I had trouble reconciling the ending in my head with the ending I wanted to write down. Because of that, instead of an epilogue, the next update after this chapter will be the last upload.
I know. I'm the worst XD
CHAPTER 31
Fourteen Months Later
Kamizuru Village
Earth Country
There was a network of trenches and tunnels surrounding Hidden Rock, constructed roughly a mile from the walls of the hidden village.
Traversing these tunnels and hunkering behind the trenches were Konoha and Waterfall ninjas. The atmosphere of the embankment was oddly light, contrary to the uneventfully tense evening, with the ninjas stationed at the trenches keeping watch on Iwa and the space between their trenches and the hidden village, as well as gratefully collecting a tin cup of tea and two ration bars each from the civilian cooking staff.
The sun was just about setting and the many floodlights turned on with audible clicks, washing light over the mile-wide space between the trenches and Iwa, not so much as allowing a speck of darkness to touch the area.
The space was riddled with traps; not a single centimetre of the area was free from Iwa traps and explosives. It was a no-man's land.
The Tsuchikage and his ninjas had surrounded their village with traps some weeks before Konoha and Waterfall roared onto their doorsteps, which was about three months ago. It was Iwa's last-ditch effort to give themselves some breathing room, but it had backfired; it gave Konoha and its allies the upper hand in constructing barricades and trenches to trap Iwa inside their village, just as Iwa had done to Hidden Waterfall.
Also, according to some reports from behind enemy lines inside Iwa, there was a terrible famine rampaging the village, and the medical staff were overwhelmed by the cases of malnutrition.
Iwa was starving to death, and it was all their fault.
The Hokage had sent conditions for surrender three months ago when the trenches were being built, and a condition included was for the Tsuchikage and his Council to be led out in shackles to face their extensive crimes. The Fifth Hokage had to be heavily convinced by his Council to not outright demand for Oonoki's head for his part in the war.
Iwa hadn't responded.
The floodlights brightly illuminated the trench and stretched over the no-man's land, reaching the walls of Hidden Rock, and even stretching beyond the wall.
It didn't matter that Iwa could see the embankments; the Hokage wanted Iwa to know that they were always being watched.
Sasuke peered over the top of his section of the trench, squinting his eyes through a pair of binoculars and exhaling through his nose; the no-man's land was still and silent. His sharingan caught sight of the traps, further illuminated by the floodlights, and saw each spring-loaded explosive haphazardly scattered on the hard, rocky ground.
He sniffed, wrinkling his nose and setting his binoculars down for it to hang casually on his neck. His red eyes dimmed and turned coal black, sighing and ducking back under the protective barricade over the trench. He walked down two steps and sat down on a wooden stool, setting his back on the rock wall of the trench.
He grunted appreciatively when Ayame came to him with a tin cup of tea and his two ration bars, bowing and collecting them with both hands.
Ayame had volunteered to be a civilian cook for the allied troops, among several other civilian volunteers that were being rotated around the war fronts. In Ayame's case, she had been assigned to the Earth Country war front a handful of months ago by the Council, and was given the full benefits of being a civilian volunteer; a sizeable salary, health insurance, travelling permits to all of Konoha's allied territories, and protection.
Civilian volunteers made the war so much easier, easing most of the load of cooking and cleaning responsibilities off genin and chunin.
"Dinner will be ready in an hour," Ayame said with a slight smile. Her white uniform and dark red apron were neat, and her white shoes looked well-maintained, but Sasuke knew that the girl worked hard in the kitchen with the other volunteers. She glanced up to the floodlights pouring light over the deadly no man's land, then to the quietly humming fluorescent bulbs shining in the tunnel she had come from. Running along the entire length of the trench were many chunin and jounin, some raptly watching the no man's land while others sat around solar-powered heaters, warming themselves as the autumn winds slowly rushed over the landscape.
It was a sullen sight, but their spirits were being brought up by the civilian volunteers handing out tea and rations, talking animatedly to the ninjas. As much as the Hokage looked after the wellbeing of his ninjas, there were ways a simple conversation with outsiders that hadn't been tainted by bloodshed and combat helped lift moods; it was why Naruto and his Council initiated the Civilian Volunteer Corp close to ten months ago and deployed them to their three war fronts.
For the most part, the civilian volunteers were increasing morale.
Mikoto, sitting on a stool nearby and munching on her ration bar, spoke with her mouth full, "What's for dinner?"
"Yam porridge and beef," Ayame answered, perking up at the question and refusing to feel sorry for the ninjas; pity was rude. She arranged her skirt and gracefully sat down beside Mikoto, leaning her elbows on her knees and speaking to them with a conspiratorial whisper, "Rumour has it that Lord Hokage's treating us since Kiri's been stabilised."
"More or less, " Mikoto added with a lilting expression, sipping her tea. The situation in Kiri, with Yagura's rogue loyalists waging guerilla warfare against Konoha, as well as the hateful ideology against bloodline holders that was deeply ingrained in Kiri's history, made calming the situation in Hidden Mist too overly complex to be stabilised. The girl mumbled ever so casually, tactfully changing the subject, "There's also my birthday, but whatever."
Sasuke snorted into his cup, sputtering a short laugh and sending his teammate an incredulous look. He was fifteen too, and his birthday had been a quiet affair celebrated only by his close family that was in Earth Country. He made it a point to pick up a small rock and flick it at Mikoto. "Don't be ridiculous."
The girl leaned away from the rock and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Speaking of your birthday…" Ayame giggled at their interaction. "I'll be heading back to Konoha to be with my dad for the Kyuubi Festival."
As if on cue and far in the distance in the general direction of Fire Country, several fireworks whistled noisily into the air and exploded colourfully, painting a small section of the evening sky red, white, blue, and purple. The fireworks crackled, and the ninjas and civilians in the trenches watched with awe, some of whom still kept a close eye on Iwa.
The hush of amazement and wonder washed through the trenches, and those who spectated the fireworks stared in astonishment at the sight of the fireworks.
Sasuke drank his tea, saying, "Mikoto," he looked at her over the edge of his tin cup with dark eyes gleaming with humour, "I've said it before and I'll say it again; your brother's one stone-cold bastard."
Mikoto chuckled, harmlessly kicking a rock in her teammate's direction. "If you want to use your leave so badly, go ahead and do it. I'm thinking of going on vacation soon anyway."
"Oh yeah? Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, and Ayame listened as well.
Mikoto smirked saucily. "You want to tag along?" she scoffed overdramatically. "Get a life, blockhead."
Ayame giggled and Sasuke snorted.
The overarching reason behind the early fireworks wasn't lost on them.
The Hokage wanted to make it known to Iwa that the world was moving on perfectly well, while Iwa suffered.
And this was true.
The people in the Hidden Leaf had come out from underground and were rebuilding their village.
Konoha was still rebuilding the destroyed buildings, but most of them were already reconstructed and occupied. The clan compounds, orphanages and retirement homes were being refurbished at that very moment.
The sense of community in Konoha ran deep, as every door was open for people who had lost their homes and livelihoods until the village put them back on their feet.
The trade routes leading into and outside of Konoha were reopened and, although they were heavily being monitored, trade and commerce between Konoha and allies like Hidden Waterfall, Suna, Grass Country, Wave Country, and other smaller nations were returning. Grass Country in particular was paying regular homage to Konoha for freeing them from the Iwa invasion, and Hidden Waterfall owed Konoha a life debt for aiding them.
Then there was the annexation of Kiri, and Konoha rendering Kumo ineffective by blocking their attempts to reach Iwa.
Under the Fifth Hokage, Konoha had attained a higher level of standing.
Naruto and Konoha were fine watching Iwa die of hunger.
Mikoto, Sasuke, and Ayame turned to the well-lit tunnel as Fuu exited from it, waving to the other ninjas in the trench and slowly ambling toward the trio.
"Mikoto," she called, getting to them and smiling in greeting Sasuke and Ayame, "Lord Hokage wants to see you. He's at the refugee camp."
Mikoto's brow furrowed, and she got up from her stool. "Did he say why?"
Fuu shook her head. "Nope." She collected Sasuke's binoculars and clambered up the two stairs to peer out over the edge of the trench. She gave Mikoto a last look, saying in a chirpy voice, "Happy birthday in advance."
Mikoto scratched her cheek and muttered, "Thanks." She patted down her chunin vest, checking herself to see if she had forgotten anything, soon content that she was fine. Sasuke held out his left hand and Mikoto clapped it in a crisp low-five. "I'll see you later." She waved to Ayame. "Bye."
She walked to the tunnel, calling her greeting to her curious comrades and giving those she passed by low-fives.
Mikoto was fairly popular among her comrades.
For a fifteen-year-old, newly minted chunin, her exploits on the battlefield were the stuff of legends, and her comrades acknowledged her infamy, as well as her nonchalant greetings.
Mikoto ducked into the tunnel.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
In the heart of Waterfall Country was a refugee camp, occupied by Iwa citizens who had fled the village before Konoha had surrounded them and Earth Country citizens who could no longer handle the famine in their nation.
Their presence was understandable, and Konoha didn't block them from fleeing to the camp; the denizens of Earth Country had been cut off from foreign trade, by their allegiance to Iwa. The famine and death that rampaged Earth Country were of gruesome proportions.
Naruto encouraged them to flee to Waterfall Country.
Surprisingly, though, there were Iron Country citizens who populated the camp.
For the events that occurred in Iron Country during the Five Kage Summit; for the Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage ganging up on the Konoha-Suna delegation, for the fatal injury of the Fourth Hokage, and for the murder of the Kazekage, Naruto convinced all of Konoha's extensive and influential allies to cut Iron Country off from trade, or any other kind of contact.
Iron Country was blacklisted, and the country suffered.
Mikoto came to a makeshift fence that was made from sharpened logs and walked to the open section of the fence. A pair of Konoha ninjas stepped out from the entrance to intercept her, but when they saw that it was Mikoto, they moved aside and flagged her in, returning to their posts as Mikoto went further into the camp.
Most of the buildings inside the camp were Wood Release houses; small, one-bedroom and one-kitchen houses with latrines being outside of the houses, and a few bathhouses assigned to sections of the camp. These were temporary houses until better accommodations could be built, and wholly at the expense of Konoha and its allies, and the goodwill of selfless volunteers.
Those who couldn't get houses were situated in smaller campsites within the refugee camp.
The refugee camp was massive, with dozens of people hobbling in from Earth Country, Iron Country, and Hot Water Country every single day, and the medics of the refugee camp were constantly in a frenzy to vet the people coming in for foreign diseases and treat them of their malnutrition.
Konoha and its allies weren't sure whether to build an entirely new settlement from this refugee camp or to resettle the refugees little by little over some time.
Either way, the atmosphere in the camp was hopeful and jovial.
The Kyuubi Festival was drawing near, after all.
A pack of children ran past Mikoto, giggling and carrying sparklers in their hands. The girl smiled at them as they passed her, deftly catching a young boy as he tripped on his feet, almost falling on his face if not for Mikoto's quick reaction.
She set the boy back up and he gave her a fleeting, "thanks!" and chased after his friends.
Campfires and solar torchlights were the only sources of light in the refugee camp, as stable electricity was yet to be connected to the camp.
Mikoto heard some music strumming from these campfires, seeing people twirling around the fires and clapping their hands to the beat as they laughed at the light-hearted atmosphere.
Mikoto didn't know when she stopped at a campsite, peering over the heads of the people seated around the fire and animatedly watching a woman in a flowery dress dancing alongside a rough-looking puppet that was half her size as the people seated around the fire stomped their feet and clapped. The youngest Namikaze recognised that some of the people were from Iron Country and some were from Earth Country.
The girl was mesmerised by the airy atmosphere in the refugee camp.
Their situation was perilous and hopeless, coming from nations that were suffering greatly from lack of food and water and were being crippled with dangerous crimes, and yet still finding a reason to sing and dance.
Arguably, Konoha cutting off trade from Iwa, Earth Country, and Iron Country didn't help matters. However, the bigger blame for why the famine was so uncontrollable rested on the authorities of these nations not preparing properly.
Mikoto's ears twitched when she heard a low, bird-like whistle, and she turned her head to the left to the source of the sound.
The girl's blue eyes fell on a much smaller campsite with only a handful of people around it.
Mikoto's senses immediately caught the five Konoha ninjas hiding stealthily around that small campsite, all of whom wore animal masks and focused their eyes on the chunin girl. She blinked and looked away from the shadowy ANBU operatives, returning her stare to the camp and squinting carefully at the people around; Yugao, Sai, and Yamato were there on a laid-down log, with the jounin lady poking the fire with a stick as Sai described something to his superiors.
Sai was also wearing a chunin vest.
Temari was spooning chunks of potato porridge into her mouth, tapping her right foot to the music coming from one of the campsites, and half-listening to Kankuro prattle about something. Gaara was with them, and he exchanged a nod with Mikoto, giving his attention back to what Kankuro was talking about.
Hanabi Hyuuga was also there with Neij, and even though they weren't participating much in the casual atmosphere of the campsite, they no-so-subtly eavesdropped on the Sand Siblings conversation. Mikoto caught Hanabi stifling a laughing smile, pausing from eating her bowl of porridge.
Finally, she spotted Kakashi waving at her, beckoning her to come.
Mikoto walked to the campsite and Kakashi said in a loud voice, calling the attention of the others, "The birthday girl's here."
Mikoto beamed widely at the cheers that erupted from the campsite, waving at them and stepping over the log Kakashi was seated on. The Sand Siblings and the two Hyuugas' came to her, leaving their food at their seats, and Temari enveloped Mikoto in a big hug. Mikoto gladly reciprocated, releasing her friend and shaking Kankuro's hand, nodding curtly to Gaara as the One-Tails jinchuriki stiffly patted her back.
Mikoto tousled Hanabi's hair, laughing when the Hyuuga shoved her hands away from her head. Neij shook Mikoto's hand, ushering Hanabi back to their seat as Mikoto went around the fire to Yugao. The girl made to tackle Yugao with a joking grin but Yugao caught her face, stopping her attempt with a half-smile.
"Grow up," Yugao said genially, harmlessly pushing a pouting Mikoto away.
Sai chimed in with a wide smile. "Once a washboard, always a washboard."
"Shut it, jackass." Mikoto scoffed inoffensively, making to kick Sai's shin if not for the boy pulling his leg out of the way. She looked around as everyone went back to their places. "What's going on here?"
Tenzo coughed into his fist and nodded past Mikoto to the other side of their humble campsite.
Mikoto turned to where he was indicating, and she saw her brother, the Fifth Hokage.
She wondered how she didn't notice him.
He was quietly observing the fire, seated on the same bench as Kakashi; he wore an unassuming brown short-sleeve shirt and dark shinobi pants with a pair of blue sneakers. The flames gave the tired lines on the Hokage's greater detail, emphasising the red tear-marks etched from his eyes to his chin, the dark shadows under his eyes and yet still the cloudy, but aware, stare of his red eyes into the campfire.
He was supposed to be nineteen, but the weight of his office made him look much older.
His walking stick leaned on the bench within his reach.
The fire danced in his dark eyes, and Mikoto froze like a deer in headlights when she grasped that he had flicked his gaze from the fire to her. He shifted in his seat, and Kakashi nonverbally went to sit with Yugao, Sai, and Tenzo.
Then an invisible smile tickled the corners of the Hokage's lips and he patted the vacated seat beside him, jerking his head for his sister to come.
Mikoto strolled around the fire, apprehensive but greeted her brother with a smile and a quick bow. "Hey."
He settled his back on the bench and his tired expression lifted a little, reciprocating her smile with a slightly more visible look that released the tension from Mikoto's body. He nodded to her. "Hey."
She gratefully sat down and he turned to face the fire, still somewhat smiling.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, observing that the other people around the fire weren't paying much attention to him and his sister and that his ANBU guards stationed around were preventing anyone who recognised Naruto from snooping. Everyone was in their warm bubble, and this light-hearted ebb of conversation soothed both Namikaze siblings.
After a short pause, thinking about her answer, Mikoto shrugged. "I could eat."
Naruto jerked his head to the right and one of the ANBU vanished from his post.
Mikoto adjusted on the seat, and Naruto gave her an amused smirk, much to her annoyance. She decided to change the conversation, glancing at the Hokage's walking stick. "You still need that thing? I thought Tsunade took it back."
Naruto released an exasperated sigh from his nose. He idly rubbed his knees. "My legs are more or less healed, but my knees and ankles start getting sore if I'm on my feet for too long." He shared an amused smirk with his sister. "It's really nothing. Granny Tsunade's just being a worrywart."
"Would it get better?"
"Of course."
"And your medication?"
"Just need to take some painkillers and multivitamins every other day."
Mikoto raised a sceptical eyebrow and a sweatdrop fell down Naruto's temple. "Every other day?"
"Once a day," he clarified. He then playfully dug his elbow into her side. "Worrywart."
The younger Namikaze rolled her eyes. "Granny would have an aneurysm if it weren't for me." A short laugh came from her brother and Mikoto's smile broadened, seeing his pallid face regain some colour. She admitted, looking around at the colourful and active refugee camp, "I don't know how you did it, but this place seems so lively."
"We all need a reason to be happy. It was father's idea to make the Kyuubi remembrance a day of celebration." Naruto shrugged relaxedly. "He did all the festival planning, not me."
Just then, more fireworks lit up the sky and the refugee camp erupted in hooting cheers, hollering animatedly.
It was remarkable that the day the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha could somehow be turned into a day of joy and celebration, especially considering that these refugees didn't have much reason to join in Konoha's festivities. Still, Konoha invited them to celebrate and the refugees gladly welcomed the reason to be happy.
Their father, Minato, wasn't too eager to retake his position as Hokage.
Naruto waved away that thought, asking his sister, "How does it feel being a chunin?"
The girl looked at him with contemplative eyes, visibly trying to piece together a response. "Honestly?" he nodded, giving her his attention. "It's…double the work and double the expectations, but triple the fulfilment, y'know?" Naruto looked at her, prodding her to explain. Mikoto scratched the back of her head, saying, "I mean, my situation might be a bit different when I was a genin," since she was a highly important asset on the allied side of the war, given her status as a jinchuriki with complete control of her tailed beast and other exceptional abilities, she was pushed to the battlefield more than any genin in her generation, "but when I get back from doing fieldwork, I feel like I really made a difference."
Naruto nodded in understanding.
It could be eradicating troublesome missing ninjas from an allied territory or escorting Uzumaki families trapped in active warzones, it made Mikoto's heart swell with pride that she was doing something to noticeably help the cause.
The ANBU operative came back with a tray, carrying on it a bowl of potato and yam porridge with plenty of chopped-up beef chunks, a spoon, and a bottle of water. Mikoto thanked him and collected the bowl of food, the spoon, and the water.
When she made to ask her brother to eat with her, he politely waved away her insistence. "I'm already full. Thank you."
"If you say so." She readily dug into her dinner. She hummed, intrigued and pleased at the taste of the food; it was a blend of sweet peppers and spices she distinctly recognised to be native to Earth Country, and the beef was well done. Not to discredit the food the civilian volunteers had been cooking till that point, but they outdid themselves with this porridge. The girl hummed again, swallowing a mouthful of porridge and pointing at her bowl of food. "This is good."
"I'm glad." Naruto sat back on the bench, riffling through his pants pockets as he said, "The kitchen staff put a lot of effort into dinner."
"I'll make sure to thank them when I get back to Iwa," she said, busily inhaling her food as her brother brought out a letter from his pocket. She eyed it as she scraped her spoon inside her bowl, trying to catch the last bits of porridge and not realising that in a matter of seconds, her dinner was finished. She pointed at the letter in Naruto's hands, swallowing a lump of porridge. "Whuzzat?"
Instead of answering, Naruto held the letter in both hands and gave his sister an apologetic look. "I need you to do a favour for me."
The girl cracked open her bottle of water and sipped it, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and carefully screwing the bottle cover back on. Jokingly, she rolled her eyes and dropped the bottle, making a show of patting her chunin vest pockets. "How much do you need?"
This made Naruto smile, harmlessly pushing his sister and relishing in her loud cackle. "I'm serious." Even as he said this, the slight smile on his face only lowered a little, keeping the letter to himself. Mikoto dropped her bowl on the ground and made it a point to look directly at her older brother, nodding her head and giving him a serious face. "I know you want to request a vacation soon, and it's long overdue."
She had been active in the Iwa war front for fourteen months straight, almost always under fire and almost always performing one mission or the other; they were fulfilling, but she was still human.
She needed a break.
Mikoto's face became grim and her shoulders slouched with weariness, already tired of the news he wanted to give her. "But…"
She braced herself, trying to look ready but only looking resigned.
"I need you to accompany me to the Hot Water front."
The Hokage gave the girl his most apologetic look, half smiling and passing her the letter. The girl wilted, collecting the letter and opening it.
It was a redeployment letter formally addressed to her by the Hokage.
Her heart sank and she closed the letter, not wanting to read the details but unable to hold back from asking, "Can I ask why?"
Naruto chewed on his tongue, seeing the tiredness on his fifteen-year-old sister's face. He slowly said, "My intel in Kumo says that the Raikage is frustrated at the blockade in Hot Water since Konoha has been holding the war at that front to a standstill for the past fourteen months. There's been some whispers that he'll mobilise his jinchuriki. I don't know which."
Mikoto was among those in the Hokage's circle that was privy to the knowledge that Crow's Feet, also known as Shisui Uchiha, had sailed from Kiri and infiltrated Kumo. Konoha's master spy was working undercover and far behind enemy lines to feed his home intelligence.
"You can deal with the Two-Tails holder," a grisly smirk lifted on his face and he faced the fire. "I'll take the Eight-Tails."
That wasn't the point though; Mikoto screwed her lips to the side and asked her brother, "I mean, why me?"
"Because you have the most experience in dealing with jinchuriki," Naruto admitted unabashedly, caving to his sister's pitiful look and lessening his eagerness to lock horns with the eight tails holder. "And your skill with the Kyuubi comes in extremely handy."
Mikoto couldn't argue with that.
In her fifteen years of being alive, she had locked horns with three other jinchuriki and had succeeded, with effort; Gaara twice during the Chunin Exams and the other time in Hidden Chill, Roshi the Four Tails holder during the invasion of Water Country fourteen months ago, and Han the Five Tails holder during Iwa's last push in Earth country three months ago.
Admittedly, Samehada was a big help in each clash, except for Gaara's, and the only time she used Kyuubi chakra was against Gaara. For the rest, she used her Otsutsuki chakra.
Naruto said in an understanding tone, "I know you're tired, and I understand your frustrations. I truly do." He tried to smile, but this one was forced. His red eyes crinkled with consideration. "I trust my shinobi to hold the line in Hot Water until Iwa falls, but that would mean risking unnecessary casualties on our side." The Hokage's tiredness showed. "You and I being there would discourage Kumo from making any big moves. Kumo and Iwa have their terms for surrender; the ball is in their court."
Mikoto sulked quietly, muttering sarcastically, "What would I get in return?"
It would have sounded ridiculous to any other shinobi if they heard the girl's question.
The Hokage held supreme power over his village, the people of his village, and now a majority of trade on the continent. Leaf ninjas readily obeyed his command without question.
Mikoto had the benefit of being related to the Hokage, or else a simple order and the girl would have been compelled to obey.
Naruto chuckled a little at his sister's cheekiness, pushing her again and facing the fire. "If it comes down to a fight," his face became grim at that, and Mikoto once again became serious, looking at the Hokage with a firm look, "I don't want any of the jinchuriki dead; only incapacitated. We'll use them as leverage to push Kumo towards a surrender."
"What if Kumo doesn't surrender?"
The Hokage exhaled from his nose and shrugged, saying in a tone that was too casual, "Then they'll get to watch another public execution."
It wasn't Konoha's first during this war, and it likely won't be the last.
The Earth Daimyo and his family had been captured during the invasion of Earth Country, and before Iwa was surrounded, their hanging had been shown on news stations across the continent.
Young and old, men and women, all of them hung.
Naruto was not in the least bit regretful for making that order.
Mikoto frowned and leaned back into her bench so that her back rested on the backrest, flopping her head back and heaving a great sigh. "Let's hope it doesn't get to that."
The Namikaze siblings suddenly became still as their senses drew their attention to the gate of the refugee camp, turning in sync in that direction five seconds before a scuffle occurred. Naruto grabbed his cane and got to his feet, stepping around the bench. Mikoto bound over the bench in one fluid motion and stood a step before the Hokage, keeping her brother behind with her left arm while her right readied to perform a one-handed seal.
The scuffle of hurried people turned out to be a group of eight Konoha ninjas and five Waterfall ninjas. Fuu ran-walked to the Hokage, holding her right hand back for the others to stop, noticing the sudden tension in the camp.
All of the music had stopped and everyone was quiet, watching and listening.
Mikoto saw Sasuke among the Konoha ninjas standing back, and she raised an eyebrow at him but he shook his head, motioning with his hands for her to calm down.
This seemed to drop her anxiety a little until she saw Fuu approach Naruto with a scroll.
They marched with clipped steps to the Fifth and fell to their knees, looking past Mikoto and at Naruto's red eyes. She began by saying, "I'm sorry for the intrusion, Lord Hokage." Naruto wordlessly raised an eyebrow and frowned minutely. His face didn't change when Fuu held up the scroll, delivering her message, "Iwa has surrendered."
A shocked quiet rocked the camp.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Everything was still until Naruto sniffed a little and nudged Mikoto to the side. His sister dropped her guard and stood aside for the Hokage to hold out his hand. He said in an even voice, not betraying his relief, "That's good news."
Fuu got to her feet and presented the scroll to the Hokage with both hands, bowing her head. "They wish to discuss the terms of their surrender as soon as possible."
Naruto stopped, no longer reaching for the scroll. His brow furrowed incredulously, looking like he was about to laugh. "Discuss terms for their surrender?" he dropped his hand to his cane, leaning on it. "The Tsuchikage has his terms. There's nothing to discuss."
He was about to wave Fuu away to return Oonoki's message until Iwa was ready to agree to all of Konoha's terms, but the girl nervously fidgeted, not willing to drop her hands presenting the scroll and bowing her head further. "Sir," she said politely and respectfully to the most powerful man on the continent, "they sent a show of good faith."
Naruto smirked, willing to hear out the girl. She was in a morally difficult position after all, being the one who had to convince him to meet Iwa halfway. "Did they now?"
Fuu dropped her hands and stepped aside so that she was looking at the shinobi that had come with her, jerking her head toward the Hokage and saying to her comrades. "Bring her."
From the back of the group of ninjas, an Iwa girl was led out by her wrists; she wore a plain brown shirt and black shinobi pants, walking barefoot on that cold ground. Dried tears stained her dirty face and her steps were uneven, stumbling and wavering from tiredness.
Utterly defenceless, unarmed, and broken down mentally from everything she had endured in the Iwa, Kurotsuchi was forced down to her knees. On her own, she bowed deeply to Naruto, touching her brow to the grassy ground and prostrating fully.
Naruto looked down with cool eyes, immediately recalling who she was from his mission in Kamizuru village when she tried to ambush him.
"Kurotsuchi."
The girl didn't answer, heaving dry tears as she prostrated on the earth.
Naruto brought his eyes up to Fuu, and the jinchuriki supplied, "We saw her coming from Iwa through the no-man's land not too long after Mikoto left." The girl pursed her lips. "Her companion collapsed; he didn't make it."
Naruto almost felt sorry for her.
He collected the scroll and briefly activated his sharingan, scanning for traps and finding none before he opened.
Oonoki's message was simple, and Naruto openly smiled.
Iwa surrenders
Please, do not punish my people for my crimes
Naruto hummed pleasantly and gave Mikoto the letter. She tucked it into her chunin vest without looking at it.
The camp was still eerily silent, looking at the Hokage's empty reaction.
The Fifth crossed his arms and exhaled from his nose. "Alright. That's good." He nodded to Fuu, and the girl stood upright. "Tell Shikaku Nara that Iwa has surrendered. He knows what to do."
"Yes sir!" she saluted and sped out of the camp.
Kakashi came to Naruto's side and leaned in to whisper into the Hokage's ear, and Naruto's eyebrows shot up. A slow smirk slid up his face as Kakashi finished relaying the information he received from an ANBU comrade, and Naruto turned to his sister.
"Seems we'll begin that journey to Hot Water sooner rather than later."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
News of Iwa's surrender was drowned out by information that Kumo was calling for an end to the conflict with Konoha, waving the metaphorical white flag when they realised that they could not break through Konoha's allied military defences in Hot Water Country to assist Iwa.
That and Iron Country were issuing a formal apology to Konoha for the events that happened during the Five Kage Summit, as well as their inactivity in not seeking retribution with Konoha and its allies for the death of the Kazekage.
The Daimyo of Iron Country and his officials had swallowed their pride and prostrated before cameras during a news broadcast that was seen across the continent, pleading with Konoha to reopen trade with their country.
Newspapers printed blaring images of the Iron Country samurais bowing down with begrudging remorse.
Television channels showed reels of the Raikage gnashing his teeth as he publicly signed away several billion ryu worth of reimbursements to Konoha and its allies, among other conditions for their surrender.
Rumours passed around of the deplorable state of Iwa, with rumours of some citizens performing acts of cannibalism to feed their families. They talked about how some cannibalistic shinobi had run made and had to be put down by Konoha, for the safety of the village.
Televised trials of the Yagura's scientists and ninjas were held; over five hundred civilians and shinobi alike were being charged with varying degrees of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against common decency.
Konoha was vengeful.
Konoha was merciless.
Naruto stayed away from the cameras and journalists, using Konoha's ambassadors to speak on his behalf, but his influence was felt by everyone who heard the news.
The man that had ushered in the new world order, the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village, was content with pulling the strings in the background.
During his long reign as Kage, Naruto turned Konoha into the world's sole superpower.
The Red Demon restructured the world, and his people fervently followed his orders.
Authors note
We're almost there.
I'll see you when I see you.
Foy.