Chapter 55: PART 2.
"And was that crazy? Did no one do anything once they found out about the situation?"
The man, already quite affected by the drink, was rocking on his seat at the open-air mini bar. He made an unpleasant throat sound before swallowing. With exaggerated effort, he opened his eyes and fiddled with the glass, rewinding his story in his mind.
He felt his tongue go numb and shook his head, slurring his words.
"Not a single person believed me, and I swear I saw it all..." His head swayed dangerously forward, but his drinking partner, equally drunk, but more serene, did not flinch. "All of those dead people came out of magic portals, and there were some who just got up and left."
"Really..." commented the other man with a mixture of disbelief and drowsiness on his face. He clapped his hands slowly and raised an eyebrow. "The villagers may not believe you, but the feudal lord's guards?"
"That, that! I thought so too!" The drunkest man said triumphantly, raising his glass. He had spent the whole night drinking, and the vendor had begun secretly pouring them water to calm them down. "You would have seen their faces... They were stoned! I was told that I could only have seen nonsense because I was drunk. Nonsense his grandmother...!"
"Really..."
The second man repeated, with a quiet curiosity. He stirred the water in his glass, paying uncomfortable attention to the contents.
"And how did those people get up who, according to you, were fine? There were a lot of dead people there on the hill. Not even my wife's skeptic believes the story that it was a mass murder at any moment."
The drunken man, with a look of sudden brightness in his cloudy eyes, leaned over to his companion. He seemed to remember something crucial, something he had overlooked. He lowered his voice, almost to a whisper, and approached the other man, with an air of conspiratorial confidence.
"The guards got very serious when I said it." He murmured, afraid to say the words out loud.
Around him, the morning activity continued without pause. Merchants hawked their wares, children ran and played, and women chatted while shopping at the market. The man's whisper seemed like a secret hidden in the bustle, an inaudible whisper in the face of the hustle and bustle of the world.
The more serene man, still stirring his glass of water, looked up with an expression of contained surprise. His eyes narrowed, trying to comprehend the gravity of the secret.
"Is that true?" He asked, keeping his voice low, but with a penetrating curiosity.
The first man nodded firmly, his face serious despite the drunkenness.
"Yes, yes. I swear. I thought I was going to be arrested just for mentioning it. But..." He paused, as if he still couldn't believe what he was saying. "I think the people I saw get up and leave, were Shinobi."
The more serene man was silent for a moment, processing the information. The revelation hung in the air between them, an invisible weight that seemed to affect even the atmosphere around the small bar.
The mention of the Shinobi, beings shrouded in mystery and power, changed everything they knew; everything they thought they understood about what happened on the hill.
The seriousness of the information was palpable. If the theory that the ninjas had come out of the portals proved true, the matter became more serious than they could handle.
As civilians, they knew that the prudent thing to do was to keep quiet and stay out of it. Meddling in ninja affairs never brought anything good, and discretion was his best defense.
Both men looked at one of the busiest streets, where activity seemed to have increased. The more sober man commented in a low voice, aware of the presence of possible prying ears.
"We'd better not get involved in this..." whispered the more sober man.
And it was no wonder. Ever since the theory that the people who rose up were really Ninjas, the underworld of rumors got out of control. The guards began to be more discreet, and their faces were more feared for ignorance than for anything else.
In addition, lately more smoke was seen coming from behind the great house of the most important Man in the country; Specifically, in the backyard of the historic mansion.
It was rumored that it was a clandestine bonfire, devised by the feudal lord's employees, to burn all those bodies they found so as not to let civilians have any opportunity to delve deeper into their affairs.
They didn't have to be smart (or sober) to realize that this problem wasn't theirs.
The drunken man nodded awkwardly, his thoughts wandering between drunkenness and growing paranoia. From their position, they could see the large gates of the feudal lord's former holiday residence.
The guards, dressed in thick cloth robes and wide hats, armed with spears and staffs, patrolled discreetly, deterring the curious. They were experienced ninjas, forced to dress discreetly so as not to alarm civilians, guarding the entrances carefully.
Other ninjas roamed the surrounding area, picking up even the smallest piece of trash and examining it meticulously.
As the two men watched this scene with raised eyebrows, a man sitting next to the drunk one commented, his voice full of curiosity.
"May I know why so much attention to garbage?" His question was almost heard by the owner of the place himself, who observed, a little alarmed, the customer who had gone unnoticed, despite his large size. His mischievous tone did not go unnoticed, almost as if he was making fun of the situation. "I doubt very much that Ninjas with such an important title have signed up to clean the streets of the garbage that was scattered by the wind..."
Both men turned to him, and the more sober one issued a serious warning.
"It's better not to ask out loud." He said, his tone laden with an implicit warning.
The drunkest one added, with a friendly but tired smile.
"Yes, do as we do." Keep your mouth shut. "Those guards are not violent... But lately, they've become quite picky. Don't provoke them."
The third man, finishing his drink, smiled indifferently, as if the situation was nothing out of the ordinary.
"The same has happened in other nearby places." He said, his tone nonchalant.
The two men looked at each other, surprised.
"Is that true?" They asked in unison, their voices full of disbelief and fear.
The third man nodded confidently.
"Dead people have appeared, but many say that they are alive too." His sigh revealed the different stories, narrated by the least sane people he has encountered in his research. "I even had to listen to one who swore to see someone who controlled corpses, I have heard everything."
The most sober, doubtful and skeptical man questioned the veracity of the statement.
"And who are you to know that?"
The third man smiled broadly, pointing at himself with an air of wit
"I'm Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin. And my job is precisely to discover this kind of thing!"
The two drunk men went blank, their eyes fixed on the man who introduced himself as 'Jiraiya'. Jiraiya's smile remained on his face, as a breeze whistled, cutting through the awkward silence.
Finally, one of the drunkards spoke, his voice filled with disbelief.
"I've never heard that name."
Jiraiya sank a little deeper into his seat, but his smile didn't go away. At that moment, the owner of the place came forward, moved and animated, surprising the drunks.
"I do know who he is!" The owner exclaimed, with a mixture of admiration and emotion. "That is a very important title. Have you two been to school, at least?"
The drunks looked at the owner in surprise, while Jiraiya let out a loud laugh, his voice echoing in the small outdoor bar.
"Yes, that's right!" Jiraiya said, still laughing. "I was walking around when I came across this problem, which, apparently, is getting bigger. Do you have any idea what happened around here?"
His joking tone seemed destined not to alarm the civilians who listened to him. The owner of the place nodded naturally, placing a hand on his hip and pointing towards the great house of the feudal lord.
"It's been almost two weeks since those dead people appeared on the hill." Said the owner. "Security in the feudal lord's home has been increasing."
Jiraiya made a sound of understanding, nodding slowly.
"The feudal lord must be having a hard time."
The owner of the place shook his head nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Actually, it is not like that. The feudal lord left his house since the incident and has not returned. Surely he is in another very expensive enclosure, enjoying staying away from this misfortune... rich people's things."
With that last observation, the owner of the premises left to serve another customer. Jiraiya, from his position, observed the great house of the feudal lord with clarity and curiosity.
The high walls and towering gates, guarded by ninjas disguised as common guards, were a constant reminder of the tension in the air.
Jiraiya, with his experience and trained eye, was able to notice details that would go unnoticed by others.
The guards wore thick cloth robes and wide hats, armed with spears and staffs, but their posture and movements betrayed their true training as ninjas.
Some patrolled discreetly, deterring the curious, while others pored over the surroundings, picking up even the smallest piece of trash and analyzing it carefully.
The two drunken men continued to watch the scene with raised eyebrows, still processing the revelation.
Jiraiya watched the imposing doors of the feudal lord's great house, his analytical gaze picking up every detail.
He recalled the words of the owner of the premises about the absence of the feudal lord and the implications of the increasing security around his residence.
He reminded himself of the letter he had begun to write for Tsunade, full of incomplete information and assumptions, and decided that it was not worth sending it yet. He needed more certainty before alerting Konoha.
Tying up loose ends in his mind, Jiraiya rose from his seat, feigning amusement in front of everyone as he made his way towards the vicinity of the feudal lord's large house.
His face, however, showed a seriousness that contrasted with his relaxed attitude. The tension in the air was palpable and Jiraiya felt that every movement was observed.
Many civilians walked around, doing the same thing as him: observing. From his position, Jiraiya studied the windows of the house, the doors and any points that he could consider easy to enter.
He muttered to himself, with a mixture of astonishment and suspicion:
"That's convenient, it's too easy."
A muffled sip and the sound of a straw sucking in air interrupted him. Jiraiya laughed, amused, apologizing instantly.
"Ah!" He laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! My fault!!"
She turned to see a young man with messy black hair, with fine, almost feminine features. The boy scratched his cheek with a finger, laughing painfully.
"No problem." The young man said, his voice soft and shy.
Jiraiya opened his eyes in surprise as he heard the voice, smiling at him again.
The boy in the yellow cloak was not a boy, but a girl.
A friendly-looking and even masculine girl, with red eyes.
(火)
Despair.
He had learned to operate it from the moment he dressed in white and wielded a wrench. He knew the use of all of them, even those used in medicine, but his field was robotics. In the underrated area, she had learned to handle despair.
A computer is not born, it is created; and to make it functional, desperation must be kept at bay to develop it.
They are like dogs: if you don't train them well, they end up being just another one of the bunch, serving the reason why they were created; but not for the complex task that went beyond being useful to humans.
That was the thought of Akita, the last survivor of the Inuzuka clan, from the future. He walked the halls of Hokage Tower, observing with almost childlike curiosity the architectural details, while his mind processed at the speed of a supercomputer.
Akita showed no signs of fear or distress. On the contrary, his relaxed posture and the fanged smile characteristic of his clan that played on his lips were disconcerting to others. For her, the situation in Konoha was just another challenge, an equation to be solved, rather than a game of kill or be killed.
The Anbu of the Hokage, on the other hand, were visibly uncomfortable and alert (as far as could be seen). They glanced at Akita sideways from behind their masks, wondering how she could be so calm, in a situation where her own safety was in Konoha's hands, and could get rid of her when the Hokage commanded it.
They hid their tension, their rigid postures, as they guarded the entrance to the Room where Sumire and the children lay.
Challenge.
That was the word Akita preferred. It was not only a dangerous situation, but an opportunity to test their skills and knowledge. The technology he had developed in his time could be key to solving the current crisis.
Simultaneously, his thoughts turned to one thing:
What is after the Parchment.
Akita didn't consider himself a genius in his field, and he was too humble for its good. But, outside of humility, she really was a genius among robotics geniuses, and she was willing to help others for free if it paid off.
But in this situation, it was a give and give. He wasn't there to do charity.
He was putting his head in order; Agglomerating all the thoughts that favored the children who came with her, to a dark corner of her mind. Favoritism towards his own would bring nothing good, and would only put them in more danger if Konoha did not give in to their demands by bringing such behavior to his face.
Senju Tsunade was the Hokage, and a very determined one. But when a person is in power, they are not alone; She herself had played an important role in the protection and destruction of the machinery, once it was decided that the cataclysm would occur earlier.
The Fifth Hokage would be more suspicious of her, if she took into account the opinions of those who followed her, and Akita had to take that into account if she wanted to form an alliance with her that would favor them both.
His ankles fiddled with balance as he walked, trying to beat the menacing round at his feet.
Akita had lost the heels of her shoes in the cataclysm, and honestly, she was tired of rocking back and forth, even backwards, walking like someone who had been implanted with new mechanical legs.
He watched with palpable and suppressed enthusiasm (with effort), the construction of the corridors of the Hokage tower. He went from one place to another, wanting to see up close even the slightest immortal stain that had been left by the lack of old cleaning on the walls.
It wasn't much different from his Konoha, for even the Hokage prioritized his people over things as small as a speck that you would only see once you crossed the hallway, and forget about it when you left the tower.
But even her Hokage, who suspected he was even more eccentric than her, chose to clean those stains himself when no one was looking.
His little dog, with one of its limbs being a piece of machinery, was hesitantly sniffing the boots of the Anbus of the Hokage.
They were positioned on each side of the door of the room where Sumire rested, along with the children. From the outside, the situation would be taken as a genuine protection of the children, but Akita knew that was not what it was about.
Based on the Anbu criterion, whose decisions revolved around her employer, she assumed that the blonde Hokage had had more than enough context of what happened to the portals, and what led them to open, expelling lifeless people, as if they were miserable rag dolls.
Akita was an Inuzuka by birth, not a woman married to one. Therefore, her Chakra was already registered in Konoha, and she was not at risk of being stopped by third parties, unless she did something eye-catching.
The reason she was right here, with the Anbus judging her behind their masks, and the Hokage and her Assistant at the other end, lay with Ro; The larger Anbu of the two who had survived the Cataclysm in Konoha, had been waiting for some sign to flee with the children.
When Akita sorted things out from within, following the plan they had before arriving, he made his way to his position, attracting the attention of the people of Tsunade.
Hinoko had already done his thing, and now it was her turn.
He heard murmurs behind him, and decided that it was not a good decision to turn around and win a point against him if that disdainful look behind the glasses escaped him; The same one Katasuke-san feared every time he caught Akita building some kind of machinery in the dark in the early morning.
He stroked with his fingertips the rustic walls he was examining closely, almost as if he wanted to kiss them, just to prolong the Miradas encounter he would have with the Hokage.
Unbeknownst to him, his glasses reflected the bright light of the early morning sun that filtered through the hallway's only window, and he could only furrow his eyebrows from the blinding light. He ignored the lack of windows in the hallways of Hokage Tower, but blamed it on the time.
It is a stage of war, one in which, the fewer windows there are, the safer those inside will be.
The few windows that Akita had seen when climbing the tower were located far from the Rooms, which were intended for distinguished guests, such as another Kage or the Feudal Lord himself.
Sumire's was the smallest, and he suspected that it was only a rest room, so the importance of the window in the corridor was not inappropriate to him, if he considered the situation.
The murmurs grew more insistent, which provocatively struck a chord with him. He had been holding back the urge to investigate his curiosity further into the slightest thing in the past, and had controlled his expressions so that the Anbus would not think he was going to eliminate the Hokage with his glasses.
But the impudence was insufferable, and he made it clear when all his attention remained on the Hokage and her Assistant.
The black-haired one had been using a folder to cover her mouth while whispering things to the blonde Hokage.
Was Akita thought that he didn't have a very good ear?
The Hokage remained stoic, her forehead wrinkled in a small brow that made her seem more dominant, standing in a simple slumped-shoulders position, almost as if telling Akita that she didn't think she could stand up to him in a physical fight.
"Her self-confidence is very prominent." She said to herself. The glitter of the lenses of her glasses only fueled the heaviness in the blonde's expression, and Akita did not back down. "It's as heavy as they say, and its strength can be felt from far away... I feel like I'm going to get dizzy if I keep giving in to my fighting instinct."
Her retirement from the battlefield dated back to the time of the sixth, when Akita was just a Young Girl who had been brought to the battlefield as an emerging Medic, whose position was not to stand alongside the rest of the Medics, but to follow the Ninjas more closely and help them if necessary.
At times, she fought tooth and nail to earn her position now, if she were alive. He lost canine companions along the way, and since then, he never wanted to set foot on the battlefield again.
However, that didn't mean she was rusty, like an old woman who only lived off her old War Stories. Akita, without a doubt, was one of the most talented of her clan, not only for her knowledge of robotics, but for something much more outstanding among all the Inuzuka, who were identified by their smell.
She had her glamorous sense of hearing, and no one could take it away.
That's why, when he watched the arrest of someone as powerful as the fifth Hokage, his flame was activated; the one that had not been lit for more than ten years.
His muscles were tense, ready to jump at any moment and defend himself. She took good care of her Chakra, keeping it ready in her eardrums and limbs, ready to explode them if she had an encounter with the Hokage.
But, beyond all worry and preparation for a possible attack, Akita seemed peaceful; As if he were answering Tsunade, that she was capable of dodging his fists with dedication.
He held back the urge to giggle. The last thing he wanted was to laugh in front of a Hokage who was being advised by his assistant.
She? Facing Tsunade Senju, one of the most powerful Hokage?
It had come very high, but I wouldn't say it out loud. She was one of those who took advantage of confident appearances to flee from a bigger problem.
"I see, so that's what it's all about." He pondered, reserving his decision to reveal his ability to Tsunade so soon. "To think that even Tsunade herself had such a paradoxical fear. In other circumstances, it would be laughable."
Shizune noticed that Akita had not commented to herself on the dirt on the walls for more than five minutes, and offended the service with her comments, apparently harmless to herself. He pressed the folder to his chest, pursing his lips and holding back a dismayed expression.
What he had told Tsunade, only made Akita more right that it had not been a bad decision to have convinced Hinoko to let go of everything, once she was caught by the Hokage.
"The Matter was not overlooked, and they must already be heading to the common room to discuss it with you." She had whispered the black-haired woman to her Master.
Akita didn't let that detail out so easily, and his heart just drummed with a slight frenzy in preparation. At least, there was a point in his favor.
Tsunade wouldn't leave here without listening to her, because if she did, she would be caught by her advisors and they wouldn't have the opportunity to speak with such privacy. If worse, they would even force Sumire to be in the same place as her Anbus Allies.
The eccentric Inuzuka swallowed in anticipation, and relaxed her tense muscles as best she could. She settled in, positioning her entire body in such a way that she could have a fairer and more respectful conversation with the woman Hokage was once.
"Seeing how things are..." The brunette began, with a tone of voice that denoted equanimity. Shizune seemed somewhat surprised by his meddling. "… It seems that I will have to be the one to start everything."
Tsunade did not object to his words, and instead remained in a sly silence. Knowing how calculating the Hokage was, it was likely that she would benefit more from mutism if Akita was trying to manipulate her, using Tsunade's own knowledge, against her.
Likewise, it could eventually be theorized that it was a well-planned lie between the Anbus and Akita, even if its future provenance was the truth.
"As I said before, my name is Inuzuka Akita."
The woman in the white coat of the Konoha doctors, made a sign with her hand.
The dog, which had won the attention of both women from the past by its mechanical hind leg, made a calculated leap toward Akita, and climbed deftly to a position between her shoulder and left arm. Akita swayed him playfully, and smiled at him with her friendly fanged smile.
"And this little one is Chamaru. A pleasure." She concluded, letting out a friendly tone to the women of the past.
The familiarity with which Akita treated others did not go unnoticed. It was a complex feeling; as relaxing, but alarming at the same time.
Was it okay to trust someone who behaved like this, even when those on his side were, in some way, hostages?
Chamaru's friendly bark brought Tsunade out of her thoughts. The blonde pursed her lips, and studied Akita from top to bottom, while, in her mind, she processed the last name she had just heard, although she was already aware of who was the third member among the adults that Hinoko had reported.
"Can you know what you're doing with that?" Tsunade points out, keeping calm to choose his questions well. She was equally tense from the time trial, but it was not the same for Akita. "You and the others seem to have circumvented all our means of security."
"Uh, that's right." Akita almost sings, stroking the dog in his arms with a solemn expression. "Hinoko-chan told you all about evading it, Tsunade-sama?"
The indiscretion was noticeable, and while Shizune only gave him a look of obvious annoyance, Akita laughed nonchalantly in apology. It was clear that she took the liberty of being rude by addressing the fifth Hokage herself.
Even his dog was embarrassed, his ears saddening as he lowered them and growling in pity.
"He refused to tell me everything." Tsunade spoke, ignoring the audacity with his imposing presence. "He argued that, since there were supposedly people who were not convenient for me to have as enemies, involved, he could not reveal it to me. I still don't understand your logic."
His last sentence was like a toothache for the blonde, as he raised the corner of her lips when she complained in annoyance.
"Uh..." Akita blurted out, unimportant.
The two women just remained active, ready to get the answers they deserved, and the supposed Inuzuka showed no sign of caring about the situation in the slightest.
Hinoko, or Soku, which was her Anbu name, had given details of everything she remembered, including how they organized to hide from Konoha.
But, except for mentioning to the Hokage the means they used to do so, and refraining from naming names, she still seemed purely worried about Konoha, if Tsunade would finally swallow that tale.
But Akita was another story. She was more detached from the matter.
"We are in a rather complex position, Hokage-sama." The brunette sighed childishly, as he kicked an imaginary stone on the ground. "Our place in the mission does not allow us to interfere in lawsuits that are your concern, Hokage-sama. In other words, if there is no person or situation from the future involved, we cannot interfere eternally; You have to solve it, take care of the moles yourselves and exterminate them."
Akita seemed to hit the mark, for Tsunade's eyebrow contracted momentarily. Akita waited quietly, confident that she had the upper hand; But he did not get the tension that Tsunade caused out of his head.
"Do you think I'm so stupid to trust people who supposedly say they know about traitors in my own village?! Who do you think you're talking to?!"
Tsunade's roar nearly rattled the walls, and Shizune and the Anbus shuddered, exchanging glances between the Hokage and the self-proclaimed Inuzuka.
The woman with glasses stood impassively, as if talking about a bad deal with a colleague, with her hands in the pockets of her dressing gown and her feet apart.
It gave the appearance of measuring her next words, so that Tsunade could digest them. All while the stormy blow of the accusation passed through her like a strong blizzard.
"I understand your point of view." Akita nodded, looking at Tsunade under his breath and accentuating his tone. "But, since I am an adult who was able to live through the era of your leadership, I cannot take the risk of putting you, and by connection, my own family in a scenario that would attract the same future that killed mine. I flatly refuse, even if by doing so, I offend her in some way."
A pointed edge shot out of Akita's brown eyes, heading in Tsunade's direction. Hokage herself was the one who mastered this type of feats the most, and she counterattacked in the best way. But the life in the chestnut's own eyeballs sent a strange wave of electricity toward Tsunade's fingertips.
It wasn't fear, I already knew that.
However, the piercing and sharp gaze that lingered on a simple slut with a dog, was able to convince Tsunade that what she was saying was the truth. Reluctantly, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Perhaps her master, Sarutobi Hiruzen, would have believed the portals after interrogating Hinoko. He was a devout pacifist, even if he had to release a thug from his land to others that were not his.
But Tsunade was not like that. So she was silent when the self-proclaimed Inuzuka took a few steps to approach her. His dog came down recklessly, with only a jump, causing Shizune to open her eyes to him as he sat down, well-behaved, stepping aside to give his mistress space.
She began to liken him to a dog that would obey her intelligently. His innocence and tenderness, seen in a puppy, contrasted with the airs he gave in that jump.
Shizune swore that if Akita shouted a "Jump!", the dog would answer "How tall?"
Tsunade waited in silence, Akita a few feet from his face.
"Everything Hinoko-chan told you is true." She affirmed with such firmness that Shizune almost moved from her place to defend her teacher's face. "Unfortunately, many of those shits, have taken places that do not belong to them, and they are walking around out there, waiting for the opportunity to come and entangle you in their fucking webs of lies. Is that what you prefer in our replacement?"
Shizune was shaken by the accusation, and the imposed scenario. He opened his mouth, but bit his tongue instantly at the sight of Tsunade's lively gaze in his defense.
But, surprising even the Anbus who were rigid to carry out orders, and who now watched the scene with stupefaction, Akita matched the size of the Hokage's confidence.
In a time that was no longer his; In a village that would no longer recognize her, or her faithful canine companion, like Inuzukas.
Akita almost spits, reluctantly adjusting her tone so as not to bring up the resentment that had settled over the past week.
"She should be thankful that those who showed up in her beloved village were just children. Children without a home, without a family; stubbornly believing in the idealization of you Hokage, that anyone would be received if they were innocent, making the idea of living in secret so as not to get you, a highly awarded Ninja, into enormous trouble." Tsunade's brow wrinkled, especially on her temple. Akita did not back down, and fought him off by removing some of what was roaring vengefully in his chest. "Do you think it's fair that now, those same children are being treated like criminals, when they also came from the same place where all those bodies that you collected with so much respect come from?" And are you the one who speaks of daring, Fifth?!"
Tsunade's face tightened momentarily.
She was a hypocrite; Every Kage had to be, if doing so would bring his people to safety in the Ninja world, where wars were an everyday occurrence.
She never saw herself as a defender of loyalty or peace, she only fought to keep her enemies at bay, and collaborated with them to reach an agreement that would benefit them mutually.
Being an idealist was not his thing; that was not his role as Hokage. His own master proved it privately, and he had to make sacrifices so that Konoha would not fall on his own foundations.
But, somehow, Akita had taken a bold turn that was forgiven the instant Akita mentioned the dead.
I wouldn't recognize it, but treating them with a slight respect by not recognizing their origin, was the least they deserved. On the other hand, when Kakashi came to him with the information that all those dead were people from the future who were victims of a Cataclysm, he felt it as a responsibility that he could not ignore.
Future or past, she was a Hokage. If they really came from a future, it meant that Konoha had one, and his people had succumbed in the worst way. He wouldn't be able to visit his younger brother's grave, and then talk about nobility if he didn't take matters into his own hands.
Even Shizune was surprised. Hokage herself had dropped her shoulders, staring at the ground. She wasn't crying, nor was she emotionally affected, because Tsunade was not someone easy to crack.
Not even Tsunade herself had any idea of all that was mixed in her chest. He glanced sideways at the door, a few yards behind Akita. On the other side, there were children... one of them being the supposed heir of the will of someone powerful of the future village of the Leaf.
That's what Hinoko told him.
How could someone so young take on such an important role, besides, it's not like she came and had full control of Konoha; nothing was certain, and even so, the two Anbus who were kept in custody, and the imposing woman in front of Tsunade, were willing to see and respect her as such.
"Consider the situation in which Ro-san was caught." Inuzuka spoke, just as sullen and calm. Tsunade thought of the name, and remembered that there was a second Anbu besides the one named 'Hinoko'. "They didn't find him until they realized that one of their own was suspiciously going into the woods. In other words, he could have gone away with the children, and abandoned Hinoko, with me here without raising suspicion. That leaves a lot to be desired regarding your safety against people like us."
The slug's Sannin straightened up to keep partiality in her presences, and her expression, though not softened, calmed down significantly.
"Your Chakra is registered." Tsunade said quietly, without taking his eyes off Akita's. She only adjusted her glasses to look away, as if the subject made her uncomfortable. "That means..."
"Yes." Akita stepped forward. I wanted to sweep away the taboo subject without going into details. "If I introduced myself with my last name, it's so you can verify it for yourself. But I absolutely refuse to have anything with my clan, even to meet any, even if it is to see them through a window."
Shizune broke out in a cold sweat, considering the possibilities that were building in his head. The worst came when Akita, self-conscious about telling the tale, but still firm in her mature presence, looked away with her thin wrinkled face.
"It would be a bad omen." She murmured, loud enough that even the Anbus could hear her, as witnesses. "If by chance I come to meet myself, even see her, I can cause a serious shake in the Chakras and timeline... and one of the two would die."
The revelation made Shizune's hairs stand on end. Inuzuka only laughed bitterly, looking at the two women, as if the past tension had not passed.
"Hm, In the worst case, I would be the one who would succumb. I can't die so soon, I have a mission to fulfill." The silence that came afterwards cleared his mind, and he cleared with a friendly smile. "You can verify for yourself. 'Inuzuka Arika', daughter of a bastard man of the clan, but she died when I was very young."
The unnecessary clarification of the background of his name took a little of the place out of the four people from the past who were present there. Tsunade, who had taken a firm tone toward Akita, now stood there, her expression resigned. She hadn't slept for two weeks, and the cause was right in front of her, sympathizing with those who would offer her a deal.
He saw no way to continue the rudeness when Akita had given at least a proof of its provenance, though he could easily have studied it beforehand.
He gave Shizune a tired look, which he quickly understood, and wrote down what the white-coated woman said in her folder in her clear, marked handwriting.
The Sannin returned to Akita, and this time, calmer, she continued with the exchange.
"Explain yourself." He said. "I recognize that your part of the story makes sense. But why stay here, when they can leave and be on the sidelines of all this? I myself sent an informant to investigate, and I am still waiting for answers. But, if the information I received from another source turns out to be true, then it is very dangerous for those children to be in the middle of this. Why?"
Finally getting a calmer formulation, Akita smiled, adjusted his glasses, and positioned himself near the wall in front of the Anbus. He wanted everyone to see his face, but on the other hand, he wanted to be looking at the door of the room Sumire was in.
Part of his feelings, they screamed that he had to protect her with his own life.
"If you ask me that, it's because Hinoko-chan answered everything related to the cataclysm, am I wrong?"
"The interrogation concluded when he revealed that he had a third person among the adults." Tsunade agreed.
"I see." Akita reflected. "Do you have any idea about those who are outside?"
The Hokage showed no expression. Akita glanced at Shizune, but the black-haired woman only paid more attention to her folder, apparently writing down every salient detail Akita blurted out. He took that attitude as an affirmative answer, which made him wonder if his colleagues had sung too much, but he denied it openly.
No detail was lost on Tsunade's face.
"The cataclysm destroyed everything in its path." Revealed the chestnut. "But, I suppose, you are already aware, the other hidden villages are also involved in the destruction."
The silence, without a bath of questions, was Hinoko's way of informing Akita that Tsunade already had the full context, and that she was free to speak without fear.
He congratulated the Anbu woman with a small, personal smile, and went on.
"The portals were like doors that were being opened, even before the fateful day." He said. "While they didn't go to the level of destroying everything, they had enough time to scatter everywhere and finally break once the scroll was opened. That means that many people like us must be out there."
"That girl told me that, in order to survive the portals, it was a matter of a good team of Ninjas who would keep it open for others, and luck." The blonde opined.
Akita took off the wall, and nodded, raising a finger to explain. Secretly, she loved to be the one to give explanations, because of the information she handled.
"That's right. But, while surviving them is a good thing, you come here with serious physical problems." The chestnut argues. "In our case, Ninjas helped, so, in a way, we're fine, although extended to the scroll. Which makes us easy targets for those who seek our harm. In the case of coming without help, and managing to survive, you arrive with side effects."
Shizune repeated the latter, in a low voice, taking in the background of those effects. Akita nodded.
"Hm, that depends on each person, but the most normal would be limb losses or more complex things such as deafness or mutism."
Shizune, for the first time, explicitly addressed Akita. His face betrayed the fear of some positive response.
"… Could they be Ninjas?"
Akita didn't want to give mysticism any space, but he searched for the right words, only to settle for a vague nod. He hesitated in his words.
"In the most devastating scenario... most could be powerful people with their own Ninjas." Akita spat, as if it were poison. "Konoha didn't want to keep the cataclysm a secret from others, and although it was a very discreet deal, I have no doubt that there are villages that didn't even use the scroll to save people, but themselves. There is a great deal of land here without an owner, and it is in their interest to get hold of it as soon as possible in order to promote wealth, and the information they have could ensure political power."
"That's it—" Shizune half-exclaimed.
For her part, Tsunade pondered aloud.
"That's why you mentioned..."
Akita gave him his space to come in and talk, but he found it inopportune. She was the one with the answers, and Tsunade would come to no conclusion if Akita didn't clarify herself.
He stated verbally, lower than before.
"They can come without any violence, but you never know." Declares. He was splitting glances between Tsunade and his assistant. His dog stared at the Anbus in Cat masks, as if he had found them funny. "Tsunade-sama, I warn you to be discreet when they begin to arrive. They are going to take advantage of their ignorance, and that can take down Konoha sooner rather than later. Please take my advice."
La Sannin turned her neck a little, to look out of the small window in the corridor. Their village rose high in the sun, preparing for morning gossip about a girl who had caught the disease of dementia, and how they should avoid a possible encounter with her.
He heard of them from his own Ninjas, and agreed to be left alone. That was better than giving them confidential information.
"Hokage-sama." Akita's call was almost implored. Tsunade glanced at her sideways, and this time, her brow furrowed into a look of pity. "I have mechanical and military knowledge, as well as medical knowledge. My fellow Anbu are formidable allies, but they will only collaborate if Sumire-chan is involved."
Shizune shared the same feeling as Tsunade.
Sumire was a girl who had reacted in a negative way to the moon. Hinoko, the Anbu, had made them aware of the reason.
The moon had awakened after the transported people had adapted. And, like a guard dog that does not accept that the sneakers stay, he reacted.
The scroll was tied to a legend that Tsunade could only consider ridiculous, but believable, as it involved the sage of the six paths, and even Sharingan himself. He explained that the Moon only kept at bay all those refugees, and those who had snuck through the portals, at night.
In the case of children, who were less than the time span that separates this time from the future, it forces them to relive the cataclysm until they are deprived of moonlight.
Hinoko herself denied knowing any further details in the case of those who are older than Sumire, but who, in her own experience, feel nothing but numbness in their Chakra waves, the same reason why Hinoko said she hesitated to shoot Kakuzu with her electric beam.
The thought of more people out there, more children, made Tsunade have mixed feelings.
To protect her own, or those that belong to someone else, another Hokage that perhaps she did not know?
Follow your gut, and do your job?
Akita fueled this lack of control of emotions, with some sentencing last words.
"Staying here, and helping her fight back against attacks from the future, is not something that only Konoha will have in her favor." Said the brunette, calming her gaze. "The other villages are surely going the same way... Sooner or later, they're going to have people like us, protecting them, even if they don't want to. This was dictated by our leaders, being true to their obligations as Kages... they did not see it fair to leave the dead to you, and to us alive. I will not move from here, without having come to terms with the Hokage whom I respected so much."
Those last words froze her.
A Hokage—what knew her?—would not be surprising, if that Hokage were not from the future, or were dead.
Shizune and the Anbus were dumbfounded, looking at Akita as if what he had said had no name.
She, however, held her head high to bring out her sincerity. It was not a lie, her Hokage cleaned the photos of the old Hokage that hang in the main office with the help of her clones, she herself has seen them when she went to accompany or run an errand for Katasuke-sensei.
And he had heard enough stories that the Hokage would release to his Genin, when the most enthusiastic asked about his past.
"Granny Tsunade was very strict and with a heavy hand to strike, but she had a maiden's heart." She recalled to herself, only to feel her heart sink as she rewound her Hokage's voice, apologizing aloud as she called the fifth as 'Grandma.' He himself would be uncomfortable if one of his Genin called him 'Grandpa Naruto'.
Keeping calm in his muscles as he saw the twinge Tsunade threw into their eyes, he listened silently.
It was clear that Hinoko was quite harsh with not revealing the identity of the Hokage to Tsunade, because all of that was information of a future that will no longer exist. But, even so, the blonde used other words.
"How many years are we from your time?"
Akita opened his eyes, but he didn't flinch.
He didn't expect that question, even though it was the most common in this situation, from what he had seen in movies and mangas.
He chose his words well. The meetings with Katasuke-sensei's entire team, in the presence of one of the Hokage's clones, who was in unstable health; What was discussed meeting after meeting, his orders, his obligations...
Akita was faithful to Konoha, to his own. And I wouldn't turn my back on another Konoha who was already giving her the opportunity to hug those children and give them the opportunity to be a part of them, although it wouldn't be the same as before.
He thought it through, and when he saw it counterproductive to take longer than necessary, he sighed. He watched Tsunade with a passion in his eyes, which flamed like the flame of the nearly extinct torch that his fallen comrades and family had entrusted to him to stay alive.
He bit his tongue.
"We are more than thirty years away from our time... Hokage-sama."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
CassieNilonis
CassieNilonis The chapters from now on get longer. I beg patience! (TBV's manga throws out every piece of information, I'm so impatient to add it here! But I can't be impatient... I'm covering my mouth to avoid Spoilers!)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
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-- Power
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