The dark, humongous shape of the Statue of the Outer Path loomed over the walls of the cavern.
"How is the statue?"
"Damaged quite badly. It seems we are not going to store any Tailed Beast into it at least for a month or two."
The Akatsuki members looked at the statue. While still intact, the vessel had suffered quite a lot of damage, thanks to Fuu. There were numerous scratches and chips along the body of the statue, and a huge scorch mark could be seen at the belly of the statue, where Fuu's final attack landed. Even though the statue was repairing itself, it would take quite some time before it could fully recover.
"So, we have suffered another loss. Everything we did, showing ourselves to the world, waging war with two of the Great Villages, only to fail horribly, losing half the force we have, and not only unable to capture any jinchuriki, but also got the vessel damaged," Deidara sneered. "What a way to give the villages a war they would remember, yeah."
The mad bomber didn't speak about anyone exactly, but the implication behind his words were too clear to ignore. Everyone standing in the chamber cringed; surely there's going to be a rage burst from Pain, and the fool would be murdered in a blink of an eye...
But before Pain could do anything...
"Who said that this is a loss?"
Deidara blinked. "This isn't?"
"Even though we failed to extract the Six-Tails completely, we still managed to gather most of its chakra in the Statue," Tobi answered in place of Pain. "The jinchuriki of the Six-Tails is not going to be able to use his Tailed Beast for a while. Moreover, we also managed to cripple two of the Great Villages. The balance between the Great Villages is now lower than ever before. That's an advantage for us to exploit when going for the other Tailed Beasts."
"But that also means we're now the number one enemies of the world," Sasori pointed out. "It would make our activities from now on way more difficult than before. And now with all the other Tailed Beast either dead or in the hand of the Great Villages, what are you planning to do?"
Konan glanced at Tobi. The masked Uchiha, since the assault of the Third Hokage and Jiraiya at Amegakure, had been trying further and further to take over the Akatsuki from Pain's hand. And Konan knew that not only her, but the other members of the Akatsuki also realized that problem.
But the problem is, there was nothing she or anyone could do about that right now. Even though Tobi hadn't shown anything that could be considered dangerous since his appearance except for his teleporting ability, there was still something in him that made everyone wary. Maybe it was his mysteriously alluring, manipulative charisma, or maybe it was his intimidating inner aura that any powerful shinobi could feel standing near him. This was actually the first time anyone raised their voice against him.
"What matters right now is," Tobi was saying, "we need more people. Not the kind of useless cannon fodders; we need skilled people with great power in their possession. Our loss of Kakuzu and Hidan under the hand of the Nine-Tails really took us back a lot. And this mission has shown that it is impossible to fight the Nine-Tails with sheer number alone. We should hold back on Tailed Beast hunting for a while and try to recruit more people first. At least we need to wait until the statue finishes repairing itself," he added seeing the expression of the other members.
"Just do what you think is the best," Pain waved his hand towards Tobi, then turned away and walked out of the chamber without saying anything else.
When the back of Yahiko's body disappeared from her view, Konan knew. It was time for her to do something about Tobi, or if the worst thing happened...
She needed to save Nagato. Taking him away, abandoning the Akatsuki, whatever... there's no way she could leave her friend in the hand of Tobi.
Outside of his missions and his time with his family, it is rare for Naruto not to spend all his time training. Usually he could be found in Training Ground 7 all days, practicing jutsus, or doing battle strategy training with Sasuke and Sakura during their breaks, or things like that.
So it was a surprise for his teammates to see an empty Training Ground 7 when they walked into the clearing. Especially in a free day for everyone like this.
"Huh, that's weird," Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "It's so unlike Naruto asking us here and then ditching us."
"That Naruto..." Sakura growled. "Making us waste a whole day off like this... If I get my hand on him..."
"Wait a sec," Sasuke suddenly said. "Do you hear something?"
Sakura blinked. There was some voice coming from afar... it sounded like... screams? And it was from... above?
She looked up. And gasped.
"Oh, shit."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! GET AWAY FROM THERE! NO, SCRATCH THAT, CATCH ME PLEASE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Sasuke nimbly stepped aside, right before Naruto's face crashed painfully on the hard ground of the training field at the very same place he had been standing on just one second ago.
"Ow."
"What the heck happened, Naruto?" Sakura asked in concern, kneeling down next to her teammate. "Why did you fall from the sky?"
Answering her was just a groan of pain. The medic sighed, and reached down to pull Naruto up.
"Oh, stop that you big baby. It's not even that painful to you."
"Yeah, just crash your face to the ground falling from the height of twenty meters and say that to me again, I dare you," Naruto snarked grumpily.
"So what happened?" Sasuke asked, looking down at him. "If you're learning how to fly, then crashing your face to the ground is not the way to do it."
Naruto glared at his best friend. "Don't you have anything nicer to say? No, I'm trying to create a new jutsu. That was just a... side effect."
That piqued Sasuke's interest. "Oh? New jutsu, you say? What is it?"
"I'm trying to make a kind of armor with wind chakra," Naruto explained. "You know, wind chakra can cut everything it touches, right? So if I can create an armor made purely of wind chakra, nothing would be able to touch me at all! And it would also help me gain a lot of awesome abilities, too. The only problem is... well, whenever I tried to use it, it always blew me up to the sky... just like before..." he trailed off.
Sasuke and Sakura winced at the same time.
"Naruto, do you know how dangerous your idea is?" Sakura croaked out in a strained voice. "Wind chakra is incredibly potent in cutting power; covering yourself in a tornado made purely of wind chakra is just like throwing yourself into a giant mixer. One single slip of control and you will turn into minced meat! Even I wouldn't dare thinking of covering my whole body with that kind of chakra, and you know how good I am in chakra control already!"
Naruto blanched. "I... actually didn't think about that."
"Well, luckily you didn't lose control on any of your test run," Sasuke snorted. "It would be bad for Konoha's appearance if the most powerful jinchuriki of the village were turned into chunky salsa by his own stupidity."
"Well, there goes another idea into the trash bin," Naruto muttered. "I actually thought I could do something with what I just found out about wind chakra..."
Sakura blinked curiously. "What did you find out?"
Naruto grinned, and pulled out a Flying Thunder God kunai. "Watch."
Before Sakura and Sasuke's surprised eyes, the kunai started disappearing from their view.
"What...?! Where did it...?"
Naruto's smile spread even further. "That's not all. Watch this."
Then he made a swift throwing motion with the hand the knife had been on just a moment ago. A surge of wind suddenly blasted out from his place and in a blink of an eye, the bark of a tree nearby exploded with a violent force and toppled over with a sickening "CRACK".
And when Sasuke and Sakura looked closer, they gaped when realizing that the cause of the destruction was the very same kunai on Naruto's hand earlier.
"Wow," Sakura could only utter that single word.
"Hmm, I actually didn't think of that," Sasuke stated, rubbing his chin in interest. "Wind is actually just the shift and movement of air particles, so it might be possible to distort the refraction of light and make things hidden under it completely invisible if you use multiple layers of wind on top of each other."
"Yup," Naruto said happily. "And the application of wind on weapons makes them way more powerful and destructive, just like... turning them into mini tornadoes, I guess. What should I name it anyway? Invisible Air? Nah, already used. Empty Wind? Meh, too generic... hmm..."
"But it would take a lot of chakra just to create and maintain that kind of barrier," the Uchiha pointed out, "and the weapons need to be strong enough to be able to handle such large amounts of chakra to be channeled into them. And wind element is very rare, too. So the only person who might have a chance to use it effectively is you. Damn it. Why do you only create jutsu that only you can use?" he pouted.
"I don't see why not. After all, a shinobi needs to understand his own abilities, and devise a way to effectively use them on their own, doesn't he?"
The three shinobi snapped their heads back. Standing at the other side was a familiar black-haired man with an ear-splitting grin.
"Lord First!" Sasuke and Sakura immediately bowed, while Naruto just shrugged.
"Man," the First Hokage walked into the training ground. "Training Ground 7 is still the same as ever, eh? Just like I remember it during my time."
"Uh... I don't know if I should ask this or not, but..." Naruto asked hesitantly, "...what are you doing here, old man First?"
Sasuke and Sakura cringed from their teammate's language, but their worries were for nothing; the First Hokage gave Naruto a cheerful smile.
"Oh, it's for your test! Finally, after some thinking, I decided to give you a chance!"
"Test?" Naruto blinked. "What kind of test are you going to give me?"
The Hokage's smile didn't change; if anything, it just spread wider. "A fight against me, of course!"
Silence in five seconds. Then...
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
"I should have been envy of Naruto, but right now, I can only say that I'm more worried for him than thinking about that."
Of course Sasuke should be worried. Naruto's opponent was going to be one of the greatest, no, the greatest legend of all time, the first person who brought peace to this land, and the one who defeated Madara Uchiha not once, but a lot of times in the past, even at the rogue Uchiha's strongest. And now Naruto had to face him alone. Even though Naruto was way more powerful than he used to be before, comparing to someone like the First Hokage, he was just like an ant. What could he even do against someone like that?
But Naruto didn't even seem to faze. In fact, he was... smiling?
"You ready, old man First?" he called to the other side. "I'm going in with all my power!"
"Good!" the undead Hokage also answered excitedly. "I also want to see how strong you actually are!"
The two fighters glared at each other in exactly five seconds. Then at the sixth, Naruto was the one who moved first. Five kunai were launched from his hands towards the First Hokage, covered in his newly created jutsu, just like five invisible bullets made of wind.
But...
To Naruto's shock, the undead Hokage raised his hands, and slapped away the wind-enhanced kunai like nothing.
"That technique might be powerful to half-assed shinobi, but to people with abilities, especially someone with sensor power, it is just some kunai being thrown with more force, nothing else," he said with an amused chuckle, catching the last one with his hand.
Naruto answered him with a smirk, and appeared in front of the undead Hokage in a blink of an eye. Around him, four more Naruto also appeared, each holding a Rasengan, all charging at the First Hokage, aiming to obliterate him in one attack.
But...
With an extremely quick movement, the First Hokage grabbed the real Naruto's wrist with his left hand before he could even land his attack. And with his other hand which was holding the kunai, he formed a tiger hand seal.
One-handed hand seal?! Oh, crap...
The ground around them exploded violently. Naruto's shadow clones were immediately engulfed in a torrent of rock, dirt and debris before they could even reach Hashirama. Naruto could only widen his eyes in shock when the memories from the clones rushed back to his head, before the undead Hokage released his hand and delivered a brutal kick to his stomach, sending him flying.
"Argh...!"
"Don't forget, the one who created that Flying Thunder God Jutsu is my brother," Hashirama wagged his finger mockingly while throwing the kunai back at Naruto, which embedded itself in front of him. "Half-hearted moves like that won't let you touch me."
"Be careful, Naruto," Kurama warned him from inside. "He is the First Hokage, the one who tamed every Tailed Beast and defeated Madara not once, twice, but a lot of times! You can't afford to hold back against him, even in a mock battle!"
"So what?" continued the First Hokage, still with the mocking tone. "Do you have anything else to offer, or should we conclude it here?"
"No... not yet..."
Naruto had crawled up from the ground. On his face, there was a big grin, full of determination.
"I know you are powerful... more powerful than anyone I've met..." he said, the grin still not leaving his face. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up here! I and my partner will show you the power of our bond! Our full power! Sync with me, Kurama!"
Vibrant orange chakra exploded from Naruto's body. It swirled around him, forming a tornado around the blonde jinchuriki which spread even to the clouds above, but somehow, the chakra was still calm and gentle; everything it made was a gentle breeze sweeping across the training ground. Soon, the tornado died down, forming the usual glowing chakra cloak around Naruto.
Seeing Naruto's transformation, Hashirama couldn't help showing a big grin.
"Impressive! I've never seen anyone able to control Kurama's chakra to that extent, even my wife, or Madara! The bond between you two must be incredibly deep! Then..."
His grin suddenly turned into a slasher smile.
"...I GUESS IT'S TIME FOR ME TO GET SERIOUS!"
He clapped his hands together into a Snake hand seal. From the ground, giant tree roots with sharp tips erupted and launched themselves towards the glowing jinchuriki with incredible speed, with the clear intention of skewering him to death, or at least ensnaring him to the ground.
And Naruto started moving. With Kurama's chakra enhancing his body to its very limit, he nimbly danced around the sea of tree, leaping up and down, left and right, dodging every root aiming for him. His pair of swords were unsealed in a burst of smoke, and with a powerful battle cry, he slashed through the last roots like they were made of butter. With the way cleared, he dashed forward with a burst of chakra, his swords aiming at Hashirama.
But, to his horror... the swords enhanced to the max with wind chakra were stopped dead on their way by a blade made of wood forming along his right forearm.
"Good swords," the undead Hokage grinned.
With those words, he thrust his other free arm at Naruto. The jinchuriki's eyes widened; with that sound and pressure he felt, as well as the blur Naruto could see at where the arm was supposed to be, there was no doubt it had been covered in wind chakra, something the other members of Team 7 had just outright declared to be impossible.
Naruto immediately threw his body to the left, and it was incredibly fortunate for him that he did just that, because the left arm of the First Hokage exploded forward with a loud "bang" of sheer pressure. Even though the attack didn't hit, Naruto was still tossed violently away; his head once again collided with the ground. Even with his chakra cloak activated, he still felt his brain ringing dangerously.
Glancing back at the First Hokage, he saw the undead man grinning cheerfully when his destroyed left arm started regenerating.
"Damn, you're right. That kind of technique isn't something you should use if you don't want to lose half of your body. Luckily I have an indestructible body, eh?"
Naruto and the other members of Team 7 could only gape.
"Lord First is so strong..." Sakura murmured in awe. "No wonder why he was called the Tailed Beast Conqueror, the one who defeated Madara Uchiha..."
"No... his strength is just one thing; what is so fearsome about him is that he exuded all that power without even a change in his expression," Sasuke grimaced; his Sharingan never left the battle in front of them. "Even though he was fighting someone like Naruto... he's still all smile and goofy, just like that... just like he's toying with Naruto himself... who the hell in the world could..."
"Actually, that's just him being him."
The two jonin snapped their heads back to see the Third Hokage, together with the Second Hokage walking towards them. They immediately bowed.
"My Lords."
"My brother actually always despises the idea of fighting to the death," the Second Hokage said. "He always thought that taking a life is a big sin that would bring forth the cycle of hatred to the poor souls related to the dead. Therefore, in his life, whenever he thought he could spare the lives of his enemies, he always did his best to do just that, and treated all of his fights as practice spars no matter how powerful his opponents might be. He only started fighting seriously when he felt that he had no other choice but to go all out against 'true' enemies, ones who threatened his precious people... ones like Madara, for example..."
Hearing the name Madara made Sasuke grimace a bit.
"Don't worry about Naruto, though," the Third Hokage raised his voice. "He has grown enough to know how to take care of himself. After all, in a battle like this, with the two combatants people with the same mindsets and ideas of life... they are the ones who should be able to understand each other the best just by trading blows."
Naruto jumped back a few steps while reasserting the situation.
He had tried different ways to engage the First Hokage in direct close combat. However, the defense of the undead Hokage was too solid and had absolutely no hole for him to exploit at all. Even if he considered what the Second Hokage had just said to be true, this man was still so ridiculously strong to the point he could consider toying around in a battle with a full-fledged jinchuriki who had the deepest bond and complete control over his Tailed Beast's power, like him.
Time to change tactic.
With a sudden movement no one in the training ground could expect, Naruto threw his twin swords at Hashirama. The two swords flew in two beautiful curves towards the reincarnated Hokage, who deflected them easily with his arm-blade. But that was enough distraction for Naruto to do what he needed to do.
He spread his hands, and water chakra started gathering and spinning around his palms. In three seconds, two swirling water Rasengan with the shape of two small shuriken formed in his palms. Water was the element Naruto was the most efficient with beside Wind, and he actually preferred it more than other elements in a fight which didn't require massive destruction. Still, the power of the Rasengan enhanced with water chakra was still something that could not be underestimated. With a yell, he threw the two little Rasenshuriken at the First Hokage, and this time, the reincarnated man had to throw up a wall made of tree roots to block the attack. The two shuriken collided with the wall and detonated into two violent whirlpools, which tore apart the wall with a sickening ripping noise, to the surprise of the Hokage.
With the route opened, Naruto dashed through the gap; with the element of surprise on his side, he's definitely gonna land the first hit this time!
His right fist was glowing brightly, much more brightly than the cloak of chakra surrounding him. A lot of chakra had been focused into that fist, and he sent a vicious uppercut at Hashirama, aiming for his chin. If the attack landed, it's going to hurt for sure, zombie Hokage be damned.
It seemed the First Hokage also realized this, because he immediately leaned backward. Naruto's body was lifted up by the momentum, and the punch only scratched the skin of the Hokage's chin a bit.
"Heh, missed me," Hashirama grinned.
And Naruto answered him with his own grin.
"Nope, think again."
On the air, the blonde jinchuriki spun. His chakra-filled fist stopped midair and slammed down on the First Hokage's head with a force which, while not as powerful as before due to the lack of movement, was still enough to potentially cave the reincarnated Hokage's face in if he didn't do anything to stop it. And naturally, the Hokage did just that; he raised his arms, hiding his face from Naruto, and the jinchuriki's fist collided with the undead Hokage's arms. The force coming from the punch was so great it sent Hashirama crashing into the ground of the training field, making a rather large crater.
Naruto exhaled. He had landed the first hit!
But his eyes immediately widened when the First Hokage's hands moved into the snake hand seal again. From his lessons with Saikyo, he already knew that the Wood Style of the First was unique in that he could launch attacks from anywhere near him, not just from the front. So this incoming jutsu would be from...
Above? From the left? The right? Below? Or...
"Wood Style: Razor Storm."
A shower of razor-sharp leaves bombarded Naruto from everywhere around him. Not from the left, not from the right, not from above, not from below; the leaves sprouted from every branch and root Hashirama had created earlier, and now Naruto was feeling the deepest regret of not cleaning all of them up as soon as possible. The chakra cloak was protecting him from the worst effect of the razor leaves, but he knew it wouldn't be long before one of them found its way through.
"Haaaaah!"
He yelled, and chakra exploded around him. The force blasted all the leaves coming for him away, and taking that opportunity, he backed away from the barrage. A Kurama head made of chakra formed around him, and shot a beam of chakra at the root forest below, obliterating all of them in one hit. Naruto landed on the ground, breathing heavily. And this time, Hashirama was the one who took the lead. Blades sprouting from both of his arms, he dashed towards Naruto and swung at the jinchuriki's head.
No... not yet!
Naruto immediately swung his hands to the side. And to everyone's surprise and shock, the pair of twin swords which were lying at the side of the battlefield disappeared in two flashes of light and reappeared on Naruto's hands, who used them to block the slash of the First Hokage. Naruto winced when he felt the force of the clash: even though the arm-blades were made of wood, they were just as strong and hard as genuine steel.
The blades clashed against each other, once, twice, many times, leaving deafening sounds of collision in the air with each blow. Naruto's swords made of refined steel against the First Hokage's crude, but incredibly powerful wooden blades, none of them budged a single inch.
After a particularly nasty clash, the two combatants jumped away from each other. Naruto breathed out; never before in his life had he ever fought a battle like this. The First Hokage was, he had to say, peerless, but for some reason... he didn't feel scared or overwhelmed like the time he fought Madara.
Instead... he felt excited.
But he didn't have the time to feel good about that, because at the other side, Hashirama had already finished another set of hand seals. Where he even got the time to undo his arm-blades and perform the hand seals from, Naruto didn't know. The only thing he could do was bracing himself, ready for the incoming jutsu.
"Earth Style: Justice Bringer!"
Dirt rose from the ground, and to Naruto's horror, they gathered up and formed hundreds of hovering rock fists. He knew immediately what he must do.
He clapped his hands together. Hundreds of blades, all types, appeared hovering around him. But he knew that wasn't enough to counter the First Hokage's jutsu, no matter how many normal blades he could produce. Then what he needed to do was...
He flared up his chakra, and as the barrage of rock fists rained down on his head, the blades around him, overcharged with chakra, flew up and met the fists in the air. The multiple explosions nearly deafened all people standing there, pushing the two combatants back and sending shrapnel everywhere, forcing the spectators to raise walls of dirt to avoid being skewered. From behind their barriers, they heard Hashirama laughing.
"Good, very good! You managed to stop my barrage! But let's see what you can do against this!"
A gigantic fist, thousands of time bigger than the ones raining down before, hovered above Naruto's head.
Oh cra...
Before the jinchuriki could even finish his thought, the giant fist had launched itself down at him. Without thinking, Naruto threw himself backwards desperately, and fortunately for him, the fist missed him and slammed hard on the ground. The shockwave from the punch was strong enough to send the jinchuriki flying.
Ugh...!
"That's not the end! Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground exploded again, and this time, not only roots, but giant wooden vines erupted, and launched themselves at Naruto who was flailing helplessly in midair. Naruto winced when they started whipping him furiously; he could feel the sharp pain even through his protective chakra cloak.
A particularly big vine slammed hard at Naruto's exposed torso, throwing him into the air. Not wasting a single second, the other vines rushed up, obviously trying to tie him up and squeeze the life out of him. Or at least, that is what would happen during a real battle to the death. These were of the most powerful plant created from the First Hokage's Wood Style chakra, not the ones pulled out and grown from underground before; there's no way normal blades could help him escape now...
He needs a better sword. Something powerful; a sword which spent all of its history taking the head of powerful enemies, one which was strong enough to spend more than a hundred years fighting in the battlefield without even a crack or chip. A legendary sword which has reached its hilt to the realm of phantasm.
And he knew what he needed, right before the sharp tips of the vines pierced through his body.
Sakura held her breath. "Is that it? Is it over?"
Sasuke answered her with a confident smile, his eyes didn't leave the battle field for a second. "No, not yet. Naruto is going to make a comeback right now."
Everyone turned towards the Uchiha. "How can you be so sure?" Sakura asked incredulously. Her boyfriend only answered her with a mysterious smile.
"Just watch."
The vines collided with Naruto, flying in midair, just as Hashirama expected.
But...
"Hmm?"
WHOOSH!
To the First Hokage's surprise, the vines were ripped apart in three loud swinging noises. And there appeared Naruto, completely unharmed; on his hand was the familiar shape of a sword all people in the training field could realize with just a glance, especially Sasuke and Sakura, the ones who had seen and struggled against it in the first real mission of their shinobi life. Kubikiribocho, the Beheading Sword, one of the legendary swords of Kirigakure.
"Watch this, old man First!" Naruto yelled, landing on the branch of a vine. "This is when we are going to make a comeback!"
Then he dashed down the vine. More roots erupted from the ground, aiming for him, but they were all slashed apart with just single swings of the giant sword, covered in wind chakra.
For the first time since the beginning of the battle, the First Hokage showed a hint of change in his expression.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon!"
Instead of trees, a whole dragon made of wood burst out. With a mighty roar that shook the ground, it rushed Naruto like a train, its gaping maw threatening to swallow the jinchuriki with one gulp. But Naruto didn't even halt his advance.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A hundred Naruto copies appeared in a huge burst of smoke and threw themselves on the charging way of the dragon.
"You cannot stop my jutsu with that trick!" the First Hokage said, amused. But Naruto just smirked.
When the wooden dragon rammed into the horde of the Naruto clones, they all exploded violently at the same time. The force of the explosion tossed the creation upward; it flailed in midair, but couldn't regain its balance. And Naruto knew this was his opportunity. Overcharging the copy of Kubikiribocho on his hand with chakra, he threw it into the mouth of the wooden creation.
The explosion coming from the overcharged giant sword was much, much greater than that of the Naruto clones just one second ago. A ball of fire erupted from the jaws of the dragon, melting its head like a cube of ice thrown into a blast furnace; the force of the explosion was enough to send Sakura and Sasuke down on their butts. Without the head, the body of the dragon also fell down the ground, catching fire and slowly burning away.
From inside the smoke cloud, Naruto rushed out; on his hand was the largest Rasenshuriken everyone had ever seen him use.
"Watch this, old man First! This is our full power!" the jinchuriki yelled and tossed the massive Rasenshuriken at the undead Hokage. Naruto's most powerful jutsu tore apart everything on its way, and it seemed even the mighty Hashirama Senju couldn't do anything to stop it now...!
Then Naruto felt it. No... it couldn't be...
A gigantic amount of nature chakra was gathering up at where the First Hokage was standing.
"Sage Art Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands!"
Hiruzen's eyes widened. "Take cover, everyone!"
The gigantic wooden Buddha statue appeared on the way and took the whole force of Naruto's jutsu. The tornado it created when the jutsu collided with the statue was so great it tossed both Naruto and the First Hokage away. The whole forest around Training Ground 7 was uprooted violently by the force of the wind, and a gaping spherical hole formed at the center of the training ground, right where the two jutsu collided.
Two human figures fell to the ground at two opposite sides of the hole with two loud "thud"s.
"What the hell is that?" Sakura gasped, climbing out of the makeshift shelter she had just hastily dug for everyone to jump down right before the two techniques clashed against each other, which is now filled with debris of all sizes. "Armageddon? Ragnarok? Wait, what the hell is Ragnarok anyway?"
Lying on the ground, Naruto groaned. Even with all of his power spent, that's everything he could do. Hashirama Senju really deserved the moniker "God of Shinobi"; he was the most powerful opponent he had ever met in his life. The power he had just shown could rival even that of Madara with all the modifications made by Kabuto. Had he arrived at the battlefield a little bit earlier, before the reincarnated Madara could have regained both of his Rinnegan, the war might have had a completely different conclusion.
"How do you feel?"
Giving a tired groan, Naruto pushed himself up from the ground.
"Like my body had just been put into a freaking mortar, slammed through and through, smashed up and down and then tossed to the garbage dump for dogs to chew on. This is just too much for me, even with everything I got..."
The First Hokage grinned, and reached out a hand for Naruto to grab to stand up. "You did a good job, actually. No one before had ever given me a battle which I enjoyed as much as this one. However..."
Naruto's stomach tensed up. He had been dreading this answer since the beginning of the fight, and...
"... you won't accept me as your apprentice, will you?"
The undead Hokage shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't."
Naruto let go of the First Hokage's hand. He had expected that answer, but for some reasons, he still felt a mix of anger, sadness and disappointment boiling inside him.
"Why?" he asked bitterly. "Is it because I am too weak?"
What the First Hokage answered him with completely took Naruto aback.
"No. In fact, it is because you are already too powerful."
Seeing the jinchuriki and everyone else's flabbergasted look, the Hokage laughed.
"I'm serious. I have to say, if I hadn't had this indestructible body, I would have gotten a very difficult time fighting against you. You don't actually need to learn anything from me... at least, anything that is compatible with your fighting style: unpredictable and full of surprises. From now on, you have to develop your ability in your own ways; that's the best advice I can give you for now. Although..." he suddenly grinned, "...if you need a sparring partner, I'm always ready."
Then he turned away, stretching his back in the process. "Now... time to go back and have some ramen. You're right, Saru; the ramen of Ichiraku is the best thing I've ever tasted. Even though I don't actually need to eat..."
He disappeared in a "whoosh".
"So... who is going to clean this mess up?"
Everyone groaned when looking at the uprooted forest behind them.
Sasuke took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Gripping his weapon, now in bow form, tightly, he tensed up and let his senses reach out to the surrounding. Everything around him appeared vividly in his mind; the empty field, the wind blowing across the field, the sound of squirrels running on the branches, the sound of something whizzing through the air, aiming at him...
There!
Arrows flew, and struck the kunais flying at him in the middle of the air at their tips, one by one. The last arrow was even shot with so much power that it split the kunai made of very good steel in half.
Finally finished, the Uchiha allowed himself to exhale in relaxation.
"Good shot."
Instinctively, the Uchiha raised his weapon again when he heard the voice, but immediately stopped when he realized who its source was. He bowed.
"Lord Second."
Tobirama Senju walked into the training ground in the Uchiha compound and grumbled while looking around.
"This place still hasn't changed after all those years, huh."
"How did you get here?" Sasuke asked, a little bit more rudely that he intended to. "This is the private training ground of the Uchiha clan."
The Second Hokage looked at Sasuke with an amused eye. "Think I spied on you to find the way to get here? No, some of my old friends and students were Uchiha, and they invited me here sometimes, either for visiting or training. I knew the way to get here a long time ago."
Hearing that, Sasuke didn't ask any further. He just turned away and started gathering the kunai scattering on the ground, which he had just used for target practice.
"Seems someone took note of my research on materializing chakra," the Second Hokage noted, picking up the kunai that was split in half by Sasuke's chakra arrow. "Never seen any weapon that was made with so much love and skills before."
[Thank you very much. I am really flattered,] the weapon answered, much to Tobirama's interest.
"Lord Second, can I ask you a question?"
The undead Hokage didn't even blink before such a sudden request from Sasuke. "As long as it is within what I can answer, sure. What do you want to know?"
"Why did you decide to isolate the Uchiha Clan by assigning them to the police force?"
Tobirama stopped dead on his track. He turned back to the Uchiha and looked at him with a calculating stare. Finally, he spoke, but not with an answer.
"Before I answer you, I want to ask you something first. Do you truly believe that by assigning the Uchiha Clan the police force of the village, I isolated them from everyone else?"
The question took Sasuke aback. He didn't even think about this before.
Finally, after a few seconds contemplating, he answered honestly.
"I've never thought about that before. I mean, that was what we were told by most people in our family, so I used to believe it. Personally, I think I can now understand why some people in my clan thought so. The Uchiha Clan is a warrior clan; they surely won't appreciate being restricted inside the village with a dull job. Maybe that's why they thought that you were trying to isolate them."
Stopping a few seconds, he added. "And Madara's influence too. He was the first one who said that, after all."
Tobirama didn't give a response for a while. Finally, he closed his eyes and chuckled.
"I have to say that you are one of the wisest Uchiha I've ever met. Most of the Uchiha I know always jump to the worst conclusion about someone even though they only hear one single sentence that person said."
For some reason, hearing that from you doesn't cheer me up any little bit, Sasuke snarked in his head.
"However, I have to say that using the position to somewhat restrain the Uchiha during my time was a part of my intention."
Seeing Sasuke's face, he continued with a serious expression.
"From my research, I found out that the reason the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan could manifest and evolve is the extreme feeling in the wielder's heart. The deeper, more intense the feeling in their heart is, the more powerful their doujutsu would become. I think you also knew that, didn't you?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Before, I thought that the problem with the Uchiha was something of genetic nature, that awakening the Sharingan somehow released some kind of malignant stimulation on the wielder's brain, damaging their brain in the process and make them lose all restraint in their emotion, causing the bloodlust and power hunger we saw in most of the Uchiha clan members. However, after meeting that one person, I had to conclude that my hypothesis was wrong."
Sasuke blinked. "Who?
"My subordinate, Kagami Uchiha. He was a very powerful Sharingan user, and one of the rare people in the Uchiha Clan who managed to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan during my time."
The name Kagami startled Sasuke. That name was so familiar, but at that moment he couldn't remember whose name it was.
"Kagami was a model Uchiha, I have to say," the undead Hokage continued. "He was extremely devoted to his clan, but at the same time, his dedication to the peace and safety of the village was more than that of anyone I can remember. Even though he had the Mangekyo Sharingan, he didn't have the bloodlust or power hunger most of the Uchiha clan had. And don't get me wrong; he didn't even need the Mangekyo Sharingan to be strong. In fact, he tried to avoid using the power of his advanced doujutsu as much as possible, unlike his fellow Uchiha, and yet he was still an incredibly skilled shinobi on his own. He was actually one of my first choices for the position of Hokage before I passed the title to Hiruzen, not only because he was powerful, but also because of his righteous heart.
"After I met Kagami, I did some secret research on the Uchiha clan myself, and I found that not only Kagami, but there were also a lot of other Uchiha who were just like him. Thanks to that, I realized that the real problem wasn't caused by any kind of damage to the Uchiha's brains by the Sharingan, because if that had been the case, every Uchiha who awakened their Sharingan should have had the same symptoms."
"Then..."
Sasuke actually didn't need Tobirama to respond. He already realized what the answer would be.
"The problem was simply that thanks to the power the Sharingan bestowed them, the Uchiha Clan gradually developed a superiority complex towards everyone else in the village. While they were still a prestigious clan of Konoha, they were feared not only by shinobi, but also by civilians because of their bloodlust and thirst of power, made worse by their pride of the power from the Sharingan itself. Leaving them in charge of positions with power in the shinobi force was not a wise idea, especially with the tension in the village at that time towards the clan itself. Therefore, I had to resort to assigning them to the Konoha Police Force, not only to ease the tension, but also to restrain the evergrowing bloodlust and power hunger of a generation who relied solely on hatred and pain for strength, channeling their power into something beneficial. The police force, while not having a lot of works related to the shinobi force, is still a very prestigious position in the village with great control over the security and safety of the village. I had hoped that the following generations would ease up and become wiser about abusing their Sharingan, but..."
Sasuke didn't have anything to say about that. What the Second Hokage had just said made sense; even Sasuke himself had to agree that the Uchiha Clan was too proud of their power.
However...
"Lord Second, if it was you who possessed power instead of the Uchiha Clan, what would you do in that case?"
Tobirama snapped his head back with a speed that Sasuke thought his head was going to be ripped off his neck. The Uchiha tensed up; he knew that he had just slipped his mouth. He braced himself, waiting for disaster to strike...
But then... the undead Hokage laughed. A heartfelt, satisfied laughter, with absolutely no anger hidden inside.
"You are interesting, kid! Very interesting! This is the first time an Uchiha, no, scratch that, anyone dares asking me that question! Very interesting! I like you, kid!"
Sasuke was dumbstruck by the reaction. "Uh..."
"What is your name?"
"Ah... Sasuke, Sasuke Uchiha, sir," Sasuke answered hesitantly.
"All right, Sasuke," Tobirama sat down on a log nearby and looked straight at Sasuke's face. "To answer your question, first, I have to say that someone not born with power can never fully understand someone who is given power from birth, and vice versa. Therefore, I can't tell you exactly what I would do had I been given powers like the Uchiha from birth, because even if I do, it will just be a theory that would never happen.
"However, there is still something else I learned during the time I lived in this world. With great power comes great responsibility. If you have incredible power but no moral, you will just be a tyrant, no more, no less. You would just end up destroying yourself together with the people you're supposed to rule over. If I had been born with great power like the Uchiha, I might not have learned that lesson and would have ended up isolated and destroyed by someone, maybe by the Uchiha Clan themselves, who knows?"
Sasuke was stunned. "So you mean..."
"Yes," the Hokage nodded with a serious face. "I admit that if I were in the Uchiha's place, I might have been as bad as them when it comes to power. But if that had actually been the case, I wouldn't have become Hokage, that's for sure, and I wouldn't have any right to talk about this with you right now. In this world, there is no 'if', and as the leader of the village, it's my duty to choose the best way not only for the Uchiha Clan, but also for everyone else in the village. Everyone can become a king, but only people who truly care about the benefit of all their subordinates deserve to become leaders. That was the reason why Madara wasn't chosen to be Hokage, even though Hashirama himself nominated for him; he didn't care about anything else but himself. If someone like him were allowed to lead the village, it would just lead to her ruination."
There was only silence while Sasuke digested this. The silence was only broken by the appearance of another person on the training ground.
"Sasuke, have you fini... oh, excuse me..."
"It's all right," Tobirama answered, standing up from where he was sitting. "I think this is enough for today, anyway."
He stood up from where he was sitting, and started walking away. However, before leaving, the Hokage turned back and looked at Sasuke.
"I am thinking of continuing the researches I left behind when I died. You seem to be someone who is interested in integrating technology into ninja techniques; if you want, I would like you to be my research partner. Feel free to come to the Senju estate to meet me if you accept, Sasuke Uchiha."
With those words, the Second Hokage left. The Uchiha could swear that he saw a small smile at the corner of the white-haired man before he disappeared in a white flash.
"What happened?" Itachi asked, walking into the training ground. "Did something happen between you and him?"
The younger Uchiha shook his head. "No, it's nothing... He just came to talk to me about things related to the Uchiha Clan in the past, that's all..."
"I see," Itachi nodded with a slight smile. "In a split second I thought you were going to pick a fight with him or something..."
"I'm all over that age already, you know," Sasuke glared at his brother. And then he remembered something he was going to ask. "Itachi, do you know who Kagami Uchiha is? I thought that name was familiar, but I couldn't remember..."
"Ah, Kagami-san," Itachi closed his eyes with a chuckle. "That's a name I haven't heard for quite a while. It's not strange that you remember him; after all, he's someone quite close to our family."
"Really? Who is he?"
Itachi opened his eyes again, and stared into the sky with a look full of nostalgia.
"He was Shisui's grandfather."
Sakura ducked right before Lee's rolling kick soared over her head, strong enough that it caused a ripple in the air and a loud wheezing noise.
Not stopping a beat, she used the momentum to spring herself back up, sending a nasty uppercut at the other taijutsu specialist. But Lee only needed to lean back to avoid the attack. Landing on his hand, he delivered a low sweep at Sakura's unprotected right heel. It hit, sending the kunoichi on her back.
Before she could touch the ground, however, Sakura had reached out her hands and launched a Jet Step with her palms. The jet propulsion pushed her upwards and allowed her to regain balance in midair.
Now...!
Another Jet Step shot out from her left foot, and with the momentum, she sent her own spinning kick back at Lee, who had just stood up. The kick tore the air apart, aiming for the taijutsu specialist' head... but he only needed to raise his arm to block it.
The two combatants landed on the ground a few steps away from each other. Without a word, they launched themselves at each other again, fists lashing out...
"All right, that's enough!"
Sakura's fist stopped just an inch from Lee's face upon Gai's command. At the same time, Lee's fist was also only an inch away from the girl's chin.
"I guess it's time to call it a day here, Sakura-chan!" the taijutsu specialist gave the medic a thumb-up with a blinding smile. "You have become much better in taijutsu than before, indeed! Training with you is my greatest pleasure!"
"You are awesome too, Lee-kun," Sakura answered with her own sincere smile. "Even training with the Wolves wasn't as effective as sparring with you. I learned a lot just through trading blows with you and Gai-sensei."
"You don't have to be so modest, Sakura-kun!" Gai said, slapping her back so hard she nearly choked from the sheer force of the hit. "Learning a taijutsu style is one thing, but learning it then using it to improve your own taijutsu style is a completely different thing, much more difficult to do! And you managed to combine with the speed of the Wolf Fang Fist and the power of the Strong Fist with the flexibility of your own taijutsu style; you should be proud of that! Besides, to think you managed to master the use of five of the Eight Gates in just three months of training... you really are a genius among geniuses, Sakura-kun. I don't regret ever teaching you my signature technique."
Sakura beamed hearing those words from the taijutsu master.
"Thank you, Gai-sensei. To be honest, I didn't think I would be able to make it this far, either..."
Then she remembered something. "Oh, about the thing I told you the other day..."
"Absolutely not."
Sakura was taken aback with the abrupt declaration of the taijutsu master. "But why? I think I already figured out all the necessary condition and requirements... If I have a chance to..."
"I strictly forbid you from even thinking about that, Sakura-kun," Gai looked at the medic with a stern gaze. "I respect your wish of becoming stronger, but destroying yourself in the process is just not worth it. Even if you actually managed to do it, it would still take you everything you have just to make it work; a self-destructing technique. Not only is it dangerous, it is also inefficient. Don't even think about it, Sakura-kun."
Onoki, one of the very rare masters of the kekkei tota Particle Style, also one of the oldest Shinobi who were still active in the world, and the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, looked up in annoyance from his paperwork when Jiraiya of the Sannin walked into his chamber.
"What do you want, Jiraiya? While I enjoy your stories, I would appreciate it if you notice me in advance before barging into my village like this."
The Toad Sage just gave him a cheeky grin and plopped down on the chair in front of the Tsuchikage's desk.
"Come now, old man. It's not like this is the first time I arrive here in that fashion, right? Surely you can ignore that, just like the other times I was here."
"Not after you and your two jinchuriki brats came and made a mess out of my village a year ago," Onoki exploded. "A whole month with no ramen and ice cream for the whole village, just because those brats came and ate everything of every store we have here! And the pranks! Do you know how hard it was to get the pink paint off every building in the village? Not to mention Roshi and the quirks he suddenly developed after meeting you and that Naruto brat! ROSHI! THE ONE USED TO BE FAMOUS FOR BEING THE MOST LEVEL-HEADED AND COLLECTED SHINOBI OF IWAGAKURE EVEN IN BATTLE! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT, HUH?"
Somewhere outside the office, screams which could vaguely be heard as "Eek! Pervert!" and "Come here baby! Let me purge you of the evil inside your body!" echoed through the air.
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, I guess that might be my fault..."
"Damn right it is," the Tsuchikage grumbled. "So what business do you have here? If it's just for your own fun, go away because I don't have time for any kind of shenanigan you are going to make at the bathhouse or anywhere in the village."
"Of course I have my own business," the Toad Sage grinned. He pulled out a scroll from his pocket and placed it on the Tsuchikage's desk. "This is a letter from the Hokage to you. Read it and you will understand."
Onoki opened the scroll with a wary look still fixated on Jiraiya's face. Upon reading the letter, he frowned.
"A Kage Summit about the upcoming international Chuunin Exam? What is the meaning of this?"
"It is exactly what you have just read, old man," Jiraiya looked at the older man with a serious expression. "You remember that Kirigakure was attacked a month ago by the leader of the Akatsuki, don't you? They are not in the shape to hold a Chuunin Exam at the moment, so they passed the duty of holding the exam to Konoha."
"And so?" the Tsuchikage scoffed. "We are not in your so-called alliance; there is no reason for the Hokage to invite our village to your exam. We don't have the precedent of promoting a chuunin through an international exam, anyway."
"Then, isn't this the chance for you to have something else for a change?" Jiraiya answered cheerfully. "It is your opportunity to show off the power of your shinobi to every other country in the continent, as well as a way to lead Iwagakure out of the long era of isolation! These days, doing everything alone is not a wise choice, you know."
The Tsuchikage leaned over his desk. "And what would we gain from doing that?"
Jiraiya shrugged. "Well, a lot of things, I guess. This is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the five Great Villages, as well as between the Great Villages and the minor villages in the continent. My sensei intended for this Chuunin Exam to be the greatest in history, after all. Besides, if your village manages to give a good performance in the exam, it will probably bring your village quite a flow of new missions, just like how it did to Konoha and other villages who took part in the exam before. And trust me, I know your village has been craving for missions for quite a long time."
Onoki bristled. "What my village wants isn't your concern."
"I know," the Toad Sage answered smoothly. "But it is your concern, isn't it?"
What Jiraiya said struck the Tsuchikage bullseye.
Finally, he grumbled. "Fine. I will humor myself with your exam for once. But what's with the Kage Summit? If the reason is just the Chuunin Exam, a formal invitation and someone with your convincing skill are enough."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Well, this Summit is actually not about the exam. There is something Konoha wants to tell all the leaders of the Great Villages related to the security issues of the continent at the moment. It is not wise to write it in a letter or something like that, so I'm here to tell you about that personally, under the order of our Hokage."
Onoki's eyes gleamed. "So the Chuunin Exam is just an excuse, huh."
"When have I ever said that?" Jiraiya smirked while standing up and walking out of the office.
"First, as the current Hokage, I would like to extend our welcome to all of you, the Kage of every Great Village in the continent, to our humble village."
The Kage of the five Great Villages were now standing in the council chamber of Konoha, now refurbished for the Five Kage meeting.
"It's our pleasure, Lord Hokage," Mei Terumi said pleasantly. "After what happened to our village, it's a good thing to finally be able to escape from all the repair work for a while. More like, we have to thank Konoha for your timely assistance."
"It is also our pleasure to assist our allies, Lady Mizukage," Hiruzen also smiled back.
"Cut to the point already, Sarutobi."
Everyone turned towards Onoki, who had just growled out those words.
"Jiraiya told me that there is a reason you call all of us here today, other than just for the Chuunin Exam. I think it's time for you to spill it. What do you actually want from us?"
The voice full of hostility from the Tsuchikage made everyone turn towards Hiruzen again. The Hokage had stopped smiling. On his face, there was now a grim, but not hostile, expression.
Finally, it was Gaara who spoke up first.
"Lord Hokage, is there anything you are hiding from us?"
The Hokage sighed. "I was hoping to hold this until after we finish discussing about the incoming Chuunin Exam, but it seems I have to talk about it now. First, I want all of you to meet two people. I think some of you already knew them."
The Kage's eyes narrowed. "Who...?"
"So these are the current Five Kage? Have to say, I'm not that impressed."
Everyone, except for Hiruzen, snapped their heads back towards the voice.
"You shouldn't say that, Tobirama," they saw Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, scolding his brother. "No matter what, they are still Kage of Great Villages, and we have to show them respect."
Silence filled the air for exactly 5 seconds.
Then the meeting room broke into chaos.
"I knew it!" the Fourth Raikage bellowed, jumping out of his chair; lightning chakra immediately covered his body and formed his signature Lightning Armor jutsu. "This is just a ploy! You invite all of the Kage here, using that so-called Chuunin Exam as an excuse, gathering us in one place in order to deal with all of us once and for all?! Well, too bad! I'm not going to let you win without a fight!"
"That's right!" Onoki also growled, floating upward from his seat; his hands formed the necessary seals for his Particle Style. "Even though we are no match for all three of you here, we are not going to let you do whatever you want!"
All of the two Kage's guards also jumped up and brandished their weapons, ready for a fight to the death.
Then suddenly all of them felt their bodies being covered in sand. They struggled, but the sand had bound them up too tightly they couldn't even move a muscle.
"Kazekage!" A screamed, glaring at Gaara, who had just commanded his sand to restrain them. "What is the meaning of this?"
The young Kazekage answered him calmly, not even moving from where he was sitting.
"You should calm down, Lord Tsuchikage, Lord Raikage. This is a meeting room, not a place to make a fight."
Onoki gritted his teeth. "So you are on Konoha's side..."
"Look, you are making a fuss for no reason at all," Even though his expression was still as stoic as possible, in Gaara's voice, the hint of annoyance was starting to show very clearly. "If they really wanted to kill us, do you really think that they needed to go this far and arrange a Kage summit for it? They have two Legendary Sannin, two jinchuriki who have total control over their Tailed Beasts, the two last remaining Uchiha with fully-powered Sharingan in their rank, the whole Hyuuga clan, and as we can see now, three most powerful Kage in existence ever; they could have just ganged us up and beat our asses back and forth a hundred times right when we set foot into the village if they had really wanted to do something to us."
Gaara's reasoning was so convincing the other two male Kage couldn't do anything but growling in defeat. Seeing them relaxing, Gaara released them from their sand cages, but his sand still hovered around to be able to immediately act if something else happened.
"I like that Kazekage boy already," Hashirama nudged his brother, who glared at him in annoyance.
"I agree with Lord Kazekage," Mei said, narrowing her eyes at the two undead Hokage warily. It's obvious she still couldn't forget the titanic battle in Konoha years ago, which she had been a participant of. "But if that's the case, I would like an explanation from you, Lord Hokage. Why are the First and Second Hokage here now?"
"A few days ago, Orochimaru broke into our secret vault and stole the only way to unseal the Reaper Death Seal."
The familiar name made Onoki blink. "Isn't that the unbreakable sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki clan which took the Fourth Hokage's life years ago?"
"Yes," Hiruzen nodded grimly. "And I don't see why Orochimaru would want anything with that other than to unseal the content inside it. The only thing that has been sealed with that jutsu in history is the soul of the Fourth Hokage, together with half of the Nine-Tailed Fox he managed to bring with him."
Those words sent a chill to the spines of everyone else in the room.
"So..." A croaked out in a strained voice, "you think that Orochimaru is going to revive the Fourth Hokage with that?"
"Not only the Fourth Hokage, but also the other half of the Nine-Tailed Fox," the Third Hokage answered with a nod. "And as we already knew about Orochimaru's proficiency with the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu, we cannot know for sure how many other legendary shinobi he managed to bring back from the death. We only managed to... take back the control of two of the most powerful shinobi he can possibly summon. At least under our hand, they won't destroy anything within their lines of sight, as Lady Mizukage here already experienced four years ago," he added, carefully choosing the words.
"And that means..." Mei said slowly.
"Another Shinobi World War might be coming, yes," Tobirama finished the sentence for her.
Silence once again filled the room.
Then...
"What a load of bullcrap."
Everyone turned towards A, who had just snarled those words.
"Everything you have just said is just conjectures based on the words of Konoha alone," the Raikage growled. "What proof do you have to show that it was the same as you said? From what we know, this might as well be a trick of Konoha to force us into doing their dirty works! You might actually have been the one who summoned the two weapons of mass destruction over there as a leverage to force us into submission, not Orochimaru!"
"How dare you speak of our Lord Hokage like..." One of Hiruzen's ANBU guards raised his voice angrily, but the Third Hokage immediately shut him up with a meaningful glare.
Then he felt a hand grabbing his shoulder.
"You must let little Saru deal with this," the voice of the First Hokage rose next to his ears. "He knows better than all of us here what to do."
From the table, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with a calm, but serious and full of authority, voice.
"I know that, considering our relationship in the past, you are not going to believe our words immediately. Therefore, I would like to make a proposal. As the Hokage of Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, and the current controller of the First and the Second Hokage, I am going to swear an oath that they will not, in any circumstances except for a direct attack into Konohagakure from one, or a group of invaders, join any military activity or take any shinobi mission from Konoha, or any other villages. And after Orochimaru is completely killed, the jutsu will be undone and they will return to the Pure Land immediately, without any question. In exchange for that, the other Great Villages will assist Konoha in finding and capturing Orochimaru, as quickly as possible."
The proposal of the Third Hokage stunned everyone in the room. No one could even think that Konoha would give up a power so great in their possession so easily without even a thought like that.
Only A still sneered. "Big talk. An oath, at the end, is still simply empty words. How can we know that you will keep your word after everything is done?"
"It's true," Hiruzen nodded without even skipping a beat. "That is why the oath would be signed in the form of a Blood Oath, with me as the one under its bound and all four other Kage as the Oath Keepers."
Now even the boisterous Raikage was shocked into silence. He just slumped back into his chair, unable to speak a word.
"We will need some of your blood to write the Oath and sign it, Kage of the four Great Villages," Hiruzen continued as if nothing had happened. He pulled out a kunai and calmly sliced his palm. Blood dripped into a bowl placed under his hand.
The bowl was then passed to the other Kage, who added their own blood into the mixture. When the bowl arrived in front of A, he scowled and was actually hesitating a little bit before asking.
"Why are you doing this, Hokage? This doesn't give you or your village any benefit. Why forcing yourself to do something like this just because of a mere missing-nin?"
"Because I don't have any other goal except for the lasting peace of Konoha as well as the world," Hiruzen only answered simply. "If... no, when Orochimaru gets his hand on the necessary tool he needs, it will be a war Konoha alone cannot face. It will require the unification of all the Great Villages' power in order to deal with the incoming war. Not to mention the Akatsuki are still out there, with a leader holding the legendary Rinnegan, who has just destroyed Kirigakure a few weeks ago. Therefore, the only thing I need right now is your trust, and your assistance."
The Raikage grunted, but after a few seconds of hesitation, he pulled out a kunai and cut his own hand to add his blood into the bowl.
Once all the blood of the Five Kage had been added into the the bowl, Hiruzen took it, and started using the mixture as ink to write into a large scroll.
"The Blood Oath is not simply a way to record an oath; it is also a very advanced sealing jutsu," Hashirama explained with a smirk. "It is impossible to break an oath signed that form unless you want to die in a horrible way. Very useful if you want to force someone to make an unbreakable promise, or keep a very important secret forever a secret."
Finally, the scroll was completed, and now it was laid bare in front of the five Kage. There were five spiral-shaped seals surrounding the lines of text.
"Please place your right hand on top of those seals," the Hokage instructed.
When all the five Kage were in their places, he said. "On the count of three, please pump your chakra into the seals. One... two... three!"
The room immediately glowed. Chakra poured out of the Kage's bodies into the scroll and swirled around the room, creating a small typhoon blowing the unexpecting people down their butts. Each word written in the scroll was also glowing in an eerie light, and the Kage felt like their hands were stuck on the scroll; they struggled, but couldn't seem to even move their fingers. Their chakra was drained from their body in an absurdly quick pace.
Then suddenly, just like it started, everything stopped. The Kage immediately moved away from the scroll, panting.
"Wh-what is that?" Mei gasped in her breaths.
"The contract is established; now, the Blood Oath is in effect," Hiruzen lifted the scroll, now filled with dark red, still slightly glowing words written from their blood. "Starting from now, I hope that the Great Villages would do their best to help us find and capture Orochimaru."
The four Kage didn't say anything. They were still in a daze after such an astounding experience. It wasn't like they hadn't heard about the Blood Oath before, but to actually be a part of one, not to mention one in such a large scale, was a completely different thing. It felt like they had just been a part of some magically binding grand contract which decided the fate of the whole world.
Then again, it's not too farfetched to say that they had just decided the fate of the world by signing the Blood Oath.
"So that's everything, huh? Now can we get out of here?" Onoki growled, starting to rise from his seat. But Hiruzen stopped him with a smile.
"Don't be so hasty, Lord Tsuchikage," the Hokage said. "Now that we have all agreed about the Orochimaru problem, I have one more proposal to make. It is about the formation of an international Chuunin Exam between every village and nation in the continent."
"No way in hell."
Tobirama grimaced in disdain. "Well, just like expected."
"I have tolerated your disrespect for quite some time, but this is the end of the line, Hokage," the Fourth Raikage slammed his fist on the table angrily. "How dare you suggest that after everything you did to us in the past? The Third Shinobi World War, the Hyuuga Incident..."
"Actually, the Hyuuga Incident was actually your village's fault, Lord Raikage," Kakashi, who was standing next to Hiruzen, pointed out lazily.
"How dare you...!"
The Raikage glared at him; his air started rising and his fist clenched up. Spark flared up from his skin. Everyone in the room tensed, ready for a fight to break out...
"Enough!"
The surprisingly sharp voice coming from the Tsuchikage turned everyone's heads again.
Onoki floated up from his seat, and, ignoring the fuming Raikage, he glided towards Hiruzen, who was calmly looking at him without a single hint of wavering.
"What exactly is your intention when you think about that idea, Sarutobi?" he stared straight into the eyes of the other man. "You know that the Great Villages don't have good relationship in history. Do you really think just with your words, you can erase nearly a hundred years of hostility between our villages?"
"I know that doing something like that is impossible with just empty words," Hiruzen nodded. "That is why I want to do it with action. Hostility between the Great Villages has lasted for too long, and I think we all know that our future generations are not going to end well if that goes on. So why shouldn't we take a step forward and try to solve it on our own? The Chuunin Exam was proposed by our First Hokage in the past to strengthen our bonds with our allies, so I want to take it further and make it a way to mend the relationship between Konoha and the ones we waged war against in the past, as well as allowing other villages to form good relationships against each other. This is also a way to prepare for the incoming war against Orochimaru and the Akatsuki; with the Chuunin Exam, all villages would be able to find the most potential shinobi and give them proper training in order to make them more powerful, bolstering their village's rank. Isn't that a win-win situation for you?"
"To hell with this!" A snapped; it seemed he couldn't hold back his anger any more. "Kumogakure is never going to take part in any alliance, or any kind of activity that involved Konohagakure in it! And mark my words: you are never going to change my mind about this; NEVER!"
Then he stormed out of the chamber without even looking back. His guards looked at each other nervously, then followed him out, but not before throwing back an apologetic glance.
"Now that's just rude," Mei commented after the Kumogakure shinobi had all left the chamber.
"Just like the first Raikage I know," Tobirama shook his head. "He never wanted to listen to anyone; I'm surprised that the village still managed to survive until this day..."
"So what about you, Lord Tsuchikage?" Hiruzen turned towards Onoki. "I have explained everything about the incoming plan. I hope you already reached your decision."
The old Tsuchikage stayed silent for a while. Then, he said in a careful tone.
"Iwagakure will think about it. We will send some of our shinobi to join your Chuunin Exam, but don't ever think that we will enter any kind of alliance or co-operation with you after that. After all, Iwagakure still owes Konoha a favor when your shinobi brought back our jinchuriki. Consider this a repayment."
Hiruzen smiled. "That's everything we need to hear."
"Why do you agree to the Hokage's proposal so easily, Grandfather?" Kurotsuchi, one of Onoki's special guards, asked when they left the meeting chamber on their way back to their hotel. "Even though they helped us, the two villages have never been on good terms in the past. Why do you suddenly decide to do something that we never had precedent before like that?"
The old Tsuchikage chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know. Probably because all the years full of constant wars are starting to exhaust me. Wars taught me that I cannot trust anyone... but a certain brat has taught me that maybe I should start opening my heart a bit."
Kurotsuchi grinned. "It's Naruto Uzumaki, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Onoki chuckled again. "Maybe it's time to put all of the past aside and start thinking of a new future with you youngsters as the ones who lead us. Might be better for all of us than letting old guys like myself dictate your future."
Two shadows flickered on the walls of a dark chamber.
"So, the summons of the First and Second Hokage were a failure, Orochimaru-sama."
The other shadow, now identified as Orochimaru, frowned.
"That's right. This shouldn't be happening... unless Sarutobi-sensei decided to summon those two before us. I didn't expect someone like that old monkey could go that far just to stop us..."
Suddenly his face twisted into a sinister smile.
"But there is no need for them anymore. These two alone are enough for us to take down a Great Village already. And with the army I'm building... soon, my ambition will be fulfilled."
Inside the two caskets in front of him, it was possible to see a glimpse of red and blonde hair.