WAR NEVER ENDS – FIRST CONTACT
Naruto and Hinata's House
Warm. The embers, of the fire, in the corner of the room burn. Dancing left and right, scattering in a pattern which resembles a work of art. Like a cottage in the country more than a home of the village's most famous protector. It is different to how it had been in the past but that does not matter. Anywhere where this warmth can be felt, anywhere one can sit back and feel at ease, surrounded by family, with worries dropping burning away with the coals on the fire. Anywhere where these feelings can be experienced, is home.
Minato relaxes back in his chair as the warmth rushes through him, the dim light a pleasant change from the artificial equivalent the people of this era have grown so used to. Being the Hokage rarely allows him a moment to relax. In this era of war and death it is even more unusual that he be allowed a moment like this, so he treasures it when it does arrive.
Rolling his head slowly backwards, his hairs are pushed into the back of his head one by one. His eyes raise to look at the woman across the table, his host, Hyuuga Hinata. "So Hinata, do you know what Naruto wants to speak to us about?".
"I don't know" the Hyuuga clanswoman admits with a quiet voice. There is no need to shout and bawl on an occasion like this. Whether what Naruto will say is good or bad, this moment, by itself, is blissful. A moment where they can afford to let their guard down. Unknowingly, one of the last such moments that they will experience in a very long time. "He seemed really eager for you to be here though".
Kushina forces a smile to her face. Naruto's eagerness could be taken two ways, either something very good has happened, or something very bad. In days gone past this would not be so worrying as it is today, but with the world in such a bad state, one can't help but worry. "It sounds like it must be something really important".
"You don't think something bad has happened" Hinata questions.
"Hinata, if something bad had happened Naruto would have told you sooner. It will be fine" the red-haired shinobi insists, as much to herself as to Hinata.
"I suppose you're right".
Creek!
The door gently opens, grinding on the aged hinges as it casts a shadow on the entering figure. A face half-dark and half-light yet familiar all the same. "Hello everyone" Himawari says as she emerges from the shadow into the orange firelight.
"It's good to see you Himawari" Minato offers.
"You're looking nice today" Kushina welcomes her granddaughter.
Himawari smiles, the words are merely customary but are welcomed all the same. Each time she speaks to her grandparents she feels an uncanny familiarity with them despite never having met them as a child. Naruto often noted that Himawari's temper must have come from her grandmother. "Thank you".
"Do you have any idea what Naruto has organised this meeting for?".
"I think it must be something to do with Boruto" the young woman decides as she strokes her chin. Boruto has suffered for years now with an affliction, a black outpouring of energy from his body but it had never proven fatal to him. The most the blonde shinobi had ever experienced because of the illness was pain. However, he has been acting unusual in other ways, like he is hiding something.
The floor creaks as Minato leans forward in his chair. "Do you mean, something has happened to him?".
"I don't know. I asked dad if he wanted me to invite Boruto along but he said no". It's not unusual for the Uzumaki family to gather. They're a close family who even in the most terrible of circumstances have done their best to keep an eye on one another.
Creak!
Once again, the door opens, this time more quickly. In comes the man of the hour, in comes the 7th Hokage. He mutters a few words of hello as he walks over to his fiancée and takes the chair next to her.
"Naruto!" Hinata shouts, shocking him out of his laid-back attitude. The quiet setting and speculation has quickly moved her attitude from one of anticipation to one of concern.
"Is everything OK Naruto, is Boruto OK?" Kushina asks, sharing the urgency Hinata emphasised less than a second prior.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asks with a slight smile, "Why is everyone yelling?".
"Has something bad happened?". Kushina leans forward, getting closer to Naruto and the answer in his head. "Is that why you organised this gathering?".
Naruto laughs for a moment, "No, no, it's nothing like that" he allays their fears, clearly, he has misinterpreted their body language as enthusiasm rather than dread. "Nothing bad has happened".
A collective exhalation sounds around the room causing Naruto to feel a pang of guilt, perhaps he should have been clearer when he was organising this get-together.
"So, what is going on?" Himawari asks.
"It's Boruto" the Hokage declares to nobody's great surprise, "There is something he wanted me to explain to all of you".
"What's that?".
"For a long time now, he has been a hiding something big from us. He has been keeping something really important to himself" Naruto explains as the crackling sound of the burning fire provides a background for his story. "I don't know why he has kept it to himself for so long. Perhaps he didn't feel comfortable because I let him down. However, earlier he told me this secret, to share with all of you".
"Well, what is this big secret?" Hinata asks.
"You may have noticed that Boruto has been behaving strangely for a while now. Well, it's because he is in a relationship, one that he didn't want anybody to know about".
"He has?" Kushina starts.
"I never even noticed" Minato cheerfully admitted.
"Who is…".
"Sarada" Hinata mutters, cutting of a quizzing Kushina. As the eyes on the room all converge on her, hers raise to look at Naruto's. "It's Sarada isn't it".
Naruto nods, pleasantly surprised that Hinata has noticed what he had not. It seems to him that her eyes are not just for show. There are certain things that people can hide from the world, that they can bury deep inside so that they will never be discovered. Hiding something from a mother is a lot harder. "Boruto is going to propose to her".
"That's wonderful" Himawari claps her hands together. "For years those two have been too busy to stop and look at one another. They have always been too preoccupied with their jobs to realise how they felt about each other. I'm glad that Boruto finally stopped for a moment and realised how he felt".
"Hinata, how do you feel about this?" Naruto asks.
"I…" Hinata begins but stops to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye, "I'm really pleased for him. Really pleased".
"This is cause for another celebration" Minato cheers, leaping to his feet.
"Another one?".
"Perhaps we should hold on. She may not accept his proposal" Kushina says as she pushes her husband back down onto the chair.
"She will" Himawari declares. "If I know Sarada, she will".
The Hidden Leaf Village
It's a cold and windy night. The weather is often unpredictable in the Hidden Leaf Village. This is not by nature but as a result of the monstrous beings who refer to the establishment as their home. Earlier, both Hashirama and Naruto experimented with jutsu, including, wind, fire and lightning. When these three elements are combined on the massive scale the warriors are capable of, it can easily cause drastic changes to the local climate. Such power is not a blessing in every regard.
A polite individual would move through the village in the streets, interacting with fellow villagers and perhaps even browsing the various shops. Certain things give you an excuse to avoid this. Certain things like being the 7th Hokage.
Naruto leaps over the top of the village, shivering slightly as he looks down on the people below. He runs from building to building, his face looking down towards his feet in hope of finding just the right person. Most people wouldn't even notice him passing. Though a largely clumsy shinobi, he has refined his skills over many years to the point where his peers flatter his stealth abilities.
'Boruto is getting married. I'm not even married to Hinata yet' Naruto muses to himself, 'Sasuke, Sakura it looks like our children are going to get married'.
The knucklehead smiles to himself as he thinks to the old team 7. If only Kakashi had known back then what this team of his would achieve. What would become of them in the future. What would become of their children in the future. There is no way that he could have imagined it. It is good then, that he can be here to see it for himself.
'If Boruto and Sarada have children that would make us part of the same family' Naruto grins, 'What sort of child would that be?'. Naruto thinks of the possibilities, summoning up only comic images, leaving him deciding not to imagine such a thing further.
As his foot lowers towards the roof of the next building, he is snapped from his thoughts.
"What are you doing?".
"AHHH" Naruto screams as his foot slips from under him and his head starts to lead the rest of his body into the great abyss. Or, at least, into the cold road down below.
The man reaches out to take hold of Naruto, saving him by grabbing hold of his wrist.
Naruto looks over his shoulder at his saviour, Hashirama. Together, they pull Naruto back up onto his feet. "Thanks, I zoned out for a moment there". The 7th Hokage dusts off his old clothes and straightens his back. "As it happens, I was looking for you".
"Did you want to discuss our students?" Hashirama asks.
"Yes" Naruto stammers, "Do you uh… know about them?".
"They're in a relationship" the wood-user declares, walking past his friend and looking in the direction of the house which Sarada has spent the last few years living in. He now assumes that Boruto has been there too.
"Yes".
"Sarada told me when they swapped for training" Hashirama explains as he sighs. He feels slightly guilty about the situation, much the same as Naruto. They had both been people that Boruto looked up to, they had both been in a position to guide him, in a position where they thought he could confide in them. In the end they thought in much the same way, that the Shadow Hokage was depending on them and that they had let them down.
"It seems a long time ago now but do you remember our first battle with the invaders?" Naruto asks.
Hashirama smiles, "How could I forget. It was you, my brother and I, we all battled against Colonel Peterson. You arrived at the last minute and saved my life. In that battle, we both came close to death".
"Back then we recovered together during Sasuke's attack" Naruto recites the events of three years ago, "It was up to Boruto and Sarada to save us from him".
"Back then everything seemed so much easier" the 1st Hokage laments his situation. "We were fighting against unbelievable odds but there was only one direction available to us, forwards. I had a good friend in you, I had an excellent brother helping to evacuate the village".
"I had Mito" he finishes.
"She would be so proud of what you have done". Naruto approaches Hashirama and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She would be proud of how you have saved the village, her village and of how you have been teaching Boruto".
"Thank you, Naruto, you have been a good friend to me". As the wood-user starts to walk away, his friend can't help but notice the way in which he is speaking. To him it sounds, so, terminal.
The 7th tightens his grip on the shoulder of the 1st, "Hey, don't think I'm just going to let you walk away like that".
"I consider you a friend too. Since coming to the future, we have argued and bickered over to handle situations. However, I have never stopped believing that you and I want the same thing. We both want what is best for the village".
"Of course" Hashirama smiles. "Still, Naruto, I feel that I must warn you. The current peace will not last much longer. When the conflict returns this land will be forced to make a choice".
"Your way, or my way".
"Maybe" Naruto counters, "But until that day, we will move forward together, right?". Extending a fist in a traditional sign of respect, the two most revered Hokage face each other as the wind sings to them.
"Yeah". They bump fists. "I heard that you are getting married".
"Yeah".
Hashirama zooms away, leaving only two words in his place. "Congratulations, Naruto".
"Thank you. Hashirama".
The Academy Field Trip
"The first battle that took place here was Mirai's" Dan recalls as he once again explains to the children the significance of the monumental events that took place in this valley. Once upon a time, a river ran through this in a beautiful cascade pattern, now craters and cervices are filled with water in an unnatural formation.
"Mirai lost in a valiant battle, a battle that gave courage to the remaining shinobi who competed on our behalf. Lord 4th has previously attributed the victory to the resolve that Mirai gave the team in her first battle".
"Well, it wasn't easy" Mirai thinks back to her training with her grandfather. Truthfully, he deserves as much credit as she does for the battle that day. If he had not discovered her gift, her inexplicable ability, then perhaps the world would look very different today. "I would have been disheartened seeing me give them hell but losing anyway".
"But that was the closest anyone had ever come to defeating a colonel" Dan explains to the children, "Only Lord 7th from the past was able to actually do it".
"Incredible" one of the boys in the class whispers.
"I hope I can be strong like Mirai" says another.
"Anyone can be strong" Dan asserts, "As long as they never give up".
"The next battle was fought by Hatake Kakashi, our 6th Hokage. Kakashi lost this battle but that was only because he had yet to unlock the full power of his Sharingan" the headmaster explains, narrating a story that hit close to home for all those who witnessed the events of that day.
"With both Sharingan fully unlocked, I am confident that Kakashi could have won that battle" Mirai declares.
"Lord 6th is amazing".
"Lord 6th is a quiet and subtle Hokage but don't ever underestimate him. He has extensive experience on the battlefield. Lord 6th fought in the 4th great shinobi war as a general and he served with distinction". Dan himself had actually served in the 4th great shinobi war, albeit that he only had free-will for a few seconds and was a reincarnation throughout. He had saved Tsunade in those moments, perhaps changing destiny in ways that nobody could predict.
"Until the end, Lord 6th thought alongside Lord 7th and Lord Shadow 7th, part of the legendary team 7".
"Hey Dan" Mirai murmurs, just loud enough for him to hear. "Something is coming".
While the children are slow to react, Dan is not, if Mirai is saying something like that then the situation is bad. He closes his eyes and goes into his inner world. The stone tablet is still there, as pure as the day it first appeared. He draws the red fiery energy from it and moves it through his body into his brain, searching the surrounding area for any semblance of that same power.
And he finds it.
A captain comes flying towards them, with speed and power that the children have never seen before.
As the first scream sounds, the military leader of the village does not stand on ceremony. She reaches her hand forward, snatching the captain's head from the air and using the power of her explosions to slam him forcefully down into the ground.
"It's been three years of peace with no contact" she bluntly explains as she looks at the back of her hand as if she can see the face disguised behind it. "Why have you decided to change that, why have you given up on the peace?".
The captain doesn't answer, he is too busy coughing and spluttering behind the hand of his opponent. He has invaded before, he has fought the locals before but never has he experienced an attack of this ferocity. He soon realises that alarming the children behind Mirai was a mistake.
"I recognise you" the captain manages to get out through in a strained voice, "You fought in the captained six contest. You are Sarutobi Mirai".
"What do you want?".
"I am here out of the kindness of my own heart" the captain protests the hand to his face. The people behind Mirai are afraid, intimidated by this man who came dressed in clothes they have been trained to fear. Even Dan is slightly concerned out of habit. Every person who grasps this terrifying power is dangerous. "I am here to give you a warning".
"A warning of what?" Mirai asks.
"War".
"It's coming" the captain proclaims, "A war is coming, any day now".
"When you return to your village" he continues, "I suggest you take this information to Uzumaki Naruto…".
The land then shakes as a man drops from the sky nearby.
He hits the ground like an asteroid descending from the heavens.
'It's a general' Dan realises instantly as he positions himself between the newcomer and the children.
'That uniform… it's another one… another general' Mirai tells herself as she loosens her grip on the seemingly friendly captain.
"Run!" the captain screams as he flees for his life.
A man whose average height puts his eyes at the perfect level to look straight into Dan's. And those eyes, the determination in them, the unwavering desire to kill is enough to convince the headmaster of the danger this man poses.
His perfectly cut short hair is identical on both the left and right side of his face. It's clear that he is unlike any of the invaders that have come before, he is not a fighter in a uniform, this man is a soldier in body and in mind.
'With the students here you can't afford to do anything hasty' Mirai speaks mentally as she looks at Dan's back, 'But can we really take on someone this strong?'.
'What will you do, Dan?'.
'What will you do?'.