## Mount Myoboku ##
Mount Myoboku, also known as the "Mountain of Bewilderment", is the sacred place of the land of toads, the place where all the toads that Minato and Jiraiya have summoned live. It is home for huge and small toads alike. Mount Myoboku is a rich and beautiful land, whose ultimate authority seems to be the Great Toad Sage. Shima and Fukasaku are both elders and sages, and they seem to have an even higher authority than Gamabunta himself.
Gamamaru, more commonly known as the Great Toad Sage, is the oldest and most respected toad of all the inhabitants of Mount Myoboku. It is said that he has watched over the home of toads since the very beginning. Because of his age, the other toads affectionately call him Great Honorable Geezer.
"The prophecy is coming to pass" Gamamaru said out loud, startling Fukasaku.
"The prophecy?" Fukasaku asked in confirmation and Gamamaru nodded. "But we had no news about the child of the prophecy. Is it Minato-chan?" Fukasaku asked.
"A mischievous blue-eyed boy will unite the tailed beasts and change the world" Gamamaru recited. "I can sense it. Half of this prophecy has already been fulfilled. Now there is only the last piece missing" Gamamaru smiled.
"But who? Who is the child of the prophecy?" Fukasaku asked in exasperation.
"The heir of my only summoner" Gamamaru replied with a crooked smile, taking pleasure in Fukasaku's confused face.
## Konoha – Few Days Before ##
"This is bullshit"
Naruto couldn't believe his eyes when he, Hinata, Shikamaru, Tenten, Lee and the dragons arrived at the gates of Konoha. What prompted such response out of him you ask? Well, the simple fact that the village was smoking and there were repairs ongoing almost everywhere. "We leave the village for a couple of weeks and this happens" Naruto shook his head as everyone entered the gates and were greeted by Izumo and Kotetsu.
"It's good to see you have arrived Naruto" Izumo said and couldn't but sigh in relief.
"What happened here?" Hinata asked softly. The rest of the dragon was simply looking around in confusion and apprehension.
"We don't know much but the whole village is on edge" Izumo replied, stamping their documents. "Elder Danzo tried a coup d'etat" Izumo said and everyone's eyes widened in shock.
"You shouldn't waste time here" Kotetsu said, breaking Izumo's incoming explanation.
"Dragons" Naruto called, making the masked people with them stand in attention. "Go unpack and meet at the Hokage tower. We'll sort this mess out in there" Naruto ordered and every masked man disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"You should know Naruto" Kotetsu said, gathering his attention. "Tsunade-sama was poisoned during the attempt and is in a coma right now" Kotetsu said sadly, shocking everyone.
"C-Coma?" Tenten sputtered while Izumo nodded as well.
"Hinata-chan, go take care of her. I'll swing by later if necessary" Naruto said and Hinata nodded in acknowledgment. She understood the underlying meaning of his words. Should she be unable to awaken Tsunade then Naruto would step in.
## Hokage Tower ##
Naruto quickly arrived at the hokage tower…or what was left of it. "What the hell happened here?" Naruto wondered out loud, looking at the missing roof. He made his inside the usual way and arrived at the Hokage's office, now sporting direct sunlight and natural breeze.
He kicked a piece of rubble aside and made his way into the office. That was when he saw it. A single desk stood in the middle of the rubble, paperwork stacked on said desk and on the ground. And on the desk sat Hiruzen Sarutobi. Curse words leaving his lips as he struggled to both deal with the paperwork and stop it from flying away due the wind.
Hiruzen felt a presence in his "office" and tiredly looked up to see Naruto where should have been a door. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed when he noticed Naruto's lip twitch ever so slightly. "Don't you dare!" Hiruzen threatened.
"Congratulations on becoming Hokage for the third time" Naruto cheered and laughed openly at the old man's miss fortune. "You are really setting a record here" Naruto commented while Hiruzen grumbled behind his breath.
"STAY" Hiruzen yelled and Naruto flinched, seeing the old man stabbing a kunai through a piece of paper that threatened to fly off.
"Paperwork chases you, old man" Naruto chuckled softly.
"This is so much paperwork that I fear my paperwork has paperwork" Hiruzen muttered, picking his pipe and leaning back on his chair, taking a well-deserved break. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Naruto failing desperately to place a few papers on a stack discretely.
"And those are?" Hiruzen asked.
"The results of the jounin exams" Naruto replied and rose a piece of earth upwards, making a stool for him.
"Annnnndddd?" Hiruzen stretched the word, making Naruto smile.
"You would be proud to now that me, Hinata and Shikamaru are now jounin. Tenten and Rock Lee were awarded with Tokubetsu jounin (Special jounin) status" Naruto replied.
"Good" Hiruzen replied happily. "I heard you put on quite the show in the exams" Hiruzen said.
"Really?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. "And what did you hear?" Naruto asked.
"Besides the whole invasion thing. I heard they are calling you and Hinata the perfect storm of Konoha" Hiruzen chuckled.
"Konoha no Arashi (Storm of Konoha)" Naruto shook his head in amusement. "Another name for our bingo book entries"
"I have to ask though" Hiruzen said and Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What's up with the cloak?" Hiruzen asked and Naruto chuckled sadly. "Some kind of trophy?" Hiruzen wondered but Naruto quickly shook his head in denial. After all, it wasn't too unusual for victors to collect the spoils of the fallen.
"It's a long story, old man" Naruto sighed making Hiruzen poof out a small ring of smoke.
"I've got time" Hiruzen said and got comfortable in his chair. A small gust ran by as Naruto took a deep breath and began recounting what happened in Kumo.
"So it's finished?" Hiruzen asked and Naruto nodded.
"With Nagato dead and Tobi as well, Deidara and Sasori will most likely disperse. The Akatsuki is no more" Naruto said. "The cloak is just a memento of Nagato. His methods may have been extreme…but he truly whished for peace" Naruto explained sadly.
"Then let me tell you of what happened here" Hiruzen began and explained everything that happened to Naruto. Danzo's attempt on Tsunade's life, attacking the clan heads, Sasori and Deidara kidnapping Fuu, their battle against Gaara and Shino, and Hiruzen's final battle with Danzo.
"So everyone in the Akatsuki is dead" Naruto stated. Konan had already stated that she was done with it and would return to the Rain to rule in peace, just like Nagato would want.
"What will you do now?" Hiruzen asked with a curious glint in his eyes.
"Dedicate my life towards my goal" Naruto said and Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "To bring peace to our world" Naruto said and Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "And maybe blow some stuff up along the way" Naruto chuckled.
"Say" Hiruzen began. "It's getting a bit chilly in here. Why don't you patch this place up?" Hiruzen asked and Naruto chuckled.
"It's not that cold. You just want see my Onmyouton in action" Naruto stated with a deadpan.
"You have me there" Hiruzen grinned back.
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes snapped open and the Hokage tower immediately started vibrating slightly. Hiruzen stretched his arms around the desk, fighting to keep the paperwork in place. His pipe fell out of his mouth when he noticed Naruto's eyes starting to glow with a dark silver.
The rubble on the ground started rattling even more as it began floating and heading towards the walls. Slower at first but quickly gaining speed, Hiruzen just watched in wonder as the walls reconstructed each other. The shattered glass in the floor joined together and instantly reformed the glass panes before floating to the walls and joining with the rock.
The splintered wood in the floor joined together and formed the destroyed door. The bent metal corrected itself, forming the door knob and lock. As the walls reached their height, Hiruzen watched in amazement as remaining debris outside the building started levitating as well and began forming the roof.
As the roof of the Hokage tower finished reconstructing, Naruto began with the details of the office. Hiruzen instantly jumped from the desk when it started shaking a bit much for his tastes. The desk started stretching and rounding itself. The paintings of the previous hokages shimmered into existence in the walls. And to finalize it all, the symbol of Konoha burned itself on the wooden desk.
"All done" Naruto said, breaking Hiruzen's from his sputter.
"Remarkable, truly remarkable" Hiruzen muttered. "And you don't even show signs of exhaustion"
"I have tons of chakra. Reconstructing a building is like making a normal clone and I'm not talking about a shadow clone but the standard one, the one they teach at the academy" Naruto chuckled at Hiruzen's face.
"Even so" Hiruzen said, taking in every detail of the room. "Everything is exactly the same. I know you have eidetic memory in regards to images when you have your sharingan activated but this is very good"
"I didn't just repair the hokage tower by memory. I kinda reversed everything in the building until it seemed good enough" Naruto said, struggling the find the correct words to explain his technique. Hiruzen sighed and thought of the good old days when there weren't any mangekyou sharingans or Rinnegan around.
Hiruzen stretched, sighing in relief when he heard a few faint popping sounds. He leaned forward and picked up the paper in front of him. "Strange" Hiruzen thought, seeing the report in his hands without stamp when he remembered placing it.
He didn't think much of it and simply reapplied the stamp and carried on. He was about to put it on the 'already done' stack when he noticed the top paper also didn't have the stamp or was filled.
"I kinda reversed everything in the building until it seemed good enough" Hiruzen paled, remembering Naruto's words about his techniques.
"Naruto" Hiruzen said, making Naruto look at him funny. "Please tell me you didn't also undo a week of paperwork" Hiruzen said calmly.
"Uhhhh" Was Naruto's genius of an answer. He gulped and slowly backed up, seeing Hiruzen surrounded by a black aura.
"Naruto"
"Ups" Naruto chuckled weakly and flashed to safety.
"NARRRUUTOOOOOOOOO"
## With Hinata ##
Hinata was like a purple blur through the streets of Konoha. She was making her way to hospital as quick as possible. She noticed a group of people clotting the street that would slow her down. She crouched and leaped into the rooftops. Jumping from building to building until she arrived at her destination.
She dropped down to the ground and made a quick turn right, arriving at the entrance of the hospital. The building itself didn't show any type of damage. She quickly stepped inside and went straight to the receptionist.
"Lady Hina-"
"In which room is Tsunade-sensei?" Hinata asked quickly, stopping the receptionist's greeting. The receptionist was momentarily taken back by the question but quickly regained focus.
"Room 0" the receptionist said looking at the computer. She looked up but Hinata was already gone. "Poor girl" the receptionist sighed sadly, thinking how worried Tsunade's apprentice seemed.
Room 0 was a special room at the hospital, reserved only for high profile targets due to the security of its location. The general knowledge of the hospital in Konoha was that the entrance was the first floor, going up in height. What few people knew, was that the hospital also had several floors deep underground, connected by a main elevator.
These floors were top secret and dealt mostly with research, dealing primarily in discovering and improving healing techniques but also poisons and viral weaponry. Hinata made her way to the elevator. An ANBU stood by it, arms by the side of his body and straight posture. The ANBU gave Hinata a slight nod to which she replied in kind.
Hinata entered the pin code and the doors opened with a swoosh sound. She quickly stepped inside and selected the lowest floor possible.
The elevator arrived at the bottom and Hinata waited for the doors to open. The moment the darkness of the hallway greeted her, she ran full speed, taking quick turns. In the blink of an eye Hinata arrived at the door of Room 0. The door was close and the entrance was barred by two ANBU who stood guard.
Hinata gave a small nod and one of the ANBU opened the door, allowing her entrance. The first thing she noticed as the dimly lit room. No windows and lack of lighting, coupled with the smell of high powered cleaners gave the traditional smell of death of a hospital.
The second thing she noticed was the beeping sound of the machines connected to Tsunade, who was resting peacefully in the bed. Seating in a chair next to her was Shizune, failing desperately to keep her eyes open. Shizune's head slowly turned towards the door, dark circles under her eyes.
"Hinata-chan" Shizune said strenuously, her voice taking a harsher tone than usual.
"Get some rest Shizune-sensei" Hinata said, helping Shizune prop from the chair.
"I tried my best but the blood analysis gave nothing and the mystic palm didn't respond to her chakra" Shizune explained.
"Don't worry. I will take over from here" Hinata said and Shizune nodded quickly before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Hinata turned her attention towards Tsunade who laid on the bed. Her genjutsu had dropped and Hinata saw for the first time what she truly looked like under her disguise.
She seemed much older than simply fifty years. Her brown, wrinkly skin looked like discarded, wrinkled paper left to itself. She could clear see the contours of bones as if the skin was nothing more than a thin sheet. "She looks so fragile" Hinata thought, a small tear trailing down her cheek. Did Tsunade put her genjutsu to appear strong when she in fact wasn't?
Hinata cleaned her eyes with her sleeves and got to work with renewed strength. She pulled the white sheets down, leaving Tsunade covered only by the standard medical garb. "Byakugan" She thought, her eyes flaring to life and several bulges appearing around them.
She gazed into Tsunade's chakra network to see that she was filled to the top with chakra. Her reserves were filled to the max but her chakra seemed unstable and haywire. There was no discernable pattern to the flow when her chakra should be flowing orderly around her body. "If she was unresponsive to chakra techniques then the poison must be affecting her network directly" Hinata concluded.
She focused more intently on her chakra, skimming every inch of it. And then she found it. A small trail of chakra, similar to a baby corn snake, slithering around Tsunade's chakra network. This chakra had a very similar color to Tsunade's so it had been harder to find. But now that she did, Hinata wouldn't lose it.
She needed to find a way to extract this small chunk of chakra that was disrupting her network, almost like a genjutsu. If she wanted to extract all of the invading chakra, first she would need to trap it and stop its flow. And there was no one better than stopping chakra flow like a Hyuuga. She started pulling her right arm back and forming a chakra needle at the tip of her fingers.
She need to wait to the best place to trap it. The parasitic chakra was fast, but Hinata was faster. Her fingers blurred forward, striking Tsunade's neck with deadly precision. "She will be sore for a week though" Hinata laughed softly. She had to use a bit more strength than the usual juuken strikes to stop the poison from forcibly reopening the chakra point.
Two more strikes and Hinata had trapped the poison in the chest area, blocking its access to her head and both arms. Hinata pulled both arms and waited patiently for the next chance to strike. "Here" She thought, and pushed forward, both arms blurring towards Tsunade's body in a flurry of strikes. The poison was now restricted solely to the chest area.
She watched has the poison picked up speed by being enclosed in a smaller area. Hinata began to systemically tighten the perimeter around the poison, all the while opening the chakra points she had closed before, leaving the poison contained by a single layer of closed points. It took nearly an hour of opening and closing nearly all the 361 points, taking special care around the eight gates.
But she had done it. She had the poison trapped in a single chakra point. Now she only needed to remove it. Hinata flexed her wrist and a single senbon needle popped out. She placed the needle vertically to the chakra point and slowly pushed in, twisting the needle as it sunk into her flesh.
With her byakugan, Hinata tracked the progress of the metallic needle as it sunk an inch into her skin. "Just a little more" Hinata thought as the needle breached deeper into Tsunade's flesh and broke the chakra point manually. Hinata began removing the needle just as slowly as she entered it.
Once the needle was out, Hinata watched as the poison leaked from the orifice, running down the skin and into the bed. Hinata took a sample of the poison and performed a small healing jutsu, pleased that Tsunade began reacting to chakra techniques once again. Hinata reopened every single chakra point and let out a sigh of relief, watching the chakra running around her body like it should be, forming a perfect loop.
Hinata pulled the sheets back to cover Tsunade and dropped to the chair. She waited patiently for her to wake up. It would be any moment now. Tsunade's chakra network just needed to stabilize from the strain the poison had put on it.
Tsunade let out a groan as her eyes opened briefly. Hinata was by her side in a flash. "Take it slow Tsunade-sensei" Hinata said, helping Tsunade get up and lean against the bed. Tsunade's eyes opened again, slower this time, giving it time to adjust to the lighting of the room.
"H-Hinata" Tsunade said, her mouth dry. She looked at her apprentice and Hinata seemed relived about something when her memories about Danzo came like a torrent. "DANZO" She snarled. "WHERE IS THE BASTARD?" shouted Tsunade.
"You've been in a coma for the last few days" Hinata said and Tsunade sighed before calming down. She looked over herself and quickly applied her transformation, turning into her prime once again.
"Why do I feel so stiff?" Tsunade asked, flexing her joints.
"Eheh" Hinata chuckled weakly. "About that…."
## Next Day – Council Room ##
"It's good to see that your back Lady Tsunade" Koharu said, sitting down.
"Shut it your old fossil" Tsunade barked, making the old woman flinch in surprise. "I still want to know if you were involved in Danzo's schemes" Tsunade said, pointing her finger at her.
"I would never" Koharu said in a raspy voice, insulted by such claim. Tsunade hummed in defiance but let it go.
"That old fossil won't last much longer anyway" Tsunade thought, looking down the assembled council. The room was more packed than usual. Every clan head had their heir behind them. It was a rite of passage in a way, to teach the heirs how the proceedings worked. The only difference now was that Shino was the clan head of the Aburame clan.
Everyone turned their heads when they heard a slurping sound and watched as Naruto strolled into the council room with a bowl of ramen in his left hand and a pair of chopsticks. "Whazzt?" Naruto asked but everyone just stared at him. "I'm hungry and this is going to last a while" Naruto said, ignoring the stares and walked down to the Senju seat.
"Naruto-san, if I may ask?" Inoichi said and Naruto nodded to go forward. "About the cloak…" Inoichi trailed off, pointing at Naruto's black cloak with red clouds.
"Oh for the love of Kami" Naruto said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "It's just a cloak, deal with it. I was nearly plummeted to the ground when Tsunade-baa-chan saw me yesterday" Naruto sighed.
"Stop it father" Ino snapped at her father, smacking his head. "You know nothing about fashion. I'll have you know that cloaks are the new vests" Ino lectured.
"Yes dear" Inoichi replied meekly, making share a laugh at their antics.
Tsunade cleared her throat looking intently at Ino. "S-sorry Hokage-sama" Ino replied embarrassed.
"Yes" Tsunade trailed off, setting silence in the room to begin the proceedings. "We will beg-"
"May I, Lady Tsunade?" Koharu asked and Tsunade's head snapped to her direction, glaring at the old woman for interrupting her. Koharu took the glare head on, only gulping slightly at the killing intent she received. "We received some interesting reports from Kumo I would like to revise first" Koharu said.
"And pray tell me what these…reports have to say" Tsunade sighed, the meeting was already planned to be long and with constants interruptions they would still be here tomorrow.
"They report seeing our beloved Yondaime and Nidaime Hokages, wearing the dragon uniform and fighting in the Kumo invasion" Koharu said and an intense silence descended on the room. Tsunade's head snapped towards Naruto who seemed to be looking at the roof, avoiding Tsunade's gaze.
"Impossible" Tsunade replied after a few seconds. Naruto discretely cleared his throat and looked at Tsunade who was still glaring daggers at him.
"I think not" Koharu replied. "I think I speak for all of us when I say you kept these so called Ten Dragons of the Leaf hidden long enough" Koharu said and few nodded their heads in agreement. Everyone in Konoha wanted to see what was behind the masks but the shinobi respected their Hokage's decisions.
"Naruto" Tsunade said turning to her grandson. "What do you think?" She asked and Naruto sighed.
"Why are you asking him?" Koharu asked harshly. "You are the Hokage" she said.
"I really don't like you" Tsunade said and everyone sweat dropped.
"The feeling is mutual" Koharu huffed in reply. Tsunade said nothing more and everyone turned to Naruto who was spinning his chopsticks in his hands, deep in thought.
"You know that their identities would come out eventually" Kurama said and Naruto let out a sigh.
"I know Kurama" Naruto replied in thought. "I just kept postponing. Can you imagine the aftershock of everyone seeing their faces? And I'm not talking just about Konoha. This will have a big impact on the rest of the villages as well" Naruto thought before letting out a breath of acceptance. "At least I have the backstory ready"
Naruto nodded and immediately slammed his hand on the table, making everyone flinch at the sudden action. They were broke from their stupor by nine clouds of smokes, right in the middle of the council room. For the first time since their creation, the nine dragons stood before the council of Konoha.
"You already know the identities of the purple and brown dragons" Naruto said and motioned for Hinata and Gaara to remove their masks. Everyone nodded in agreement. Hinata went to stand behind Tsunade, next to Shizune while Gaara stood behind Naruto.
"Father" Naruto sighed and the yellow dragon turned towards him. Naruto gave a small nod and everyone in the room held their breaths. Time seemed to slow down as Yellow moved his hands slowly towards his light yellow colored mask.
With a small click sound, the mask detached from his face. The first thing that became apparent was his bright yellow, spiky hair. The mask dropped to the floor and everyone just stared in shock at the man in front of them. Minato slowly opened his eyes, revealing his ocean colored blue eyes.
"Minato"
"Yondaime-sama"
"Hokage-sama"
The whole room gasped seeing the man that defeated the Kyuubi and lost his life seventeen years ago, standing in the very same room with them. "Is it really you Minato?" Inoichi asked, his face plastered with shock.
"Yes" Minato simply replied.
"How can we know for sure?" Shukaku asked seriously. Both father and son were wide awake by now.
"I'm not exactly sure what to give as proof" Minato pondered.
"It's him" Hana replied from the Hyuuga clan seat. Standing behind her was the chosen heir to the Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Neji. Usually Neji would remain in control of his emotions like a Hyuuga should, but this was too much. "I would recognize his chakra anywhere" Hana explained.
"No offense but your daughter is married to Naruto. I'm afraid you are biased in this" Inoichi countered.
"None taken" Hana replied kindly.
"Perhaps showing your Hiraishin? How about your sharingan?" Shukaku offered and he felt every eye on him. "Troublesome. It's known that Minato has Uchiha blood and Naruto himself said that his father possessed the sharingan" Shukaku sighed and everyone turned towards Minato and waited.
"Sure" Minato said, shrugging his shoulders. He chucked a kunai to the other side of the room and vanished in a flash of yellow. He quickly flashed back to the original position and turned to face the room, this time his eyes glowing red instead of the cold blue.
The whole room felt a shiver crawl upon their spines. It was one thing seeing Minato with blue eyes and the other with one of the most powerful doujutsu. Those red blood eyes gave a much more dangerous vibe.
"But how are you back?" Koharu asked this time. Once again everyone's attention turned towards Naruto.
"Drop your masks" Naruto said and every remaining masked dragon turned to Naruto, looking at him with apprehension. "Do it" Naruto confirmed. One by one, every single dragon dropped their masks to the ground.
"Mito-sama"
"Tobirama-sensei" both Koharu and Homura shouted in the mists of the yelling.
"Hashirama-sama"
"Oh Kami! It's the Red Death. Hide the Ramen!" Kushina snickered at that particular comment.
"ITACHIIIIII" Someone screeched, forcing everyone to stop the gawking and put them all on edge.
"T-Tsunade-sama" one of the member in the civilian council said weakly, pointing his chubby finger at Uchiha Itachi who remained impassive.
"Yes, let me introduce you to them by order. My father, Senju Hashirama and my mother Senju Mito. To the right is my uncle, Senju Tobirama. Next we have my daughter Senju Kushina and her husband Namikaze Minato. And finally Itachi and Nao Uchiha" Tsunade finished and an extended silence filled the room.
"I knew she looked familiar" Shukaku muttered beneath his breath, looking at Nao. She had been on a mission with him back in the day.
Tsunade stopped her explanations and a deep silence ensued. She didn't know if the council was still processing everything or they were just waiting for any more surprises. "Well?" She asked, snapping everyone from their shock. "Ask away" Tsunade said and the council erupted in screams.
"One at the time" Tsunade groaned weakly. Everyone shut up almost instantly and looked between each other, silently choosing the first to ask any questions.
"If I may?" Chouza asked, standing up. Everyone nodded for him to go on. "I think the most obvious question is how they are here?" Chouza asked and everyone turned to Tsunade who in turn turned towards Naruto.
Naruto was happily slurping on his noodles when he felt the attention of the whole room. "What was the question?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
Everyone sweat dropped and Chouza repeated the question. Naruto sighed, taking a deep breath. "I want to see you digging yourself out of this whole" Tsunade though, resting her head on her interlocked hands.
"I guess I should start at the beginning" Naruto began and everyone leaned into his words. "I believe with you being clan heads you are familiar with the forbidden jutsu known as the Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) correct?" Naruto asked and every single shinobi in the room nodded.
"What is the Edo Tensei?" a civilian member asked in confusion. Naruto looked back to Tsunade, silently asking for permission. Tsunade gave a small nod and Naruto moved on.
"The Edo Tensei is a forbidden technique currently locked away in the Scroll of Seals. This jutsu allows the user to essentially bring back someone who died under the penalty of giving up a living sacrifice. By sacrificing a life the user can, in return, summon a dead person to serve him under his control" Naruto explained and the civilian council felt a shiver crawl up their spines.
"Hokage-sama has granted me some…leeway with this technique because I can summon the dead without sacrificing anyone by using my clones. However, this method gives the summoned a fixed time. This time being determined by how much chakra I pumped into my clone at the time of the jutsu."
"Basically, all those who were supposed to be dead and are here now, are the ones I summoned through the Edo Tensei during my three year training trip. I summoned them to train and spar with me. I guess, since my method isn't exactly a kinjutsu I kept summoning them over and over again."
"Eventually when I came back to Konoha, my grandmother decided to create the group. The Ten Dragons of the Leaf, who were originally only eight, are the people who built Konoha and who chose to defend it even when Death as taken them from this realm" Naruto finished and everyone stood silent, taking it all in.
"But…" Shukaku suddenly said before stopping. Naruto gave a nod in reply. "They aren't exactly Edo Tenseis are they?" Shukaku asked suspiciously. The shinobi who knew the technique immediately understood his meaning. Edo Tenseis were technically dead while these people looked very much alive.
"No they are not" Naruto replied with a smile. Trust a Nara to want everything explained, even if it was too troublesome.
"I'm confused" Mebuki said. "They are not Edo Tenseis but you used the Edo Tensei to bring them back?" Mebuki explained. Her memory going back to her goodbye with Sakura.
"This is where it gets tricky. I believe you all heard of the Kumo invasion a few days ago?" Naruto asked and everyone nodded. "This attack as you all know was orchestrated by Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki. Pein otherwise known as Uzumaki Nagato led the invasion force into Kumo, in a desperate effort to capture both the Hachibi and the Kyuubi."
"I went up against him and managed to defeat him in single combat. However, Uzumaki Nagato was by no means a normal shinobi. He possessed a very special doujutsu, he had the fabled Rinnegan, the eyes of Rikudou Sennin" Naruto said and the crowd gasped. "As you can most likely tell it was gruesome fight. I barely managed to defeat the man" Naruto explained dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. Everyone leaning into his words, waiting for the outcome.
"He's enjoying this a bit too much" Hinata giggled to herself. Naruto was spinning a remarkable web of lies that surprisingly enough went together and made sense.
"What you need to understand about Nagato was that he truly wanted to bring peace to our world. He was born in the Hidden Rain Village at the time of the shinobi world war. During the war he was orphaned by two of our own shinobi" Naruto said regretfully.
"Eventually he met two other kids, Konan and Yahiko, who became his best friends. Jiraiya-sensei even trained the trio of a couple of years" Naruto chuckled softly. "The trio grew stronger and vowed to change the Hidden Rain village and the world. They created an organization called Akatsuki, whose sole goal was to bring peace to our world. This was their symbol, a black cloak with red clouds"
"This was Nagato's cloak" Naruto said, pointing to his cloak. And for the first time, everyone understood why he had kept the cloak for himself. "However, Danzo and Hanzo plotted together a way to bring that organization down. In the process, Yahiko was killed and Pein was born. He lost himself in his grief, his pain."
"After I defeated him, we kinda…talked. I managed to persuade him to change his beliefs. His last action on this world was to bring back everyone that had been killed in the invasion. He used up the remaining of his chakra to revive everyone in Kumo. At the time, I had summoned the dragons to help defend Kumo. I theorize that this release of life energy brought them back permanently." Naruto finished.
"The amount of bullshit he's giving out is remarkable" Tsunade thought, shaking her head in disbelief. Naruto had just blatantly lied to the governing room of Konoha. And the worst part was that he mixed truths and lies so well that if she didn't know better, she would have believed him without question.
"That's some story" Inoichi muttered, taking everything in.
"And quite the remarkable coincidence" Shukaku thought to himself but discarded the situation.
"What happened to this Uzumaki Nagato?" Homura asked.
"Konan took his body back to the Rain. They fought hard to free Rain from Hanzo's tyranny. I see no other resting place for him" Naruto explained.
"And the Rinnegan?" Koharu added.
"Destroyed" Naruto simply replied. "Those eyes are too dangerous should they fall into the wrongs hands"
"Are we implying we are the wrong hands?" Koharu asked, narrowing her eyes at the Senju heir.
"Do you wish to play god?" Naruto asked, chuckling.
"Not at all" Koharu replied. "But even you can't discard that those eyes would be a powerful weapon for our village" Koharu stressed.
"And we got our prizes. Thanks to Nagato's sacrifice we have all the hokage alive, not to mention two s-rank kunoichi. This world doesn't need a Rinnegan anymore" Naruto explained. He had thought this very thoroughly. With the Akatsuki finished, he would use the Rinnegan solely in his quest for peace.
"'a' Rinnegan…why not 'the' Rinnegan" Shikaku wondered, scratching his goatee. "I wonder what you are hiding behind all of this" Shikaku chuckled to himself, but it was too troublesome to ask.
"Fine" Koharu reluctantly agreed. "But what is he doing here after what he did?" Koharu said, pointing towards Itachi who remained impassive.
Before Tsunade could answer Naruto beat her to it. "I'm sure you know very well why he's here" Naruto said, a smile tugging his lips. "After all, you had a hand in the massacre along your buddies, Danzo, Homura and Hiruzen" Naruto said and heavy silence filled the room. You could feel the tension in the air.
"I think it's time to come clean about every dark secret this village has" Naruto said and looked to Tsunade for confirmation. Tsunade just shook head in exasperation and nodded in confirmation. This would shake the village but it needed to be done. It were all these secrets that lead Danzo's attempt to take over in the first place.
"The truth is that the Uchiha Clan massacre was a sanctioned mission from this very council, and Itachi carried on the orders as a loyal shinobi of the village" Naruto said and the clan heads rose in protest and glaring at the advisers.
"LORD THIRD WOULD NEVER ALLOW SUCH THING" Tsume snarled.
"It's the truth" Hiruzen whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. Tsume's jaw dropped.
"B-but…why?" She asked in disbelief. "They were one of the founding clans of the village. Why would you order such travesty?" She asked, her voice raising again.
"Peace" Naruto instantly replied and received a furious gaze from Tsume. He was about to explain when Hiruzen raised his hand and Naruto nodded.
"I did what was necessary" Hiruzen said with a heavy heart. He was really feeling all the years he carried. "Itachi" Hiruzen said and he nodded silently.
"The Uchiha Clan…my clan…had this coming" Itachi began very softly. Nao walked up and stood next to him, grabbing his hand and interlocking fingers. "Everything happened because of my father, Uchiha Fugaku. He was the one that summoned the Kyuubi, seventeen years ago" Itachi said and Tsume's eyes widened. She found a new hatred towards the Uchiha Clan, being the ones responsible by the death of her husband, along with thousands of shinobi and civilians.
"I still don't understand his thirst for power. He wanted the world in his hands" Itachi sighed. "He summoned the Kyuubi in order to weaken Konoha and in the process take over as Hokage. He didn't count on Hiruzen stepping back in to fill the role left by Minato. After the Kyuubi attack everything settled down."
"But my father wasn't done. The Uchiha Clan massacre was ordered because they were planning a coup d'etat. I carried out my orders and killed everyone in the clan, but I couldn't bring myself to kill my little brother" Itachi explained and everyone nodded, feeling a wave of sadness wash over them. How could someone be able to kill his own family for the village?
"But it appeared that Fugaku was one step ahead at the time. When I slaughtered the clan, all I killed were clones. Fugaku had known about my orders and had evacuated the clan out the village. He led me to believe that I killed the clan with my own hands." Itachi finished.
"So is the clan still alive?" Inoichi asked, confused.
"No" Nao replied, taking over Itachi's explanation. "Fugaku evacuated me and the clan to Kiri, where he had taken control over Yagura, the yondaime mizukage. And so we hid in that village, waiting the day we would make our move" Nao explained. "But not everything works the way we wanted it to" Nao said and looked towards Naruto.
"Nao defected to our side and with her help we tracked down the Uchiha Clan…and slaughtered them…permanently" Naruto said in a harsh voice. Everyone stared at Naruto, the man who had just preached peace. "They had it coming. I may want peace, but I'm not foolish enough to forgive everybody" Naruto said and everyone had finally learned what type of man Naruto was.
Ino had been particularly surprised at his tone, nearly flinching in the process. "I guess I'm still naive about how the world works" Ino thought to herself.
"You would make a fine Hokage someday" Shikaku laughed. Shikaku understood the world better than he let on. And he understood what Naruto had done and why he had done it.
"I know that there were a lot of surprises today and it will take a while to get used to…all of this" Tsunade said, standing up and pointing to the dragons.
"The dragons are gone" Naruto stood up as well and everyone turned to him. "The dragons did their job, protecting Konoha. The world is nothing but a child, still in its infancy. We will bring order to this cursed world, we will bring peace to the shinobi land. We ten of us shall accomplish this. After all…we are the new Akatsuki"
## Next Day ##
"It's time" Naruto said as he, Fuu and Gaara arrived at one of the training grounds. "I'll go get B and be back in flash" Naruto said and vanished in a flash of yellow.
"That line is getting old" Gaara sighed while Fuu laughed. It was always be back in a flash with Naruto and Minato. Not even one minute later, Naruto was back in the training ground with a disoriented B in tow.
"That was the hiraishin fool" B rapped, dropping to his knees on the ground. "I'm not feeling good" he finished and emptied his stomach on said ground.
"Everyone ready?" Naruto asked and every single jinchuuriki nodded.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)"
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)"
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)"
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)"
Four cries of the summoning jutsu and the four tailed beats were brought into the outside world. Kurama from Naruto, Gyuki from Killer B, Chomei from Fuu and Shukaku from Gaara.
"Yosh" Shukaku yelled, pumping his arms into the air. "Let's do this"
Naruto looked at the four tailed beasts and saw each one giving him a nod. He closed his eyes and concentrated. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu) – Gedo Mazo" Naruto shouted, his Rinnegan flaring to life as he slammed a hand on the ground.
ROARRRR
The gedo mazo burst from the ground and roared into the sky. Naruto jumped on top of its head and synchronized with him. An instant later, the statue opened his mouth as a multicolored chakra started pouring outside. As the chakra left the statue and dropped to the ground, it started taking form.
The first form was completely engulfed in blue flames. She also had a right yellow eye and a left green eye, similar to an odd-eyed cat without pupils.
The second form resembled a large turtle, but with a crab-like shell, spikes all over its body, and three shrimp-like tails. Under his shell, it had red, muscle-like tissue. He had a pair of human-like arms and hands, but no hind-legs. His lower jaw is rather big and has teeth-like horns, together with his big forehead, which also has horns, it somewhat resembles a mouth with big teeth, making it look like the rest of the face is inside the mouth. His eyes are red and have crimson pupils
The third form was a red-furred and green-skinned monkey, with a body-build of a gorilla. He had eyes with yellow irises and white pupils, spike-like protrusions along the length of its tails, elongated blunt fangs, and two long horns curving upwards on its forehead like a crown. In his mouth, Son had a big, round opening, from where he spits lava, and it doesn't seem to have a tongue.
The fourth form primarily resembled a white horse, but with a dolphin's head. He had two pointed long horns and three shorter horns in front. The ends of his horns, hooves, and tails are light brown, with some of the same-colored spots before the brown areas of his horns and hooves. He also has red markings under its dark blue-green eyes.
The fifth and final form resembled a large white, with a slight light blueish tint, bipedal slug with stubby arms and feet. He has two prominent optical tentacles and hole-like openings as a mouth. His entire body is covered in a slimy substance.
"We are free" Matatabi said in astonishment. The last thing she remembered was being sealed in that damn statue after being ripped form Yugito.
"So it seems" Son Goku replied, looking around. "Gyuki, Shukaku, Chomei and even Kurama. We are all here" Son Goku said with glee.
"How is this possible?" Matatabi asked in confusion.
"I think I have an idea about that" Isobu replied, nodding his vast head towards the four humans standing on top of the gedo mazo.
"You're welcome" Naruto chuckled. Naruto, B, Fuu and Gaara were all on top of the gedo mazo, with all of the nine bijuu surrounding them.
"I remember you from the chunnin exams. You are the fox boy" Matatabi said, stretching her legs and laying down on the ground.
"So you are him?" Son Goku asked, stepping forward and sniffing the blonde. "You smell like father" He said and Naruto sweat dropped.
"Thank you?" Naruto asked, confused.
"What happened to our jinchuuriki?" Saiken asked with a sad voice. He had become rather attached to Utakata. He was the first shinobi who actually enjoyed peace instead of war.
"My guess is that their bodies were destroyed. I got no memory of them from Nagato" Naruto sighed sadly. After bringing the dragons from the dead, he pondered on what he had done and promised to be more responsible on the future. However, he would open an exception to the jinchuuriki.
"What now?" Son Goku asked in curiosity.
"You are free to do what you want" Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going to seal the gedo mazo back into the moon in a couple of days. I know that you can shift into smaller forms so I would recommend that if you wish to stay here in Konoha. You are all welcome to live in the Senju Compound" Naruto said.
"However, let me be clear" Naruto began in a serious voice. "You may be free but you will comply with our rules. I would be most displeased by any unprovoked attack on humans" Naruto warned, letting the threat hang in the air. Every bijuu quickly nodded and started shifting their forms, similar to how they looked moments before they were born.
"This is going to be some much fun" Shukaku screamed and Naruto pondered if releasing eight bijuu in Konoha had been wise.
"What's the worst that could happen?" Naruto thought with an unease chuckle. Famous last words after all.
## Undisclosed Location – Orochimaru's Laboratory ##
"How are the specimens going?" Orochimaru asked with his traditional raspy voice.
Kabuto turned towards his master and pushed his glasses upwards before answering. "All failures as of now Orochimaru-sama" Kabuto answered.
"Tsk" Orochimaru replied annoyed but such failures. He had been trying these experiments for the last couple of years and had nothing but failures.
"I don't understand" Kabuto began. "Even at the cellular level, the Uchiha and Senju blood are destroying each other. I fear it may be impossible to combine both bloodlines into a viable vessel" Kabuto explained.
"We both know that isn't true, Kabuto" Orochimaru replied in defiance. "Naruto is the prime example of that. He carries both bloodlines in perfect harmony. You have seen firsthand the strength of his body and the power of his eyes. I for one do not think that Naruto was the first born from both clans"
"The shinobi world has existed for millennia. And we both know that the Uchiha and Senju clans are among the first ones ever created. The probability of Naruto being the first ever born from both clans is slim to none. If someone had existed before Naruto that carried both bloodlines we would have heard his name before" Orochimaru explained. Little did he know that there existed such man before Naruto. Said man carried the name of Hagoromo Ootsutsuki, otherwise known as the Sage of Six Paths, father of all ninjutsu.
"We just have to keep trying" Orochimaru replied through gritted teeth. Even his immortally quest hadn't been such a pain.
"Perhaps using Uchiha Sasuke's genetic material is at fault?" Kabuto offered. They had limited access to genetic material since both clans were nearly extinct.
"Perha-" Orochimaru replied and immediately stiffened, feeling another presence in the room. "Show yourself" He ordered. Orochimaru watched as a figure rose from the ground.
"Tobi" Orochimaru said, the name leaving a foul name in his mouth. "How did you find me?" Orochimaru asked, taking caution with the man in front of him.
"I never lost you Orochimaru" Tobi chuckled, his sharingan glowing beneath the orange mask.
"Yess" Orochimaru drawled. "What is it you want? Surely this isn't a social call." Orochimaru stated and watched as Tobi sighed in annoyance. "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help" Orochimaru smirked.
"I need a favor" Tobi said and Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
"A favor you say" Orochimaru replied, licking his lips in amusement. "And what can dear old me do for you?" Orochimaru asked, a dark smile in his lips.
"I need a technique of yours" Tobi began and Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "I would go to the leaf for it but their defenses are too tight since the Kumo invasion and I can't afford to wait"
"Get on with it" Orochimaru said, losing his patience.
"I need the scroll for the Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation)" Tobi simply stated.
"My my" Orochimaru chuckled evilly. "That isn't a small favor to ask. You understand I must ask something in return" Orochimaru grinned while Tobi sighed. He should have known Orochimaru better than this.
"I can offer you sharingans" Tobi offered and Orochimaru just laughed.
"Sharingans are one of the simplest things for me to grow" Orochimaru said, licking his lips in anticipation. "I want a white Zetsu" Orochimaru said, his eyes glistening with the prospect of possessing such creature.
Tobi's eyes widened in disbelief at the request. "That is no small thing" Tobi said while Orochimaru just laughed in reply.
"The Edo Tensei is no small technique" Orochimaru smirked. He knew he had Tobi in his hands.
Tobi pondered momentarily before finally agreeing to the terms. A single Zetsu rose from the ground. "We have a deal then?" Tobi asked, ordering the clone to go towards Orochimaru.
"Indeed" Orochimaru replied, coughing out a scroll and throwing it at Tobi who caught it midair. Tobi sunk to the ground and disappeared.
"If I may ask Orochimaru-sama" Kabuto said and Orochimaru nodded in acceptance. "Why did you accept to give him such valuable technique?" Kabuto asked curious.
"Because now we can create our own army"
## With Tobi ##
Tobi rose from the ground inside a small cave. Once he was fully out of the ground, his body started shifting. The black cloak turned completely white and his sharingan eyes turned to yellow. "Did you get it?" Black Zetsu asked.
"Of course" White Zetsu replied cheerily. "Like stealing candy from a baby" White Zetsu chuckled. Orochimaru didn't even suspect of him being a simple transformation of Tobi, also known as Fugaku.
"Let us begin then" Black Zetsu said and moved to the center of the room. White Zetsu quickly skimmed through the scroll to read the hand seals and proceedings.
Tiger → Snake → Dog → Dragon. White Zetsu ran through the hand seals and watched as kanji poured into the ground, creating a hollow circle around black Zetsu. "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)" White Zetsu shouted, clasping both hands together.
Black Zetsu was instantly swarmed with leaves, easily covering his form. Black Zetsu didn't even scream in pain as his body was consumed for both the source of the genetic material and the sacrifice necessary.
"So it finally happened" A deep voice rose from the pile of leaves. The man was light skinned with waist-length, spiky, black hair with shoulder-length bangs framing the sides of his face, covering most of his right eye. He wore crimson armor with numerous metal plates, forming protective guards along his chest, waist, shoulders and thighs.
The man slowly opened his eyes to show blood red color with three black tomoes spinning. "This isn't exactly the form I planned to return to" he commented. "How long has it been?" the man asked.
"Around twenty years Madara-sama" Zetsu replied.
"And why have you summoned me in such state?" Madara asked in a flat tone.
"There have been complications to the original plan" Zetsu explained and Madara raised a single eyebrow.
"Where is Fugaku?" Madara asked.
"This way" Zetsu replied, leading Madara towards another room. Once they entered the room they were greeted by a grotesque sight. Fugaku laid in a single table in the middle of the room. His body was completely torn to shreds. His skull was broken in half, displaying the brain for all to see. His head connected to the remaining of his chest by Zetsu material. His chest completely opened, the ribcage visible to the naked eye. The remaining limbs were nonexistent.
"Who left him in such state?" Madara asked with surprise. Fugaku may not have been strong, but the man had unusual skilled at avoiding damage.
"Your son" Zetsu replied.
"Minato did this to him?" Madara asked with amusement while Zetsu nodded.
"He has grown strong, stronger than you think" Zetsu replied.
"It seems there are a lot of things I don't know" Madara commented, still amused by seeing Fugaku utterly defeated by his son. "Why don't you bring me up to speed?" He rhetorically asked. Zetsu nodded and proceeded to inform Madara of everything that had occurred in the last years.
"What about him?" Zetsu asked towards Fugaku.
"Dispose of him" Madara replied off-handedly.
"Sir?" Zetsu asked in confirmation.
"Did you really think I would share my goals with him?" Madara asked with amusement. "He was just cannon fodder. A means to an end" Madara said and Zetsu shrugged before heading towards Fugaku and proceeded to eat him, leaving nothing behind.
"I look forward to dancing with you" Madara started, looking at the darkening sky. His eyes shifting into a silver color and a sinister smile tugging his lips.
"Senju Naruto…my grandson"