Its that time of the week again... ITS SUNDAY! and do i ever have a surprise for you guys, this is probably the single, most largest chapter i have EVER written in my entire life! 14K WORDS! SERIOUSLY 14K WORDS!... my fingers feel like they want to fall off... this is not a chapter, its not even a big chapter... ITS A MEGA SUPER LARGE McDONALD'S UP SIZED WITH FRIES CHAPTER!
That being said, let's get on with my favorite part of Sunday, answering my reviewers!
Azazel Kingetsu A.K.A Aza-chan - Thanks for the review, and indeed you will have to wait, but not for long ;) read the story to understand why :P
Slop Doggy - Thanks for the review, and the hint to knowing who she was, was her name, if you would have went back to when Masaki released his Zanpakuto's powers, he shouts out her name... although he refers to her as he, i will have to edit that part :P as for the questions, i got board with coming up with new questions, i going to do something else instead :P
Delran - Thanks for the review, i fully expect to have typos in this chapter, it so mega hugely long... however i will be re reading it and will try to find as many as i can... if i somehow managed to make no typos, i will be shocked... as for the questions, as i told Slop Doggy, i got tired of making them :P
RairyuuBlade - Thanks for the review, hope you enjoy the new mega awesomely long chapter :D
quintupledots915 - Thanks for the review, i honestly don't know when "of if ever" or what the ban-kai will look like, we will see the release form thought :)
blackmoon124 - Thanks for the review, and no, no random question, as i said to the others, i am tired of making them up :P i have something else in mind
xzavx - Thanks for the review, if you thought a lot happened in the last chapter, wait until you read this one! :D hope you enjoy it
Now then, that's everyone, i hope that you all enjoy the next installment in the story, and i have to say that the odd of me making a chapter this long ever again are close to slim to none :P...i don't know what happened to me today, i began writing and i just didn't stop
Historical Bonds
Chapter 43
PRESENT TIME
Naruto went down to the prison cells, there were a few guards including the captain of the temple guards. He looked inside the cell and saw that Yuki was resting on one of the bunks, the blade was by her side as she slept "How is she?" He asked
"She has been quiet since your captain came down to speak with her" The captain answered "She looks peaceful sleeping like that, it's hard to believe that such a child defeated my entire squadron…"
"Well, it's been decided that the girl will be put to death by her own captain, it's a shame that all her potential is going to be lost" Naruto commented "I am here to remove her weapon before we take her away, please open her cell" he asked
"As you wish" One of the guards opened the cell allowing Naruto to walk by
Naruto agreed that Yuki looked peaceful in her current state. He slowly reached for the blade, suddenly the blade began to radiate the same aura as it did when Rukia reached for it and without warning a jolt of energy hit Naruto sending him flying straight out of the cell slamming hard against a wall. He fell to the ground half unconscious "Damn, I knew that was going to happen but still… I am barely able to keep my eyes open…" He thought to himself
The guards quickly ran to his aid "Are you alright?" The captain asked him as he helped him get back up
Naruto was unable to stand up without using the wall for support, the bolt of energy that had hit him was much stronger than the one that hit Rukia. The commotion had woken Yuki up "Naruto?" She said confused as to what had just happened
"What happened? She wasn't even awake or physically touching the blade…" The captain said as he looked at Yuki who had gotten to her feet but was restraining herself from exiting the still open cell door
"I don't know, the blade began to emanate some kind of aura as I got near it and when I tried to reach for it, it zapped me with some kind of energy bursts" Naruto said as one of the guards helped him sit down as his energy had not returned yet
"But how could she have done it? With those cuffs on both her wrists and ankles, she is unable to wield any chakra" One of the guards said confused
"She was sleeping, she couldn't have done it, plus she wasn't even touching the blade… But if that's true then that means that perhaps everything she told us was true…" The captain said looking at Yuki
"I need to inform my captain of this situation" Naruto said as he got up, he had regained some of his energy and was able to stand under his own power now, if only barely and he had a new idea that could make things easier for them
Rukia and Master Aida were waiting for him to return a few rooms away "Well? What happened? Did they buy it?" Rukia asked
It had occurred to them that they would need some sort of reason for allowing Yuki to keep the blade before her execution took place. Allowing them to see what would happen to anyone who tried to take away the blade would be the perfect excuse "Yeah, the captain agreed that it would be best to allow her to keep it for now and get this, they are doubting that Yuki attacked the temple on her own accord. I have a new idea that may just be better than our original plan" Naruto told them
"Well what is it?" Rukia asked curious
"We get the captain of the guards to see things our way… Look it will be simpler if you just come with me and fallow my lead" Naruto told her
Rukia was very curious as to what Naruto's plan was, but she didn't understand the use, either way Yuki would never return to the capital city, whether they pretended to execute her or convince the guards she was innocent wasn't going to change much. However it was his call and she didn't have much of a choice since it seemed like he had made up his mind "Alright, let's go" She told him
Naruto, Rukia and Master Aida had returned to the cells. Yuki was sitting up on her bunk but had noticed that Naruto had returned "As you can see captain, she still has the blade; I don't think anyone should try to take it away from her"
"Nonsense, that is the legendary earth blade, we cannot allow a thief to have it, Captain I demand that you go get that blade from her" Rukia said looking at the captain of the guards
The captain stared at the blade then back at Rukia "Ma'am, after seeing what that blade did to your apprentice, I respectfully refuse ma'am"
"Are you saying that my apprentice is correct? Are you all cowards? You there, go get me that blade!" She asked a random guard "Or you will be joining her on the gallows!" she added to give the guard an incentive
The guard seemed terrified, he unlocked the door and walked in, Yuki actually got up and stood in a corner leaving the blade on the bunk. This time if that blade hurt someone, she wanted to make sure that there was no chance that she could be blamed for it. Just as with Naruto the blade began to emit the same aura, and just like before it hit the guard with a bolt of energy strong enough to send him crashing out of the cell, he hit the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious
Rukia was shocked, it was much more violent then when she had attempted to take it "How is that possible?" Rukia asked keeping up the charade
"Captain, I know that this is out of line, but I ask you not to order any of my men to attempt to even touch that blade again, please ma'am" The captain asked concern for the well being of his men
"No, of course not…" Rukia answered "But what does this mean?"
"Yuki, pick up the blade" Naruto asked her
"But…" Yuki tried to protest
"Please, just pick it up" Naruto asked again
Yuki had no idea what was going on, but she trusted Naruto. She picked up the blade, she had no fear of it of course since she had touched it many times before
"So she is able to safely pick it up, Captain, what if she was a Talho? Could that explain why she was able to wield the blade?" Naruto asked
"I Don't know, others have been able to touch the blade in the past, of course only a Talho can form a connection with it and wield its power. Master Aida, what do you think?" She asked him, hoping that he would also play along
Aida smiled a bit "It is entirely possible, not much is known about the four legendary blades. I can theories that if the blade detected that a Talho was nearby perhaps it would try to seek her out, it is more powerful than the regular Zanpakutos although I cannot prove it, it is possible that perhaps it forced her to come here at any cost" Aida answered
Rukia was actually kind of surprised; she didn't expect him to be so cooperative in trying to deceive the guards
"The fact that she didn't kill any of my men would suggest that there was no malice intended… Look Captain, weather she is a Talho or not, it looks like the Zanpakuto has chosen her to be its partner. If we killed her we could be killing the last chance we have at using the earth blade" The captain of the guards told them
"The council is going to want answers, what do you suggest we tell them?" Rukia asked
"The council doesn't need to know about this little… Incident, I haven't gotten around to filing the report yet, if you would also refrain from filing a report… I could convince my men to forget that this entire thing ever happened. To tell you the truth, it would also be best if the council didn't know that a little girl defeated the entire temple defense squadron…" he told her
"Won't the council want to know what happened to the blade?" Naruto asked
"We could always create a replica, and when the girl graduates and becomes a full fledged ninja, we could reveal her as the new owner of the earth blade" Aida suggested
"Well I am sure that I can convince Captain Shihoin to cooperate, after all I think she will be relieved to hear that her apprentice is indeed not a traitor" Rukia stated
"Then it is settled, the girl is free to go" The captain of the guards said happily as he opened the door wide open "You may leave
Once Yuki was released Rukia explained what happened to Yoruichi "You shouldn't have deviated from the plan!" She said shocked that Rukia went along with it
"Look, I had no choice; he is the one who did it!" Rukia said pointing at Naruto
"Tell us why you did it" Yoruichi literally demanded
Naruto sighed "Look, I did it for Master Aida, I could tell that something was bothering him. First of all he doesn't like to lie and lying that we were going to be killing an innocent girl wasn't sitting well with him. So when I saw that the guards were doubting that Yuki was a traitor I took it. Didn't you notice how happy he was or how fast he jumped in on the new idea?" Naruto explained
"You… You did all that just for master Aida?" Rukia said slightly shocked "But I don't understand, why would you care? I mean you are going to be gone soon so what's the difference to you?" Rukia asked
"Master Aida has helped me a lot, he is a good man and it would have bothered me" Naruto answered
"It was still a risk… But I am surprised that you would actually care about his feelings like that" Yoruichi said slightly surprised at how caring Naruto is to her people
"Well I heard from Master Aida that you have completed your training here, so I suggest we leave before something else happens" Rukia suggested
"What? He is already done his training?" Yoruichi said shocked "It normally takes weeks of constant meditation and training…"
"Well apparently the spirit had been getting me ready for a long time… Those nightmares I was having were not the blade torturing me, turns out she was getting me ready for the training… Also she wanted me to come here and see where I came from and to be proud of my heritage, not hate myself or blame myself for it because although I am a proud Konohan and that I love my people, my ancestors were from here" Naruto explained
"You know… You would make one hell of a captain, it's a shame that your leaving" Rukia said with a smile
"Yeah… Well before we leave, shouldn't Yuki be spending some time here to train with her own Zanpakuto?" Naruto asked
"No, her case is different from yours, the Zanpakuto chose her so Toshiro will be able to guide her the rest of the way" Rukia answered
"Then I guess our mission is over, we can finally go home" Naruto said with a smile. The thought of finally returning home was overwhelming. He desperately wanted to hold his little girl in his arms again, how much of her life had he already missed? Had she begun to take her first steps yet? Had she begun to talk yet? What were her first words?.. Will she even recognize him after all this time?
All four of them were in the main hall with Master Aida "Master, I would like to thank you for everything that you have done for me" Naruto said with a respectful bow
"Think nothing of it, just remember to come visit me when you're a famous captain alright? Many of them barely ever come visit the temple these days… present company excluded of course" He said smiling at both Yoruichi and Rukia
"Of course master" Naruto responded, although he knew that he would more than likely never see him or the night country ever again, a part of him felt sad about that fact
"And you Yoruichi take good care of that apprentice of yours, I sense great power within her. I have no doubt that she too will become a great captain some day as well. I have to say that both of you have done well in choosing your apprentices, I am proud of both of you" He said with a warm smile
Both Rukia and Yoruichi blushed a bit at the compliment, although they both knew that they were not actually their apprentices, it still felt good to receive a compliment from the Master of the night temple
All four of them left the temple and as soon as it was out of sight, Yuki looked around, there was no one around. A small forest surrounded the temple and she could even hear a stream not far from them. Without warning she grabbed onto Naruto and began to cry. Naruto was shocked and confused "Yuki? What's wrong?" He asked
"Naruto Sensei, thank you, thank you so much, I thought I was going to die, I thought about how much trouble I had caused you. About how I almost wrecked the entire mission, about how I would never see Konohamaru again about…"
Naruto placed his finger on her lips to stop her as her tears continued to drip from her eyes, she still had her arms wrapped around him "Yuki, I would never allow anything to happen to you or anyone else from our team. Allowing you to be executed was never an option. I was fully ready to abandon the mission and rescue you by force if I had too" He told her as he stroked her hair to comfort her
She looked up at his warm smile, she knew that he wasn't kidding. He really was ready to sacrifice the mission and endure the nightmares to save her life "I am not worthy of being on your team Sensei… I am hot headed; I am more trouble than I am worth… To tell you the truth I knew something was calling me, I could have said something to the others but I didn't. I know now that the blade is the one that was calling me and took control of my body but I could have told Toshiro or Konohamaru…" She said with a sigh. Konohamaru, he must have been so worried about her. She had been gone for twenty four hours "Sensei… I am the weak link on the team, Konohamaru is a great leader. he is always able to keep a cool head in any situation… Hanabi is a great healer and fighter.. I am… I am worthless" Yuki said sadly
Naruto was shocked "Hey, stop that, what happened wasn't your fault alright?" Naruto told her
"I had been thinking about this for a long time, not just because of this incident... I mean even on the ship, I went out of control and almost attacked Hiyori's team without proof other then the fact that they were stowaways accusing them of being thieves… And that is just one situation, I am not worthy of being a part of the Hokages defense team…" She said as she looked at the ground
"Had she really been thinking this for a long time?" Naruto wondered "Yuki, listen to me because I am only going to say this once, Team Naruto wouldn't be complete without you. Yes sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes your emotions get the best of you but you know what? Some of the best ninjas in Konoha are like that. Sakura would be one good example, and I have been known to allow my own emotions to control my actions on many occasions" Naruto said with a warm smile as he wiped away one of her tears with his thumb "Yuki, you are probably one of the most important parts of the team, you are the warm gooey thing that keeps the team together, I know that both Konohamaru and Hanabi wouldn't want anyone else to replace you and neither would I. So you are going to have to live with the fact that you are stuck with us, you are one of my bodyguards and you better get use to it. You are not going to get to abandon your responsibilities to me or your team just because you make a few mistakes, do you understand what I am trying to say?" He told her with his trademark grin
Yuki still had tears flowing from her eyes, but they had turn into tears of happiness "Do you really mean all that?" She asked him worried that Naruto was too kind to tell her the truth
"Of course, I would never lie about something like that" He said as he continued to grin
She used her sleeve to wipe away her tears and looked into his eyes and smiled "Thank you Sensei, that means a lot to me"
"I don't really want to break up this warm and touchy moment but we are on the path that leads to the temple, and there are many who travel to the temple to pray, so it might be better if you finished this in a more private environment" Rukia told them as she had been keeping watch
"Alright, let's go home" Naruto said as they began walking again
Yuki felt that a great deal of pressure had been lifted from her shoulders, she stared at Naruto as he led the group "Thank you Naruto Sensei" She whispered to herself happily
IN THE PAST
Danzo had return to the stream, he still blamed himself for everything that happened and he hated himself. Hiruzen walked up to him "You're a hard person to find you know" He said with a slight smile
"Go away Hiruzen… I am not in the mood" He told him
"When are you EVER in the mood? Especially since the attack. You have been spending most of your time moping around feeling sorry for yourself. When are you going to realize that the situation was out of your control!" Hiruzen said as he sat next to Danzo, but Danzo didn't move "Look, I came here to give you a message… It's from Masaki Sama" Finally that had gotten his attention as he sat up and stared at Hiruzen "He wanted to tell you this himself, but we didn't know where you were and well… He left this morning, I believe that he is going to try and track down Madara on his own"
"What? But that is reckless, Madara could kill him!"
"Yeah… But I believe that he blames himself for not being here, so he wants to do it on his own, at least that's what I think… It's kind of funny in a way, you two are more alike then I first thought. He blames himself for not being here during the attack, and you blame yourself for not being able to stop Madara from hurting Nami, both situations were out of your control yet your both blaming yourselves… Look he wanted me to tell you this. He said that he was proud to be your Sensei, he also wants you to stop blaming yourself for what happened to Nami it wasn't your fault, you did more than he could have asked for in that situation…"
Danzo was in a state of shock, he couldn't believe that his Sensei was going to try and fight Madara alone "Why would he do that? Why would he leave alone? And why would he leave without talking to me? Did he really mean those words if he couldn't even take the time to tell them to me himself? No, I can only think of one reason, he said those things only to make me feel better, he didn't mean them. He still holds me responsible for what happened to Nami Chan… I should have gone with him!" Danzo said in anger
"Hey calm down!" Hiruzen told him "Look, I said what I came here to say, and I know that he meant every word, he didn't want to drag you or any of us into this fight for personal reasons, and if you want to continue to feel sorry for yourself then fine, do it. But if you do then you truly weren't worthy of being his student" Hiruzen said as he got up and walked away
Meanwhile back in the village the shops had begun to open and the market was beginning to buzz with life "Nami Sama? Nami Sama is that you?" A voice that slowly began to wake Nami asked
Nami opened her eyes, the sun was shining brightly in the sky and everyone was going along their business, Nami was staring at the one who had woken her "Funato?.. What are you doing here? Wait.. Where am I?"
"Nami Sama, you are in the market place, I found you sleeping on this bench"
"Uhg I told you to stop calling me Nami Sama, I am no longer the leader of the Yamashiro clan, hell I left the clan!" Nami told him
"…I am sorry it's I have called you that my entire life, but what are you doing out here?" Funato asked her
Suddenly Nami began to remember how she ended up on the bench "Masaki!" She cried as she began to realize that he must have left the village by now
"What's wrong?" Funato asked as he sat next to her holding her hand to try and comfort her
"Masaki… He left the village, he said that he was going after Madara. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen, when I refuse to let go of him… He must have knocked me out" She said as tears were flowing freely from her eyes
"What? That's horrible, how could he do such a thing to you! Your pregnant with his child… Nami Sama, your too good for him and what does he hope to accomplish on his own? He is probably going to get himself killed…"
Nami wanted to kill him for disrespecting Masaki like that, but those last words made her cry even more, she knew deep down that it was entirely possible that he never return home, but why?
"Nami Sama, you can't be alone at a time like this, come back home, we will take care of you and your child" Funato offered
Nami removed her hand from his instantly, her sadness literally turned to anger in an instant "You want me to return to the clan? Why would I return to the people who treated me like trash just because I fell in love with someone from outside the clan? Or perhaps you have already declared Masaki dead and are trying to win my heart over with kindness? Funato I can see right through you, you have been after me since we became teenagers, how dare you use a time of pain to try and win me back? Get out of here! GET OUT OF HERE!" She screamed at him
Funato calmly got up "Look, I am just trying to help alright? I know that your heart belongs to him, I had no intentions of trying to change that. However we have been friends since we were kids and it hurt me to see you like this, I was genuinely trying to offer you help but if this is what you wish, then so be it, Good day Nami Sama!" He said as he walked away
Nami had a large mix of emotions inside of her, could she have been wrong? She got up and tried to stop him but she heard a clang on the ground as something fell as she got up. She turned around and saw a blade on the ground, she picked it up and unsheathed it, she was shocked as she realized that she was holding onto Masaki's blade "Why would he leave this behind? Without this blade he could never defeat Madara!" Nami thought to herself as she realized that Masaki didn't have any intentions of surviving his fight with Madara, she fell down to her knees and began crying. She slowly got to her feet and wiped away the tears with her shirt as she held onto the blade tightly "I have to talk with Tobi…" She said as she regained control of her emotions
At the same time Tobirama was with the council as they tried to pick up the pieces from the attack "The defense barrier in the north district took some heavy hits during the attack, we must rebuild them from scratch" One of the councilmen said
"Couldn't we take this opportunity to extend the defenses in that case? The village continues to grow at a pace that continues to surprise us, we could use the extra room" Another one suggested
"We also need to build them higher, stronger, they were able to climb them too easily" another councilman added
Although Tobirama was listening to everything they were saying, his heart wasn't really into it at the moment, however he was the new leader of the village and it was his duty so he sighed inwardly as he got up to address the council "I agree, the defense barrier shall be extended, however if we make them higher, then we will have to rebuild all of the defenses in the village, so I suggest that we do so one section at a time as to not leave us completely defenseless, and at the same time we move each of them to allow additional room in all directions, that should fix our land problem, at least for now" Tobirama said as he sat back down
"That is a great idea Hokage Sama; the people will be overjoyed to have more space"
"We are going to have to address the food issue then, with more room obviously more people will move in, we are already taxing all of our farms to the limit, we could begin importing grain and other products from other countries, but I do not want us to begin depending on others when it comes to our own food supplies" one of the councilmen told them
"I agree, begin scouting for new areas to build new farms, and I want to augment our livestock capacities, triple them if we can" Tobirama said as he began to take charge of the meeting much to the council's delight as they had feared that Tobirama would not be able to do as good a job as his brother, but he seemed to be doing nicely
They heard some noise outside of the council chambers but they paid little attention to it. It wasn't uncommon for people to want to speak with the Hokage or the council while they were in a closed door session but the noise grew louder as Tobirama began to wonder what it was. Suddenly the doors flew open as a man landed in the middle of the room "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" One of them screamed out
Nami walked into the room with Masaki's blade in hand "I am sorry to intrude but I have to speak with Tob.. I mean Hokage Sama right away, it is urgent" She said trying to be respectful towards the council
"Hokage Sama, this is outrageous! You have to do something about her; this isn't the first time that she has disrupted a council meeting or busted into the Hokage's office, she is out of control!" One of the councilman said fed up with Nami's lack of respect
"Everyone calm down, Nami, tell me that you have a good reason for doing this…" Tobirama asked her
"Yes Hokage Sama, I truly am sorry for having to do this but this is urgent and cannot wait, I need to speak with you… Privately" Nami answered
Tobirama let out a sigh, Nami really was a hand full but it was one of her qualities that he loved the most about her "Everyone, leave the room" Tobirama ordered
"But Hokage Sama…"
Tobirama cut him off instantly "I gave you all an order, I expect you all to fallow it. Now don't make me have to repeat it" He said in a stern voice
"Yes Hokage Sama" The entire council along with the ninja that was a victim of being at the wrong place at the wrong time left the room shutting the doors behind them
"…Thanks Hokage Sama" Nami said as she bowed in respect
"Nami, it's just us, please don't be so formal, and I won't always be able to protect you like this. They are right you know, you have to stop doing stuff like this" although his words were serious, he also had a smile on his face
"I know… I am sorry Tobi I promise you that this is the last time, but you have to listen to me!" She said with pleading eyes
"… I already know" Was his response
Nami was puzzled and shocked "…What do you mean?" She asked
"The fact that you have his blade in your hands means that he must have left already" He answered her
"Then you knew? You knew about this?" Nami asked as she walked towards him
"Yeah… I even thought about joining him, had my brother not dumped all these responsibilities in my lap before he died.. I might have" He said as he tried to laugh, but thinking of his brother reminded him of just how much he missed him
But Nami couldn't believe it "How could you let him go? Tobi how could you allow your best friend to leave knowing that he was going to his death?" Nami said as anger was beginning to show on her face
"Because… There was nothing that I could have done or said that would have changed his mind and I don't think that he thinks he is going to die" Tobirama answered her
"THEN HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS?" She said as she slammed Masaki's blade onto his desk "Why would he leave without his blade if he knew he would be coming back?" Nami asked again
Tobirama looked at the blade and then looked into Nami's eyes "I can't answer that, but I do know that when I last spoke with him he wasn't speaking like a man who was going to die. I can't explain it but I don't think that he is going on a suicide mission… I don't even believe that he is going after Madara, at least not right away. I don't know how to explain it to you Nami… But that is what I feel" He explained to her as best her could, even thought he wasn't sure himself about any of it
Nami took the blade back as she had a mix of emotions, anger, sadness, fear, just about every emotion except for joy… how could she feel any joy knowing that she would never see her beloved Masaki ever again
Meanwhile Masaki was nearing the Fire nation's borders, he was almost at the temple as he stopped for a moment to look back "Nami must have woken up by now… She must be angry with me for what I did…" he said with a sigh "But I do this for you, I hope that you know I love you" He said as a tear was forming near his eye. He turned back and continued his journey and would lead him away from all of his friends, from the village that he had help build and called home for the last two years, and from his loving Nami and his soon to be born son
He walked through the woods as he saw the temple that would become his new home, he walked up the steps and pushed the large doors open. Inside Ayumi was waiting for him with a bright smile "Welcome back"
"You will have to excuse me if I have mixed feelings about being here" Masaki answered back
"Of course I understand, it must have been hard for you to leave them… I guess I can't say I understand because when I was brought here I was alone, abandoned. So I was grateful to have a place to call home"
"Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for what you did, I just wish I didn't have to leave her behind..."
"I understand… Look I don't want to sound uncaring but we have to begin the ceremony as soon as possible" Ayumi said feeling slightly bad about having to push Masaki knowing that he still felt the pain of leaving his loved ones behind
"Ceremony?" Masaki asked confused
"Fallow me" She said as she began leading Masaki throughout the temple. They walked into a large room "Every apprentice must undergo the sacred ceremony" She said as she slipped into the ceremonial robes "technically I am suppose to wear this all the time… But I like my clothing better, now then get on your knees" Masaki did as she asked "State your name for the record"
"My name is Namikaze Masaki of Konoha" he said proudly
"Becoming a sage is a serious undertaking, as the next sage you will be tasked with safeguarding our secrets, you will be forced to leave everything you once knew behind. Once you accept there is no turning back, doing so would result in your death. Namikaze Masaki, do you understand what you are about to do?" Ayumi asked
"Yes I do"
"Do you understand everything I just said?"
"Yes I do"
She handed him a chalice filled with some kind of liquid, she then began to chant in some language that he had never heard before. The liquid inside the chalice suddenly began to boil, yet the outside of the chalice was still cold to the touch, the chalice then began to give out an aura "Namikaze Masaki, this is your final chance to turn back, once you drink this you will become my apprentice and your training will begin"
Masaki brought the chalice to his lips and drank it all, his entire body was burning up inside. He wanted to scream but was unable to, he fell onto his back as the pain was getting intense. He heard footsteps, Ayumi was still standing in front of him so he had no idea who they belonged to, however Ayumi didn't look bothered by it
"So this is the one you chose?" A voice asked, Masaki tried to see who it was but could only tell that it was a man dressed in the same type of robes as Ayumi was
"Yes… Father" Ayumi answered as she bowed
"FATHER?" Masaki thought to himself "That means that he is… The sage that Ayumi spoke of" Masaki continued to think as the pain was slowly beginning to fade away
"You know, I am still disappointed at how you allowed yourself to get killed like that" He said in a stern voice
"I am sorry father… I was careless please forgive me!" She said as she got on her knees and bowed
"Foolish girl! You are the current sage; don't bow down to me or anyone else… And you are my daughter, I may be disappointed but I am still proud of you Ayumi, my little girl" He said with a warm smile as he helped her up from the ground
"But father, why have you come? You haven't come to the mortal realm in over a millennia" She asked him
"Because I am worried about you Ayumi, you may be a sage but you are still my little girl and I wanted to see this apprentice of yours… Are you sure about him? You only felt pain for a few moments when you went through with the ceremony, he has been down there on the ground for a while now, he seems weak" he stated unimpressed with Masaki's current state
"Yes father, he is stronger then he seems… Right now he is also dealing with other pains other then the physical one… And your presence here probably isn't helping things" She explained
"I see, well I trust your judgment, and Ayumi remember that I love you" He said as he left the room
Ayumi let out a sigh as she bent down to check up on Masaki "Does it still hurt?" She asked
"To tell you the truth, it stopped a while ago… I just didn't know what to do... Was that really your father?" He asked
"Well, biologically no… But yes it was, the very first sage to exist in the mortal realm" He said with a sense of pride
"Tell me, how many sages have there been?" Masaki asked as Ayumi helped him up
"Two… You will be the third" She said with a smile
"What? Really? That's hard to believe" Masaki said as he was back on his feet
"There is no time limit to how long one can remain a sage, we cannot die, well almost… We can die in the mortal realm, that's what happened to me but all that does is stop me from being able to do anything outside this temple. There are other realms I can go to, like the one my father has been living in for the past millennia or so"
"So… your over a thousand years old? I must say, you don't look a day past one eighty" He said with a grin
Ayumi slapped him leaving a red mark on his face "Don't joke about a girls age like that!" She said with a pouting face
Masaki grinned, she was pretty cute when she was mad "Hey I was just kidding, I said one eighty for a reason you know, I figured since we were talking about thousands I would say one eighty, so if we were talking about your age in terms of one hundred, you don't look a day over eighteen" he said with a wink, Ayumi blushed a bit "So tell me, what did I just drink?" He asked now that his body had returned to normal
"That gives you eternal life, you are no longer mortal. Although that being said, there is one way you can die, just like my father is the only one who could truly kill me because he conducted my ceremony. I am the only one who can truly kill you, so if you ever try to betray me and run away you will be killed" She explained
"I see… So what now?" Masaki asked
"For today you rest, tomorrow we will begin with some easy stuff. The training itself will take many centuries, however I believe that I can have you ready to face Madara in a few decades. Once he has been dealt with you will continue your training and become the next Sage"
"I was wondering, what happens to you once that training is complete? Will you be joining your father?" Masaki asked
"I could if I wanted to, the responsibilities of being sage will fall onto you freeing me from the duties that currently bound me here. But I can do whatever I wish, I can stay here or travel the realms. I guess I will figure that out when the time comes" She said with a bright smile
Meanwhile back in the village Nami had returned home with a heavy heart, she heard some noise from upstairs "Danzo must be home" she thought to herself, at least he was still here. She went up the stairs and bumped into Danzo as he exited his room. She noticed that he was carrying suitcase "Danzo? What's going on? Where are you going with that?" She asked
"Nami Chan… I was hoping to be gone by the time you came home…" he said sadly
"What do you mean be gone? Danzo where are you going?" She asked confused
"Nami Chan, I want to thank you for your kindness but I cannot live here anymore. I failed to protect you, I failed in my duty and I failed Masaki Sensei… Now he is gone and it's because I couldn't do a damn thing to stop Madara. If I could have stopped him from hurting you then perhaps he wouldn't have left the village…"
"What? How do you even know he left the village? And what are you talking about? You did your best to protect me, it's MY fault. Everything that's happened is MY fault! It's MY fault for leaving the protection of the tunnels, it's MY fault that I got hurt, so stop blaming yourself! I was just too pig headed to understand that I was in no condition to be out there…" She told him hoping that he would finally understand
"I am sorry Nami Chan… You are very nice to try and cheer my up like that, but my mind is made up"
"Where will you go?" She asked as she was beginning to tear up once more
"I don't know… But there are plenty of apartments for me to chose and I heard that we are expanding the village. Who knows I may get a brand new house or something… Good bye Nami Chan, I will never forget your kindness" He said as he ran past her
"Danzo WAIT!" She said as she ran after him in tears. But by the time she reached the door he was long gone. She fell down to her knees and began to cry "Don't leave me too… Why is everyone leaving me?" Nami sat there as she continued to cry alone…
FIVE YEARS LATTER
Tobirama was patrolling the Fire and Wind borders. He had heard rumors that Madara had been seen in the area, his team was composed of himself and his regular crew of Hiruzen, Koharu and Homura who were all Jonins, and he had also requested the help of an ANBU member, Danzo to join the group. Nami wanted to be a part of the group as well but Tobirama had denied her
*FLASHBACK*
Tobirama's team was gathered at the gate, Hiruzen was chatting with his team while Danzo stood silent. He was wearing his ANBU mask and the newly designed uniform, Tobirama was about to give the order to move out when he saw someone approaching "Hey Nami, come to see us off?" He said with a bright smile
"Yeah… I still wish that you would let me come with you" She said with anger towards Madara, the one who had stolen her love from her
"Nami, you know I can't allow that, you have responsibilities here. You have your son to look after, and as Director of the ANBU you have other responsibilities to take care of" After Masaki had left the council had voted Nami as best suited to replace him as the head of the ANBU, although many of them had reservations to giving her that kind of power. They agreed that no one knew the ANBU like Nami, even when Masaki was around she ran most of it as his assistant
"I know… I know… Just do me a favor, when you find him make sure you give him one from me alright?"
"Yeah don't worry… By the way, that new uniform looks really nice on you" he said with a wink as he stared at Nami who had regained her previous physical looks since her pregnancy, catching the eye of just about every male in the village, Nami would always turn them down of course
Nami suddenly and without warning punched Tobirama sending him crashing to the ground "Keep your mind on your mission and out of the gutter… Pervert!" She said as her eye twitched slightly
"OWE!" Tobirama screamed in pain "You could have broken my jaw…" He said as he slowly got back to his feet
"Good, if your jaw is broken then perhaps I should lead the team and you can be the one who stays here" she said with a wink
"Nice try Nami… Keep the village safe in my absence!" He said as he led the team out of the village
Nami stared at them as they slowly faded into the distance "Come home safe guys…"
"Mommy! Mommy! Look, Look!" A small blonde boy said as he ran up to Nami, his bright smile and blue eyes made Nami smile "Look I did it! I hit all of them dead on!" He said as he held up some wooden targets with Kunais in the center
"Wow! That is great, I am so proud of you!" She said as she hugged him tightly
"Uncle Hiruzen has been helping me practice!" He announced proudly
"That's great, now let's get you cleaned up, this deserves a special dinner tonight, how does pork ramen sound?" Nami said as her smile grew
"RAMEN! YEAH!" The boy screamed joyfully
Nami looked up at the sky "Masaki… He is growing up so fast, with every passing day he looks more and more like you... Whenever he smiles I can see your face… He also has your bad habit of loving Ramen… A trait that I tried desperately to break him of, but it brings him so much happiness that I can't say no… I know that you would be proud of him, please look over him as he grows up" She said softly
"Mommy hurry up! I am hungry!"
Nami was snapped back to reality as she joined her son
*END FLASHBACK*
"Sensei, look at this" Hiruzen pointed out something that looked like a cave
"And it seems like there has been some activity in the area, there are signs of foot prints. Most of it has been washed away by the weather but I can still vaguely see some, these are the freshest" Danzo pointed out
"We should be careful. If this truly is Madara's hideout I doubt that it will be easy to enter" Koharu told them as she examined the surrounding area for traps
"Oh, it seems like I have visitors" A voice came from all around them
Danzo and Hiruzen went on the defensive instantly as they were back to back, much like they were five years ago during the attack on Konoha. The difference now was that they were much stronger than they were back then
Tobirama looked around as he took a Kunai in hand "Show yourself Madara!" He screamed out
"Is that the proper way for a guest to be conducting himself? Here I was about to offer you tea!" The voice said in a sarcastic tone and a sort of sadistic laugh
"Be careful guys, he could come at us from anywhere" Tobirama warned them
Suddenly they were surrounded by multiple men all wearing different headbands, Tobirama even noticed one from Konoha, however they all had a dent in the middle
"What do we do Sensei?" Hiruzen asked
"They must be here to distract us while Madara escapes!" Danzo told them
"I agree, Hiruzen, think you guys can take care of them?" Tobirama asked
"Of course Sensei, but what are you going to do?" Hiruzen asked
"I am going after Madara before we lose him again"
With that said he jumped above the enemy ninjas, some of them were about to pursue him but Danzo and Hiruzen got in their way "Where do you guys think you're going? You still have us to deal with!" Hiruzen said as he took out a kunai
Tobirama arrived in a clearing where Madara was walking away "Why are you running from this fight?" Tobirama asked
Madara suddenly stopped walking and turned around "You are not worth my time, I suggest you turn around and go back to that village of yours. Your brother was stronger then you and I killed him easily, and I am much stronger then I was back then" Madara said with a grin
"You are a continued threat to the village that we cannot ignore and you're not the only one who has gotten stronger!" Tobirama said with a grin
However in the blink of an eye his grin evaporated as he felt the coldness of steal pierce his body, he fell to his knees as Madara kicked him "You are so pathetic, you couldn't even figure out that you were caught in my Sharingan the moment you stepped foot into this clearing. You can die now knowing that you have failed, just like your brother did" He said with a laugh as he walked away leaving Tobirama bleeding heavily on the ground
"How could I have lost so easily? I am the Hokage, I should have been able to put up more of a fight then this" he thought to himself as he was fighting to stay conscious
"Over here!" He heard some voices in the distance "He is still alive!" Hiruzen shouted as he and the others joined him
Koharu bent down to examine his wounds "This isn't good, he has lost a lot of blood, I don't think that I can save him" She said sadly
"Don't say stupid things like that, just patch him up, we can take him to the closes village, it's only a few hours from here. He is going to make it, you will see!" Hiruzen said frantically
"Stop it Hiruzen" Tobirama suddenly spoke up "Everyone please gather around" he ordered. Hiruzen, Koharu and Homura all gathered around him while Danzo stood behind Hiruzen "I want to say how proud I am of each and every one of you, even you Danzo, you may not be a part of my team but I have kept an eye on you and your progress. You are all the future of Konoha and I want you all to protect it with your lives… I have also made a decision on who I wish to succeed me, it was a tough decision. Hiruzen, Danzo, you were always both at the top of my list, but Hiruzen, I have chosen you to be the third Hokage. You have a big heart and are willing to do everything to protect your friends, that is why I believe you will make a good Hokage…" he coughed up some blood "I guess I won't be able to tease Nami anymore" He said softly
"Don't worry Sensei, I will keep an eye on her, I know that she means a lot to you…" Hiruzen told him
"Thanks Hiruzen…" his words trailed off as he slowly shut his eyes and passed away
All three members of Tobirama's team were in tears as they mourned the passing of not only their Hokage, but their Sensei. Danzo on the other hand was silent, behind his ANBU mask he was cursing Tobirama for picking Hiruzen over him and a hatred for Hiruzen began to grow slowly inside of him
40 YEARS LATER
Hiruzen was walking along the newly built path along the stream; Konoha had just won a major Shinobi war under his leadership, but even he had to admit that it was mostly due to Konoha's secret weapon, Namikaze Minato, known to the enemies only as Konoha's Yellow flash. He was so feared that an order of retreat was given to any ninjas who encountered him. The village had still suffered some damage during the war and the council had once again decided to use the opportunity to expand the villages defenses to accommodate the growing population of the village that had become the largest of the five hidden villages
It had only been a few weeks since he had stepped down as Hokage and allowed the younger Minato to take his place. Hiruzen had taken special attention to his training at a very young age since his mother was killed in another war and his father had disappeared while on a mission. It was believed that he stumbled upon Madara and was more than likely killed. Nami had also just died recently, although she was healthy Hiruzen knew that she died a little bit each day that Masaki wasn't in her life and when her son suddenly vanished at such a young age Nami had begun going mad until the day she was found dead in her bed. Some had even suspected that she had taken her own life but there was never any proof to support that theory, however Hiruzen felt responsible none the less
He walked up to a grinning blonde ninja with blue eyes and a large white cloak bearing red flames at the bottom and on his sleeves "Ah, Lord Hokage, how nice to see you" Hiruzen said with a smile "But aren't you suppose to be wearing your robe?"
"It's just not my style; I rather wear my Jonin cloths and my cloak… Sometimes I can still pretend that I am just another ninja defending my village" Minato responded with a large grin
Hiruzen let out a small laugh "You are going to make a great leader" Hiruzen's words made Minato blush a bit
A white haired ninja ran up to him "Hokage Sama! Hokage Sama!"
"What is it Jiraiya?" Minato asked
"It's Kushina, I think she has gone into labor…" He said slightly out of breath
"You think?" Minato asked slightly confused
"All I know is that she screamed at me and threatened to break my arm off if I didn't get that good for nothing husband of hers there right now or else… those are her words by the way Hokage Sama…"
"…I better get my ass there now!" Minato said as he ran towards the hospital as fast as he could
Hiruzen let out another small laugh "Ah youth" he said with a smirk as he walked slowly towards the hospital, he had after all been present at the birth of every Namikaze in the history of Konoha, and this could be the last one he would witness
In the hospital room the nurses were trying to make Kushina comfortable "Kushina Sama, is there anything else we can do?"
"I TOLD YOU, GET THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING HUSBAND OF MINE IN HERE NOW! I DON'T CARE IF HE IS IN A MEETING, IF HE ISN'T HERE FOR THIS I WILL MAKE SURE THAT HE IS UNABLE TO PRODUCE ANY MORE CHILDREN FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE!" She shouted loud enough for the entire hospital to hear
Tsunade was just outside the delivery room getting ready to deliver the baby, she had already reached legendary status as a medic on the field during the war and she was Konoha's star doctor. She was happy that she was delivering a baby today rather than attempting to save a dying life on the field of combat, she saw Minato run towards her "Finally, you arrived... I would get in there quickly if I were you, she has threatened to rip off you're… Well manhood if you don't show up" She said with a grin, Minato suddenly turned pale at the mere though "Who knew that sweet beautiful little Uzumaki Kushina had such a violent personality" She added with a wink
"MINATO YOU BETTER GET IN HERE NOW! I KNOW YOUR OUT THERE YOU BASTARD!" they both heard from inside the delivery room
Minato gulped a bit as he was about to enter the room they felt a rumble, as if the entire building shook "What the hell was that?" Minato asked
"I don't know, just let the others deal with it, you're about to become a daddy!" Tsunade said with a grin
But they felt the entire building rumble again, this time some of the equipment had fallen over and some of the staff had fallen down. A few ninja's came racing down the corridor "Hokage Sama!" They screamed as they raced towards him
"What's happened?" He asked them
"Its… The nine tailed fox my lord, it is attacking the village! Many of our people have fallen already
"The nine tail here? But if he is here then that means Madara could be here as well…" Tsunade told them
"Madara? But no one has heard from him since the loss of the second Hokage, I mean he would be older then Master Hiruzen…" Minato commented
"I know, I am just saying that it's a possibility. Either way, the nine tail must be stopped… Damn it, and I was really looking forward to a nice peaceful…" she heard Kushina scream in anger once more "…Well somewhat peaceful baby delivery for once… Nurse, get one of the other doctors to take care of this, I have a feeling that my skills are going to be needed to save the lives of the wounded that are going to be coming in" Tsunade ordered
"Yes doctor!" She answered as she ran down the hallway
"…What are you still doing here? Go get out there!" Tsunade told Minato "She will be fine, she is going to forgive you, probably... Don't worry about it just go!" She added
Minato nodded as he and the other ninjas that came to warn him ran out of the hospital, the village was in disarray. The villagers were running for their lives, it was the first time that such a major attack would reach Konoha since the war and even then during the war they would have ample time to see the attack coming and to get the civilians to safety inside the tunnels. Jiraiya and Hiruzen arrived at the hospital "Jiraiya, I want you to begin evacuating the civilians, someone needs to take charge before people get hurt, Master Hiruzen please could you take care of Kushina for me?..."
"Of course, I will make sure she is alright" He said with a warm smile
"Yes Hokage Sama, I will get right on it!" Jiraiya answered quickly
Minato looked at the horizon; he could see that part of the defense barriers had caught on fire, more than likely a result of a direct attack from the demon fox. Minato quickly made his way towards the area where the beast was attacking. On his way he saw many injured and dead ninjas "This has got to stop!" He told himself as he jumped over the defense barrier, he quickly dodge a direct strike from the nine tail "Damn that was close… I guess I have to even things out a bit" He bit his thumb and hit the ground with the palm of his hand "SUMMON JUTSU!" he screamed out
A large poof of smoke surrounded the area, as it began to dissipate, everyone could see that Minato was now on the head of Gamabunta "Well it seems that I find myself facing you again" The large toad said as he faced off against the nine tail demon
"I see that your eye has healed up nicely, now that I think about it I never did have those frog legs that I wanted" He said with a grin
"I take it that you two know each other?" Minato asked
"You could say that, the last time that we squared off was back when the first Hokage, Hashirama tried to bring back that good for nothing master of his, Madara, about forty five years or so ago" Gamabunta explained "He almost took my eye out with his claws too" He added as the scar of that attack was still on his face
"I wouldn't speak ill of my master in his presence, it would be bad for you" The demon fox said with a grin
"What are you talking about? Have you finally gone mad? If Madara was still alive today he would be a little old man in his eighties!" Gamabunta responded
"Then how do you explain this" The fox asked as Madara appeared on the top of his head
Gamabunta was shocked "How is that possible…. He doesn't look a year older then the day we last met"
"So this is the famous Madara huh?" Minato commented "If you are the one responsible for this attack, I am going to make you pay! No one hurts my people and gets away with it! I am Namikaze Minato, Fourth Hokage of Konoha!" He said proudly as he got into a fighting stance
"Namikaze? Another one? You're like cockroaches, kill one and another appears! By your age I guess it was your father I killed back then" Madara said with a grin "Although I have to say that he gave me quite a fight, you Namikazes really are powerful. It would be too risky to allow you to live for too long. Tell me, are you the only one left? Or do you have any brothers? Sisters? Or even a daughter or son? I would like to kill them before they become a nuisance once I am done with you" He said with a smug grin
"You killed my father? Then it WAS you who was responsible for that… My grandmother was never the same after that… And now you not only threaten me, but my family? I won't let you win!" Minato said with fire in his eyes
"I am sorry boy, but it's not up to you, you have no say in the matter"
Without warning Minato was instantly behind Madara and was about to strike, Madara barely managed to get out of the way but Minato was already in front of him ready to strike. Madara was able to lift his blade in time, he jumped away as fast as he could "Damn it, he is faster than his father, he may even be faster than Masaki. Well I guess it's time to even out the odds!" he said as he activated his sharingan, his eyes turned red as he could now keep up with Minato's speed
Minato suddenly stopped and quickly lowered his headband over his eyes, he knew too well the dangers of the sharingan
"What is this? You have blinded yourself? And how do you plan to fight me if you can't see me or my attacks?" He said with a grin as he threw a Kunai at Minato, to his surprise Minato not only stopped the Kunai, but he was able to grab it in his hand
"I don't really foresee any problems" He said with a confident grin
Madara was slightly annoyed as he launched an attack to see if Minato was bluffing or not, every attack was blocked and some even countered as Masaki was able to strike Madara in the chest with his leg
Madara backed away confused, how was it possible? This man was more powerful then Masaki was and he is doing it while being blind! "I can see that your slightly confused, or well sorry, it would be more precise to say that I can sense that you are confused since I can't see" Minato said with a grin "You see, I didn't have your average sensei, actually mine was weird and a complete pervert and at times eccentric…" Minato said thinking back to when Jiraiya was his mentor "But he did demand that I learn to fight while blind, he never told me why only that I may one day require to defend myself against an enemy that I would be unable to see. So I am sorry to burst your bubble, but your sharingan is completely worthless against me"
"This boy is a real prodigy, a genius ninja, and to make matters worse, he is a damn Namikaze!" Madara thought to himself "Well I am sorry to burst your bubble, but while you are fighting me, many of your people are being killed by the nine tails" Madara said with a grin
Minato bit his lower lip, he could hear the battle raging on behind him and it was indeed bothering him, he was hoping that Gamabunta would be able to deal with it, but he was concerned that the longer it took for him to fight Madara the more of his friends, of his people would die. Madara quickly attacked Minato, striking him in the stomach and using the opportunity to cut off his headband. Minato rolled onto his back and then strait to his feet, however his eyes had remained shut "So you do have a weakness after all" Madara said with a grin "You're so pathetic, you're exactly like your father, and Masaki, and those other Hokage fools who died by my hand. You are indeed a threat, but even you become weak when you have to protect others, look at me, I have no one to protect. I don't care about anyone else, you can threaten anyone you want and it will not affect me. But you, threaten your people and it makes you worry about them, it will be your downfall"
"You're wrong Madara, the people are the ones who give me my power, my will to fight and you say that you have no one worth protecting, so tell me, why do you bother living? What so you can go around killing people?"
"World peace of course" Madara answered
The answer puzzled Minato "World peace? What kind of an answer is that?"
"I dream of world peace, however you cannot have world peace for as long as there is war and for as long as there are different nations there will be war. So I will bring world peace by destroying all of the nations, beginning with the Fire nation and Konoha!" Madara screamed out
"Well your dream dies here then!" Minato began to make multiple seals, Madara was intrigued, Minato suddenly shouted out "Shiki Fujin no jutsu!"
Madara looked around, but nothing had happened. He could only see a grinning Minato "Well I never thought that you would use a bluff in a battle, I guess I overestimated you" He said as he launched an attack
Just as he reached Minato, he opened his eyes and grabbed Madara's arms "Oh it was no bluff, you dream truly does end here!"
Suddenly Madara felt something penetrate his body. Madara was horrified by what he saw. There was a huge monster behind Minato and there seemed to be an arm that came out of Minato's stomach and was reaching into his own chest, it was pulling something out of him "What the hell is this?" Madara demanded to know
"Heh, Madara, allow me to introduce you to the death god, he will consume both of our souls and we will be locked into an eternal battle that neither one of us can win!" Minato informed him
"What? You are crazy! You are going to sacrifice yourself? This is a bluff!" Madara stated
"I would give my life to defend this village and my family, you will NOT harm them and I will make sure of that, and if you truly believe that this is a bluff then by all means just stay here and wait. If you are right then you have nothing to fear" Minato said as he tighten his grip on Madara
"You are crazy if you think I am going to allow this!" Madara shouted out
"There is nothing you can do!" Minato answered back
"That's what you think!" Madara made a few hand signs of his own
"It's useless, you are not able to break free once the death god has a hold of you, it's over" Minato told him
"Heh, but what about your people? I don't know if you noticed but that overgrown toad of yours has lost, and my little fox is on a complete rampage. Yeah you may defeat me but in the end you still lose" Madara told him
Minato looked at Gamabunta, he was still breathing but he was defeated "Damn it, he is right… I have to use the death god on the fox instead, but I don't have enough power to seal something like a demon fox… Unless I borrow a vessel… But only one kind of vessel would do… And there is only one available to me" Minato was fighting back tears when he realized that he was going to have to use his own new born son as a container for the fox. He let go of Madara, he wasn't worried about him anymore. Even thought he had canceled his attack on him, the fact that the death god almost took his soul had drained him of almost all his energy
Madara had a hard time to stand on his own feet "A wise choice, I hope you enjoy fighting eternally with that fox. Me on the other hand I am going to retreat, oh and I will be sure to visit your son too. I will even be nice enough to let him grow up a bit before I come for his life but I cannot allow him to get too strong" he said as he left the area
Minato didn't have a lot of time to spare, soon the death god would be taking his life. He made a few hand signs and a shadow clone appeared next to him "Go get Naruto and prepare the seal, but make the seal so that he can use the power of the fox… If Madara truly is going to come after him then he is going to need that power"
"But won't that put him at risk? With that kind of seal the fox could take over his body…" His clone commented
"Just do it… I have a plan for that" His clone nodded as it ran back into the city
Inside the hospital Kushina was resting with her newborn in her arms, she looked at the sleeping boy "Hello Naruto, welcome to the world" She said as she weakly smiled at him"
Suddenly Minato's clone busted into the room "I need to see the boy now!"
"Oh look Daddy is here" She said, not knowing that it was in fact a clone, but Hiruzen had noticed it
"What's going on?" He asked
"It pains me to have to do this… But we have no choice. Madara attacked the village, Minato would have been able to take care of him but the fox was killing many of the villagers. He unleashed the death god but he realized that even if he killed Madara there would be no one left to take care of the fox, and Konoha would be destroyed" The clone quickly explained
"What does Naruto have to do with this?" Kushina asked concerned, although she also didn't know what the death god meant for Minato either
"Even with the death god's help, the fox is too powerful. He needs to use a new born as the vessel, it's the only way"
"NO!" Kushina shouted out "YOU ARE NOT TOUCHING MY SON!" She said as she held Naruto tightly, all the commotion had woken him up and he was now crying "I don't care if the village is destroyed, no one is touching my son!" She cried out
Hiruzen felt horrible, but he knew what Minato was trying to do. His life was already over the minute he summoned the death god and there was little time left, he grabbed Naruto from Kushina's arms
Kushina was shocked, she never would have thought that Hiruzen would rip her newborn son from her arms and couldn't believe that he was going along with this "Kushina, I am sorry but it's the only way, Naruto will be fine I promise you that I will keep him safe" He and the clone nodded as they exited the room
Kushina was crying "BRING ME BACK MY BABY!" She shouted out as she forced herself out of the bed, but she was still weak. However she wasn't going to give up, she forced her body to continue
She had lost sight of Hiruzen and the clone but she knew where they were going. She felt dizzy and weak, the room suddenly began to spin as she fell down to her knees. The staff of the hospital were running around tending to the injured that just wouldn't stop coming in. None of them had noticed her, she forced herself back to her feet and slowly tried to make her way towards the exit. She felt some kind of odd tasting liquid fill her mouth, it tasted like iron, she felt it begin to drip down her chin. She took her hand and ran it across her mouth "Blood?... But why is there blood coming out of my mouth" she thought to herself, but before she could think anything else the world around her began to spin uncontrollably and soon she collapsed to the ground as she her consciousness faded away. The last thoughts that entered her mind was about her son "Naruto…"
Meanwhile on the battle field Minato was fighting alongside the other ninja's, time was growing short for him as the death god would not wait much longer before it would take his life. His clone finally appeared "Everything is ready, Hiruzen helped out and the seal is complete
Minato looked at the demon fox "I can't believe that I am actually going to do this… But if I don't both he and Kushina are going to die… I am sorry Naruto, I hope that you can forgive me someday" He said to himself as he jumped onto the fox's head and grabbed one of his ears "ITS TIME FOR YOU TO LEAVE DEMON!" He said as he concentrated all of his remaining chakra into his attack, the death god reached out and touched the fox's head. Minato directed it to seal it within the body of his newborn child. The fox struggled to get Minato to let go but it was in vain. A few moments later the nine tail fox demon disappeared and Minato's body was in a free fall, Jiraiya caught him before he could slam into the ground
"Hokage Sama…" He said sadly, knowing that Minato had just given his life for the village
"Jiraiya… You have been a good friend and a great Sensei… We were going to surprise you with this but… I guess I won't have any other chance to tell you… We have chosen you as the god father for Naruto, please take care of him for me" Minato said with a faint smile as he felt the life in his body fade away
"You got it…" He answered back as he felt Minato's body become numb, Minato, probably the strongest ninja of all Konoha and the strongest Hokage to date had died…
Back at the hospital Tsunade was exiting one of the operating room. She had just completed over ten operations one after another. She was horrified to see Kushina on the ground near the exit and that there was a small puddle of blood around her head "KUSHINA!" She screamed out and ran to her side "WHY IS SHE HERE? WHY HASN'T ANYONE TAKEN CARE OF HER?" She demanded to know
"I…I…I am sorry Doctor… we were so busy with the constant flow of injured… No one noticed her there" One of the nurses said feeling horrible
Tsunade examined Kushina, she was no longer breathing and had no pulse "She is dead… there is nothing I can do… DAMN IT!" she cursed as Kushina was a close friend of hers "There was internal bleeding, did something happen during the delivery?" Tsunade asked the Nurse
The nurse checked Kushina's file "No ma'am, the doctor that did the delivery stated that everything was fine. But doctor, what is she doing here in the first place?" The nurse asked
"I don't know, and I don't care, but I can't believe that no one noticed her! There is a pool of blood around her head! How do you just ignore that! If someone would have noticed her sooner.. we may have been able to save her"
More of the staff that had heard the news began to gather around
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT! GET BACK TO WORK" Tsunade demanded as she slowly picked up Kushina's body
The defenses had all but completely been destroyed, one quarter of Konoha's forces had died and another quarter were wounded, and Konoha had lost its Hokage. Konoha had never been in such a weaken state, but thanks to Minato's sacrifice Konoha would go on. Eventually the council voted to reinstate Hiruzen as Hokage in an attempt to re-establish order, however it would be years before Konoha would recover from the attack and although Naruto was a hero the people knew that deep inside of him rested the beast that had once brought the might power of Konoha to its knees, and thus he was feared for it… Hiruzen chose to keep his true name a secret, only a few knew Naruto's true identity.
PRESENT TIME
Naruto and his group had return to the seventh squad's headquarters where everyone were waiting for their return "Naruto, your back!" Sakura said happily "I missed you" she said as she hugged him
"I missed you too Sakura Chan… How are you? Is the baby alright?" Naruto asked her
"We are both just fine" she said with a smile "Uh, what is Yuki doing with you guys?" She asked as she noticed her with them
"That's a long story…" Naruto told her
"Sorry for worrying everyone" Yuki said to the group
"…What do you mean?" Toshiro asked
"…I have been missing for over a day?.. I am sure someone must have noticed?.. Konohamaru?"
"I am sorry to say that no one knew you were missing… Actually now that I think about it Konohamaru has been missing for the past two days" Toshiro commented
"No he hasn't he has just been coming in late at night and leaving early in the morning" Hanabi told them "I figured he was running off with you… That's why none of us were worried, but if he wasn't going off with you then what was he doing then?" Hanabi added
"Maybe he found a cute girl or something, it happens to guys his age" Rukia said with a grin
"NOT TO HIM IT DOESN'T!" Yuki said in anger "WHEN HE GETS BACK HERE, HE IS DEAD, I AM GOING TO RIP IT RIGHT OFF, THAT WILL TEACH HIM TO CHEAT!"
"What's her problem?" Rukia whispered to Naruto
"…She is Konohamaru's girlfriend"
"Uh, might I suggest that you wait until you're on your way home for that? If you start a commotion here the city police is sure to get involved, and I won't be able to protect you all" Rukia informed them
"Don't worry Yuki, if he is cheating on you I will help you kill him, just wait until we are back on the boat!" Hanabi told her friend
"Konohamaru… It was nice knowing you" Naruto thought in his head
"So if you guys are back, does that mean that the training is complete?" Toshiro asked, wanting to change the subject
"Yeah, I made contact with my spirit and get this, Yuki now has a Zanpakuto!" Naruto announced
"WHAT!" Both Hiyori and Toshiro said at the same time
"She is a Talho" Rukia simply told them
Naruto then explained the entire story to everyone, including how close their mission came to failing. Naruto also told them that his Zanpakuto was the wind blade
Both Toshiro and Hiyori were speechless "So that means we poses three of the four legendary blades?" Hiyori asked
"It would seem so" Naruto answered
"And I have to say that I am not too happy about that fact…" Yoruichi told them
"It's not like we asked for them you know" Yuki told her
"I know, I know, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it"
"As soon as Konohamaru returns, I think we should leave. We spent enough time here already, and I won't feel safe until my feet are back on Konoha soil" Sakura told them "And I also want to see my little Naoto as well" She said with a grin, one that Naruto shared
Everyone agreed
Konohamaru was exiting a little shop "This is great; with this she is going to go crazy!" He said happily to himself as he shoved a box into his pocket, he also had a larger box in his arms. The moon was already beginning to rise in the sky "I wonder how long it will be before Naruto Nii-San returns, Toshiro said it could be days, weeks, or even months… Well Its out of my control, nothing I can do about it"
He opened the door and found Yuki waiting for him, Sakura was also in the room to ensure that Yuki wouldn't do anything rash "Hello Konohamaru, oh where have you been? No one seems to know" She said with an icy glare that scared Konohamaru half to death
"Uh… Nowhere.. I have just been you know, visiting the city. It's really a grand place you know" he said with a nervous laugh
"Really now? Then what do you have under your arm?" She asked pointing at the box
"Oh this? Nothing, just an empty box, see" He said as he opened the box, it was just as he said, empty. Sweat was beginning to drip down his forehead
"And what are you doing with an empty box? Could it be that there use to be something in this box? What was it? Who was it for?" Yuki continued her interrogation
"There was nothing! It's just an empty box, I swear!" Konohamaru pleaded
Yuki looked at him as one of her eyes was twitching, she wasn't believing a word he was saying but she had to restrain herself, she had already caused enough trouble as it was. But this was far from over
Konohamaru finally noticed Yuki's blade "Wow Yuki, where did you get that?" He asked her
"Oh this? I found it in the streets, just like your box!" She said as she walked away
He turned to Sakura "What did I do?" He asked
"…Konohamaru, I am disappointed in you" She said as she left the room to follow Yuki
"…What did I do?" Konohamaru repeated the question to himself
He walked into the next room and found everyone getting ready to leave "Welcome back Konohamaru, we were waiting for you. Now that you're here, we can leave" Naruto said casually
"Naruto Nii-San, you're done your training? That's great!" Konohamaru said with a smile, but he could tell that something was wrong; there was a sort of tension in the room that he couldn't explain
The group left the capital city of the night, Naruto turned back for a moment, he will never forget where he came from, nor will he ever be ashamed of it ever again "Let's go home everyone!"
End chapter 43
Wow that was a long chapter... Alright, as you should have guessed, the "PAST" is now over, i hope that you all enjoyed it, and with Naruto's mission finally over in the night country that means that they will be retuning home, to a Konoha in chaos, that being said, the next chapter will be a transition chapter that will wrap up any loose ends left in the night country and chapter 45, they will be home ;)
Now then, i said that i was going to do something else rather then questions, i had a few people complain that the answers were obvious and that i should try to find better questions, the thing is, by the time i get to posting this, i am to tired and lazy to think of anything smart :P So what am i going to do? Well some of you "including some of my own friends who read my story but are to freaken lazy to register so they can review...bastards :P" like the idea of my own comedic reviews, so instead of questions, from now on my chars will be reviewing the chapters at the end now :) anyway here goes...
Naruto - Wow, that's one hell of a long chapter, i fell asleep half way through, and what did he mean when he said we are returning to a Konoha in Chaos?
Sakura - Naruto, you weren't suppose to read that part! your only suppose to read until it says End Chapter, then you review what you read
Naruto - But i have already read it, and now i am worried about what's going on back home!
Sakura - Just forget it Naruto
Naruto - But i can't...
*Sakura slams Naruto into a wall*
Naruto - What the hell did you do that for?
Sakura - Trying to make you lose some of your memory
*Sakura slams Naruto into the wall again*
Naruto - Don't worry Sakura, i will bring Sasuke back to you, i swear it! "Nice guy pose"
Sakura - ... Opps that's to far back uh maybe if i hit him again
*Sakura slams Naruto head first into the wall*
Naruto - How are we going to climb trees using only our feet Kakashi Sensei?
Sakura - ... *walks away whistling to herself*
*Konohamaru walks by*
Konohamaru - Naruto Nii-San! Do you know what's up with Yuki? why do i suddenly feel like she is going to kill me for no apparent reason?
Naruto - Oh Konohamaru, i have jutsu i want to show you, its my ultimate secret Jutsu, the SEXY-NO-JUTSU!
Konohamaru - ... Nii-San, you thought me that jutsu years ago...
Naruto - SASUKE I WILL DEFEAT YOU ONE DAY!
*Konohamaru slowly backs away*
Konohamaru - Sakura Nee-Chan... I think something is wrong with Naruto Nii-San
Sakura - I DIDN'T DO IT! YOU CAN'T PROVE A THING!... I SWEAR IF YOU TELL ANYONE YOUR DEAD, DEAD I TELL YOU! *Sakura runs off*
Konohamaru - ...WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE GIRLS IN THIS STORY AND WANTING TO KILL ME?
Don't forget to the three R's READ RAVE REVIEW! "If i could make the word review flash i would, so imagine that it does flash instead :P"