"Ehhhh….??????" Naruto stared at Minato with his mouth wide open.
"Oh, that's a great idea," everyone in the room agreed.
Hashirama and Tobirama, in particular, turned towards Orochimaru,
"…" Orochimaru was silent for a few seconds.
"I won't do anything to interfere," Orochimaru said following which he looked towards Naruto.
"Good for you, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said with a hint of smile…
("Back to that same, strange smiling expression I see…") Naruto thought.
Naruto was pissed at Orochimaru before; however, after hearing such good news from his dad, Naruto was more than happy to let things slide.
"I like that idea, in fact, I will stay back as well,"
"How about you, brother?" Hashirama asked.
"I will stay back too," Tobirama said emotionlessly.
"That's great!" Hashirama said after a burst of hearty laughter.
However, everyone else in the room was surprised.
"You both are staying back as well?" Hiruzen asked.
"Don't get this wrong, but we will be staying back only till the end of the fourth ninja world war after all this problem was caused by Madara though it was actually the mother of the Sage of six-paths behind everything."
"So We have decided to use this opportunity to train those young ones for the upcoming battle especially for the ones after the war," Hashirama said.
"Grandpa…" Tsunade was elated to have Hashirama staying back in the village along with his brother.
"Naruto…"
"No, Hokage-dono." Rasa arrived beside Naruto.
"Thank you for saving my life the other day, and thank you for being a wonderful friend to my children…" Rasa bowed towards Naruto.
"NO!" Naruto immediately prevented Rasa from bowing towards him.
"It's a great honor to have a friend like Gaara, and I am proud of it," Naruto said.
"Then allow me to say this,"
"In this lifetime, The Sand shall forever remain the Leaf's ally till destruction do our villages apart!"
"This, I swear in the presence of all the Six Hokages," Rasa swore an Oath.
Everyone in the room was happy at this moment,
"Orochimaru!" Hiruzen called out.
"Hmm…?" Orochimaru turned towards Hiruzen.
"After seeing your actions during the fourth ninja war and the years after it, I have decided to let the matter be, even if you deserve death for using your subordinate's lives," Hiruzen said.
"However, I will never forgive you for toying with everyone's life in this timeline and the previous," Hiruzen said.
"I never expected anything, to begin with anyway…" Orochimaru replied with a faint smile.
"Jiraiya!" Hiruzen called out.
"Mm?" Jiraiya looked towards Hiruzen.
"Bring Kakashi, Gai and that boy Kabuto here."
"Especially Kabuto!"
"As long as we prevent him from doing anything, there will be 'no' reincarnated army for the war," Hiruzen explained.
"Got it!" Jiraiya walked towards the door.
(Knock!)
(Knock!)
(Knock!)
Someone had knocked on the door at this moment.
Jiraiya opened the door revealing two young boys.
"Sasuke and…"
"Jūgo!" Naruto pointed a finger at the orange-haired boy who stood next to Sasuke.
("Looks like he was acquainted with Jūgo in the future…") Sasuke thought following which his gaze shifted to the figures in front of him while he stared in silence.
("What is this feeling I am getting…") Sasuke thought as his eyes landed on Minato after a moment.
The feeling was intensified as he concentrated his gaze on that yellow hair of Minato's.
"hehe…" Minato smiled towards Sasuke.
"Sasuke,"
"What brings you here?" Hiruzen asked from the back.
"Hokage-sama,"
"I need a favor," Sasuke said in his usual arrogant voice.
"Hmm…" Hiruzen looked towards the boy who stood next to Sasuke.
"I see you've met Jūgo, Sasuke-kun…" Orochimaru smiled towards Sasuke.
"Orochimaru," Sasuke stared at Orochimaru with an arrogant gaze.
After taking a look at Naruto's memories, Orochimaru did not feel the desire towards Sasuke's body anymore, but he rather admired the future Sasuke. However, after seeing this Sasuke, he only felt pity especially after seeing Naruto's memories till the present including the time Naruto confronted Sasuke after arriving at this world, he knew that Sasuke could be dyed in any color easily, as he was swayed by emotions, not to mention the current Sasuke was unaware of the Uchiha's sad past.
Tobirama also had the same impression of Sasuke.
("That Danzō, I never knew he would stoop low,")
("The Uchiha clan was a lost cause, but they still had the potential for better things…") Tobirama sighed following which he looked towards Hiruzen.
("After that brat leaves, I will address this issue as a number one priority.")
("So that's Uchiha Sasuke… huh?") Hashirama thought of the future Sasuke who would protect the village as he roamed the world.
("To think this kid who will become such a splendid ninja, was dragged down by my brother's subordinate, Danzō…") Hashirama looked towards Tobirama, with a look that explained that he wanted to have a talk with Sasuke.
Tobirama immediately shook his head, denying Hashirama of the conversation he wanted to have.
("Well, we do have a lot of time on our hands, so I suppose we can have that conversation later as well…") Hashirama thought.
Meanwhile, Sasuke kept staring at Orochimaru.
"Don't Worry Sasuke-kun; I am not after your body anymore…"
"You could say I am an ally of the leaf now," Orochimaru said.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called out.
"…" Sasuke looked towards Naruto.
Naruto nodded indicating that Sasuke could trust Orochimaru's words.
Jiraiya knew that from now on there was nothing to worry about, after hearing Orochimaru's words.
Jiraiya then walked out of the room to bring the trio that were mentioned.
"What request might you have, Sasuke?" Hiruzen asked.
"I want to know if this boy can live in the village,"
"If you are worried about housing, then he can live in my house," Sasuke said.
"Sasuke, considering your earlier participation in the top-secret S-rank mission, I will give you the reward and fulfill this request of yours," Hiruzen said.
"Mm!" Sasuke nodded following which he turned around to face Jūgo.
"Let's go!" Sasuke said.
"Mm!" Jūgo nodded as he walked along with Sasuke…
*Door Closes*
Hiruzen looked towards Naruto,
"Naruto, from what we have seen earlier, would you like to share your memories with Shikamaru and Sasuke?" Hiruzen asked.
Naruto thought for a moment.
"For now, I want Shikamaru to enjoy his life as much as possible since it would be too early to burden him or Sasuke with any events after the fourth ninja world war…" Naruto said.
"I see, even if Shikamaru were to be told, the real problem would be Sasuke…" Hiruzen murmured.
"More than Sasuke, aren't we supposed to be concerned about another person?" Tobirama asked.
Hiruzen felt a headache on its way.
He walked towards the window and pulled out a smoke pipe from his pocket.
*Lights up smoke pipe*
Hiruzen inhaled from the smoke pipe and let out a puff of smoke, as he stared out the window towards the Hokage mountain faces…
Tobirama and Hashirama also walked towards the window and took an in-depth look at the developments that took place in the village over the years and slowly compared it with the images they had from naruto's memory.
("The tiny village that I had built...,")
("The village that exists now, would develop to such an extent…") Hashirama stared at the village as he compared it to the village he had seen in Naruto's memories.
("He wasn't kidding when he said that developments during his time was a hundred times the current pace.")
The trio then looked towards the Hokage mountains.
They visualized seeing the nine Hokage faces, especially the sixth Hokage's face.
("To think he would go after the Hokage seat without any reservation…") the two thought of Kakashi's position as the sixth Hokage which was, in fact, a temporary position that Danzō was in when Tsunade had passed out.
"It's a good thing that my granddaughter recovered just in the nick of time, however, the boy Kakashi was not bad at all,"
"I agree!" Tsunade appeared beside Hashirama.
"To receive such good praise from the Raikage after Danzō's despicable actions…"
"The sixth does deserve his title," Hashirama said.
Tobirama's thoughts revolved around Sasuke's battle in the Five Kage conference and how he killed Danzō later on, only to find out the truth behind his brother's death from Obito.
"I may not have favored the Uchihas,"
"However, Danzō forcing a boy of such caliber to commit a mass genocide all by himself is something I would never approve,"
"Even more despicable is the fact that he had those eyes on his right hand and the boy Shisui's eyes in place of his right eye…" Tobirama commented.
"Hm…." Hiruzen turned towards Orochimaru.
"…" Orochimaru stared back at the three.
"I may have helped him with that, but the fact remains that both our jutsus, be it my resurrection through curse marks after being killed or the Izanagi are flawed!"
"If you want to blame a person, then blame him alone," Orochimaru said.
"I guess Orochimaru does have a point…" Hashirama said.
Hiruzen had complex thoughts as he compared the younger Danzō that was always a step behind him, to the willy old fox he was now.
"About him…" Naruto interrupted.
However…
(knock!)
(Knock!)
(Knock!)
"Come in," Hiruzen said.
The door opened to reveal an old man with shaggy black hair, a bandaged right eye with a cross mark on his chin. He stood with a walking stick in his left hand while his right arm was covered with a black robe from his feet up to the right shoulder.
("Danzō!") Everyone stared at him.
Orochimaru, however, had an evil smile.
He stared at Danzō as though a prey had entered the lion's den, for he knew that even though he fucked up before, the Danzō before everyone now was a god class fuck-up.
Chapter 2/7 for the week!
As Usual
comments, power stones, reviews, and likes.
Peace ✌️
(knock!)
(Knock!)
(Knock!)
"Come in," Hiruzen said.
The door opened to reveal an old man with shaggy black hair, a bandaged right eye with a cross mark on his chin. He stood with a walking stick in his left hand while his right arm was covered with a black robe from his feet up to the right shoulder.
("Danzō!") Everyone stared at him.
Orochimaru, however, had an evil smile.
("It's Danzō huh…?") Naruto frowned.
"Lord First,"
"Lord Second,"
"I am most happy to see you two," Danzō bowed a bit towards the duo.
("The current Danzō is only worthy of the crime of forcing Itachi to murder his family,")
("As for the crime against Yahiko from the hidden rain, at that point, I think Danzō was taking a logical point as an emissary of darkness by preventing any alliance between ninja nations that might be detrimental towards the leaf village…") Tobirama thought.
"Danzō, What are you doing here?" Hiruzen asked.
The reason Hiruzen remained calm was because he had already lived with the truth for all these years, ever since Itachi massacred his clan and left the village.
"I'm just here to pay my respects to our dear first and second,"
"I hurried my way over after hearing the news of their revival," Danzō said.
"I see…" Hiruzen did not want to comment any further on the topic.
("Now is not the right time to deal with him since there are many plans we have to come up with considering that he has taken precautions for dealing with almost anything...") Tobirama thought.
"Danzō, Why don't you wait outside for a bit?"
"We have an important meeting here," Tobirama said.
"Okay,"
"I shall be waiting outside then,"
Danzō turned to face the door and started walking away with his walking stick.
*Door closes*
Everyone in the room continued to stare at the door for a few more moments before they finally looked away.
"Naruto, you were saying…?" Tsunade reminded.
"Oh Yeah,"
"About the old man, We should be cautious, since he possesses the Kotoamtsukami" Naruto warned.
"You may be right Naruto, but how long do we wait before we can afford to deal with him?" Tobirama asked.
"I have a certain person in mind; however, I am not sure how he would respond…" Naruto said.
"Uchiha Itachi, right?" Hiruzen asked.
"Mm!" Naruto nodded.
"Naruto, I must ask you to stop thinking of relying on such plan," Hiruzen warned.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"Itachi is currently providing me with intel on Akatsuki and their plans,"
"Akatsuki usually roam around in pairs of two,"
"Even if Itachi came here, he would be followed by his partner as well,"
"At that time, if you still expect him to help, he would betraying Akatsuki's trust as a whole," Hiruzen said.
Naruto walked towards Hiruzen.
"I understand,"
"However, I want to meet with Itachi at any cost,"
"Can you please arrange for that to happen?" Naruto asked.
Hiruzen thought for a bit,
"I will send a request on your behalf to Itachi, however, meeting you or not will be entirely up to him," Hiruzen said.
"Doesn't matter!"
"As long as it can help me have a conversation with him face to face," Naruto said.
"Okay,"
"I'll let you know when Itachi contacts," Hiruzen said.
"Thanks, Old Man!" Naruto said.
"Mm!" Hiruzen nodded, following which he turned towards Tobirama.
"How do you plan to handle this now?" Hiruzen asked.
"I'll have Danzō handover the ANBU units under his command and take over his Root HQ," Tobirama said.
"…"
"Are you sure he will willingly hand it over?" Hiruzen asked.
"Well, It's better than just telling him to disband everything he had worked from the ground up," Tobirama said.
"What do you think?"
"Brother?" Tobirama asked.
"We can give it a try I suppose…"
"However, there is one problem," Hashirama said.
"What is it?" Tobirama asked.
"How do you plan to ask him?"
"There must be a reason right?"
"I mean, surely you can't just ask him to hand over something he has worked hard on for many years without a logical explanation unless you plan to tell him about his wrongdoings that would happen in the future," Hashirama said.
"Hmm…." Tobirama thought deeply.
"What is it?" Hashirama asked.
"It's not that I did not think about that in the first place, after all, I did have some plan in mind," Tobirama said.
"Which is?" Hashirama asked.
"Having the Root come to the surface as the new Police force," Tobirama said.
Naruto was shocked.
("Will establishing the police force trigger Sasuke's emotions?") Naruto thought.
"Lord second!" Minato called out.
"Hmm…?" Tobirama looked towards Minato.
"Regarding the police force, I don't think it is such a good idea…" Minato said with an awkward smile.
"Why do you say so?" Tobirama asked.
"Minato's correct, ever since the Uchiha massacre incidence the village has been living without the police force and so far it has been doing well,"
"And there is also that issue from the nine tails attack," Hiruzen said.
"Mm!" Naruto also nodded in agreement.
"Then, there's only one option left!" Tobirama said.
"What is that?" Hiruzen asked.
"That is to absorb the remnants of the root into the regular ANBU units while having the younger ones in the root, start as genins," Tobirama said.
"That idea will still bring us back to square one," Naruto said.
"True,"
"To explain the problem to Danzō…" Tobirama murmured.
"Like I said, Why don't we leave this matter until I meet up with Itachi?"
"I am sure he can help me out by providing some tips,"
"After all, who better knows about the Izanagi and Shisui's Eyes?" Naruto suggested.
"Mm!" Hiruzen nodded in agreement.
"If you are worried about the Izanagi, Why not let the First handle it?"
"After all, the Sharingans on his right arm are held together by your cells," Orochimaru suggested.
Naruto wanted to laugh so badly after hearing Orochimaru's line, which reminded him of a terrible joke Shikamaru came up with when they had a late night drinking party.
'everyone wants a piece of the first's wood.'
However, it was not the time to joke about it now, as they were talking about Danzō.
"You are right!" Hashirama laughed out loud as he complimented Orochimaru's idea.
"Are you an idiot?" Tobirama asked.
"Huh…?" Hashirama looked at Tobirama.
"The Kotoamtsukami problem still remains," Tobirama said.
"Ah!"
"You're right as well," Hashirama felt like cold water poured over the fire.
"So, as I suggested, it would be the best to push this until Itachi pitches in some ideas, besides I think that Sasuke should be the one to deal with Danzō,"
"I hate people killing each other, but Sasuke will at least clear up his pent-up emotions over the matter," Naruto said.
Everyone agreed to Naruto's suggestion, except Tobirama.
"What if he kills Danzō again?" Tobirama asked.
"Don't worry; I intend to have Danzō achieve his life long dream,"
"To put his life on the line for the Hidden Leaf Village," Naruto said with a hint of anger.
"Naruto…" Tsunade stared at him with concern.
("What is the seventh thinking?")
("Is he going to manipulate Danzō….?") Tobirama thought
———————————
Jiraiya climbed up the stairs with Kakashi, Gai, and Kabuto who silently followed from the back.
"Hmm…?" Jiraiya looked up.
*Sounds of footsteps along with a walking stick*
Danzō appeared within the trio's view as he descended the stairs.
"Jiraiya," Danzō stopped at the staircase to take a look at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya, however, felt a bit complicated upon facing Danzō.
He may have joked about how the elders were running the village in the past, especially Danzō; however, after seeing Danzō in Naruto's memories, He no longer had such respect.
Jiraiya acknowledged Danzō's presence and continued to climb up.
Kakashi, however, noticed the change in the situation in that slight second.
("Looks like this meeting might have something to do with Danzō,") Kakashi thought.
Meanwhile…
Gai bowed down as he greeted Danzō with his utmost respect.
However, Danzō completely ignored it and continued to descend the staircase.
"Let's Go…" Kakashi pulled Gai up the stairs as he followed behind Jiraiya.
(Knock!)
(Knock!)
(Knock!)
"Come in!" Hiruzen said.
*Door opens*
Jiraiya, Kakashi, Gai, and Kabuto entered the room.
Hiruzen looked towards Naruto,
"Before we continue, should I call Shikaku over?" Hiruzen asked.
Naruto felt a bit uncomfortable after all Jiraiya had accepted his death, but he was alone, to begin with since he had no blood ties; however, Shikaku had his family.
Shikamaru his son, Yoshino-san - Shikaku's wife and not to mention his entire clan which he was currently in charge of.
Hiruzen also understood; however, what the future held for them was not something that could be avoided.
"Naruto, Shikaku is intelligent enough to understand this kind of problem,"
"So don't worry about the little things," Hiruzen said.
Naruto thought for a bit…
"Let's bring Shikaku-san in," Naruto said.
"Good!" Everyone else nodded.
Soon Shikaku also arrived, and the next round of meeting began.
Chapter 3/7 for the week!
As Usual
comments, power stones, reviews, and likes.
Peace ✌️