Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
ITALICS – thinking
BOLD – Jutsu/Demon talk
Chapter Two: To Save the Future
It's been six years since Naruto arrived back from Uzu and since then Naruto and Hiruzen grew stronger making Hashirama and Mito very happy; not only that, Konoha grew stronger as well though there was still the occasional skirmish with clans here and there. We currently find Naruto and Hiruzen meditating in the Senju gardens on the Estate grounds as it helped stabilize their chakra and acted as a form of control as chakra could be added to certain body parts like the ears for increased hearing.
Naruto, now age 15 like Hiruzen, was six foot tall, had middle back length black hair like his father but put that in a high pony tail, wore a headband with the Senju clan symbol on it that parted the bangs to either side of his angular, royal looking face which had a scar that ran across his right eye and halted at his chin. He also wore simple black clothing underneath his Hashirama-like armor which had the Senju clan symbol on either side of the collar and Geta sandals; on his back was the katana he got from Uzu, the Raging Whirlpool.
Hiruzen, who was five foot three, now wore a grey steel breastplate with shoulder guards, grey arm guards, faulds covering his upper legs, a pouch strapped to his lower back with bandages, a standard forehead protector, and a kunai holster on his upper right leg. He had short black hair and was starting a goatee.
Naruto senses someone coming and knows who it was and smiles "Hello Tou-san, how can I help you today?"
Hashirama chuckles "You gained both Tobirama and my traits which I find astonishing and I see that enemy of yours got a little close with his katana, ne?"
Naruto pouts as Hiruzen giggles "Tou-san that was two years ago and the only reason I still have my eye is that I closed it and jumped back at the right time."
"Yes, two years ago but that was when you thought nothing could beat you, but now you know to be more careful."
Naruto smiles and nods "Yes, never underestimate an opponent and never let anger consume you; I know the lessons you taught very well."
Flashback: Two Years Ago
Hiruzen and Naruto look over a small encampment of leftover members from a clan that fought yet lost in the warring years where clan fought clan for dominance and land. It was a sad time but now there were villages but that still did not end the cycle of hate and war loomed ominously overhead. The reason for taking them out; a prominent Konoha business man and council member was found assassinated and before said assassin could escape he was caught and interrogated giving away his clan's location.
Naruto sighs "The cycle never ends does it Hiruzen."
"It seems that way my friend; let us hope that one day we will see peace."
Both look down to see about 100 men, women, and children wandering around the white tent city they established; it was Spartan but it got the job done.
"Must we kill the children Hiruzen it saddens me to take the life of those that still have a budding future."
"Unfortunately so Naruto; let us steel our hearts and hope that Kami forgives what we are about to do. For the Will of Fire."
"For the Will of Fire." Naruto responds back
Both breathe heavily, steeling themselves, and start to run through hand signs in the hopes of earning their surprise so that they could then run in and take out the rest.
Naruto does one hand sign and announces his jutsu with a whisper "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique"
Hiruzen finishes as Naruto launches his jutsu "Earth Release: Earth Dragon"
The two jutsu combine to make a massive dragon made of mud which collides just on the outskirts of the camp which makes a massive tidal wave of mud crash into the now screaming populace. Naruto reaches back and unsheathes his katana while Hiruzen does the same but grabbing his Bo staff; they rush in to finish whoever was left and it was not much. Out of the 100 or so that were alive now only twenty remain; for the two Konoha shinobi this was an easy task to accomplish.
Like a flow of a river, Naruto and Hiruzen dance around their opponents slashing open their necks or caving in their skulls. Naruto cut down a person in front of him then turned right and stabbed another through the skull; he ducked under a slash and turned to face his opponent when he failed to see one coming from his left until it was almost too late.
Naruto finishes the man in front of him but closes his eyes and jumps back as he sees a glint of metal come his way; a burning is felt and he screams in pain, the vision in his right eye going blurry. Acting quickly, Naruto dodges a couple strikes and thrusts forward and connects, piercing the man through the heart. Three minutes, that is all it took to dispatch the entire camp which now had a river of red run through it mixed with the dismembered corpses strewn about the land. Hiruzen and Naruto sigh in sadness at what they done but such was the Shinobi lifestyle.
Flashback End
"Naruto are you even listening to me?" Hashirama asks
Naruto chuckles nervously "Sorry, I was having a moment."
Hiruzen laughs whole heartedly earning a tick mark from Naruto but Hashirama clears his throat catching both their attention again.
"Naruto, Hiruzen, I must go into battle once again but do not worry if I should not return as my brother Tobirama will take over for me. I have already discussed this with Mito and both she and I agree that you are to stay here my son to ensure my legacy lives on."
Naruto stares wide-eyed at his father "No, I refuse I want to fight alongside you, I want to be there as father and son strike down our enemies. Please father."
Hashirama sighs and walks over to Naruto and pulls him in a hug "I know you want to but you have so much to live for yet my child, I want you to live out your life and enjoy it with Hiruzen and your friends. You will be here to carry on the will of fire and continue to bring greatness to Konoha; carry on my legacy Naruto, do it not just for me but the entire Elemental Nations."
Naruto tears up and nods sadly knowing that he would never win the argument yet knew it was for the best. Naruto watches as Hashirama takes his necklace off and puts it around his neck then smiles.
"That is my gift to you my son, use it well and long live the Senju; goodbye Naruto, I will miss you."
Naruto is now crying at this point, feeling the gem that now hangs around his neck "I will miss you too Tou-san."
It would be a week later when news of Hashirama's death reached Konoha as his body was escorted by the remaining members of his regiment; the battle was a success but at a great cost. All of Konoha was in mourning for the loss of their First Hokage, the one that gave life to the village and now Tobirama was there to take up the mantle which everyone cheered for. The one who took it the worse was Mito Uzumaki and to her shock, her stress further weakened the seal and knew it wouldn't be that long until she had to transfer it into someone. The funeral was three days later and all of Konoha attended to pay their last respects and a few made some speeches but none was as heartfelt as the one Hashirama's son delivered.
"I am glad to see that the entirety of Konoha is out to pay my father the last respect he deserves. The necklace I wear on myself was his gift to me before he left and I wear it with pride and honor and vow to keep his legacy alive like he wished me to. To die in battle is a Shinobi's greatest honor and he passed on doing what he loved, protected what he loved, and showed that the Will of Fire can live on even in death. That Will lives on in all of you, all the ones that make Konoha what it is; now I ask you all, will this death extinguish this flame or will it make it burn more fierce than ever before!"
Cheers go out and some even yell out 'Our fire will never be extinguished!' which brought a smile to everyone's face. It was a somber time in Konoha but with Hashirama's passing made the fire in everyone to find new spark and glow brighter than before.
As Naruto walks away from the crowd he feels a tug on his leg and looks down to see a puffy-red eyed Tsunade; he sighs knowing that this was a sad time for her so Naruto picks her up and places her on his shoulders.
"Why did granddaddy have to die Naruto?" A three year old Tsunade cries
"The life of a Shinobi is a harsh reality Tsunade but know that he died a hero and that Mito, Tobirama, and I will always look after you."
Tsunade hugs Naruto's neck and cries into his hair making him sigh and tear up as well; getting over Hashirama's death would not be easy on anyone and to make it worse Mito's seal to hold back the Kyuubi was weakening.
Flashback One Year Ago
Naruto walked into the kitchen looking for something to snack on when Mito called him from the library room. He sighs and heads upstairs and down the hall then enters the third door on his right to find his mother hunched over a desk looking over many seal arrays.
"You called Ka-san?"
Mito nods and waves Naruto over "The seal holding back Kyuubi has weakened to a great extent and I know that it will not last much longer and have decided that it would be best to seal it inside of you, Naruto, and need help on getting this seal array down for you to use."
Naruto chokes on his own breath "W-what…but why me; can't someone else get sealed with it?"
"Yes but your chakra is like that of your father's; nature based which can suppress Kyuubi and eventually tame it overtime; not only that is you have Mokuton which has the power to take on a bijuu."
Naruto sighs and plays with his pony tail "I don't like it but I will do it for you Ka-san."
"Thank you my son, now let us see if we can figure this seal out, ne?" Mito states as Naruto nods
For the next three hours, mother and son work tirelessly on the seal array and were about to call it a day when Naruto looks at his mother making an ink stroke on a seal and notices it was wrong and would lead to catastrophic results.
"Ka-san…don't finish that you're making the wrong stroke!"
Mito finishes just as she responds "What do you mean…" She looks at what she did "Oh no."
Naruto and Mito watch as the seal levitates in the air and starts glowing; just as both were about to vacate the office a flash of white engulfs the library then images play out of Konoha being attacked by the Kyuubi and run by a militaristic Hokage, the face of which could not be seen. There was turmoil that gripped the Elemental Nations and multiple battles played on and eventually the final battle was shown in which the Elemental Nations and the ninja way would be extinct. A flash of white is seen yet again; the seal that once levitated turned to ash and piled up on the floor.
Groans are heard from both Mito and Naruto whom both hold their head and stand up shakily; they both look at each other with confusion.
"What…what just happened?" Naruto asks
"There were images of death and destruction all around…was that what is to become of our Nation, what is to become of Konoha?" Mito questions
"Ka-san…I think whatever we did managed to make it so we could peer into the future. If this is the case then I will gladly seal Kyuubi away but I wish for myself to be sealed as well so that the future generation can prosper."
Mito blinks wondering how the hell a seal could do that but notices that such a seal was only coincidence and would never be attempted again.
"If what you say is right my son, then I can only agree with you; let us take a break and come back to this later."
Naruto nods and both walk out of the library still baffled at what they just saw and pondered on what they just managed to do.
Flashback End
It is a sad day at the Senju home as Mito is lying in bed pale as a ghost and groaning in pain; it has been three years since the incident in the library, the even was still a mystery. Now, Naruto stands over his mother worried that she might pass on before what must be done.
Mito motions for Naruto to come close and weakly states "The seal has weakened to a point where the Kyuubi might be released; why this happened so early I do not know. You know what will happen when I seal the Kyuubi into you do you not?"
Naruto sadly nods "I will miss you Ka-san, all of Konoha will but I have an idea in which I make sure to fan the flames for the future shinobi; we have been working on that project for the last four years now
Mito smiles at the memories "I have faith in you my son, when you awake from what you do please give Konoha the spark it needs to rekindle the flame that we both predict to die out."
Naruto brushes Mito's hairs out of her petite face "I will Ka-san, I will make Tou-san and you proud, shall we begin?"
Mito nods and starts running through hand seals while Naruto lifts his shirt and holds it up with his teeth and draws a seal on his stomach. Mito finishes and her hand glows green; she touches her seal and lifts drawing out the red chakra of the Kyuubi and moves it toward the seal that Naruto drew on his stomach. Mito puts her hand on her son's stomach and pushes with the last of her chakra and life-force to make sure the beast is sealed; five minutes later the process is complete and for safety Naruto puts more seals on top of the one already made to limit how much influence the beast had on his conscious but with Hashirama's sage chakra running through his system, in time Kyuubi will be tamed. The seal was done and Naruto applied chakra to it to complete the seal array then rushes to Mito's side as she struggles to say her final words.
Naruto is in tears as he cups his mother's face; with her dying breath she speaks her last words "The Will lives on in you."
With that Mito passes on, earlier than her time, and Naruto drops to his knees and cries over the dead body of his mother and also of what he must sacrifice for what he has planned to ensure that Konoha prospers in the future.
Mito's death was another bombshell in Konoha and it seemed to dim the flames yet with Naruto and Tobirama around, the flame was still lit. The funeral was like that of Hashirama's and again, for the first time in three years, Konoha was in a somber mood. It was also after the funeral that Naruto contacted Tobirama and told him what he would be doing and he surprisingly agreed with the idea.
Hokage Office
The Scroll of Seals is rolled out on the wooden floor and Naruto is bent over it drawing an intricate seal system onto the paper; 20 minutes later he was finished. He stands up and sighs then looks into Tobirama's eyes with a smile which he returns.
"You look good in all your armor and such, it will be a shocker when you come back many years later but I have to ask why you are not telling Hiruzen about this."
"I must make it look like I disappeared and I want this known only between the two of us; yes Hiruzen might be mad at me when I return but I am well prepared for that. I will miss everyone here, especially you my friend."
Tobirama nods and grabs a scroll off of his desk "Naruto, I want you to take this with you when you decide to seal yourself so that you can save the future generation. In it is what I have planned to do as Hokage and contains some politics and other important details to read on. May this help you when you return."
Naruto grabs the scroll "Thank you for everything and please if people ask where I went, tell them I went on an extended mission and if the years go by and they question further give them hope that I still live on."
Tobirama nods and hugs Naruto with tears in both their eyes. Both look at each other one last time and nod; Naruto runs through a couple hand signs then places his hand on his seal array and vanishes in a flash of white light. Tobirama sighs and rolls the Scroll of Seals back up wondering how Naruto and Mito predicted the future and how Naruto's return would shake the Elemental Nations.
"I will miss you Naruto, all of Konoha will but in time you will return and bring that Will of Fire known since Hashirama's reign back; good luck my boy and may Kami smile upon you."
Weeks passed and people began to question the whereabouts of Naruto but Tobirama told them that he was on an extended mission like Naruto wanted. Those weeks turned into years and still Tobirama assured the populace that Hashirama's son was still alive out there and to never lose hope. When Tobirama finally fell in battle like his brother did many years before, Hiruzen was the next to take the hat and even after all these years he knew and hoped that somewhere and somehow his good friend Naruto would return.
50 Years Later
Naruto floated in an endless sea of white where aging and time never exist; he did not know how long he was in this form of limbo but he made use of it as Naruto trained and managed to control Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto found out that with his seal design he could communicate with the fox and over the seemingly endless time spent together, became partners to the extent where Kyuubi trusted Naruto with his actual name; Kurama. As Naruto was meditating in his world, it suddenly started to crack and collapse making him smile; he stood and stretched his old bones.
"It is time Kurama, like my mother and I predicted, it is time to bring a new era into the Elemental Nations."
"Good Luck Senju-sama, but with me at your side I know we can get the job done."
"Thank you Kurama." Naruto responds back and vanishes like he did fifty years ago, in a flash of white.
Moments Earlier
Mizuki was currently running through the trees of Konoha hoping to reach the border in time and couldn't help but laugh at how easy it was to acquire the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing.
"Finally, with this scroll my master and I can have infinite power which will bring this Nation to its knees!"
About halfway to the border Mizuki had to dodge a Salvo of kunai and looked to see who threw the projectiles and found 10 ANBU surrounding him; he slightly pales.
"By the order of the Sandaime Hokage, give up the scroll Mizuki and your sentence will be lessened."
Mizuki flips them off "Like hell I will, now watch as I use this scroll to bring about your end!"
He unrolls the scroll slightly and glances over it and notices an intricate seal array and thinks that it has to be an impressive jutsu so he slams his hand down upon it and adds chakra. The scroll glows brightly and soon a white flash envelops the area blinding the ANBU and Mizuki temporarily; when the light recedes the ANBU gasp in shock then get on their knees in respect at what they saw in front of them.
Mizuki, now just getting his sight back, is confused at the ANBU's reactions then sees the man in front of him and stumbles back in shock.
"Y-you should be dead…Hashirama was killed in a battle many years ago?"
Naruto looks around "Now this is not the Hokage Office like I planned those many years ago."
He sets eyes on Mizuki then the scroll on the forest floor and lastly the ANBU around still on their knees; he instantly knows what happened.
"Rise my comrades and let me deal with this traitor in front of your eyes, a traitor that dares extinguish the flames that Konoha holds dear."
The ANBU do as told and Naruto rushes in with his katana drawn and slashes at Mizuki who dodges and tries to scramble away in fear.
"Get away from me you ghost!"
Naruto sighs, sheathes his katana and does some hand signs "Wood Release: Great Forest Technique"
Naruto's right hand turns into wood and launches toward the fear driven Mizuki managing to capture him in the branches of his technique; Naruto brings the traitor forward so that they are looking eye to eye.
"You have a lot to answer for my friend." Naruto looks at the men around him "Would you be a kind soul and escort me, this traitor, and my father's scroll to the Hokage tower please; I must talk to whoever is in charge."
The ANBU drop from their stations; one picks up the scroll then all bow and chorus "At once Senju-sama!"
Hokage Tower
A knock is heard on the door and Sarutobi allows them to enter; he looks up from his paperwork and smiles to see his ANBU with the Forbidden Scroll.
"Ah, I see you managed to get our treasured item back; good job ANBU-sans"
An ANBU in a Boar mask walks forward and bows "Hoakge-sama, it was not us who captured Mizuki and helped get the scroll back; it was Hashirama-sama."
Sarutobi blinks then glares at Boar "He died in a battle over fifty years ago and his son went missing three years later when Mito passed on and with it the Kyuubi. Do not joke with me."
A new voice enters the office, one that Hiruzen hadn't heard in many years; the ANBU move to the side to show Naruto in his usual attire holding up an immobilized Mizuki.
"Damn Hiruzen you got old, how many years has it been since I sealed myself in the Forbidden Scroll?"
"N-Naruto?!" Hiruzen stutters then falls to the floor passed out due to shock.