A Hokage's Nindo

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Kakumei – Arc 4: Might Makes Right

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Chapter 90 – A Hokage's Nindo

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In the kitchen of the Uchiha household, Sasuke is holding the written message that was left on the table. It is an invitation from Oshio, which is what he was waiting for. A bit confused, but also excited, the wanderer tries to guess what place he is supposed to meet him at, before just realizing that it is certainly Oshio who will locate him as soon as he notices his presence on his lands.

He quickly thinks of everything he should tell his son and everything he shouldn't, and then raises his shoulders and rushes to leave by the front door, now in a hurry. He leaves his wife and her guests behind in their grief and runs to his duty, glad that he was the first to find this note.

As soon as he exits, he crosses paths with his second born son, Izuna, who just now returns from his latest mission. The two Uchiha make eye contact for a moment, before the father steps forward to leave, unbothered. Izuna can only think of all he's learned on his mission: the seemingly real reason for his brother's existence and the implied lie or carelessness of Sasuke.

As many times lately, he lets his emotions take over and forcibly turn on his Dojutsu. Out of anger, he rapidly gets in his dad's way. Sasuke promptly stops, annoyed. Izuna now leaps forward and carelessly tries to push his fist in his father's face. The wandering Uchiha calmly catches on his son's wrist to stop his punch and gets surprised by the excessive strength he put in this.

His hair is pushed off his face due to the hit's shock wave, and behind him he hears the sound of a wall collapsing. Even though not doing any harm to the target, Izuna's strike still went forth and through the wall to the kitchen. Sasuke, who first only expected a friendly attack, expresses his surprise and pushes his son away.

Landing on the ground back where he jumped from, Izuna looks up to his dad again with his Sharingan and sees him standing there as if he expected an explanation.

"You're either a disgusting liar, or just a rotten piece of shit!" Izuna yells, just as Sakura comes running from the front door, alerted by the hit to the wall.

"…" Sasuke doesn't answer, just waiting to be allowed to leave.

"Momoshiki cloned you? Or did whatever to make a fake son for you? Bullshit!" Izuna keeps yelling out. "You just messed up and got another woman pregnant!"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow, feeling awkward from this awful suggestion. Behind him, Sakura does just the same, finding it as stupid as her husband does. Sarada comes running from the door and holds on to her mother's leg, intrigued by the noise. Izuna, seeing his dad's frustrating reaction, pulls out the two pictures he carefully kept.

"Look at that!" he exclaims while showing the photograph of Dariha Heihachiro. "This is Oshio's mother. She raised him for 10 years like any mother would. And this picture is proof that you really knew each other. I know that, because the guy who took it told me in person… Just a minute before getting killed by someone sent by Kakumei!"

Sasuke bends over to take a better look at the picture and tries to remember… It was even before his wedding with Sakura. Around that time he met Tsubai Minamoto. This woman, Dariha, was a young girl he saved during Katashiki's dragon attack in Ryuka. He later met her again after defeating Sojobo, and that's when she insisted on taking this picture.

Now, Izuna is saying that she's Oshio's mother? How could this be? He never even met her again after that day and barely knew anything other than her name. He frowns and clenches his teeth, angered by how meaningless this is.

"See that? If you weren't such an idiot, there wouldn't be any evil brother trying to destroy the world!" Izuna goes on, putting the picture down and clenching his fists. "I wouldn't even exist, and Oshio would be the one in my place, here! And things would have been way better!"

Sarada, not even aware of what the reason for this scene is, gasps at what she understands from her brother's words. Sasuke still doesn't speak. He just thinks of how pointless this all is. Oshio certainly knows the truth behind this nonsense. And he is just over the sea, waiting to finally give the answers to the questions that have been haunting Sasuke for over 6 years.

"I have no time to waste arguing with you!" he tells his son as he raises his hand to perform a hand sign.

"Don't run away, coward!" Izuna shouts as he jumps to his father again and attempts to hit him in the chest with much more strength.

Before he lands his fist, his father promptly vanishes from where he stood. Too much in a hurry to find real answers, Sasuke ignores the provocations of his son and goes just as he intended, leaving Izuna in his frustration alone. To him, his father just once more did what he always did: disappear. It is the same behavior that caused Oshio to be what he is today.

Sakura stands at the door, troubled. She finds her husband's precipitated leave unsettling. It can't only be because of what Izuna just said. He certainly finds this as ridiculous and untrue as she does. There must be something else that put him in a hurry.

More worried about her son right now, she stops thinking about it and gets closer to him. His eyes are still red with anger.

"Don't get to such conclusions so quickly, Izuna." she tells him before lying her hands on his cheeks. "The only one whose answers will matter is Oshio himself."

"Answers are here! His grandfather told me in person!" the chunin exclaims, pushing his mother's hands away. "Stop defending him! Oshio's not even your son!"

Sarada, deranged by all these arguments, covers her ears and closes her eyes, only waiting for it to stop. Behind his mother, Izuna now sees Shizune and Kakashi step out from the house. He notices their fully black outfits, and just now realizes that Sarada and Sakura are wearing those as well. These are the kind of clothes you only put on for a funeral.

"What's with the grieving outfits?" he asks. "What happened?"

Sakura widely opens both eyes and gulps down, being reminded of what she has to explain to him. The 6th Hokage and his wife come closer to the family, holding each other's hand. Shizune, seeing Izuna's interrogative face and Sakura staying quiet, inhales to answer, but Kakashi holds her shoulder, signaling her to stop and let Sakura speak for herself.

"It's Tsunade…" the mother whispers.

Izuna doesn't need any more words to understand, and refuses to believe it. He stands still in doubt for just two seconds, and then promptly runs away, looking to prove his thoughts wrong. Neither Sakura, nor Kakashi or Shizune go to follow him. They leave him to his own grief.

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Izuna rapidly gets to the 5th Hokage's retirement home where he used to train with her in the backyard. He goes all around the house, breaks in, goes back out, and doesn't find any trace of his master. He sees the neighbors confusingly staring at him in his effort, and doesn't dare ask for help. Instead he goes running through the village to go to all the places where she could be. In his research, he stops by the ninja cemetery.

Fearfully, he walks to the monument at the front of the yard, which is the memorial of the late Hokages. It looks different from the last time he saw it. It is bigger now, and on its base are written the names of those whose memories are being honored by the sculpture. Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Minato Namikaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi,… and Tsunade Senju.

The young Uchiha stands still in front of it, barely holding on his legs. He remembers all her lessons, everything she taught him in terms of Ninjutsu, chakra control, medicine, and way more.

He lets his tears flow when he realizes he won't be able to fulfill the promise he made the last time he saw her. He will never be able to show her his awakened seal, because she's not here to see it anymore.

Silently grieving alone, he is joined by the 7th Hokage, lured by the emotions of the boy that he could feel as he was running through the village. Naruto comes to stand in silence next to his student, and waits a moment before sharing his thoughts.

"Without her, I would never have been Hokage." he says. "Without her, I would have given up on that dream and succumbed to Kurama… As much as I did for her, she inspired me to be better. She's been losing her whole life. Be it her family, her little brother, her lover, her master, her best friend… She had her own ways to deal with the pain, but she never fell into hatred. Because more than anything, she was merciful. Without her, I would never have been able to save and bring pardon to Sasuke."

"Sensei! Lady 5th is dead!" Izuna exclaims, frustrated by the name he just heard. "He's not who you should bring up now."

"He's exactly who we should speak about." promptly answers Naruto before going on. "Offering a second chance to someone once helped me bring the whole village back to life. This habit, Tsunade had it as well. Thanks to her, Orochimaru and Sasuke got redemption. You should keep that in mind about her. Giving second chances, she didn't do it for profit, but to save these people from wasting their own lives in hatred and blind ambitions… I never heard her say it, but I'm pretty sure this is what her nindo was. To never let anyone waste their life, and to not stay back when you can step in."

Izuna wipes his tears away discreetly and looks up to see the face of his sensei. He recalls these words in his mind and remembers their previous discussions about ninja ways.

"You didn't forget your nindo, did you?" Naruto asks, turning this discussion into a lesson.

"Of course not." Izuna answers. "To never waste a life."

"Right. Because killing an enemy without giving him a chance is just letting the conflict go on." Naruto gives details. "My nindo, to never go back on my words, ends up having the same purpose as Tsunade's, and as yours. Such a rule of perseverance and peace is what, I believe, makes a true Hokage's Nindo."

Izuna widely opens his eyes, shaken by how hopeful and reassuring this last sentence was. Naruto gently lays his hand on his student's back, and quietly leaves him alone in his grief. They stay in silence in front of the memorial monument. While he's at it, the Hokage cares to give thoughts to his predecessors, including his father, the 4th.

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Several hours later, Izuna went to sit on a roof near the Hokage's mansion, trying to bear the pain. He is joined by Seiki Tomoe who got out of inspection and came looking for the boy who reminded her of Kakumei's leader. Forced out of loneliness, Izuna lightly looks aside to notice her.

"Shouldn't you be locked down and used as an intel source?" Izuna asks.

"They're done for now." she answers as she sits down by his side. "I'm safe and reliable apparently. At least my mind is… You look sad… Does it have anything to do with that passing everyone is talking about?"

Izuna doesn't reply and just stays silent, now looking up to the face of 5th Hokage carved in the cliff over the village. Seiki follows his gaze and, trying to make up a portrait of who this woman was, gets reminded of a personality of her land.

"When I was a little girl, my village and land were led by Lady Gozen from the Tomoe clan." she says. "She was a mighty queen who conquered all the land and ruled in peace. Around here, we call her the most powerful kunoichi ever. She kinda was a model for every young girl in my clan."

Not seeing much reaction from her interlocutor, she tries to change the topic.

"What information did you get from that old man?" she asks. "Lady Meinu wanted him dead because he could provide intel about Lord Oshio. What was it?"

Izuna breaks his silence, but isn't yet trustful enough to answer this question. He instead tries to learn more about her.

"What is your connection to Kakumei again?" he questions.

"Um… I'm from the Tomoe clan." she starts, forgetting about her question. "The founding clan of Ketsugakure. Only women live there. Lady Meinu came to our village to secretly recruit allies for Kakumei despite Lady Toshima's disagreement. She's a nice, beautiful and cultured woman, so I became her friend, and eventually followed her to Hikari, which meant becoming a member of Kakumei."

"How can a village with only women exist?" Izuna asks, focused on this detail she mentioned.

"Well… Men aren't allowed in the village and all the babies are girls for some mystic reason." she says. "Male travelers can only stay in the village for a little time, and this if they pay some kind of tribute which consists of attempting to have a child with a volunteer mother."

Izuna raises an eyebrow and looks at her, unsure if she's being serious about this silly rule or not.

"We call it male surrogacy because if a man makes a baby for the village, he won't have any right as the father." she details. "For instance, I think I'm the daughter of a lost wanderer of the land of Lightning. But he possibly isn't even aware that I exist… Now that I left Kakumei, I'd like to go home to Ketsu like nothing happened. Then, maybe I'll become a mother since I'm old enough for this now."

Izuna looks at her awkwardly, unsettled by how calmly she speaks about this stuff. As he suggested to himself earlier, she must be 1 or maybe 2 years older than him, so she should be barely in age for this.

"How old are you?" she asks him the question he was thinking of for her. "Maybe you could be the father?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" he exclaims, leaping away from her on his butt. "I'm only 15."

Seiki doesn't insist further. She just looks down at the village and ends this discussion. Izuna also gets calm. He stares at the bandage that she has to cover the wound where her mitsudomoe tattoo was. She did this to herself to extract the piece of rod that Oshio inserted in her.

"I want to ask you…" he says. "Where is the white receiver that you pulled out from there?"

"Mh? The intel division took it. They want to examine the thing to determine its uses." she answers.

Izuna makes a sad face. He would have liked to have it for himself. He knows what kind of things it allows Oshio to do, and would have liked to study the medical uses himself. While he's in his thoughts, they're joined on the roof by Anko Mitarashi.

"Seiki Tomoe, it seems you misunderstood our instructions." she says. "You were not allowed to leave the underground, and even less to wander in the village by yourself. We need you for further interrogations. More humane this time."

"Woops, I'm coming then." Seiki says as she stands up, helping herself with Izuna's shoulder. "See you later,… Izuna? I think that was your name."

Izuna doesn't reply and just lets her go. He's still confused about whether or not he can trust her. That the intel division didn't find anything suspicious is reassuring, but his latest discoveries really gave him trust issues. He stays on the roof alone to think about what she said about her village, about Lady Gozen Tomoe, and eventually, his mind is brought back to his memories of the 5th Hokage.

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In the Hokage's office, close to midnight, Naruto Uzumaki is sitting alone and reviewing missions requests. He decides to leave the remaining reviews for a clone to see overnight and gives up for now, just when someone knocks at the door and quickly gets in. It's his advisor, Shikamaru.

"Am I the only one who feels like Kakumei is soon to take more serious actions?" he says to the Hokage.

"What could be more serious?" Naruto asks. "They destroyed the feudal temple of Earth, attacked the capital of Water, and tried to capture Shukaku. How can they be more serious?"

"Well, by going after you for instance?" the advisor replies, insistently looking at the Hokage. "We both know it's supposed to happen, and I don't feel like you did much to stop it until now."

"You and I prepared accordingly to what Sojobo showed me." Naruto answers. "Stopping the future from happening would defeat the point of our plan."

"You're not thinking this through enough. Don't you see what terrible consequences our plan would have for the union?"

"If it has to happen, then so be it. I'm actually pretty curious to see how far Kawaki and Oshio will go. And it would be selfish of me not to trust you guys on this. To me, whatever is to come could be a test for both Kakumei and the Shinobi Union."

Before Shikamaru can argue the Hokage's view, which he finds a bit too chaotic, he has to shut this conversation down as someone else walks in. Moegi Kazamatsuri brings Ino Yamanaka to the office.

"Hi, Naruto!" Ino exclaims, happy to see the original for once.

"Hokage, she's here to report on the current investigations of the Kakumei member who helped Konohamaru's team." Moegi explains.

"And so, Ino, is she actually trustworthy or just an attempt to infiltrate our ranks?" Shikamaru asks.

"As far as my abilities go, I didn't find anything suspicious enough to suggest that she'd actually still be willing to work with the enemy." the Yamanaka leader explains. "I could access all her memories about the detailed instructions of her mission, and it's really just a pretty straight up task that she decided to get around. In other words, she really betrayed Kakumei. She even removed the white rod implant that would have allowed their leader to watch over her."

"Are you sure they couldn't have used any Genjutsu or tengu power to hide information?" the Nara head insists.

"Shikamaru,…" Ino sighs, seeing how little faith he has in her skills. "There is no illusion or manipulation that could trick me. The only power who could really interfere with my mind reading is Tsubai's Kyoku Kyuin and they don't have it on their side."

"Hm… What a drag…" he says, determined not to give in easily. "Did you trace up how she ended up deciding to turn against them?"

"Not yet. I only checked through events and interactions she's witnessed. Not anything more personal, but I can do that."

"Tell me about what her mission originally was." Naruto demands.

"She was asked to meet with Crow, the mercenary sent to kill Jin Heihachiro after his mission, and give him a sealed scroll that she wasn't told about the content. Once ready, she was sent to Ryuka via a space rift just a few minutes before Inoue's team arrived. The scroll she had to deliver was somehow injected into her skin by Meinu Imai, Kakumei's 3rd highest prized member. We didn't find any way to unseal it for now… What is surprising is the interest and reward that Oshio promised for such a simple task. I don't see how this could be related, but according to her, Kakumei has a plan that could lead them to conquer the ninja world in just a few days. It is something that Meinu Imai told her, which confirms it, so went to look for more. Only thing I found is that Oshio Uchiha seemingly met with an Otsutsuki clan member recently."

Shikamaru and Moegi express their surprise at this unexpected turn of event. Naruto, however, stays calm as he was already told about this as soon as it was discovered by Anko Mitarashi.

"This, I knew already. Otsutsuki are Sasuke's business, so I think he should be the one talking with this girl about it." Naruto explains. "But he left the village in a hurry this morning so I couldn't talk to him. Now, even if I try, I don't feel his chakra anymore anywhere. And so that's why…"

Just as he says this, Sai Yamanaka walks in with Boruto Hyuga following him. Sai nods to everyone, and smiles at his wife before facing Naruto and waiting for instructions. He and the Hokage's son were asked to come at this late hour to go on an express mission.

"Sai, Boruto, you are going on a tracking mission of major importance right now." he tells them. "The task is to find Sasuke and bring him back to the village as quickly as possible, because his presence is required for the intel division. Sai, your skills in data collection and research are always essential to this kind of mission in such contexts. Boruto, you've been training under Sasuke's teaching for a year, so you must know him very well. Your knowledge of his behavior and chakra will give important clues to Sai on this mission. Also, it could be that he left for another dimension. In that case, Boruto, you're the only one besides me who should be able to see the remains of Sasuke's chakra where he opened space gates."

"How long do we have?" Boruto asks, a bit confused about these instructions.

"Sai, your flying mounts can go up to the speed of sound now, can they?" Naruto asks for details.

"My giant ink falcons, yes." Sai answers. "We can travel from one end of the continent to the other in just 6 hours."

"Good. In that case, I'd need an update before tomorrow evening." the Hokage orders. "Sorry about the sudden request."

"No need to apologize." Sai answers. "Consider it done."

Sai disappears in a cloud of mist, hurrying to leave within the next minutes. Boruto follows and also uses Shunshin to disappear in a mass of purple chakra that is oddly characteristic to him. Ino makes a slightly embarrassed face, as she didn't expect her husband to leave in such a rush.

Seeing the time, Moegi suggests that they take a leave for today. The Hokage dismisses everyone and stands up himself, ready to leave the work to a clone while he can take the night at his home.

In Naruto's mind, Kurama speaks about the latest discussions.

"Is Sasuke aware that Sojobo's prophecy showed one of the guys of Kakumei?"

"I don't think I ever told him." Naruto says. "And I didn't know what kind of person Kawaki was until last year."

"If this prophecy comes true, what do you think will happen to him?"

"To Sasuke? I don't know, but I won't let it have the consequences it should have." the Hokage answers, now worried about where his friend might be. He's still not aware of the supposed connection between Oshio and the Otsutsuki.

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A few hours earlier, in the cold evening of the lands of Heart, Sasuke Uchiha wanders around the devastated mud field that once was Momoshiki's garden. In this land, Sasuke lets his chakra be sensed by the people on this continent, in order to alert the one who invited him.

After walking across this lost garden for several minutes, he discerns a silhouette dressed in white in the distance. He calmly gets closer and comes face to face with Oshio who stands just 10 meters away from his father. The two Uchiha cursed with the powers of the gods gaze at each other silently for a minute, before Sasuke initiates dialogue.

"To make it clear, I'm here to talk everything out, and bring you home." he frankly says.

Oshio doesn't answer, not knowing how he's supposed to react now that he's in front of the one who gave him up.

"You being here means you're ready for it." Sasuke adds. "Ready to change your mind."

"I am ready to talk. That's all." Oshio answers calmly. "It is far too late for me to change my mind anyway."

"It certainly isn't." his father calmly answers.

In front of such blind and ignorant optimism, Oshio doesn't maintain his calm attitude, frustrated by how different Sasuke behaves compared to their last meeting.

"You're the one who made it too late!" he yells. "All I had 6 years ago was taken away from me because of a blood relation I didn't even know I had! The only thing I could have left at that point was you! And I came asking for it. You're the one who rejected me! You ran away! What makes you believe things should be different so long later?"

"Last time, I was afraid!" Sasuke frankly replies, matching his son's tone, to his surprise. "Momoshiki Otsutsuki told me I wasn't done with him. When I came to the land he conquered and met you, a reflection of me, I ran away because I was afraid. Afraid of what Momoshiki meant. I was sure of nothing back then. But now it's different. There is one thing I am sure of. I am your father."

Oshio swallows his dry saliva and stays silent. He makes a slew face and only listens to the sincere words of his dad that he can't deny.

"I have two other children, and I know that I am a terrible dad for them already." Sasuke goes on. "But I have to try with you. I need to. Maybe if I can start over and get it right with you, I'll become better for Izuna and Sarada as well…"

He stops speaking. Seeing no reaction, he tries to bring up what is on his other son's mind.

"A man from the village of Ryuka confessed to Izuna yesterday. He said he was your grandfather, since he could provide proof that you were his daughter's son… This means he, as well as Izuna, believes that you are the biological son of a woman named Dariha and me. She must have raised you as such before Momoshiki found you."

"… You're not here to bring me home." Oshio interrupts him. "You just couldn't find answers to your questions by yourself. You're just here to get what I can give."

"No, you're wrong." Sasuke promptly replies. "Of course I want answers. And I guess you may have them. But if you don't, it means you're also looking for them. In that case, we'll find them together."

Oshio widely opens his eyes. His frustration almost disappears as he gives up his stubbornness and accepts to see the noble intentions of his father. He opens himself to it, and gives him first elements of answers.

"I guess you don't believe this. That I'm just your son with another woman." he starts to say. "You're right not to. It turns out Dariha Heihachiro may not actually be my mother. Before you ask again… I know the truth, I know who I really am… Your main mistake is being certain that you're who Momoshiki stole something from… Take a second to think of what origin you'd want me to have, and of what it implies."

Sasuke squints, unsure of what this means. He hides away his excitement and contains his urges not to frighten Oshio. He closes his eyes, and calmly breathes.

"What I would like you to be… Is my son." he says, taking a few steps forward to get closer. "The son of Sakura and I. The brother of Izuna and Sarada. I know you had a regular life before you met Momoshiki. Whatever he did to you, we'll write it over. We'll start again and give you the life you should have. And don't dare tell me it's too late again."

Oshio clenches his teeth, trying his best not to let a tear drop.

"This is all I wanted you to say." he cries out. "When Momoshiki was defeated and I learned that you did it, you became my hero. The one who eliminated my demon. When I came to meet you, I know it was clumsy, but I really wanted to finally go home, live with my dad, mom, siblings, like anyone. Saving myself, and Kawaki, Fuyuko, Akiko, and everyone from the misery we were put into. This is what I wanted!… But I was just a kid back then. It's been too long."

"It's not been too long." Sasuke exclaims. "I am here now. I'm listening."

"We've declared war against the Union! We slaughtered the noble families of your lands! There is no way the Kage ever let us be."

"There is a way. There always is one in Naruto's world." Sasuke confidently says, taking a few more steps forward. "He could get the world to forgive me. He will have no problem with saving you, as well as your friends. So don't ever tell me it's too late again. Not without giving it a try."

Oshio stands still and sees his father walk peacefully toward him. He takes a step forward as well, almost letting himself be convinced. But he abruptly stops, remembering the crushing reason he complied with this meeting in the first place. He steps back, to Sasuke's surprise, and looks at his hands to see the chakra flowing through his own body.

"No, sorry… It is my fault. I made it too late." he says. "I hesitated for too long, and now there is no turning back. The only purpose of this discussion was to lure you here."

Chimatakami

Sasuke confusingly stares at his son who just cast the spell to open a rift, but can't see it anywhere around him. Soon enough, he realizes that the gate is in his back. He rapidly pulls out his Kusanagi blade and blocks a red chakra hook that emerges from the portal and almost reaches through him. He deviates the rod with his sword before leaping away to his left, to be face to face with his son and the portal.

Sasuke contains his surprise when he recognizes the one stepping out from the gate. Urashiki Otsutsuki, the one he thought he had killed years ago when he first met Momoshiki, goes to stand next to his son as an ally. The wanderer watches this scenery, and sadly sighs, deceived.

Oshio stands straight, to appear certain of his choices. He tries his best to forget about everything his father just told him, and not to regret what he agreed to with this stranger.

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End of Chapter 90 – Next Chapter: Father Instincts