XXVI - One Eye Half Open
Kakashi looked wistfully out the window from within the Hokage's office, the red-white hat perched securely over his grey hair. He had chosen to wear the traditional robes of his new post, haori and full kimono at Danzo's insistence. The kanji for "Godaime Hokage" were emblazoned on the back, in ornate red lettering.
He had only been inaugurated two days ago, much to the shock of his friends. Jin had been positively floored, and Anko had simply laughed at him—were the two finally dating? Gai had expressed his excitement, as Kakashi had already informed him at the council meeting. Tenzo was simply ready to serve the 'tree' and eager for what the future held. Everyone was eager for the future, it seemed. He had been surprised by the sheer scale of the inauguration, with Danzo organizing a lavish party, complete with entertainment and gifts for the entirety of Konoha.
Kakashi just hoped he could live up to the expectations. "So, are you finally going to tell me?"
"Of course." Danzo drawled, and Kakashi placed his hands on the wooden table in apprehension. Much of his first day was spent with Danzo teaching him 'How to Hokage 101', which Kakashi found agonizingly stressful. There was a mammoth heap of issues left behind by the Sandaime—new projects, promotions, budgeting issues that all needed the seal of the Hokage.
No wonder Hiruzen was so distraught at the loss of Minato-sensei.
"The Yondaime Hokage and his wife were attacked by a masked man calling himself Madara Uchiha."
"Madara..." What form of imposter were they dealing with—Madara Uchiha had been dead for years, ever since his fatal duel with the Shodai in the Valley of the End. "Could he be an impersonator?" Kakashi mused, raising one hand to his chin in thought.
Shimura nodded slowly. "We do not know the full scale of Madara's powers. Perhaps he created some kind of successor, or clone of his own. But one thing is important: the intruder had the Sharingan!"
Kakashi's eyes widened. He had heard stories of how the 'Ghost of the Uchiha' had been able to control the Kyuubi with his Sharingan, of course. "That means this Madara, fake or not, is a real threat."
"Correct."
A tired sigh escaped Kakashi's lips. "He hasn't acted in the years of the attack though... but was clearly after the Bijuu. That means he is either planning, or dead."
Danzo smirked at Kakashi's final word. "I doubt a man who hold his own against the Yondaime Hokage is dead, Kakashi."
"It's best to consider all the possibilities." Kakashi responded, "Wait! Remember the rumors of a new group called the Akatsuki?"
"The mercenary group of missing-nin?" replied Danzo, leaning forward.
"Yeah-" The connections were all coming together. "-Akatsuki only became active in the years following the Kyuubi Attack, and someone must be directing a group of S-rank missing nin. There's no way they would even work together otherwise."
"Well done." Danzo's clapping filled the room, and Kakashi chuckled softly. "But the puzzle isn't over yet—what is Madara's goal?"
"That's simple. He wanted the Nine-tails but failed. He clearly hates Konoha, or all the shinobi villages. He's gathering a group of powerful minions, but for what?"
Kakashi's fist clenched together. "He wants to collect all the Bijuu, no doubt about it, for some nefarious reason."
Danzo's lip curved upwards, and Kakashi smirked. "You knew the answer the entire time, didn't you?"
"I can't say I did, but you are still a genius, Kakashi. No need to sell yourself short." Kakashi stood up and walked towards the window.
"There's something else." Kakashi finally said. "The issue over the Sharingan."
He didn't get a response, but Danzo simply waited for his answer.
"This 'Madara' must be an Uchiha."
"Are you sure? After all, you too are able to use the Dojutsu."
Kakashi slammed his hands on the table. "Call it a hunch, but I don't see anyone who gets their hands on a Sharingan calling themself 'Madara Uchiha' willingly. It's almost like the real Madara created some form of successor or found a way to immortality." The thought was terrifying—could Konoha stand up to the power of one its own founders? Hashirama Senju himself had been the only one able to stand up to Madara's immense strength, and he was 'The God of Shinobi'- a title Kakashi knew he himself didn't possess.
"Then we best be prepared."
"And also monitor the Akatsuki..." Kakashi was loathe to admit it, but Naruto was a target now. "We'll also have to get Naruto started on his training."
"So, you finally are ready to train the Jinchuriki." Danzo's lips tugged upwards, and an expression of greed flashing over his face.
"No." Kakashi responded, firmly. He let his chakra flare, just a little, to let Danzo know not to touch Naruto. "I will ask Jiraiya to begin the training, and place Naruto for early graduation."
Danzo didn't choose to respond, instead asking a question. "The Academy will need some changes as well."
"Get a new curriculum drafted, and on my desk. I'll look over it then."
A loud laugh was his response. "You truly are the Hokage! Very well then, I shall abide by your wishes, Lord Hokage."
"I'm not going easy on you because you were my teacher."
"Yes, yes. You are not Hiruzen, at the very least." Danzo rose, a smile on his face. "Good luck, Kakashi. While we have our differences, I am eager to see where you will go."
Kakashi's eye curls upward. "It's nice to know you care, sensei."
"I am not some emotionless machine to be uncapable of understanding feelings." With that, he disappears in a swirl of leaves.
"You didn't need to antagonize Elder so much, Kakashi-ni." Jin emerges from the shadows, Hound mask firmly secured over his face.
"Ma." Kakashi waves his hand in the air, ignoring Jin's squawk of protest. "He's a little too old-fashioned, that's it." He twirls the pen in his hand before returning to his paperwork.
"The biggest problem is what to do with the Land of Rice." The Daimyo was killed during the war, and its shinobi were all dead or missing. And of course, Sarutobi had to go kill himself to avoid the paperwork.
"Why don't you just appoint a governor, to manage the reconstruction? Or delegate your own powers?" Jin asked, landing next to Kakashi and peering over his shoulder at the documents.
"Delegate my powers, huh?" That was... actually a good idea. It would also let him handle more pressing issues, instead of micromanaging everything. "You're right, Jin!" he exclaimed.
"I am-!" Jin jumped as Kakashi slapped him on the back. "What are you doing!?" he cried out as Kakashi began to write rapidly, tossing aside the papers detailing the issues in Sound.
"Making a new government, of course." Kakashi said, eye-smiling at his younger brother. "I'm not going to spend my entire life in this office."
"Shouldn't you summon the council for such an important event?" Jin questioned.
"That's..." Kakashi grinned, "A great idea!"
"How you became Hokage is beyond me..."
Kakashi just chuckled nervously. "Let's not worry too much about that, now? And call the council for an emergency meeting while you're at!"
"Understood, Lord Hokage." Jin muttered sarcastically.
Kaito clasped hands with Shiro and pulled the black-haired nin in for a hug. Not that Shiro liked hugs—he was a tad bit prickly for them. Almost like a hedgehog in that regard.
"It's good to see you, Shadow." Kaito teased, as Shiro's frown deepened. The two were currently within River country, on the banks of the nation's many rivers, of course.
"You haven't changed." Shiro grunted, reaching into his cloak and handing a scroll to Kaito.
"I guess both of us haven't."
The 'Uchiha' had always been a man of few words, especially since the death of his brother. The two of them had first met when they were children on the run, sticking together in a desperate attempt to survive.
Kaito reached for one of the small pebbles on the bank of the river, feeling its weight in the palm of his hand. Shiro raised one eyebrow, but otherwise remained content from his position against a tree.
"Konoha's role is complete." Kaito said, and Shiro nodded. The pebble flew through the air, bouncing gently against the water.
"What about a spar?"
"A spar?" Kaito's lips curved upwards, and he started to gather his chakra. Only for Shiro to launch a barrage of kuani. The blades sliced through the air in a second, only to be stopped by a rapid burst of air ripping out from Kaito's frame.
"Curious." Shiro commented.
"Wind-natured chakra being expelled from my tenkasatsus." was Kaito's explanation. "I haven't been able to perfect it yet-"
He was interrupted by Shiro closing the distance between them, kunai a hair's breadth from Kaito's face. Narrowly maneuvering his head away from the assault, Kaito moved his hand through one-handed seals behind his back.
When Shiro brought his kunai back around, Kaito released the chakra building up in his throat. "Futon: Great Breakthrough!" The torrents of air ripped through Shiro, who collapsed into a pile of black liquid. He could feel the temperature rapidly rise, and quickly performed a substitution jutsu to flee from the resulting explosion.
The two shinobi met in a new clearing, shifting instantly into a battle of taijutsu. "Not bad." Shiro said, smirking cruelly. "Mangekyo Sharingan!" Kaito immediately closed his eyes, a grin forming on his face.
"Huh." A rush of energy leaked into his body, as he focused on the seals he had placed around their battleground. "Ninja Art: Drain Storm!" A unique Fuin technique, that relied on sound waves to negate ocular Genjutsu and provide a way of moving without use of the eyes.
"I should have expected nothing less." Shiro snarked, as the two exchanged blows.
"Those fancy eyes of yours won't be able to do anything, Shiro."
"Then how about this! Fire Style: Dancing Burst!" Fire roared around Shiro, cloaking each of his limbs in fiery armor. The rapid crackling and shifting of the flame lowered the effectiveness of Kaito's own jutsu, but he was prepared. By referencing his position with that of the seals, he would be able to continue moving—but engaging in Taijutsu wasn't going to be his cup of tea.
So instead, he leaned back, and compressed his body, squaring his arms to absorb incoming damage. His next move was one that required a precise degree of chakra control: chakra reinforcement. It allowed his body to stand the constant heat emitting from Shiro's punches and to fight back.
But it also had a second function. Each one of Kaito's limbs' shifted into springs, absorbing the kinetic energy from each of the attacks directed towards him. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction—and Kaito could feel the stress building up.
Shiro leapt back, watching closely. "A new move, Kaito?"
"Yeah." A vicious grin ripped on Kaito's face as he threw back his head and laughed. "Let's GO!"
In a blinding flash Kaito appeared in front of Shiro, hand spinning upwards into a brutal uppercut, wind chakra molding into his hand. "RASENKEN!" A blade of purely compressed chakra, inspired by the Yondaime's Rasengan.
It ripped through Shiro's defense, and Kaito's lips pulled upwards into a victorious grin. But when another puddle of mud greeted him, he rapidly spun around to meet Shiro's own blade.
"Absorbing my own chakra and storing it across your entire body using Fuin..." Shiro mused.
"That's not all, Shiro." Sparks flew from their clash, and both men forced all their strength into their arms. But Kaito had an advantage—his unique jutsu would allow him to redirect all his power into one specific body part. Yellow lines began forming across his body, as Fuin script sprung into life, raw chakra being funneled into his arm muscles and sword. The compressed wind blade grew nearly two times in size as Kaito swung, breaking Shiro's in seconds, only to meet a black ribcage.
"The Susanoo...?" Kaito watched slowly, moving backwards.
"Come, Kaito! Show me the power you possess!" Shiro thundered, as the great Tengu ascended into the air.
"Shiro, don't you think we should keep attention to ourselves?"
"You know that was never the goal."
Kaito sighed. Danzo had told the both of them to engage in a massive fight within the Land of Rivers, to create a distraction for Sand to invade. And Shiro clearly wanted to test how far he had gone—Kaito knew that the loss of his older brother would forever haunt him.
"I can take care of myself!" Kaito cried upwards, readying himself. His sensor seals had already detected some movement in the distance.
"Then prove it!"
It was essential to show the sheer might of Konoha. Danzo had ordered them to make a thundering declaration, one that would awe all the other nations.
Sighing slowly, Kaito reached for the seal attached to his stomach, and pulsed it gently. It was the result of extensive experimentation on Bijuu chakra—the creation of Psuedo-Jinchuriki, akin to the Gold and Silver Brothers.
By mixing it with his own chakra, and compressing it multiple times, he too would be able to form his own avatar. Roaring loudly as blazing orange chakra engulfed him, a fox rose up into the air. Except the fox only had two tails, and wings; because half of its chakra had been from the Seven-tails.
Shiro grinned. "That's it! Show me more, more of this power!" Insanity was leaking into his voice, and Kaito's brow furrowed in concern.
Shiro wasn't acting insane—he was relishing this moment. It was amazing to see how far Kaito had come from the sickly child he had been.
His grin only widened as he felt the sheer might of the Bijuu chakra. It lacked any mind of its own, merely an energy source now, but it was still worthy of respect. And it would be impossible for him to cast any Genjutsu now, would it?
He didn't need to worry about losing Kaito—so he might as well raise the stakes. The great form of the Susanoo clapped its hands together, as Shiro rushed through hand seals.
"Katon: Tengu Flame!" The pitch-black wings fanned the heavenly fire emerging from his mouth, tearing through the entire forest. That would surely send a message, Shiro mused.
Kaito's response was flap his own wings and take to the sky— no doubt using some kind of wind jutsu.
"Suiton: Great Flood!" He roared, as the fox opened its mouth at the apex of its flight. And Shiro was once again reminded of why Kaito was so strong—his mastery of the elements. The massive amount of smoke his Katon jutsus had released was now being used against him. He could see rainclouds gathering, and a large downpour begun to flood the land.
Within the howling winds of the storm, Shiro called out. "So Kaito, is that it?"
Kaito simply frowned. "I think you've got it wrong, Shiro." Shiro could feel a buildup of chakra around him and readied the unbreakable armor of the Susanoo in anticipation.
"I'm just getting started! Futon: Kamikaze!" The great fox raised both of its front paws into the air, as wind and lightning began to gather. "Feel the force of a hundred storms in a second!" The raging storm was brought down onto Shiro, who simply closed his eyes.
A smile creeps up his face as he whispers, "Amatsumara..."
The unique ability bestowed upon him once he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan—the one eye of heaven. Kaito's Kamikaze vanishes, while a shining crystal sword forms within the Susanoo's hands.
"So, this is your Mangekyo ability?"
Shiro ignores Kaito's question, focusing on the power of the Amatsumara located within his right eye. While his left eye can invalidate techniques and create a mirror weapon of them—in this case, the sword—his right can turn that mirror into a summon.
"Come forth!" He can feel the drain on his chakra but ignores it. A massive three headed hawk forms next to him, spiraling into a dive as it leaps for Kaito. But Kaito dodges to the side, and Shiro makes out distortions appearing across the air as the eagle is bound by chains of Fuin script.
"Take this! Fuin: Induced Explosion Wind!" The eagle collapses as Kaito uses his fox's wings to send a hurricane of explosive seals at him, all connected by strings to the eagle.
Shiro dismisses the summon, and rushes through the explosions, hand outstretched for the fox's throat. The sword in his right-hand shines brightly as he brings its edge down.
Kaito's response is to simply dismiss his avatar for a second, and spin through the air. Hands meeting each other in a Snake seal, he flashes a cocky smile back at Shiro, which Shiro returns.
"This is..." Kaito yells.
"It's..."
"THE END!" both of them yell- Shiro unleashes the full power of his mirror sword, dropping a veritable typhoon on Kaito's head, who simply disappears.
Shiro suddenly feels a large pulse of chakra from behind him and turns around to see Kaito clutching a kunai within the returned avatar of the fox. But Shiro's attacks are swallowed up by seals, to which he responds by turning them into mirror kunai.
But Kaito is faster than Shiro, rapidly flashing through the air and striking the Susanoo—this is the power of the Flying Thunder God, which Kaito somehow learned. But Shiro isn't out yet.
Not by a long shot. Wrapping all the mirror kunai into one hand, he places his hand in the Ox seal.
"Ninja Art: Heaven Bomb!" What happens when you unload the equivalent power of several Tailed Beast bombs, compressed into one place, and then compressed once again by his Amatsumara?
He isn't sure how many times he used it; but it should be enough.
Kaito gasps as the massive explosion emerges from the Susanoo, tearing up the entire valley they are currently in (not that there is much left since the start of their fight). It destroys the majority of the fox's chakra, which was already running dry—he will have to refill it.
They haven't completed enough research to create an actual artificial Bijuu.
As his feet touch the burnt ground, his eyes meet Shiro's. Both of them pause, estimating their chakra levels (no surprise, they're nearly out).
"I think that's enough." Kaito finally says, panting as the adrenaline fades away.
"Yeah." agrees Shiro, gasping for air as he smiles weakly.
"Cheat...eyes..."
"Fuin..?"
"Got me there..." Kaito sighs as memories flood back into focus.
The three of them: Shiro, him, and Takahashi, had been trapped within a temple where they had taken refuge in, and Kaito had been the one to unlock the seals. Whatever he had learned had been from the temple's cryptic carvings and rotten books.
The hunger to survive had been the only reason they had lived to tell the tale.
When he and Shiro had met Danzo after, he had engrossed himself in the study of Fuinjutsu, and of the legacy left to him.
It was the least he could do.
As Obito watched the sheer destruction wrought by the fighters, his frown deepened and deepened. It was clear that he would have to act soon, if he would have hope of ever winning.
He doubted that he would be able to win against them—he could survive, of course, but to win? Maybe Nagato could, but that would require some careful manipulation. If he acted against Konoha now, he would have to deal with the sheer wave of S-rank shinobi they had, but he had his own, didn't he?
"You will have to act soon..." drawled Zetsu, "Danzo has become too powerful... we must attack now, before they become too strong..."
"What of the other villages?"
"Once they see how Konoha has fallen, they will lose hope. Konoha is the only true issue."
"Fine then." Obito said, raising his head up. "Inform Nagato that we will strike within a week's time. I will secure the Nine-tails personally." The Akatsuki would be more than enough to distract the rest of the village.
Zetsu didn't respond, simply sinking into the ground. Obito clenched his hand—he would create a world of true peace.
Not even Kakashi would stop him.
A/N: You guys all thought we would be chill right? That things wouldn't shit the bucket? Well guess what, they did! Poor Kakashi, having to deal with the invasion one week into his rule as Hokage...
If you read closely, this might be all planned...
And look how strong Kaito and Shiro are! A lot of this strength is due to how harsh their upbringing was, which is hinted throughout the previous few chapters. Bijuu research finally returns, and boy was it fun to write... maybe soon we'll have our own baby Tailed Beast!
As always, thanks for reading!