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A/N:
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Question: what next character? the 5 kage?
Question: Should Itachi have awakened Mangekyo during the time-skip?
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Name: Asuma Sarutobi
Title: The Fire Guardian
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Age: 23 (when Naruto was 7)
Mastered Natures: Fire, Wind
Nature Affinity: Wind
Kekkei Genkai: N/A
Level: Jonin
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LET THE CHAPTER BEGIN
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The valley between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost crackled with tension, the air heavy with the threat of battle.
Hiruzen stood tall, his staff in hand, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Before him, three of the most powerful Kage from rival villages stood like titans, each radiating a different kind of power.
The air was thick with tension as the battle raged around them, the sounds of distant skirmishes filling the air. But here, in the heart of the battlefield, it was a deadly silence.
Hiruzen's eyes darted between the three Kage, reading their every movement, every twitch of muscle. He knew he was outmatched in raw power, but that didn't mean he was defeated. Not yet.
"You can still surrender, Hiruzen," Onoki, the Tsuchikage, said with a sneer. "You're no match for us three."
Ay, the Raikage, cracked his knuckles, lightning crackling around his body. "I'll crush you before you even get the chance to surrender."
Rasa remained silent, his face impassive, but the golden sand swirling around him said more than words ever could.
Hiruzen's grip on his staff tightened. "I see there's no point in talking."
In an instant, Ay launched himself forward, his speed blurring him from view. Hiruzen's eyes widened, barely keeping pace with the Raikage's blinding speed.
But his decades of experience kicked in, and he raised his staff just in time to block Ay's thunderous punch. The force of the impact sent a shockwave through the ground, cracking the earth beneath them.
Ay didn't relent, following up with a barrage of strikes, each faster and more powerful than the last. Hiruzen weaved between the blows, deflecting with his staff, but the sheer force behind Ay's attacks kept pushing him back.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" Hiruzen slammed his hand onto the ground, raising a massive wall of earth to block Ay's relentless assault.
"Gold Dust Tsunami!" Rasa's voice rang out as a tidal wave of golden sand surged toward Hiruzen from the side, aiming to crush him while he was distracted.
The earth wall crumbled under the combined pressure of Ay's strikes and Rasa's golden sand. Hiruzen leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding being caught in the crushing forces from both sides. But just as he gained height, a shadow loomed over him.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Onoki's voice echoed ominously as the Tsuchikage formed a massive cube of energy in his hands, ready to disintegrate everything in its path. The cube expanded rapidly, aiming directly for Hiruzen.
With no time to waste, Hiruzen summoned his chakra in a burst of speed, landing on the ground in a roll just as the Dust Release annihilated the space, he had occupied moments before. The ground where he had stood dissolved into nothingness.
"You're slowing down, Hiruzen!" Onoki taunted, preparing another attack.
But Hiruzen wasn't out of tricks yet. He thrust his staff into the ground and began weaving hand signs at incredible speed. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A massive dragon-shaped stream of fire erupted from his mouth, roaring toward the three Kage. Rasa quickly moved his gold sand to shield himself and Onoki, while Ay dodged the flames with his Lightning Chakra Mode, appearing beside Hiruzen in an instant.
"You're finished!" Ay roared as he raised his lightning-coated fist, ready to smash Hiruzen into Onoki's next Dust Release attack, which was forming just behind him.
CRACK!
"Flash Step: Lightning Jet Kick"
A sudden, blinding flash of lightning collided with Ay's chest, sending him skidding back. The Raikage barely had time to register what had happened before he looked up in utter shock.
"Aki?!"
Standing between Ay and Hiruzen was a young man, crackling with lightning, his body enveloped in the same Lightning Chakra Mode that the Raikage himself wielded. Ay's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Aki…? How…?" Ay asked in disbelief, he had already assumed the worse i.e. Aki was killed by Konohagakure for possession of Byakugan.
"We thought we had lost you. Where were you? And why are you here?" Ay had too many questions to ask the newcomer.
Aki's entry on the battlefield had stunned the participants, battle had paused at that moment, even Onoki's dust release had missed and Rasa was looking confused 'why did they stop'
Aki's expression twisted in frustration. "Dead? Yeah, I should be, thanks to Danzo." He spat the name out like poison, his anger barely contained.
"After I escaped from Konoha, I was captured by him. He threw me into the ocean, and I spent two years just trying to survive. You couldn't find me because I was gone, Ay. But that didn't mean you had to start a war!"
'I still can't believe Danzo would use this method to dispose of me, he could have used something much better' Aki thought to himself.
The shock at Ay's face turned into fury as soon as he heard this. Hiruzen looked at Aki in disbelief at the revelation
'How could he do this' Hiruzen thought to himself. For the first time this Wiseman was doubting himself for trusting Danzo so much, 'And to think he would do this right after we rescued Aki.'
"How dare he!" Ay spat with unmistakable fury, "I'll kill Danzo if it's the last thing I do," calming himself he continued
"I had no idea. We searched for you everywhere. We thought Konoha had—"
Aki interrupted, his voice hardening. "They did. But not the way you think." He cast a quick glance toward Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen tried to bring me back. He wanted me to return to Konoha, to my so-called 'birthright' as a Hyuga. But that wasn't my choice. I escaped, only to fall into Danzo's trap."
Hiruzen's face tightened at the reminder of Aki's past, but he stayed silent, allowing Aki to speak.
Ay's face twisted in confusion, anger, and pain. "We… we fought for you, Aki. I thought Konoha had taken you from us, that they'd done something to you. That's why we—"
"You started a goddamn war!" Aki shouted, his voice breaking through Ay's words. "I was gone, and your response was to wage a war over me?"
The battlefield seemed to freeze, the other combatants pausing as the raw emotion in Aki's voice echoed across the clearing. Onoki and Rasa watched silently from the distance, momentarily forgotten in the charged exchange.
Ay was sweating, he could fight the entire world but a father is helpless against their children, even if he only raised them.
Hiruzen, sensing the weight of the conversation, finally spoke. His tone was calm but filled with deep sadness. "Aki, we searched for you too. When you escaped,
I tried to bring you back because I believed you still belonged with your people, with the Hyuga clan. I never wanted this war. Danzo's actions were his own, and I deeply regret what he did to you."
Aki's eyes flicked to Hiruzen with an icy gaze. "You regret it now? After years of silence? You knew what Danzo was capable of, and yet you let him run unchecked."
"You aren't much better, how could you present Hiashi as my father? If I was his son, Kumo would never successfully kidnap me."
"I…" Hiruzen wanted to say something by Aki interrupted him, "I know Hiashi isn't my father. I'm too handsome to be his son."
Chuckling at his own words Aki continued, "If you're sincere about the rescue at least find out who my real father is"
The accusation hit hard. Hiruzen's shoulders sagged slightly, the burden of leadership weighing heavier than ever. "I won't deny my failures, Aki. But I don't want this war. And I don't want you to be dragged into something that should have never happened."
Aki's jaw tightened. "I made my choice years ago, Hiruzen. I chose Kumogakure. Ay raised me, trained me. But that doesn't mean I wanted this war."
Ay's voice broke through again, rough and strained. "Aki… if I'd known… if I had any idea that you were still out there… I would've done anything to find you. This war was never meant to happen."
"Let's go back, I'll tell you everything that happened back at home," Aki said to Ay with a sigh, "Let's end this war right here."
Ay hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. His face showed a mixture of relief and sadness as if he knew deep down that things would never return to how they were before. "Alright, Aki. We'll stop. No more fighting."
The battlefield seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Onoki powered down his Dust Release, and Rasa lowered his guard, watching from a distance, still unsure of what exactly had transpired but knowing that the conflict had reached a sudden halt.
"Don't send anyone to rescue me again till you find my real father" Aki looked back at Hiruzen and spoke his mind.
Hiruzen nodded, understanding the request. "I'll do everything in my power to find the truth, Aki. You have my word."
With LCM (Lightning Chakra Mode) mastered, he was now confident enough to not only protect himself but also escape even if Hiruzen himself came after him.
With lightning crackling with his steps, Aki went to Ay, leaving the battlefield and Hiruzen soon did the same.
Onoki and Rasa also followed along after all if Hiruzen and Ay joined hands against them, they'd be finished.
Troops were soon called back to each of the villages. The one most confused about the situation was Yagura, who was still engaged in a fierce battle against the Toad sage but also retracted his forces.
'Damn I pulled a Shanks in the ninja world' Aki felt shocked on the way back at the ridiculousness of the situation—a battle ending after just a few words.
'And Author don't think I forgot you, you said you didn't want a thirteen years old Aki on the battlefield'