is back.
"Mom, I'm going to need your help to bring these men and women up to speed".
"My help" Sakura starts.
The Hokage nods, "As you may have gathered, they have not been brought here with the reanimation jutsu invented by the 2nd Hokage".
"They have not been brought from the dead using Nagato Pain's Rinne-Rebirth, they are as alive as alive gets".
"They have been brought forward from the past" Sarada explains, "I tried to bring them all forward from the part of history in which they were strongest".
"I see" Sakura exclaims, "So the 1st Hokage won't know anything about any of the great ninja wars".
"Great ninja wars" Hashirama stutters, "But Madara and I created the hidden leaf to try and escape from wars, what a terrifying place the world became". It seems strange to those from the future but to Senju Hashirama who has dedicated his life up to this point, trying to find a way so that children would not die because of stupid wars. To come into the future and find that it has still happened is tragic.
"Don't worry old man 1st" Naruto calls, raising Hashirama's eyes, "The hidden leaf has been my home for all of my life, I'm really happy you created it".
It is still a point that has astonished many scholars from the future, how could Uzumaki Naruto, a child born into such tragic circumstances, burdened with so much hate and blessed with so little talent, how could someone like that decided to discard all his hate and live on like nothing has happened.
"I see" Hashirama smiles, "7th Hokage, a whole 6 after myself, I suppose I must have done something right".
"Naruto" chuckles Sakura, "You look so young, you must be about 17 years old. Have you even become the Hokage yet?".
"I came forward from when Grandma Tsunade was still the Hokage, the end of the fourth great ninja war".
Tsunade crooks her head, "Did he just call me Grandma?".
"Yes" Kakashi replies.
"Are we related?".
"No", the 6th Hokage replies, "He just calls you that because he met you when you were old".
Dan works quickly to hold Tsunade back as she waves her fist and curses at Naruto. "THAT DAMN KID".
Boruto smiles, doing his best to ignore the rampaging 5th Hokage, "Sakura, you were there right up to the end of the 4th great ninja war, you know the truth behind our history better than anybody, could you please explain it so that we are all able to speak on the same level".
Sakura nods, "I'll do my best, though my knowledge becomes hazier the further back we go, I'll need you all to make sure that I don't make any mistakes".
Mito nods, "Of course, we will help out where we can".
"It will be interesting to hear what happened after I passed on" Hiruzen notes.
"I'm looking forward to hearing about Naruto's story" Minato notes.
"We have to move further east first" Sarada notes, "After that we will set up camp again, then my mother can tell you the whole story".
'It's as if they have completely forgotten' a Tobirama thinks to himself, 'We have each left behind a turbulent and dangerous part of our lives'.
'Yet we have stumbled into an even greater hell'.
Later That Day, The Hidden Leaf Camp
The temperature has risen significantly despite the time getting later and later. A result of heading east, towards the hidden steam village. While this voyage has little effect on the shinobi the journey has slowed significantly due to the struggling children and the elderly. The circumstances are difficult.
Despite that morale is high as the current generation of shinobi gathers. Boruto, Mitsuki, Shikadai, ChouChou, Inojin, Mirai and Metal all gather around in a circle. Discussing what they have been doing since the war broke out, sharing stories but most importantly discussing their potential salvation. They discuss the arriving Hokage.
"So it's really the Hokage of the past?" Shikadai asks incredulously.
"So your dad is here?" Inojin asks hopefully.
"My father and mother have been brought forward" Boruto confirms, bringing a smile to the faces of his friends.
"Your father is youthful is many ways" Metal Lee declares.
"It must be strange to have a father younger than yourself" ChouChou says.
Boruto simply smiles, "My grandfather and grandmother are here as well, they aren't much older".
Shikadai sighs, "I remember the day of the chunnin exams, Lord 7th's strength was incredible… but is it enough to win this war?".
"What's the point in asking?". Mitsuki looks down into the earth beneath him as he asks.
"Mitsuki?"
"If Lord 7th is strong enough then we will win and if he isn't then there will have been nothing that we could have done".
The group become silent after this observation is voiced. It is true that if Uzumaki Naruto at the peak of his powers is unable to defeat the invaders then nobody would be. There were a few people who could claim to have momentarily been stronger than Naruto, Uchiha Madara, Otsutsuki Kaguya and Uchiha Obito, yet none of them were suitable to bring forward with the technique. No, if this threat is to be averted Naruto would be the one to do it.
"Stop worrying" Boruto smiles, "He is the greatest shinobi in history, he will win".
"I suppose so" Mitsuki nods.
"Himawari went to introduce herself to our parents and to help Sakura explain our history, they should be done soon, I'm going to go and speak to my father".
As Boruto walks away from his peers he slowly approaches his father, the world's hope.
'Dad, everyone always told me that you were the best… I saw your power with my own eyes'.
'They told me that you couldn't be beaten, that the darkness, no matter how dark, could never extinguish the light in your heart'.
'Dad, what will you do when you find out just how dark this world has become?'.