Chapter 26 - The weight of time
Uzumaki Shin went down on one knee and said
"Uzumaki Shin greets the Sage."
After taking a brief moment to get over his shock he said
"Good to see you too."
'As weird as ever.'
"Where are Grandfather and the others?" Asked Sen.
As Shin was preparing to answer the door to the room opened and Uzumaki Akio entered inside stopping him before he could answer.
Akio looked at Sen, who was awake and broke into a smile and spoke
"It's good to see you are finally awake."
Sen smiled back at him and spoke
"Good to see you too-
but his words halted abruptly as he looked at the empty, fluttering sleeve in the place of Uzumaki Akio's right hand.
"What happened to your hand!?"
He exclaimed.
Uzumaki Akio's smile faltered for a moment but his voice remained cheerful as he spoke
"It's a minor inconvenience, don't worry about it."
Accepting his words, for now, Sen spoke
"Where are Grandfather and the others?"
Uzumaki Akio raised his eyebrow, he looked at Uzumaki Shin and gestured for him to go out
Akio thought to himself
'Looks like uncle was right he is still a child a smart and knowledgeable one, but still a child.'
'A person matures as he experiences the ups and downs of life, I guess it is time for him to grow up.'
And he spoke
"You have been asleep for nearly 7 years Sen and during the time you slept, a lot of things have happened."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"The three elders are no more, Sen."(Akio)
"How is that possible!?" Sen asked with disbelief.
---- UZUMAKI AKIO POV----
I answered Sen's question with the answer he should be somewhat aware of
"When the forces of the other nations attacked us they decided to stay behind."
"Why?" (Sen)
"To leave behind enough evidence that supports the annihilation of Uzumaki clan, it was something that was planned beforehand."(Akio)
"They did what was necessary so that others don't have to suffer a possible future of being hunted down."(Akio)
"But they didn't have to do that, they could have escaped with us." He spoke but his voice contained no conviction.
"Uncle said it was necessary and he said that you knew it too."(Akio)
And Sen fell silent upon hearing those words he opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, and said nothing
"Looks like uncle was right." (Akio)
'He didn't argue against it, and accepted the reason like he somewhat expected it.'
"But wasn't there any other way?"(Sen)
"You know as well as I do that it was a necessary sacrifice"(Akio)
Send gritted his teeth and spoke
"I know, I know.... but, I just don't want to accept it."(Sen)
And tears flowed out of his eyes.
"Why did they have to be the one to do it?" He said in a disheartened tone.
"It's okay Sen, it's okay to cry, you can vent out all your sadness today, but when you go out of this room, I want you to be ready."(Akio)
'You need to move on, for all of us.'
"Because when you step out, you will not be just my nephew."(Akio)
"You will be the Sage that guided the clan to avoid destruction, you will be the shoulder they can rely on, a leader they can trust and will follow without hesitation."(Akio)
"The protector of the Uzumaki Clan."(Akio)
'I hope he can live up to it.'
By the time I finished speaking words my words he had stopped his tears and calmed down.
"I will be, because that is the path I chose." He said and I could feel the determination behind those words.
And when I looked at those black eyes that seemed to look into the future, I saw the shadow of Hashirama in him.
His presence seemed to fill the room and his will almost felt tangible, the very air in the room seemed to be affected.
"Have you come down completely?" I asked almost overwhelmed and the spell seemed to break as he returned to normal.
"Yes the seal in my head helped me, it is like even after they are gone they are still supporting me from the back."(Sen)
Sen said as he touched the back of his head with his hand.
"What happened in the last 7 years?"
He asked
And I started recounting everything
"As the clan was attacked, except for those who decided to stay behind, We moved everyone else into one shelter and I staged an explosion that apparently killed everyone else, but was the cover for the teleportation seal."(Akio)
"What about your arm?"(Sen)
"I left it behind as a proof of my death."(Akio)
"A necessary sacrifice."(Akio)
"I see." He replied no longer getting emotional.
"What about this bed arrangement?"(Sen)
"A few months ago Shin noticed that the vitality in your body started depleting, so we had to resort to the old methods."(Akio)
"Though it looks like your dependency on it has reduced further, but it is currently an inconvenience you have to live with."(Akio)
"That reminds me what happened to the girl who provided me with lifeforce last time."(Sen)
"She didn't make it here."(Akio)
"Was she was she among those who chose to stay behind?"(Sen)
"No, it looks like because of our illustrious performance in the first war the villages were wary of us making preparations, and thus their attack was very swift, almost catching us off guard."(Akio)
"And because of the haste, despite our preparations not everyone could make it back to the village in time."
"That girl was one of those people so we don't know about her current situation."(Akio)
"I see, I hope she is okay." We both knew it was a small possibility, but all we could do was hope for their safety.
"I will leave you alone for today get ready tomorrow I will introduce you to everyone in the clan."(Akio)
"Yes."(Sen)
-----SEN POV----
After my uncle left the room, I was finally left alone to put my thoughts in order and contemplate everything I came to know today.
As I sat alone in the room I realised how much I missed them, even with the seal reducing my emotions I felt the loneliness almost drowning me.
Time is intangible and cannot be grasped but for the first time, I felt the weight of its passage.
Tomorrow, I will be what my grandfather hoped I would become, but just for today, I will allow myself to be weak to these emotions.
For today I won't be the Sage, I will be just Sen from the Uzumaki Clan.