Yo...

Nothing to say, except that all of your questions will be answered gradually over time.

Enjoy the chapter...

Chapter 64

I will rise up

Itachi just stood in his place, his eyes were fixed on the person standing on the entrance of his tent. The shinobi in front of him, was dressed in one of the Blacklight uniform, although he had the "Commander (Taichou)" tag on his chest. His face was hidden behind a dark blue face mask...but he could never forget those eyes and the silky blonde hair.

"It's really you..." said Mikoto in a shocked voice

The only answer she got from the boy was a small hesitant nod...

And it was the only thing she needed before dashing towards him and engulfing him in a fierce hug. Sadly, the boy was not prepared for such a quick response making him lose his balance as both of them fell down with Mikoto on top of him.

But it seemed Mikoto didn't care, the relieved mother was off into her own world while tears slipped from her eyes as she continued to hold her beloved son...

However Itachi saw something in his brother's eyes that broke his heart, that look in Naruto's eyes was only there for a second until he replaced it with a fake smile, only if he knew that his little brother had seen straight through him...

"Kaa-san...can't breath" said Naruto hesitantly, making Mikoto gasp as she realized she was crushing the poor boy.

She quickly removed herself from Naruto and offered her hand to him, which he readily accepted. And for the first time in 7 long years he got a glimpse of her lovely face.

She still looked the same, even more beautiful. And her tearful eyes were still filled with the same love which she had showered over him during his entire life.

Meanwhile Mikoto was still trying to control her overwhelming emotions, Naruto looked so different. He looked like a man...

He was almost tall as his father, his body was quite formidable and he had a strange power emanating from him. But the most important thing were his eyes...they were no longer eyes of a young 8 year old boy, but of a strong ninja.

He was no longer the little boy that she used to carry over her shoulders...

"It's good to see you..." said Naruto happily, and slowly wiped away the tears falling from her eyes.

And he didn't resist when she made him bend a little and gently placed a soft kiss on his forehead, making it very hard for him to control the dam of tears in his eyes. But he slowly took a deep breath in order to calm himself down, because if the dam broke then she would see through his fake mask which he was showing right now...and it would break her heart.

And that was the last thing he wanted right now...

"I knew you were alive, I prayed to Kami everyday to bring you back to us...back to me" said Mikoto happily, as Naruto just gave her a half-hearted smile.

"I'm grateful for that...even if I don't deserve it" replied Naruto honestly, making Mikoto smile even more.

"If anyone doesn't deserve this feeling right now, then it's me...and not you, sochi" said Mikoto in a guilty voice, as more tears slipped from her eyes.

"I broke your heart, Kaa-san. I-"

"No, you did the right thing as a loyal and brave son of Konoha. I can see that now, and I understand how right you were...and I'm (sobs) truly sorry (sobs) for saying those things to you. I am so sorry..." begged Mikoto in a choked voice, and she was surprised when he just smiled before placing a tender kiss on her forehead and wrapped her in a warm, tight hug.

And the warmth and love that was radiating from him made her feel safe and loved. Something which she had not felt during all these years...

"You were there for me my entire life, what you said that night broke my heart..." said Naruto honestly,

"Naruto, I-"

"But it also showed me how much you loved me, it was the love in your heart that made you say those words in order to stop me from going into Blacklight. And it'll take more than a few pissed off words from you to make me stop loving you. Kaa-san, you've given me way too much to even think of hating you in this life or the next...so what do you say, fresh start?" asked Naruto kindly, and he was surprised when Mikoto just stared at him as if he was some kind of god?

"How can you forgive me so easily? I don't understand..." said Mikoto in admiration, and gently caressed his cheeks.

"Life's too short to hold grudges. And I love you with all my heart...even if you're a nagging woman sometimes" replied Naruto light heartedly, making Mikoto smile.

"You truly are a kind child. Always forgiving others for their mistakes..." said Mikoto proudly, making a small blush appear on Naruto's face.

"I guess I'm just too softy, huh?" asked Naruto jokingly, but his mother just smiled.

"Naruto, I want you to meet someone..." said Mikoto happily

"Before that, I want both of you to meet some people too. It's the right time..." requested Naruto, as Mikoto casted a hesitant glance towards Itachi who just gave a small nod.

"You can come in..."

Mikoto and Itachi were surprised when Hashirama, Tobirama and Toka walked inside the tent and were now standing beside Naruto.

Noticing the unasked question in his mother's eyes, Naruto placed a hand over her shoulder...

"It's hard for me to control them with my genjutsu. Hashirama-sama can control himself, however I have to keep Tobirama-jiji and Toka-baachan near me...so that Orochimaru does not regain control over them" explained Naruto honestly,

"We're not that weak, you know?" asked Tobirama in a sulking voice,

"Though we are thankful to you..." said Toka happily, but all the adults stopped talking as the young brothers were staring at each other.

A small smile came on Naruto's face as he looked at his little brother. Itachi was 5ft 3 inch tall now, he almost looked like a mini-minato with his spiky blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes, he was wearing the Namikaze clan t-shirt proudly on his chest...and was carrying a small tanto on his back, his old weapon.

"You've become a fine ninja...otouto" congratulated Naruto, only he knew how long he had waited to get a glimpse of this face.

Itachi didn't say a word but instead came forward, and to everyone's surprise knelt before Naruto.

"I'm glad you are alive...Nii-san" said Itachi respectfully, and Naruto looked toward his mother for some explanation but only received an amused smile from her.

"You're his idol. All these years he trained hard to fight for you, to make you proud...you're his hero, Naruto" explained Mikoto happily, and for a second she spotted a pained look appearing in Naruto's eyes.

Naruto knelt down before Itachi, as his brother hesitantly looked him in the eye. And quite surprisingly it made him smile, because even though they had grown up in a way Itachi and him were still the same towards each other.

"I ain't no hero...but I am your brother" said Naruto honestly, and quickly hugged his younger brother.

"You're my hero, our hero. Nii-san, you fought for us...while I-"

"I won't have any of that. If I were a hero, then so many of my friends wouldn't be dead right now...but seeing you alive and healthy makes every pain worth it. You're my only brother...and I'll always protect you, no matter what!" said Naruto fiercely,

The rest of the family were touched on seeing the love between the brothers, but Hashirama was literally shocked when he heard those words from Naruto.

"Madara, they're so much like you and Izuna..." thought Hashirama sadly, as he remembered his childhood memories of his best friend and the promise which they made to each other.

For Hashirama the scene before him was like a cruel reality. It seemed history was repeating itself again and again, his ninja world was failing and more blood was being spilled every day. This was not the dream which he and Madara had, young kids like Naruto were pushed into war when they were still children.

He had created the ninja world and system of shinobi to stop the madness of the clan war era, to protect innocent children. And yet, he was standing in front of a destroyed world where thousands of children had died on all sides...

"Your name is Mikoto, isn't it?" asked Toka in a welcoming tone, as her daughter-in-law gave a small bow to her which surprised Tobirama.

"An Uchiha bowing before a Senju? What kind of fucked up world is this?" thought Tobirama clulessly,

"Hai, my name is Mikoto Uchiha, daughter of Kagami Uchiha. And wife of the Fourth Hokage..." introduced Mikoto, as Toka gave her a wide smile before enwrapping her in a hug which surprised Mikoto.

"You have a wonderful family"

"Are you really Kagami's daughter? My student's daughter?" asked Tobirama inquisitively,

"Yes, Nidaime-sama" said Mikoto honestly, as Tobirama smirked.

"Interesting" said Tobirama mysteriously, as Mikoto got very confused but before she could raise her question Toka just signaled her to ignore her weird husband.

"Are you really my Tou-san's parents and uncle?" asked Itachi seriously, making Tobirama nod.

"It's the truth, Minato is my son meaning you two are my grandsons..." explained Tobirama honestly, as Itachi just gave a half hearted smile.

"Well, nice to meet you..." said Itachi hesitantly, what was he supposed to say anyway?

Hashirama stepped forward and what happened next surprised everyone, as he gave a light bow to Naruto and Itachi as a small tear slipped from his eye.

"I am sorry for not building a peaceful world where my children could have lived happily..." apologized Hahirama, as Itachi quickly made him stand straight but Naruto just gazed in the man's eyes.

"There is no need for you to apologize, Hashirama-sama. You and I are the same, we just want to build a peaceful world devoid of wars. You fought for your justice, I am fighting for mine..." said Naruto respectfully,

"We want to know what is this empire that you plan to form? From what we've seen you have changed the world quite drastically..." said Tobirama warily,

However Naruto still continued to look Hashirama straight in the eye, as the man had understood the feelings in his heart...

"Did you come to understand what a taste of true pain feels like? If you do know know the same pain, you can never understand the pain of another person. And even if you do peace is not possible in this shinobi world, it's just a dream" said Naruto aggressively,

"Naruto..." said Mikoto sadly, as she got a glimpse of the pain and anger in his son's heart.

"But won't your empire be the cause for more wars? Many more people will die..." argued Hashirama, getting a firm nod from Naruto.

"They will die. Hashirama-sama, there are many fundamental things about this world that needs to be changed. Your shinobi system would have succeeded if you had united all the villages as one. Since all of them are divided they fight for every little resource of this world, and I will change that" said Naruto with determination,

"How?" asked Tobirama intimidatingly,

"I have already defeated the Heavenly Alliance compromising of Iwa, Kumo and Kiri. Now, I shall unite them all under the empire, and after that the rest of the world. Because the enemy we are facing wants to annihilate the entire shinobi world and every single person in it...and I assure you he is more brutal than me" explained Naruto in detail,

"Who is this enemy?" asked Mikoto curiously,

"He's-"

Before Naruto could reveal the truth a loud commotion started occurring outside the tent. The Namikaze family as well as the Edo Tensei quickly went out and saw many ninja were talking amongst each other, and they appeared quite nervous as they looked towards Naruto.

Naruto quickly grabbed a young Jounin and looked him straight in the eye...

"What's all this ruckus about?" asked Naruto authoritatively, as the ninja whispered in his ear.

Before Mikoto could ask her son what was happening she felt a tremendous KI rising in the area, as Naruto's entire body erupted into blue flames.

"I won't accept it" said Naruto furiously, and quickly unsheathed his sword.

"Naruto..."

"I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY OF THIS!"

Itachi was shocked when he saw a murderous look appearing in his brother's eyes quickly followed by his Mangekyo's activation.

"Nii-san...what happened?" asked Itachi worriedly, and the intimidating gaze of his brother made him take a step back.

"Konoha is going to have one less Blacklight Commander from today..."

Author's Notes: End of chapter.

Many of you had asked me just how the events will fit with the timeline. It has been just a few hours since the war ended, just as Naruto finished his chat with Minato, Baku captured his team and took them as prisoners.

And now that the word has spread through the Konoha camp, Naruto is more than PISSED about it...

He knew something like this was going to happen, but gunning his comrades down like dogs, ambushing them like traitors when in reality they are loyal heroes is something Naruto will never tolerate. And Baku has kicked the hornest's here...

I know many of you have been waiting for a mushy-mushy reunion, but it will have to wait because next chapter is going to be explosive

Next chapter will be the mid finale of this arc, meaning we have completed half of this arc. And there are many interesting things in the next chapter...

Enjoy the cliffhanger...