Chapter 22: From Now On (Vol 1 END)

Konoha

It had been a week since the fox incident. The third was not in the best of situations. The pressure he was feeling at the moment was no small joke, on the one hand, he had to calm the population, however, that an incident of this magnitude happened in the supposed most powerful village left a group of the population with more fear. It should be borne in mind that this kind of attack had not occurred in the village, not even during the war.

Of course, thanks to Tsunade, people feel safe, but many of the merchants who came from other places decided to pack their things and leave, which caused a deep economic crisis in the village, even worse now that they required money for reconstruction.

— How are the talks going with the representatives of the neighboring countries? (Hiruzen)

— Not so well Hokage-sama, they are demanding that we give them more guarantees and benefits in exchange for continuing to do business with us. (Shikaku)

— Do you think you can do anything to convince them? (Hiruzen)

— It's complicated, in this situation, almost all of them agreed, as a group, to achieve greater benefits. (Shikaku)

— Try to get to a point where we don't give in too much, and it has to look like we win in the eyes of the people, otherwise trust in us will be reduced. (Hiruzen)

— Understood. (Shikaku)

— How is the investigation of the remains found? (Hiruzen)

— Not so well, we could only recognize a few, the rest was in a state too shattered to find clues. From what we could tell, they belonged to different villages, and they were all renegade ninjas. That's all we could find out. (Shikaku)

— What about the state of their bodies? I don't think they were left like that simply because of the explosion. (Hiruzen)

— The only thing we could get was that they had already received serious injuries prior to the explosion. (Shikaku)

— From their fight with Minato? (Hiruzen)

— It doesn't look like that, the result of an explosion is very different from what was found. According to the doctors, it's like they've been ground. (Shikaku)

Try to push them harder and come to a conclusion soon. We cannot afford not to know the exact cause of Minato's death. (Hiruzen)

— Understood. (Shikaku)

After that brief conversation, Shikaku proceeded to withdraw from the office. These were busy days for everyone. In fact, Hiruzen had also planned to use this incident to take political power away from the Uchiha, although he had not planned to go to such extremes as his partner, now everything had collapsed because of a meddler.

Since the conversation he had with Danzo, he had redoubled all security measures, in addition to having begun with an exhaustive investigation, but without achieving any fruit. He only encountered a few cases of corruption. As always, he detained some and set others free, for the stability of the village.

Most worryingly, four Uchihas had disappeared from the village. Two of them were the mother and daughter who were involved in Danzo's attack, and the other two were another pair of mother and son. That was more serious than it seemed, since, despite being civilians, they possessed the Uchiha blood, so it was possible that, in the future, the Sharingan would fall into foreign hands. That made him think. Originally, although he did not plan to support his friend, neither would he condemn him for his attacks on that clan, but now there were signs that they might be being stolen, he had to take a firmer stance, he could not afford the possibility, however small, that they would escape from Konoha.

They were a large and powerful clan; if everyone decided to retire, there was nothing he could do, the only other option was a civil war, and that would only bring worse consequences.

---------------------------- x X x ---------------------------

In some village in the land of fire.

It was already a few days since Minato and the others left the cave where they had previously taken refuge, they were currently traveling from town to town disguised as merchants. It was not so difficult, they simply looked for some bandits and annihilated them, so they got all the products they needed, it was the perfect way to do business, making money without investing anything.

Minato and Kushina were a wealthy couple traveling with their mother, while Kokoe, Lite, Rin, Shizune, and the Uzumaki family were their servants and bodyguards. Lite hadn't woken up since then, and they had to feed him through an intravenous tube.

These days served so that the group could order their ideas (and for the author to do so too), however, they did not have much to think about, with the attack on the village they were sure that they had an enemy, so, the only option left to them was to fight, so they began to separate a space of time in their day to day to retrain, while Kokoe was totally dedicated to the care of Lite.

Minato initially wanted to study the seals, however, he realized that it was not a productive way to use his time, it was better to devote himself to something else until Lite wakes up. Although he decided not to improve his seals for the moment, he did dedicate himself to becoming more familiar with the space element.

Tsunade, on the other hand, used the captured bandits to deepen her knowledge of medicine. The latest incidents made her realize that no matter if they were Kage-level individuals, the dangers they would face from now on were going to be more dangerous than she thought, so being able to save their lives was the top priority. Her goal was precisely something she failed at last week, to be able to save a jinchuuriki from whom his beast had been taken away.

Kushina, on the other hand, was educating the Uzumaki in the art of fuuinjutsu. She couldn't train because her fighting style was too violent, so she ran the risk of straying too far away from Minato and destabilizing the fox's seal.

.

.

.

The days passed and they went from one side to the other, before they noticed it, it had already been two months since they began their journey, they all began to improve little by little. Perhaps the one that showed the most progress was Tsunade. She already had a lot of theoretical knowledge, so when she got rid of any moral sense she had and began experimenting with the bandits and missing ninjas she encountered, her progress advanced by leaps and bounds.

That is until one day there were signs, at last, of Lite.

— Tsunade-sama, how's my boy? (Kokoe)

— Physically, he is already totally healed, the problem is his mind, he is in a kind of trance. Sadly, I don't possess the Yamanaka clan's skills to try any more. (Tsunade)

— I see... (Kokoe)

After so long, he had finally shown reactions, which meant that the moment he wakes up was approaching.

---------------------------- x X x ---------------------------

In a hidden cave.

Days after his attack on Leaf Village, Obito Uchiha, or Tobi, as he had chosen to be called now, had begun to tear apart everything in front of him since he arrived at his hideout.

— Why are you making such a fuss? (Madara)

— ¿Madara? — You already woke up? There may be problems. (Obito)

— Oh? And why is that? (Madara)

No one could imagine that a character as infamous as Uchiha Madara remained alive to this day. Of course, compared to his glory days, he was very different and his current state prevented him from exercising even a small percentage of his true power. Now he could only spend his days trying to conserve as much energy as possible.

— ...I see. There certainly seems to be something wrong. (Madara)

At first, Obito was very angry at how bad his infiltration plan had turned out, as it did not cause any damage to the village. However, Zetsu then contacted him to inform him what had happened in the village after his escape.

Obviously, he had nothing to do with any barrier, nor with the explosion that happened in the end.

— Looks like you were used. (Madara)

— *Tsk* What worries me the most is who was responsible for it. Maybe he was someone who was already planning an attack, and I just gave him the perfect opportunity. (Obito)

— No, it's too much of a coincidence. Besides, that wasn't an attack. (Madara)

Then? (Obito)

— Perhaps a prophecy, I know that those of Mount Myooboku possess some strange technique that allows them to predict certain events. And there's someone in that place with a very close relationship with those toads. (Madara)

Obviously, Madara came to such a conclusion after hearing Obito's detailed report. The boy had courage in his plans, and his special ability made him quite useful, but he was still a boy with very little experience.

— So wasn't it easier to try to stop me head-on? (Obito)

— That's true if they want to do it openly, but well, stop thinking about it. Certainly, it's something to keep in mind, but you couldn't do much either. (Madara)

— Will you just let it go? (Obito)

— No, whoever has meddled is certainly dangerous, but that they have done so secretly indicates that they are still weak. After all, they couldn't prevent Minato's death and did everything from the shadows. The most alarming thing is the intelligence they possess. (Madara)

Then? (Obito)

— We have to modify the plans, I'll speed up your training. (Madara)

That's it? (Obito)

It seems that you do not understand, it is certainly important that you plan, but even if things get out of your control, as long as you possess enough strength, nothing else will matter. (Madara)

Given these words, Obito agreed. So he decided to put more effort into what he does from now on.

This Obito will be a much more formidable opponent than it originally would have been.

Tsunade and the others weren't the only ones getting stronger.

---------------------------- x X x ---------------------------

In a forest

Minato's group was camping, they had set out to visit as many villages as possible until Lite woke up, meanwhile, they were improving their skills more.

Now they were having lunch, yet they all avoided seeing specifically someone while eating.

— What's up? Why is everyone looking at me like that? (Tsunade)

— No… it's just… we'd appreciate it if you could take the blood off your clothes while we eat. (Minato)

— Hmp! It is thanks to this that my skills are improving day by day. Without me, you will surely die in the future. (Tsunade)

— I have no doubt about that, but... (Minato)

Tsunade had become obsessed with elevating her medical training, so now every day she tried something new with the ninjas they captured. It came to such a point that Minato wondered if it was more cruel to let the criminals be treated by Tsunade, even her apprentices, Shizune and Rin, sometimes had to refrain from helping her because they couldn't stand what they saw.

Everything was like a normal day.

— Tsunade-sama! (Kokoe)

— ¡! (Tsunade)

She immediately ran out of there. The one who had called her was Kokoe, who was next to Lite at the moment. She tried to always be by his side, so if she called her it meant something had happened, something urgent.

— What happened? (Tsunade)

— Lite, he woke up. (Kokoe)

Hearing those words, she quickly entered the store where the child was. He saw that he was looking towards nothingness, but little by little, clarity returned to his eyes.

— Hey, kid, you're late. (Tsunade)

— Hi. (Lite)

— I see you have the energy to smile. (Tsunade)

As she said, when Lite saw her, her mother, who was behind her, and the rest of the group, who showed clear signs of worry on their faces, he couldn't help but feel happy.

— Please stand down for a while, I'll check it out to see if everything's okay. (Tsunade)

Obviously, she wasn't going to let a patient be overwhelmed just by waking up.

Tsunade forced everyone out of the tent, including Kokoe.

— Okay kid, everything seems to be fine with your body, but tell me head-on, how are you feeling?

— …I think I'm ok. (Lite)

— Seriously? (Tsunade)

— Yeah, I had plenty of time to calm down. (Lite)

— What about your memories? (Tsunade)

— …My other self helped me with that issue, before leaving he created a barrier in my mind. (Lite)

— So now everything is sorted out? It can't be that simple. (Tsunade)

— No, but can you call the others? (Lite)

— Of course. (Tsunade)

Once everyone was inside, he went on to explain what had happened and the consequences in Kokoe's arms, who refused to let go.

— As I told Tsunade, what my previous self did was separate everything that belonged to him from me, so if I want to access those memories, then I have to accept everything again, although it's not something I want to do. (Lite)

What was happening in his mind was similar to what you do on a computer with split memory, now there's a "C" disk and a "D" disk.

— But now you're still remembering, aren't you? (Minato)

— Yes, it is because they are things that I have already learned from my memories, that is, they are already integrated into me. (Lite)

— So, you don't need to touch them, put them aside. (Kokoe)

— Sadly, Mother, that's not something I can do. (Lite)

— Why?! (Kokoe)

— I am aware of everything you spoke in my absence. And that only strengthened my conviction. I don't want anything bad to happen to those of you here. Nor the people I will meet in the future. (Lite)

— But you will suffer... (Kokoe)

— That's just a price to pay, and everything comes at a price, I'm just willing to pay this one. (Lite)

— So you don't remember what will happen in the future? (Minato)

— Only some parts, the ones I already absorbed, unfortunately, are the most terrifying, since that was what I paid the most attention to. (Lite)

In the face of this, Minato couldn't help but feel a headache. Originally, he planned to ask Lite about the most important events of the future and then set him aside for him to live a quiet life, but now that was no longer a feasible plan. Sure, leaving aside that possibly Lite would not accept the first option, at least it would reduce the weight he would carry in the future, now everything went down the drain.

— *Sigh* Tell me little one, then what will be our main goal? (Tsunade)

Of course, she also understood the same thing, from now on, Lite would be the key piece of their group.

— We'll have three. In the short term, it is about amassing power in the world and gradually weakening conflicts. (Lite)

— Is that the short-term one? You have to know that's already hard enough to make even Jiraiya complain. (Tsunade)

— There is no other way, that is what needs to be done. The medium-term goal is to unite the nations in a struggle against Madara. (Lite)

— Wait! Are you saying Madara's still alive? (Tsunade)

This was something she couldn't ignore. Madara, his grandfather's greatest rival, was a danger to the village that could not be ignored. That meant his grandfather wasn't able to defeat him, and now he's possibly strong enough to threaten the world?

— Whether he's alive now or not, I don't know, but he will be in the future. However... *Grrrr* *Redden*

— I think you better eat. The first thing we did was to have a serious conversation as soon as you woke up, you haven't eaten anything solid for quite some time. Maybe we were too anxious, but I still shouldn't have ignored a patient like that. (Tsunade)

An hour later, they all met again.

— Now, it would be nice if you explained Madara. (Minato)

— I don't have the details now, I just know there will be a war, the world against him. (Lite)

— A fourth ninja world war? (Tsunade)

— That's right. We will use that war to completely eliminate any divisions that may exist between villages. (Lite)

— Although it seems like a good idea, you know that if what you say is true, then the casualties will be incalculable, right? (Minato)

— Yes, I know, sadly, it's the only way to prepare the world. (Lite)

— For what? (Minato)

— Long-Term Target, Destroy the Otsutsuki clan. They are the clan to which the ancestor of the chakra belonged to. (Lite)

— ¡! (Everyone)

With these words, the atmosphere became tense. They, as elite ninjas, had obviously heard the legends of the Sage of Six Paths, however, now they have to destroy his clan?

— Explain! Is the sage of the six paths real? (Tsunade)

— I never said that we would destroy the clan of the sage, in that case, I would be refering to his descendants. The Senju are circling the world and the Uhcihas will be destroyed without him doing anything in a few years. I mean the real ancestor, the mother of the chakra, Kaguya Otsutsuki.

— …We are listening. (Minato)

— They are very powerful, unfortunately, I do not have enough information about them, but you should know that what for us is a goddess, for them is one more of their clan. Obviously, she's someone a little special, but she's definitely not the strongest.

— How much does she compare to my grandfather? (Tsunade)

— There is no comparison. It's that scary, that's something I told you a long time ago already. She was literally the ruler of the world at the time. (Lite)

— I'm sorry, what you're saying is so unbelievable that it's hard for me to believe. (Minato)

— I do not expect you to believe me from now on, as long as things happen in the future you will see it, then it will not be necessary for me to do anything. (Lite)

— *Sigh* (Tsunade)

— I see you'll earn that nickname sooner or later. (Lite)

— Oh! Shut up! (Tsunade)

— Well, we drifted off topic, you were asking me about Madara. He will have the ability to face the whole world, no, maybe he will be much stronger. (Lite)

— Don't you remember? (Tsunade)

— That's not what this is about. — Lite said with a smile on his little face, making fun of himself. — Because of my interference, I'm sure they will be stronger in the future, after all, a lot of misplaced things happened in the attack. (Lite)

— So he'll be more attentive. (Tsunade)

— Yes… (Lite)

There was nothing else to say, the information was too much for them to process so quickly, so they chose to withdraw and give the mother and child some time.

She sang him a lullaby as she wondered if her son, who had already been through too much, would enjoy that or not.

— Mother. (Lite)

— Yes? (Kokoe)

Lite was lying in her lap, seeing the sky from a gap they had made to let in the moonlight.

Several thoughts ran through his head. Unlike what he had shown a moment ago, now his heartbeats were erratic. Out of nowhere, he turned and hugged Kokoe tightly.

— Mother… I'm afraid… (Lite)

With his hands shaking, he grabbed Kokoe's clothes tightly, trying not to let go even for a second.

— I am afraid... (Lite)

— … (Kokoe)

Kokoe only caressed her son, as gently as she could, conveying her love and support, as she had promised herself.

— I'm afraid to remember, to fight, to lose, I don't know if I'll make it… (Lite)

— … (Kokoe)

She just kept hugging him. Kokoe knew perfectly well that her son only needed that from her.

He had already made his decision.

— *sob* *sob* *sob*

But, even so, it was difficult to ignore, it was difficult to support him knowing the price he will have to pay. Anyway, now she knew the reasons, and she knew he wouldn't stop, he would keep walking.

— sob

Their tears fell that night. Together, making themselves know that they would always be next to each other.

This is the story of Lite, an unlucky boy, not the king of the underworld, just a boy.

From now on, this is the story of Lite Uchiha.

---------------------------- x X x ---------------------------

Pleeaaaase STONES! :D

And after sooooo much, Vol 1 ends here.

Chapter 23 starts vol 2.

Who said writing a fanfic is easy? Come here, I promise I won't beat you up... too hard.

A little more than 3400 words since I'm happy.

I think I've gotten better than when I started, what do you think?

And don't forget to give me a good review. :D