Konoha can burn down for all I care. Your choice, Senju Tsunade."
Tsunade gritted her teeth as she seethed in rage. The boy had got her into a corner and now she is left with no choice but to undertake this near impossible job.
"I will see to it that you will be severely dealt with once this is over, kid."
"I told you, I don't care. If Hanabi can be saved, you can take my life if need be."
Yamato himself had come to a decision, seeing that he summoned forests worth of wood from the ground to help restrain the escaping beast and also trying to pull it out of Yugito. Tsunade walked over to the fallen Hyuga that is surrounded by numerous ice clones around her, writing seals on her body with her own blood. Tsunade recognised her as the one of the heiresses of the Hyuga clan, the one who had nearly ended her competition in the Chunin Exams earlier.
"Katsuyu, let me take a look at her injuries."
Tsunade immediately went into her doctor-mode as she quickly assessed the girl's injuries and her expression turned grim when she saw the extent of Hanabi's injuries. It doesn't matter if she is known as the best medic nin in the Elemental Nations, the girl lost more than just a bucket load of blood. She is either missing several organs or they had literally been fried from the inside. Right now, the only way the girl has a chance to survive is to immediately ship her away into a surgery room, something which cannot be done right now since they are in war. Even then, the chances of saving her are slim and the chances of the girl making a full recovery are even smaller. If nothing is done within the next five minutes, this girl will definitely die. The injury she suffered is severe and is located too close to her almost-dead lungs, diaphragm, and dangerously near her heart. That is only the tip of the iceberg. She can also tell that it was a lightning based jutsu that had nearly killed her, although she is more inclined to think that someone with the rare Storm Release had done it judging from the unique state of the injury. It is a miracle that the Hyuga's heart hasn't stopped beating from the lethal dose of voltage so close to her heart.
No wonder the boy decided to do something as crazy as turning his little girlfriend into a jinchuriki in a last ditched attempt to save her. The healing powers of jinchurikis is a tale of legends. It might just be what is needed to save the girl.
Have to give the ice boy points for creativity alright.
"I know what seal you are trying to draw, I can take over the writing of seals from here and keeping her alive at the same time. Go help your original to suppress the kitty cat and drag it here."
The ice clones went to help their original and Yamato upon her words. Tsunade took over the writing of seals on the Hyuga girl's body while using her own medical chakra to keep her alive as long as possible. Admittedly, the boy did raise a good point. Even if Konoha survived this invasion and they caught Yugito, there comes the problem of how to deal with the captured jinchuriki. Extracting the beast and transfer it into a fellow Konoha shinobi would be the most likely outcome since Yugito's allegiance is to Kumo. Like the boy said, either Konoha gets an unwilling jinchuriki, or they can get themselves one that is loyal to them.
This better be worth it.
Tsunade quickly continue to draw the seals from where it was left off and is surprised to see that the Yuki boy have such an extensive knowledge on the Uzumaki's sealing arts from what she can see in his unfinished work. Seems like Kushina and Minato really do like this brat.
She will have words with them later about the boy's behaviour. Her fellow Uzumaki needs to control the boy better since last she heard, Kushina and Minato are his godparents. His lack of loyalty to the village is a cause for concern. The fact that he purposely endangered the whole village just to force her to save the Hyuga girl is not acceptable.
That will come later. For now, they have to turn the Hyuga girl into a jinchuriki to save the village from a rampaging overgrown cat. She is not paid enough to deal with this shit.
"Tsunade-san."
"Kizashi?" Tsunade asked in surprise as a clone of Haruno Kizashi appeared in a shunshin. He spotted the downed Hyuga immediately and without delay, knelt down and pressed a hand onto the Hyuga girl's injured area.
"Yang Release: Life Transference Jutsu."
Tsunade's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets at the sight. Under the hands of a skilled user, the Yang Release is known to be able to be utilised in a way to regenerate even missing organs, but with the way Kizashi's clone is doing it, it will have irreversible impacts on his original!
"Kizashi! Stop that jutsu! You-!"
"We cannot afford to just survive this battle, Tsunade-san. We need to survive the war that is to come." Clone-Kizashi said calmly as he went ahead in using the Life Transference Jutsu, slowly regenerating and rejuvenating Hanabi's missing and damaged organs. "We need to ensure that the next generation of Konoha lives on, that includes Hanabi. She is strong, she just needs time to grow into her full strength. We cannot allow the flames of the next generation to be snuffed out before they grow into the fire that we know they can be. That's what we adults are for, to protect the next generation until they are strong enough to lead Konoha. They are the ones who will inherit our Will of Fire, just as we inherited our predecessors'."
"There are better ways to-"
"I'm just a clone, one out of many. My original is still stuck in a battle with Orochimaru. Every single clone is now spread throughout Konoha, transferring my original's Yang chakra using this jutsu to keep them alive and heal their injuries as much as possible. My Yang Release can even grow missing organs back, Tsunade-san, you know this better than anyone. Hanabi urgently needs my help right now. With this jutsu, I can reduce Konoha's casualties to a minimum. It is the best option I have right now to help Konoha as Hokage. My regenerative powers won't lose even when compared to a jinchuriki. As long as our comrades are not dead yet, they can still survive. However, your expertise will still be needed after this invasion is over. Go. Go and help heal our comrades that is still fighting out there. I will ensure that Hanabi remains alive."
Tsunade frowned.
"The ice boy wants to make the girl into a jinchuriki to save her. He disobeyed all orders, jeopardised the safety of the entire village, just to save her. You really want to proceed with this?"
"…Not exactly the worst decision he can make, considering Haku's personality and his view towards the village." The clone of Kizashi said after a brief period of silence. "Please don't be too harsh on him. It is partly my fault he turned out this way, I could have handled things a little better when he first arrived so many years ago. His hate towards me, and by extension, the village, is understandable. And if this method allows Konoha to gain control of another tailed beast, why not? Besides, I don't think the entire Yang chakra I have now can fully save Hanabi. I'm but a clone with a small fraction of power of my original. Something as powerful as the Nibi's powers will be needed to keep Hanabi alive. Her injuries are really bad."
The howling of the monster cat screeched out once more, catching everyone's attention.
"He really gone and done it." Tsunade whispered as her eyes widened in a mixture of shock and disbelief. "How? He's only twelve or thirteen, right?"
The Nibi roared, just as Tsunade and clone-Kizashi spotted Yugito dropping lifelessly back onto the ground. This time, the Kumo kunoichi will not be getting up ever again. The Nibi itself is fully wrapped in thick roots and chains of ice, still trying to fight and break its constraints.
"HAKU! YAMATO!" Kizashi's clone bellowed out as he too went through hand seals of his own to prepare for the resealing. "DRAG THE NIBI HERE! NOW! HANABI DOESN'T HAVE MUCH TIME LEFT! WE NEED TO SEAL THE BEAST INTO HER IMMEDIATELY!"
Tsunade can see Haku's eyes widening a little in surprise upon spotting Kizashi, but it disappeared as fast as it came in favour of rescuing the Hyuga girl with Yamato's help.
"Lady Tsunade! On your right!"
Grateful for Katsuyu's warning, with a single punch, Tsunade immediately decimated the group of Kumo shinobis who had spotted them and realised what they are trying to do. She can see more hostile shinobis converging onto their location.
Damn it. Nothing had gone well today. All she wanted was to win her bets at the Chunin Exams, even if she realistically knew that she probably would lose all her betting money all thanks to her eternal shitty luck. She knew something was so very wrong when she won every single one of her bets. It is times like this that she really hated her shitty gambling luck.
Dan better be alright as well. She knows he is strong, even when they are both retired shinobis and had not been active since the end of the Third War. Even then, she cannot help but be worried for him.
"Start the sealing process! I will hold them off!" Tsunade shouted back to the hastily formed jinchuriki-sealing-group. Her Yin Seal is already working at full power. For Konoha's sake, she will use every drop of her powers to ensure that the sealing process is completed. Her grandfather had founded this village for his dream of peace, and as his granddaughter, she will see to it that Konoha will remain standing.
She charged up the chakra in her fist when the hostile shinobis leapt into the sky to pounce on her. Maybe she had been in retirement for too long. Suna, Kumo, and Oto definitely needs a reminder on why she is coined with the title of the Legendary Sannin. And what else is a better reminder than caving their skulls in with a punch or two?
"RASENGAN!"
Naruto panted as she and Gaara both fell from the skies after their final clash. Boss Toad had disappeared in a puff of smoke, his work here is done the moment they succeeded in stopping the stupid crazy tanuki from going homicidal. It took almost two teams, Team 8 and Team 7 (without Sakura-chan since she volunteered to stay behind to delay their pursuers), to wake Gaara up and even then, they barely pulled through.
The two jinchurikis landed back onto the ground with a dull thud. Every fibre of Naruto's muscle screamed in pain, telling her to just stay still and lie there. Still, Naruto pushed herself as she struggled to crawl towards Gaara. There is still something that she can do, something that she can do for someone that knows the feeling of loneliness just as she once did.
Gaara is a victim as well. Like her, like her Haku-nii, he is but a victim.
There is still something she can do, but only if Gaara stops harming her precious people. She needs to let Gaara realise that he is not alone in this world. Tou-chan had always dreamt of peace and never once stopped working towards it, even when Kaa-chan always chided him that he is too naïve and idealistic. A fool, that's what her mother called her father, even if she used an endearing tone. Naruto knows that her mother had experienced the harsh reality of the shinobi world as an ex-jinchuriki. It was her experience that led her to believe that her father's version of peace will never come to pass. Still, Naruto found herself believing in her father's ideals. She still thinks that it is better to be an idealistic fool than to never try at all.
She too, dream of peace and of being Hokage. She was named after a character of a book, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, written by the great Jiraiya himself. Her father's sensei dreamt of world peace, the same peace her father is trying to reach and protect. If everybody can understand everybody else, peace will not be a faraway dream.
It is with this thought that she continues to crawl towards Gaara, who is now screaming at her to get away from him.
She will not stop. She will not give up on her dream. She will protect her precious people. This is her ninja way.
"What's wrong, Kizashi-kun? You are actually running out of stamina? You could have killed me long ago if you just decide to leave the villagers to their own fate, you know that? You are going to die here because you want to play hero."
"Someone as selfish as you will never get it, but I am the Hokage." Kizashi gritted out as he stood back up again. His Bishamon armour is already half gone from all the chakra he had expended and shared among his Shadow Clones to save whatever villagers and shinobis he can find. With his ability to sense the lifeforce of people in his village, and he is glad to see that no one had died the moment he decided to use his clones to go around using the Life Transference Jutsu to save whoever he can. It made his fight against Orochimaru a lot harder, but he can still win this, even if the cost for winning is his life.
Besides, from one of his Shadow Clone's memory, his daughter had told him to kick Orochimaru's ass. How can he refuse his baby girl's request? Now that his lovely cherry blossom had given him his order, he absolutely cannot allow himself to disappoint her.
There is one technique that he knows right now that can fully vanquish Orochimaru. If he wants to ensure that the Snake Sannin stays dead once and for all, he cannot pull any punches. Orochimaru is tougher than a cockroach summon and nothing short of total obliteration can kill him. However, Kizashi knew that he had used up too much chakra in his effort to save his village from further harm. Even if his battle with Orochimaru stops now, his lifeforce had been reduced so drastically from his widespread use of his clan's Life Transference Jutsu in saving the entire village that he probably doesn't have very long left to live.
He might as well go all out. It is all or nothing.
Throwing down the chest plate he wore, Kizashi jabbed a thumb at the chakra point located at his heart. This technique is not one he had mastered, that honour belongs to their resident taijutsu genius Might Guy, but it is enough to stop even Orochimaru. It complements very well with his unholy vitality, which was the main reason why he even bothered to learn it in the first place, in case he ever needs a suicide jutsu as his trump card.
This is the best time for him to use it. The sight of Orochimaru's eyes widening in fright is satisfying to watch as well. The snake of a man obviously realised what is going to happen.
"EIGHT GATES: THE GATE OF DEATH, RELEASE!"
"Are you crazy, Kizashi?!"
"I AM THE YONDAIME HOKAGE OF KONOHA! I WILL PROTECT MY VILLAGE AND ITS PEOPLE, EVEN IF IT MEANS PROTECTING IT AT THE COST OF MY LIFE!" Kizashi roared out as boiling steam of blood gushed out from his body, his body turning a shade of dark autumn red. He can feel his chakra reaching full capacity before it skyrocketed at least 100 times beyond what is normal for him. Thanks to that, his entire Bishamon armour materialised once more in its full and final glory.
"FOR THE SAKE OF KONOHA, I CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO LIVE! DIE, OROCHIMARU!"
Kizashi punched at the air in front of him in Orochimaru's direction, who had immediately used a Summoning Jutsu to block the incoming equivalent of an air cannon.
"Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashomon!"
The three gates broke the moment Kizashi's attack made contact. A blur of red appeared in front of Orochimaru at the next instant.
"Evening Elephant!"
Using the move Guy had kindly shared with him, a cannon of pressurised air that resulted from Kizashi's single punch pressed Orochimaru down deep underground, who is forced to constantly regenerate himself if he doesn't want to be erased in a single blow. Orochimaru spotted four clones of Kizashi surrounding him, and he would have done something to prevent whatever Kizashi is planning to do if he can at least move a single finger.
Damn it! Kizashi was hiding a trump card like this all along?! Since when did he learn how to use all Eight Gates?!
"FOUR RED YANG FORMATION!"
The clones created a large barrier that erected itself in a square and extends all the way up into the sky, trapping Orochimaru and the original Kizashi within it.
"This is not a technique I can usually pull off by myself, at least not without opening the last gate." Kizashi stated as he walked up to Orochimaru, who is struggling to stand up and frantically regenerating the left side of his body which was crushed earlier by Kizashi's Evening Elephant.
"You of all people should know the power of the Four Red Yang Formation. Nothing goes in and out of here without me allowing it. There is no escape for you, Orochimaru. Both of us shall fall here today. Feel proud, for you are the only one who had managed to push me this far."
Kizashi took a stance, and Orochimaru had to use his entire strength to fight through the pressure of the Steam of Blood and Kizashi's potent chakra. Orochimaru watched in both scientific curiosity and undulated fear as the mixture of red steam and Kizashi's chakra took the form of an enormous dragon.
"I don't have complete mastery of this finishing move, but it will be enough. If it was Guy, knowing him, he would have used this last move in the form of a powerful kick. I myself prefer to punch."
"There's no way you can kill me!" Orochimaru declared with slight desperation, even if right now he doesn't know whether he is doing this out of fear to reassure himself or out of confidence in his ability to survive. "I am the one who will one day master all ninjutsus in the world! I am the one who will achieve true immortality! And I am the one who will discover all knowledge and the truth of the universe! Even if you kill me now, you cannot fully erase me! I will just undergo a rebirth!"
"You are the foolish one here, Orochimaru. You think I don't know that? Konoha has been keeping tabs on you. Sure, we don't know everything you had done ever since you defected, but we know enough. Minato, Mikoto, and I studied your techniques, Orochimaru, based on what Jiraiya-sensei had found and left behind to us as per his will. He knew that there would be a chance that you will grow into a threat one day. He had made precautions before his demise, just in case he is no longer around to stop you should you go rogue. He left it to us to stop you if need be."
Orochimaru's heart dropped a little at Kizashi's confident claim. Jiraiya?! That buffoon again! How could Jiraiya have foreseen this even from the Third War when even he himself at that point wasn't sure if he wanted to continue staying in Konoha?! Kizashi couldn't have found out about that part of his cursed seal, did he?
"You made a mistake marking Sasuke. From the mark you left on Sasuke, Minato was able to decipher the true workings of your cursed seal within a day. We now have confirmation of our theories on how your Living Corpse Reincarnation truly works. We know that your cursed seal implants a part of your soul into your victim, like the one you inflicted on young Sasuke. I don't know who else you put your seal on and how many you experimented on, but it doesn't matter. With my Yang Release, I can still kill you along with the rest of your fragmented soul. Yang cannot exist without Yin and Yin cannot exist without Yang, that is an absolute rule of this world. Your Living Corpse Reincarnation technique to transfer your consciousness from one host to the next works by transferring the Yin part of you, your mind and consciousness, which will take over and suppress the Yin part of your host, and then it leeches onto their Yang part, their vitality, and making it yours. With their Yang supporting your Yin to make sure your consciousness continues to live in your host's body, that's how your technique truly works, am I right? That's how you undergo your so-called reincarnation. However, with your host's Yin dominated by you, their Yang will dwindle and slowly fall apart. This is because every Yang for every host of yours needs their own Yin to continue to grow, not yours. That's why you need to switch bodies once every few years, because that's the limit for most of your hosts before their Yang dies out. You are not a great white snake, Orochimaru. You are just a pathetic leech, leeching on to the lifeforce of others to support your dying and corrupted soul."
"Shut up! SHUT UP!"
"My Yang chakra is potent enough to burn off your Yin and your current host's Yang. And what happens if I did that?" Kizashi continued, ignoring Orochimaru's cries of denial. "Your Yin, which represents your consciousness, will now have nothing to feed on, it won't be able to survive on its own. Your true Yang is gone for good ever since you undergo your first use of Living Corpse Reincarnation and discarded your true body. Without any Yang for you to leech on, your Yin will die. The rest of your scattered soul are part of your Yin as well, and my Yang chakra can find its way to them through you, like following the ends of a thread of a spiderweb back to its origin. It doesn't matter how many and where they are, I will burn your very soul out of every candidate you have marked with your cursed seal. I can, and I will do that. Using that will take a lot of Yang chakra out of me, to the point of death, but I am already a dead man walking when I decided to save my village with my Life Transference Jutsu and the Eight Gates, all thanks to you. There's nothing else holding me back."
"I WILL NOT DIE! NOT HERE! NOT IN KONOHA!"
Orochimaru gave a desperate shout, and Kizashi watched on calmly as Orochimaru utilised his Eight Branches Technique to transform into a humongous eight-headed serpent within the barriers of the Four Red Yang Formation. Kizashi took his final stance as his thoughts went back to his wife, his lovely daughter, and the village.
And his sensei.
He smiled.
"Hey sensei! What does it mean to be a ninja?"
"Hmm.." Jiraiya took a pause from writing his book (hopefully not the dreaded Icha-Icha or Mikoto will definitely burn him alive with her Fire Release in extremely creative ways) and stroked his chin in thought. Minato, Mikoto, and Kizashi had been arguing among themselves the whole day about what it means to be a shinobi while doing their D Rank missions. Their sensei can be big goof, a bigger idiot, and an even massive pervert but beneath that lies a wise man. They all know it.
They know he can answer their question.
"I personally believe in the saying… that a shinobi's true worth is measured by not how he lives but in how he dies. It's what they do right before they die that proves their worth. At least, that is what I feel."
"Then I will be Hokage!" Kizashi exclaimed and raised his hand up into the air. "I will protect the entire village, even if it cost me my life! If I can be strong enough to do that, then I am a worthy shinobi, right?"
"Hey! Being Hokage is my dream! Go do something else!"
"Too bad, Minato! Suck it up! From now on, we are rivals! I'm going to be Hokage!"
"Boys will be boys."
"Oh dear, did I just create a new rival for Minato?" Jiraiya mused and chuckled at the sight. "Although I think this is a good development, albeit a surprising one."
"Sensei! Who do you think will make a better Hokage?!"
"Why don't you two actually start working on it first?" Mikoto shot back.
"Koto-chan's right. You three should actually start catching the devil cat before it runs away. Then you can start dreaming of becoming Hokage. At this rate, the cat will be Hokage before the two of you did." Jiraiya pointed at the escaping cat that belongs to the wife of the Fire Daimiyo, which the three genin had failed to restrain earlier when they were bickering among themselves.
"AHHH! Sensei! Why didn't you inform us earlier?!"
Orochimaru lunged.
'Sensei, are you seeing this? Am I worthy to be called a true shinobi? What would you say if you can see me now?'
Kizashi gathered all his remaining power into his right fist, ready to unleash the true power of the eight gates. This is his final and greatest attack.
In the next second, he too, unleashed his attack.
"FEEL THE FULL FORCE OF MY WILL OF FIRE!" Kizashi roared back at Orochimaru, determined to take Orochimaru down Haruno style. The space itself distorts as Kizashi dashed forward towards Orochimaru, and Kizashi watched with unconcealed glee as the distorted space is making it impossible for Orochimaru to defend or escape.
Like he promised to himself, he will strike the Snake Sannin down today.
"CHA!"
The immense power of his final punch impacted against Orochimaru, who is steadily being reduced to nothing from the sheer power of the punch and the potency of Kizashi's Yang chakra. With his fist firmly planted on Orochimaru's body, Kizashi called out the name of his technique to kill Orochimaru for good.
"Haruno Clan Forbidden Technique! Yang Release: Burning Rays of the Dying Sun!"
With a blast of pure Yang chakra, Kizashi burnt through every aspect of Orochimaru, both Yin and Yang. He felt more than saw his Yang chakra transcending through time and space as it followed the faint threads of Orochimaru's Yin chakra and found the countless fragmented souls that the snake had implanted into his victims throughout the Elemental Nations. He felt as his chakra burnt Orochimaru's fragmented consciousness into nothing while leaving the unfortunate hosts unharmed. He felt Orochimaru's presence and very soul got obliterated and taken out from this world.
The Four Red Yang Formation bulged and the resulting explosion of the collision of powers was released into the air in a mixture of bright red and yellow. Kizashi knew that Orochimaru is no more, in body and spirit. The only proof of his existence in Konoha is the now dented and disfigured Sword of Kusanagi which was left behind.
Kizashi felt himself slowly falling down onto his back as his body began to slowly crumble from the use of the Eight Gates. He felt his clones disappear, and the barriers of the Four Red Yang Formation dissipating and many Konoha shinobis rushing to where he is in the huge crater where he had his final battle with Orochimaru. He used his senses once more to sense the cinders of life of his fellow shinobis and villagers, finding them burning strong thanks to the earlier protection he had given them through his Life Transference Jutsu. This is enough assurance to him that he had succeeded in protecting his village from this crisis. Most of the invading force had been driven out as far as he can tell with his Yang chakra sense. Even Ay himself is no longer in the village seeing how Minato appeared by his side in a flash of yellow, Sage Mode active and a very worried and shocked look on his face as he held onto his dying body.
If it is Minato, then he knows that Konoha is in safe hands. Minato is reliable, it had always been that way since their genin days.
"I leave the village in your hands, Minato." Kizashi managed to croak out as his body starts to crumble into dust. "From now onwards, you are the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure."
"Kizashi!"
"D-Do you a-accept the title of… Hokage?"
"I-!"
"Do you?"
"I… I do." Minato choked out a sob and Kizashi knows that he can now finally rest in peace. The both of them had always been rivals, competing with each other constantly, both wanting and striving to be Hokage. Because of that, he knows Minato is more than capable of protecting the village in his stead.
A black blur appeared by his side, and Kizashi spotted the final member of his genin team, dressed in battle gear and looking at him worriedly with those red eyes of hers. Mikoto is here as well, to send him off. The two of them had always been by his side in one way or another, they are a team, even if their sensei had departed from this world a long time ago.
This is a fitting end.
"Shi…Shinobis of Konohagakure. This is my last order… as Yondaime Hokage." Kizashi gave one last attempt to fight against the aftereffects of the use of the Eight Gates, using the remnants of his Yang chakra to slow down the dusting of his body. The group of shinobis that had gathered around him kneeled, waiting for his final order. There are things that he has to do before he breathe his last.
"I appoint… Namikaze Minato as my successor. From now onwards, he is your Godaime Hokage. Hyuga Hanabi is now… the new jinchuriki of the Nibi… protect her with your lives, get the full picture of the situation from Senju Tsunade if you need it. With my authority… I also pardon Yuki Haku for his actions in regard to the Nibi situation. Most importantly … do your best to protect our next generation from the coming conflict… Pass on your Will of Fire to your children and our next generation. Protect them from what is to come until they are ready to stand on their own two feet. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Yondaime-sama!"
"Good…" Kizashi choked out as he finally released his hold over his Yang Release and let himself fade into an eternal slumber, succumbing to the aftereffects of the Eight Gates technique.
'Minato, Mebuki, Sakura, everyone… I leave Konoha into your capable hands. Let our Will of Fire burn strong through the coming crisis.'
"Kizashi! Kizashi!-"
"Medic! Someone get a medic nin here!"
"Where's Tsunade-sama?!"
"Jiraiya-sensei, what are you reading about?"
"The first book I wrote, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. You want a copy?"
"What's the story about?" Mikoto asked as she peered over Jiraiya's shoulder.
"About peace, and also about never giving up. I tried to make the plot more… entertaining, but I'm not sure if I succeeded."
"What do you think peace should be like, sensei? How can the world achieve peace?"
"I think… Actually, I'm not too sure myself. I'm still searching for answers. Naori thinks that peace can only be achieved if there is a wise ruler guiding everyone, like how the Sage of the Six Paths did. It's not a bad idea, but I don't think it is the best either. I think peace can only be achieved if we figure out what is causing all the conflicts plaguing our world, and once we resolved it, then can peace be achieved. I'm still searching for the 'how'."
"I think peace can be achieved if everyone understands everyone else." Minato said quietly, but his tone is one of certainty.
"Peace can only be achieved if you have power." Kizashi spoke up. "Only with power then people will start to listen to you, like what our Shodai did when he first founded Konoha. For Konoha to bring about peace, we need to first be strong, so strong that no one will want to mess with us. There is strength through unity. Konoha needs to be united, then we can be strong. Once we are strong, then we can start talking terms with the other villages. It all starts with unity."
"I can see where you are coming from, but your method is too authoritarian, Kizashi. Peace cannot be achieved if there is fear."
"How else do you want people to understand each other? You think people will just put down their weapons and talk? Don't be naïve! There are generations of grudges to be resolved, Minato!"
"How about you, Mikoto?" Jiraiya asked the only female in their group.
"I… I don't know that much about world politics and honestly, I have no interest." Mikoto admitted. "All I want is for my loved ones to be able to live happily, to be carefree and to live without fear. To me, that is peace."
"Awww, Koto-chan! Thinking about good ol' Fugu-face?"
"S-Sensei!"
"Daylight's running out, sensei, we need to hurry if we want to reach Konoha before sundown."
"Yosh! Time for a race! Last one to get back treats everyone to Ichiraku! See you back home!"
"Wai-"
"Cheater! You are a Sannin! You should be the one giving us a headstart!"
"SENSEI!"
"Come on! We need to keep moving! We need to reach back home before Sensei does! He will clean our wallets dry otherwise!"
He remembered that Jiraiya sensei cheated unashamedly in that race and cleaned their wallets dry. How can someone that is not Kushina eat so much ramen?
"KIZASHI!"
"DAD!"
Is that his wife and daughter that he hears? Don't be sad. He doesn't want to see the two most important women of his life crying. He had passed his Will of Fire to them, and that is how he will live on, in their hearts. There's no need to cry for him.
"W-Wait. I didn't hear wrongly? Y-You said yes?"
"Well, I can always take it back. Do you want me to marry you or not?"
"Y-YES! I DID IT! I DID IT! YOU HEAR THAT, EVERYONE? MEBUKI SAID YES!"
"S-Shut up! Stop this! Everyone's watching!"
"SHE SAID YES!"
He remembered the day she said 'yes'.
"Kizashi, look, our baby girl. What are we naming her?"
"I dunno, but how about Sakura? Like the ones outside the window."
"Cherry Blossom?"
"She's our little cherry blossom, ain't she? She got my hair and your eyes."
"Haruno Sakura… I like it. Let's go with that."
He remembered the day, March 28, when their little baby girl arrived into this world. The sakura trees were blooming that day, the most beautiful he had ever seen. He can never forget that day.
"Dad! The couch's mine!"
"Ah, ah, little lady, you cannot hog couch-kun forever! Let your Daddy dearest use it once in a while!"
"You signed away your rights to use the couch when you lost to me in rock-paper-scissors three days ago!"
"And I just override that with my authority as Hokage! So there, hah!"
"That's playing dirty and you know it!"
"Being a Hokage is a tough job! I need the legendary power of couch-kun to recharge myself!"
"The both of you can forget about using the couch unless you start helping me clean up the mess you two created in the kitchen!"
"Y-Yes Ma'am!"
He will miss the happy times he spent with his family. He will no longer have the chance to annoy his wife and daughter, to be able to spend time with them. This is his only regret.
"Haruno Kizashi, do you accept the title of Hokage?"
"I do, Sandaime-sama."
"From today onwards, you are the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha."
He can still remember when he first accepted the title of Hokage from his predecessor, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He can still remember when Hiruzen passed the hat into his hands.
"Congratulations, Kizashi."
"Minato, I…"
"Don't worry too much, you will be a good Hokage, I know it. We both competed for the position of Hokage. I lost fair and square, but I don't regret having you as my rival. You deserve the position of Hokage."
"Minato, you… will you help me?"
"Kizashi?"
"I can't do everything alone, can I? I need good advisors that I can trust, to help me and to steer me back in case I ever went astray. Will you help me?"
He remembered the smile his best friend, Namikaze Minato, gave him.
"Of course I will, Hokage-sama."
He can still remember when he asked Fugaku, Dan, and Minato to help him in running Konoha, to bring their village to greater heights.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you your Yondaime Hokage: Haruno Kizashi!"
"YONDAIME! YONDAIME! YONDAIME!"
He can still remember it. The day he was officially inaugurated as the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure. He can still remember the promise he gave to his people who were cheering for him when he stood tall and proud on the top of the Hokage building to address the village that he will be protecting.
"I am Haruno Kizashi! As your Yondaime Hokage, I give you this promise: I will protect Konoha-"
He can still remember the passion and the determination he felt right at that very moment, even when his life is about to fade away right now. He is Haruno Kizashi, SS Rank shinobi, the War God Kizashi feared by many across the Elemental Nations. He is the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure.
"WITH! MY! LIFE!"