Chapter 11
The audience continued watching in seated suspense.
"The orbs are just getting bigger and bigger!" Kushina said, watching with fear.
"He's planning on taking us all out by nuking those things right inside the barrier!"
"Nice observation genius." Tsunade scoffed.
"What's our next move, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"For now... just let me concentrate."
"Our Naruto, he's really grown up." Minato told Kushina, who nodded her head, eyes not leaving the screen.
Out of nowhere, the nine tails' chakra cloak returned to all the shinobi inside the barrier. "Th-this is... Naruto's!" Lee started saying.
"I thought it was gone?!"
Jugo moved up to Sasuke, "Sasuke, things are going downhill quickly, we have to get on the other side of the barrier! Use your summoning technique-."
"That's what I plan on doing, I'm bringing you and Naruto." Sasuke stated.
Naruto looked back at them, "That's right, I haven't given you guys my chakra yet! Come here, I'll split some with you!"
"Can we really get through this with just that chakra?"
Fugaku sighed, "Looks like he unfortunately inherited my stubbornness."
Mikoto laughed slightly at her husband.
The orbs contacted the barrier, causing it to twist and bend, containing the force of the large chakra bombs, smoke sprouted out the top of the barrier, releasing it all into the surrounding air.
"D-did they all make it in time?" Rin asked fearfully.
Everyone was standing outside the barrier.
"How?" Tsunade asked.
"Before this happened, I had already shared Kurama's chakra with everyone."
Tobirama cut in, explaining it himself. "Simply put, Naruto allowed his chakra to come into contact with the fourth's. Thus linking all the shinobi in the alliance to him."
Naruto jumped front, "My power's just oozin' all over the place! Let's do this!"
"Naruto, your fervor is admirable but," Tobirama started, "There's no possible way that you've forgotten that only sage techniques are effective right? I mean, that would put you on entirely different level of idiocy."
"Idiot." Jiraiya said.
"Idiot." Hiruzen facepalmed.
Kakashi closed his eyes. "...Idiot."
Minato sighed, even Kushina was pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I totally forgot!" Naruto yelled.
"Maybe the tears I'm crying aren't tears of joy?" Minato joked.
The screen changed to enter Naruto's mindscape with the nine tails, arguing about the sage chakras.
"Ah! Now that you mention it, during my sage training, you totally got in the way of the old sage's technique, didn't you!?"
"I didn't have any intention with room-sharing with a frog, alright! Furthermore, so long as you have my chakra, my ego couldn't stand having you rely on sage techniques, understood?!"
Naruto grinned and pointed at the nine tails, "You're such a stubborn bastard!"
"Takes one to know one!" The nine tails shot back.
Minato and Naruto made two large constructs of the nine tails and landed a large Rasengan onto Obito, but was blocked by the black shield once more.
Naruto started building up a large tailed beast bomb.
"What are you trying to do?" Minato asked.
"I'm adding the sage technique to the beast bomb."
"That's how it's gotta be!" Jiraiya smiled, he looked at the screen.
The ten tails suddenly sprouted from Obito's back. "Shall we begin?"
Out of the ten tails, a large tree started to sprout, reaching high up into the sky, from the ground it looked as though it were touching the moon.
The tree branches spread out, racing towards the shinobi, it grabbed many of them. The moment the tree branch wrapped around the shinobi, they were quickly drained of chakra until they were a mummified husk.
"It's sucking up their chakra in one fell swoop, how terrifying." Hiruzen said.
"Haul ass if you wanna live!" Kushina shouted at the screen.
"Why is Mr. Bee getting so many of the branches?" Rin asked.
"Probably because he has the eight tails inside of him, I think they're responding to those that have the highest amount of chakra, and sends out the respective numbers of branches." Itachi commented, rubbing has chin.
"Very good observation, Itachi." Fugaku praised his son.
"So, what is this... thing?" Minato asked.
"That's the God Tree, chakra was something originally only belonged to the God Tree, all the chakra here on the battlefield," Naruto gulped, "The owner is simply taking back what is rightfully theirs."
"There was a fruit that grew on the God Tree, nobody was allowed-,"
"How do you know all this?" Tsunade asked.
"Madara does like to monologue." Naruto groaned, continuing.
"Nobody was allowed to lay a hand on the fruit. But there were many conflicts, so a princess decided that someone should get to attain the fruit, and that person was Kaguya Ootsutsuki."
Naruto made a little tree with his hands, which made Kushina giggle. "Kaguya had the power of god, and ended all the conflicts. So she gave birth to one son, and that son was the person who tamed the ten tails when it tried to get it's chakra back."
"That person was Hagoromo Ootsutsuki, otherwise known as... the Sage of Six Paths."
"So, he wasn't a myth after all." Jiraiya nodded.
Naruto was caught by multiple branches and was quickly drained of his chakra, but the branches surrounding her were all turned into woodwork when Hiruzen destroyed them all with his staff.
"Old man..." Naruto whispered out.
"Being punctual was never my strong suit."
"Thank you, lord hokage." Minato said.
"Just lay there quietly," Obito mocked, "Your suffering will soon come to an end."
Shikamaru lay on the ground, his face pale and hollowed in, his cheekbones deathly visible. "Oi, oi! This isn't looking good!"
"Katsuyu! Let's use long distance healing!"
"That's not possible." Katsuyu shook her body.
"Why?!"
"Katsuyu's body uses tiny clones as a means to pass chakra to others, but all of her clones have probably had their chakra absorbed and died." Tsunade explained.
"Shikaku's kid isn't looking too good." Inoichi said, looking at his friend's son.
"Let the grief and regret end here, and just resign yourself to fate." Obito spread his arms wide.
"That gigantic tree is an extension of Obito, almost as if they're his limbs... Limbs that absorb chakra." Hiruzen told himself.
A landing sound was heard from behind the hokages, "That's rather pessimistic, it doesn't sound like you at all."
"Sarutobi sensei." Orochimaru landed.
The scene changed to a large portion of the tree looming over the shinobi. "They've lost the drive to continue." Hiruzen sighed.
"Which average shinobi wouldn't? Look at that thing, it's huge..." Mikoto shivered.
Sasuke used his Susano'o to destroy the large tree branch, "Naruto, is that all you got? I'm just getting started."
Flashes of Naruto's memories poured through the telepathic link that Ino had created. Shinobi from all over the battlefield delved into his heart's feelings.
Naruto looked up with renewed determination, "I won't let it all go to waste!"
"The next memory is starting!" Inoichi called out.
"Are these... Orochimaru's thoughts?" Tsunade asked.
"I forgot we could hear thoughts now." Jiraiya laughed.
'Sasuke, your abilities have yet to peak, I'm certain, from the wisdom I have attained from countless experiments and analyzing data, the day will come when you transcend Madara.'
Fugaku nodded.
Tobirama watched Naruto from a distance, and smiled to himself. 'Naruto Uzumaki, you really are the splitting image of my older brother, thick-headed, overly compassionate and a tendency to stick your foot in your mouth.'
'And still, people adore him, and depend on him.'
"I... am so proud." Minato beat his chest and laughed.
A cloak started bubbling around Shikamaru.
"Naruto is doing this subconsciously," Ino looked out to the shinobi, "Just the strong will coming from his heart to save Shikamaru, makes his chakra move! I know because I can clearly feel it with my technique."
"Shikaku's kid isn't a pushover, he'll make it." Inoichi nodded.
'Naruto, seriously, you've always been like that. Shouldering all the burden... trying to do the impossible.' Shikamaru thought to himself.
'Old man, this entire time, Naruto's been depressed about traumatic and painful events in his life, yet he's persevered through them by sheer willpower. I came to know this all only after the fact though. I don't want him to go through anything remotely similar to those things, ever again. Either way, I guess the only thing I can do is be there for him right now.'
A memory with Shikamaru and Shikaku whizzed by. "He'll become a vital shinobi for the entire village."
"I feel compelled to follow him down whatever path he chooses, he has that kind of effect on people."
Obito wiped tears from his eyes.
"I'm looking forwards to the day you become hokage, kid." Jiraiya ruffled his hair.
"Don't make us wait too long." Tsunade huffed.
'Unlike the first hokage, that idiot doesn't have a brother like the second for him to open up and talk to...'
'That's why... that's precisely why...' Shikamaru propped himself up with one hand weakly, looking up at Naruto fighting, 'When he becomes hokage, I've got to be his right hand man!'
'Sorry pops, but I won't be joining you just yet, there's no one but me, who can play the role of Naruto's advisor!'
"Thank you, Naruto, with your chakra and willpower, you saved him." Inoichi smiled, shaking Naruto slightly with the hand on his shoulder.
"Looks like you've gotten yourself a brother in arms." Minato laughed, "Wished we could've met..."
"My apologies, grandfather." Tsunade turned towards Hashirama.
"No need to apologize, Tsuna." Hashirama shook his head, "I've dragged my grandchild's generation into my problems, I'm the one at fault here."
"But your dreams have also continued on to your grandchildren's era. And will continue further from there on out, yes..."
"That's what we call the will of fire." Tsunade spoke for herself.
"Sounds like you're a fully-fledged hokage, huh Tsunade?" Hiruzen chuckled.
"W-well, I might as well get some practice in before I start." Tsunade scoffed.
Hiruzen looked at the screen, "Naruto Uzumaki, right now you have brough everyone together as one, your life may have been far from perfect, but it has made you who you are today."
"You," Hiruzen pointed to Naruto with his pipe, "Will be an example, for everyone to place their hopes and dreams onto their own chests."
"Let's go chase down our hopes and dreams!" Hashirama rallied the shinobi as they charged towards the God Tree, "We're off!"
"We're chopping down that big tree!"
"Let's go!" Obito cheered.
"Isn't it weird you're cheering everyone on to kick your ass?" Kakashi droned.
"I-I am the villain right now, so why wouldn't I?"
Kakashi smiled underneath his mask, "Heh, never mind."
"Orochimaru, are you simply going to stand idly by?" Hiruzen asked.
"I have nothing to gain from this war." Orochimaru sneered, "But... Obito fulfilling his dream would be equivalent to ceasing all my precious experiments."
"Then lend us a hand."
Before tree branches could grab Hiruzen, they were stopped in place by large winding snakes. "Fine, now, let us reminisce for a moment."
Hiruzen followed up by cutting the branch in half with his staff.
"To a time when I was the disciple and you; the teacher." Orochimaru laughed.
"Never thought I'd see the day where the two of you fight together again." Jiraiya eyed the screen.
"It is just as surprising for me as it is for you."
"So, the Shinobi Alliance has decided on an all out offensive formation?" Fugaku commented, looking at how the ninjas were faring.
Obito blocked the oncoming attack from Naruto and Sasuke, "It's way past bedtime for you two, I'll send you off to dreamland now, I don't have a second to waste."
"There's still the side of you that refuses to acknowledge or even search for that silver lining," Minato started, looking at Obito, "That inner turmoil must be tearing you apart."
"I feel like..." Obito nodded his head, "That my older self is trying to seek out the answer in Naruto."
"Why do you continue getting up? What are you fighting for? Is it for your friends? For this world? Listen... eventually your friends will stab you in the back and your love for this world will slowly rot into hatred. You should already know these things by now."
"You have no valid reason to fight for this world, soon it will cease to exist. So why do you insist on fighting?!"
"We Uzumaki folks don't give up easy." Kushina winked.
Naruto stood up shakily, "Because it's my ninja way. I don't go back on my word. I'll take a nice, long sleep tomorrow when I can dream on my own!"
Sasuke and Naruto combined their powers as they readied their attacks once more.
"Become the fangs that will grab ahold of tomorrow." Hiruzen smirked.
"Woah! You're combining the Susano'o and the nine tails chakra..." Obito gaped.
"I never knew the Susano'o could be used as armour." Fugaku said, equally as surprised.
"Grasping for straws will change nothing, you're merely postponing the inevitable." Obito looked up at the sky, "Above you, tell me... what do you see through that hole?"
"The moon, the moonlit dream world Is finally upon us. The moonlit dream will fill this hellish void, finally... the time has come!"
"It's true that people will laugh and ridicule an idiot." Kakashi started, looking at Naruto, "But when an idiot that gives his all in the face of overwhelming odds."
Naruto's friends one by one leapt into the tails of the nine tails chakra, each in front of one Rasengan.
"People can't help but lend that idiot a hand, the thing everyone realizes soon or later, is that whatever void they carry in their hearts can be filled by the people around him." Obito fist bumped Kakashi.
Chakra cloaks like the one Naruto has formed around their shoulders, "These Rasengan, I leave in your hands! Use them to destroy his shield!"
"And those whose hearts are filled by their friends," Rin smiled, "Can overcome any obstacle!" She hugged them both.
As the Susano'o sword crashed into Obito's blade, flashes formed. Obito and Kakashi stood over Rin's grave, both in ANBU uniform.
Shinobi waited for Obito as he looked up at the stone carvings of hokage past, years passed as he changed to wearing the signature green flak vest of the Jounin. And soon after, he was dressed in the hokage's robes, his face also carved on the wall.
"Why am I seeing these images now?" Obito asked.
"Perhaps, these are your heart's truest desires."
The nine tails cut straight through Obito, pulling the tailed beasts from him.
Gaara reached out for Shukaku, "I was originally the host for the one tails, I shall do it."
"Pull! If we succeed, he'll only be the shell of the ten tails, which means the flower won't be able to bloom!" Kurama shouted from within the mindscape.
"A huge tug of war! That's like... my best game! Remember, Minato? Back in the academy?" Kushina bounced in her seat.
Minato sweat-dropped, thinking back about how his team tasted the dirt multiple times because of Kushina's monstrous strength.
"Did you just say monstrous strength?" Kushina cracked her knuckles.
"I said that part aloud didn't I?" Minato sighed.
"Naruto, you're the one that asked us for help, so that's what we'll do, until the very end!" Kiba leapt onto the nine tails contruct.
"Not just us." Shikamaru laughed.
All of the shinobi on the battlefield leapt down, grabbing ahold of Minato's own nine tails chakra, like a rope.
"M-my chakra is leaking out again." Obito watched his chakra meld with Naruto's, changing the screen.
Obito stood alone in vast white landscape, in front of him was Naruto, before he was replaced with an alternate version of himself, standing amongst the many Konoha shinobi.
'I'm regretting my...actions?!' Obito flinched.
"You told me that you didn't want to be anyone. And that your own existence didn't even matter."
"Stop it... get out of my head!"
Naruto smiled, "But face it, you wanted to become hokage, just like me."
"It might appear as though I've been chasing after your shadow at times, since I've always looked up to the hokage."
Obito looked at Naruto, angered, "That was the old me, that I've already cast aside! Things like that are-."
"God, was I such a stubborn prick?"
Kakashi and even Rin nodded.
"Yikes." Minato laughed.
"Then why can I see it? You can't hide it, even behind a mask. You're a friend of Kakashi sensei, you're a subordinate of my dad, you're Sasuke's relative. And someone that held the same dream as me, as a shinobi of Konoha."
"What do you want from me?!"
"Trying to save your dumb ass..." Obito grit his teeth.
"You're Obito Uchiha! Whether you like it or not, I'm ripping that mask of ours off!"
"The mask of lies is finally coming off." Tsunade nodded, arms folded.
"Obito Uchiha, you say?" Obito's face remained neutral, "I am no longer human, I'll be the one to guide humanity onto the next stage. Someone that is a fusion of both his will and body, I am for all intents and purposes, the second Sage of Six Paths."
"Nope! You're Uchiha Obito!"
"But look at what you've become now! Turning the entire shinobi world in your enemy, while going on about how it's all for the sake of the world. You're just twisting things, so it'll be convenient for you! You won't get any recognition from anyone, not even from the most important person to you, with your current dream!"
"You, who once held the same dream as me, you're becoming the exact opposite of a hokage! You were just like me, so-!"
"A-are you okay, Obito?" Rin asked.
"Yeah... just a little, depressed at what I'm looking at. I really am doing stuff that no hokage would do."
"The things I'm doing aren't any different from what a hokage would do. In fact, I'd say I'm going above and beyond their duties... since I intend to materialize global peace."
"Are you actually kidding me?" Jiraiya groaned.
"Do you really believe that's what you're doing?"
Obito closed his eyes, as a memory of his younger self flashed by, him and Rin were sitting on one of Konoha's stone benches. Rin helping him apply some medicine to a cut on his cheek.
"Rin... you saving me, is the same as you saving the world, you know." Rin tilted her head in confusion.
"Because I'm gonna be the hokage and all, and put and end to this war! So, if I'm not in tip-top condition, well... you get where I'm going with this, right?"
"Yeah, it's just all a bit too surreal." Rin giggled.
"So, you know... if you don't stay by my side, and like... watch over."
Obito blushed at his seat, while Rin tilted her head in confusion, matching herself in the memory.
"Rin, can we have a talk outside?" Kushina asked.
"O-okay..." She walked out of the room.
Minato was about to stand but his shoulder got death-gripped by Kushina. "Honey, we're going for a women's only talk, okay?"
"Y-yes, yeah! S-sure..." Minato laughed nervously as he sat back down.
As Kushina walked up to Rin, Kushina jabbed her finger into Rin's forehead. "Spill the beans!"
"W-what?" Rin rubbed the red spot on her head.
"Someone's in love... aren't you..." Kushina giggled, "With Obito!"
"Don't tell Kakashi!" Rin whisper-shouted.
"Eh?" Kushina blinked. "Kakashi?"
Kushina scratched her head, "Oh, well, I chose the wrong guy."
"Please don't tell Kakashi... I'll tell him myself one day!" Her eyes sparkled with determination.
"Alright," Kushina laughed a little, "Let's go back."
They made their way in and settled down again.
Obito walked closer to Naruto, "The hokage's singular objective should be world peace."
"How can you say that..." Naruto clenched his fists, "What we want to know isn't where the shortcut is, it's how to walk down that dangerous, unknown path."
"To be hokage means to endure that pain, to walk in front of everyone and lead by example, to be the one who destroys any obstacles and paves the way for everyone else."
Naruto held out his hand to Obito, "There are no shortcuts to becoming hokage! And no shortcuts to run away from it once you become one!"
Obito looked at his arm, remembering a memory of a time long past.
"Come back to us, as Obito Uchiha of Konoha, and accept your punishment. As you are now, you're still just running away. If Rin were still alive, she'd probably say sop putting up that front and trying to hide behind it, remember I'm always watching over you."
Obito started sniffling in his seat, Kakashi patting his back awkwardly.
"Don't try to be anyone by yourself, you can stop running." Naruto pushed his hand forwards, "We're waiting for you on this side... Obito!"