MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE – A PLAN PUT INTO MOTION
Near the Hidden Leaf Camp
Tsunade lays on her back, head resting on her hands as she looks at a nearby waterfall. Watches as the water tumbles from the ridge above. Listens as it crashes against the rocks below. Smells the scent of the wildlife, of the flora and fauna gathered here. It is a place where nature gathers, plants and animals come here to drink, a waterfall truly is a beautiful thing that way.
She listens as footsteps approach from behind her, sighing internally in anticipation. Everybody who had spoken to her in the last four days had been trying to convince her to go ahead with the operation. This was, in turn, the reason she came to the waterfall, to have a moment of peace away from them.
The footsteps frequency and their weight imply to her that the newcomer is a man, a man who she quickly identifies as someone close to her. The man who was brought into the future with her, that man is of course Dan.
"Hey" Dan calls, approaching from behind.
"Are you here to try and convince me too" she asks, her eyes not straying from the waterfall.
"You know I wouldn't do that" Dan says as he lays down next to Tsunade. "This is your decision and I trust your judgement".
"Thank you". Despite her apparent gratitude Tsunade's tone doesn't change, as if she wasn't expecting Dan to be so receptive and instead expected yet another argument.
"But I still have to ask you something".
"What's that" the blonde Hokage asks.
"What is your judgement Tsunade. In your honest opinion, what do you think would happen if you operated on Naruto?". Dan hasn't had much time to spend with Tsunade since reaching the future, there have been other things to do, a village to protect, sick and elderly to care for. Tsunade's duties had been different though, she was a Hokage, it was her duty to make the important decisions, the important judgements, just like this one.
"If I operate on Naruto then there will be a 99 percent chance of him dying" Tsunade calmly assess. Despite the fluctuations in her voice her face remains unaffected as she rattles off this prophecy of doom.
Dan sighs, finally hearing her opinion. "That's quite a high chance of death".
"Yeah".
"Tsunade, it was destiny that I was going to die young. It was destiny that the two of us were going to be separated when I died. Despite that we are here, in the future and we are here together".
Tsunade finally averts her gaze from the waterfall, her eyes falling squarely on the face of Dan. The two of them had indeed travelled through time together, despite their destiny being to separate from one another they had still somehow remained together. Their presence here is defying fate, their presence here is defying destiny.
"What's your point?" she asks.
"Tell me, what do you think the chances of that happening were?".
Tsunade pauses, understanding where he is going with this line of questioning.
"If I were being truthful. The chances of that would be less than 1 percent" she responds so quietly it is barely a whisper.
Tsunade frowns as Dan smiles at her, quickly making her counter-argument, "The dice was rolled once and landed on the right number. That doesn't mean it will continue to roll on the right number every time we throw it".
"You know, Sarada told me that she put everything into that summoning; that she would have died if she failed. She told that she was throwing herself off a cliff and relying on fate to catch her".
Tsunade sits up waving her fist before her as her tone switches to one of anger. "And you want me to do that?".
"You want me to throw the world off a cliff and hope that somebody catches us?".
"No" the blue haired shinobi defiantly shouts in return, "Naruto is the one who wants the operation. He is the one throwing the whole world off a cliff".
He continues, "I want you to tell me. In that situation, whose job would it be to save the hidden leaf".
Tsunade pauses, hesitating for a long before finally giving her answer.
"That duty would fall to the Hokage".
She says this with a heavy heart, it had not been her dream to become the Hokage, that dream had belonged to Dan. Circumstances that were not fully understood by either of them lead to his death and lead to her becoming the 5th Hokage, the 5th leader of the hidden leaf village. That wasn't how it was supposed to happen.
"Everyone else believes that you can succeed with even these odds, everyone believes that if anyone can hit that 1 percent change then that person is you".
"I will believe in whatever your judgement is but I need to ask you another question".
"Do you believe that you can succeed with those odds?".
Tsunade shakes her head gently, "The risks with the operation are…".
"It doesn't matter" Dan interrupts her, "What is your judgement of yourself?".
"… before that it is my turn to ask you a question. Kato Dan, what is your judgement of me?".
Dan smiles widely, for him this is such an easy question to answer. "I judge that you can do anything you set your mind to, that you can make the impossible possible. I judge that you are the 5th Hokage".
Sighing deeply, she finally answers his question. "Very well… I'll believe in your judgement of me".
"Tell Biwako that it is back on. That we will need another tissue sample from Boruto".
"We're going to attempt the operation".
The Next Day, The Medical Area
Waiting in the medical area are, as always, Hashirama and Naruto, the two living transmigrants of the sage of the six paths son, of Otsutsuki Asura. They do not wait alone however, waiting alongside them are the young family of Naruto. Waiting with him are the trio of Hinata, Himawari and Boruto.
They are waiting with expectation and some level of jubilation, that is because last night they received the news that Tsunade had changed her mind, that the operation was back on. Naruto is so excited, claiming to his family that he couldn't sleep at all last night. Unfortunately, while that is boast for him it is a complaint of Hashirama who was kept awake by Naruto's cheers. Still the 1st Hokage is happy for his eventual successor because this is a great leap forward for the world.
As Tsunade arrives, Naruto waves to her as excitedly as is conceivable. Kuruma groans thinking of the embarrassment of his host waving to him after the 4th Great Shinobi War. He would never be able to live that one down.
"Grandma Tsunade, I'm really happy that you're going to do it" Naruto shouts.
"Don't be too happy yet" she retorts, "the odds are that it will still go wrong".
"It won't go wrong" the 7th Hokage claims, the smile still glued to his face from just a moment ago, "Trust me, I know you won't make a mistake".
Tsunade takes a moment to consider what her reputation must be like in the future. This man, seemingly the most legendary shinobi to ever be born has such unwavering confidence in her. Even with a matter so huge Naruto didn't flinch, just what kind of man is he and what kind of women must she be.
"So what needs to happen before the operation" Hinata asks.
"We need to wait another three days before the prosthetic finishes growing" Tsunade explains, thanking Boruto for donating his cells again quickly afterward. "We also need to wait another two days before grandfather will be well enough to use the wood release again. We need a suitable building for the operation and only he can create such a thing in such a short time".
"There is no need to wait" Hashirama holds his hand out before him, "I can do that right now if needed".
Though as the 1st Hokage begins to weave a series of signs, he is soon punched in the top of his head by his granddaughter.
"Don't be stupid" the 5th Hokage shouts as she waves her fist aggressively towards her grandfather, indicating that she could strike again at any moment.
Boruto sweatdrops. 'That probably won't help his recovery' he thinks to himself as he watches the Hokage's of the past interact so freely.
Hashirama rubs the bruise on his head, "Ah, you're so harsh Tsuna".
Himawari approaches Tsunade, "Growing the prosthetic is one of the places that this could all go wrong. Do you think you got it right Lady Tsunade?".
"I've had Sarada look at it with her rinnegan. She wasn't able to spot anything wrong with it".
"There's no need to worry Himawari" Boruto smiles to his younger sister, "There is no way that Sarada would get it wrong".
"I suppose not" Himawari smiles.
She thinks back to her childhood and the memories she has of her elder brother. He was a good brother, not always as kind as he could have been but he always had her best intentions at heart. Regardless, when he did upset her she would get angry, becoming powerful enough to scare him. It is a flawed sibling relationship but one they both cherish dearly.
Naruto turns to his inner world. "In the mean time I will be depending you to recover as quickly as possible Kurama".
"You can count on me Naruto" is the reply of the nine-tailed fox.
Hashirama sighs before falling backwards onto his stretcher.
"Lord 1st, is something wrong" Boruto asks.
The aforementioned 1st Hokage turns his head to face Boruto, a frown covering it he comments, "Recovery is so boring".
As everything looks between each other, not knowing how to reply it falls to Tsunade to search for the cause of his boredom.
"Where is grandmother anyway. I thought she was staying with you".
"She has visited me every day" Hashirama explains, "But other than that, she went to see if she could help the others with their training".
"I should do the same really" Boruto says, turning to his father, "Sarada may require my help".
"You'll be back before the operation, won't you?".
Boruto turns to look into the downcast eyes of his mother.
"It could be… you know…".
"I know" he replies, "You'll see me again father, don't worry".
"Yeah" Naruto smiles, "I intend to spend a lot of time with you and Himawari before any of us die".
"I'll hold you to that old man".
Outside a Small Palace, The Land of Water
Peterson and Clyde land just in front of the palace. It is an ostentatious dwelling to say the least, lined with decorative gold and silver. It truly would be a place fit for a king, a residence far nicer than any enjoyed by the feudal lords or Kage.
"General, do we really have to ask him to fight" Peterson turns to Clyde, his voice bordering on protest.
"Without him we won't have enough Colonels to fill our team" Clyde responds simply.
A snort comes from the Colonel with the scarred face, "I would sooner rely on a captain than ask this guy".
"You think that a captain would be enough" General Clyde raises his eyebrow as he asks this question.
"It's exceptionally rare for the locals to have strength on par with a captain".
"And yet we have encountered several who do just recently" Clyde reminds Peterson of his battle against the hidden leaf trio. The first time a Colonel had lost since invading. "Plus now they have a chance to get stronger, to train while we have called off our attack".
"Still….".
"My job is to keep you all alive" Clyde explains, "And asking this guy for help maximises our chances".
His voice raises in pitch as he thinks back to the previous recruits, "Anyway, you hesitated when I asked Sheer as well".
"Sheer creeps me out but I have no problem with her, this guy is different. I don't like him; you can trust him general".
The General smiles, "I know" before yelling as loud as he can, "MARTIN GET OUT HERE".
Clyde's voice is enough to shake the heavens and rattle the floor as it booms through the forests and the valleys. Despite the thunderous call, a few moments pass without any sort of response. The palace door remains shut.
"See what I mean" Peterson says, pointing to the door as he looks at the General, "This guy is lazy, he's barely been of any help at all since getting here. On top of that he is a complete coward".
"Hmm" Clyde begins before walking up to the door. Without hesitating he punches the door and punches it right in the centre. The grand entranceway comes from its hinges and is propelled down the long corridor behind it.
At the end of this corridor is a throne, a short man with short blonde hair is sat on it, though he quickly jumps off the throne before it can be hit by the door.
His hands shaking and his teeth chattering he looks to the now vacant entrance to his palace. "Oh General Clyde, so good to see you again".
"Silence" Clyde's voice thunders down the corridor.
"Yes sir".
"We are participating in a traditional captained six challenge against the locals" Clyde tells Martin, "That is how we will decide the fate of this world".
Martin raises his previously lowered head, "But why sir?".
"To save Peterson's life. I had to agree to this or one of the locals would have killed him".
Martin's face becomes ugly as he looks towards his fellow Colonel, "Peterson you idiot, you are a disgrace to your position, losing to one of the locals…".
He continues, "You should have been left to die".
Hearing that General Clyde stamps his foot, shaking the floor in something that could be compared to an earthquake. The vibrations are targeted though, targeting only the area stretching from Clyde to Martin, knocking the latter onto his chest.
Clyde walks along the corridor calmly before reaching Martin, "It's time to stop being such a coward Martin".
"You are going to fight the locals in this contest. That is an order. Understood?".
"But sir, surely if they could defeat Peterson I'm not…".
Clyde stamps his foot once again, this time the whole building shakes as a result, various expensive ornaments fall to the floor and shatter.
Marin winces, "Understood sir".
"Report to my headquarters at the earliest opportunity you get" Clyde demands before turning and walking towards the space formerly occupied by the door. "Let's go Peterson" he declares as they leave.
"Are you alright sir?" comes the concerned voice of a captain. This captain is one of the many under Martin's command, one of the many residents of the palace.
After the Captain helps Martin to his feet, the Colonel lashes out in frustration, pushing him into a wall with a single strike of his palm. It may not look impressive and Martin may indeed be a coward but this single strike is enough to break several of the Captain's ribs.
Martin approaches another captain, "You will find out where this enemy is and you will execute the plan. Got it?".
The Captain's eyes widen as he hears the mention of 'the plan'. "But sir, with what the general just said…".
Hearing the dissention is almost enough to make Martin attack again. Though this time the attack would be much more fatal, symbolised by the gathering of mauve energy on his clenched fist.
"Am I understood captain?".
"Yes sir, loud and clear".
And just like that Martin's plan begins.
A diabolical plan.
It is put into motion.