THE IMPERIAL PALACE – THE LOST NARUTO
In the Camp
Naruto stands under the tree considering what Hashirama just said. The 7th Hokage has been told many times throughout his life that his words are special. His words are words that move people. He was the one who brought Uchiha Sasuke back to the village, he was the one who turned so many former enemies into allies. To be worried about the charisma of another should be unthinkable for him, but that is the situation. Hashirama's words may also be able to move people.
Except for those who travelled through time, the current generation of Leaf shinobi all grew up knowing him as the Hokage. Supposedly, each one of them look at him with tremendous respect. He has never doubted that, they have always been so kind and polite towards him. They have always looked at him and expected the world, just as he always hoped people would. However, as he looks in the direction of the remaining shinobi population, he wonders just how many of them will be tempted by Hashirama's offer.
Being the Hokage is much harder than he thought. It has been for some time. He had always thought that his pursuit of acknowledgement and respect would be the hardest part of his life. Back in those days he used to be more upbeat, less stressed despite the emotions he felt. It's at times like this where he feels like an old man.
"So, what do you make of what he just said?" Naruto asks Shikamaru.
"About his beliefs or about defeating you?".
"Both".
"His beliefs are delusional. Refusing to forgive no matter the circumstances is a sign of weakness" Shikamaru begins. "As for defeating you, he may have been right, but there is no guarantee he would defeat you a third time".
"Do you think it's likely?".
"It's not for me to say if…".
"Shikamaru! Do you think it's likely"?
"Naruto, you're too strong, I honestly can't tell. Do you feel stronger since the last time you fought him?".
Naruto slumps back against the tree. 'It's as bad as that is it?'.
A Hokage, the greatest Hokage, should inspire faith in the shinobi working with him. Naruto knows that there is a greater problem than that though, a problem that others have also noticed.
"Hey Naruto, why are you even asking these questions? It's not like you" Kurama reminds his host.
"It's important Kurama, I have to act based on the answers to these questions".
"What happened to not giving up?"
"I'm not giving up Kurama, I will find a way to solve the Hashirama problem, I just need to focus on what I can do now. Looking to the horizon isn't always good enough".
Finishing his conversation with Naruto, the tailed-beast can't help but grumble to himself. 'That's not the problem, Naruto. It's that you used to make the horizon seem a lot closer'.
Naruto enters a state of deep thought, considering all the possibilities and outcomes of this. Is there anything he can do, anything he can say to prevent a mass exodus of shinobi from the village? What if everyone does leave, what should he do then? Should he go with them and admit that Hashirama is right? Would that mean giving up? Is it right to persist even if the shinobi of the village don't agree with him? Just what will happen to him next?
"Found you" Mirai calls as she approaches Naruto and Ino-Shika-Cho.
"Which of us were you looking for?" Naruto asks.
"You of course. Are you doing OK? It can't be easy talking to a traitor like that".
Naruto smiles, it seems like he will at least keep one ally if there is an exodus. Looking to the right, he is reminded that there are several others that he can depend upon as well. Two small dusty trails are headed in his direction and when he looks closely he realises that it is Clyde and Lara. At least the two of them have escaped harm.
"It wasn't easy" Naruto tells Mirai, "Let's hear what these two have to say".
The five shinobi wait a few minutes as the military's strongest two generals sprint along the ground towards them. Naruto thinks back to running around the village in his youth, hoping one day to become a powerful shinobi. If the kid back then had foreseen that he and others would be able to run at such great speeds he would have probably jumped with excitement.
Clyde and Lara arrive before them, gasping for the first few breaths of air as they come to a halt before Naruto. They have just had the run of their lives.
"Are you two alright?" Naruto asks genuinely.
"A few scratches, nothing more, but how did you know?".
"A shinobi technique, Hashirama used it to speak to us" Naruto explains, "He told us that he almost killed you and then he made a threat. He's hoping that more shinobi will join his cause".
"Do you think there will be any more betrayals" Clyde asks.
"It's not likely, the current generation of shinobi revere Lord 7th and his determination" Shikamaru explains, "Lord 1st is charismatic though. Boruto has a lot of influence as well. I can't say it's impossible that people will switch to their side. Their words… sometimes they are almost hypnotic".
"How do you think they got inside the Imperial Palace?" Naruto asks.
"They probably got past Carmen when she was still injured. Or she may no longer be guarding the secret entrance at all. It's hard to say but I would think the former was more likely".
"Then they wouldn't have been far behind us?".
"No, almost certainly not".
"Do you think they are going to do something bad in here?".
"I can't imagine that they will do anything good".
Both Naruto and Clyde turn to look at Shikamaru, recognising him as the superior strategist present and the most likely to work out Hashirama's plans. The Nara clansmen spends a few seconds thinking through the possibilities but sees nothing particularly plausible. As a group the makeshift shinobi-military alliance is stronger, that's why they were able to defeat Carmen. Surely Hashirama is not planning his own assassination, his chances of success would be minimal. In that case perhaps he genuinely believes what he is saying and is here to minimise shinobi casualties. Completely stumped, Shikamaru shrugs his shoulders to the two leaders.
"You're awfully quiet Lara" Mirai comments.
"I simply have nothing to say".
As if forgetting the terror that the bald blood-drinking general once caused her, Mirai grabs Lara's arm and raises it from behind her back. Lara appeared unblemished to the group seconds ago but now looking at the state of her arm, Clyde's analysis of the damage is proven to be wrong. Clearly Lara suffered the worst of Hashirama's attack.
"You…" Lara growls.
"What happened?" Mirai asks, "This wound is hardly a scratch. It's like a good fraction of your arm was taken off".
Lara angrily pulls her arm free of Mirai's grip. "I did it to myself you fool. It was to stop 'death' spreading through the rest of my body".
"Then you need medical attention! Come on, I'll take you to the medical tent".
"I don't need an escort" Lara insists, "I am the Head General of the Homeworld Military".
"Don't be stubborn, I'm being kind to you".
"… fine!" Lara sighs, walking towards the camp with Mirai.
That leaves the remaining group of Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino and Clyde. Once the eyes of the shinobi move away from Lara's wound back to Clyde, they realise that he is stumped. The 'darkness' user is staring wide-eyed at his commanding officer as she makes her way to the medical tent.
"I can't believe it" Clyde says, "Lara was… polite to someone…".
"I would hardly call that polite" Shikamaru snickers.
"It's quite respectful compared to her usual attitude" Naruto says, "I think things are looking up for the military Clyde. Lara is starting to change, isn't she?".
"Lara has seldom show anyone respect in her life" Clyde explains, "Sometimes she showed it to her teachers at the academy, but that didn't happen very often. Recently she has showed it to me and Elliot. But to an outsider?".
"Mirai is no normal outside" Shikamaru explains.
This generation of Ino-Shika-Cho are very proud of Mirai's accomplishments. Their teacher's daughter, each of them had a personal stake in making sure she grew up to be a great shinobi. Each of them was to determined that they would help her in her father's absence, she is like a daughter to them.
"Maybe she isn't normal, but neither are any of the Hokage. Mirai is also the one who taught her how to dodge, right?".
"Yeah".
"Why Mirai of all people?" Clyde wonders.
"Does it matter" Naruto asks. "Shouldn't we just be happy that she is being social with a shinobi. Even if it is only one of us?".
"I guess you're right".
Later that Day, The Pond
Sarada returns to the pond where she and Naruto trained earlier that day. The day's events have been rather difficult for her. The invite to switch sides was a temptation for her, but one she will not give in to. Still, it is hard to do what is right. She has always had a destiny, right from the moment she was born. Her destiny was to change the meaning of the Uchiha name. She was born to change things so that when people heard the Uchiha name they wouldn't think of hatred and revenge. She cannot do that by switching sides. It is a great pain for her though, that switching sides is the only way she can reunite with her fiancé.
As she arrives at the pond the light in the imperial palace is beginning to dim. It's a light without source, that as others have suggested, makes her feel rather strange. But it does mimic the sun rather well. As the light decreases in intensity, she feels exactly as she would do of an evening in the outside world.
Raising her head, Sarada sees the person who invited her here, along with many others of the same generation.
Shikamaru. Ino. Choji. Kiba and Akamaru. Shino. Tenten. Temari.
These are the shinobi of Naruto's generation. Reduced in number. Reduced in glory. Yet their presence, the inspiring aura they carry with them remains. This is the generation that won the war.
"Thanks for coming Sarada" Shino says, "I assure you that we appreciate your time, especially now that it is so valuable".
"It is no problem Shino-sensei".
"I want you to know that this assembly wasn't my idea, and the action that we may be proposing is rather drastic. However, I believe that our concerns need to be addressed".
"Sarada, before we talk you need to understand that this meeting is highly confidential" Shikamaru explains. "What we're saying here cannot be heard by anyone else under any circumstances. Can you confirm that nobody is within earshot, other than those of us here?".
Sarada is curious about the need for secrecy but trusts Shikamaru. For many years the Nara clansmen had worked in the Hokage's office, explaining certain situations to Naruto with great technical precision. He is a man who had always been trusted with the village's most closely guarded secrets. The last Uchiha activates her rinnegan and scans their surroundings, noting that the closest individual definitely wouldn't be able to hear them.
"We're alone, nobody will be able to hear us".
"Good".
"Sarada, we have a question for you" Kiba begins, "Have you noticed anything wrong with Naruto?".
"Wrong?".
"Kiba doesn't mean that something is wrong with him" Tenten interjects. "But does he feel slightly out of sorts to you? Does he feel different from how you remember during your childhood".
"Different. I don't know really, I was young and perhaps I'm speaking out of turn".
"You're not speaking out of turn" Tenten insists, "Please go on".
Sarada takes a deep breath as she recalls all the memories of her younger years. It wasn't easy being an Uchiha. She felt that she had the weight of the world on her shoulders in many ways and that was before she understood the full extent of the situation. When she learnt about how far her father had fallen, she felt even more pressure to be great, to redeem the Uchiha. When she wanted to know how to be acknowledged, how to earn redemption, and what to aspire to, she could only look in one direction. She should do what Uzumaki Naruto did.
"When I was a child, Lord 7th always seemed kind of childish for an adult" Sarada admits, remembering his various clumsy incidents, "He was responsible but naïve in a way. He was the only one who acted like the world's cruelty was unacceptable. But he wasn't naïve was he, he was right. I remember always being seeing him, I was happy that someone so silly and optimistic could prove he was right".
"And is this the same Naruto?" Tenten asks.
"… no" Sarada admits, "Something has changed. Perhaps he has endured too much. Perhaps that's why the glint in his eye is gone. Perhaps… perhaps that's why he lost to Hashirama".
"That's exactly what we think too" Ino tells Sarada, "The glint in his eye is gone. He still does the same things and he is determined, but he lacks the spirit he used to have".
"I didn't know Naruto like the rest of you during my youth" Temari explains, "But I still agree, that noisy child who kept running forward has changed".
"But aren't we better off with this Naruto?" Sarada asks, "Isn't he more aware of his surroundings. Isn't this just him improving with experience?".
"No" this time Choji answers, "He hasn't improved due to experience, coming to the future has made him weaker".
"Weaker? How could he be weaker?" Sarada asks, "I admit the fire he once had may be gone, but he keeps on fighting the same way regardless. He is stronger than ever, and he is still never giving up, so he…".
"It's not that he's given up! Since coming to the future, Naruto hasn't suffered much compared to his youth. He spent years alone as a child, years of being scorned by the village but he always kept moving forward" Shikamaru explains, "He felt so much pain but always remained the same, unchanging, until now. Now he is like a different person. He is the responsible adult many expected him to become, not the mad man with a dream, not the man who saved us".
"Maybe you're right, but what do you want me to do about it? I'm only Naruto's student. I can't turn back the clock and make him dream again can I? How could anyone be a dreamer after they have been betrayed so many times?".
A silence falls around the pond as the members of Naruto's generation consider how much of this is their fault. When the Hokage first came to the future, they should have explained things better, they should have helped them more. As it stands Hashirama betrayed them because nobody could protect Mito. Boruto betrayed them because none of them realised his suffering early enough. Shikadai, Inojin and ChouChou betrayed them and their parents hadn't realised at all. How much of this could they have prevented? Is it their fault that Naruto has changed?
"I don't know what you can do to reverse this effect" Shikamaru confesses, "But you are one of the four needed for the attack on Furst. You can stall for time, Sarada. You can stall until someone can figure out how to fix Naruto. Otherwise, when we attack Furst, we will all die".
Sarada has no idea of just how strong Furst Jonas truly is, but she can only imagine that his power is terrifying. Naruto is the one they will be relying upon to defeat him. It's bad luck, but if Naruto isn't at one-hundred percent then Shikamaru's prediction will probably come true. If something doesn't change drastically, they will all die.
"I don't think Naruto will appreciate me stalling for time".
"He won't, but you have to do it anyway" Ino says.
"Naruto will question you without doubt, he may even become angry with you, but we can sort that out later" Kiba says, "But we need to figure out how to help him now, otherwise we will never have back the Naruto of old".
"… so, we have to fix him, or we die?".
"That's right".
Sarada holds her head in her hands, the village has never faced a situation like this before, but Naruto is truly one of a kind. Normally, the village would go into a battle regardless of this, but this time is different. This time there is no going back if they fail. The entire shinobi-military alliance is going to be held back to address the morale of a single soldier. How has something like this come to her? She is no doctor, she has no qualifications to help fix Naruto's mind. Is it even possible?
After a minute of thought, Sarada can only come up with one solution to Naruto's problem. There is only one person who can help Naruto in this situation.
That person is Naruto himself.
"I have a plan, but it's dangerous. It may well endanger the lives of every single fighter we have" Sarada explains. "Are you sure it's worth it to risk the lives of everyone, just so we can get the old Naruto back?".
"We came here ready to die for the Village Sarada, that hasn't changed".
Sarada nods.
"In that case I know who I need to speak to".
That Night
Near the middle of the camp is a neutral zone, where people from all three factions can in theory congregate. It is this area that the medical tent has been assembled, along with several other key facilities. As time has elapsed the bond between shinobi and captains has only increased. From the first time they came together as a make-shift alliance, Lara's subordinates have also become more approachable to both their military comrades and those from the Hidden Leaf.
However, this area is now playing host to a group of people stood together to discuss their common goal.
This is the Circle.
"Alright, let's start" Shikamaru claps his hands together. Following the betrayal of his son, he is now the Circle's official administrator. "I want to thank you all for coming here. This may be one of the Circle's final assemblies".
"I would like to make a point of order" Elliot interrupts Shikamaru, "Those two stood with you are not members of the Circle unless my memory fails me".
The duo in question are Ino and Choji, each doing their best to remain calm and show no signs of the anonymous conversation they had previously. It is as Shino said, whether it is the three of them or Sarada, nobody can give away their plan to take drastic action. As always though, Elliot is a man who follows the rules and his objection is technically correct. He is a fearsome man to have disagreeing with you.
"Ino and Choji are Shikamaru's teammates" Naruto explains, "Ino-Shika-Cho is a formidable team that has been the strategic core of the village for generations. They are here to help us plan the assassination".
Choji sighs with relief before smiling. Elliot is most certainly someone that they should avoid offending, but Naruto's presence overrules that. Whether or not the Uzumaki is the same man he used to be, he is still the most reliable person in the whole village.
"I can accept their presence" Elliot says, "But what about her".
The members of the Circle follow Elliot's finger, pointing between Lara and Naruto, coming to rest on another non-member in attendance. This particular attendee is Sarutobi Mirai.
"Mirai may be powerful" Elliot admits, "But she is not a part of the Circle, further to that she should be…".
"Shut up!" Lara demands of her second-in-command.
"Lara?".
"She was with me in the medical tent when I received an invitation to this meeting. I decided to bring her along" Lara explains, "She is the leader of the pocket-worlds' military. I am the leader of Homeworld's military. I thought she would be useful, is that a problem?".
"… I rescind my objection" Elliot says.
Still, Elliot is taken aback by this turn of events. Lara has been becoming more social, for whatever reason. This change seemed to have been effective in fighting against Carmen. However, Elliot was not under the impression that there was anything fundamental behind it. He believed that Lara was just playing nice to defeat Carmen. He understands her begrudging respect for Naruto and Sarada, but for Mirai? She thinks Mirai would be useful? This is a respect Lara has not shown a fellow warrior since he has known her.
"If we could come to the point" Clyde groans, "I would like to tell you all what we're up against. After all, I am the only one amongst us who has ever met Furst Jonas".
Hiruzen interjects with a question. "If Furst and Lara have never met, how was he able to select her over you as the head of the military?".
"He's heard the reports of her accomplishments. He's probably seen projections or images of her. He's just never bothered to meet her in person, he considers the military a bit below him".
"He considers you below him?" Minato asks incredulously.
"Frankly we are below him, it's important to remember that Lara and I are the strongest members the military has" Clyde admits. "Despite our strength we cannot attack Furst head on, that would be suicidal. I saw him personally through chance, through lucky circumstances, but he had no desire to see me at the time. Compared to Furst Jonas, we are all nothing".
"Is the gap between us and him so great?" Tsunade wonders.
"The former emperor Endou Akashi championed us in the great war that consumed this entire land, he was the hero of the empire" Clyde explains, "He couldn't resist Furst, a man of strength on another level. It's said that with enough numbers on your side, you can kill someone on a greater level than your own. That's how we managed to defeat Carmen".
"It only took four of us" Naruto says.
"Four geniuses" Elliot counters.
Naruto looks at Clyde who nods in reply. It's perhaps easy to forget the scale of their talents. Clyde and Lara were both taken into a class of geniuses when they were students at the academy, both of them excelled and were at the top of the class. Naruto and Sarada both obtained the greatest power possible in the pocket-world they were born in, then they went on to comprehend double-transcendent elements. The four of them are exceptionally rare people as Elliot suggests. They weren't just battling Carmen with numbers.
"I doubt there are enough people, genius or otherwise, to kill Furst Jonas in a straight-up fight" Clyde sighs.
"You're being an idiot" Lara barks at her fellow general, "Of course there are enough people in the world, but gathering them all together would be impossible. That's why an assassination is our only chance".
"Is that a chance at all?" Tobirama asks. "It sounds like we're praying for a miracle".
"We are" Clyde admits with a shrug of his shoulders. "You shouldn't be confused. We will almost certainly fail. We're only doing this for one reason. This is the only time we have ever dared to pray for that miracle".
The Hokage in the room re-evaluate just how incredible Naruto and Sarada are. The population of Homeworld is supposed to be much greater than theirs. Yet in all these years, Homeworld has never produced a warrior they were willing to bet on. There is no warrior who hoped they could defeat Furst. Now Naruto and Sarada are warriors who people are praying for. That is a huge step forward.
"To cast a darker shadow on this plan, if we ail then teleportation won't be much help" Minato explains, "There are too many people to take away, even with three teleporters amongst us".
Lara nods. "Even if we could take everyone away, there would be no time for planning, we would scatter all over the place in a panic. Furst could pick us off one by one".
"Now's not the time to think about that" Shikamaru declares.
"What did you just say pocket-worlder?".
"You four shouldn't even be considering what would happen if you fail, you should only be thinking about victory" Shikamaru continues, "Relax, this may seem impossible, but this is the perfect team for any assassination. The range of talents and abilities we have here is ideal, especially if our attack is well thought through".
"Then you think it's possible Shikamaru" Naruto asks.
"I believe that if we all work together, we can attack Furst from every direction at once. I believe we can show him our full united strength and give him no warning whatsoever".
To all those present, Shikamaru's thought-process sounds very promising.
Shikamaru makes his conclusion.
"I believe that we can kill Furst Jonas".