I don't own Naruto.

The Konoha contingent that was sent to Uzushiogakure was small - not because of the lack of importance that they had labelled the deployment, but because of what they were expecting to find when they got there. The forward reports had already come through, and the very fact that a message for help had come from Uzushiogakure three days into the siege that was befalling them spoke volumes of what they would find. Even disregarding the time it took to travel from Konoha to Uzushio, there would be nothing left.

So Hiruzen only took his elite. Himself, his fresh jounin pupils along with Koharu and Homura. Though small in number it was force enough to fight whatever they would find. And if, by some miracle, Uzushio was still prevailing, they would be enough to force the Kiri forces to at least think twice about continuing their push.

But their boat had landed half an hour ago and the main island of Whirlpool was relatively small. They'd covered most of the distance, and throughout it all Hiruzen could only note the crunch of the ash under his feet. It was a barren wasteland and amongst it all, wooden buildings remained as cinders and washed up Kiri warships sprung from the harbours.

He had visited Uzushio a good amount of times. Beyond Konoha, he had considered it a second home - a permanent location in which he was safe and happy.

His gaze was empty now. He had already vented his anger within Konoha, after finding out about the fate of the island and the delay in their calls for help. He had come directly afterwards, despite the fact that there was directly no hope for any survivors.

Maybe, he acknowledged, he had only come with the hope that some of the Kiri army still remained - so that he could helplessly satiate some of his wrath.

The normally wind swept trees and humid environment, the azure seas that carried a sweet scent wholly unique to the land of whirlpools, the friendly and familial environment that was, admittedly, closer than the bonds of Konoha - it was all gone, and he was stepping over the skeletons and remains of not only Kiri ninjas, but innocent Uzushio families.

His shinobi were silent. None of his pupils had been to Uzushiogakure before, and had only met with shinobi from there very occasionally, but Homura and Koharu had accompanied him on many visits - and while not as friendly as Hiruzen with the Uzukage, certainly not on bad terms with him either.

But everyone caught the aura of what was happening, the destruction. This could have easily been Konoha in an alternative reality. And in Hiruzen's heart, it practically was.

They came to the centre of the village, where the once proud Uzukage building stood along with a plethora of shops and houses. Echoes of cheerful villagers, smiling and waving at him, bowing courteously, echoed in his head. The Uzukage welcoming him with a bear hug and laughing as they sparred.

The building had been reduced to nothing, but something made Hiruzen's breath catch.

Before it, a man stood kneeling, embers and fire still crackling in a fire around him. He was covered in ash, blood and muck, but at his side his hand still held a weapon - a golden naginata with unmistakable bells and ceremonial sashes adorning it. He was motionless, the sound of the decaying village masking any natural sounds, but the hot wind blew and made the man's blond hair fly wildly, hair pins adorned in yet more bells chiming softly.

Hiruzen rushed forwards, far faster than any of his shinobi could manage, and gripped the man's shoulder, whirling him around as fast as possible so that he could see a face.

He was alive, and Hiruzen could see the recognition in the man's eyes, but there was… a void.

"Saru-" the man croaked, his voice raw with damage - likely from the smoke.

"Ranto."

He couldn't say anything - there was nothing to be said - and after assessing the man and finding the numerous gashes and wounds that would have killed any man with different genes several times over, he turned and looked wildly at his shinobi.

"Tsunade!"

His student rushed over and started working on Ranto immediately, but he was still motionless, one hand firm on his naginata and the other layed softly in his lap.

"Ranto." Hiruzen prompted. He didn't want to say it, to make the words leave his mouth. He knew the pain it would cause, but he had to. He had to know. "Are there any others, Ranto? What about the shelters?"

The blonde man looked at him and Hiruzen could no longer remember the exuberant man, the one who smiled at him wildly and joked and laughed while they wrestled on the ground.

"There were too many, Saru." was what he replied with, clear and at an appropriate volume despite the fact that the man should have been keeled over. "I was the last one left fighting. They kept me too busy to properly protect everything else. We lasted for days, but there was no lack of supply of soldiers, and when they got through the whirlpools they did not stop."

He paused, looking down at his naginata, but Hiruzen kept looking at his face, matching the despair.

"Eventually, they all turned their focus onto me. There was nothing else to destroy but me. There was nothing left to fight more, but I made them pay nonetheless. Saru…" he suddenly released his weapon and it clanged softly against the piles of ash they were sitting on. "What do I do now?"

Hiruzen could not hug the man, it would jossle his wounds and disrupt the work of Tsunade but he gripped his shoulder, gripping the free hand that had been previously holding his weapon and squeezing it as hard as he could.

He looked away, at a loss, and saw the remains of the Kiri force that seemed to surround Ranto in a circle. They were piled in the hundreds, and at the front of them laid the unmistakable remains of the Mizukage, face still agape and in shock.

Hiruzen could not feel the tears falling down his cheeks through the smoke.

He could say nothing.

Wassah,

You may have noticed that I used the same OC as I did in the chapter 'Warring'. For the context of this one shot, they bear no resemblance and are two entirely different entities, in two entirely different universes, however-

If you are interested, this is what I intended for the character of Ranto to turn out like. An Uzukage - a powerful Uzumaki shinobi who was on par with any one of the kages of the other nations, perhaps more powerful. Someone who was well loved, and loved the most, but was quiet, silent and friendly.

There's more that I want to say about this character, but too little room. It's likely that he'll come up again eventually, whether in another one shot or in his own fic.

Hope it was interesting,

- Luerio