MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE – MINATO'S FATE
Outside the Medical Building
If one were to look outside the medical building they would see the same three people who had been there for days now. First, laying on the ground, his eyes closed but his consciousness fully active is Namikaze Minato, he could easily be mistaken for a man asleep but he is not. If the poison is to reach his heart then he will die, to slow down the advance of this poison he is utilising nature chakra to its fullest.
Second is Senju Hashirama, the most proficient medial shinobi in the village, now or at any time in its history. He too is one of the few sages that the hidden leaf village has seen rise in its short but turbulent history, that is what qualifies him to be a Hokage, the legendary 1st Hokage. Together with Minato he pools nature chakra, slowing the advance of the poison as much as possible, not only does he do this but he uses standard medical jutsu to sooth Minato's pain at the same time, an impressive healing tandem that very few people could form.
Lastly is Uzumaki Kushina, Minato's wife who had travelled to the future with the 4th Hokage. She too is a great shinobi remembered fondly by all of her peers. Though, her formerly loud attitude is not reflected in her current state, she has fallen asleep. While Kushina is sleeping, it is evident she didn't want this, for she has fallen asleep while sitting upright, her clothes the same as the day she brought Minato here. Through her incredible willpower it has been these three who have remained here unmoving for days on end.
They are not alone for long though, a 4th person approaches. Her green robe and blonde hair help Hashirama to quickly identify her despite his tiredness. This woman is naturally the 5th Hokage, Senju Tsunade.
"Grandfather…" she says quietly, as if she has just entered a library
"Tsunade" he acknowledges her presence after a moments delay, "You've finally come to see me".
"Yeah".
This is the first time the two of them have spoken since the poisonous captain struck. The first time they have spoken since Tsunade learned of the tragedy that was her grandmother's death. Finally, they speak about it.
"I'm sorry" he begins, lifting his reddened eyes to look at his granddaughter, "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect your grandmother Tsunade".
Tsunade nods before looking over to the woman sat next to Hashirama. "She fell asleep?".
Hashirama then copies Tsunade, turning his head slowly to look at Kushina. "Yeah, she hasn't slept in days".
Hashirama points this out and emphasises his selflessness at the same time, not only has he also not slept for days but he has simultaneously had to focus on the treatment of Minato, something that the 4th Hokage himself has also had to focus on. Despite that, Hashirama does not blame Kushina at all, to stay awake this long, even with the aid of chakra is an incredible feat, perhaps only a Hokage could manage it.
"She must be worried" Tsunade walks over to Kushina before gently laying her on the ground and taking her place at Hashirama's side.
"Yeah…".
"Tsunade" the wood user begins, "Do you blame me, do you blame me for what happened".
"You're not to blame grandfather, nobody could have known what was going to happen". Tsunade offers these words in consolation to her grandfather, the man who would hold the position of Hokage long before herself. During her youth, she may not have had a full appreciation for just how incredible Senju Hashirama was. Still, when she was young Hashirama quite rightly appeared unbeatable to Tsunade, like a god who could not be touched, however, even with this appearance, she would never blame him if he failed.
Something few people understand about the Hokage is that they are still human.
She continues. "Even if you were to know what would happen you will still have had to remain here with Minato".
"Tsunade…".
"I heard that Boruto tried to stop you" she brings up a new line of conversation.
"He did" Hashirama answers.
It was something deeply distressing to him, even though he refused and possesses a near unwavering heart on these matters, this circumstance was special. Firstly, he had lost his wife, he could only question whether his mind was in the right place to make that call. Secondly, Boruto had endured the cruel realities of this world for far longer than he had, perhaps the shadow Hokage was more qualified to make those decisions. Lastly, and most importantly, Minato is Boruto's grandfather, to conclude that the former must die the latter must truly have removed all bias from his mind.
"Don't stop" Tsunade says, looking down at Minato, "She fought for his life".
Hearing that the 1st Hokage sighs gently, "Thank you Tsunade… I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from…"
"Lifted from…".
"Grandfather?".
As Tsunade questions the repetition she realises what is happening. The eyes of Hashirama that were open only a second ago are now closed. After days of tirelessly putting himself out, the only thing keeping Hashirama awake was the fear of what his granddaughter would say.
The vital 1st Hokage has fallen asleep.
"GRANDFATHER" Tsunade shouts as she takes his place and begins healing Minato. Immediately upon her jutsu contacting the chest of the 4th Hokage, her sense spread through his body, she realises how hopeless the situation is.
The poison is almost at Minato's heart and it is now advancing even quicker than before.
Waking up as a result of the noise, Kushina surveys her surroundings briefly. "T… Tsunade, what's going on?".
Panic begins to spread in Kushina's eyes as she gets up onto her knees and realises that Hashirama is no longer tending to Minato, he has been replaced by the frenzied Tsunade.
"My grandfather has fallen asleep" Tsunade shouts as she attempts to heal Minato.
"But he was using nature chakra" Kushina gasps, "He was the only one who could keep Minato alive".
"You have to wake him up Kushina". Tsunade's voice booms as loudly as possible even when speaking only to Kushina, in the hope that it will wake up the most important man for this whole process.
She punches him in the gut. "Lord 1st".
She slaps him across the face, "HASHIRAMA".
She uses a water jutsu do dowse his head in water. "WAKE UP".
Yet none of it works, no matter what she does, the 1st Hokage does not wake up. The state he has fallen into is deeper than sleep, it is almost as if he is unconscious.
"The poison… it's advancing on his heart… I can't stop it".
Realising the futility of her efforts Tsunade removes her hands from Minato's chest, the only one who could hold this off any longer is Hashirama and he cannot wake up.
Kushina takes hold of Minato's hands with her own. "Minato, you have to hold on, you have to live".
As she realises that her husband truly may be about to die tears begin to stream from the corners of her eyes.
"This was supposed to be our second chance to live".
"Kushina" Tsunade barely whispers the name, "I'm so sorry".
Despite the distress his wife is feeling Minato does not give up. He resolves that he will continue to circulate his nature chakra until the last second. He must survive, not for himself but for the hidden leaf, for the village that he vowed to detect.
Kushina rests her head against Minato's chest as she continues to cry, herself deciding that she would hold on to him until the very end, that even if he would continue to persevere in silence she would not allow him to persevere alone.
"I love you Minato" she says, "I love you so much".
Then, through her blurry eyes is the outline of the door to the medical building, though she feels that blur is obstructing something. Maybe it is her use of chakra that allows her to feel a presence, maybe it is her instinct or maybe it is the feeling that fate still has a role to play.
As her eyes, clear and she realises that she was correct she takes a deep breath.
Tsunade shares her shock. "You… you're here".
Kushina's tears finally stop. This whole thing has been a delaying act, hoping there was one way to save Minato, a miracle that the others spoke of. The source of that miracle has at long last arrived.
Kushina hold back her tears for a moment and manages to speak his name.
"Naruto…".
Yes, he is here. The man who they have all been waiting for, the one who had endured a life and death operation. The one who defeated a Colonel. Uzumaki Naruto is awake.
Naruto realised what the situation was the moment he woke up, so he wastes little time in walking over to Minato.
"Mom, please move".
Kushina immediately removes her head from Minato's chest and sits out of the way, wondering just what her son will do.
Naruto falls to one knee by his father's side. Assessing what is wrong with him before placing a hand on his chest.
Tsunade looks on, though nothing is happening as the 7th Hokage touches his father's chest, she can feel a strong chakra building up within him. The chakra isn't the thing that stands out to her though, no, there is another sense that is overwhelming her, her entire body tingles as she watches. This feeling is anticipation.
She watches the inside of his body using a medical jutsu Sakura detailed to her. As something amazing happens.
A blue chakra stems from Naruto's hand, immediately moving inside Minato's body and attacking the poison. She doesn't dare to believe as the slowly advancing poison suddenly changes direction.
The poison retreats.
With a deep gasp of air Minato sits upright. He opens his eyes for the first time in a week.
Kushina embraces Minato tightly as tears once more flow from her eyes.
Minato is saved.
"That's" Tsunade starts, not understanding just how Naruto had done what he had done, "That's a miracle".
"Sorry" the 7th Hokage smiles before looking at his exhausted parents. "Was I out for long?".
His mother gets to her feet, slowly approaching her son. She does not hug him though.
BAM!
She lands a solid firm punch to his upper arm. "Far too long you idiot".
"Hey that hurt you know" Naruto complains as he rubs the length of his arm, "I only got that recently and you're already breaking it".
Kushina changes her tone completely and now switches to tightly hugging her son. Holding him tight as if she would lose him if she let go. Hell, has turned to heaven in just a few moments for Uzumaki Kushina. When it looked like she would lose her husband and her son, they had both been saved. Whether this is fate, whether this is destiny, even if this is a gift from the devil, she doesn't care.
They still have their second chance together.
"Thank you" she says to him, "Thank you".
"Naruto" Minato speaks the first words he has spoken in days, "Thank you for saving my life".
"It's no problem old man, we're family right".
The 4th Hokage smiles, deciding that a thumbs-up is a suitable gesture to answer that. Whoever had raised Naruto in their place when they had died, he decided that he was truly grateful to them in that moment. Their son had become a fine shinobi, a fine man.
"I suggest we go and tell the others that the two of you are awake" Tsunade smiles, "It's a huge relief, I almost thought I was going to have to participate in your place".
Naruto's smile becomes a frown, "Lady Tsunade, dad won't be able to compete in the contest".
"What do you mean?".
"I wasn't able to completely remove the poison" he explains, "I just moved it away from his heart and his other vital areas. Unless we find a more permanent solution then I will have to move it away again every few months".
"At least we can wait for Mitsuki to find an antidote" Tsunade sighs, "Still he left to train with Kakashi".
"So he won't return in time" Minato notes, "I definitely won't be able to compete.
"You're alive, that's all that matters to me". That is the sentiment of his smiling wife, seldom did Kushina wear a smile comparable to today's.
"Sorry" Minato smiles, "Did I make you worry".
"Don't every do that again" she shakes her head.
Looking at his wife Minato chuckles, "I can assure you I will try not to".
Near the Hidden Leaf Camp
This open grassland is the training area that Boruto and Sarada have been using, preparing the 7th Hokage for the tournament. Now that Sarada has unlocked the rinnegan she has achieved a power that only the 1st and 7th Hokages can compare to. She has become a big-time player in the upcoming contest. Truly, she is the one who the entire village placed their hopes on and she is doing her best to see that their hopes come to fruition.
Hinata approaches them with a smile on her face. "Boruto, Sarada".
Himawari arrives alongside her mother from the past, "Someone has come to see you".
That is when the man they have been waiting for arrives. The man of the hour, Uzumaki Naruto appears.
"Hey" he waves to them.
"DAD".
"Lord 7th… you're alive" Sarada beams.
Their reactions are of course delightful for Naruto to see. He is the 7th Hokage who became revered as the greatest Hokage to ever live, no, not only that, he became revered as the greatest shinobi to ever live. This is a man who took on everyone's hatred, who forgave everyone, who gave everyone a home to go back to.
"I'm alive and well" Naruto nods to Sarada.
Quickly the message spreads to the others from the past, who arrive in quick succession.
"You're awake Naruto" Hiruzen smiles as he arrives, "This is excellent".
"Tsunade's hard work really has paid off" Biwako smiles, understanding that the 5th Hokage had gone through a great deal of stress and personal torment to facilitate this revival. Indeed, Tsunade had facilitated more than a revival, instead this is a miracle.
"I told you that you could do it" Dan pats Tsunade on back encouragingly.
"Yeah" she smiles, "Thanks for believing in me".
The next to join the group is Kushina who is pushing Minato along in a wheelchair.
"We're here Naruto" she informs her son, gesturing to her behind where Hashirama is stood as well.
The bags under Hashirama's eyes are obvious for all to see and he is very unsteady on his feet but he explains swiftly why he has come.
"Not even a week without sleep could keep me away".
"You guys…" Naruto stammers.
"Lord 7th, we want to see it. This power of yours" explains Sarada. This is a power they have all lost sleep over, a power that belongs only to Uzumaki Naruto, "The power of the six paths".
"I didn't put you through that operation for nothing, did I?" Tsunade asks.
Mirai who tagged along with her grandparents speaks of her impatience too. "We're all waiting Lord 7th".
Himawari pushes Naruto gently in the back, "Go for it dad".
Smiling, Naruto thinks to himself, 'Well, who am I to deny their request'.
"Very well then". He separates himself from the others, walking about ten paces and ten meters away so that they can all see him and so that he is confident they are all safe.
Naruto closes his eyes and allows the nature chakra to gather towards him. Hashirama who is the most competent user of nature chakra notices the rate at which the chakra moves, the distance from which it is being sourced.
The 7th Hokage's close begin to change colour, switching to an even brighter shade of orange than normal. One after another, six jet black balls of chakra begin to form behind him, Hinata recognises these from the 4th great shinobi war as the truth-seeking orbs. Then, as the last orb finishes forming it happens.
An unending chakra pours from Naruto's body.
Boruto begins to chuckle merrily, not even he has seen Naruto use this power before. It is truly on another level. This merry reaction is the catalyst for others to do the same, what starts as laughter eventually spreads to cheers, the reaction more exaggerated the longer time went on. This is the 7th Hokage's true power.
Clyde's Headquarters
Here in the HQ, General Clyde stands at the head of a group of six, preparing for the captained six challenge. Within this group of six is Peterson, the man who would have defeated Hashirama if not for Naruto. Also, Sheer is at this place, the woman whom experimented on Sasuke, only to release him to fight against his own daughter. Lastly, Martin is here, the coward who sent a captain to kill Mito and almost kill Minato.
Despite their fearsome reputation though, Peterson and the other 5 colonels all turn their wide-eyed heads towards east as they feel a strange sensation.
"What the hell is this?" Martin asks as he trembles slightly.
"They've been hiding their true expert until now it seems" Sheer notes as her gaze comes back to Clyde.
"General, I've felt this chakra before" Peterson recalls. That time was a harrowing experience for him, this is the same chakra that was used to defeat him. HIM. He was defeated by a man who merely used chakra and now that chakra had gotten even stronger.
"Yes" Clyde sighs, realising this is bad for his team, "It's that man… he's preparing to fight me".
Near the Hidden Leaf Camp
Naruto smiles as he finally drops out of six paths mode. He looks left and right to the jubilant faces that have amassed before him.
"There are two weeks left, right?".
"Yeah" Sarada nods.
"Let's train like there's no tomorrow" Naruto clenches his fist tightly, "And when the contest arrives, let's beat them so bad they never come back again".
This day has been a terrible day for the invading forces.
This day has been a great day for the people of the hidden leaf village.
Uzumaki Naruto, is back.