Death
It was dusk. The sun was rising. The radiant light began to illuminate the streets, little by little, and the front of darkness slowly surrendered.
Two men stood on the head of the Shodaime statue, with their backs to the sun. To anyone who looked up at the statues, they would only appear as complete darkness in the shape of a man, side by side, one was a head taller than the other.
The strong wind blew upon their robes which floated like the long hair of a woman.
They looked down at Konoha.
Just as like the Hokages whose statue they were standing on. They built Konoha in their own distinct way.
Shi Sarutobi, a man just pass his prime, but his smooth pale skin made him look like he was a man in his 20s. He had narrow eyes and a pair of glasses, which gave anyone who saw him the impression that he was constantly calculating something. This impression they get is right, he was constantly calculating something. He gazed at the village which he hated and loved at the same time. It was restricted him from his ambitions like shackles, but no matter how many chains are lashed upon him, he loved it. To him it was the only place he would call home. That was why he was here; he wanted to look at his home for one last time. He slowly stretched his hands out, seeing how much of the village he could cover with one hand. Like every other time he did this, he would be able to cover a big portion of it, yet there was the gap between his fingers which was out of his influence. He shut his eyes, and he took a deep breath.
Floating in his mind was every move he took, the results of them, and more importantly what he learnt from it. "Have I laid down every chess piece correctly?" Unlike any previous games he had played, this time he had to let every piece in his board play out by itself. He could not handle this situation himself, he had no time.
He stood there thinking for more than an hour, when he suddenly asked, "You will make sure it turns out right, wouldn't you 11?"
The hulking figure by Shi Sarutobi replied, "Yes, I will make sure everything turns out right."
Sarutobi nodded, and asked after a moment, "What do you think of Konoha?"
11 simply replied, "It is all that I ever know. Everything."
Sarutobi held his hand one foot away from his mouth and exhaled a breath of air, blowing out a long stream of white gas. He unenergetically commented, "Damn!"
The two each patted each other's shoulders and smiled at each other. The smile was genuine, one which Sarutobi has never put on his face for a very long time. Every time he smiled, it was only to fake happiness or in many other cases was the 'smile of death'. The 'smile of death' was one which he puts up when the enemy makes a resolution which is absolutely pathetic, the enemy would only think it is his smile of agreement, but it was the first sign of their death, and often the last.
Sarutobi continued to stare at the palm of his hands. It was an unlabored hand, without the roughness of someone like the one next to him. Yet he understood that it wasn't his hand that built everything he had, it was his intellect, and VISION.
To Sarutobi, vision…was the most powerful thing a person could have
Vision…could let a man see the wealth
Vision…could let a man see the power
Vision…could let a man see his dreams
Vision…could let a man achieve all of it
Yet it is also vision, which kills a man. A man with vision without intellect would only be a daydreamer.
That was not the case with Sarutobi. Vision, made him the most powerful man in Konoha, however much the authorities hated to admit it.
His swift action after the massacre prevented the anarchy that would explode in the Konoha underworld. Seizing the throne of the underworld, he strengthened the influence of criminals in the foundations of Konoha. He used every bit of his resources wisely, money on bribery, drugs, prostitutes, and casinos, using a fine combination of threat and incentives to other gangs. He prevented as much bloodshed as anyone possibly could. Some have regarded him as the next Uchiha Madara, others have said that his rising wouldn't be long, and that the Shi clan would never be like the Uchiha clan. Whatever people said after "The Shi Revolution" as some called it, didn't matter to Sarutobi. His vision was greater than just to seize control of underworld, but rather to make it grow, and make it grow without limits. He knew it was always going to be dangerous, yet he continued.
"I have tried to stop, I really have," said Sarutobi
The man beside him did not reply.
Sarutobi slowly lifted his hands up, the sunlight struck upon his pale long fingers. He felt the warmth, he slowly clutched his fingers on his right hand making a fist. He continued, "All I began with was the belief to stop bloodshed, I never thought…I never thought…" he gulped, it was as if he himself could not believe what he was about to say "but I never imagine that it would be so… so…. Whats the right word for it…Addictive!"
Sarutobi suddenly held his left hand on his chest. He took his glasses off with his right hand and placed it onto the ground. He screamed a scream which all of Konoha heard. In pain, he started to shrivel up, rapid flashes of thoughts raced through his mind.
"I'm going to die
"Am I going to die like THIS?
"Am I?
"No, I will become immortal."
With his last bit of strength he leaped off the head of the Shodaime Hokage.
This was how Shi Sarutobi died, yet his game has just begun.