Chapter 2: The Hell Is Going On!?
'I can't believe it! I am a girl!? The hell did I do to deserve this? How will I face my wife now? Isn't there supposed to be afterlife where two dead soulmates meet? I don't want her to be disappointed in me!'
After finding out that I had lost my precious little one, I was inconsolable. Even suckling on my, apparently, new mother didn't cheer me up. 'What am I to do now? I loved my little one!'
Though I called my penis "little one" my wife always disagreed. She told me that a penis that can enter her womb was not "little" by any account. But my logic in insisting on calling it "little one" was that it was the smallest appendage on my body. I kept calling it little one even when she argued over it.
But now, I lost it. No one knows how much I have lost. No one can even come close to the despair I am feeling right now.
'Enough about that. I can wallow in pity later. I need to understand what I am going to do about my situation. I have been crying every night over it so let's not dwell on it too much.' I thought before I started collecting facts from all my observations for the past five days. 'So, apparently my father's name is Yoshida Asa. My mother's name is Yoshida Yua. The one to help my mother give birth to me was named Fukushima, our maid. Thank god I learned broken Japanese from anime, otherwise I wouldn't have figured out what anyone was saying.'
On the day of my birth I met two more people. Apparently they were family as well. Yoshida Genzo was my uncle and Yoshida Aname was his wife and my aunt. The next day was a big surprise for me. I saw a very familiar figure but couldn't remember from where I saw her. She was a woman in her late twenties. She had jet-black hair and irises. She wore a blue blouse and red skirt. Her demeanor was cheerful but her eyes showed deep regrets and pain. She was apparently quite a doting mother, as she had also recently given birth to a child.
During our introduction, her words froze my blood in my veins. The child's name was all too familiar to me. My mind reeled with new assumptions and information. The name that triggered my hyperventilation was… Uchiha Sasuke.
This meant that the woman carrying him was Mikoto Uchiha. Meaning my new mother was apparently close friends with the matriarch of the Uchiha Clan. My mind was blown. And believe me, as a child, it doesn't take much for your mind to be blown. While I, on the other hand, was revealed to be in a world which I have only dreamed about, or read fan-fictions about. Meaning I am a part of that same world of fan-fictions now.
'Holy shit! Will I get to fling Jutsu and destroy mountains with punches later on? Will I make friends with everyone in my class and lead them as a squad of highest level killers and conquer the world and be the next coming of Jesus?'
As grand as my dreams were, they will only be possible if I'm consistent with my training. And looking back at my previous life I had never been consistent in anything. And rebirth doesn't necessarily mean change in personality or habits. Will I be able to become like the protagonist of the stories I've read? Not if I am still the slacker that I was before. But what use is hyping myself up when I will lose willpower to continue and start making excuses to slack off again?
I didn't know the answers. But I did intend to find out. But first and foremost, a moment of silence for my little one, followed by an hour of crying over its loss.
The next day was yet another encounter with yet another familiar face from the cult classic anime. This time it was a pregnant Uzumaki Kushina, dragging Mikoto behind her as she approached.
She hugged my mother and said something with wild gestures. Then she turned her attention towards me and gave me many kisses. 'Stop, lady! You will make Minato jealous.' I joked in my mind, since I still wasn't able to speak intelligible Japanese words. In complete contrast to Mikoto, Kushina was cheerful to the extreme.
Later that day, when all three women were chatting and I was resting in Fukushima's lap beside them, the door to the house suddenly opened and in came a man in traveling clothes, covered from head-to-toe in dirt and sweat. He made a bee-line straight toward my mother who stood up in response and spread her hands. Both of them embraced lovingly, uncaring that the man was covered in dirt, like two lovers separated for too long, which was exactly the case. The brown haired, black-eyed and rags covered man was my father, apparently. He was built like any average man with a developing dad bod. Nothing else was noteworthy of his appearance.
Fukushima stood up when she saw them separate and took me to my new father. He looked at me with tears in his eyes. I could see a reflection of myself in him. The sense of responsibility was way too high in there, just like me. A man who would live and die for his family, sacrificing everything else. I instantly took a liking to this man. He was just like me, but better, because he actually did become a father, unlike me who lost everything before I could be one myself. My father took me in his trembling arms, kissed me on the forehead and hugged me while crying tears.
Neither Mikoto nor Kushina broke the moment between us. They just observed silently. He spoke many things, most of them sounded like apologies to mother for missing out on my birth. But many of his words sounded like he was thanking god or something.
That night I cried for a different reason. I felt the loneliness without my wife. I was reminded today of the things that I have lost.
On the fourth day of my birth, my parents went on a shopping date. They left me with Fukushima. She was a sweet heart. From the looks of it, she was maybe 16. She was a soft spoken girl with a gentle heart and loving personality. Her speech was so soothing I always fall asleep whenever she talks.
Today she was sitting in the backyard of our traditionally decorated house, but from my eyes it looked more like a mansion. She was done with her chores, so she decided to play with me. She rocked me back and forth and kept talking about something or other. From my assumptions it sounded more like promises to keep me safe and whatnot.
Apparently she wanted to repay my parents' kindness of taking her in. That's all I could gleam from her ramblings that went on for hours. I didn't mind the long rants though. Her voice always put me at ease. I really like her. 'I have decided. I will call her big sister. She is just that lovely.' I thought as I drifted off to take my afternoon nap.
When I woke up I found my parents trying to project new mini clothes on me and debating which one is more "Kawaii". Although whenever they did so, they grumbled something. I supposed they had gotten me many clothes but most of them didn't fit me. They sighed and decided to go shopping later that night again to get clothes just the right size.
We went towards the shopping district of the village. We went into many shops. My parents bought many clothes for me. They even fed me some ice-cream which I loved. Probably because sugar overloaded my senses as I had this much sugar for the first time in my new life.
We had a merry time as our first outing as a family. I had started to calm down and get comfortable with my new lease on life. That's when tragedy struck.
A loud roar ripped through Konoha as the ground rumbled beneath our feet. Mother clutched me tightly to herself and turned around. I saw a mighty beast howling towards the night sky with many of its tails swiping across many buildings. It was far away to not reach us but the rubble thrown by its tails reach farther. It was raining down around us. My parents turned and ran for our lives. We ran through alleys and streets to shelter ourselves from the rain of death. Many Shinobi of our village went into rescue mode and dotted safe paths towards underground shelters. Most of the Shinobi were Uchiha, leading me to assume they were the Konoha Police working tirelessly to protect the civilians. Some non-Uchiha Shinobi also guided the civilians through narrow and relatively safe streets.
We kept running towards the shelter through the guided routes, not looking back for fear of facing death. In one alley we heard a loud crash above head. Mother and I felt a mighty push towards the end of the alley. She protected me while falling forward by twisting and landing on her back. Gaining back our senses we saw the last of the rubble falling down from the building surrounding the alley. And beneath that rubble we saw father, one hand outstretched, indicating that he was the one who pushed us away.
Mother started trembling in fear and denial. My heart shattered as well. Father was half buried in the rubble, but he wore a smile on his face for us. I knew right then that he won't survive. I knew that but I still hoped he could be saved. Mother started screaming in denial. A light grey haired masked Shinobi appeared and cleared rubble off of father. He laid him down on the ground so that he could face us.
Mother kneeled at his side trembling all the way. She said something to him with tears forming in her eyes. The Shinobi stood aside silently. I kept quiet out of fear myself. I finally found another family and it was being taken away again. I couldn't handle the pain.
Father responded with a weak laugh and looked at me. Though I didn't fully understand Japanese myself, but his words shook me to my core and my worst fear was realized. He had placed his hand on my cheek and said "Protect your mother for me." Right then I knew that he didn't plan on going back with us. He didn't plan on surviving. Not that he could survive with half his body being crushed. I doubt even Tsunade could save him if she were here.
When he closed his eyes and took his final breath, mother broke down completely. She couldn't handle it anymore. She wept. She wailed. She screamed. Her world had shattered into a million pieces. I understood her pain. So I kept quiet. I allowed her to vent her pain through mourning. I suppressed my tears and cries so that she won't be interrupted.
The Shinobi closed father's eyelids to allow him to rest finally and left, leaving mother and I, and many survivors, weeping at their loss. In the midst of all that, the roar had become distant. We could still hear a booming unintelligible voice. But it was so distant I could only assume Minato had taken the beast away from Konohagakure.
For the fourth night in a row after my rebirth I wept.
Mother had completely isolated herself from everything after the funeral on the fifth day. She only held me in her arms sitting on her bed most of the time. She even refused to talk to Fukushima. I didn't like the direction she was taking her grief in. I didn't want her to isolate herself for the rest of her life. She would go mad at this rate.
Luckily, a knock followed by a stern voice from the other side prompted her to finally open the door. Behind it was standing auntie Mikoto. She gave mother a stern talking to. I even heard mentions of Naruto. This tragic incident marked Naruto's birth into this world in the original story. It remained the same even with me being present. Butterfly effect hadn't taken a hold. I had vowed to protect my loved ones last night to honor my father's advice, and I would be damn sure Naruto will become one as well.
I saw from my position on the bed that auntie Mikoto had convinced mother to do something and both had a determined look on their faces as they marched out. Mother gave an order to big sister over her shoulder as she headed out.
Finally big sister was allowed to see me. She hugged me with tears in her eyes. Last night was the final night I would ever cry. I swear on my father that I will never cry ever again. He had done his duty to protect his family to death, just like I would have done in my previous life. And now, he had passed on that duty to me. I will not disappoint. One day he will look down at me from heavens and smile at my accomplishments. I swear.
An hour later mother and auntie came back, with mother cradling a child with blonde hair and nine whisker lines on his cheeks. The whiskers were just beard hair that had grown too soon, unlike an actual beast whiskers. Maybe that's a side effect of the seal that has been placed upon the child. His name was Naruto. I knew it even before I was reborn. And I am glad butterfly effect was taking hold this much. I will make sure Naruto never grows up in isolation. I will love him like my little brother. I will cherish him and teach him many things that he never got to learn as an orphan.
'I need to come up with a plan to live this new life and stick to it. If I can play my cards right I can even prevent Fourth Great Shinobi war, or at least prevent the lives lost during it. I will become a Taijutsu expert and learn the Eight Gates technique. I will master all elemental Jutsu and learn combination nobody could even think of. I will create Genjutsu so complex that even Sharingan cannot see through it. I will become a sage to a completely different summoning animal clan. I need overwhelming power to keep my family safe, and I will achieve overwhelming power.'
On the fifth night, I didn't cry. I didn't crave attention like normal newborns at 3am. Like Naruto for this instance. He was a normal newborn. Not me. I didn't want to burden my mother right now as I am supposed to be the adult here, my newborn body notwithstanding. I didn't cry because I didn't need to. It was unnecessary in my pursuit of my ambitions. I will cut everything off I deem as unnecessary to reach my goals. Only then would I allow myself reprieve.
He has seen many things in his surprisingly long life. As "The Professor of Shinobi" he was familiar with every elemental Jutsu under the sun. He led Konohagakure with a firm yet gentle hand. That, sometimes, backfired. Take for example the meeting that took place right before the grand funeral. Someone, somewhere, somehow had leaked Naruto's fate to Danzo, who in turn leaked it to the entire village, especially the council. The council and the villager were enraged now. They stopped listening to reason. Their fear was leading them towards the path of hate and murder of an innocent child. As the grandfatherly figure for the entire village, he was unable to fire back.
Instead he had to maneuver around their accusations and demands to make sure Naruto will at least have some degree of security. But some people, namely Mikoto Uchiha and Yoshida Yua, were less than pleased by the isolation he had managed to barter for the child. Just moments ago both women had barged in and started lecturing him for his irresponsibility. And both of them were right in their place so he couldn't say anything.
"We'll be taking care of Naruto and that's final." Yua exclaimed in standing defiantly in front of the Hokage.
"Kushina wouldn't want her one and only child to be scraping food just to survive on the streets. There are many more dangers associated with that lifestyle. We won't allow it." Mikoto said just as defiantly.
"You should be sterner. The council is full of greedy fools who are now bloodthirsty for a newborn child. Those people don't need your respect. You are the leader of this damn village! Act like IT!"
"We will be taking Naruto-kun off your hands now. We don't want a gutless leader raising Kushina's child. Or worse yet, an understaffed over worked orphanage. No thank you."
After wrapping up their hour long lecture and taking the child with them, the two finally left. Suddenly, an ANBU appeared in a kneeling position in front of his desk. "Speak." The aged Kage commanded.
"Hokage-sama, why didn't you allow us to arrest those fools right then?" the tiger masked ANBU spoke in an unrecognizable monotone voice.
"*sigh* I didn't because I deserved that berating. What they said about me is the truth. I am gutless, coward and irresponsible. These old bones have seen enough of wars. To avoid conflicts is what I strive for. But those two have showed me that conflict is inevitable. I cannot avoid it completely. Someone will always disagree with my decision." The Hokage drawled on. "I'm thinking, what would happen if I stopped pretending to be passive in the council meetings from now on. What do you say, Tiger?"
"If I may speak freely, Hokage-sama." The Hokage nodded in response so Tiger continued. "I agree with some aspects those women earlier spouted. But I hate the civilian council so my opinion might be biased heavily against them. I agree that you need to control the Council rather than give into their demands. I agree that some of the members 'need to be culled', so to speak. What I don't agree with is calling you a coward. The one to avoid conflicts is not a coward if one is known for ending conflicts altogether in the past."
"Hmm" the Professor thought for a moment. "Your thoughts on the matter are noted Tiger. You are to go back to your post, dismissed." The ANBU nodded once and vanished into thin air, back to his guarding post in the room. After some thought, Hiruzen called his secretary inside. "Call for a meeting for tonight. Tell the members that it's of utmost importance." The secretary nodded and went to work.
The meeting was in session. The Hokage sat at his place flanked by Elder Utatane Koharu and Elder Mitokado Homura. Next to them sat Elder Shimura Danzo, the "War Hawk". The Civilian council were sitting at the table in front of him to the right and the Ninja Council members sat to the left. The two tables had enough room in between for a person to walk up to any member of the collective council.
As soon as the last of the Clan heads seated themselves the meeting began. "Thank you for coming on such a short notice, everyone. I have called this meeting to address some things that have recently come to my attention. Well, not recently, they have been in my mind for at least two years before my retirement and even during Minato's reign. To address these issues is of utmost importance." When he saw that people were listening to him seriously and not speaking over one another like fools, he continued. "But first, I need to make some changes to the council. This will also help in understanding that there will be changes that nobody will like."
He gave them some time to brew in the anticipation with whispers and murmurs before raising a hand to silence every one. "Now that you all understand the situation a bit better. Let's continue." He turned towards the three elders. "I have seen in both my previous reign and especially in Minato's tenure that the elders have been less than helpful in the decision making process." The elders in question rose their eyebrows, already guessing their fates. "With time's unimpeded march, they are deviating more and more from the roles that had been assigned to them when they were appointed as my advisers. Instead, they are doing less advising and more demanding nowadays. So, as the authority granted by my title and predecessors, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of Konoha, dismiss the elders from their duties."
This statement caused an uproar. Especially from his two former teammates. The only one who had a modicum of self-control was Danzo. He was silent, yet his one visible eye showed that he was doing calculations in his mind. It took a while for the council to calm down. After which Hiruzen spoke once more. "I thank you for dedicating your time even after retirement to advise myself and my successor in making important decisions for the benefit of Konohagakure. I am sad to see you go, but your remaining here would mean more harm than good. So, with a heavy heart, I bid you farewell from the council."
The finality of his statement left much to desire, but nobody dared speak up against it. The two elders had their spirits crushed as they stood up and walked out of the chamber. Danzo alone sat cross-legged in his post, eyeing the Hokage with calculating gaze. "What is your end goal with this, Hiruzen?" he asked in a tone he had only used when Hiruzen made bold decisions, as if evaluating them.
"As I said, old friend. There will be changes." The Hokage cryptically replied. Only Danzo understood the intent behind that gaze Sarutobi sent his way. He nodded and stood up, hoping that this change in demeanor would make Konoha benefit in the future, and left the chamber himself.
After the three former elders left, Hiruzen turned to the council once again. Civilian council members were sweating bullets. The Clan heads that constitutes the Shinobi Council were deeply impressed, and a bit fearful of the future. Especially one Uchiha Fugaku. He was the only one who's future plans would be terribly shaken.
The rest of the meeting was surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, quieter than previous meetings Hiruzen had ever led. His decision to let Yoshida Yua, wife of the late famous merchant of Konohagakure, adopt Naruto, the Jinchuriki, was met with very little opposition. His decision to increase funds for Konoha Police, led by Uchiha Fugaku, was met with even less resistance. And since he had gained favor of the leader of the Police, he instructed him to have more discipline in his staff. Later in the meeting he commanded the Civilian members to respect Konoha's law enforcement and their decisions. Many criminals caught red-handed thought themselves victims of the Police and the witnesses did too. To ensure that hatred for the Police was lessened, he instructed Fugaku to employ everyone, regardless of their background, equally. He also took many steps to circumvent a lot of hatred by putting himself at the front, so to speak, in the involvement of Police in their matters. Lastly, he called for an announcement the next day in the evening.
Suffice it to say, most of the meeting went smoothly. Thanks, not in small part, to his bold step even before the meeting started. Yua and Mikoto had opened his eyes somewhat so he would ensure there is no distastefulness in his Konoha.
Hiruzen stood in front of the populace, at the top of Hokage Tower. He was waiting for the murmurs to die down before speaking. Once everyone was paying attention to him, he spoke. "Good evening, people of Konoha. I hope everyone is feeling well." He bellowed with his Chakra enhanced voice. "Today, I have a few announcements to make. Firstly, regarding the Konoha Police Department…
The people took well to his announcement so far. He completely relayed to them what he planned to change and hoped to achieve with these changes. He announced that the elders were now retired. He announced that the will of Uchiha Fugaku, leader of Konoha Police, was the will of Hokage. He announced that The Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, is not to be harmed and that he's been adopted by a family. People didn't like that last one too much, but they didn't speak up, silently accepting the decision. All-in-all, he managed to relay his decisions to the populace and showed them that defying him will have serious consequences.
What was different in this timeline was that He did not put forth any law regarding the secrecy about Naruto's status as a Jinchuriki. Butterfly effect was in full-swing now.
[Chapter End]