Capítulo 60: Chapter 60: The Sixth Hokage!
AN: Hey everyone, can you believe it? Chapter 60 already! I've already finished writing the story. All that's left is uploading the rest. There is only Chapter 61 and Chapter 62 left before "Reincarnated into the World of Naruto (RITWON) Part 1" is over. The journey has been amazing and the support you all have given me and this story is the reason I continued to the end.
Now, I know that the story wasn't perfect. I see and have read every single review. Yes the story may have started rough around the edges. I understand where you all are coming from. Especially the 3rd POV to 1st POV changes can get very confusing and awkward at times to read. I am aware of this. My apologies. I'll try to do better in the future.
So, what happens next? Well, after the last chapter it won't be the end-end. Stay tuned for "RITWON PT. 2" Once Chapter 62 is uploaded I'll leave a link that leads to the next part of the journey. As always, thank you for your support and thank you for reading!
War Recap:
Kaguya has been revived. Haku, Kimimaro, Sasuke, Naruto, and Izaya are in the midst of a world-shaking battle against her.
Chapter 60
CRASH! BOOM!
The entire dimension shook and trembled. The sky became filled with dark storm clouds. The wind roared and howled as if it were a raging dragon. Craters formed so deep the bottom couldn't be seen. The battle currently in place within this dimension was so fierce that mountains split and rivers formed. The very terrain shifted and changed with every fist thrown and every Jutsu casted.
Haku rode atop his frozen ice dragon Jutsu evading and countering. He did all he could in order to weaken Kaguya. He quickly formed the Ram hand sign and shouted, "Sage Art: Ice Style Freezing Liquid Jutsu!" A mass of dense freezing liquid condensed in the air and began to move towards Kaguya.
I quickly weaved the Horse hand sign and shouted, "Sage Art: Fire Style Majestic Destroyer Flame Jutsu!" From my breath I exhaled a flame that spread across for several tens of meters tall and wide.
Naruto quickly placed his hands together and tapped into the power of the Five Tails, Kokuo, and shouted, "Sage Art: Vapor Style Unrivaled Strength!" A large gaseous cloud of extreme boiling heat rushed towards Kaguya as she was surrounded in three corners by the three massive attacks aimed at her. As she was about to fly down towards the ground to avoid the attack Kimimaro quickly shouted, "All Killing Ash Bones: Thousand Spears of Death!" Immediately multiple sharp ash bones shot out from the ground and upwards towards Kaguya. Without any choice she quickly looked up to the sky and just as she was about to fly upwards to escape Sasuke shouted, "Kirin!"
BOOM!
The sound of thunder echoed across the entire dimension as a great dragon made of pure lightning dropped down from the sky and flew straight at Kaguya with blinding fast speed. Kaguya gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes in frustration as she quickly gathered her powerful chakra all around her body and chose to dive straight through Haku's attack instead of taking on the brunt of all five attacks aimed at her together.
BAM!
Not a moment later all of our attacks met in the middle and created a devastating storm of powerful chaotic energy. Kaguya, however, managed to escape albeit her right arm was covered in frost and began to become discolored. She frowned as she took note that her right arm was no longer usable so she quickly chopped it off. In but merely a few seconds she regrew another arm good as new. Before we could attempt another attack she quickly arrived before Haku and struck out with her fist. Haku barely had time to respond as he raised up his arms to shield himself.
WHAM!
"GUH!" Haku groaned as he was knocked flying through the air and crashing through the ground.
Kimimaro quickly dashed over and aimed a powerful kick straight at Kaguya's head, however, Kaguya quickly threw a punch into a portal as another portal carrying Kaguya's fist opened up next to Kimimaro's side. Being caught off guard by Kaguya's unconventional attack he too was knocked flying off into the distance.
Naruto frowned and quickly flew down from the sky in his giant Kurama cloaked form and slammed one of his giant chakra tails at her. Kaguya quickly responded by creating hundreds of her own giant chakra arms and parried his attack before successfully gripping one of his tails and swung him around flinging him off into the distance.
Just as Sasuke arrived before her a dark portal appeared in front of him forcing him to halt in his tracks before he could fall inside. The portal managed to obscure his vision as Kaguya whipped her long white hair around and slammed Sasuke off into one of the giant mountainous hills in the distance. I furrowed my brow as I quickly approached where she was.
Black Zetsu cackled as he quickly chimed in, "Mother. Now is your chance. If you can kill this brat Izaya then the others won't be able to jump dimensions. Once they are separated you can kill them one at a time."
Kaguya narrowed her eyes as she dashed at me with incredible speed. In less than a second she arrived before me and struck out with a palm strike. I quickly shifted my head to the left avoiding her attack and struck with my own palm strike aiming at her neck. In but a mere minute we had exchanged over more than a hundred strikes of hand to hand combat as we both kicked, punched, grappled, swept, dodged, countered, parried, and struck. As our fists came crashing down against one another we were both instantly blown back by the recoil of our strike. Kaguya stumbled a few dozens of meters away, however, I came out much worse in that exchange as I stumbled a few hundreds of meters away.
I gritted my teeth as I took note that even in my Sage enhanced state I still wasn't physically her match in Taijutsu. I widened my eyes in surprise as I saw several ash bones quickly making their way towards me. Before I could get hit I quickly threw out several kunai in the vicinity and flew to one of their locations avoiding Kaguya's deadly attack. Just as I disappeared and reappeared my heart skipped a beat as I quickly crossed my arms in front of me and guarded against one of Kaguya's giant chakra fists.
"GUH!" I groaned as her attack connected and flung me crashing into a giant mountain. I struggled to not lose consciousness as blood flowed out of my mouth. Kaguya quickly floated down from the sky and in front of me as I racked my brain for my next plan of action. Kaguya quickly stuck out her hand and created a large ash bone shooting it straight at me. I tried to focus but was still a bit disoriented from her earlier attack. Only a single thought passed through my mind at that moment.
I'm sorry...Hanabi.
I stared as the ash bone came closer and closer. My vision started focusing in and out between obscurity and clarity. It felt as if time began to slow down. Is this what it feels like when you stare death in the face? I smiled mockingly to myself and thought. However, I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and widened my eyes in surprise when I took note that the ash bone spear remained stuck midair and didn't approach. I blinked once to ensure that I was seeing things correctly, but the strange thing was that my vision had never been more clear than in that moment. Without wasting anytime at all I quickly flew off into the distance to one of my kunai from earlier escaping from that perilous situation as I furrowed my brow in a bit of confusion at what just happened. It wasn't only me who was confused. Kaguya and Black Zetsu who watched the entire ordeal before their eyes were shocked to the extreme.
Black Zetsu stammered, "I-Impossible! H-How? Why does Izaya possess the Rinnegan as well?"
Kaguya frowned as she watched in that moment as her ash bone spear finally moved and shot out at the now empty spot where I was previously. She activated her Byakugan before turning to look at me in the distance with great wariness and spoke to no one in particular. "He has awakened the Rinnegan in both of his eyes. It seems his body is a bit unique. In order to teleport into my different dimensions he needs a great amount of chakra. The chakra he uses to teleport into my many different dimensions is fueled by the other four shinobi. That is how he received the chakra from both Asura and Indra's reincarnations, Naruto and Sasuke. Furthermore, Naruto and Sasuke have received a portion of Hagoromo's chakra. Small portions of that chakra entered his body when those two shared it with him to teleport around. Just now his body successfully harmonized those two halves of Hagoromo's chakra into one which allowed his Sharingan to evolve into that of the Rinnegan."
Black Zetsu gritted his teeth in frustration and anxiousness. "Mother. We must do everything we can to kill him. Two Rinnegan users will be too dangerous to deal with at the same time."
Kaguya nodded as she prepared to re-engage in battle. Meanwhile, as Kaguya and Black Zetsu were discussing my Rinnegan I was also observing the changes that happened to me. Both of my Eternal Mangekyo Sharingans had transformed into a completely black colored red ringed circular patterned Rinnegan with six red colored tomoe in them. I placed my palm over my eye in disbelief and thought, was it because I received a portion of Naruto and Sasuke's chakra that contained some of Hagoromo's chakra? I quickly did my best to discern exactly what abilities my Rinnegan granted me but didn't have too much time as Kaguya quickly arrived before me and struck out with several large ash bones. Before those ash bones could reach me I stuck out my palm and shouted, "Almighty Push!"
BOOM!
Instantly the ash bones were blown off into the distance as I quickly dashed straight towards Kaguya and shouted, "Amaterasu!"
Kaguya quickly created a portal in front of her causing the inextinguishable black flames to enter her portal instead of hitting her. She quickly infused chakra into her hair and shot it straight at me, however, I quickly activated the power of my right Rinnegan and shouted, "Kannagara no Michi!" Instantly everything within a 5 meter radius of me froze completely. I quickly dashed right before Kaguya and thrust out as powerful of a palm strike as I could blasting her off into the distance at the same time marking her with my Flying Thunder God Seal. I smirked at my success and instantly teleported to Sasuke and Naruto gathering them both to my side. I could tell they both had wanted to ask about my Rinnegan, but without letting them interject I simply said, "I've marked her. Now's our chance. I'll teleport you both to her side."
Without anymore words of discussion I instantly teleported them both next to Kaguya. Naruto and Sasuke didn't waste any time as they immediately placed their palm over her. The Sun and Moon seal on their hands resonated together and slowly began to cover Kaguya's Rinne Sharingan. It all happened so fast that Kaguya and Black Zetsu couldn't even react.
Black Zetsu could only voice in disbelief. "I-Impossible! How did this happen? NOOOOO!"
Kaguya frowned in disbelief as well. "How can this be? I have been defeated by my own children once again? I am the progenitor of chakra! What happened? How did that child stop my attack? How did he strike me without my knowledge? And how did Sasuke and Naruto arrive before me in an instant?"
The dimension shook and trembled as rock and debris floated into the air coalescing into one giant moon. Kaguya screamed in anguish as her body expanded in size. All the chakra she had absorbed within her was being released back into the world. The Tailed Beasts stretched out from her body and ripped themselves free of her control as the nine of them fell from the sky and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Black Zetsu struggled to free himself from the seal but no matter how he fought he couldn't break free. Sasuke stared at the giant mass in the air as it still continued to grow and shouted, "Run! Or else we'll all be pulled up there as well!"
Whoosh!
Immediately after Sasuke finished his sentence he, Naruto, and all the Tailed Beasts ran as fast as they could off into the distance.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The loud sound of the ground shaking from the heavy footsteps of all nine Tailed Beasts running could be heard. It wasn't long before they made it to a safe distance.
Swish!
Three people instantly appeared next to Sasuke and Naruto at that moment.
"Izaya! Haku! Kimimaro!" Naruto exclaimed as he turned towards us.
Haku simply stared in awe at the giant mass in the sky that was still growing and said, "Did we win?"
Naruto threw a thumbs up and replied, "Mn!"
Kimimaro sat on the ground and let out a sigh of relief and fatigue. "Finally. It's over."
I smiled as I watched everyone's relieved expressions show on their faces and praised, "We made it through this together. Everyone."
Sasuke turned to me and stared at my eyes for a moment in silence before he couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore and asked, "Izaya...Your eyes...How?"
It was at this moment that Haku and Kimimaro took notice of the change in my eyes as well.
"E-Eh? Big Brother, you also possess the Rinnegan? Since when?" Haku asked bewilderedly.
I thought about how to answer for a moment before saying, "To be honest, I don't really know. I can only guess. My body is very good at assimilating bloodlines. Naruto, you received the light portion of the Sage of Six Path's chakra. Sasuke, you received the shadow portion of the Sage of Six Path's chakra. Sasuke, you shared some of your chakra with me so that I could teleport us to Naruto's location when we were first separated. Naruto, you shared some of your chakra with me when Haku was separated from us. Then you shared some with me again so we could teleport to Sasuke later. My guess is that when you both shared some of your chakra with me it contained a portion of the Six Path's Sage chakra. Sasuke, I assume this is how you obtained your Rinnegan. As you received half of the Six Path's chakra. Naruto, that is how you can fly. You received the other half of the Six Path's chakra. Receiving the Six Path's chakra evolved your powers fundamentally. When I received a portion of both halves of the Six Path's chakra my body must have assimilated the two powers together and in turn it caused my eyes to fundamentally change and evolve into the Rinnegan. While I'm not sure if this is correct, that's my theory. I was just as surprised if not more surprised than all of you when it happened. But ultimately that transformation saved my life. I may have fallen to Kaguya's attack otherwise."
Everyone took a moment to take in what I said before Naruto broke the silence. "AH! Wait. Instead of wondering how Izaya awakened the Rinnegan shouldn't we worry about how we're going to get back?"
Sasuke stared at Naruto dumbfoundedly. "Couldn't Izaya just teleport us back to our dimension?"
The Tailed Beasts laughed as Son Goku chimed in, "Oi, Kurama. Your Jinchuriki isn't half bad, but he's still a bit dense huh?"
Kurama simply looked on dumbfoundedly in silence.
I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly and said, "Well...I believe I can teleport all of us back, but it will require enormous amounts of chakra. I'd need the aid of all the Tailed Beasts here to pool together your chakra for the jump to be successful."
Naruto scratched the side of his cheeks as he grinned towards all the Tailed Beasts. "Well, what about it you guys?"
Kurama simply fake scoffed. "Hmpf. I suppose you did play a pivotal role in freeing us."
Gyuki laughed and chimed in, "Oi Kurama. You can be more honest with your feelings you know. No need to act so high and mighty now."
"Kekekeke! That guy never knows how to lighten up." Shukaku retorted in his high pitched voice.
I simply smiled awkwardly as Haku, Kimimaro, Naruto, Sasuke, and I listened to all the Tailed Beasts banter with each other. I took a sweep around us and noted that the giant moon was finally stabilizing in the sky completing the seal of Kaguya and Black Zetsu. Letting out a sigh of relief I pulled out a black silk blindfold and started tying it around my eyes. Naruto noticed my actions and tilted his head to the side in confusion before asking, "Er...Izaya, why are you putting a blindfold on?"
After I finished tying my blindfold in place I simply shrugged my shoulders. "It just feels natural to have it on. I've been wearing one my entire life. I feel a bit naked without it now. Besides, there are only two main abilities that I can't use when I wear my blindfold. Ocular Genjutsu, and Amaterasu. All my other ocular abilities don't actually require eye contact. Plus, a lot of people know me by my blindfold. It's a memorable feature of mine I suppose."
Naruto scratched his head and nodded. "Hm...Yeah I guess what you say does make sense. Plus the whole blindfold thing makes you seem more mysterious. Mn, by the way, shouldn't we head back now?"
Before anyone could respond we all felt ourselves being warped. In the next instant we disappeared from Kaguya's dimension and reappeared in the battlefield of our world.
Kimimaro widened his eyes in shock. "How?" He then turned to look at me but I shook my head. "It wasn't me." I then nodded in front of us where an old man sitting cross legged floating in the air was.
Naruto quickly chimed in, "Old man Six Paths?"
Hagoromo laughed and smiled. "Hahahaha! Excellent work, the five of you! You all have defeated my mother and saved the world."
Sasuke took a quick glance around and noticed that they were standing inside a giant summoning circle with a bunch of people standing on the outside. The previous Hokage's included. Hagoromo gave us all a moment to take in our surroundings before continuing, "You all have been summoned back to your world. I enlisted the help of all the previous Five Kage."
I tilted my head to the side as I stared at the Sage of Six Paths and thought, so this is the Sage Otsutsuki Hagoromo? Looks just as I remembered him. His presence is incredible. The amount of power he wields must be amazing. Hagoromo took note of my inspection of him and chuckled. "You must be Karasuma Izaya."
I slightly flinched at his comment knowing that he probably caught me inspecting him and quickly replied, "Yes, I am Izaya. It's a pleasure and an honor to meet you Lord Sage."
He nodded his head in approval. "Mn. I am Otsutsuki Hagoromo. Also known as the Sage of Six Paths. And the pleasure and honor is mine Izaya-kun. I have been watching the passing of time in this world for a long while. I am most impressed by you. You have a strong will, a compassionate heart, an intelligent mind, and assertive voice, a talent with words, contain great wisdom, a powerful leader, and have managed to successfully guide everyone to defeat my mother Kaguya. You were also able to save Indra's reincarnation from a path of darkness and Asura's reincarnation from a road of hatred."
I simply shook my head. "You overpraise me Lord Sage."
Hagoromo simply chuckled. "Hahaha! And it appears you are quite humble as well. Anyways, once again congratulations to you all."
At this moment Naruto left to go excitedly speak to Kurama causing Kurama to flush embarrassedly. Hagoromo continued to simply chuckle at the sight. At that moment Sasuke and I saw the First Hokage Hashirama walk towards a body on the ground. I raised my eyebrow in surprise as I took note of who it was.
"Madara? I nearly forgot about him."
Just as Sasuke was about to move towards Madara, Hagoromo spread out his arms to stop him and said, "Madara had all the Tailed Beasts extracted from him. He won't last much longer. Take a good look at the end of your predecessors. You should watch closely."
As Madara laid on the ground completely drained of strength he heard footsteps slowly approach him. "Hashirama? Is that you?"
Hashirama knelt down by Madara's dying body and responded, "Mn. It's me."
Madara curled his lips in a bit of self mockery as he said, "I guess neither you nor I could achieve what we wanted."
Hashirama shook his head. "It's never that easy. We can only do all we can while we are still alive. And everything and anything that we couldn't accomplish in our lifetime we pass on to the future generations."
Madara smirked. "Heh. So naive. As always. But you were always like that. An optimist. But perhaps...That is the correct path. My dream was crushed. But your dream lives on."
Hashirama stared down at Madara sadly as he listened and replied, "You and I were too hasty. We didn't need to fulfill our dreams ourselves. Instead, it was more important to guide and teach those who came after us so that we could entrust them with our dreams."
"Then I would have failed anyways. Since I always hated having someone stand behind my back."
Hashirama smiled a bit. "When we were kids. You once said to me that because we are shinobi we don't know when we'll die. And for neither side to die we'd both have to reveal what's inside of us and pour each other drinks to toast like brothers. But we're both about to die. We can drink together as old war buddies."
Madara smirked as he slowly closed his eyes. "War buddies huh? Well...I suppose that's not...So bad…"
Hashirama let out a sad sigh as he watched Madara breathe his last breath and enter the afterlife. Hagoromo nodded in approval and said, "This is the perfect moment. I shall release the Jutsu and free the previous Five Kages' as well as those still under the Reanimation."
It was at that moment that Naruto stared fondly and sadly at Minato. Kurama put on a soft expression as he said, "Go."
Naruto nodded and dashed over to Minato.
I watched everything play-out from the side as Hagoromo began to undo his Jutsu and release those who still remained under the Reanimation such as Lord First, Second, and Lord Fourth. As Minato ascended to the Heavens the last words he said were, "Everyone! We leave the rest to you!"
Tobirama was the next to disappear as he chimed in, "Big Brother, as the Fourth said. Let's leave the rest to the new generation."
Hashirama nodded as he looked over to where we were. "Naruto. Sasuke. Haku. Kimimaro. And...Er...Blindfolded shinobi."
I nearly fell over myself at Hashirama's last interjection in the end. Right. Lord First and Lord Second never officially met me. I scratched the side of my cheek awkwardly and said, "My name is Izaya. Karasuma Izaya. It's an honor to make your acquaintance Lord First."
Hashirama simply laughed embarrassedly. "Hahahaha! Right right! We haven't formally met so excuse my rudeness. Mn. Naruto. Sasuke. Haku. Kimimaro. And Izaya. We entrust the world to you all. I'm sure you all will find a different conclusion to the one that Madara and I had. No. In fact, you probably already have. Mn. I can go easily knowing the world is in good hands." Hashirama smiled goofily and happily as he finally disappeared in a flutter of bright lights.
All the Tailed Beasts rejoiced as Son Goku chimed in, "Finally we're free. I'm going back to Suirendo."
Kokuo quickly commented, "I'm going to go seclude myself in a forest."
Kurama turned to Gyuki and said, "Eight Tails, what are you going to do?"
Gyuki remained silent for a moment before responding, "I think...I'm going to return to Bee. I left a piece of my tail with him before we were separated. He should be around somewhere. His annoying rapping has ended up growing on me. Plus, he's not such a bad guy. So, what about you?"
Kurama remained silent for a moment and quickly side glanced at Naruto not knowing how he should respond. Hagoromo chimed in at that moment. "Naruto contains a piece of each of your chakras'. If you all need to discuss something you can meet inside the psyche plane within Naruto. Kurama, I'd like you to remain inside Naruto as the overseer of this gathering place. It's no longer a hardship for you anymore, right?"
Kurama sheepishly looked away and replied, "Well...If you say so old man. Then I guess I have no choice."
The other Tailed Beasts laughed as they began their banter once again. In the end Hagoromo interrupted, "Now there is only one thing left to do. To undo the Infinite Tsukuyomi. In order to accomplish this, Sasuke, with your Rinnegan, and Naruto, with the bits and pieces of all the Tailed Beasts chakra gathered inside of you, if you and Sasuke join together to form the Rat hand sign, the Infinite Tsukuyomi shall be released."
Kurama commented in surprise, "Eh? That's it? That's pretty simple then old man."
Naruto smiled and walked over to Sasuke as he held out his hand. Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment in silence before he closed his eyes and formed the Rat hand seal with Naruto. At the same time they both said, "Infinite Tsukuyomi, release!" The instant Sasuke and Naruto completed the seal the world shook and the large trees of the Divine: Deep Forest Emergence began to crumble away. All those trapped within the Infinite Tsukuyomi were slowly released back into the world of reality. I rejoiced as I felt my heart pound uncontrollably in my chest as the image of a single person clouded my mind.
Hanabi!
Instantly I activated the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and arrived by her side catching her small sleeping frame in my arms as she was falling down to the ground. Just as I landed I softly brushed the strands of hair that were covering her face to the side and gritted my teeth in anxiousness as I sensed that she still had some broken ribs. I watched the semi irregular movement of her chest from her breathing due to her broken ribs causing her pain. A single tear fell from my eyes and dripped down on her cheeks.
Hanabi felt a warm sensation fall on her cheeks prompting her to struggle to open her eyes, however, immediately she was glad that she put in the effort to take a peek because the first thing she was met with was Izaya's handsome face.
I watched Hanabi smirk and struggle to lift her hand as she softly caressed the side of my cheek wiping away the tear on my face. "I-Izaya." She softly whispered.
I frowned as feelings of frustration and anger directed at myself for not protecting Hanabi better welled up inside of me. I simply pulled her to my chest and held her as close to me as possible being extremely careful not to agitate her wounds any further. "I'm sorry. I should have come sooner!"
Hanabi smiled as she relished the warmth of our embrace and softly stroked the back of my head. "It's okay. I'm fine. Did we win?"
I simply nodded my head. "Mn…"
One Week Later
One week has passed since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, I contemplated as I sat atop the roof of my apartment building. Even though a week has passed, everything was left in disarray and chaos. The entire world's infrastructure was damaged due to all of the large tree branches from the Divine: Deep Forest Emergence erupting from the ground and tearing apart buildings and land structures. On top of that countless shinobi had died in the war. Many of those shinobi were mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and more. Many had families that weren't shinobi and many had families that were shinobi. Some lived, some didn't. The process to recollect the dead was hectic and unorganized. Even now not all of the bodies have been recovered. Kumogakure was without a leader for 5 days! The Fourth Raikage couldn't name a successor before his death. The Kumogakure council had finally decided on Darui as the Fifth Raikage. And although the Third Tsuchikage named Kurotsuchi as his successor before his death there was still the whole process of trying to publicly officiate her position. Add to the fact that she was still incredibly young. In fact she was only a year older than myself. Kirigakure wasn't incredibly stable even before the war and now it's in even more chaos. It's practically mayhem over there. Konoha isn't doing much better. Tsunade hasn't been able to properly fulfill her role as the Hokage and I don't blame her. She nearly died during the war and has suffered a lot already. I wouldn't be surprised if she's been traumatized by her near death experience. The stress of trying to deal with all the problems in the village and the outside world definitely doesn't help her situation.
The truth is Sunagakure is doing the best of all the villages. Mostly thanks to Gaara's ability to manage it, but even then they're just barely getting by. The world is in an absolute state of chaos. Each village's economy and resources has plummeted. The cost to fund the Fourth Great Ninja War wasn't cheap. Add the fact that trade routes are slow or have stopped completely. Travel roads need to be repaired, etc. I let out a deep sigh in frustration as I thought about all of the chaos going on. I took a quick peek at the sky and noted that it was about time for the next Jonin council meeting to start. I took one last gaze at the village below which was still in shambles and let out another sigh before dashing off to the Hokage's building where the Jonin council was being held.
Creak.
As I opened the door I was met with many familiar faces. Kakashi, Guy, Choji, Shikamaru, Neji, Sakura, Sasuke, Hanabi, Naruto, Kiba, Haku, Kimimaro, Lee, and many more. Essentially everyone who had graduated in our class had been promoted to Jonin nearly immediately after the war ended. The only ones who haven't officially been promoted to Jonin were Kimimaro, Naruto, and Hanabi. First, Hanabi was approximately two years younger than us and when the war began she never had the chance to take the Chunin exams therefore, she was essentially still a Genin. Naruto and Kimimaro also never had the chance to take the Chunin exams and therefore they were also technically still Genin. Only those who had been officially Chunin before the war were promoted to Jonin after the war which was practically everyone else, but Hanabi, Naruto, and Kimimaro were obviously allowed to join the Jonin council as they played pivotal roles during the war.
As I made my way inside the room I was warmly greeted by everyone. I stopped right before Hanabi and grabbed her hand in mine as I gave a light squeeze to reassure her that everything would be fine even though this was the fifth meeting we were having. All this time nothing had been improving since no plan of action was being implemented. Partly because Tsunade rarely made it to these meetings.
Hanabi simply smiled warmly at me, but I could see the worry in her eyes. We all waited for another ten minutes but Tsunade still hadn't shown up. By now we all had expected this. The two elders Koharu and Homura coughed as they said, "Ahem. Well...It appears that the Fifth Hokage is...occupied. Hence, we shall begin this Jonin council meeting to discuss the problems and issues we currently face. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas?"
Silence.
Complete silence filled the room as everyone struggled to think of something. This may be our fifth time meeting but no real solutions have actually ever been presented. And I don't blame anyone. Everyone in this room was still dealing with the trauma they experienced from the war. They all still needed time to grieve the friends, comrades, family, and loved ones they lost in the war. All this time I had been contemplating about the state of things as well. I took one glance over at Hanabi and noticed the anxiety in her eyes. The fear that things were only going to get worse from here on out. My heart ached seeing her like this. She hadn't got a moment of proper rest ever since we returned from the war. Having to deal with her clan. Then helping out the village. Dealing with the trauma she experienced during the war. I gritted my teeth and slowly brought her hand to my lips and kissed the back of her hand softly. My action startled her and immediately the fear and anxiety in her eyes washed away, replaced with an emotion of love and care and embarrassment.
I smiled. Yes. These are the expressions I'd rather see on her face. I then turned my attention back to the silent room of Jonin and said, "I have an idea." Immediately everyone turned their attention towards me.
Homura raised his eyebrows and responded, "Oh? Do share Izaya. Anything is better than nothing."
I simply nodded my head before continuing. "After these past seven days I've had some time to think clearly about everything. First, we need to layout what kind of problems the village is facing. Then we also need to define what kinds of issues the world is facing that might affect us immediately and slow our progress of rebuilding. Once we clearly understand the major issues plaguing the village and the rest of the world we can move forward with clear solutions."
Homura nodded and replied, "Yes. That seems reasonable. From what it sounds like you already have an idea of what these major issues are correct?" I nodded once more.
"Yes. Let me start with the village. The major issues we face include having a reliable and effective way to retrieve the still unrecovered bodies of our fallen comrades on the battlefield. Our military strength has dropped significantly and there is no order to it currently. Our police force also has no current structure and is not in place. The villagers have lost many of their loved ones in the war and wish to hold a memorial but there has been no answer from the village authorities. This is because the village is swamped with a host of other problems. They include trying to rebuild the foundations of our buildings, reestablishing trade routes, tending to the injured post-war, trying to stabilize and redistribute economic resources to the right places that need them, and calming public unrest and crime. These are the major issues the village faces. As for worldly problems, there's a tension between all the Five Great Nations due to a lack of communication post-war since every nation is occupied with trying to solve their own problems. This could lead to an outbreak of war. One nation might see the need to raid another village in desperation for acquiring more resources to help rebuild their own village. Also, international trade routes need to be reestablished. Not only that the Five Daimyo want to hold an award ceremony to honor the shinobi that fought in the Fourth Great Ninja War, however their timing is terrible and they can't read the status quo that none of the Five Great Nations wish to participate, at least not yet as there hasn't even been time to hold a proper memorial for those that have fallen. And people need at least a month's time to grieve and mourn. These are some of the major outside village issues we are facing."
Everyone in the room widened their eyes in surprise and shock at the revelation that the issues the village was facing may be much worse than they had anticipated. They all knew that the village was in dire straits but after hearing what issues the village was actually facing they all realized that they weren't taking it seriously enough.
Koharu nodded at my assessment of the problems and said, "Then do you have any proposals for how to solve these issues?"
I thought for a moment before nodding. "I do. With the matter of infrastructure, if Yamato and I work together we can restore at least 70% of the destroyed buildings in a week, perhaps even less. To ensure the Five Great Nations don't resort to war for a scramble of resources I suggest we send diplomatic envoys to each nation and offer any form of assistance we can afford. This will help us keep friendly ties and show that we have not abandoned one another even after the war. This will also help us remain informed of the state and progress of each village. And although our military strength has drastically dropped after the war I suggest sending out one-third of our man-power to search and recover the rest of the bodies of our fallen comrades across the battlefields. Once all bodies have been recovered the village should hold an official memorial service to those who have given their life in the war. Once all villages have held their own memorial service we should collaborate with all the nations and hold one great memorial service together to show that the Allied Shinobi Force lives on and that the Five Great Nations will continue to work together towards a path of peace. Then we give at least a month's time for mourning. Then and only then can we and the other nations agree to the Daimyo's proposal to hold an award ceremony for all Five Great Nations."
At that moment Homura and Koharu turned to stare at each other before they came to a silent tacit agreement and said, "Karasuma Izaya, step forth."
I slightly flinched and wondered if my suggestions weren't good enough but obeyed anyways and quickly stepped out in front of everyone. What confused me was that Koharu and Homura were smiling as they said, "Karasuma Izaya, we have decided. You shall be named as the 6th Hokage!"
I widened my eyes in complete shock at what I just heard. "Wh-What?!" I exclaimed.
The two elders resumed their emotionless facial expressions and said, "You heard. We have decided that you are the only one suitable to take up the mantle of Hokage."
I furrowed my brow as I responded, "This is out of order. The 5th Hokage, Tsunade is still alive and well. Discussing who should be the next Hokage when the current Hokage isn't present is unorthodox and disrespectful."
The two elders simply shook their head in disagreement as they continued, "I think not. I speak to the Jonin council and ask that you all bear witness. Do any of you object to naming Karasuma Izaya as the 6th Hokage?"
Silence.
Complete silence as no one voiced their dissent. I furrowed my brow in confusion as I turned around to face all the Jonin in the room and saw the complicated and conflicted looks on their faces.
Koharu nodded and said, "As you can see Izaya, no one here objects." She then pulled out a letter to which Hanabi widened her eyes in surprise and shock. She suddenly remembered that the letter in Koharu's hands were very familiar looking and recalled where she had seen it before. Back during the war, right after Izaya had left to resume his mission to find Kabuto she had walked into the tent of HQ and saw Tsunade writing a letter before sending it off with a bird.
Koharu unfurled the letter and said, "This is a letter written by the 5th Hokage Tsunade during the war containing her will. In this letter she states that should anything happen to her she names Karasuma Izaya as the 6th Hokage. The 3rd Hokage Hiruzen has also signed his name in this letter endorsing Tsunade's decision. Although Tsunade survived the war it has taken its toll on her. It has caused her great stress and is interfering with her ability to properly manage the village as the Hokage. In this time of great turmoil and confusion the village needs a strong Hokage with good reasoning and a powerful voice who can make fast and adequate decisions to help stabilize and rebuild the village. Izaya, while you are very young and will be the youngest Hokage in history, you have earnt enough merit and reputation in the world of shinobi to be qualified for the position of Hokage. As you can see, none of the Jonin in the room have voiced any objections or dissent which means they would endorse you as the 6th Hokage."
I frowned and tried to formulate my thoughts into words.
Sakura furrowed her brow as she recalled how Tsunade has been this past week. She recalled how Tsunade had gotten drunk to the point where she couldn't stand on her own. She recalled how Tsunade grumbled, complained, and cried over the death of Jiraiya and her unexpected meeting with Dan. She recalled Tsunade's pained expression when she spoke of how she was so ready to die and resolved to sacrifice herself for Naruto, but in the end she ended up living. She recalled how Tsunade spoke in anguish of how she had to live with the fact that she had to choose to give up saving the life of her sensei, Hiruzen, for Naruto's during the war. She recalled how stressed Tsunade was at having to deal with all the issues and problems of the village and the world and fulfill her duties as Hokage after the war. She recalled how useless Tsunade said she felt as the Hokage for being unable to come up with any solutions and being unable to overcome her current mental situation. After remembering all of that Sakura steeled her resolve and spoke up.
"I support the decision of naming Izaya as the 6th Hokage. Lady Tsunade has already done enough for the village as Hokage. She took over the village after Orochimaru's attack. She maintained the stability of the village while having to keep Danzo's organization Root at bay in the shadows and simultaneously deal with the Akatsuki in the daylight. Then she had to bear the burden of leading the village into the 4th Great Ninja War. A war that nearly took her life. Lady Tsunade deserves to live a more relaxed life now."
Everyone contemplated everything that had been said this far and silently nodded in agreement.
Ino turned to Sakura and said, "I support the decision to name Izaya as Hokage, but is the timing really okay? I mean, we are in a state of chaos and turmoil. Wouldn't it be an odd transition?"
At that moment the door swung open revealing Tsunade's disheveled form leaning against the doorframe with Shizune close behind her. Everyone in the room quickly turned and panickingly and respectfully greeted Tsunade, however she simply smirked and said, "I consent to naming Izaya as the 6th Hokage!"
"EHHH?!" Everyone in the room questioned aloud at Tsunade's unexpected words. Tsunade smiled and continued, "What everyone has said so far is true. I need time to recover my mental health. In my current state I can't adequately govern the village. Plus, Izaya, you are more than ready to take up the mantle as Hokage. After witnessing your abilities first hand on the battlefield I had already decided at that time to confer to you the title as the 6th."
Hanabi turned to me and walked over gripping my hand softly and squeezed gently in a reassuring manner. She then looked up at me lovingly and nodded. I sighed internally and calmed my emotions at Hanabi's actions and looked over the room once more seeing that no one voiced any objections. Then, with a serious look on my face I walked over to Tsunade and knelt before her. "Lord 5th! If you would have me...then I humbly accept the responsibility of carrying on the Will of Fire as the 6th Hokage!"
Tsunade looked down at me and smiled in relief as she felt a large weight being lifted off her shoulders. Just as I stood back up to face all the Jonin in the room I was met by everyone saluting me as they all said, "We greet Lord 6th Hokage!" Before I could say anything Tsunade chimed in, "Izaya. Just accept their greeting. Although your anointing as the 6th Hokage hasn't been made public to the rest of the village yet and no ceremony was held, the fact that you were appointed as the 6th Hokage in front of all the Jonin in the village is pretty much official enough. From this moment on, you will take up office as the Hokage. I will focus on recovering my mental health. That means that starting from this instant you will be performing all the duties given to that of the Hokage. I'm sure the two elders Homura and Koharu can fill you in on the details. Shizune can drop by sometime this week as well to help get you started. I will formally introduce you as the 6th Hokage next week to the public. Good luck! Oh, and congratulations!"
Tsunade smiled and waltzed off swaying and stumbling but continued on with the aid of Shizune. It wasn't long before the Jonin meeting was temporarily halted so Koharu and Homura could fill me in on the details of what the duties a Hokage had to perform were. It wasn't until after midnight that I was set free from all the information that the two elders wanted to pass on to me. I yawned as I tiredly waltzed into my apartment building. Luckily my apartment building was one of the few buildings that managed to survive the damages of the war.
As I got ready for bed I noticed a presence just outside my door.
"Hanabi?" I whispered.
I waltzed over to the door and opened it to find Hanabi standing there ever so beautifully as the moonlight reflected off of her beautiful eyes and body. She laced our fingers together and dragged me over to the bed as we both laid down in comfortable silence. Completely exhausted it didn't take long before I entered a deep slumber with Hanabi in my arms. Hanabi snuggled close to my chest as she heard me whisper in my sleep, "Han-abi…"
Hanabi felt her heart warm as she looked up from my chest and at my dashingly handsome face and softly, she brought her lips to my own kissing them ever so gently.
"I love you." She whispered softly before sleep soon overtook her as well.
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