Bab 6: Chapter 5

Danzo Shimura listened to Kakashi's report. It was a real shame what he became. There was a time when the White Fang's son could've strived harder to be a better shinobi. Sheer tenacity, adaptive intellect, countless jutsu and a Sharingan; all the makings of a possible S-Rank Shinobi, yet he'd spend his time failing teams, failing himself to be a better ninja and failing the village by extension. Above all else, Danzo prided the shinobi of Konoha. He didn't like the fact how forgiving his village could be sometimes, but simply turning into a military state had no profits either. If that happened trade for the village would decrease and they couldn't have that. That said he didn't like the sense of liberty the Third Hokage had instilled in his forces, the effect remaining throughout the later generations.

Today was an example of that. The Kyūbi lost. The Uzumaki dead. The last Uchiha fled. All essential pieces for the future. Jiraiya was outside the room, hanging by the wall as he has done since he was a child, listening in closely. Perhaps the boy was in grief he could not mask.

"Is there anything else you wish to add, Hatake?" Koharu asked him.

"No, ma'am."

"The rest of the genin," Homura spoke, concern in his voice. "Are they mortally wounded?"

"Neji Hyuga, Choji Akimichi and Rock Lee are in serious condition," the jōnin told them. "However, they are out of danger as far as I've been told. They'll need time to recover."

Danzo narrowed his visible eye. "We all need time." All eyes were on him, Tsunade's especially. "We lost our Jinchūriki today. For the first time since the village was founded, we are truly defenseless. Should the other villages know…"

"He was more than just a Jinchūriki." Tsunade's voice was heavy and filled with wrath. "You should treat him more than just a weapon. He's dead. At least give him that much respect."

"I visited the Memorial Tablet," he continued. "I paid my respects. I do every time a shinobi of note dies. When the first Hokage died, I paid my respects. As I did when Lord Tobirama sacrificed himself. The Fourth sacrificed himself to seal off the Bijū and keep the village safe. Hiruzen died protecting the village from a rogue student. So yes, I paid my respects to the boy who tried to fulfill his duty to the village with his last breath. I moved on. We all have to."

"You-"

"Calm down, Princess Tsunade," Koharu spoke first. "Danzo speaks harshly, but he is telling the truth."

"He is." Homura took up his side as well. Rightfully so. "As of now, we're weaker than we've ever been. Sasuke Uchiha gone to Orochimaru. No doubt he'll tell the snake what he's done. If he leaks that information…"

Danzo leaned back into the comfort of his chair. Tsunade was bickering with the other two, sparing him a scathing glare every now and then. Why did she think he was the enemy? That he would harm Konoha? He loved the village more than her. Than anyone in that room. Than everyone in the village. He was ready to give the last full measure of devotion it would take to keeping the village safe and strong. The noise died when Jiraiya entered the room. The Toad Sage did not look the goof he usually was. To Danzo, he would always be that child who used to be tied to a post by Hiruzen. He was just bigger now. Although, he could say he definitely respected Jiraiya more than the other two Sannin. At least he didn't turn his back on the village when things didn't go their way. Even now here he was doing what was needed.

"Danzo Shimura is right." Jiraiya's words seemed to have a prominent effect as the table in front of the Hokage was turned into broken splinters.

"You can't be serious!" Tsunade's voice was strong, but on the verge of breaking. She gave away much more than she thought; Tobirama would no doubt be disappointed at his descendant. The girl was knee deep in grief from the boy's death. She was compromised. Not fit for her role. He expected the same from Jiraiya, but surprisingly he held more composure. Perhaps losing people he loved and trusted over the years had finally strengthened his heart. Those students he taught after the second war, the Fourth Hokage, Hiruzen. Conflict and loss made better men out of lesser ones. The child has grown.

"Naruto Uzumaki is dead." Jiraiya paused, shaking his head with eyes closed. "He wasn't prepared to fight Sasuke Uchiha, not in the state he was in. I'm sure the boy was tapping into the Cursed Mark and if he is as good as you say he is, Kakashi, he must've adapted to it far quicker than we thought. Killing a Jinchūriki no easy feat, especially one that happens to be an Uzumaki. He's dead, Tsunade. He's gone. There's nothing we can do about it."

"So what do you expect me to do? Just forget about him?!" This time Tsunade's eyes were teary. She was stricken right in the heart. "If you think-"

"I knew the boy longer than you, Tsunade," Jiraiya cut her off; he was angry. Danzo liked it. "He put his trust in me. I taught him the Rasengan. I saw him in the same way I saw Minato even though I didn't get to spend much time with him. If I'd known he was on this mission I'd have gone to aid him. Maybe he would've lived. I arrived here too late. I was supposed to take him on a trip with me. To train the boy. Believe me, I know how you feel. Nothing will change the loss we suffered today." That seemed to make Tsunade keep more composure. He looked at Kakashi, the brat didn't hide the resentment in his eyes. "You couldn't find his body? His headband? Anything?"

"Not a trace of him. Except a few torn bits of muscle tissue scattered about…and blood. Lots of it." Kakashi's voice heavy. It reminded him of the time when he tried to make the boy join ROOT. Again, such wasted potential. "I trust my nose, and my summons. If someone else was there or moved his body, I would've known. His scent ended there. Pakkun and I were in tail as the rest of the ANBU units went to pick up the rest of those in the retrieval squad. One moment I could smell them both, then Sasuke's smell was getting fainter. I got the hint of iron. Tons of it. Then I felt a massive explosion take place in the trail ahead. I saw red flashes of chakra being shot into the sky. I could only guess that Naruto…"

"His body released all the chakra," Danzo offered his two cents. He'd seen this before. "When a Jinchūriki is killed, an explosion of chakra usually follows. At the end of the day the Bijū are raw masses of chakra given form. The moment its host dies they seek rebirth. It has to assimilate itself and proceeds to bombard its way out of its vessel's lifeless body. I'm guessing the moment Genin Naruto Uzumaki died, the Kyūbi's chakra became too volatile and resulted in the destruction at Valley of the End. Though, it might take years before it fully forms again. The Nine-Tails has the most chakra out of them all, it's only natural it will take more time."

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