"I thank you for your report. With the exception of Shizune-san and Tsunade-hime, you are all dismissed." Hiruzen waited for Jiraiya, Naruto, and Makoto leave the office before speaking to his former student. "It is good to have you back, Tsunade-hime."
"I'd say it's good to be back, but…" Tsunade sighed. "Painful memories. I'll just have to keep struggling on."
"Oh? That doesn't quite sound like you, Tsunade-hime." Her lip twitched upwards just a little.
"Something the Uchiha brat said," she admitted. Hiruzen raised a brow at that, but said nothing. "So about taking the position?"
"I will make the announcement in a week's time, and the actual transfer of power will be a few days later. Take the time until then to get reacquainted with the village." Tsunade nodded her agreement.
"Is that all, Sensei?"
"One last thing. There is a particular patient in the hospital who could use your expertise." She went pale, and he rushed to reassure her. "There will be no blood involved. Hatake Kakashi was the victim of a particularly nasty genjutsu."
"Okay. I'll handle that right away." As she and her apprentice (and their pet pig) left the room, Hiruzen frowned. He would need to put her in contact with Inoichi to take care of that haemophobia. They couldn't have their best medic freezing up at the sight of blood, especially when said medic was also the Hokage.
When we got to Kakashi's hospital room, Sakura was already there visiting.
"Naruto, Makoto! Where have you been?"
"Sorry, Sakura," I apologised. "We were away finding someone who could help." Right on cue, Tsunade entered the room.
"So this is the patient?" Sakura gaped like a fish.
"I-is that… Tsunade-sama of the sannin!?" Tsunade stepped up to Kakashi's bedside.
"You're his genin student, right?"
"Y-yes! I'm Haruno Sakura!" Tsunade nodded and placed her hand on Kakashi's head, a pale blue glow lighting up around it.
"Hmm… Shouldn't take too long to fix this, I think," she mumbled to herself before addressing the rest of us. "Stop hovering! If you're staying, take a seat and stay quiet! This'll only take a few minutes."
Five minutes. That was all it took to bring Kakashi out of his coma, his grey right eye blinking slowly.
"Where…?" He tried to sit up, but Tsunade pushed him down gently.
"You need to lie down a little longer, Hatake-san."
"You're… Tsunade-sama?" She nodded.
"You were hit by a genjutsu from Uchiha Itachi. I'm the one they called in to heal you."
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura chorused in unison, rushing to his side while I followed lazily.
"Kakashi-senpai." He looked between us and seemed to smile under his mask.
"You all came to see me…"
"More than that," Tsunade told him. "You can thank these two foolish brats for coming to find me."
"Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto complained while I just shook my head with a smile.
"Now you three get out!" The Senju demanded. "I need to give your sensei his examination."
"...So after I mastered the Rasengan, she clearly recognised my awesomeness and agreed to be Hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto proclaimed, finishing the story of our search.
"Those guys in the cloaks sound scary." Sakura had gone pale when we told her about that part.
"Yeah." Naruto turned serious. "We've got a lot of training to do if they come back."
"Especially for that shark guy," I agreed. "He brushed off Amaterasu like it was nothing. That sword might even be able to break the Susano'o." In truth, I was actually more worried about facing Kisame than Itachi, and not just because I knew the latter would be sandbagging hardcore if we ever fought one-on-one. While Itachi was easily the more powerful of the two, he also had serious stamina problems. As long as I didn't go blind before his illness kicked in, I'd be fine. Hell, if I could learn sage mode before having to fight him, then even going blind wouldn't be too big a problem. For Kisame, though, getting good at genjutsu and hoping I could lop his head off while he was under was pretty much my only option. He was too physically strong for taijutsu or kenjutsu, and that sword would just eat any ninjutsu I threw at him.
I needed to see about looking for more scrolls in the Uchiha compound. They must have had genjutsu manuals in there somewhere.
"Makoto, are you okay?" I was brought out of my thoughts by Sakura's question, and suddenly realised Naruto had left, probably to go to Ichiraku's.
"Sorry, I was just thinking." She nodded in understanding, and seemed to hesitate about something.
"You know…" she started slowly, "you don't have to fight your brother alone." I shook my head. While I appreciated the sentiment, no way would I be willing to put anyone else in that kind of danger. Besides, I wanted to try and talk Itachi down, and that wouldn't be possible with others present.
"Sakura, I'm truly thankful, but when it comes to Itachi, I really do have to do it alone. He's my responsibility." She looked worried, but seemed to understand.
That evening, I had two Shadow Clones practising genjutsu on eachother while I looked through jutsu scrolls for something useful. In my search of the compound, I had found what seemed to be a library of jutsu that the clan had amassed. It was mostly low-to-mid-level techniques, and I was setting aside any that seemed interesting. So far the only thing that interested me was the Great Dragon Fire Jutsu, the same technique Sasuke had used to set up for Kirin in canon. That was not to be the case for long though, as the next scroll was something that left me grinning like a lunatic.
Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku. Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation. The pinnacle of fire release jutsu, the technique the Boss wanted me to learn before letting me summon him. It required a whopping fifty-three hand seals, which made Madara's performance of it with only one a feat of incredible skill, a demonstration of what a true master could accomplish.
I would equal him one day. No, I would surpass him.
Thus resolved, I pocketed the scrolls I had chosen and left for the lake out back. Over the next few years, my ninjutsu development would consist of learning from these scrolls, mastering shape and nature manipulation enough to recreate Sasuke's canon moveset and create my own jutsu, and improving my reserves enough to cast Great Fire Annihilation. Once I had enough chakra to pull that off, that would be the moment I was ready for sage mode.
A few days later, I was just washing up after breakfast when there was a knock on my door. Wondering who would want to visit me first thing in the morning, I opened it, only to be surprised to see a certain blonde soon-to-be Hokage standing outside.
"Tsunade-sama? Can I help you with something?"
"You got a moment?"
"Sure." I stepped aside and offered her tea, which she declined.
"I don't have too long, since I have to be at the hospital soon, so I'll keep this brief. I think I know a way to help with your… Condition."
"My condition?" It took me a moment to figure out what she meant, but when I did, I couldn't help but smile. "Seriously?" She nodded.
"Seriously. Come by the hospital this afternoon at four and we can discuss it further."
"O-okay." I was stunned. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
"Don't thank me, Makoto-san. I owe you for helping set my head straight, this is just me settling a debt. I'll see you this afternoon."
As soon as I arrived, I was ushered into an examination room where Tsunade was waiting for me.
"Good, you're here. Drop the Henge, strip, and get on the table. I need to get a good look at you and make sure this'll be safe." I awkwardly did as she asked. "Underwear, too. Kami, it's not like you've got anything I haven't seen before." She gave me a clinical once-over, then laid her hand on my chest and did something that felt like she was pushing chakra into my system and throughout my body, a blue glow emanating from her hand. "Good, everything's in order. You're perfectly healthy, and it looks like you're just hitting puberty."
"Great," I muttered sarcastically. "Definitely wanted to do that again." She rolled her eyes and removed her hand, the light dying away and my chakra network once more feeling like my own.
"You can put your pants back on, but don't Transform." While I got my decency back, she explained what she could do for me. "Your body is just about starting to ramp up production of testosterone. However, with a little medical trickery combined with some fuuinjutsu, I can push it in the other direction – make it produce oestrogen and progesterone as the dominant sex hormones instead. In simple terms, you'll go through female puberty instead of male." Well, that certainly had my full attention.
"Any side-effects?"
"Aside from the obvious? No having children for you. Ever. So you better be damn sure this is what you want, because if the councillors ever find out I sterilised the last Uchiha for no reason, they'll have both our heads on a platter. If I didn't know you were already an adult in there, I wouldn't be offering such a permanent solution." I felt the blood drain from my face.
"There isn't, like, some kind of clan restoration act or something is there?" She scoffed.
"You think I would've come back if there was? I'm the last Senju, I'd be just as on the hook for it as you." Well, that was a relief.
"Hold on, aren't you in your fifties?"
"I'm the greatest medic who ever lived, you think menopause is anything more than a minor inconvenience for me? Now, you still want me to do this?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright then. Take this-" she tossed me a red pill "-and lie on your stomach."
"What is it?"
"Blood pill. I need to ink the seal in your blood, that'll help you replenish your supply after I bleed you." I hesitated.
"Aren't you afraid of blood?"
"Tell whoever told you that to mind their own damn business! And for your information, I've been working on it. I can handle it well enough to write a seal, now lie down." Her tone told me she would brook no further hesitation, so I popped the pill and did as she said. She took my left arm, held it out over a bowl, and cut with a scalpel, letting my lifeblood flow freely. Just as I started to feel weak, she closed the wound with medical ninjutsu, and I soon felt a brush coated in warm, sticky fluid begin tracing patterns on my back.
"Alright, the seal's ready," she announced after a while. "Now, just hold still a little longer…" I felt a finger placed between my shoulder blades, followed by a flare of chakra, and then all the sticky patterns drawn on my back started to heat up, almost boiling. There was a strange, uncomfortable crawling sensation all over my back, which slowly receded to the area around her finger. Then the burning faded, and my back felt normal again. "Done. Now, I shouldn't need to tell you this, but do not mess with that seal. And don't let anyone else try to, either."
"I know, I know."
"Also, no more of that Henge. Spend too long Transformed at your age and it'll stunt your growth."
"But I feel so uncomfortable like this! Can't I just keep it until the hormones kick in?" She was having none of my protestations.
"They won't kick in properly if you spend your whole damn life under that Transformation! You'll just have to deal with it for a while, understand?"
"Yeah, I understand."
"Good. Now get out! And make sure you eat well and get some rest for a couple days, I had to take a lot of blood for the seal."
On the Sunday of that week, everyone in Konoha, villagers and shinobi alike, was gathered in a large crowd in front of the Hokage's Tower. Those few of us who knew what was coming kept silent, not spoiling the surprise for everyone else. Just when people began getting restless, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped into view on the roof of the tower, wearing robes of a simple dark green rather than the white-and-red of the Hokage, and missing the trademark hat.
"People of the village!" His voice was strong, commanding. It carried easily over the entire crowd with seemingly no effort, silencing all who heard it. "For many decades now have I served as your Hokage. Too many, in fact. I am getting old, too old to effectively lead and protect this village. It is time for me to once again step down as your Hokage, as I did after the Third Shinobi World War. And so, on this day, it is a great honour for me to introduce to you the Godaime Hokage: Senju Tsunade!" With that, he stepped aside as she came forward to take his place, the distinctive Hokage's hat perched upon her head. The crowd roared their approval as she stood tall before us. I was never one for cheering, so I simply smiled up at her.
Finally, after endless hours of practice, Kabuto had it down. His summons were unfortunately still hindered in their power a little more than Orochimaru's, but the technique was sufficient. Grabbing the preserved severed hand that still wore its owner's old Akatsuki ring, he walked through the corridors of the primary hideout in Ta no Kuni until he reached the room in which Kimimaro was kept on life support, various seals and drugs slowing the progress of the virulent bone cancer that ate away at his life. It took him only a few minutes to wake the boy, who sat up wearily, trying not to show the immense pain he was no doubt experiencing.
"Kabuto-san. Does our Lord have need of me once more?" Naturally, he had not been informed of Orochimaru's passing. The information would likely have killed his will to live, and that strong will was about the only thing sustaining him any longer.
"He does," Kabuto answered. "Orochimaru-sama finally requires the use of your body, Kimimaro-san."
"He does?" The boy coughed harshly. "Even with it on the verge of failure?"
"I assure you, the integrity of your body is irrelevant for this technique. All that is required of you is that you surrender yourself to him."
"Of course, Kabuto-san. Anything our Lord requires."
"Then please, kneel." Kimimaro did as he asked while he gently set the severed hand down atop a pre-prepared scroll and began making seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Edo Tensei!" An elaborate seal spread from the hand to surround Kimimaro, who grimaced yet remained admirably silent as dust and dirt gathered to his body in what, from Kabuto's prior observations of the technique, appeared to be a horrifically painful process.
Soon enough, Kimimaro was no more, and in his place knelt the returned form of Orochimaru, dull and cracked in appearance yet still as sharp as ever in mind. The sannin stood and examined himself, taking a moment to consider his new form.
"Oh, Kabuto-kun," he crooned, low and menacing. "To think you would resort even to this to bring me back." A dark chuckle issued forth from his throat. "I always knew I could count on you."
"Of course, Orochimaru-sama. Though I'm afraid my skill with the technique pales in comparison to yours."
"Indeed. How unfortunate. Right now, I'd say I'm about as strong as I was when I fought Sanshouo no Hanzou all those years ago…" He shook his head. "This limited body will not do, immortal though it may be. I shall have to acquire a new vessel soon. Is Guren-chan still around?"
"I'm afraid not, Lord. Many of our shinobi abandoned the cause after learning of your death. Most of those that remain are genin and minor chuunin, though Kidomaru still remains loyal."
"I see. How… Unfortunate. No matter, you will retrieve her for me, won't you Kabuto-kun?" Kabuto bowed.
"Of course, Orochimaru-sama."
"Very good. In the meantime, I'll see about whipping our remaining followers back into shape. And once Guren is back and I have a suitable body, I shall have to redouble my research." A wide, menacing smile split his lips. "And then, I will have that Uchiha body!"
In the month following Tsunade's inauguration, things were quiet. I ran a few escort missions with the old team, but mostly focused on my training. The village had recovered fully from the invasion and even seemed stronger than ever. On this particular morning, a Naruto clone had shown up at my door and asked to meet at our old training ground, so I threw on my cloak and hurried over. Original Naruto was already there, along with Sakura, Kakashi, and Jiraiya. I had a feeling I knew what was going on.
"Morning, everyone. What's up?"
"Yeah, Naruto, what's going on? Why'd you call us here?" Sakura asked. Naruto rubbed his neck awkwardly.
"Well, uh, you see Sakura-chan…"
"You're leaving the village, aren't you?" I guessed. The timing seemed about right.
"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm going on a training trip with Ero-sennin. Those guys in the black-and-red cloaks, Akatsuki, are after the Kyuubi sealed inside me. There are nine of them, and they're all S-class missing-nin. I need to get way stronger if I'm gonna fight them." His eyes turned downward. "I don't know when I'll be back…"
"Take as long as you need," I told him, "the village will still be here when you're ready to come home, I'll make sure of it." Sakura nodded in agreement.
"We'll both be a lot stronger by then," she added, "So don't let us surpass you."
"Naruto… You've grown so much since we met," Kakashi spoke up. "Keep going the way you have, and you'll be Hokage in no time."
"Guys…" Naruto smiled broadly. "You guys are the best. Save a seat at Ichiraku's for me when I get back!" He and Jiraiya headed off, ready to go on their journey.
"Well," I began, turning to the two remaining members of Team Seven. "We've got to keep up with him while he's gone. You up to the challenge, Senpai?" Kakashi nodded. "And you, Sakura?" Same from her. "Then let's get to work!"
A/N: And part 1 comes to an end! However, we won't be skipping right into Shippuden, I have a couple small arcs planned for the timeskip period.
Also, I should warn you that I'm coming to the end of my buffer, I only have a couple more chapters pre-written. Weekly updates may not be possible for much longer, but I'll still be trying my best to keep things as regular as possible.