Hello all welcome to another chapter.
"Thinking, Bijuu speech or Jutsu"
"Dialogue"
Chapter 5. Oda & the Monopoly
The morning light peered through the curtains spilling onto his eyes. Fighting the urge to stay in bed, he threw the covers off himself and walked to the drawer. Picking out his his outfit by seeing whatever was on the top of his drawer, he chose another unassuming outfit.
The warm water of the shower was always a welcome feeling in the morning, and relaxed his muscles for the oncoming day. The open window in the bathroom let a cold fall breeze into the bathroom, creating a combination of cold and hot air.
Stepping out of the shower and covering himself with a towel he started his dental care. Steam from the shower had blocked the mirror so no face was seen, yet a face still remained.
A voice was calling out to him from downstairs, muted but it was calling for him. Walking out of the room and down the hallways he passed many pictures of a family. Oddly many of the pictures were blurry, the faces just out of focus.
As he walked down the stairs the voice grew louder and louder as it called for him. The sound wasn't legible yet it still called for him.
As he arrived to the main floor he saw a figure, it appeared rather motherly. As he crept closer to the figure he realized something was... Off. The clothes on the woman were shifting, the colors never stopped moving. He crept closer and closer, each step making a creaking sound. As he stood behind the figure he felt a creeping feeling upon his back. He knew this woman, surely he did.
His hand crept to the woman's shoulder Slowly. Slowly. The finger touched her shoulder. the woman started to turn and to his horror, her face was blank.
Masashi's eyes opened. Sweat pouring down his face and his heart beating out of his chest. "Another nightmare. Just another nightmare."
Getting up from his bed and getting ready for the day, but not before looking at the notes he had scribbled down.
He had taken up a habit of memorizing the info on those, every day before he left on a supply run.
Every day he felt as though a piece of himself tried to fade away, luckily the memorization of details prevented himself from forgetting everything.
It was a mystery as to why he was forgetting himself. He had a few ideas but nothing could be proven.
First. The merging between him and Masashi was slowly turning him into Masashi himself. The problem with that was that the pre-knowledge he had about the world was still there. Masashi the character would have no idea as to Madara, Kaguya and the ten tails.
Second idea, and this one was quite wild. The world itself realized that he did not belong here and was actively trying to delete him from it.
Either way, the memory deletion was a massive hinderance but as long as he had those notes everything would work out.
The barren sun beat down through the towering buildings of Iwagakure.
The towering stone walls surrounding the village prevented much breeze from coming through, so no relief would come to the poor people.
Through the time he had spent here he had gained a bit of knowledge about the village, and The architecture of it was quite fascinating.
great bridges that ran overhead separated the village into 8 different sectors.
Sector 8, 7 and 6 were for the civilians, and they were separated by financial classes.
Sector 5 was for the Shinobi and their housing, Most of the major clans in the village were located i this sector.
Sector 4 was designated for the merchants and their business
Sector 3 belonged to warehousing and storage of supplies for the village.
Sector 2 was entirely dedicated to the training of shinobi, and contained training grounds and a few forests.
The last sector was located in the center of the village and held the kage's tower, that overlooked the entire village- sector 1
He had taken residence in sector 8, which was a sort of combination of a red light district and slum.
Trash littered the waste-filled streets he walked through. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes permeated throughout the air.
With the recent influx of war veterans coming back to the village the red light district had gained a massive customer base, looking to drown their sorrows or trauma in booze, drugs and women.
Luckily for him this meant an influx of heavily disoriented and inebriated fools that he could easily pickpocket. He just had to make sure that he didn't try that shit with a jonin or chunin.
But that wouldn't happen till nightfall, so for now he would just see if there was any scraps or items he could find in the trash dumps.
Heading through the crowd he made his way out of sector 8 and through to sector 4. There was a pretty pretty new restaurant that held some scraps quite often.
As he got close to the restaurant he picked up on some of the whispering passing through the crowd.
"I heard that the demon was spotted over by the armament shop."
"We should get out of here soon the demon could be coming around here."
"I heard that the people who talk to him are never seen again."
"Well I heard that people die from standing near him."
"Damn the prejudice against Jinchuriki really is real, funny how quick that turns around when they save a village like in the pain arc.
Passing through the busiest part of sector 4 he saw a group of other people from the slums salvaging for scraps, several of them were yeeling at each other about who found some items first.
"Reminds of of a pack of wild dogs fighting over some food."
A few of the homeless were missing limbs or were scarred horrendously, the faint village symbol laid upon their rusted forehead protectors.
Many of the downtrodden in the village were former shinobi who couldn't fight anymore, and if you couldn't fight then Iwagakure had no use for you.
It wasn't as bad as Kiri was, there was no bloody trial to graduate; but if you were not a part of one of the few major clans or families of the village then you had no one to take care of you.
Iwagakure was great at getting a lot of genin and chunin quickly, but the few notable shinobi came from being given power.
Ohnoki inherited his clan's dust release and effectively mastered it.
Deidara had stolen the kinjutsu from the village and used it to strengthen himself.
Both Han and Roshi got their power from their Bijuu.
"Damn this village is weak as hell. Still I need to make sure to keep away from any freaks for now, Ally gathering starts later."
making his way behind to the restaurant, it was completely alone. No other beggars or dumpster divers to deal with. "
"Never would have thought I'd end up dumpster diving." "Oh well here wo go."
But right before he jumped in the backdoor of the restaurant flew open, One of the chefs was taking a smoke break.
The door to the back of the restaurant was never closed and the aroma of freshly cooked deliciousness found its way to his deprived nose.
Taking a look at the food in the garbage and the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen, the gap between the two was quite apparent.
"If I get caught stealing from this place I'll get my head kicked in. But on the other hand, if I can get some high quality food in my system I would benefit greatly."
Weighing the options before him the choice was clear. He needed that food and theft was the least of his concerns.
Creeping up on to the back of the building he looked through the door to make sure no one was looking. The coast was clear and he crept in.
The head chef had his head turned and the assistant was talking to the customers, he had a small window now to get what he needed.
Creeping through the door he quickly snuck his way into the storage room. Taking a sack from the corner of the storage room he started to fill it with different items: meats, vegetables and spices all went into the sack.
His thievery finished, he started to creep back out of the backdoor.
With the fresh food practically at his fingertips he could almost taste it, he could go home and cook up something delectable.
"Just a few more steps, and I'll be home free."
But right as he was about to step out of the backdoor a shadow was casted over him, the man had taken a quicker smoke break than he had assumed.
"Well shit."
Quickly before he could try to escape, the man scooped him up and held him up in the air by his shirt.
"Well it looks like we got a sewer rat in the store boss!" He yelled to the head chef.
The head chef just waved his hand to him. "Deal with the little shit so we can get back to work, we open in 15 minutes."
The man carried Masashi over to behind the store, keeping the struggling boy in the air.
"We can't have runts like like you stealing from the business kid. It's a tough environment and since shinobi take most of the jobs, us regular people have to break our backs in order to make a name for ourselves."
Panicked at the current situation he decided to try to plea with the man.
"Look please sir, I simply wanted some food. I'm all on my own and have to make ends meet." He begged seeing if he could make the man sympathize with his situation.
The man let out a mocking laugh. "Yeah, you and 300 other kids. Newsflash punk, you aren't the only one stuck in a shitty situation. This damn war between shinobi only causes problems for us people."
"Please let me go. I promise you'll never see my face ever again."
The man paused for a moment, contemplating the situation. Maybe his words had reached him?
"You see kid I'm not a horrible person, but you damn rats keep stealing from my workplace. If I don't have a job kid I can't provide for myself either, and so.. I'm not gonna kill you or anything, but I'll need to send a message to all the potential thieves."
A cold shiver went down his Masashi's spine and he let out an audible gulp.
"Umm what kind of message sir?" He had a bad feeling about this.
"I'm gonna break your arm punk."
Alarm bells rang throughout his mind. His Fight or flight response kicked in and since he was currently being held by the man, he had only one choice.
Shoving his finger forward he shoved his thumb into the man's eye!
"AHHHHHHHHH! My fucking eye!" The man let out a yell before he punched Masashi right in the face and chucked him at the brick wall nearby.
As his body impacted the wall a resounding crack! came from his body, and he felt the warm feeling of blood on the black of his head.
He had no time to inspect his injuries because he ran as fast as his little feet could take him.
"God why did I have to be transported here, even the regular characters are insane." He ran and ran, throughout the sector till he couldn't anymore.
He collapsed onto the dirt street, pain wracked through his entire body.
"Damnit, my heads been split open." He reached his hand back to his head and felt blood.
He reached his hand forward, grabbing for something that wasn't there. Darkness started to creep into his vision as he started to lose consciousness.
"Someone. anyone. Please H-h-h-e-l-l-p-p m-me."
As he blacked out he saw a massive shadow of a man towering above him.
Through a mask came the voice of the man.
"Well what do we have here my friend."
Land of Iron.
A light layer of snow covered the ground upon the Village Hidden in Iron, giving it an ethereal bright glow.
The village had long remained neutral in the shinobi world, standing as a beacon of hope and tranquility among a chaotic world.
The samurai were a different type of people and culture. Shinobi were thieves, assassins and spy's but the samurai lived by a code.
1. Justice. Those who abuse their power over the innocent will be brought to punishment.
2. Courage. The knowledge of and will to do what is right.
3. Mercy. Those who are truly strong have the power to gain for themselves or destroy others, yet choose not to use it.
4. Loyalty. Allegiance to land or lord. Whomever the samurai swears their fealty to.
5. Honor. In battle shinobi would resort to any tactic, no matter how underhanded. The code of honor meant that samurai would fight in battle, in order to kill an enemy in battle- you must be able to see their eyes.
This code of honor was what had preserved the culture of the samurai, and given them a distinct difference from the dishonorable shinobi.
Now once again the village was being used for a peace summit between the ever fighting shinobi world.
A caravan stopped before the gate of the village. A few samurai guarding the gate approached the caravan, and a figure emerged from it to greet them.
Passing the necessary papers along the guards let the caravan inside the village, the massive doors closing behind them.
The caravan made its way through the village, all the way up to the shogun tower. From the caravan emerged multiple shinobi of legendary status.
The first to step out was the White Fang of Konoha Sakumo Hatake, the man said to be stronger than the sannin.
Second came Jiraya the Toad Sage, one of the Sannin and the sensei of the third man.
Bright blond hair adorned the head of a man whose name terrified thousands, Minato Namikaze-the Yellow Flash.
These three men were all acting as guards to the real VIP of the caravan and the last man to step out, Hiruzen Sarutobi-The God of Shinobi.
"I don't get why we needed to ride in these damn wagons, my ass still hurts from that wooden seat." Said Jiraiya, rubbing his behind.
"It's been a tradition held between the shinobi nations for years that diplomatic groups travel by caravan." Responded Hiruzen.
"Well sensei forgive my language but that's a stupid ass tradition. We could have just had Minato teleport us here with that special jutsu of his instead of wasting all this time... Right minato?"
Said man just scratched the back of his head and sweat-dropped. "It's not as simple as that sensei, I can't just teleport anywhere I want to."
Hiruzen interjected. "Come on you three let's go get settled in, we have a few hours before peace talks start."
"Actually Sensei I think I need to make a quick detour, I have business that needs to be done."
All three men deadpanned at Jiraiya.
"This business wouldn't have anything to do with bathhouses, now would it?" Asked a previously silent Sakumo.
"What!? Of course not Sakumo. I can't believe you would think so little of me." Jiraiya said in a fake offended tone.
Hiruzen just rubbed his forehead at his pupils antics. The man had gained the moniker of Super Pervert, whether it was self named or through the populace.
Many a complaint had found its way to his desk, about the man peeping on random women for his..."Research."
"Just be sure to not cause a international incident. The samurai people have different rules and customs than us shinobi."
"Oh I'll be careful sensei." And with a lecherous smile he disappeared in a puff of smoke."
Hiruzen let out a long sigh. "Alright you two, let's get these peace talks started,"
"Yes Hokage-sama!" Responded both of them.
Sakumo and Minato walked throughout the halls of the tower together, Hiruzen had left them to go talk to some older diplomat friends of his.
"So Minato. How is the family doing?" The older man asked looking to get some sort of rapport with the younger man.
"Mmhh? Oh, we are doing well Hatake-Sama; Kushina actually found out that she's pregnant about a week ago."
"Well congratulations Minato! I remember when I learned that my wife was pregnant with Kakashi. Hah! I almost jumped through the roof."
Sakumo seemed to tense up slightly and maybe a little nervousness was showing on his face.
"Ah. Um. Speaking of the boy. How is Kakashi doing? Last I knew he had joined up with the Anbu."
"don't worry lord Hatake, I've put him on a special assignnment for the next nine months. He'll be guarding Kushina."
A wave of relief washed over Sakumo's face, he was glad to know his son wouldn't be living the dark life most anbu live-at least for now.
"He does love you, you know that right?" asked Minato.
Sakumo let out a tired sigh, his shoulders slumping down slightly.
"It really doesn't feel like it. The boy has been ignoring me ever since my failure, he probably thinks I'm a stain on his life. I can't imagine how hard it is for him. Almost everyone in the village hates what I did, I would imagine he's doing everything he can to distance himself from me. Sometimes I wonder if-
"Sakumo." Minato stopped walking and put a firm hand on the older man's shoulder. The young man stared him right in the eye, a quiet passion shone through his bright blue irises.
"The choices you made saved the lives of your team, and future generations. This world needs more people like that, people that value the lives of others more so than the mission. I have seen so much death in so little time, and I want to build a world where people can understand the value of life.
When I become Hokage, I'll need people like you to help me build that world. So do not regret your choices, for they are not the choices of a shinobi.
They are the choices of a good father..."
Sakumo was utterly lost for words! This young man standing before him was so strong in both his mindset and the way he spoke it that Sakumo could almost be brought to tears! Of course Sakumo was too strong a shinobi to cry in front of the soon to be kage, but now. Now, he could understand why Hiruzen chose him.
Sakumo put his hand on Minato's shoulder, a resolve in his voice. "I will help you build this world Minato Namikaze... For our sons."
The two men Clasped hands in a firm handshake, and so the Yellow Flash gained his right hand man for the struggle ahead.
Noise came from the main room in which the talks would take place, signifying the beginning of the meeting.
"Come. We should go Find Hokage-sama and accompany him to the meeting." Minato declared.
"Agreed."
The face of an tired old man gazed back at Mifune through the glimmering steel of his katana. Truly the weariness was starting to show through the wrinkles
of a tired face, but in the eyes. The eyes showed a different man entirely. Steel black irises showed an unwavering resolve. A hidden resolve but still there masked behind the face of weariness.
Truly his body was tired from the duty of having to maintain the stability and neutrality of his nation while being dwarfed in power by most of the shinobi nations.
When he had inherited the title of shogun from his father before him he had been ambitious, ready to make his mark on the world and bring justice to the honor-less shinobi.
Unfortunately, His fire had quickly been stifled. While he himself was strong enough to deal with most shinobi, most of his people were not.
The once feared samurai known for their skill with a blade and unbreakable armor, had been reduced to practically a nation of hermits.
Many years ago before the villages had been formed, the samurai were the major force of power on the nation.
They honed skill with the blade so much more than any other that no one could touch them. The world was ran by the blade, and the samurai owned that blade.
Then the shinobi clans started to rise up in power and slowly but surely, the samurai's grip on the continent loosened.
Many people would choose the path of the ninja instead, choosing to reject the samurai code and pursue the easier path to power.
Finally around the 1st ninja war the samurai line was broken and their people were scattered as either wandering mercenaries, or isolated to their nation.
So for the past century the samurai had stagnated, while the ninja had just grown in power. Not to mention they had the tailed beasts on their side.
The samurai families had retreated back into their shell much like a turtle, practicing their familial blade but never using it.
but the people had forgotten the first rule of this world. In order to grow stronger, one needs to fight.
The shinobi had never forgotten this rule, forging their strength over the past century through fire, iron and blood.
The samurai of his village had chosen the path of non-violence. It had given them recluse from the fires of war, but they were simply one power hungry kage away from having to pick up their swords once again.
But. Now was not the time to dwell upon the fate of the samurai, for Mifune had once again been asked to delegate a peace treaty between the shinobi.
Years of another pointless slaughter between them had finally come to an end, for what reason he knew not; but for it to have ended this abruptly would mean that either they had a greater threat on the rise or the balance of power had shifted one way.
Either way he just hoped that the killing stopped, too many young souls had been lost to this conflict.
Too many fathers had buried their sons.
And for what? A land dispute between Iwa and Konoha. That was all it took for thousands of lives to be lost.
The shinobi seemed to wreak havoc wherever they go, engines of wrath and destruction from the pure power they held in their hands.
A part of mifune knawed at the back of his mind telling him that even if he peace came, It wouldn't last; the killing would just start all over again.
Quickly that voice was silenced. Mifune once again found the steel inside of his soul and straightened up.
As a samurai and leader it was his job to ensure that this peace would come.
For all the victims of the shinobi's quest for power he would ensure that this war stopped, for he was Toshiro Mifune-Shogun of Testugakure.
Mifune closed kurosawa back into it's sheath and walked into the meeting room, determined to end the conflict.
There were few times in history where you could find so much power located into one room, for some of the greatest shinobi in all of history sat right across from each other.
Each delegation from the shinobi villages had sent their absolute best to this meeting, most likely as a sign of power; whatever little of it remained in a few cases.
Five representative party's from each of the major villages sat across from each other.
The third Kazekage was there with his bodyguards Pakura of the Scorch Release and Sasori of The Red Sand.
Suna had been a rather minor faction during the war but had still sustained losses, couple that with the fact that they were the weakest village already; it was no wonder why they were here. It didn't help them that they were located in between Iwa and Konoha who were always looking to kill each other, there was a high likelihood that Suna was here to ally themselves with one of those two.
Kumogakure's Fourth Raikage A, was here with his brother Killer Bee and several other shinob
Kumo had sustained quite heavy losses due to the war, even losing their strongest warrior in the 3rd Raikage. Since then they had retreated back into their village, not engaging the other villages in any major conflict.
The young Raikage seemed like quite the headstrong and impulsive man, it would be interesting to see how he interacts with the other leaders. He wouldn't be able to out speed or out power anyone this time.
Iwagakure had still retained their hatred of Konoha it seemed, as Ohnoki and his compatriots held a strong glare at the leaf delegates.
The rock village had been one of the two major players in the war and it was not a exaggeration to say their rivers were made of blood. Iwa had the most shinobi of any village by far and their strategy mirrored that, throwing countless shinobi at any problem and it had almost worked. Safe to say if it wasn't for The Yellow Flash Iwa would probably be knocking on the leaf's doorstep right now.
There wasn't a doubt in Mifune's mind that the stone would not entertain peace talks, their hatred of the leaf seemed to blind them of all reasoning and logic.
Their only hope of peace was that Ohnoki's wisdom would prevail and win the day. Mifune wouldn't make a bet on it though.
Speaking of the leaf... Said village had decided to show up in quite the force today, more than necessary.
The God of shinobi Hiruzen sarutobi stood with his pupil Jiraiya and Legendary shinobi Sakumo Hatake, but everyone's eyes were on a certain blonde haired man. He was a peace-loving man.
Mifune would guess that Konoha wanted peace, hiruzen had lives through a lot and would want peace for his children.
Perhaps the oddest sight at the summit was the Kirigakure delegation, as the Kage hat sat on the hair of a teenage jinchuriki-Utakata. With the young young man was two of the seven swordsman and another young shinobi.
The mist was the wildcard of this summit as they had been the ones to call for it originally, which was quite the surprise. Truly a far cry from the name and their past history as the "bloody mist." It would be quite interesting to see how the young kage performed on the political field.
"For all the lives lost from this war. I pray that these talks can abolish this war." Mifune prayed silently.
Mifune raised his hands to all of the delegates present in a welcoming manner.
"Delegates of the shinobi nations, I welcome you all to the village hidden in the iron." Mifune bowed as per samurai tradion.
"I will perform top my utmost ability as mediator of this summit, but please all of you take a seat so we can begin these talks."
As all parties sat down Hiruzen was the first to speak.
"I thank you shogun for being a gracious host to us, your village is quite a sight to see this time of year."
Mifune nooded his head in thanks to his old acquaintance.
"Buttering up the mediator won't help you gain any favor at this summit Sarutobi." Said Ohnoki quite spitefully.
"It's called manners Ohnoki and I see that even in your old age you never learned them." Shot back Hiruzen.
Ohnoki started to bristle. "Manners are the least of my worries in times of war, monkey. I'm more concerned with the survival of my village."
"Was it survival you were worried about when you started to invade Kusagakure unprompted?"
"Cease your lies saru! Everyone knows that it was you who first started getting your hands into the Grass Village. You wanted a base of operation to strike at us!." Ohnoki had started to float out of his chair by now and was glaring at the leaf delegates.
"Please, Ohnoki. Hiruzen. Calm yourselves, we are here to discuss peace. If you so wish to spill more blood then do it out of my village." Mifune said trying to
calm the conflict.
"Hmph." Ohnoki let a snort before sitting back in his seat.
Hiruzen bowed to Mifune in apology. "My apologies shogun." Before sitting back down.
"Thank you. Now so we can get to the actual reason for being here. Mizukage, I give you the floor."
The young kage stood up and bowed to the older man.
"Thank you shogun." The young man coughed into his fist before looking around the room, most likely planning his speech.
"My fellow Shinobi leaders." The young man let out a slight gulp, the poor kid had probably never felt a pressure quite like this.
"We are gathered here today not to focus on the gripes we have with each other, but to reconcile and stop this unending bloodshed. I move for a complete and total ceasefire between all shinobi nations as of right now." The young man bowed once again and sat back in his seat.
"None of us wanted this war to happen boy, but some people can't seem to hold their hunger for power." Said Ohnoki, still gazing at the leaf delegates.
"Your actions prove otherwise." Shot back Hiruzen.
Surprisingly the third Kazekage spoke. "Even if we were to cease fighting on all fronts, there would still be a antagonist view towards each other by the common-folk. Most likely leading to another war in the next 25 years. For example, word has made it to my ears that Iwagakure shinobi hold a special grudge against blonde haired Konoha shinobi." Glancing over at Minato.
"Can you blame them? Rock ninja never forget atrocities." Ohnoki was full on glaring at the blond man now.
"Leave my subordinates alone, Ohnoki. We have all spilt blood during this war." Hiruzen stated, trying to figuratively put himself between Ohnoki and Minato.
"Some more than others, sarutobi."
Mifune Hit the ground with his tip of his sheath, gaining the attention of everyone.
"Since I believe this is going nowhere, I will recommend we take a 30 minute break to calm our heads. If you so wish to continue speaking with each other then do so. Just refrain from having any conflict in my tower." Mifune turned around and left the room, leaving the delegates to look at each other.
"Maybe once we return you two can stop fighting and we can get something done." Said the Raikage before leaving the room.
Utakata walked over to the leaf delegation; whispering to Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama I believe we need to discuss some matters regarding possible trade routes."
"Of course Mizukage, let us discuss them somewhere else."
Both of them left leaving just the Iwagakure and Sunagakure delegations.
Ohnoki looked over to his fellow Kage. "Looks like your neighbors are getting in bed with each other."
"That is no concern of mine Ohnoki. The sand shinobi are very capable of taking care of themselves." The kazekage waving it off.
"That is possible, but I don't believe you could hold off multiple villages at the same time. Not without help that is."
"Our relations with the leaf are quite durable, I do not believe we need your help."
Ohnoki let out a loud snort before walking away, but Just before he exited the room he turned back to the Kage.
"Be careful who you choose to lay with, the Leaf puts up that righteous mask, but is just as power hungry as Kumo. I would watch my back if I were you."
Minato looked upon the Iron village from the terrace in the Shogun tower. It truly was a beautiful sight to see, maybe one day he could bring Kushina here.
"I wonder if having me here is affecting peace talks. Iwagakure hates me for what I had to do." He sighed thinking of the old Kage Ohnoki, the man had singlehandedly derailed any talks of peace. What sensei had told him was true.
"The only thing harder than an actual rock. Is the head of a rock ninja." Minato chuckled lightly at how true that statement seemed to be.
"Those two damn grandpas need to quit beefing with each other or else we won't get anywhere." Came the booming voice of the Fourth Raikage.
"Raikage-sama. Good to see you again." Minato greeted the large man formally as he walked up beside him on the terrace.
"Hah if anyone has earned the right to call me by my name it's you Yellow Flash. Please call me A."
"Well if that is what you wish for then that is what I will do. A." Minato gave his signature smile.
A leaned forward, resting his massive arms upon the terrace railing.
"So, when are you going to take the mantle from the old man? It's clear to see that he's just about done with all this political bullshit."
"I believe that he will step down immediately after the summit." Minato leaned onto the railing as well so he was right next to him.
"I'm Sorry about your father. I had never gotten the chance to meet him but I had heard he was a great man."
Minato could have sworn he caught a glimpse of sorrow upon A's face, but it was hard to tell given how he always looked pissed off.
"Why does the world never cease it's hunger for bloodshed?" Asked Minato.
"Bloodshed is necessary in order to protect and give a better life to your village and people." A stated as though it was a fact.
"But couldn't we create a world in which it isn't necessary, to shed blood? We've been caught in this cycle for a century but we have the power now.
We can change things by taking a different route w-"
A let our a hearty laugh. "You know, for one who's so coated in blood you're quite the idealist."
"I've done many things I'm not proud of, but it was so change can happen."
A stood straight up and looked Minato in the eye. "Is that what you fight for. Change?"
Minato stood straight as well sizing up A. "I fight so that the next generation doesn't have to do what I did."
A leaned back and let out a deep breath.
"Namikaze."
"Yes?"
A his brought his forearm in front of him and pointed to it, Confusing the blonde.
"Do you know why my skin is different than everyone else on this continent?"
Minato put his hand on his chin in a thinking position. After a few seconds he shrugged his shoulders. "I can't say that I do."
"My skin is different because my clan is not from originally from this continent." Minato's eyes raised a bit.
"We came to this land a few hundred years ago and learned the ways of chakra. When the cloud was made we took charge as it's protectors.
For the past century we have made sure that Kumogakure flourished and grew to the greatest heights it could." A's eyes lighted up with lightning like resolve.
"My skin is a symbol of the duty I have towards my village, and the oath I swore to my father that I would make Kumogakure the greatest of all villages.
A learned forward so he was right in Minato's face.
"I owe Kumogakure everything. I would watch the world burn in order for her to be safe."
"I understand you have your duty. But is there truly no way for us to change this world together A?"
A shook his head no. "As long as konoha remains in power the conflict remains. Your village is a whore for power and you know it."
"I will make sure that konoha becomes a peaceful nation. Things are going to change under my watch."
"I admire your resolve, but how many share this want? does the village want peace? Does the Daimyo?"
"The daimyo has no sway over me. I care not for the aristocrats of the elemental continents."
"Maybe not now, but when you have control over a whole village you will see. It's a whole different world when politics is involved."
Minato shrugged "That maybe so, but I'm going to change the system. Mark my words."
A leaned back and sighed once more. "It's a shame you were born into this world, for your ideas do not belong in it Namikaze... As long as chakra is here there will always be conflict; You would do well to remember that."
A started to walk back to the hallway, but just as he was about to walk out of the room he took a sharp turn as if he had sensed something.
"Is there a problem A?"
The large man scanned his eyes around the room for a few seconds before relaxing his guard.
"No. I must have just imagined something." A took another deep breath. "I'll see you on the battlefield, Minato."
"I truly hope you will see my side one day, I'll hold out hope."
"'Don't hold your breath Yellow flash."
The Raikage walked out disappearing from Minato's sight completely.
Minato walked back to the terrace once again, gazing upon the village. The snow had stopped completely, giving him a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.
A small smile found itself onto his face.
"Northwest corner of the room. right by the coffee table." He yelled out seemingly to no one.
After a few seconds the light seemed to shift around a humanoid figure before dispersing, revealing a long red haired anbu.
"Shit dude. I thought I had caught you this time." The anbu walked beside Minato before sitting on the edge of the terrace. "How long did it take you to find me?"
"Uhh..."Minato scratched the back of his head. "14...15 seconds?"
The anbu deadpanned at minato, then sighed and sagged his shoulders. "I've been working on that god-damn camouflage jutsu for the past two months and it took you 14 seconds to find out I was there."
"Sorry Kuzuri." Minato apologized, before shrugging. "I mean I'm already familiar with the jutsu considering Jiraiya sensei uses it often."
"Codenames? Seriously?" Kuzuri asked rhetorically.
The anbu hopped off the terrace, standing right in front of Minato. Taking off his mask revealed through the flowing red hair, a man in his mid twenties.
An eyepatch with the leaf insignia crafted from his old forehead protector was tied upon his left eye; a wound he must have received sometime during the war.
His right eye was colored a light turquoise blue, a symbol of his Yamanaka heritage.
"You've grown into quite the man since last I saw you. Probably got all the lady's in the leaf coming after you, Kushina better be treating you well."
Minato had quite the fond grin on his face for he had not seen the man in front of him for nearly a decade. "It's good to see you again, Oda."
The two men shared a brotherly embrace, old friends reuniting after years apart.
"How is everyone? I want to see what has happened in everybody's lives while I've been gone." Oda asked quite giddily.
"They're fine. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you as well. But. What happened to your eye?"
Oda pointed to the patch in a carefree manner "Oh what this pff. Just a wound I got from some asshole shinobi. There's a price to success."
Minato understood. shinobi would experience such horror that they often lost pieces of themselves, whether it be mental or physical.
"So why are you here?" Asked Minato. Not that it wasn't great to see the man but he had kind of popped out of nowhere after damn near a decade of non-existence. At one point Minato had even accepted that he might be dead.
"My mission's ending point is the end of the third war." Oda motioned his hand towards the tower. "We're almost there, so I'm here to make sure everything goes smoothly."
"What are the potential threats?"
"Well Kumo is the strongest force currently, but we'll have to see what effect your speech had on A; so overall I don't know about them. Iwa isn't able to do much besides yell; to be honest you crippled them pretty bad. Suna is just going to do whatever they think is most beneficial for them. The real wildcard is Kiri; All I know is they want they're bijuu back. Desperately."
"And they won't get it, Rin will stay in the village under my protection." Minato insisted.
"And would you risk the peace you crave for in order to keep her? Do you not think that-"
"I can't lose another one... Not again Oda." Minato interrupted, his voice filled with pain. He then put his face in his hands and leaned over the terrace.
Silence hovered over the two men as Minato retreated back into his own thoughts and emotions. It had been nearly a year since the Kanabi bridge incident, where Obito had passed. Minato had put on quite the mask for everyone but Oda could see.
Minato was in pain.
The yamanaka were masters of peering into people's psyche and he had inherited all of that skill. Yet he needed none of it to see that his best friend, the man who had upon several occasions saved his life-was hurting.
"It never hurts any less, does it." Minato posed as less of a question and more of a statement.
" I'm sorry about Obito. I could always use my clan techniques to help you out. Maybe dull the pain."
"No. No I need to stay strong."
"Good cause I don't want to see what's in your mind. I'll probably see Kushina naked or something."
Minato let out a snort. "I see sensei delivered a bit of his perverted streak to you."
"You don't study under the Super pervert and not learn a thing or two."
Both men let out a hearty laugh at the man who had trained them, and his antics. Bringing both of them on several of his "research" trips had lead to many adventures, often ending in Jiraiya getting several bruises from angry women and one of the two students getting in trouble.
"I still think about back then you know, Back before all this shit. Way back to our academy days." Minato involuntarily smiled upon recalling their academy days.
"Remember when you first started coming to class, and Kushina thought you were related to her."
"Hah! She was so convinced I was an Uzumaki, she tried to get a sample of my blood to test at the hospital."
the two of them shared a few laughs at those academy days where so many memories had been made together. The two of them had been been rivals in their younger days, always sparring or testing each others intellectual prowess.
From their clashes others had been brought into their friend group. forming a group of genin that would become known as the Konoha 8.
But while the rest of them had taken on their clan duties Oda had thrown himself into the world of the anbu. Originally being recruited into the T&I department due to his clan abilities, but he wanted something more important.
Transferring into the sabotage and assassination department, he had quickly risen up the ranks eventually earning the right to become an anbu captain at 15. Which he surprisingly turned down in favor of running solo ops.
The two were able to remain quite close through those years, but that all changed when the war began. Oda had been an operative inside enemy lines for years, now he had returned without Minato's knowing.
The sound of bells rang throughout the tower, signifying that the delegates were gathering once again.
"Well it looks like it's time for me to leave." Oda said, patting Minato on the back.
"Will I see you in konoha, when this is over?"
"Maybe. But first You need to focus on keeping Rin in the village, and achieving peace. Somehow."
"Well at least I know I'll have someone watching my back now. It's good to see you again Oda."
"Yeah yeah go save the world dumbass." Oda jumped off the terrace and into the night, disappearing completely from Minato's senses.
"I forgot he had a thing for theatrics."
30 minutes ago...
Hiruzen sat before the young jinchuriki, the boy shrinking under his gaze. Poor boy had probably been thrust into this at a moments notice.
Taking pity on the boy Hiruzen took out his pipe and sat back into his chair, giving off the visage of a kind old man.
"So. Mizukage-dono, are you enjoying your stay?" Hiruzen motioned for the boy to sit.
"I'm a lover of peace and quiet Hokage-dono, and so far this delegation has been anything but. However, one must endure thing they do not enjoy for the sake of their village." The jinchurki was starting to regain color in his face every second.
"Young man you have no idea." "Let's play a game, see if you're up to the test." Hiruzen took another puff of his pipe and leaned forward.. "Now. Let's talk about the shit your village pulled." The visage broke, putting Utakata out of his comfort zone once again.
Utakata grimaced but quickly recovered. "It was a small contingent of disgruntled fanatics. They have all been dealt with accordingly."
"Accordingly? They kidnapped the student of the next Hokage. Not to mention implanted a Bijuu inside of her with the intention of blowing up Konoha.
Seems to me that the burden of justice laid in My village's hands."
"International law set by the Daimyos state that: Shinobi belonging to villages that are not classified as rogue ninja still belong under that villages jurisdiction.
Surely being a longstanding Kage you would know of these laws."
"And did you know of this faction? How was this disaster even allowed to happen?" "Keep the pressure up, don't let the boy recover."
"I couldn't have, I was chosen to be the next leader after the incident."
"So there was no one in charge during this time of crisis?"
"Seeing as the Mizukage was dead, yes there was nobody in charge. All blame lies solely on that faction"
Satisfied, Hiruzen leaned back and put his pipe back in his mouth. "Not bad young man. You've got some promise as a politician. A successful deflection of blame and he didn't reveal anything. Not bad at all"
"Very well, enough of that." Even if he hated politics, Hiruzen had become quite good at it; and he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy testing the next generation.
Hiruzen had definitely gained a modicum of respect for the boy, something that was hard to come by.
"Hokage-dono I think it's time we discuss the real subject."
"Yes I suppose it is."
Both of the Kage leaned forward, this was the whole reason for the whole delegation. Kiri needed their Bijuu back and Minato needed Rin alive. Sadly both couldn't happen, so it was down to Hiruzen to decide fate. Something he wasn't exactly happy to do, but he needed to either way.
Hiruzen went first. Why Should I allow the student of my student let alone a child and not to mention the student of the next Hokage, to die. She will not be able to handle the extraction process we both know this."
"Yes. And it would be a travesty to have one so young, die. But many more just as young, will die if the other villages were to find out about this. Iwa and kumo already despise your village, and Suna has been looking to make their mark. What do you think would happen if they learned the scales of balance had been tipped in your favor."
"A war even worse than before. A calamity." Hiruzen grimaced. "In other words. Take my offer or I'll tell everyone to attack your village
"Indeed." Utakata seemed to really believe what he was saying, by the way his face looked so grim. the boy didn't want this to happen but just like Hiruzen, a leader must sacrifice."
"Very well. Let me hear your offer and leave me to think about it."
"Thank you Hokage-dono." Utakata stood up from his seat and put both of his arms in his gi assuming a power posture.
"Our offer is to you is quite large, for that is how crucial the three tails is to the unity of the village."
Hiruzen said nothing, just motioning for Utakata to continue.
"Twenty million ryo." Hiruzen's eyebrow raised for that was quite the sum. "A complete alliance with Kiri with a sealed contract for twenty years." That wasn't exactly a surprise. Kiri would naturally view Konoha in a better light if they were to gain the three tails back. However, alliances were easily broken.
"The last piece of our offer is no mere item. But a long lost relic of the past."
"Oh? And what item-"
"The Lost Texts of Kanayago-Kami."
Hiruzen stood up from his chair so quick he could have jumped through the roof. "That's Impossible! They were destroyed by the first Mizukage."
"Believe what you want but my offer is my offer. They have been in the possession of the village this whole time but nobody has been able to understand it since the first. That is the offer Hokage. Think on it please." Utakata briskly exited the room leaving a overloaded Hiruzen.
"The way to make legendary swords...What a night." Hiruzen sat back into his chair. Taking off his hat and running his hands through his hair, he could feel his bones creak.
"So if I hold the three tails and keep rin alive. The village gains a great asset and Minato doesn't have to lose another student. With the Downside of all the villages coming after me...
And on the other hand, if I hand over the three tails I gain a great asset and ally but everyone in the village would despise me and my bloodline not to mention inadvertently cause the death of a child."
Once more the trusty old pipe hit Hiruzen's lips.
"I think I'm going to take a vacation after this. Take Biwako with me. Yes. A very long vacation."
Present.
On the second attempt the talks were more successful. Mifune had through a painstakingly multi-hour long process, figured out a way for each of the villages to agree to a total ceasefire on all fronts.
It really spoke to his his skill as a politician as he was able to get each village in by having them gain something they wanted.
Suna gained a joint farming operation with Konoha giving them access to miles of resources for their deprived people.
Iwa was able to gain access to low level academy curriculum from the other villages to boost their future generations of shinobi. Ohnoki had grumbled but had taken the offer.
Kumo had been quite happy to gain a access to the mist villages shipbuilding techniques, that could help them move troops faster and more efficiently.
(This is where we resume in pov mode.)
"Well now that we have to come to agree on a boon for Kumo, Mizukage. What is it your village needs?" Mifune was still his stoic self but it seemed as though he was relieved, like his work was almost done.
Utakata stood up slowly and locked eyes with Hiruzen for just a moment. But those eyes asked a question, "what is your choice?"
Hiruzen looked around the room; at the other kage, Mifune, His student, his friend and lastly Minato his successor. Said had a look on his face that Hiruzen surprisingly couldn't decipher, but he knew what choice he would make. No matter how many may die, he would protect Rin.
But so many lives would be spared in the long term if he sacrificed one life now...
"Well boy what are you waiting for, what is it your village needs?" Ohnoki grumpily asked Utakata.
The boy was waiting on Hiruzen, pressure building up. "Make your choice" Hiruzen could practically hear his voice in his mind.
Hiruzen felt a slight headache before strangely, the words of Danzo came to his mind.
"It's what sensei would've wanted." The image of his sensei Tobirama appeared in his mind, That stoic face that was always judging him was now looking at him with understanding. Hiruzen felt relieved, the headache went away; he knew what he had to do.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had made his choice.
He looked back to Utakata, His face told the boy his answer and it wouldn't change.
The three tails was staying in konoha.
(Utakata pov)
He had tried, he really had. He had been put in a spot where no matter what he would be losing something. He hadn't even wanted to be Kage, yet the council had put him here. Sent him here to grease elbows with the most powerful people on the continent, when all he had wanted to do was be left alone.
But now he had to go back to the village. Empty handed.
The rest of the night went through smoothly. Peace was agreed to by the nations, and peace they would have. But it wouldn't last.
Utakata finished the talks and exited back to his room. He didn't want to go back to Kiri. He couldn't
His thoughts were interrupted by his compatriots walking into the room.
Fuguki was the first to speak up. "So will the three tails be back in our hands?"
Utakata's head slumped down. "No."
The whole room gained an air of gloominess.
"So what's next. Everyone's headed back to their villages now."
"Peace. Peace is next. But there will be repercussions for Hiruzen's choice."
"Oh? And what will those be?" Raiga asked with that signature sadistic smile.
"Send a message to the other villages...Konoha has the three tails."
A whole damn chapter of character work and worldbuilding, Sorry it took so long I've been busy over the holidays and this has been my biggest chapter yet.
I feel like I have a interesting characters and dialogue in my head but I'm just not able to effectively put it down in writing. But theres only one way to get better. So as always thank you for reading, I love every single person who reads this and goodbye.
Peace be with you-WhiteWolf327