WAR NEVER ENDS – HOKAGE'S BURDEN
The Next Day, The Circle
Shikadai looks around the room from his position in the circle. He sees Tobirama, Hiruzen and Minato. He sees Tsunade, Kakashi and Naruto. He sees Sarada and Shinki. It's the absences that cause his heart to darken. Next to Sarada and next to Tobirama rest two vacant chairs. The emptiness in the Kages hearts echoed by the emptiness of these seats. Two people are missing from this meeting, Boruto and Hashirama.
The teacher-student pair had a unique philosophy, a unique approach to the invader problem. Unlike the others, it had been their approach that the invaders should be killed and not spared. They had believed that their otherworldly presence could bring nothing but misery to the Hidden Leaf Village. While these opinions had been disputed, the masterminds behind them had been revered by the members of the village. To each and every member of the Circle, they were precious, close friends or even family.
A sigh escapes Shikadai's lips as he raises his head to look the others in their eyes. "OK, we got hit hard yesterday and I'm sure that all of us would rather take it easy right now. But you don't have that luxury, you are the Hokage and must continue to act as such".
In the wake of such devastating loss, anybody else in the village would be granted compassionate leave, they would be permitted to rest, to grieve, the Hokage are awarded no such privileges. To be the Hokage is to walk in front of the villagers, to take all of the pain onto yourself and to keep walking forward. It is a job that many strive for but so few realise how much it can hurt.
"You're right, Shikadai" Minato replies, forcing a small smile onto his face as he nods. "Please, proceed with the agenda".
"Food and water are the first on the list" Shikadai explains from memory. "That is always first whenever we have a situation like this".
Tobirama is one of the most logistically aware Hokage and has dealt with situations like this during the time he fought for the Senju clan. "We aren't going to have a problem with water, if nothing else I can create it for everyone".
"That isn't the problem though, Lord 2nd. Food is the true problem here" Hiruzen explains as he points to an imaginary map in front of him. "I don't know about the rest of you but I am not comfortable with asking the villagers to go outside the walls and go back to farming".
For the talented and powerful shinobi amassed in this room, going beyond the walls is not an intimidating prospect, even if they should run into trouble they are able to hold their own. In all but the worst situations, a Kage would be able to run away from an invading force. The same cannot be said for the villagers though, very few people outside this room would be able to survive if they encountered an invader.
"No, we can't do that" Sarada declares. She, better than anyone, understands the worries and fears of today's villagers, having grown up with and protected them all throughout her life. "Right now, what everyone wants is to be protected inside the Hidden Leaf's walls".
"Clones" Naruto mutters, drawing the attention of the room. "I am already at my limit but you guys could create clones to farm".
Naruto has been working to the utmost to maintain a calm in the village. The best way he can do this is to use his hundreds of clones to comfort people, to defend the walls. There is nobody more comforting for the villagers to see defending them. He is, after all, Uzumaki Naruto, the hero of the hidden leaf that they were taught of in their youth.
Minato sighs. "Farming is an odd thing for a Kage to do but I am sure that Lord 2nd and I can manage it".
The two other jinchuriki of Kurama, Minato and Tobirama are the only Hokage who can rival Naruto in terms of clone production.
Shikadai writes this solution on his electronic device. "Next on the agenda, we have a guest speaker. This is on the subject of the village's defence, I have taken the liberty of inviting the military's leader here".
As Shikadai makes a gesture to the door, Mirai enters. "Hello everyone" the military leader respectfully bows as she approaches the circle. Shikadai guides her further, to the centre of the circular table so that she can address the village's leaders.
Mirai takes a deep breath and begins her explanation of the defence situation. "Our military is at the highest level it can be outside of war. Every shinobi in the village is on active duty, patrolling, scouting or helping the wounded. If we are to come under attack, those who are taking a break or are sleeping can be up and defending the village within one minute".
The Hokage listen attentively, Mirai's voice is shaky but her explanation coherent.
"Our defence situation is about as good as it can be, but if the stories of our enemies' strength are true…".
"They are" Tobirama interrupts her to say.
Mirai lowers her eyes and nods before continuing. "In that case, I don't see what our military will be able to do. If we are to come under attack, the majority of the fighting will be down to the occupants of this room".
A silence descends on the room, what Mirai has said was obvious to the villagers but it has not crossed their minds until now. Last time they fought for the village in a captained six contest. This meant their numbers were equal with their enemies, that they had a chance. That won't happen again, their new foes will not be so generous. If a war is to break out again they will not be facing six opponents, they will be facing thousands, thousands of far fiercer enemies. As for them, their true force will consist of less than a dozen.
"Mirai" Naruto calls to her, "How is morale, how is the village feeling?".
"The shinobi have been through similar situations before. The last invasion had even greater losses than we have suffered so far in this one" she recalls. "We have experienced this before but the children…".
Mirai composes herself before continuing. "The children are scared Lord 7th and so are the rest of the civilians. Isn't there something you can do to assure them?".
All eyes on the room turn to Naruto. Looking not for what he will say but for what they want him to say. It is lonely, Naruto realises, so lonely, when even the leaders of the village, the heroes of legends turn to him for reassurance.
"I… I have the village surrounded by my clones" he explains as his voice cracks slightly. "Of course, they can't use 'life' so they are not as strong as me but even a general would struggle to get through that defence".
"Is that really all you can do?".
"I can only say that I will do what I have always done. I will never give up. I will never surrender. While there is still breath in my body, I will not let the Leaf die".
Mirai closes her eyes and nods, thinking back to the students who had to witness their teacher die. "I hope that is enough for them".
Outside the Circle
Tsunade steps away from the building, completely silent as she had been for most of the meeting. As she begins to walk away from the building and back towards her house, a hand grabs her by the shoulder, slowly turning her around to look at its owner. It's her uncle, Tobirama.
"Tsunade, this situation has been difficult enough for me, I can't imagine what you are feeling right now" he tells her. "If you ever need to talk, to explain your frustrations to someone, I am always here, as your Uncle".
Tsunade bravely fronts a smile, as unconvincing a smile as can be imagined. "I know that, thank you Uncle".
With that quick and dismissive reply, Tsunade turns her back once more and walks slowly home.
Tobirama feels like he has been hit in the gut, he takes a deep breath and laments his situation. 'Brother, Dan, if there is an afterlife I hope you two watch over her. She needs help now more than ever'.
Tsunade's House
Tsunade arrives back home after twenty minutes, having avoided the popular streets and taken the back-alley route. She enters and closes the door gently behind her, as if in the most serene of states, something that is the complete opposite of the truth. She calmly takes her coat off and hangs it on the hook on the back of the door.
She takes a few steps into the room before breathing deeply. That is the last thing she does before the dam inside her breaks and the tears begin to flow. She falls to her knees and the sounds of her sobs fill the room. Over the last few days she has lost the most important things to her, the closest people to her in this world.
When all that is wrong with reality is stripped away, you are left with heaven.
When all that is right with reality is stripped away, you are left with hell.
Due to no fault of her own, Tsunade has fallen into the latter of those two categories.
Tsunade removes her tear covered face from her hands as her agony festers, it begins to morph, switching from solitude to rage. A self-destructive anger she will direct at anything she can find.
She scrunches fist into a tight ball and raises it behind her head, ready to destroy anything she can with her mighty strength.
That's when she is snapped from her almost hypnotic state by a hand on her wrist and the familiar voice of the man she has adopted as her teacher. The voice of Mitsuki.
"What were you about to do?" Mitsuki asks.
Tsunade's anger boils over, her heart beats so fast that she can feel it thudding in her chest, like a thousand trapped criminals looking to escape through the walls of a prison. "You, all of you keep judging me, treating me like I am different, isn't it bad enough already?".
Mitsuki simply looks at Tsunade, not knowing what to say. Isn't it natural that people treat her carefully in this situation, where she has suffered such terrible losses?
"Just go away!" Tsunade screams as she throws her arm powerfully to her side.
Not even Mitsuki can withstand that sort of strength. He reluctantly releases his grip on Tsunade's arm. As the 5th Hokage's fist passes his head, a whooshing sound enters his ears. It is a good thing he did let go, or his head may have been knocked clean off.
"Why can't you people just leave me alone?" Tsunade asks as her tears return.
"I'm no good with people but I am certain that in this situation I shouldn't be leaving you alone" Mitsuki answers. Under present circumstances, there is no way he would leave her alone, no matter what she said. Mitsuki has encountered many great teachers in his life, Konohamaru Sarutobi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi, from his experience with these great teachers he is sure that none of them would leave. Not in this situation.
"Why does this keep happening to me, Mitsuki?" the Hokage asks, desperate for a simple change she can make to turn her fortunes around. "Since I've come to the future, I've lost my grandmother, I've lost my grandfather and I've lost Dan. Why does this keep happening to me?".
"I can't answer that question" Orochimaru's son is honest in his reply. For all his boundless skill and knowledge, he is left feeling helpless, "I'm afraid, I really don't know".
"You're supposed to be my teacher, you're supposed to guide me" Tsunade says as she grabs at Mitsuki's robe for support, her former strength having abandoned her body. "What do I do now?".
Mitsuki pauses to consider how best to answer.
"I've never been in a situation like you are in but I was part of an incredible team, just like you" he recalls. There are indeed parallels between the sannin and the second incarnation of team 7. "In the same vein as your student, Lady Sakura, my sensei was the Hokage, one of my teammates was the next Hokage and the other became the shadow Hokage.".
"I may not be an expert on emotions but I feel I am an expert on Hokage".
"Then" Tsunade sniffles as she shifts herself to look Mitsuki in the eye, "What would the 5th Hokage do in this situation?".
"The 5th Hokage guided the Leaf through the most difficult war in its history" Mitsuki replies with a cheerful smile, "No matter how many times things looked hopeless, she stood up again, she walked forwards. That is what you are going to do now, Tsunade".
"Walk forwards because you are our 5th Hokage".
The Uzumaki Residence
Naruto and Hinata refuse to be alone at a time like this. This is the best time for family unity. To that end, Kushina and Minato are also with them, as well as their daughter Himawari. The family has grown used to turmoil but this is certainly one of its darkest hours. Kushina had a troubled youth. Both of Naruto's parents died on his birthday. Minato shared the agony of his student Kakashi. Hinata grew up being pulled around by Hyuuga family politics. None of that has prepared them for this scenario though. Suffering is suffering, no matter the time, the place nor the experiences you have going into it.
"If I'd have been here, he wouldn't have been taken" Naruto notes, as he sighs and drops his head into his hand. Where he went, he failed to save Dan, where he didn't go, he couldn't' save anyone at all.
"You have no way of knowing that, Naruto" Minato assures his son.
"Even Hashirama couldn't stop the guy who took him" Kushina adds.
"I'm stronger than Hashirama" Naruto explains as he lowers his arms and opens his palms, "I could have stopped him".
Nobody present knows it but Naruto's absence from the village was part of Tao Ma's plan. It is because of Naruto's absence that he carried out his planned kidnapping of Boruto. He was the sole deterrent against the disaster waiting to happen. The moment he left, destiny began to move and a disaster struck the Hidden Leaf Village. Indeed, Naruto was stronger than Hashirama and that may be one of his greatest regrets. Sometimes being the strongest can be harder than it seems.
"You probably wouldn't have even realised what was happening" Minato argues, remembering his gathering with the other Kage in the wake of the incident. "If I had realised what was happening, I could have teleported to Boruto and maybe even saved him. But I didn't do that and do you know why?".
"Why?".
"It's because my first thoughts were for the village, just like yours would have been". The 4th Hokage leans forward and pats his son on the knee as he determines this. "We are the Hokage".
Naruto reluctantly nods his head. It is what he signed up for, what he always dreamed of. The entire village is his family, its occupants his children. He swore an oath to look after each and every one of them. To look out for Boruto instead of everyone else in the event of an attack would be a treachery of that oath, a betrayal of his dream. To walk the long road, the one with nothing but obstacles and obstructions, the hard road, that is what Naruto has always done and always will do.
"It would have been wrong to be worried for my brother's safety in that situation" Himawari comforts her father, "He would have been insulted".
Hinata nods in agreement. "Right, Boruto is among the strongest of our village's shinobi, he can take care of himself".
"Of course, he can" Kushina agrees.
Himawari smiles widely. "So, you think he will be alright?".
Kushina nods once more. "Definitely, there is nobody out there who is strong enough to keep Boruto down".
"That's right".
"Yeah".
As their family absolve them of responsibility for the incident, Naruto and Minato share an awkward smile, the feeling of personal responsibility they share will never dwindle, after all, he is family to them. However, the pair of Hokage can take comfort in the fact that they and their motivations are understood and approved of.
Knock Knock!
"Come in" Naruto yells to the door.
The door opens and Sarada steps through it. Still wearing the same clothes as she was the last time she saw Boruto, her hair dishevelled. The bags under her eyes as black as her hair show off the lack of sleep she has had since the proposal.
"N… Naruto…" she mutters the name of her master.
"Sarada".
"Sorry Sarada, I should have invited you around" Hinata apologises, realising that Sarada is now part of her family too, "I didn't think of…".
"It's alright, Hinata" Sarada waves the Hyuuga clanswoman off as she turns back towards her teacher.
The shared gaze of Naruto and Sarada is telling. They not only share the looks in one another's eyes but the emotions behind them, the agony, the pain, the misery. They know of the events of the last day but discussing them in this situation is still so painful.
"You know he asked me to marry him" Sarada chuckles to herself as her voice cracks, "I said yes… you guys were going to be my mother-in-law and father-in-law".
"I know" Naruto nods, doing his best to maintain eye contact with Sarada. "He asked my permission during training".
"That's what stings" Sarada explains, pointing in reaction to that final word Naruto said. "For all that training I did, for all the hard work I put in, I couldn't do anything. I was helpless as Boruto was taken away".
That sting Sarada spoke of isn't new to Naruto but once again it hits him in the heart. These words make him feel like a failure, like he has let her down. What was the point of all that training over the last three years? What has he been doing all this time? He was training Sarada, he was watching Hashirama and Boruto train, they always trained to combat this potential threat they would face in the future. What have they actually accomplished? He wasn't here to use his training, Sarada's training wasn't enough, Boruto was taken away, Hashirama died. Isn't all of this, his responsibility?
"I know… you're the…" Sarada begins before coughing into her hand. "I know I shouldn't be asking this but you have always been this village's omnipotent hero".
"Please do something… save Boruto… I don't care how you do it…".
"Please… help me…".