Chapter 25: Konoha Crush, Part 2
Chapter Summary: The invasion against the Leaf continues, but the Village refuses to do anything but hold its own.
Words: 4,076
Published: 8/8/23
khaelid02: Nice chapter brother, as usual, I hope the update is faster
Your wish has been granted :D
Central Academy
Iruka had been teaching a class when the attack on the village began, so he had begun to take his students into a tunnel under the academy to lead them to a bunker away from the fighting.
He issued Mizuki - who had been transferred to custodial work due to his prank on Naruto - to aid him in doing so. As was his duty, Mizuki had to keep point at the back of the group, in order to ensure no child was left behind. As such, he would be the last one to enter the tunnel and reach the bunker, a fact that made him extremely uncomfortable.
When the entire class had reached the tunnel, Mizuki turned around one last time to make sure everything was in order - which it should have been, as everything had been in order thus far.
However, when he turned around, he jolted at the sight beholding him - none other than Naruto, mysteriously appearing in front of him.
The man stammered, "Oh, N--Naruto, what brings you here...?"
Naruto told him, "I just wanted to make sure that the academy was fine."
Mizuki cleared his throat. "Well, the academy is safe. We're only going into the bunker to be extra careful. The village's defenses are impeccable, and it's unlikely that there's anyone within ten miles of this building!"
Naruto sighed. "Oh. Guess I can dip, then. By the way, why are you dressed as a janitor?"
Mizuki shouted, "Because I am a janitor! You little--"
Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke, revealing that it had been a shadow clone all along.
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Village Outskirts
All around the village, clones of Naruto had been running around to fend off the attackers. Though Naruto had been running low on chakra earlier, the recent surge provided more than enough for him to produce stable shadow clones that were able to hold their ground for more than just a short while.
An old woman, frantic in the frenzy, failed to find egress from the chaos, and found herself cornered in an alley with a Sound soldier.
The soldier stood tall and taunted her. "Sorry, granny, but we've got a message to send, and we can't afford discrimination."
He brandished a thin, sharp blade, and began to approach the woman. The woman cowered and fell against the wall, unable to make peace with her fate. The soldier crept in, savoring the opportunity he had been granted. For all intents and purposes, he wanted to bide his time to soak in his joy in the wanton murder that called his name.
He lifted his blade at a slant angle, so that he may slash the woman with greater force.
Before he could bring the blade down, his throat was pierced from behind by a kunai knife.
As the man choked to his demise and fell, his would-be victim saw Naruto standing a few meters away. The sun beating on his back and into the old lady's eyes made him seem as if he were an angel, or its counter.
Regardless, the boy ran up to the woman and attempted to tend to her.
Befor he could even ask if the woman was alright, she began to wail. Her ghastly cries bore the task of carrying her fright into the air, as she covered her eyes and leaned on the wall behind her. She shouted, "Begone! Demon, leave me! You have no power over me! Begone!"
Naruto frowned. "C'mon, this is the thanks I get?"
The woman continued to shriek.
Naruto gruffly sighed. He walked up to the lady and grabbed her hand, to drag her out of the alley. The whole way, the woman was shouting and smacking him, but he paid no heed, and stomped out of the alley with her.
After leaving the alley, Naruto looked around to see if anyone was in the vicinity to take care of the old woman. Having spotted no one, Naruto decided to drag the woman, who was now stumbling behind him, into one of the buildings nearby, and took her to the basement.
In the boiler room were rows of people - all residents of the apartment building - taking shelter from the chaos outside. They all looked up in fear at the silhouette standing above them on the stairs, sure that it was an enemy come to slay them.
Naruto pulled the lady down into the room, and tossed her into the fray. He hissed, "Get this bitch a chill pill or somethin'!", and promptly left.
Naruto left the building and analyzed his surroundings once more, before running off to find any more invaders.
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Hours Later, Late Afternoon
Nesting sundown, the remaining invading forces had all fled the Leaf. All those who had failed to do so were imprisoned. Shinobi began to search for civilians who had been harmed, or who were hiding, to get them the help they needed. Rasa had been captured. Orochimaru had vanished.
Naruto found Tsunade at the northern wall - along with Temari and Kankuro, who bore scratched-out headbands - and knew he had to tell her everything that had happened, from his revelations about Orochimaru, to the allegiances made by Temari, Kankuro, Dosu, Kin, and Zaku, to... Kakashi's death.
He ran up to her, shouting, "Granny, hey Granny, it's me!"
Tsunade turned around, wide-eyed. "Did you just call me 'Granny'?". She smirked. "That's 'Madam Hokage' to you, mister."
Naruto stuck his tongue out at her. "Granny's always worked fine for me, so deal with it!"
Tsunade warmly smiled. "So... You remember...?"
The boy let out a hefty sigh. "Yeah, I do... But that's not important right now... I gotta tell you about my team, and Gaara, and Anko, and, and..."
"Take it slow."
Naruto shook his head. "Lemme start from the beginning.". He panted in exhaustion. "Alright, so... Anko's been taken over by Orochimaru, who'd then taken over Sakura before I freed her, I've subdued Gaara, and..."
He choked up. "Kakashi-sensei's dead... Damn it!"
Tsunade kneeled and immediately embraced Naruto, who was beginning to shed tears. He additionally felt himself immediately sinking into the hug, resting his head on the woman's shoulder as she comforted him. "I'm sorry this happened, Naruto. Where are your teammates and Gaara?"
Naruto answered, "I got Sasuke guardin' everyone in the field where Gaara fell..."
Tsunade let go of the boy, who almost fell forward after her pull, shedding tears of her own. "I know this is a difficult time, Naruto. But I need you to be brave."
Naruto sniffled. "Oh... Okay..."
She gave him a commanding glare. "I've got to deal with the political ramifications of this invasion right now, so please, take Temari and Kankuro, and retrieve your team. Bring them to my office, and I'll treat them in my personal infirmary as best I can. Can you do that for me?"
Naruto responded through his bleary eyes. "Yeah... I can...!"
Tsunade kissed him on the forehead. "Go, Naruto. And stay close to everyone, okay?"
She patted Naruto on the back, sending him on his way.
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Forest Path
Naruto briskly walked, leading Temari and Kankuro to the field. He was completely silent, and only looked back every few minutes to make sure that they were still there. The siblings both felt that they needed to do something to comfort him, but they didn't know how to do so, nor when exactly they should.
Along the way, Temari steeled her resolve and made the first move. She sped up to stand by Naruto, and gently stopped him by placing her shoulder on his hand.
Naruto turned around and asked, "... What do you need...?"
Temari kneeled down to meet him at eye-level and ran her hand through his hair. "You've had a pretty hectic day, Naruto; we can practically feel how strung-out you are right now. I just want you to know that we're always here for you, alright? And I don't mean that in some shallow manner, if you feel uncomfortable, or uneasy, or anything like that, we'll be here to comfort you as needed."
The boy blushed. "Gee... Thanks. I'm... I don't really know what to feel right now. I'm upset about Kakashi-sensei, and Orochimaru, and what he did to Sakura, what he's doing to Anko... And it hurt me to have to fight Gaara, y'know? But I'm also almost glad that things haven't turned out as bad as they could've. Is that crazy?"
The girl pinched his cheek. "It's not crazy at all. Just because some terrible things have happened, it doesn't mean you can't be grateful for the good things."
"... Thanks."
Temari hugged Naruto, and just as he had with Tsunade earlier, he sank into it. Even with the associated sweat and grime, he found solace in the simple embrace.
After Temari broke it off, Naruto beamed at her. "C'mon, let's go get everyone together."
After a few more minutes, Naruto returned to where he had left everyone, and unsurprisingly found them still there.
Sakura was sitting at the base of a tree, clearly exhausted. Gaara was lying down and looking at the sky. Sasuke, in mourning, kneeled over Kakashi's dead body.
Naruto immediately found himself paralyzed. Looking at the state of the situation at hand, he couldn't decide what to do first. His own mind was at odds with himself as to whether he should approach Sakura, Gaara, or Sasuke first, and what he would say in either occurrence.
The need to approach Gaara was eliminated when Temari and Kankiro rushed to the redhead, but Naruto still felt dazed. All of a sudden, the very thought of being where he was felt alien, as if he weren't truly there. Nonetheless, he was there, and he was wasting time.
He took a deep breath, then looked toward Sakura, and made his choice. He walked toward the pink-haired girl, and kneeled to face her properly.
He asked, "Sakura, are you alright?"
Sakura meekly looked at him to answer, "I just feel exhausted, and dizzy..."
Naruto removed his water flask and handed it to her. "Can you walk?"
Sakura took a swig of the drink and told him, "Yeah, I think so... Just with a little help."
Naruto smiled. "I'm here for ya, alright?"
He helped her up, and took her arm around his shoulder as he approached Sasuke.
Naruto greeted, "Hey, Sasuke, we gotta take Sensei back to the village. Granny wants to make sure his body's taken care of."
Sasuke simply replied, "He's really dead, Naruto. Everything that he was, everything he could have been, all gone, just like that..."
Naruto's lips quivered as he replied, "He gave everything he had for us. I think he's looking down at us and smiling, y'know?"
Sasuke slowly turned and responded, "No, he isn't. There's nowhere to look down from. He's just dead, and that's all there is to it."
Naruto scoffed. "Whatever. I'm not gonna waste my time arguin' with ya.". He shuffled away with Sakura, to walk toward Gaara and his siblings.
Naruto looked at the fallen boy and asked, "Are you alright...?"
Gaara smiled. "Yeah..."
Kankuro rose. "Listen, I'll carry your sensei back to the village. You hold on to Sakura, and Temari'll take Gaara."
Naruto nodded, and the genin all left the field.
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Hokage's Office, Early Evening
The genin had entered the office through a back entrance, successfully avoiding the public eye.
When Tsunade, still rough-looking, ushered them into her office infirmary - a mid-size, albeit neat room with a table in the center, her first order of business was to place Sakura on the table. As such, Kankuro gently laid Kakashi's body down on a counter hugging the wall.
As Sakura sat, she slurred, "Why not Sensei...?"
Tsunade answered, "There's nothing we can do for him now, Sakura; we take care of the living first."
"And why not Naruto's friend, Gaara?"
Tsunade sighed. "His condition isn't as serious. I've seen the same thing happen to him years ago, and all he needed was a little tenderness. You, on the other hand, have a severe case of chakra exhaustion, which can cause something more serious if left untreated."
Everyone watched nervously as Tsunade performed a routine checkup on Sakura, before holding her shoulders and telling her, "I'll have you stay at the hospital for a while, just to make sure your condition doesn't get worse.". Sakura nodded.
Tsunade then walked over to the counter where Kakashi laid, and made a prayer for him. The genin watched as she called for her aide, the recently-promoted Ebisu, who carried the body away.
Tsunade turned around and told the genin, "I need you to follow me onto the balcony."
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Hokage's Balcony
The genin took note of Team Dosu near the entrance to the balcony.
Tsunade stood at the hokage's balcony to make an announcement. She watched over the frightened people below, illuminated with lights that pointed onto their desperate, curious faces.
"By the grace of God, and by the Will of Fire, we have survived the attempted invasion by the Villages of the Sand and Sound! Let us take a moment of silence in gratitude for our victory, and in solace for our fallen, who will be admitted into the ranks of heaven for their martyrdom."
Eveyone looked down for nearly a minute, silently praying for the village.
Tsunade then continued, "Among our fallen brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters, is our own third hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who served our village in its highest office for twenty-four years in his first term, only to return a year after to serve eleven more years in his second term. By his own request, we will not be taking a moment of silence for him. Although we have not had many casualties today, we will be creating a monument for the dozens who did perish near the martyr's wall in the village council's front courtyard."
She watched the audience for their reactions, reading approval on their faces.
She added, "Today, the Village Hidden in the Leaves has proved itself once again to be the mightiest in the lands, having fended off two enemy villages, captured one of their leaders, and permanently crippled the other. The children of Rasa no Suna - - his sons Gaara and Kankuro, as well as his daughter Temari - - have sworn their allegiance to the Leaf, and went so far as to help us repel their former countrymen. Three genin of the Sound - - Dosu Kinuta, Zaku Abumi, and Kin Tsuchi - - did the same. As for the sand demon who threatened our land, he was subdued by our own Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha, three genin who fought the demon alongside their fallen sensei, Kakashi Hatake. Please welcome them now."
As such, the genin of Team 7, Team Dosu, and the Sand Siblings walked to stand by Tsunade's side. They watched as the people below hesitated before clapping, being unsure at first of the genin they saw.
Tsunade spoke, "As our new defectors are coming to us from hostile lands, I have made the decision to publicly announce their acceptance as citizens of the Hidden Leaf. Kankuro no Sabaku, Temari no Sabaku, Gaara no Sabaku, Dosu Kinuta, Zaku Abumi, and Kin Tsuchi are hereby citizens of The Village Hidden in the Leaves!"
Everyone watched as the crowd roared, having quickly built confidence in the newcoming citizens.
Tsunade continued her speech. "As you resume your lives from this point forward, do so with utmost faith that the people of this village, even our genin, take care of our own, by the grace of God and the Will of Fire. Amen."
The crowd responded, "Amen.", and dispersed when everyone followed the hokage as she left.
Naruto hung back for a few seconds, gazing at the villagers below, before joining his peers.
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Hokage's Office
Tsunade informed the genin before her, "We're going to wait here for Kakashi's... friends. Teams 8, 9, and 10 will be joining us for his funeral promptly."
After a few minutes of awkward silence, the aforementioned individuals had arrived, dressed in black.
Ino made a beeline for the shaken Sakura, telling her, "I'm so sorry this happened, Sakura. I really am."
Naruto felt a twinge of jealousy when Ino hugged Sakura, but he collected himself and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
What's wrong with me? I must be gettin' drowsy...
Tsunade stood up from her chair and commanded, "We'll be burying Kakashi's body now. Private funeral, just us."
Everyone nodded, and followed her out of the office.
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Graveyard
Over a long, rolling hill, at the edge of a fenced-off pond, was a line of gravestoens, one of them planted newly for Kakashi, whose body had just been buried by Guy and Asuma.
As the sun entered its final setting stage, Tsunade faced the attendees and gave an official eulogy for Kakashi. Everyone else remained silent, even Guy, who normally would have been shouting about his rival.
She spoke, "Here lies Kakashi Hatake, honorable jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He served the village faithfully, honestly and diligently for a period of fifteen years, half of which was spent under his eternal rank. When we think of a patriot, men like Kakashi come to mind. What he lacked in amicability, he made up for in his earnest behavior. He remained steadfast, and gave his own life to keep our village safe. He followed the Will of Fire to the very end, and will receive God's highest reward for having done so. Amen."
The group responded, "Amen."
As others, even the Sand Siblings and Team Dosu, approached the grave to silently pay their respects, Naruto kept his distance.
How could he let himself die for us? Without reason or logic, to just let himself perish. What kinda person does that...? Could the bonds we share really be such strong motivators? Could I do the same, if I had to? Is it really worth it...?
Guy approached Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder as he kneeled to meet him at eye-level.
As if sensing the boy's inner turmoil, he stated, "Kakashi didn't die in vain, Naruto. You'll understand eventually."
Naruto smirked. "Give me some credit, I get it...!"
Guy smiled and sighed, ruffling Naruto's hair as he rose.
Naruto looked around the congregation.
Sakura's got Ino and her group with her, Sasuke's pretending to listen to Asuma-sensei... Neji and Tenten are comforting Bushy-Brow-sensei. The guys from the Sand and Sound are mired in their own conversation. Guess I've really got no business here, now...
He turned around to leave, but was stopped by Tsunade.
She whispered, "You're a bright kid, Naruto. Brighter than you think. Do you... notice anything odd?"
Naruto pouted. "Odd? Well... You let the guys from the other teams get their funeral attire, but you made the rest of us, including yourself, wear the same dirty clothes from the invasion today."
Tsunade chuckled. "It's a sort of political statement, Naruto; we're putting on airs. As the hokage, I'm supposed to show that I'm busy to the point of having to disregard my physical state. For our new arrivals, we need to show similar dedication, and for your team, we need to show how formidable you are, as well as the forces you contested."
Naruto scoffed. "I guess that kinda makes sense. It's gotta be annoying, though."
Tsunade smiled. "You bet it is... You've had a rough day, Naruto, would you like to sleep with me?"
Naruto blushed. "H--hey, I'm not five anymore..."
Tsunade pinched his cheek. "But you're still just as adorable. Come on, for old time's sake?"
Naruto stammered, "For old-- I-- okay, fine, but don't tell anyone...!"
Tsunade rose, and guided Naruto back to her office.
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Tsunade's Room, Night
On the left side of the hokage's office was a spacious room dedicated to be used as emergency living quarters. Its windows - currently covered by curtains - comprised the entirety of one of its walls, giving a view of the village comparable to the view from the main office. The bed hugged the adjacent wall, in the center of the room. To the right of the bed were a walk-in closet, a bathroom, and a short hallway that led into a small kitchen area.
As soon as they had arrived, Naruto and Tsunade had taken turns taking showers and freshening up. As Naruto hadn't been given the opportunity to grab clothes from his own apartment, he was delegated to wearing a pair of Tsunade's shorts, as well as one of her own spare shirts, which was much too large for him.
As Naruto sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Tsunade to present dinner, he tried to process everything that had transpired over the past day.
It feels like it's been so long... But the final part of the exam only began this morning, and there's still some time until midnight. I can't believe how much has happened today... How much I've learned... What am I doing with my life?
He was snapped out of his self-induced trance when a bowl of ramen clinked on the table. He looked up as Tsunade sat across the table. "Oh, thanks, Granny. And ya made my favorite...!"
Tsunade snickered. "About the whole 'Granny' thing... Does that really mean you remember everything now?"
Naruto answered, "Well, sorta. I remember bits 'n pieces of everything, but a lot of stuff feels like a blur until I actually properly remember."
Tsunade gently stroked his hair. "That's alright, Kid; don't rush anything, okay? I'm just glad you're doing well."
The boy smiled as he began to eat his meal.
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Midnight
Naruto had brushed his teeth and gone to bed, and looked through a small crack in the curtains to watch the village.
Even now, these people are awake. Going about their lives, as if the invasion never happened. Was it like this when the fourth hokage died?
He suddenly bounced into the middle of the bed when Tsunade leaped in. She hugged him from behind and scratched his head. "Just like old times, isn't it?"
Naruto blushed. "Yeah, it... It really is..."
Tsunade pouted. "Well, it does feel a little different, but I guess it's just 'cause you've grown so much!"
Naruto sheepishly chuckled. "Yeah, I guess..."
Or maybe it's because of Fuuka... Could it be? Can I even tell Granny about it...? Nah, she wouldn't know what to do. I'll deal with it myself. I'm the only person I can rely on for something like this, aren't I? It'll be nearly impossible to get rid of Fuuka since I've got so much chakra, and who knows what could happen once she's out? I'll have to find some way to do it myself.
He shifted around and sighed, pondering the day's events again.
Sensei died, and it just... It doesn't feel real... I wish I could understand myself better. I wish I could be like anyone else...
He longed for comfort in his dissociated haze, and felt a rubber-banding sensation as Tsunade pulled him closer towards her.
At that moment, he forced himself to accept that he had found comfort.
I can't punish myself for the way I am. It's not gonna help me, but this... Granny feels like home. It's her scent, I think... She must have some bomb-ass shampoo.
He turned around and allowed himself to melt into the tender embrace, wrapped in the love Tsunade had to offer.
She muttered, "That's more like it..."
Naruto understood at that moment, that above all else, Tsunade loved him deeply. Her embrace became a beacon of hope, as his eyes grew heavy.
Pray for me y'all I got a job interview :-]