The Old Man in the Empire

Chapter 1

Age of Technology – Year 452 Elemental Nations

Uzumaki Boruto, 10th Hokage of Konohagakure – the Village Hidden in the Leaves, was casually typing away on his laptop. He was perched on the rooftop of the Hokage Tower, the building from which the Hokage – the leader of the village – operated. Occasionally, he glanced away from his screen, laughing as he witnessed something on the streets below. Regardless, he was typing away on the laptop, communicating between villages as they were planning on a joint operation across the waters surrounding the Elemental Nations. This would be one of the largest joint operations ever conducted between all the Nations, as it would be conducted by several hundred shinobi and several thousand scientists. Together, they would be the first of explorers ever to leave the Elemental Nations and explore the world beyond – Shinobi guards protecting the vessels would be stationed on the water – ensuring nothing goes wrong.

It was frankly amazing, that in the past thousand years, no nation had ever bothered to explore the outer reaches of the world, never deigning to go beyond the confines of the Elemental Nations. But because it was such a large-scale operation, the funding required was also no small matter. Boruto scratched his head in confusion as he read over the budget report his finance division sent him, while he was a very smart individual, this itself was somewhat beyond his capacity. Mindlessly, he began to type an email out to a consultant when someone latched onto the back of his head. Boruto let out a small sigh as a voice squealed in delight.

"Did I getcha daddy?" a small voice asked. Looking back, Boruto gave an eye-smile at the small black-haired boy – it was his son, Uzumaki Hitoro. Hitoro was not only the son of one Hokage, but two. His mother was Uzumaki Sarada, the late 9th Hokage.

"Yeah, you sure got me buddy." He said to his son, grinning. He lifted his laptop up with one hand, and with the other hand, settled his son on his lap. "Now why don't you help daddy with his work?" Boruto asked.

Hitoro let out a squeal, "Yeah! Wait no! Daddy, you hafta play with me!" Hitoro said, looking back at his father. His chubby face scrunched up into a small frown, his light blue eyes sparkling in the light.

Boruto covered his mouth with his hand, 'So cute.' He thought to himself smiling. "Sorry buddy." Boruto said, smiling sadly. "Why don't you play with Jeej?" He asked, looking back. Behind him, floating in midair was his father – the 7th Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto was the 7th Hokage for a total of 17 years, reigning as one of the longest serving Hokage before giving the position to Sarutobi Konohamaru.

Hitoro scrunched his eyebrows even more, giving a whimpering pout. "It's not the same when I play with you daddy!" He said while frowning. Boruto scratched the back of his head, looking back at his father pleadingly. Naruto understood the message, his son was the Hokage and his work, unfortunately, had to come first in times like these.

Naruto quickly lifted Hitoro onto his shoulders, "Ah come on Hitoro-chan, why don't you give your old Jeej a chance!" He asked, smiling. He loved the nickname Hitoro had given him, he was unable to say Jiji, and with his cute lisp came up with Jeej. Naruto paused, thinking quickly. "Do you want to go to the amusement park that was recently built? I heard they even give three scoops of chocolate ice cream to extra good boys – like you!" HE said smiling. Hitoro perked up, a grin plastered on his face, as he grabbed a fistful of hair from Naruto's head, tugging at it. Naruto winced, he already didn't have much hair left, he was getting on in his years, but he didn't complain.

"Ice cream!" Hitoro squealed in delight. "Come on Jeej!" He said, tugging at his hair again. "Whatcha wain' for?" Using his small right leg, he kicked at Naruto's arm, as if riding a horse. He patted his head twice, bursting out into giggles. "Ice cream, ice cream!" He chanted happily. "Do the ninha thingy Jeej! Let's get there super fast!"

Naruto gave an eye smile while wincing, "Ninja, but yeah! We'll do the Ninja thingy." He said grinning at his grandson. Boruto turned around, smiling at his father and son. Hitoro looked expectantly at his father, bursting in giggles.

Boruto gave a small chuckle, "So what's this Ninja thingy Hitoro?" Boruto asked, already knowing what he was referring to. His son giggled furiously, pressing his face against his grandpa's hair.

"It's a secret!" Naruto and Hitoro said in unison, as Hitoro burst out into chuckles. Naruto smiled at his son, giving him a two-finger salute.

"Hold on tight Hitoro-chan." Naruto said to his grandson, as Hitoro clenched onto his hair tightly. "Ja-ne!" Naruto said, as Boruto gave a wave to his dad.

"Have fun you two!" Boruto said smiling at his father and son, watching them teleport away using Naruto's hirashin formula. Boruto looked back at his screen, sighing. "Now what am I supposed to do about this?" He asked himself, frowning at the numbers, dreading the number crunch. He jumped down from his perched position, heading back inside the tower through his open window. "I hate math." He mumbled to himself, settling his laptop on his desk.

Break … Break … Break

Reappearing a few blocks down, Hitoro was laughing loudly. "We got your daddy good, didn't we Hitoro-chan?" Naruto asked, smiling at his grandson.

Hitoro gave a big nod, patting his grandfather's head. "Yeah! We did! Daddy musta been suhpised!" He said with his lisp, giving a large, toothed grin. "Comeon Jeej, the amusement park is calling us!" he said pointing to a random direction. "You're not ge'in any olda! Hurry up!"

Naruto barked out a laugh as his grandson pulled on his hair. "Easy on the hair Hitoro-chan, Jeej doesn't have much left." Naruto lifted Hitoro from his shoulders, settling him in his arms.

"Aw, Jeej!" Hitoro whined. "I'm not a baby, you don't hafta carry me like this!" He said, sticking out four fingers in front of Naruto's face. "I'm 4 years old! I'm a grownup!"

Naruto smiled at Hitoro, "You'll always be Jeej's little baby Hitoro-chan." Naruto said, rubbing his cheek against Hitoro's, his beard scruff scratching against Hitoro's smooth skin.

"That's poke-y." Hitoro said, giggling at his grandfather. Naruto smiled as he jumped onto the rooftop of a nearby building and started to run across them with moderately high speeds. Hitoro's squeal of delight echoed throughout the village as Naruto picked up his pace. Midjump, Naruto felt a pang in his chest, coming to a halt. He heaved as he coughed in his free hand, feeling a sudden tiredness shoot through him. "You okay Jeej?" Hitoro asked with concern looking at his grandfather. "We don't hafta go if you're sick."

Naruto gave him a smile, his eyes betraying his feeling of the excruciating pain in his chest. "Of course, I'm fine Hitoro-chan." He said nonchalantly. "Your Jeej is a ninja, the most powerful one!" Hitoro smiled, pressing his cheek against Naruto's. Naruto resumed his run across the building, his hand glowing green, pressed against his chest. His speed had started to dwindle, thankfully going unnoticed by his grandson. His healing chakra attempting to fix whatever was going on with his strangely declining health.

'Naruto, don't lie to yourself, you're not fine.' Naruto tensed up as he heard his tenant, the Eight Tailed Octopus bull, Gyuki, speak to him in his mind. 'You're getting old Naruto, and you're getting near your deathbed, I can feel your life and chakra begin to dwindle away.'

Naruto frowned as he leaped across the rooftop. 'This shouldn't be possible.' He replied. 'I should still have a couple of decades in me – because of you. But it does make sense, I'm 86 years old, and I'm not getting any younger, am I.' Naruto replied, holding Hitoro tighter to his chest.

'We both know you wouldn't look your age if you hadn't–'

Naruto quickly interrupted his friend before he could continue. 'Like I said before, I gave my lifeline to Hitoro-chan so he could live. And I would continue to do that in a heartbeat if I had to relieve that moment again.'

Naruto could hear Gyuki sigh. 'Otherwise he would've died alongside his mother that night.' There it was, that painful reminder.

Break … Break … Break

Recalling that night was painful for Naruto, it was that day where his daughter-in-law, the 8th Hokage was giving birth to Hitoro. At that point in time, Boruto was the Anbu Commander of the Hidden Leaf Village, and he was away on a long-term mission, leaving his old mother, Hinata, to watch after his wife. Sarada had gone into labour, but she was having complications during the birth of her child. She was losing blood at an exceedingly rapid rate – and the situation in the village did not help.

Everyone knew the Hokage was pregnant, and because of that, there was a Coup D'état, where a large squad of Jounin decided to rebel against the Village. They were a group called the Separationists, who wanted the Village to go back to its origins as a Ninja Village, as it was around this time that the population suddenly bloomed, with more individuals going into the normal working force, the population of Shinobi on the decline. The separationists had killed Shikidai Nara, the Jounin Commander, as he tried to stop them from approaching the hospital ward where the Hokage was. Shikadai was not only the Jounin Commander, but also the brother-in-law to the Hokage, as he was married to Uzumaki Himawari, the daughter of the 7th Hokage. The separationists mutilated his corpse, smearing his blood on the seals, entering the room. The entire scenario was a repeat of Naruto's birth, with how Obito had killed the guards, the nurse, and Lady Biwako – the wife of the third Hokage. Except this time, they killed Uzumaki Hinata, Naruto's wife, and they severely harmed Uchiha Sakura, the mother of the Hokage who was also attempting to save the life of her daughter. After they dealt with the two, they drew their blade against their unconscious Hokage, ending her life.

At the same time this was happening, across the village Naruto was training. He was 81 years old, but he still had the body of a 50-year-old. He was battling against multiple Sage Mode enhanced Shadow Clone when the referee clone sensed the chakras of his loved one's fade. The match was interrupted, and Naruto and all his clones rushed to the scene, finding Hinata and Sarada dead, with Sakura nearly dead herself. The others alive were a couple of the perpetrators and his recently born grandson – who was slowly dying himself, as he had a kunai stabbed in his chest. One of Naruto's clones quickly killed the perpetrators, while another healed Sakura. Naruto himself had rushed to his grandson's side – the newborn had stopped breathing, so in a hurry using some of his medical chakra, he removed the kunai from his grandson's chest, and forced his own chakra through the newborn's body, attempting to resuscitate the newborn. The only thing showing a sign of life was the newborn's broken chakra pathways, which was collapsing in on itself in a failed attempt to keep himself alive – but a newborn's chakra pathway was still immature, it was incapable of performing feats like this. Naruto did his best to first fix the pathway, but it was not enough to heal him. He knew if he didn't go for drastic measures, the child would die. He would increase the child's lifespan by forcibly healing the newborn, but it required a trade. If he wanted to increase the lifespan of another, he would need to give up a portion of his own, that was the law, that was the rule, and he couldn't work around it this time.

Just as Kurama once had the power to generate Nuclear Fission, Gyuki's powers were the transferal of life – and that's what Naruto did. Due to being a Jinchuuriki and an Uzumaki, Naruto had an increased lifespan that was incomparable to most individuals alive in the world. He himself would be capable of living for hundreds of years with his remaining lifespan, but the child would not. Using Gyuki's special tailed beast chakra mode, Naruto siphoned off his own life, transferring it to the newborn – prolonging the child's life by several decades – maybe even a hundred years. This kind of power did not come without repercussions, even with the shortening of his own life, Naruto aged, very fast. His shadow clones, due to being reinforced with Sage Chakra did not dispel, but they watched in horror as Naruto started to shrink. His back collapsed in on itself, his body shrinking, shrivelling. His arms grew heavy, his eyes started to blur, his back ached, and his breathing got heavy. His body was constricted, and everything hurt. To him, his body going through such intense and immediate changes hurt, the pain itself was unbearable – to change from the inside out. His insides, his mindscape, everything was collapsing in on itself. In a state of panic, a few of his clones managed to transfer their remaining sage chakra into him, to quickly heal his body, working in sync with the Rikudou's chakra to save himself. They focused on healing him, the newborn, and Sakura – while the remaining clones dealt with every single traitor.

Naruto was already unconscious when the medic ninjas entered the room, taking control of the situation from the clones. Even the medic ninjas were shocked when the clones informed them that the old man was Naruto – but they made sure everyone was safe. They had confirmed the deaths of Sarada and Hinata – but that was unnecessary, Naruto had already known they passed away. The next time Naruto gained consciousness, his daughter, Himawari was sitting in the chair next to his bed. Her eyes were swollen, and distant, only crying when he woke up, hugging him immediately. He himself was unable to shed any tears, his eyes dry. He was unable to protect his family, those he truly cared about. He should have been there; he should've known something could go wrong. He had gone complacent about the safety and security the village had in the past few decades that he didn't see any reason he should attend the birth of his grandchild. And that caused the one thing he dreaded more than anything – the death of his beloved wife, Hinata. His daughter hugged him, and slowly lulled him back to sleep, even though she was going through grief equivalent to her own – but it broke her heart seeing her father look so… old.

The next time he woke up, his unnamed grandson was sleeping quietly in the arms of his aunt, Himawari, as she herself had fell asleep watching over him. Naruto had woken up his daughter, and the three made their way out. Along the way to his house, Naruto spotted someone, it was Boruto. Boruto had just returned to the village, no news of the situation had reached him. His smile was wide, and he happily greeted his father, bidding him a good day – stopping when he realized that the old man was his father, as he was accompanied by his sister. His eyes were wide, and he was confused – the father he had left a few days ago was young, healthy, and now he looked like an old man. Dread had settled in his heart, as he asked the fateful question about what happened.

Himawari answered her brother, watching in sadness as the normally composed Anbu Commander completely lost his composure, collapsing to his knees. He was terror struck, his face, arms, every muscle in his body was shaking, and then he broke, tears pouring out – at the loss of his mother, at the loss of his wife, at the fact his son would grow up without a mother. At the loss of his best friend – his brother-in-law, at the loss of his family who were always there for him. Naruto leant down, hugging his son tightly, as Himawari joined the hug, one arm still wrapped tightly around her nephew. Boruto wiped his tears clean with his free hand, taking his son from his sister's arms, and he named him Hitoro – a happy child born from sadness. That's what he would be. Eyes peeking open, even as a newborn, Hitoro looked at the face of his father, and smiled. Returning the child to his sister, Boruto went to the hospital, to check up on his mother-in-law, and the bodies of his deceased mother and wife.

Break … Break … Break

'Depressing thoughts don't suit you Naruto.' Gyuki said, causing Naruto to sadly smile. 'You still have a few years to live your life, to see your grandson grow up, maybe even to see him get married and have a child. Think about the days that are yet to come, not the days that have passed.' His friend told him sternly – even though internally he wished that day had gone differently. Naruto smiled at the response of his friend.

'The past is what makes us who we are Gyuki. It shapes us and it shapes the future, no one can change that.' Naruto said, wisely, thinking about how his own past had affected him, how it molded him into who and what he is today.

'That is correct Naruto. It is also true that one should not solely live in the past, it never leaves a bright future. Besides, don't you have a day of fun to spend with your grandson?' Gyuki asked.

Naruto gave a light chuckle which elicited a look of confusion from his grandson – who at this point was enjoying the jumping – cheering with joy. Naruto smiled at him and replied to Gyuki, 'Never knew you were one to give heart-felt lectures my friend.'

He could hear Gyuki let out of huff, 'Tch, you clearly don't know me enough brat. I used to give lectures to Bee all the time.' Gyuki said, glad Naruto was coming out of the depressive state he got in. 'And it seems like Hitoro-kun is trying to say something.'

True enough, after being brought out of his conversation, reality hit him again. His grandson was continuously beckoning him, asking him whether he was going to start moving again. "Jeej, why'dya stop! Come on!" He said, tapping Naruto's face.

"Ohoho! Sorry Hitoro-chan, old jeej was thinking about something." Naruto said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment, mentally frowning as Gyuki let out a laugh. He ruffled Hitoro's hair, as he resumed the trip.

"Good! I thought you were dead or somefin'." Hitoro stated, to which Naruto started laughing. "You were like that for like, a hun'red million minutes!"

Naruto grinned at his grandson's lisp. "Mah, mah, Hitoro-chan, I was just thinking about something." Naruto said, reminiscing of the old days – and his conversation with Gyuki, not that he would tell his grandson he had a giant bull Octopus living in his stomach.

Hitoro looked up at his grandpa confused, "Thinking? Whatcha thinking about Jeej?" Naruto gave him a happy smile.

"Oho! I was thinking about all the rides we're going to go on and the ice cream we'll eat!" He replied to which Hitoro broke out in a beaming grin. He bounced in his arms with joy, ecstatic about going to the Amusement Park.

"We're gonna be late!" Naruto smiled at his grandson as he bounded forward. As they continued to soar over the rooftops, Naruto felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen, instinctively coating his hand in the medical chakra again, putting his hand on it. That's when he felt it – an unknown chakra, a fragment, but it was there – working its way into and across his chakra network.

'Gyuki!' Naruto mentally screamed, alerting his resident bijuu to the foreign chakra.

'I don't even know how that got there. I'm not sure how it slipped past my radar.' Gyuki said immediately. 'If you didn't point it out, I wouldn't have known it was there.' The bijuu replied nervously.

'Can you get rid of it?' Naruto asked him, unsure if he could expel it from his body without invertedly harming his grandson and his surroundings.

'Who do you think you're talking to Naruto? I may not be Kurama – but I'm still the 8 tails. Such tasks are trivial before me.' Naruto inwardly smiled at Gyuki's self-boasting. After the death of Kurama, the other eight bijuu were hit hardly, but their personalities evolved, taking on some of Kurama's characteristics. 'I'll let you know in a bit when I'm done. Until then, don't bother me – and have fun with your grandkid.' Gyuki said, as he cut off the connection.

Trying to get rid of the uneasy feeling that was spreading through his body, Naruto flashed his grandson a smile. "So Hitoro-chan, which ride should we go on first?"

Hitoro looked at Naruto with a toothy smile, "Oh, oh, oh! The big one that goes around fast – where ya get stuck standing! I wanna go on that scary ride!" He said, recalling the ride from the television advertisement.

Naruto chuckled, "Do you think you can handle it Hitoro-chan?" He asked, unsure if Hitoro would react on something that could potentially scare him.

Hitoro puffed his chest out, "Don't worry Jeejs! I'm a big boy, I don't get scared easily! And I'm the son of two Hokages!" the boy said, giving his grandfather a thumbs up. "People will tink' I'm a kid if I get scared, I hafta do this Jeej!"

Naruto smiled at his grandson, "Hitoro-chan, people won't see you any differently. Besides, do I have to remind you what happened when we went to the last amusement park?" Hitoro blanched at the memory. It wasn't his best moments. "You got scared of the Merry-go-round. After that you didn't want to ride on anything."

Hitoro shuddered as he looked at Naruto, "That was ages ago! Sides', those dead horses are creepy! And I'm older now!"

Naruto looked down at Hitoro, a smile on his face as he held in his laugh, "Hitoro-chan, that was a week ago."

"Exactly Jeej! A week ago! How long is a week, like a million years?" Hitoro stated, flailing his arms to prove his point. Naruto pinched his nose as he snickered.

"No Hitoro-chan – a week is 7-days." He said laughing. "Besides, we're here!" True enough, the amusement park was a few metres ahead. He could hear people screaming and laughing in delight and looked inside. The eerie looking doors were completely open, and besides the door was a logo, 'Delight, fun, the park you'd never leave!' Naruto smirked, this was meant to be a thrilling park. Hitoro tugged at his collar, cheering in delight.

That's when Naruto felt something strange, the same feeling he had the day Pain attacked the village, the day Sasuke was killed by an unknown assailant, and finally, the feeling he had the day Hitoro was born. Something felt off, he wasn't sure what – but he knew one thing, don't let Hitoro out of his sight.

A scream. A loud, scream.

Naruto hadn't even realized he was on his knees, cradling Hitoro in his arms. He felt blood trickle down his ears as the scream tore through everything. At that point, he felt like he was the only person in the world, with forces beyond his comprehension pressing down on him from all sides, unable to move, unable to act, unable to do anything. Naruto could feel warm liquid on his fingers, right where Hitoro's ears were, and through sheer pain, opened his right eye, only to see blood oozing out from his nose, eyes, and ears. "Hitoro!" Naruto shouted in fright, acutely aware of the boy bawling against his chest.

The sundering had begun.

AN: Hey all, It's me again. I completely rewrote this story, as the writing style I used way back when seemed rushed. This is an entirely new chapter - and I would like to happily say that I shall now be updating this story weekly. New chapters will go live every Thursday afternoon (EST)! Please enjoy the work - and sorry for the extreme delay :)