Empty

by zzzgnas

There is nothing worse in the world than the feeling of complete and utter helplessness. That empty feeling you get when you've lost everything and you know there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Uzumaki Naruto was four when he experienced this feeling for the first time. And from then on... nothing had gone right... Strong! Naruto. Third Ninja War Timeline.

14. Chapter 14 - Wrath of the Wronged

Chapter-14

Wrath of the Wronged

And he had no qualms whatsoever about doing it.

*Flashback* Konohagakure, 13 Years Ago.

It was a beautiful morning. He woke up earlier than usual, yet feeling fully refreshed. After freshening up, he decided to take a walk around his beautiful village. Hevisited his sick friend, Uchiha Kagami, who, despite his sickness, welcomed him in and then smoked quite a few cigars with him.

He smiled. His wife always said that smoking would end up killing him. Hiruzen chuckled. She was a medic. She should know that smoke inhalation wasn't that big a deal for Fire-Style Ninjutsu users.

Thinking about his wife initiated a spring in his step. He was happy with how his life was going. His second son had just been born, just a few months ago, and he was the center of his attention. Somehow, he felt more love for him than even his firstborn. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, but he couldn't help it. Asuma Sarutobi was now, the most important person in his life.

Foreign relations were wonderful… for the moment. Well… Not exactly wonderful, but hey. They weren't fighting a war. His students were doing well. They were all jonin now, and wait for it, they each had their own summoning contracts. Well, hardly surprising about Tsunade. But seriously. They brought 2 new summoning contracts into Konoha's arsenal.

The time of peace, built up from the devastation of the first shinobi world war, had crossed two decades. What a peaceful era.

As he took in the scent of harvest and felt the warm sunlight falling on his face, he firmly believed that nothing could happen that would make him happier. He was wrong, of course. Because as he walked into his office, he was greeted with the sight of one of his oldest friends waiting for him. Senju Akira, his sensei's only son, Konoha's Golden Flame.

But as he turned around, he knew his day was going to take a sharp turn downhill.

Konohagakure, 12 Years Ago

Hiruzen couldn't believe it. If this was the truth, then he couldn't handle it. It wasn't just that he couldn't believe it. He also didn't want to believe it.

Akira Senju confessed to him exactly 39 weeks ago. That he and his wife, Sarutobi Biwako, had made a drunken mistake. They'd had an affair. Akira begged and pleaded for his forgiveness. He knew he was in the wrong… But at least, he had come forward immediately. He had confessed. Sure, he was pissed at him. He was pissed at them both. But, at least he had confessed. He forgave Akira after only a few days. But the matter was definitely not forgotten.

The news that Biwako was pregnant didn't come until a month later. By that time, Akira Senju and his little mistake was already thrown aside. They were all sure that the child was his.

But he knew from the moment she was born… From the moment he saw the small tuft of short brown hair on her head… The child was not his. Biwako started crying immediately. The surrounding nurses and medics assumed she was crying for happiness. No. She was crying because she was afraid. Afraid of my Wrath…

How dare she? Did she really think I'd harm a child? Even if I wasn't her father, I would love her and keep her safe. She will have everything she could ever ask for and he would be the most perfect father to her. Every new day that Biwako awoke to, she would be filled with regret for ever doubting him.

Konohagakure no Sato, 5 Years Ago.

He remembered the promise he made to himself over 7 years ago. He knew what he'd vowed to himself… Sarutobi Yuna would be his daughter. He would care for her like he would his own. He did mean it at the time. He just didn't expect how much repressed anger he had in him.

He never meant for it to turn out this way. But it was just out of his control. He had no way to stop himself. Every time he saw her eyes, he would be reminded. Every time she asked him for something, every time they sat around the dinner table, every time she called him 'tou-sama'... 'You are not my daughter', he'd think.

And that would be the start. He would just get so angry and he'd have to bite down hard on his self-control just to prevent himself from lashing out. That's how it had been for the past seven years. It was exhausting. But at least, he thought he'd kept it away from his family.

He was wrong. His wife had become distant to the point that he would become surprised when she initiated a conversation. His son, Asuma, still too young to understand anything, didn't behave any differently. He still couldn't help the fond smile that would creep up on his face when he thought of Asuma.

On the other hand, his other son, Sasuke, seemed to be angry with him… A few days ago, he confronted him in his office.

"You have to be nicer to Yuna-chan. She's scared of you, you know. Did you even notice yesterday at the party? She was hiding behind me the entire time, flinching whenever anyone tried to talk to her… Honestly, what you've been doing to her? It's borderline abusive. And I'm not the only one who's noticed."

Hiruzen raised his eyebrows. "Who?"

Despite himself, Sasuke gulped. "I overheard Tsunade-nee talk about Yuna to Uncle Akira. People are-"

Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't get to say much more because Hiruzen had suddenly stood up, a cold glint in his eyes. For the past few months, there had been talks of Sasuke being recruited by the ANBU division. But every offer they extended, Sasuke rejected. However, for his career, joining the ANBU would be a huge stepping stone. If he spent a couple years in the ANBU, the moment he decided to quit, he'd be a guaranteed Jonin.

But for some reason, Sasuke had been fighting him on the matter. And now, he finally understood why. It was because of her. It's because he didn't want to leave her alone.

Hiruzen sighed and sat back down and Sasuke let out a breath of relief, now that his father had calmed down. With sweet words tossed around, it was child's play for Hiruzen to manipulate his eldest into a deal. If you want something from someone, you have to do something for that someone. That was the way the world worked. Sasuke was old enough to learn that for himself.

If Sasuke joined the ANBU, he would start being much nicer around Yuna.

The boy was a fool. He didn't know what his disappearance from Yuna's life would do to her.

In the years that followed, Hiruzen watched as his 'daughter' slowly lost her confidence, her self-esteem and her sense of purpose and he could only think one thing.

Sasuke Sarutobi should never have brought the name "Akira Senju" into matters regarding his family.

*End Flashback*

Iron Country, Five Kage Summit

Lord Mifune, the General of the Samurai, stared out at the people seated in front of him. They were some of the most powerful people in existence. It was truly a shame that they couldn't just get along. He would've proposed it if he didn't know already that it would be a waste of breath.

Ay, the Sandaime Raikage of Kumogakure no Sato. The Ultimate Sword. And the Ultimate Shield. Tales of his exploits even from a very young age reached far and wide. He was named Ay at birth by his father, the Nidaime Raikage. That almost certainly sealed his fate. He would become Raikage. And he did. Kind of a weird process for a supposedly democratic nation, but whatever.

Kazan, the Sandaime Kazekage of Sunagakure no Sato. The strongest Kazekage. The wielder of the iron sand. The person who was so skilled at manipulating iron dust that it was rumored he could control blood. The man was undoubtedly the most dangerous person in the room, seeing as they were currently in the Iron Country. The place wasn't named that way just for their iron-hard policies and strict punishments. It was probably the largest source of iron in the elemental nations. It was everywhere. Looking at the slightly twitching fingers of the Kazekage, Mifune knew the man was fighting hard to control himself. He knew he shouldn't start anything because if he did, it would bring the combined might of the Samurai, Kumo, Kiri, Iwa and Konoha on his people. Assuming, of course, that he would succeed in killing the other kage.

Fumizuki, the Sandaime Mizukage of Kirigakure no Sato. The one no one knew anything about. He was the first to reach the venue and he had promptly claimed the center seat, only nodding in greeting to the leader of the Samurai. Well, at least he didn't make much of a fuss about leaving his guards outside. There wasn't much else to tell about him. Rather, there was nothing much known about him. He was probably skilled in water style ninjutsu… Maybe?

Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki, Ōnoki of the Twin Scales, the Sandaime Tsuchikage of Iwagakure no Sato. The man who claims to have survived an encounter with the legendary Uchiha Madara himself. The man who was infamous for being methodically logical about the decisions he takes, always thinking about both sides to any problem. His height and seemingly funny appearance wouldn't fool anyone here. They all knew him to be the wielder of Dust Release. The only Kekkei Tōta to exist. If he wanted to, the short man could simply turn anything he wanted to dust. His attack wasn't something you could block easily. He was generally an aggressive personality but the only sign of aggression he gave today was the grunt of annoyance he gave when he walked in to find the Mizukage occupying the center spot.

And finally, seated on the extreme right, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. The Professor. So skilled in elemental manipulation that he could do high level techniques with any element he chose to use. So skilled in strategy that he single handedly redefined how clones were used to wage war. So skilled in fuinjutsu that even his friend from a time past, Uzumaki Tenji, noted his skill. So skilled in bojutsu that none had ever matched him. So skilled in being an instructor that all his students, in their thirties, were S-rank shinobi with undeniable skill and power. So skilled in leading a village that they ended up on top in both of the previous wars.

…

…

No offense to the other kage, but they couldn't hold a candle to Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation. Every edge the other kage had against the man, it was luck. Not skill. The Tsuchikage? Dust Release. Bloodline-Limit. The Kazekage? Magnet Release. Bloodline-Limit. The Raikage? Extremely high affinity to lightning that seemed to show up only in the shinobi of the First Raikage's line. The Mizukage? Who knows really? But Mifune was sure he wouldn't match up well against the Hokage.

"Shall we begin, or do you all want to exchange pleasantries before we do?" Mifune asked, already knowing that pleasantries were the last thing on anyone's mind.

The Kazekage smirked. "I would just like to say how wonderful it is to see you again, Hokage-sama. The last time I saw you, you were having some troubles of the salamander variety."

The Hokage's right eye twitched. Weren't they part of a non-aggression pact? Was taunting him a part of that? He didn't think so. "I'm sure we can all agree that I'm in perfect physical health. But now that I see you so close, I'm worried for you too, Kazekage-dono. You look a little cooked. Are you sure you're well enough to attend?"

Mifune smiled. None of the others knew what they were talking about but just from the expressions on their faces, they could guess who won that verbal bout. Hokage - 1. Kazekage - 0.

"Tch. Let's get this pointless meeting started." The Kazekage mumbled out as the other older shinobi just watched on in silent amusement.

Mifune nodded. "Yes. It's time the purpose of this meeting is revealed. Hokage-dono and his shinobi have come up with a viable alternative to war. I have personally heard the proposal and I believe it has its merits."

The Tsuchikage was the first to respond. "So you're telling us that you two have already conspired together. We can hardly call this a neutral venue now."

Mifune shrugged. "You are free to believe what you want, Tsuchikage-dono. When Hokage-dono contacted me with his intentions, I was the one who forced him to reveal his plan to me before I agreed to even hold the summit. I couldn't call you all here to hear something that wasn't worth your time. I had to be sure that whatever Hokage-done had in mind, was something that could potentially reduce the death and destruction that shinobi have always been known for."

Onoki nodded, accepting the reasoning. "Then tell us what this great plan of yours is, Hiruzen."

The Sandaime Hokage met the eyes of his counterpart from Iwagakure. They were the only two kage that had been part of both the wars since the village system was founded. They were… friends. Kind of. Their villagers were almost always at each other's throats but they both desired to stop it. Alas,neither would ever admit that. Years of killing each other had made stopping the aggression an impossibility.

Hiruzen drew a deep breath. "A large-scale competition held in a neutral venue. Two genin from different villages would face off against each other, representing their villages. We could dub it the chunin exams, a way to judge if a genin has what it takes to lead. The daimyo of every nation, minor and major, would be in the audience. They will observe every match and they will decide which village has the talents they need. And that's how they will allocate missions in the future."

Unknown Location

Naruto just wanted to be done with this. To go back home to the apartment he'd bought. To lay in his own bed. To spend some long overdue time with his adoptive sister. To actually spend some time with his older sister he'd only recently reunited with.

But no.

No mercy.

It didn't matter that he'd done only his duty as a shinobi of Konoha. A genin's life in exchange for Orochimaru, one of the Sannin. A simple decision if you asked him.

Actions had consequences. It didn't mean that good actions had good consequences. Nor that bad actions had bad consequences. People do what they want to and the people that get hurt just have to deal with it. That's just the way it is.

It was early morning, when he landed, riding for over 12 hours on the boss of the vulture clan… Kurokaze… That insolent, selfish, piece of shit bird had carried him here. The middle of nowhere. A long way away from wherever the fuck Konoha was. He was never good at Geography. The only thing he could do with a map was judge distances. Like everybody else in the world could.

But he could kind of guess where he was. His best guess was that he was in the Land of Rice Fields. But that's all it was. A guess. The dense trees and the lush fields seemed to indicate that. But who really knew? And which way should he go? One thing was sure. If he came upon the sea or some snow-covered plain, he was headed in the wrong direction. Now, then. Location? Maybe identified… Status? Still fucked.

It also didn't help that the insolent, selfish, piece of shit vulture Kurokaze didn't leave him any instructions. All he said was this. "It will find you." The fuck was that supposed to mean? Sure, the fucker seemed apologetic. But not a lot. Not nearly enough.

Apparently big bad Mother Nature had spoken to him while Naruto was eating a human hand. He'd be allowed to summon them only after one more trial.

Screw this. He didn't care anymore.

Naruto looked from where he landed. He saw the path through the lush green fields that everyone was likely to follow and then he saw the path through the thick, dense, thorny forest. Somehow, he realized he should go through the forest.

So, he turned around, clicked his heels and ran through the lush green fields. He was done. He just wanted to get back to the apartment he'd bought. To the bed he longed for. Back to eating normal food.

He realized that he'd made the wrong choice when he saw the man wearing a hood, resting under the tree. One look at him and he could hear the alarm bells ringing. That man possessed the same chakra as Akira at the battle at Shimogamo Forest. Same as the chakra Kurokaze used when he unleashed that genjutsu. Nature Chakra.

And since he was supposed to pass some sort of trial set by Mother Nature, this was probably what he was supposed to face. Idly, he wondered what he would've encountered had he chosen the dense forest instead. In his mind, he knew it would be something equally bad. Of that, he had no doubt.

But even though the man was using one of the most powerful forms of chakra Naruto had ever seen, he didn't seem threatening. No… The many small birds perched on his person, chirping away happily at a whole lot of nothing, seemed to indicate that the man was… not dangerous? No wait. Appearances can be deceiving and all that.

So, Naruto did the sensible thing. He turned away and walked in a random direction that led away from the creepy man. But he didn't reach far.

The chirping suddenly stopped. Naruto only felt the smallest of chakra surges before he turned around. And as soon as he did, he saw the heads of all the chirping little birds hit the ground. They weren't chirping anymore…

Naruto took a step back. Shit.

Naruto looked up to see the man on his feet. He was tall. Taller than any other person he'd seen in his life. This man would tower over Orochimaru. He was at least 8 feet tall.

He slowly reached up and dropped the cowl covering his face, revealing the orange hair underneath. Then…

Then the man looked up, revealing his face. His face, covered in black markings with mismatched eyes. One eye, the right one, filled with nothing but… pity? It was a piercing red color. But the other eye had a crazed look in it. And it was an ugly, yellow color.

Naruto took another step back. This didn't seem like any fight he'd ever fought before. "Who are you?"

"My name is / We is being called /Juugo."

Naruto took another step back at the creepy dual voice that reached him. That was beyond fucked up. The red eye was now not so much filled with love as it was with contempt.

"Hello Juugo. My name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto called out, hoping to keep the nervousness out of his voice. He knew it was his name, but he still found saying his clan-name weird.

"I / We / know who you / are. / is being."

Naruto was as unnerved the second time as the first. He couldn't help but take another step back when he saw the black patterns on the man's face flickering and shifting.

"I / We / want to / fight / kill / you."

Naruto frowned. "Why do you want to fight me? … Or kill me? We've never met."

The man laughed, a bestial howl filling the air. "Oh, but we have. You are Nature's destroyer / DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE. You are the forest burner / DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE. YOU ARE THE WIELDER OF OUR STOLEN POWER / DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE. I / We / will / kill you / rip you limb from limb."

Okay. This man was either very, very insane… Or he was sane enough to have two beings living in him and stay sane. The man, Juugo, showing none of the bloodlust he showed in his threats, was quietly walking towards him.

Naruto reached for his weapons. He was tired, still hungry, weak from malnutrition, and barely on his feet. But he was, one hundred percent, done with the nature bullshit.

The longsword named Hayami appeared in his hand. He hoped this would be quick. He didn't know how long he could keep his sword up.

With Minato

Orochimaru was spending the unexpected free time he received catching up on some of the stuff he normally didn't get time for. Like siphoning chakra into any of the seals he needed to refill, cleaning his nails, smoothening his clothes, etc. It was boring. Very boring. He looked around and realized he wasn't the only one feeling this way.

Sigh

They could've figured out some way to enable sound at least. This was torture. Legendary shinobi did not sit still. Ever. Every moment spent here was Orochimaru imagining a dramatic escape, killing as many as he could. But that probably wouldn't go over well for his sensei.

Sigh

Nothing was happening. Hiruzen Sarutobi could've just taken two genin, maybe even his two genin children, and it would've turned out fine. He wasn't needed here. He was needed back at home. With his genin… Well, with his remaining genin. He needed them to get stronger. There won't be any more battles where they could just wait it out or talk it out with the enemy. The battle before was just a precursor. Every single member made their first mistake and nothing had, as of now, been capitalized on. The coming battles wouldn't be anything like before. It would all be coordinated assaults at key strategic points to ruin their supply chain, demolish their morale and kill them slowly.

He had no doubt in his mind that the chunin exam idea would be put through. After all, if Mifune supported it, the kage had no choice but to give their support. If they wanted to stay on his good side that is.

But he was also fully certain that the chunin exams wouldn't be the end of it. At least one major village would be outraged with the results. That was a certainty. And war was pretty much the only thing that could follow.

A huge battle was coming, the scale of which would be staggering. Loss of life in the tens of thousands, looming ahead of them. He had to make sure he was prepared. That his genin team was prepared. That Tsunade was done with her self-pity when the time came. That Jiraiya was back from and prepared to do whatever it takes. And that-

Huh?

A kunai?

Minato was handing him a kunai. A 3-pronged kunai that had strange seals all over the handle. "What is this?"

Minato furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "I can feel it. Naruto has made it out of wherever he ended up. A couple hundred miles east of here…"

Orochimaru's eyes widened for the smallest of moments but he soon schooled his expression. "What are you talking about? How would you know-"

Minato glared at him, making him shut up. "He has a kunai like this with him. I can teleport to where he is and bring him back here. Just make sure you hold on to the kunai."

Orochimaru's mouth dropped open in shock. That was how Minato had saved the Hokage's life when Hanzo attacked. He had teleported. Actual space-time ninjutsu. Unbelievable. This was a huge load off his mind. He was alive. The boy who'd saved his life was still alive. The guilt he'd unknowingly harbored was swiftly fading away. This was the happiest he'd been in a very long time…

…

But…

"Minato, you'll do nothing. Do you understand?" Orochimaru commanded sharply.

Minato whirled around in surprise. "What?! Why not?"

Orochimaru took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Think about it. You teleport away and bring back another Konoha-nin. That means that we invited all the major villages' leaders to this 'neutral' venue, allowing each of them only two shinobi as guards. And then we show them that the number means nothing to us. We can get as many shinobi here as we want, in seconds. The fighting would start immediately."

Minato, now subdued, sat back down. "What if I don't bring him back here? What if I take him to Konoha instead?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "No. If you teleport away, it's not much of a leap to think that you can teleport back. They've undoubtedly seen you handing me a kunai, so they're probably already on guard. This is a very delicate situation, Minato. And it's a situation where a single wrong move can make the next few years filled with destruction and death."

Minato grit his teeth. Was there nothing he could do? His fists clenched, he almost didn't notice Orochimaru handing him his kunai back.

"Now, calm down and start explaining this shit to me so it doesn't look like it's anything dangerous." Orochimaru whispered in his ear.

Minato slowly let his wrist relax and he drew a deep breath. He was feeling so helpless. So unable to do anything. So fucking helpless… But he was a jounin of Konoha first. He would… He had to do his duty first.

With Naruto.

Naruto was panting. He was tired. He was hungry. He was weak. He couldn't move like he was used to moving. He couldn't draw on enough power to do any damage. All he could do was dodge. And if he kept dodging and dodging and dodging… This battle could go on forever.

Juugo was fast. Too fast even. The only reason Naruto was still standing was his Sharingan and his fast reflexes. As fast as he was, Juugo had a weakness. He wasn't thinking too clearly. His attacks were all just a burst of speed. A head-on charge… Oh, how he wished he was at full power. This man wouldn't have survived a minute.

But he wasn't at full power. And the basic head-on charge was dangerous to him. Side-stepping and jumping aside. That was how he stayed ahead. Initially, he wondered if he should engage him in taijutsu. But he saw what happened to a tree that unfortunately stood in his opponent's way. The way it was blasted clean off? He didn't want to get hit anywhere with that.

But enough was enough. He'd been on the defensive for too long in this fight. He would have to make a gamble and see if it pays off. Jumping to and fro on the balls of his feet, he prepared himself. Juugo started his charge and Naruto jumped as high as he could over the charging 8-foot man. As he fell, he slammed the prepared seal on his back.

Landing on his feet was probably too much to ask for given the condition he was in. He crashed hard into the ground, probably cracking a bone in his shoulder. Swallowing the pain, he slammed another seal, a copy of the previous one, onto the ground in front of him.

"Ninja Art Sealing Technique: Two Violet Flames Formation!"

A violet barrier sprang up connecting the point he'd placed the scroll on, and the place where Juugo was. He immediately caught fire. The same violet flames that burned the Kusa-nin alive in the silent dispatch, spread across his body. Naruto sighed in relief. The gamble had paid off. He wasn't sure the barrier would work when one of the nodes was in motion, but thankfully, it did. Not only that, the chakra gatherer seals that he'd worked into the seal were performing even better than usual because Juugo's body itself was an abundant source of Nature Chakra. But something was wrong…

Why wasn't he screaming? The last time he saw someone suffering under the violet flames, his screams were loud enough to wake the whole forest. This time, the man just stood there, the flames raging on his entire body.

The burning man simply stood there, showing no indication of the pain he was in, nor acknowledging the fact that he was burning alive. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air, but Juugo's body was still standing and seemed as bulky as before. And then, Juugo took a step towards him.

"You / dare / is daring / to use that technique again?"

Naruto's eyes widened. Shit. Probably not the best idea given how many times these damned nature fanatics had called him the 'Forest Burner' in the past couple of months. But that didn't explain why Juugo wasn't on the ground writhing in pain.

Then Naruto saw something he thought he'd only see a few times in his life. He saw manipulation of chakra so potent that it became visible. As an outline to his form at first, but then his grey flesh extended behind him to form two tubes with the top end closed. And then, humongous amounts of chakra rushed out of the holes at the bottom, just as the burning man bent down. The result?

Juugo was propelled forward faster than Naruto could react. Not only that, the violet barrier, still connected to Juugo's back was rapidly closing in on him. Naruto was sure that even though Juugo didn't seem to mind the violet flames, he certainly would. Forming the Ram seal as quickly as he could, he stopped the flow of chakra from the chakra gatherer seal to the barrier seal closer to him.

Almost immediately, the violet flames disappeared from the inhuman creature sailing towards him and his severely burned skin healed instantly.

In the millisecond before impact, Naruto noticed two things. First, Juugo was smaller. Once a giant of a man, at least 8 feet tall, he was now a little below 7 feet. And his muscles were considerably smaller.

And second, on Juugo's right hand, the same one that was mere inches from his chest, another grey-colored tube-like structure had formed. And like the ones at his back, this too was releasing a huge amount of chakra propelling it forward like a rocket.

His hands barely out of the Ram seal he had formed earlier, had no chance to block. And frankly, Naruto doubted it would make a difference.

BOOOMMM!

Five Kage Summit

Surprisingly, the stoic Raikage was the first one to ask a question. "Why genin? Why decide to make genin fight each other? Wouldn't it be better to use jounin? After all, jounin define the village's strength better than a bunch of kids can."

The Mizukage nodded at the question. He too was wondering about the reason.

"This tournament is supposed to be an exhibition. The daimyo and other dignitaries present will undoubtedly want to see the action, making bets and whatnot. If we held a tournament between our jonin, the daimyo will be unable to see most of the fighting and it probably won't serve as any sort of exhibition." The Hokage spoke calmly.

Onoki frowned. "Seems a bit barbaric. It's a good concept, but isn't this what we're all trying to prevent? The young ones having to fight the nation's battles?"

Hiruzen shrugged. "Killing blows could be disallowed. The idea is to showcase each village's talents so that the clients, the daimyo, the people watching can make the best choice when picking a village."

The Kazekage started shaking his head while the Hokage was still speaking. "No. No. If this is supposed to be some substitute for war, then such limitations can't be allowed. Killing is the shinobi's job. People pay us to kill. Their skill in killing is what has to be showcased."

The other three legendary shinobi nodded immediately. Hiruzen frowned but didn't say anything.

"So, tell me Hokage-dono. How would this work? A five-way battle between the chosen genin, the strongest in their respective village?" The Raikage asked in his deep, grumbling voice.

Hiruzen shrugged again. Not very kage-like, he knew, but what else could he do? "Not knowing whether you'll accept this or not, I didn't plan much on how this would go about. I thought that if you agreed, it would be better for us to discuss the planning stages together."

All four kage mulled it over in their heads. This was a good deal. Each of them had numerous jonin that had never seen the light of day, working in top-secret facilities or working in ANBU… It would be child's play to forge papers for these individuals and send them in.

Onoki had two names on his mind. Deidara. And Han. No one would stand a chance if those two let loose against genin.

The Sandaime Raikage had his pupil in mind. Darui of the Black Lightning. And of course, Nii Yugito, the imperfect jinchuriki of the Two-Tailed Beast-Cat.

The Mizukage was indifferent. He had no hand in this war. If they decided to go ahead with this… 'chunin exams', he would send in some genin. He knew the three-tails brat was a genin and he'd heard about some jonin who got himself demoted to genin. Barboza or something. And if they decided to go back to waging war, he would simply wait it out until everyone was done fighting each other. Then, he would just walk in and claim his price.

Kazan didn't really favor the idea, but he wasn't sure he could get away with refusing to participate since the Hokage had been the one to propose the idea. It wouldn't look good to the Wind Daimyo. He could send Sasori. The rest of his team? He didn't think so. They were weak. And of course, there was his latest weapon as well. He would do well in a tournament setting. But there was one other thing. Something he had to be sure to address.

"What about the terrain?" he asked. "The terrain is sure to affect any battle. Take water-style users for instance. They'll find it difficult to use their ninjutsu without water sources nearby."

Onoki scoffed. "Shinobi must adapt to the conditions as needed."

Kazan frowned. "And a good shinobi faces the opposition in favorable conditions only."

Onoki simply scoffed again. The Raikage nodded his assent, looking at the Kazekage. The Mizukage was once again indifferent.

Hiruzen frowned. Problems were bound to appear, but not in some minute detail like this. Sure, he could see how unfavorable terrain would be bad, but just a plain room would serve the purpose. Except for water-jutsu users. And that was easily fixable using some technique that would increase the humidity in the air.

Mifune leaned forward. "The samurai will take care of the terrain. If the exams are to be held here, we have locations around here that would emulate the conditions in your homes. Except, of course, the desert. But with Kazekage-dono's help, we can make a desert-like space in the arena as well."

Hiruzen gazed at the samurai in confusion. "Arena?"

Mifune smiled. "We have some plans in motion already. A big open space with four separate regions, to four different directions. A mountainous region, like the terrain found in the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, a forest region, like Land of Fire, a swamp filled with dense undergrowth and many little ponds and lakes, and of course, the desert region. Before each fight begins, assuming it's going to be one-on-one fights, there can be a coin-toss… Or something similar. Whoever wins the toss can decide which part they want to start the fight in. Of course, the one who starts at an advantage is likely to lose the advantage, should his/her opponent be skilled enough to lure them to a point of disadvantage. Simulates a war-scenario very well, doesn't it?"

The five kage were impressed. That was… perfect. So annoyingly perfect that none of them had any reason to complain about it. Finally, the Tsuchikage spoke.

"We know the samurai desire peace in the elemental nations, but that is no reason for the lengths you're undertaking for this experimental venture. What is your motive?"

The question had merit. Even Hiruzen was intrigued. Why was the leader of the Samurai so invested in the 'chunin exams'?

Mifune smiled again. He didn't particularly care if his motives were known. "A gathering of daimyo like this… It's almost a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Most of them will be spending a few days away from their dull lives in court. They're bound to let loose. And when rich people let loose in my country, I'll be making money." The kage stared at the samurai in shock. "If this first time works out well, our country could become the neutral venue where every future tournament will occur. That's a lot of wealth and prosperity for this snow-covered land. I would be a fool to discourage this."

Hiruzen nodded. This had the potential to become something big. The annual event that everyone looked forward to. The event that genin everywhere would want to perform at.

The five kage came to an unspoken unanimous agreement. While Iron Country had no reason to fear the outcome, the five major villages were aware that it was a go-big-or-go-home situation. And it seemed like it was going to happen. So, they had to be as aware as they could and influence the planning as much as they could.

The Mizukage leaned forward in his chair, speaking for the first time since the summit started. "How will the tournament work?"

With Naruto

BOOOMMM!

Naruto was familiar with pain. And he had a high tolerance for it. He had received his fair share of pain from Orochimaru in their practice sessions. He would get injured during missions as well. When he utilized the black flames, he would get a stabbing pain through his eyes. He had felt himself getting burned alive in one of his visions about Uzushiogakure. But none of it could compare to the pain he got when he tried to remember his previous life, when his mind was forcefully pushed back and shut down.

But then, the past two months happened. Hunger… Insatiable hunger. The pain of hunger was greater, much greater than anything he had ever experienced. All the other forms of pain were inescapable. There was no 30-second solution to getting stabbed.

But hunger? That was curable. That was escapable… Just a bite and the pain would go away. Despite finally getting some food, having to go hungry for as long as he did? It had consequences. It still hurt… A lot. Every step he took since the vultures dropped him into this place had hurt.

But now…

The moment the crazed man's supercharged fist met his chest, he knew. He knew he was done. The raw power with which the man had attacked him… He was done. There was no way he was getting up from this. He was destroyed. Utterly destroyed. Such was the power generated behind the fist that rocketed into him.

The point of impact, his chest, gave in to the pressure like a piece of cardboard. His ribcage imploded, eight of his ribs broken and the remaining cracked. Blood and bile filled his mouth even as he felt himself getting launched through the air. He flew like a shot from a cannon, spinning and twisting and turning, unable to do anything to control his flight with the pain wracking his body… The first tree he crashed through broke his collarbone. The second dislocated a few of his vertebrae. The third didn't break anymore, but Naruto was certain that it was only because there was nothing left to break. The fourth tree finally succeeded in stopping his flight.

Pain… Pain so great, he couldn't fight. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. At that moment, embedded into a large oak tree, unable to move, unable to think, pain filling his mind, he wasn't sure hunger was the greatest form of pain anymore.

He couldn't breathe. He could almost hear his lungs filling up with blood. One eye slowly cracked open to see Juugo right in front of him with his slightly younger animalistic face snarling, his slightly shorter body tensing, his slightly smaller arm driven into his stomach, tearing him through the tree that had worked so hard to stop him just moments before.

This time, he crashed into the ground, skidding to a stop on a patch of grass. He coughed up blood. Still unable to breathe, he started hyperventilating.

WHOOSH.

He didn't need to bother opening his eyes to know that Juugo was once again in front of him.

THUMP.

The devastating blow to his stomach pushed him through the ground. He coughed up blood again. Is he going to bury me alive?

THUMP.

He was pushed several inches deeper. He wanted to laugh at Nature. It won't matter, you dumb bitch. I'm already drowning. There's no point in trying to bury me alive.

THUMP.

He was pushed down again, the hard rocky layer digging into his back. This was it. He would die here, away from everyone he'd ever loved, away from his sister and Yugao. Away from his condescending sensei and his stubborn teammates. He felt… empty.

His half-open eyes could barely make out the sun shining above the hunking man over him. He could do nothing as Juugo reached in, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the hole he'd dug.

The only reason he was breathing now was because the blood in his lungs had been forced out through his mouth. It was still filling up though. Naruto noticed it again. Juugo was smaller, now under six feet. Why? He didn't know.

Juugo slammed him down on the ground in a different place, making a new hole.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

"If I point you in the right direction, would you kill whoever did this? Would you destroy every last person responsible?"

THUMP.

"Kumo did this by starting the war. Will you kill them for me?"

THUMP.

"Kiri did this by supplying the ships for this invasion. Will you destroy them for me?"

THUMP.

"Iwa did this by hatching this plot to invade us and by aggressively pursuing a war they'd already lost. What will you do to them?"

THUMP.

"Lastly and most importantly, Konoha did this by doing nothing. We waited and waited and waited for them to come. We waited days, days turned into weeks, weeks turned into a month. The people down there… They gave up their lives thinking that Konoha was coming to save their loved ones. That their lives had bought enough time for their precious people. How wrong they were."

THUMP.

"Naruto, this next one is not a request. It's a declaration. A promise. You will destroy Konoha one day. You will bring to them what they brought to us. Eternal damnation awaits them for their crimes."

THUMP.

"Konoha will burn."

THUMP.

"Konoha will burn just like Uzushio did. The land will flow with the blood of its people and its water will turn red with blood."

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Naruto screamed.

"I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM. I'LL DESTROY EVERYTHING THEY HOLD DEAR. I'LL KILL THEM ALL."

Nothing happened. The beast in front of him was puzzled, trying to understand what the puny human was trying to say.

Seals appeared all over his body. He was now rapidly being covered by markings that only Uzumaki Kushina could recognize. The last resort of the Uzumaki Clan.

The voice spoke in his mind. The voice of the 4-year-old Uzumaki Naruto who promised you the destruction of Konoha.

"You?"

…

"You will do nothing."

…

"Sleep."

…

"We will do everything. Everything we have promised and more."

Five Kage Summit

The Tsuchikage slammed his tiny hands on the table. "No. For the last time, having one-on-one fights between genin from different villages is not acceptable. It won't be an accurate measure of anyone's strength. And of course, there is the problem of having a civilian audience. They will undoubtedly make their decisions based on how flashy each match is."

The Hokage and Mifune nodded along.

The Raikage scoffed. "What's so wrong with that? Shinobi are often very flashy. Why not give them what they want? These are exhibition matches, aren't they?"

Mifune quickly intervened before anyone could retort to that admittedly stupid comment. "How about this? A shinobi, trusted by the dignitary and the respective village leader, will accompany them. That shinobi can point out the subtleties of what is happening and also offer advice on who is showcasing the qualities that make a good shinobi."

The Hokage nodded. "That could work."

"Still doesn't change the fact that one-on-one fights are pointless and wouldn't be an accurate measure of the village's strength." The Tsuchikage stubbornly stated.

"What do you propose then, Tsuchikage-dono?" The Raikage asked, surprisingly calm despite his idea not even being considered.

Onoki smirked. "Team battles of course. Draw lots or something along those lines and decide on an order in which the villages would fight. Going in that order, the village going first will choose a village of their choice and challenge them. When the fight ends, the winning team goes to the next round while the losing team is eliminated. Or, in case there is a tie or a simultaneous forfeit, both of them go to the next round, but only the still standing members can participate. Of course, that means that one village will get a bye into the next round, but it's going to be decided randomly, so no one can complain. The order for the next round can be decided ensuring that the village that got the bye in the previous round won't get a bye in the current round. This goes on and on until finally the strongest village emerges. After all, war is not a one-on-one fight. It's a team battle."

No one said anything for a few moments. Then suddenly, the Kazekage started laughing. Ignoring the disbelieving stares from his peers, he continued to laugh. "That's your big plan? It seems your age is catching up with you." The Tsuchikage flushed with anger, but didn't rise to the taunt. "We've just now established that the daimyos and other dignitaries will be allowed a shinobi with them so that they can point out what's happening in a one-on-one fight. And we've established that each village will send two genin teams for this test. That means 12 genin fighting at the same time. The civilians won't be able to figure out who to even look at."

The Kazekage laughed a bit more and even the Raikage let out a few chuckles. The Hokage, Mifune and the Mizukage maintained their stoic demeanor.

The Tsuchikage, with a supreme act of willpower, pushed his anger down. This was kind of called for. After all, his shinobi did betray Suna after they allowed entry into their land to escape Hanzo's wrath. Nevertheless, he delivered his biting reply. "It's easy to make fun of a plan once it's made, but I don't see you putting anything on the table, you arrogant child!"

The Kazekage snarled at the insult but it didn't go too far because the Mizukage chose that moment to open his mouth for the second time. "Why not do both? One-on-one fights as well as team matches like Tsuchikage-dono mentioned. The one-on-one fights can be held, say, a month or two before the actual chunin exams. This would act as a preliminary round to weed out the cannon-fodder as well as thin down the numbers so that it'll be easier for the civilians in the audience to keep up."

The Hokage was nodding along while the Mizukage explained his plan. He picked up right when the Mizukage stopped talking. "This, of course, means that there's still a chance that all 6 genin from one village will pass. But this could also be compared to a situation in war. In war, you could be outnumbered 10-to-1 but still have to fight, and conversely, you could outnumber your opponent 10-to-1 and still have to coordinate your attacks. After the 'preliminaries' as Mizukage-dono put it, the numbers would be sufficiently cut down so that the whole thing could be finished in 1 day."

Silence reigned again as they all thought it over. Nobody could find anything too wrong with it.

But… "It still doesn't solve the problem of civilians having to keep track of 6 or 7 individuals participating in a shinobi deathmatch." The Kazekage didn't have any of the previous aggression, his tone was purely speculative.

The Mizukage waved it off. "We can make a rule that states that if the total number of participants is above a certain number, say 4 or 5, then it has to be individual battles."

The other kage slowly nodded their acceptance. It was a good compromise in the end. They all thought they saw ways to exploit the specified rules of the tournament that would give each of them an edge over the other villages. But what the Hokage planned to do would eventually prove tame in comparison to what some of the others ended up doing.

Wordlessly, they all agreed to the proposal. Mifune quickly drew up a contract and made 6 copies as well. Each of them signed by all five kage and with him as the witness. And the summit was finally at an end. Each of them was provided with a copy to take back with them.

Mifune broke the silence that had settled over them. "Now that all other matters have been settled, I have another proposal for you. We could provide each of the villages with the same kind of recording seals that you saw on the way in, along with other related recording equipment. That way, each of your respective villages will be able to view the exams live."

This time however, the Mizukage was the first to comment. "For a price… Right?"

Mifune smiled the same smile as before. "Yes, of course. For a reasonable price."

Everyone stared after the Sandaime Mizukage who left the room immediately after Mifune started talking. "You're making enough money off us." They heard his fading voice as he left the summit.

The Raikage barked out a laugh and followed him. The Kazekage was equally amused but he didn't laugh at the leader of the Iron Country. He simply stood up, and walked out. Only Mifune, Onoki and Hiruzen remained.

Hiruzen took pity on Mifune. "I'd like to hear more, Mifune-dono." The Tsuchikage nodded.

Mifune just sighed. 2 out of 5 was a passing score wasn't it?

In Naruto's Mindscape

The place was becoming exceedingly familiar. Unfortunately. Uzushiogakure was as much of a wreck as he remembered. Except… Except the bodies were gone, the rivers were dry and the land was barren and smoking. The rain of black fire that his younger self set on this island had done its job. It had destroyed everything.

Oh, and instead of showing up in a house, like usual, he was at the highest point on the island, the same place he'd met his younger self on his previous visit.

Naruto looked around. Perhaps, he was dead and this was hell. Probably his worst, most traumatic memory…

But still, he continued to look around. He just knew in his mind that his younger self was here. Somewhere.

He walked forward towards the edge. Scouring the land, it took a few moments for him to recognize him. The four-year-old was a difficult person to find when he was just a speck in the distance, standing atop the wreckage of a no longer discernible number of ships.

Naruto frowned as he walked down the cliff, sticking to the steep surface. A dozen meters off the ground, he jumped, rolling to soften the fall. However, he didn't even feel the impact.

"Duh. I'm a ghost."

That may be, but the ghost had almost been burned to death the last time the ghost was here. So, he'd better be careful.

Shaking himself, he continued forward to the beach. Unlike last time, there weren't any dead bodies to distract him. Just a calm, slow, walk to the beach.

When he arrived at the beach, he turned and looked back at the cliff overlooking the island. It didn't feel like he'd walked this much though. It felt too easy.

Shrugging, he walked forward to meet his younger self, mentally conditioning himself for the pain that would undoubtedly find its way into him.

The boy realized his presence before he revealed himself. "Naruto, welcome back."

Naruto frowned. He didn't even turn around which was annoying, "Yeah, hi! I'm back."

The boy turned around and smiled at him. "It's unfortunate that the shackles placed on us only allow us to meet in situations like this…" Naruto blinked. "Shall we pick up where we left off?"

Naruto frowned. There wasn't any bloodlust in him this time. Where did they leave it last time?

The boy pouted. "You do remember, don't you?"

Naruto brushed it off. "Of course I do. Kill them all, Burn them all, yada, yada, yada."

The boy paused. "Hmph. Well, in case you did forget." He reached into the small sack at his feet.

Naruto saw Kumo, Kiriand Iwa headbands. The boy held the Kumo headband up. Naruto remembered his promise.

"I will kill every last one of them."

Next was the Kiri headband.

"They will be wiped off the face of the earth."

Then the Iwa headband,

"They will suffer before I kill them."

The boy nodded. Then he held up a leaf. "What about this one? Have you reached the right answer? Will you kill them for me?"

Naruto thought long and hard. He knew what the boy wanted to hear, but he doubted the boy would believe him if he lied. Could he really destroy Konoha, kill all its citizens and burn their bodies like what happened to Uzushio? Probably not. Did he even want to? He didn't know. As far as he could see, not all the people in Konoha had committed wrongs against him. But most of the upper leadership had. Them? He could condone killing. The others? The innocent? "If I must."

…

…

…

The boy sighed and looked away. "You do know that that's the wrong answer right?"

Naruto nodded stoically.

"We'll never get further than this unless you realize what we must do. Who we are meant to be." The boy spoke calmly.

Naruto nodded again.

"We'll never be as strong as we can be unless you realize who I am."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "I know who you are. You're me. From when I was young. Before everything got fucked up." That's who he thought he was. Who else could he possibly be?

The boy looked at him in sadness. "So close to the right answer… And yet, as far as possible one could be from it. When all this is over, think… Think and think and think until you find the right one. Because if you don't, we'll never get our revenge. We'll never fulfill our purpose."

"And is that it? Revenge? Is that my purpose? Is that why you trained so hard before you were even 6 years old? Is that why you became so strong that you might be stronger then than I am now?"

The boy chuckled. "We have many things we dream of doing… We dream of death and destruction one day. We dream of love and beauty the next. But revenge, it's the only thing that fuels us. The only thing that matters. The only thing we're destined for."

Naruto frowned. "I find that hard to believe."

"Tough."

Naruto had nothing to say to that.

So, he just sat there beside the younger boy waiting for whatever the boy would say. He was content with waiting for him. After all, he couldn't feel the pain of the terrible hunger here. Nor the pain of his caved-in rib cage.

"Tell me what happened here. Tell me exactly what Konoha did that made you desire revenge against them more than anything else in the world. Tell me in detail how those people died, and exactly how I ended up in Konoha. Tell me all that, and then I'll decide if revenge is truly my purpose. If it's the only thing that matters and if it's the only thing we're destined for. Tell me and I'll decide." Naruto spoke in a quiet whisper.

Silence… And then, laughter. "Where's the fun in that?"

Naruto had nothing to say once again. Time passed, but the sun didn't move. Sufficiently fucked up mechanics for a dreamworld.

He didn't know how long passed before the boy spoke again. He was almost certainly dead now out in the real world. Was he to spend eternity here? In the wake of his clan's destruction?

The boy stood up. "You seem to be in a bit of trouble out there in the real world…"

Naruto rose to his feet as well. "Gee, you think?"

The boy chuckled, but his face turned serious slowly as his chuckled died down. "I don't really know how many of them will escape, but at least some of them will finally be at rest."

Naruto allowed the quizzical look to appear on his face but the boy was no longer paying attention.

"I'll sort out this mess for you now. Till we meet again, Naruto. I still have loads to tell you."

With Minato

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the worst person on Earth. Minato was sure of it. Why else would he do this when one of his genin needed him? Okay, he understood that the last bit was unfair. He couldn't know that Naruto had reappeared. But still… Why would he sit in that chamber drinking tea with their mortal enemy?

To make matters worse, the shinobi from Iwa seemed to have finally picked up on his unease. After the initial surprise and horror wore off, the other shinobi guards had settled down. But Minato couldn't. He just couldn't. Orochimaru repeatedly told him to calm down but he just couldn't bring himself to just sit there when Naruto, possibly hurt, perhaps fatally so, or maybe even dead, was out there.

And now finally, the Iwa shinobi had noticed how uncomfortable he was. They'd probably inferred that he had somewhere he needed to be. And that he was late for it. So, they started taunting him.

"Hey, Kitsuchi. How long do you think Tsuchikage-sama will be?"

"Don't know, you know how he is with his tea."

"Hmmm. Looks like I've forgotten. What's he going to do next?"

"Well. He likes his tea made in a very specific way. If there's anything wrong with it, he'd just redo the whole thing."

Minato clenched his fist.

"Calm the fuck down." Orochimaru whispered. "You're only making it worse by showing them they're getting to you. You're a fucking jounin. Act like it."

Minato hatefully glared at the two Iwa shinobi which only got them to grin wider. He then leaned away from Orochimaru and sat back down.

Orochimaru sat next to him. "You know… I get the feeling you think that you have to be the one to rescue Naruto. And that the rest of us are cruel enough to let him suffer if we can't help it. Why is that? Don't you think I want to save him too?"

Minato glared at the senior shinobi in anger. "I have to be the one, because I'm the reason he suffered in the first place. Because of me, Naruto and his sister were separated for over two months. Saving him is the first step towards being forgiven."

Orochimaru laughed out loud, drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity. "You know, I don't give you enough credit. You're a funny man, Namikaze Minato. Do you actually believe that?"

Minato nodded defiantly.

"Tell me, Minato. When did he disappear?"

Minato hesitated before replying. "When he used the summoning technique to escape Hanzo."

"Yes. Why was he facing Hanzo?"

"Because he wanted to save… you…"

"Who do you think knew enough about the summoning technique to teach him that if he used it, he'll be carried to the lair of his familiars?"

Minato coughed nervously at the venomous tone Orochimaru used. "Y-You?"

Orochimaru nodded. "Yes. Me. Don't think for even one moment that your hand in this is bigger than mine. Is that clear?"

Minato nodded.

"Good. Now, let's talk about our plan. You remember the way we came, right?" Minato nodded. "Do you remember how the entire way here, you could see samurai patrolling?" Minato nodded. "Now, how soon do you think the moment will arrive when you can teleport merrily away and save the brat?"

Minato's eyes widened in sudden realization as the situation finally became painfully clear. "When we're out of this country. Only when we're out of the Land of Iron."

Orochimaru smiled a painful smile. "Good man. Do you see now, why your anger is wasted here?"

Minato nodded, gritting his teeth. Whatever way this was going, he'd have to wait if he wanted to find out. He'd have to wait a lot, if things progressed at the pace they were going now."

Five Kage Summit Chambers

Hiruzen and Onoki were simply sitting on opposite ends of the table, drinking their tea. Not a word was uttered for the longest time. Then Onoki finally chuckled.

"Not gonna give up, eh?" He asked.

Hiruzen just shook his head. "There was no way I would."

Onoki just laughed again. "The tea here is good. We should have more of these 'Five Kage Summits'."

Hiruzen smiled. "Yes we should. But I think it's time we got to the point."

Onoki nodded. "I think so too. What's first?"

Hiruzen frowned. "Why not the most obvious one?"

Onoki nodded at him, meeting his eyes. Hiruzen drew 4 sheets of paper from his pouch and fashioned some privacy seals. When he let the papers go, they sped to the four corners of the room.

"Fuin!"

Onoki whistled at his handiwork and then waved his hand at the chamber doors, slamming them shut just as the samurai guards started knocking against it in alarm. "Let's start then."

Hiruzen nodded, "This is the only chunin exam that takes place in the Iron Country. Supposing, of course, that there would be more chunin exams in the future."

Onoki nodded. "Of course. We don't like it when we get extorted, do we Hiruzen?"

Hiruzen smiled. "Yes, old friend. He has proven to be surprisingly wealth-obsessed. Hard to believe he's the reason Hanzo stopped his plans for world domination."

Onoki scoffed. "Thank kami he did. We'd all be done for, if Hanzo stepped out of his playground." he muttered.

Hiruzen took another sip of his tea. "So, what's next?"

"My granddaughter is dead, Hiruzen."

Silence. Except for the increasingly alarmed knocks on their door. "Kaguya or Kurotsuchi?"

Onoki laughed a mirthless laugh. "Are you really pretending that you didn't already know, old friend?"

Hiruzen winced but nodded his apology. "Who killed her? That I do not know."

Onoki stared hard at his counterpart from Konoha. It seemed he was being honest. "Uchiha Fugaku."

Hiruzen's wide eyes whirled up to meet Onoki's. In that instant, Onoki knew that Hiruzen had connected the dots.

"Yes. Your best friend and rival, Shimura Danzo, ordered the death of my granddaughter."

Hiruzen shrugged. "That can't be right. I can place Danzo outside Amegakure for most of the battle. You must be mistaken."

And from that, Onoki knew that the moment Hiruzen arrived home, reports would be faked, witnesses would be created and order would be preserved. After all, no kage could leave around any evidence indicating that one of their advisors ordered the death of a foreign leader's family. That was just asking for trouble. It didn't matter to him anymore. He had his confirmation. "What's next?"

Hiruzen took the reprieve he'd been granted without shame. "Who destroyed my village?"

Onoki outright laughed. "Surely you already know. You should've broken him easily."

"We did. We know who it was. My question needed confirmation, just like you did I suppose."

"Fair enough."

"Deidara, the explosives expert. Who is he to you?"

Onoki schooled himself. "He's my long-lost grandfather." Hiruzen glared at the Tsuchikage, but didn't comment. Onoki laughed a deep throaty laugh. "Can't take a joke, old friend? Why? Did seeing your precious village crushed into a pile of rubble mess with your head?"

Hiruzen snarled at the man seated across from him. "It's an emotional time for all of us, no doubt, what with you being unable to protect your own granddaughter. I just hope she died peacefully. Not being burned alive or something horrible like that." he sneered.

Silence stretched between them while they glared hatefully at each other. They had met with each other on numerous occasions. Being the kage of two villages with a history as colorful as theirs, it was a necessity.

And every time they had a meeting like this, they'd eventually drive each other crazy enough to fuck the world and just start fighting. Only, if they started fighting in Iron Country, their lives along with those of the villages under their care were forfeit.

"I believe we're done here." Onoki snapped.

"I believe we are." Hiruzen confirmed.

Without another word, they both turned and walked toward the exit. Onoki waved his hand and it moved aside. The Samurai at the other end struggled to stay on their feet against the tremendous killing intent in the air.

"ENOUGH!" Mifune barked. "You will calm yourselves down or I'll let the other nations know you've been conspiring with each other. Then it's a goodbye to both your asses."

Onoki scoffed. "As if they would believe it."

Mifune snarled at him. "I'm serious about this. If you want to test me, you can go right ahead. But you already know that it's a bad decision."

"Tch." Onoki passed by the Samurai Leader.

"Till next time then… old friend." Hiruzen taunted one last time.

Onoki paused for a moment before continuing to walk. His shinobi fell in line behind him. Hiruzen too brushed past the General and started walking towards the Land of Fire. They had been successful… For some definitions of the word success.

With Naruto

Juugo smiled gleefully. The boy had finally stopped breathing. He looked up at the sky and roared his approval. He had done it. He had done it again. He was victorious. He had once again proved to himself that no prey could defend against him. As he slowly felt the power in him recede, his real feelings were rapidly entering his mind. His manic eyes once again became saddened. He looked once at the partially buried body of the boy he'd killed. He didn't even look old enough to be a teenager. He didn't even have a headband. Maybe he wasn't even a shinobi. An innocent child who appeared malnourished and unhealthy.

No.

The beast inside him told him no. This was nature's destroyer. The forest burner. He was undoubtedly a shinobi. A monster.

No.

Juugo was himself again, his sad eyes glancing at the most recent dead body that he'd have to add to his prayers.

Slightly trembling fingers reached toward the boy's arms, hoping to drag him out of the mud. However, his severely exhausted body that was now only about 3 or 4 inches above 5 feet, wasn't strong enough to dig him out. He tried for a few more minutes but ultimately gave up.

Sighing, he closed his eyes, joining his hands in prayer. "I'm sorry, dear child. I'll pray for you."

He knew he wasn't much older now compared to the boy on the ground. But his actual age more than qualified him to call his latest kill a child.

He spoke a few more words of prayer before finally opening his eyes and fell on his back when he saw it.

Uzumaki Naruto had his eyes wide open, the spinning red pentagonal shape threatening to bring death and destruction to everything around him. Black markings formed all over his body. Not formed. They were always there, they had just been revealed. The menacing smirk on his face, perfectly combining with his intimidating red eyes, painted the perfect picture describing only one thing. Pure Wrath.

"You'll be doing a lot more than just praying."

And with that, he started climbing out of his grave. Hardly 3 or 4 inches above 5 feet now, Juugo desperately called for his beast to come back. He didn't know why he was fighting it. He'd wanted to die ever since he'd found out about his curse. But he still had that thing in him. That will to live. That undeniable part in every single person that would fight tooth and nail, if it meant staying alive.

But…

But the beast would be the one in charge. Juugo wouldn't put up much of a fight.

His tender eyes filled with hate and with a bloodcurdling scream, the beast returned. Grey markings spread all over his body and the power of nature flowed through his veins once again.

…

Just in time for a chakra-powered fist to tear clean through his chest.

Naruto stood with his fist protruding through the grey-skinned Juugo, who simply kept trying to slash at him, uncaring about the mortal danger a fist through the heart implied.

Naruto raised his fist and Juugo was left dangling on his arm.

"Now, then. Bring the sentient one back, will you? I would like to talk." Naruto spoke, his voice barely concealing his lust for battle.

After a few seconds of hesitation, the beast withdrew and Juugo, the human, was alive again.

"Ah. Nice to meet you. Tell me. True or False. Every time you regenerate, you become younger."

Juugo's indifferent voice was a sharp contrast to the raspy, grumbling voice of his other form. He wasn't talking in that annoying double voice either. It seemed that at the moment, this version was in complete control of Juugo's body. "Yes, I grow progressively younger every time I regenerate."

"Perfect. Next question. Does the beast not feel the flames? Does it not hurt?"

"It does. But if it's dealing out more damage than it's taking, it'll happily ignore anything you do to it."

"Ah. Admirable." Naruto spoke."Just one more… Can you stop? Can you stop regenerating?"

Juugo's eyes widened in panic for a brief moment… Ah! So that's what he intended. Once he got over the initial shock, he saw that this boy in front of him was the one who would liberate him. His ability had already rendered him a boy only slightly taller than his foe. When he removed the fist that protruded through him, his regeneration would have to work overtime to keep him alive. And then, it wouldn't matter what the beast did. This was it. He would die here.

Grey markings appeared all over his body, making Naruto smirk. He quickly withdrew his fist and the berserker fell to the ground. Naruto slowly lost his smirk as he observed the beast. He could see the beast grow smaller as the hole in his chest closed.

Fully healed, and now not even 5 foot, the beast turned around. Naruto stared coldly at him with spinning red eyes in its fearsome distinctive shape. "AMATERASU!"

Unlike the previous time he'd been set on fire, the beast writhed on the ground, screaming in agony, feeling the flesh melt away while his painful regeneration struggled to keep up.

Suddenly, the flames dissipated, leaving behind the charred flesh of the beast. However… His eyes were still on fire. The beast started flinging his charred body around, hoping to crash into the prey turned predator. No such luck. His skin was stitching itself together painfully making him howl up at the sky.

It took about 10 minutes for the complete regeneration. Everywhere except the eyes. He was now a 3'4'' blob, flailing about, desperately trying to find Naruto.

Cute.

"AMATERASU!"

It happened again. Body succumbing completely to the burning pain of the black flames, the beast writhed on the ground, whimpering pitifully.

The flames disappeared once more.

It seemed that Naruto didn't want to wait another 10 minutes to continue his torture. He wanted the healing done quickly.

2'9''.

"AMATERASU!"

2'8''.

"AMATERASU!"

2'7''.

"AMATERASU!"

2'6''.

Naruto stopped. The beast was gone. Completely retreating back into whatever creature Juugo could claim to be. Now, all that was left was the 3-year-old human version of Juugo, whimpering and sobbing at the torture.

Naruto sent chakra to his sharingan, recalling the flames that still plagued Juugo's eyes. It slowly healed up. Soon, a young boy, with bright orange hair and deep red eyes, looked up at him. With the deterioration of his body, his mind had deteriorated as well. He no longer remembered anything about the beast or anything of the beast's actions. He was just a normal little boy. One look in his eyes and Naruto knew it. Juugo was gone. Only this crying little boy remained. An innocent little boy. A person who was just as innocent as Yugao Uzuki waiting at home.

"AMATERASU!"

The boy screamed and screamed and screamed. But there was no one to hear him. When the flames let up and the body healed, the once mighty beast named Juugo was nothing more than a baby. A crying baby with soft skin, and tender flesh. A newborn.

Naruto heard the beating of wings. He didn't need to turn around to know that it was a whole lot of vultures descending with Kurokaze at the lead.

He knew what the birds wanted him to do.

And he had no qualms whatsoever about doing it.

With Minato

"So, you're telling me… You've actually improved on the Nidaime's version of the teleportation technique?" Hiruzen asked. "Why exactly haven't you revealed this to anyone yet?"

Minato was irritated. At the pace they were going, they were just a few minutes away from the border. Upon hearing all the details, Hiruzen agreed completely with what Orochimaru told him earlier. If he'd teleported to Naruto's location, they'd be bringing news about the next stage of the Third Shinobi War. Assuming of course, they survived the confrontation in the Iron Country that would have started as a result of his actions.

"It doesn't work well enough yet, Hokage-sama. I can't control my momentum when I arrive, the tunnel-vision is staggering, my nose and ear bleeds sometimes and I haven't once tried long-distance travel." Minato finally said.

Hiruzen simply nodded. "You both did good. Orochimaru, sharp as always. Tough decision to make, but you made the right choice. You'll make a good Hokage someday…"

Orochimaru scoffed. "I have no intention-"

"Yes, yes. You don't want to be the Hokage. I know. I'm just saying you'd be a good one if you did." The Hokage spoke, annoyed.

Orochimaru scoffed again. "Well, if making irrelevant statements is your calling, go right ahead."

"Tch." The Hokage turned to his other shinobi. It seemed Orochimaru wasn't even close to forgiving him even though he understood why Jiraiya had to be the one to face Hanzo. "Minato. I said it once before. I have greatly undervalued your skill."

Minato looked at his leader in confusion. What had he done to warrant that?

"You told me you would become the Hokage. And when you do, you'd make sure none of the injustice occurring in the village now continues." Minato's eyes widened as he remembered his drunken promise. "Do you remember, Minato?"

"Yes." Minato replied as he kept up the hard pace through the trees. They were almost at the border now. Almost there.

"The decision you made today for our village makes you worthy in my eyes. You have what it takes to be Hokage." Minato's eyes widened. "I plan on stepping down as Hokage after this war. I've had enough of my position. Rest assured, you're one of the foremost candidates in my mind."

They were past the border. "Hokage-sama…"

"But keep this in mind. The decision you faced today? It was an easy one. You knew the exact location of your subordinate, you had no reason to suspect he was in danger, and you had a way to reach him within a second. And yet, it was difficult to stay back, wasn't it?"

"Hokage-sama…"

"Imagine all the shinobi in the village. Imagine sending them on missions, knowing that some of them might not come back, you have no way to reach them, you have no way to ensure their safety. Sometimes, you'll have to deliberately send people on suicide missions, knowing that their deaths will be on your conscience but their deaths would help the village. You will face a dozen decisions like this daily. Are you ready for that?"

Minato frowned irritatedly. This was really a bad time. "Hokage-sama-"

Orochimaru intervened before the Hokage could start again. "Go, Minato. Get him to safety. He'll talk with you later."

Minato hesitated for only a moment before he disappeared in a bright yellow flash which made the other two come to a stop. Silence reigned between them until finally Orochimaru spoke.

"He may not be clever enough to know what you were doing just now but he's not nearly dumb enough for it to stay that way forever." Orochimaru had a hard look in his eyes. "Why were you stalling, sensei? Is Uzumaki Naruto returning such a frightful thing? Are you… Are you actually afraid of that boy?"

"Aren't you?"

Orochimaru paused for a second, stunned at the question. Then, he smiled. "I have no reason to be. I haven't done anything wrong to him… Unlike you."

Hiruzen turned to him, his face contorted with fury. "Do not test me, Orochimaru. Let's go."

With Naruto

The meal was eaten. The deed was done. Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth. While not as delicious as his meal from the previous day, it was still very filling. But even while he was eating, he could feel the strength he had temporarily gained slip away from his body. His eyes were back to its original vivid purple color. The dark black seals that once adorned his body were nowhere to be seen now. And the pain of his broken rib cage and pulverized abdomen was starting to return.

In front of him, Kurokaze extended the Summon scroll for the Vulture clan. "What am I supposed to do with that? Do I eat that too?" Naruto asked, softly.

Kurokaze chuckled darkly. "I believe normally, you summoners cover your palm in blood and press it on the scroll. But you can eat it after if you want. We'll see what happens."

Naruto looked at his palm which was already covered in Juugo's blood from when he put his fist through him. Noticing what he was looking at, Kurokaze spoke again. "I'm afraid it has to be your own blood. So, clean that shit up and use some of your own."

"Tch." Naruto wiped his hand on his tattered shirt before spitting on his hand, covering it in the blood that had pooled in his mouth. Then, he pressed his hand on the scroll. Nothing happened. "Is that it?"

Kurokaze looked at one of the other vultures. "Um… probably? The contract is just to signify that we'll be able to summon each other and that we can never knowingly summon the other into a fatal situation." At the blank stare he received in reply, he simply clicked his beak. "We haven't done this before either, you know? But I think we can all agree that this is kind of anti-climatic."

Sounds of raspy laughter reached them. "Long time, no see… Konoha brat. I sensed your chakra when you arrived back in this realm." Sanshou no Hanzo stood across from him, his sandy brown hair flowing behind him. "And how wonderfully perfect it is that you're with the vultures."

Naruto was immediately in his battle-stance. He wouldn't be able to do shit to Hanzo considering the fact that his new-found power was slipping away with each passing second. Not that he thought that power would help him in any way against Hanzo.

"Calm down. I didn't come here to fight." Hanzo spoke as he sat down and crossed his legs. "I'm here to ask you a question. And depending on its answer, I'll let you live."

Naruto frowned. That doesn't sound like anything good. "I'm *cough* listening."

"What is the one thing you absolutely need to obtain in order to rule over the entire elemental nations?"

"Power." Naruto replied immediately.

"Yes!" Hanzo exclaimed as if he was surprised at the quick reply. "I like you even more now. Yes. Power. But…"

Naruto fell to his knees unable to stand up anymore.

Hanzo smiled. "I have power. Lots of it. More than everyone else in the elemental nations combined."

"And yet you were stopped."

Hanzo blinked in confusion. A few moments passed before realization dawned on his eyes and he lifted his scythe. "If you believe that an old man with a dull sword and no chakra could actually stop me, I'm wasting my time here."

Naruto stayed silent for a few moments after Hanzo stopped talking. "Then why did you stop?"

Hanzo shrugged. "Why continue? It would amount to the same thing. I could continue and rule over the survivors in fear… But how is that any different from now? It took three major villages banding together against one for someone to get desperate enough to involve me again. And what happened when I got involved? Instant ceasefire. Peace reigns over the elemental nations again. The same peace that's been there for over 7 years before this conflict."

Naruto frowned but nodded thoughtfully. "What does all of this have to do with me?"

"I see something in you. In your eyes. Something I remember seeing only in myself when I was a young boy… There is a thing other than power you need to rule over everyone and everything without objection… And I believe you have it. But I am not yet sure you possess the former."

Naruto frowned again. Where is this going?

Hanzo grinned. "Not to worry. When you seek to perform, a stage often shows itself. And in the days that follow, a stage will indeed show itself…"

Naruto's eyes closed, despite his best efforts to keep them open. He fell forward and hit the ground with a dull thud, blood starting to seep into the ground under him.

Hanzo smiled even though he knew Naruto would never see it. "Show me, Uzumaki Naruto. Show me your power. The power that even the salamanders are curious of. Show me what you can do." Hanzo looked at the vulture flying carefully, barely out of his reach. "Make sure he survives, bird."

"You make sure. You're the one with all the plans, O mighty ruler of the world." Kurokaze snapped back.

Hanzo was tempted to send his scythe flying at the vulture, but he knew he didn't have enough time. "Ibuze! Let's go."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke a second later, right after he caught a yellow flash of light in his peripheral vision.

With Minato

He appeared in the destroyed battlefield, dazed and worried. His vision was blurry, but it was a considerable improvement from the last time he tried teleporting so far away. He would have to research why later. Besides, he didn't really need his vision to recognize the smell of burning flesh. Feeling the migraine coming on, he quickly made a shadow clone. While he battled the effects of his imperfect jutsu, the healthy clone surveyed the scene.

Minato recovered surprisingly quickly as well. Surprised at the improvement he'd unknowingly made in his own technique, he dispelled his clone. The instant feedback of the clone told him two things. Firstly, Naruto was a few feet away, face down on the ground, blood pooling around him. And secondly, there was a huge vulture circling directly above him. The size of the vulture made him think that it might be Naruto's familiar animal. But the state Naruto was in told him that it could just be a normal, non-summonable vulture.

After double-checking that whoever did this to Naruto wasn't still around, he ran forward, already running through the hand seals for a diagnostic technique.

Naruto was alarmingly close to death. Internal bleeding everywhere, severely starved and malnourished. He didn't need the diagnostic technique to realize that 8 of his ribs were visibly broken. He could see the cracks on the skin itself.

Forcing down the horror-induced bile that rose up, he went about making a stasis seal quicker than he'd ever done before. Once he finished, it took him barely a second to integrate it into a body scroll. When he was ready, he sealed Naruto inside.

…

…

…

He had made it just in time. A minute later and Naruto would've bled out. Now… He didn't have any of his kunai in Konoha. That left him only one way for fast travel. He ran through the hand-seals required.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Konohagakure, 3 Hours Later

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Rin slowly stirred awake. Who was knocking so loud? And why on earth were they doing it so early? When she tried to get up, she became aware of the weight pulling her down.

Yuna Sarutobi was asleep in her bed, hugging her body tightly. Rin was about to freak out when the events of the previous day entered her mind. She gently shook her form, trying to wake her.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Oh right, someone was knocking at her… window?

Shit.

She broke free from Yuna and ran to the window. The sudden increase in light blinded her for a few moments and she realized it was not quite as early as she thought it was.

She opened the window to see Obito waiting. "I have so many questions, but it'll have to wait. Wake her up. We need to go." Obito spoke in a seldom-heard authoritative voice.

"What happened?" Rin asked, worried at his tone.

Obito frowned. He really didn't want to be the one who told her. "They found Naruto. He's at the hospital."

"Is he okay?" She asked immediately.

Obito shook his head. "I don't know. Minato-sensei made it seem pretty bad, as in, don't know if he'll survive, bad."

Rin covered her mouth in horror as her eyes filled.

"Wake her up. We need to head over there right now. Kakashi's already gone to get Anko." Obito insisted.

Rin was instantly in motion, her mind set on getting there as fast as she could.

A Few Minutes Later

Rin didn't know what to think. The ICU was not a good word to hear at the hospital when you're there to visit a friend. The ICU was on the second floor. The three of them had never climbed a flight of stairs that fast. She knew the hospital thoroughly, so Yuna and Obito were following her lead.

When they finally arrived, they saw quite a lot of people waiting outside. Akira Senju was there next to a very pale Kushina Uzumaki, holding her close and hugging her tightly. Minato Namikaze stood off to the side with an ice-pack to his head trying to soothe his recurring headache. Kakashi and Anko were trying to deal with a very excited Yugao who didn't seem to realize the seriousness of the situation. And finally Sarutobi Biwako was there, trying desperately to meet her daughter's eyes.

Yuna took one look at her mother and turned away, preferring not to look at her. Biwako looked like she was about to call out when suddenly, the door to the ICU opened. A couple of medics emerged, with blood all over their lab coats. Rin didn't know the first one but everyone knew the second one.

Senju Tsunade walked out of the ICU, removing the lab coat and throwing it aside in one quick, practiced motion. She nodded to the other doctor and the doctor replied with a thankful expression. Rin knew the reason for her gratitude. Up next was the hardest part of the job. Informing the friends and family of the victim's status.

"Right then. I see some people here that weren't here when I went in. So, I'll ask again. Anyone here has O-negative as their blood type?" Tsunade asked in an authoritative voice.

"I told you. Take whatever you need from ME." Kushina's weakened voice reached their ears.

Tsunade shook her head. "And I told you. I can't take any more from you, because I won't be able to use you tomorrow if I do."

They stared heatedly at each other, but the weakened Kushina was the first to look away, tears in her eyes. Akira whispered into her ear trying to calm her down.

It was only when Tsunade turned back around that she saw the hand in the air. "I'm O-ve." Hatake Kakashi spoke.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in surprise before nodding. "Good. Go to the 3rd floor, find the blood bank, tell them Tsunade sent you. Tell them to take as much as they can without harming you." Tsunade then pointed at Anko, who was standing next to Kakashi. "You. Go with him and bring the collected blood to me."

Both Kakashi and Anko nodded immediately, leaving towards the stairs, eager to do as much as they could for their friend.

Tsunade whirled around to the other side of the room. "Biwako-san. Take that kid out of here. She can't be here for what's next."

Biwako nodded her acceptance despite her obvious desire to talk to her daughter. She walked toward the child but it turned out to be unnecessary in the end.

"Wait. Are you talking about me? No way. I want… to see… Naru… to… nii." Yugao fell under the genjutsu-induced sleep. Akira dropped the one-handed seal and nodded at Tsunade.

Tsunade shrugged. "Alright then. I'd suggest anyone who can get a bit squeamish to leave as well, but somehow I don't see anyone leaving."

No one left.

"Okay. Whatever that kid went through to get this point, there's one thing I'm certain of. With injuries like that, he shouldn't be alive. In fact, if he survives this and makes a clean recovery, I should be in for some award or other." Tsunade paused to take a sip of water. "These injuries are… horrible. His lungs were filled with his blood, making him unable to breathe. If you want to know who saved his life, you should thank Minato. If he had been even a few seconds late to put him in that stasis seal, the kid would've died. Now, his injuries… His entire rib cage was caved in. Seemingly from a single strike. The organs in the abdominal region were torn apart by something. Of his 24 ribs, only 3 are uncracked. 8 have completely broken off and some of these broken ribs were puncturing his lungs which started filling up with blood, which made him suffocate and drown in his own blood. Oh, and 3 of his thoracic vertebrae were dislocated."

Akira looked around the room. Most of them were in tears. Only Biwako and Obito were numb to the horror. But one person wasn't sad. He was angry. Minato Namikaze was staring angrily out through the window at the Hokage Mountain that towered over them. Akira made a note of it. He'd find out later.

"And then, there's the fact that he'd been starved."

Eyes snapped up at the legendary medic's statement. Kushina glared at her. "What do you mean 'starved'?"

"Exactly that. I don't think the boy's eaten a thing for the entire time he's been missing. He's severely malnourished. In fact, the attack that caved in his chest wouldn't have done nearly as much damage if his bones hadn't already turned brittle because of the lack of nourishment."

Obito hugged her tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably. It wasn't fair. Rin had thought the same thing so many times. It just wasn't fair. He became part of a genin team about 5 months ago, and it has just been tragedy after tragedy ever since.

"I've healed him for the most part. Broken bones and dislocated vertebrae I can handle, no problem. But his pierced lungs, blood shortage and malnourishment? It'll take time. About 3 months to ballpark it. He'll wake up before then. And I don't think he's the type to stay still. It'll be up to you guys to take care of that particular problem. So do yourselves a favor and get your minds out of the gutter. He's gonna need you soon." Tsunade finished talking just as Anko returned with 2 entire 500mL-bags full.

Tsunade smiled. "That's more than enough for now. You both just increased your friend's chances. Now, I don't need to tell you that there's no guarantee he'll wake up, but I'll try my best to do it. Akira here has offered me a pretty good deal to get me going."

With that, Tsunade went back into the ICU. Silence settled between them again.

Kushina looked up at Akira. "What did you offer her? Is it money? I'll pay you back."

Akira laughed, running his hands through her long hair, still hugging her close to him. "No, you idiot. I offered her a way out of Konoha without being labeled a missing-nin."

With Fugaku

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She wasn't supposed to behave any differently. He wanted her to be devoted to him. He wanted her back to the way she was before she was expelled from the Uchiha clan. He wanted them to be like they used to be. Before everything went wrong.

…

But Mikoto Uchiha was no more. What remained was a shell of who she once was. A permanent reminder of the unforgivable crime he'd committed.

…

Then again, he should've thought of all this before brainwashing her to obey his every whim without question. He didn't want her like that. He just wanted her like she used to be.

Unfortunately, short of using the Kotoamatsukami on her again, he didn't know if anything would fix her. And he wasn't ready to try that again. There could be side effects and he wouldn't expose Mikoto to them. Thankfully, he had a live guinea pig in his possession, but she was also important to him in his plans.

But something was stopping him. He had noticed it a few days ago. His eyesight was fading. He was losing the ability to focus his eyes and faraway objects were appearing blurry. No reason possible other than his new eyes. After all, he had been using it rather extensively. Convincing the other players that he'd indisputably won the clan-head race was first. Then, he used it on Danzo to make sure that his survival, where Tenzen Uchiha himself failed, would be overlooked. Finally, he used it on Mikoto.

Maybe he should've been showing a little more restraint. Not that it mattered now. He looked over at Mikoto to see that she was reading the bingo book.

Fugaku wordlessly extended his hand and Mikoto obediently placed the book on it. It simultaneously annoyed him as well as brought him joy that he didn't even need to ask. He read the page Mikoto was on.

'Name: Naruto Uzumaki.
Age: 9 – 12
Color of Hair: Red
Skills: Water Release, Fuinjutsu, A mutation of the sharingan that enables him to bring black flames to life which burns even water. This technique, known to be wielded only by him and Uchiha Fugaku, led to this day being called 'The Day the Rain Burned'.Uses some kind of chains that are formed from his body which he uses in various different capacities.
Caliber: High B-Rank to low A-rank.
Rank: Genin
Affiliation: Konohagakure no Sato.
Accomplishments: Defeated three jonin-level Amegakure shinobi by himself and named them the Sannin of Ame, much like Hanzo did to the Sannin of Konoha, years before. Suspected to be the person who destroyed the Kiriniku forest separating the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire. The only person alive to have ever hurt Sanshou no Hanzo's summon, Ibuze.
Comments: Never underestimate him, he's deadly to people fooled by his appearance.
Known Accomplices: Sarutobi Yuna (Teammate), Mitarashi Anko (Teammate), Orochimaru of the Sannin of Konoha (Instructor), Uzumaki Kushina (Suspected Relative).
Rewards: 10000 Ryo Dead ( Amegakure )
100000 Ryo Dead / Alive ( Iwagakure )
30000000 Ryo Alive ( Amegakure )'

When he read it, he was so shocked he had to read it again. Who was this brat? An orphan with the sharingan? Whatever Tenzen Uchiha was, he was still a proud Uchiha. And no Uchiha would ever be turned away. The clan took care of its orphans.

But this brat was no ordinary orphan. He was an Uzumaki as well. That shouldn't even be possible. And the book described a mutation of the sharingan? Capable of using flames that were surely Amaterasu flames?

He had the Mangekyou as well. Perhaps he was having issues with his eyesight as well. Maybe he could help…

And if not, they were a fresh pair of strong eyes if he ended up needing them.

Konoha Shinobi Council, 5 Hours Later

Minato looked around the room at his fellow jounin. They were all jounin senseis. The meeting obviously had something to do with the genin, likely the upcoming chunin exams. This was probably how they were going to decide on which teams to send. The Hokage had let enough details slip during their way back through the Iron Country. Minato knew that 2 genin teams were going to be sent from each village. With Kakashi being close to jounin level, it was almost certain that his team would be one of the two. The only question was about the other one. Who would be the other team?

His eyes fell on Orochimaru as he surveyed the room. If Naruto recovered before the first stage, there was a good chance his team would be selected. Minato didn't want Naruto at the Chunin Exams. If three villages had joined together to get rid of the Uzumaki Clan, advertising that one of them survived probably wasn't the best move.

Minato saw Shikaku Nara enter the chamber. He was the one who came up with the idea of 'Chunin Exams'. The Hokage probably wants him to select the teams as well.

…

…

Minato had figured out that the Hokage was trying to delay him the previous day when they'd crossed the border. Just a few seconds more and he'd have succeeded. Naruto would be dead. It made him sick to think that the gentle Hokage wanted an 11-year-old child dead, but there was no other reason for him to delay Minato. Naruto was either strong enough to terrify him when his sensei brought him to Konoha or, the Hokage didn't like the attention that the boy was drawing. After all, the name Hanzo isn't something you want in any of your shinobi's bingo book entries.

He was still pissed. He could've saved Naruto before any of his injuries had even occurred. But he knew he had prevented a war from breaking out by trusting Orochimaru. He had done the right thing, but he doubted Kushina would see it that way. He hadn't told her yet but he would do it soon. He was serious about not keeping anything from her no matter where it would end up going.

Shikaku stood at the podium where the Hokage or his advisors usually stood. "You all undoubtedly know what this is about. The Chunin Exams idea has been approved and the preliminaries are to start 3 months from now. It will be held in the Iron Country. Two genin teams will have to be selected and will be sent along with their jounin instructors to the venue. All that's left is selecting which teams to send."

Shikaku took a long pause and sighed. "Or rather… Which 6 genin to select so as to make the best 2 teams possible…" Shikaku didn't pause despite the outraged whispers among the gathered jonin. "The last stage of these 'exams' is a publicly held team battle between two villages. However, the preliminaries are one-on-one fights where the teamwork we've taught our students will mean nothing. We need the 6 strongest genin we have in these exams. And whoever succeeds in the preliminaries will fight in the public tournament which is supposedly like the exhibition matches occasionally held here. We not only need to make sure the genin are strong enough, but also that they're flashy enough to impress the daimyos and the other officials who'll be watching."

Shikaku paused again and took a look around the room. He had the undivided attention of every single person present. He sighed. 'Troublesome.'

After some discussion with the Hokage and his advisors, we've decided the best way to select who all to send is to hold a tournament here with our genin similar to how the preliminaries would work. We will initially select 4 genin teams based on recommendations from jonin senseis and several other criteria. Then we will match them against each other while ensuring that no one from the same team will fight each other. The winners will fight for Konoha in the first ever Chunin Exams."

…

Silence.

…

Shikaku sighed again. "Any questions?"

Orochimaru was the one who spoke first, asking the most obvious question. "When?"

Shikaku nodded, expecting it. "Early next month."

Minato sighed in relief. Based on what he heard the previous day, it was highly unlikely that Naruto wouldn't be fully recovered for about 3 months. Knowing him, it would be less than that, but surely not within the month… And that at least meant he'd be safe. Even if he woke up before then, he doubted Kushina would let him out of her sight. He would be safe. This barbaric Chunin Exam thing wouldn't go near him.

There was a little more discussion on the details regarding the chunin exams, after which they had started to clear out. Minato however didn't pay attention. He had things to worry about.

He knew Naruto was safe. His own genin on the other hand? They were going to be one of the four teams that fought a month from now… He was sure of that. And he was also sure that Kakashi would be one of the 6 genin sent to the Iron Country. Shikaku had met his eyes enough times during his speech for him to be sure of that.

Minato clenched his fists. He was angry. Angry at Shikaku for proposing this whole thing even though he knew the man was just doing his job. He was angry at Orochimaru for the state Naruto was currently in. He was angry at the Hokage for daring to delay him when he knew Naruto needed him. But most of all, he was angry at himself for just letting it all happen.

His nails drew blood when he met the eyes of Orochimaru, who seemed to understand what he was feeling. And then Orochimaru looked away, breaking eye contact…

RAGING.

And he knew… At that exact moment, it all clicked. He knew exactly what was going to happen. Naruto would wake up well before the selection was scheduled to occur. He would make it to the Chunin Exams in Iron Country. He didn't know how it would happen or even how it would even be possible…

BURNING.

But he knew it was going to happen. And he could do nothing to stop it.

The words the Hokage spoke to him just hours before rang in his mind. "Imagine all the shinobi in the village. Imagine sending them on missions, knowing that some of them might not come back, you have no way to reach them, you have no way to ensure their safety. Sometimes, you'll have to deliberately send people on suicide missions, knowing that their deaths will be on your conscience but their deaths would help the village. You will face a dozen decisions like this daily. Are you ready for that?"

BLAZING.

And then it clicked. Again. It all came together. He understood why the side effects of his technique were lessened when he teleported to Naruto earlier in the day. He understood why the side effects didn't linger for as long as it usually did when he attempted the technique. He understood why once he teleported to the kunai in his apartment with Naruto in a body scroll, he was instantly on the ground, puking out everything in his body. Vision blurry, nose bleeding, body aching, head splitting… He understood.

He understood everything. He understood every single fucking thing.

EXPLODING.

Orochimaru looked at him again and took a step back in surprise as the first heavy drop of blood fell from his clenched fist to the ground and gave an audible plop. Orochimaru's eyes followed the drop as it fell until it hit the ground… Then he looked back up and saw nothing. Just a yellow flash.

Hokage Mountain

Minato gazed out at the village, standing atop the second hokage's head with the wind in his face with no nausea, no blood in his mouth and no discomfort. He'd done it. Actual space-time travel. Teleportation. Whatever you wanted to call it.

Out of respect for the person who inspired him to become a shinobi, he'd made the first kunai right here. He'd made the seal and wrapped it around the kunai he gave to Kushina right here.

After he woke up in the hospital after the confrontation at Amegakure, he had etched the seal into the rock when he realized that his kunai had gone to another dimension rendering it and the seal useless.

…

…

When Minato first started reading the Nidaime's notes on the Hiraishin technique, he decided to check the last page first. After all, Tobirama Senju had used this technique successfully in battle. But it was said that he had never mastered it… Why was that? He wanted to know.

On the last page of his notes, there were several statements written. Statements that didn't mean anything to him at the time. Statements that he assumed were simple musings of an old man and not the actual reason he stopped pursuing the technique… But they made sense now.

'The God of Thunder doesn't answer to someone meek.

The God of Thunder needs someone who breaks loose.

The God of Thunder needs someone who can match his anger.

Play with fire, you get burned…

Play with lightning? Nobody knows what happens…

Because no one's been brave enough to try…

No one's been willing to take the risk.

I'm not either.'

…

Minato laughed. It sure made sense now… It was impossible. If this was indeed the only way to perform the technique? If this was the mindset required every time you wanted to use it? There was no mastering this technique. It was impossible.

Minato turned his head to look up at the sky and reflected on all the time he'd spent on this... this technique. Ever since he became jonin, everything he did had been centered around this. He trained his mind and body for over three years just to master this technique…

And it turns out that it's impossible.

…

And that made him feel… SO… FUCKING… ANGRY…

---

AN0: For better context, I've made it so that the normal text is what Juugo's normal personality speaks, the bold text is what the crazy Juugo says and the bold and underlined text is what they both say. Idk if there's a better way to portray the dual voice thingy…

AN1: I know Minato hasn't really done any badass shit in this story yet, but believe me, it's coming. The Yellow Flash is like the coolest nickname in all of anime. The Minato in this story is not there yet, but I had a lot of fun writing the last two scenes. Hopfully you guys like it.

AN2: Kind of a short update, but this was a bitch to write because there was a lot of details to plan. And I did plan a lot about the upcoming chapters but I think they're going to take a lot of time too. Like, I've got everything planned out, like who all from each village ends up fighting at the Chunin Exams. I know who's fighting who in each stage of the tournament and who ends up winning each match and advancing to the next stage. But I still have to write the fight scenes for each of them and that will undoubtedly take a bit of time. :)

AN3: Hope you like Juugo. The dude was scary af when I first saw him on my brother's laptop, back when I was new to anime. It kinda stuck with me for a few days too back then. So, here's my revenge. I fucking burned you alive, asshole. Haha mf.

AN4: Didn't think Hanzo would be back so soon? Well, think again! Hanzo is going to play a big role in this story.

AN5 In Canon, Minato is described as a genius because he was the one who revolutionized space-time ninjutsu. But if all that is done with a seal, what's stopping others from understanding it and using it. Why was Minato the only person who could... In this story, there is an additional requirement to using the Hiraishin. In addition to understanding the implications of the fuinjutsu at work behind the technique, and training the body to survive at the inhuman conditions it's subjected to while tearing through space and time, there is an esoteric requirement. This means that the person has to feel a certain way in order for the technique to work. The term esoteric requirement is something I got from Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man. And the requirement is that the user has to be angry. Angry at everyone and everything. This rage is what fuels the technique.

Hope you like this chapter. Next chapter should be out in a month... (Here's hoping at least). Watch the Ozarks on netflix guys. It's the kind of slow burn that I simply love. See you guys next time. (Don't have a good title for the next one yet. Will update when I think of one.)