35

Chapter 35: thirty-four: the war and the journeySummary:

Perhaps ruthlessness isn't such a bad thing, after all.

Notes:

I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own Chiyuki, any original characters, and this story's plot.

TW: violence.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Becoming Hokage 101

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Section Seven

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Chapter Thirty Four

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In the middle of spring, when the flowers in Konoha are in full bloom and paint a magical scenery in the streets, two teams of chunin are sent to one of the outposts close to the Land of Hot Water.

"Was there a need for six chunin to be positioned in one single outpost?" Genma grumbles, senbon tinkling against his teeth.

Next to him, Chiyuki shrugs. "Protocol, I suppose. We're relatively close to Kiri and Kumo, so it wouldn't hurt to be careful."

"It's been weeks since we've had a confrontation with either of those." The sixteen year old retorts, crossing his arms over his chest. The teenager has finally hit his growth spurt, much to his delight, and his team leader has to look up to meet his eyes.

"Better safe than sorry, Gen. The war isn't over." She hums, lightly patting his shoulder. "Besides, being on a mission with people we know is nice."

"People whom you know." He grunts, but it's clear to see it's a half-hearted attempt to counter what the girl's said. Rather, at this point, bantering has become a habit between the two of them. 'Very youthful' and 'serves to build character', says Gai.

She levels him an exasperated look. "Sure, Gen. Whatever you say."

Whatever Genma is about to say gets interrupted by Rin, who pops her head from behind the door leading to the lookout. "Hey, guys. We're due to leave tomorrow, have you gathered your stuff already?"

Both teenagers on lookout duty nod, a smirk on the blonde's face. "Yes, mom."

The medic-nin rolls her brown eyes, though a smile threatens to break out on her face. "You're so funny, Chi."

The Sarutobi Princess smiles properly, a small but honest gesture. "I aim to please."

The brown-haired girl leaves with another roll of her eyes, and Chiyuki feels her older teammate staring holes in her skull. All three members of Team Chiyuki are aware she hasn't quite been the same since the ambush from Iwa, months ago, but whether her teammates haven't been able to put a finger on it, or if they've just chosen not to bring the topic up, she doesn't know.

She really doesn't know what she'd prefer.

Silence settles between the two chunin like a comforting blanket. It's natural and easy to be quiet and let your thoughts fill the silence in your head, even if her boys don't ever let her be quiet for too long.

She watches as Kakashi and Gai come back from patrolling their surroundings, two floors down, and nods (plus an enthusiastic wave) are shared. Obito comes by then, talking to the Hatake boy about something she doesn't quite hear, and turns around to look up into her eyes. The blonde girl rests her cheek on one hand and her elbow on the railing, and winks at the Uchiha boy. He snorts and shoots her a small smile, then goes back inside with the other two boys.

The sharingan user hasn't quite been the same, either, but his change in behavior isn't as subtle as hers. No one knows what Madara made him see, but for some reason he only targeted Obito, which is a problem in and of itself.

'If he was desperate enough to try to capture and manipulate Obito in the presence of three Konoha jounin, he's running out of time.' She muses, turning her gaze to the darkening sky. 'No news of Black Zetsu, Chou?'

The peacock butterfly answers her call easily, their voice a murmur in the back of her mind. 'We have been unable to track his movements. We suspect he has been moving around underneath the earth.'

She frowns slightly. 'Well, that's a problem, alright. What about Madara?'

'Still connected to the Demonic Statue and showing no signs of moving any time soon.'

The girl feels the familiar hum of Kakashi's iron, a low, hissing purr, coming to relieve them of their lookout duties. She steps back from the railing and stretches her arms, hearing her back crack.

'Maybe he's still recovering from the stunt he pulled during the Kannabi mission?' She ponders, just as her friend rounds the corner and meets her eyes.

'Perhaps.' The butterfly murmurs, and they both leave the conversation at that.

"It's dinner time." The Silver Fang mumbles in lieu of a greeting, pinning her down with his dark gaze.

"So long as it's not Gai's turn to cook, I'm starving." Genma groans, stretching his back and arms as he brushes past the silver haired boy.

"Obito went fishing today, didn't he?" The butterfly summoner hums, falling into step next to Kakashi.

"Aa. Rin went and got some herbs that apparently can be used to season stuff, but I'm not so sure." The Hatake boy grumbles, hands in his pockets.

"Does it make your nose itch?" She asks, bemused.

'Canine traits will never fail to surprise me, will they?'

Her childhood friend groans but remains silent, and the smell of cooked food hits her nose just as they reach the small built-in kitchen. Obito stands in front of an improvised, smoke-less grill, while Rin distributes whole fishes on sticks to everyone.

"Looks great. Thanks for the food." The senbon user is the first to dig in, and soon after everyone else starts eating.

It's a slightly tight but cozy atmosphere, the remains of the fire cackling in the grill as the six teenagers sit on a circle in the ground, the only light in the room. It's been a week since both teams were sent to the outpost closest to the Land of Hot Water, and even though nothing note-worthy has happened in months, the Sarutobi child can't say she doesn't understand Fugaku's thinking.

Sending six chunin on a mere outpost mission might be overkill at first glance, but the Land of Hot Water stands between Konoha, Kiri, Kumo, and the Land of Rice - where Orochimaru's been hiding for over three years. Teams Chiyuki and Kakashi might be on the verge of a jounin promotion, but Chiyuki herself is too valuable to be far away from Konoha, and Obito is still not quite himself. Their strength is in their numbers and their familiarity with each other, and if push came to shove, they'd probably be able to run away far enough to catch the attention of nearby Konoha ninja.

"Obito and I will take the first watch." Rin declares when all teenagers have eaten their fill and the small kitchen has been cleaned up, glancing around.

Gai stands up in one single, fluid movement, ready to take on a platoon of shinobi. "Yosh! Genma and I shall fan the Great Flames of our Youth-!"

"We'll take the second watch." The sixteen year old throws one arm around the taijutsu user, effectively cutting him off.

"That leaves us with the last one, then." The Sarutobi Princess glances at the silver-haired boy next to her, who only nods.

Settling down to sleep is done quickly and silently. After a week, both teams have easily settled on a routine, complementing each other's actions and always doing things in pairs. It's a dynamic they've all agreed upon on the first day, and it's worked great for all of them so far. They all rotate in their pairs, never doing something with the same person twice, and if that doesn't say something for the war mentality driven into the skull of children soldiers, Chiyuki doesn't know what does.

The medic-nin heads up the stairs, Obito close behind. He pauses and turns around to look at the blonde chunin, the darkness of the night bringing an unreadable gaze to his black eyes. She tilts her head and blinks slowly at the boy, who remains silent instead of addressing the unspoken cue.

"We're okay, Obi." The butterfly summoner murmurs, gentle and soft as if to not spook a wild animal. The sharingan user swallows and nods, his body relaxing slightly. He turns back around and follows Rin, who had stopped to wait for him and watched the interaction with a worried gaze.

No one says anything about the exchange, nor do they need to. Whatever Obito's seen when he was trapped in the genjutsu is his issue to deal with, no matter how much support they offer him. The Sarutobi Princess has found out through trial and error that saying they both are okay - not only her, and not only him - manages to calm him down and get him out of whatever trance he happens to be in, and says it whenever he needs to hear it.

If he needs to hear it everyday, well. She'll say it everyday, as many times as needed.

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There's something to be said about letting your guard down.

When the storm finally passes and you think the worst is finally over; when you stand back and look at the destruction the storm left in its wake and think to yourself that all that's left to do now is to move on, because you have no idea that all that rain and rumbling and thundering only paved the way for something worse.

She really should have known better.

'Wake up.' Chou calls out, an unusually desperate tone in their breathy voice. Chiyuki immediately rouses from sleep with a flinch that's barely there, keeping her eyes closed and her body as relaxed as possible.

'Chou?' The chunin asks, spreading her awareness and finding Gai and Genma's hums of iron one floor above hers, chakra signatures relaxed but alert. 'What's going on?'

'Black Zetsu and an unknown ninja are rapidly approaching. They've breached the five kilometers radio you had set out for us and are coming this way.'

She jumps from her sleeping bag, feeling Kakashi's charged chakra buzz awake next to her not a full second after. They both nudge Rin and Obito awake, and she flares her chakra to get her boys to meet them.

'Be careful, child. There's an oppressing, heavy chakra sealed within the undetermined ninja. Something that feels like, we dare say, a Tailed Beast.'

An invisible snake slithers around her throat and starts to constrict her airways as her blood turns to ice, a cold pit in her stomach.

'It can't be. It's too early-'

"Chiyuki?" Genma hisses, and she berates herself.

'Now is not the time to panic. Breathe. Focus.'

The five chunin look at her with varying degrees of worry and anxiety in their eyes, iron starting to pump faster in their bloodstream. "Two hostiles incoming, both jounin-level, at the very least."

Rin opens her mouth to say something, but the Hatake boy flinches violently and growls low in his throat, probably sensing the two ninja coming their way.

'Three kilometers.'

"Run." Everyone springs into action, and no one questions her sudden bark of orders. In the middle of a war, you learn to follow the one who seems to know the most about a situation, even if that someone is gritting their teeth with a sense of urgency no one quite understands.

Kakashi barely remembers to seal the place down before the outpost is left behind as the two teams of chunin dash through the forest back to Konoha. The scenery is eerily silent as they run for about an hour with adrenaline high in their veins, but the enemy ninja are much faster, and they inevitably start to catch up.

'One kilometer.'

"Chiyuki." Obito anxiously calls out as the rest of the chunin get a sense of what's chasing after them, a distraught tone making his voice crack.

"Kakashi, send your pack ahead. Get anyone you can - Kushina, Minato, hell, even Jiraya would do." The blonde grits out instead of answering, resolutely not looking back.

The silver haired boy immediately summons his ninken and sends them ahead, the eight dogs quickly rushing ahead and disappearing in the darkness of the night with only a glance of worry towards their pack leader. The trip from Konoha to the outpost had taken them half a day, but the ninken would hopefully take a lot less than that.

"I can go." Gai shouts, a determined expression on his face. She remembers that one time with Orochimaru, when the taijutsu expert was the one responsible for getting to Jiraya in time, but shakes her head.

"A fight's gonna break out, and we need the teamwork." The Sarutobi child grunts as she suddenly stops running. Turning around, she looks at the grim faces of the chunin following her lead, and steels her resolve.

'Five hundred meters.'

"Our opponents are much stronger than normal jounin-level ninja. Let's fight in teams; if it looks like one is having trouble, we switch." She looks around and sees the same grim but determined look in her friends eyes, and gives them an encouraging nod. "Avoid letting them get close and stay together."

'Three hundred meters.'

"Let's make every second count." She snaps, voice surprisingly steady in contrast to the raging storm in her mind. "Genma, Gai, Rin; set out traps around the perimeter. Kakashi, you learned how to create movement restricting seals, right? Obito, help him."

Chiyuki kneels and puts her palm on the ground, feeling carefully for her friends' chakra signature and how they feel. As soon as she's absolutely sure she won't mistake them for anyone else's, she creates iron spike traps just below the earth, set to activate whenever someone with unknown chakra steps on it.

'One hundred meters.'

The concentration it takes to create ten or so iron traps around them makes her sweat, but adrenaline doesn't let her feel the slightest bit tired. She can feel the metal in the ninja wire her friends used buzzing lowly in her mind, as well as Kakashi's tanto, Genma's senbon, and the kunai in everyone's pouches. She then starts to feel the iron in her friends' blood thrumming and vibrating, almost as if calling out to her-

'Calm down. Your chakra is starting to reach out to everything it can.' Chou warns, and she forces herself to let go. Taking a deep, calming breath, she focuses on her own body, iron binds forming easily beneath her long sleeves.

'Fifty meters.'

The energy in the air shifts suddenly; a heavy, oppressing chakra sucking the air from their lungs and making their knees weak. The Iron Demon swallows past the lump in her throat, remembering what it'd felt to be close to Kushina that first time - before her seal went haywire trying to keep the Kyubi's brutal chakra against her own delicate chakra system.

Kushina, however, has everything in control. The Kyubi's chakra can be felt even at a distance, yes, but it's mostly contained, almost like an afterthought against the bright spark of the Uzumaki. The Tailed Beast that's currently making their way over to the group of chunin, however, feels as overwhelming and crushing as a tsunami, ready to destroy everything in its path with no care for the consequences.

"Incoming." Kakashi grits out, and only a few seconds later Black Zetsu and another shinobi land before them. The man has a faraway look in his eyes, looking neither here nor there - a nondescript, unknown Kiri ninja, most likely another one of Madara's puppets. The air feels suffocating, a bit worse than it'd been with Orochimaru, and it makes her clench her jaw.

Chiyuki feels as if she's drowning.

'The Sanbi.' The peacock butterfly whispers in her mind, as tense as her summoner.

'Oh, fuck me. It's too early for them to pull out this card.' The girl grumbles, body as taut as a sprung bow. She knows that if she makes the first move, the other chunin will follow, and decides to wait and see.

Not a full second after she finishes the thought, Black Zetsu charges forward with a manic glint in his yellow eyes, heading straight for her. He activates a few of the traps set out, and they merely serve to slow him the slightest bit. She takes full advantage of those precious seconds and launches iron binds at him, one after the other.

As the enemy ninja swiftly dodges her attacks, she gets out of the way as soon as Genma mumbles behind her: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

The man is forced to dodge both attacks and lands directly in front of Gai, who wastes no time in throwing a punch at his jaw. Black Zetsu is thrown back violently and crashes into a few trees, but she'd really rather not give him any time to recover.

"Kakashi." She barks out, and immediately after, both teams have changed places. Team Kakashi starts a relentless attack of water, lightning, and fire ninjutsu at the fallen man while her own team accesses the situation with the apparent Sanbi jinchuriki.

The man seems to do enough to not get hurt, and nothing more than that. He makes no move to attack them - perhaps as part of a strategy to throw them off, or simply because his mind is so far gone he's unable to do anything more - and Chiyuki feels like the best course of action is to immobilize him asap.

His usefulness lasts only as long as he's able to be a container before Zetsu re-seals the Sanbi into someone else, after all.

"Formation I." She grunts, just high enough for her boys to hear.

"Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique." The senbon user whispers, and disappears under the earth. Chiyuki feels his hum of iron heading straight towards the jinchuriki while Gai blurs in front of the unsuspecting man and kicks his chest in a single, powerful movement. The man flies back a couple of meters, but the oldest member of their team is quick to catch his legs and trap him beneath the earth.

The blonde girl puts her hands together in the snake hand sign and focuses on the earth surrounding the unknown man. She breathes out-

'Iron Release: Iron Maiden.'

A giant metal cabinet with spikes in its interior forms around the man and closes with a rumble, the earth groaning around his body as it's forced to make way to something that wasn't there. The spikes inside the iron object are met with resistance that brushes against her chakra like angry waves, and somehow she knows that's Isobu sending her a metaphorical middle finger.

"Chiyuki!"

"Wind Release: Sword of the Wind Count." Black Zetsu is on her face before anyone can react. His deranged grin is the last thing before she drops to the ground on her knees, a sudden, burning pain on her left shoulder. A shrill ringing fills her ears and blood gushes out from the laceration, effectively disrupting her jutsu and freeing the jinchuriki.

The Sarutobi child blinks twice, trying to focus, and feels someone's - Rin's - hands on her bleeding wound, forcing healing chakra into it. Another second and she's finally able to focus on the scene; Gai, Kakashi, and Obito launching attack after attack on Zetsu, their chakra shrieking in outrage and fury. A glance to her right shows Genma dealing swiftly with the other man, keeping his whole body beneath his neck underneath the earth.

The sharp, radiating pain on her shoulder leaves her light-headed, but a flash of lightning gets her attention. When she catches sight of Black Zetsu's gleeful expression, an inexplicable feeling of weakness and helplessness presses down on her chest.

'He's toying with us.'

'Tiring you out.' Chou supplies, an unusually sour tone in their voice.

'We need to change tactics.'

"Leave it, Rin." The butterfly summoner manages to grit out in the middle of the agonizing pain, flinching everytime the medic-nin pushes more chakra into the open wound. She makes to stand up, only to be pushed back down by her friend.

"No way. You're gonna bleed out at this point!" The brunette shouts, anguish and worry in her voice.

The three boys have managed to land quite a few hits, but compared to Zetsu, they're much more exhausted and closer to running out of chakra. He knows this, and has the balls to glance condescendingly at her every once in a while, mocking them. She grits her teeth, hot rage burning her from the inside out, and she lets her chakra reach out, searching for every single hint of iron nearby and making it want to bend to her will.

'There is no going back from this.' The butterfly alerts, but its full effect is lost by the resigned tone in their voice.

The Iron Demon ignores the warning and reaches out to Black Zetsu's figure with one slightly curved hand, palm-up. The enemy shinobi might be a mere manifestation of Kaguya's will and a humanoid creature, at best, but he's still made of flesh and blood, and that-

That, Chiyuki can use.

Everything fades to white noise in her brain, including Chou's murmurs of concern. Rin, Genma, and the jinchuriki all but disappear from her perception, while the other three boys seem to be fighting in the distance against an enemy that stands in clear view of her eyes.

There's less blood inside Zetsu's body, if compared to a normal human being, but it's there all the same. The iron inside his bloodstream answers her calls slowly, timidly at first - so much so that it takes its bearer a few moments to realize just what is going on.

The odd, sharp feeling of her skin forcibly stitching up together breaks her concentration for a fraction of a second, but at this point, she's already got control of his red blood cells. She breathes out and closes her eyes, slowly closing her outstretched hand as she orders the red blood cells in his body to vibrate. It starts off slow, then quickly gains momentum, until she feels his cells rapidly convulsing against one another.

Just like she'd done to herself during the fight with Orochimaru.

'Iron Release: Blood Singing Technique.'

Black Zetsu's chakra spikes in a sudden burst of fury as he cries in outrage, and she feels his vibrating blood cells screech as he charges in her direction. This time, Gai manages to be slightly faster, appearing out of thin air in front of the two girls and dragging them away from the enraged shinobi. The rest of the chunin meet them halfway, forming a protective semi-circle around them.

Her concentration breaks and the jutsu fades, but it's enough to leave Black Zetsu agitated and with a bruised ego. She doesn't quite have the energy to smirk, but smugness radiates off of her in waves even through the pain, and the man growls in a fit of anger.

"You think you can kill me?!" His normally monotone voice is shrill and rings in her ears, and even from her half-sprawled position on the ground, she manages to send a superior look his way.

'Because I can.'

As if reading her mind, the enemy shinobi yells in frustration, body visibly torn down from the previous attacks launched by the boys, and her own attempt at killing him. He yanks the jinchuriki from beneath the earth, and from his lack of aggressiveness, she gets the feeling Isobu absolutely does not want to get involved in anything.

'Jiraya is on his way.' Chou informs her, and to Chiyuki's surprise, relief fills her body and turns her limbs to jelly. Gai anxiously grips her shoulders while Rin continues to heal her wounded shoulder, the other three boys standing tall and tense in front of them.

'Don't tell me Kakashi's ninken managed to get back to Konoha in the span of a few minutes.' She asks, incredulously.

'No. They have found him on their way.' The peacock butterfly answers, with only a bit of amusement in their breathy voice.

Black Zetsu apparently can feel the Toad Sage quickly approaching as well, and seemingly decides his plans for the day are ruined. Madara's absence only raises her suspicions and further adds to her theory that his encounter with Obito during the Kannabi mission was too taxing on his old body.

He takes the unknown Kiri ninja and disappears with a snarl, not before shooting her a scathing glare. Still, no one dares to relax just yet.

'He has marked you as an enemy. You are aware of how dangerous that is.' Chou sighs, worry dripping from their words like bitter medicine.

'He's realized a thirteen year old chunin almost killed him. He'll spend a while licking his wounds.' She replies breezily, though the daunting threat of a being as all-powerful as Black Zetsu making an enemy out of her doesn't quite let Chiyuki believe her own words completely.

Genma's carefully hoisting his team leader on his back with Rin's help when Jiraya finally shows up with Kakashi's ninken, assessing the situation with wide eyes. Kakashi and Obito immediately tense up, but relax slightly once they realize it's a Konoha shinobi.

They all spend a few seconds in silence, analyzing each other, before the white-haired man's gaze inevitably lands on her. Her hackles rise instantly, but is pleasantly surprised when the shinobi shows nothing but concerned exasperation.

"Are you physically unable to stay away from trouble?"

The blonde girl would shrug if the action didn't make her feel as if her left arm was being ripped out, and settles for a slow blink, instead.

The Hatake boy feels her defensiveness right away and crosses his arms. "We're in the middle of a war."

The Toad Sage sighs heavily. "For sure, kid. For sure. Now let's get going; Tsunade's gonna have my hide if I take any longer."

The sixteen year old holding her pointedly looks straight ahead as he starts to walk, making no move to dislodge her from his arms. Chiyuki herself resolutely tightens the hold her right hand has on his shoulder, and Jiraya groans.

"Brats, all of you."

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In the beginning of summer, the interim Hokage officially announces the end of the Third Shinobi War, after six long years of arduous fighting and numerous sacrifices.

'A year before canon, huh. I'll take it.' The Sarutobi Princess muses. Inside the lush green scenery in her mind's eye, she glances at Chou, who seems to be looking at her with pride in their compound eyes.

'Congratulations, child. This is the direct result of your actions. However, only time will tell how things will play out from now on.'

With the joint forces of an increasingly strong Ame and Konoha, plus Minato making shit fly around and destroying a platoon of a thousand Iwa ninja on his own, there wasn't another possible outcome. Thus, the Tsuchikage, who'd been the most reluctant to accept the peace treaty, finally accepted it when faced against a single Konoha shinobi's strength.

Konoha and Ame are considered the victors of the war, and Iwa now owes them millions of thousands of ryo in war compensation. Chiyuki and her chunin friends are there during the celebrations, the village lit up and alight with color and cheer. Minato becomes the Yondaime Hokage on the same day they announce the end of the war, and it's a bittersweet thing to see the villagers cheering so loudly.

Her teammates seem to share her sentiment as they too stand strangely quiet next to her, watching it all a ways over from all the yelling, taking in all the shouting and whooping with a tight smile on their faces. Even Gai, who's usually so bright and upbeat, keeps silent in the face of what this victory's cost them, and the work they have ahead of them.

'Before, my father decided to not seek any reparations from Iwa, which caused a stir with the Council and made him step down. Apparently, neither Fugaku nor Minato have any reservation in regards to that. Maybe that's why none of the Elders had much to say about their rule.' Chiyuki ponders as Genma wraps one arm around her shoulders and leans his entire weight on her.

"Man, we're gonna have so much more work to do." The teenager groans, making his team leader snort.

"We became jounin, Gen. What did you expect?" That finally gets their green-clad teammate to brighten up, metaphorical flames burning bright in his eyes as he pumps one fist in the direction of the sky.

"A most youthful promotion! Our efforts in the war got recognized - and how could they not, when the Flames of Our Eternal Spring burned so brightly?!" She grins while Genma groans again.

"Gai, please. That just means more work."

"Didn't you get assigned to the Hokage Guard Platoon? That's a big thing, isn't it?" The girl asks, turning a knowing glance to their oldest teammate.

He steps back from her and throws his hands up in the air, with all the flair of a wronged sixteen year old. "Exactly! What's worse, Hatake's supposed to be part of it, too."

"My most youthful rival's flames burn hotter with each day! It'll be a most youthful experience, Genma!" If possible, the taijutsu user's eyes sparkle even more, any mentions of his rival getting him pumped up.

"Sure, if your name's Chiyuki and you got the Hatake kid wrapped around your pinky." The brunette grumbles, pointedly ignoring her eye roll.

"You and Kakashi will do fine. Besides, you both could learn to work with other people." She retorts, glancing at the crowd cheering loudly when Minato finishes his speech.

"I'm more worried about you two, to be honest." Genma admits, unusually honest about his feelings for once. The villagers are clapping animatedly, but the atmosphere between the three newly promoted jounin is somber. "You were sent to the Jounin Corps, weren't you, Gai?"

The fourteen year old nods, nearly all cheer gone from his face. "I was placed under Choza-sensei. They want me to help with the post-war missions."

Post-war missions usually meant dealing with 'leftover battles', especially when it came to jounin-level shinobi. It's unlikely that any village is going to put up a huge fight now that Konoha and Iwa have signed the peace treaty, but it doesn't mean skirmishes won't happen.

"It's very unlikely that anything will happen, especially as he'll be with Choza-sensei most of the time." She shrugs, turning her back to the celebrations. "Besides, if there's someone I trust out there, it's Gai."

The taijutsu expert has tears in his eyes, clapping his hands together and bringing them to his chest. "Most Youthful Chiyuki!"

"You're way too chill for someone who'll be sent to Ame." The senbon user grunts, crossing his arms. To his exasperation, the girl only shrugs again.

"I mean, it kind of makes sense, if you think about it. Village relations and all that."

"Yeah, but did it have to be you?" The senbon in the teenager's mouth clicks against his teeth, a petulant frown on his face.

"If it's our most youthful team leader, I believe she'll do a wonderful job as Konoha's ambassador." Gai nods encouragingly, though his expression is subdued.

"Thank you for worrying, but I'll be fine." She knocks her elbow against Genma's, who only grunts in response. "And thank you for the kind words, Gai-chan."

"When are you going?" Their green-clad teammates asks, brows furrowed. "Even if Konoha and Iwa signed the peace treaty, things aren't exactly peaceful right now."

"All chunin and jounin need to stay in the village for a couple more months, to help stabilize things. I'll be going in the beginning of autumn."

Both boys nod thoughtfully, and Chiyuki turns back around to see the crowd start to disperse. People mingle amongst each other, going to food stalls and talking animatedly with each other, but victory doesn't taste sweet at all.

"Listen, I'm not tryna doubt Yondaime-sama's decisions but- will you be safe?" Genma blurts out, a guarded expression on his face. Next to him, Gai nods in silent agreement with the question, and she sends a small, grateful smile to her boys.

"I will. I'll need to write weekly reports to keep in touch, both Ensui and Mamoru-san will be going with me, and Jiraya will be visiting Ame every once in a while, too." She pauses at the incredulous look on their faces. "What? Jiraya is a full-grown adult who already got scolded - twice, at the very least - for leaving us to die, and I don't trust him to protect me, especifically."

The blonde glances back, murmurs of cheerful talk barely reaching her ears. Her teammates remain in silence.

"Ame's new leaders are insanely strong, yes, but their village is coming out of a civil war, and they need help in establishing a stable government. Besides, it's thanks to their alliance with Konoha that they came out victorious in this war. If it hadn't been for that particular political move, maybe they would've ended up like Kiri - with a country torn by both the shinobi and the civil war, no money, and an insane, good-for-nothing leader."

'Just like Before.'

Her confidence is quiet but iron-clad, as if she had all the answers in the world, and she smiles reassuringly at her boys.

"Konoha's alliance with Ame is relatively new, but precious to both villages, and no one can afford to let anything happen to me. I'll be okay."

They look at each other for a few moments in complete silence, ignoring the cheery mood below. Even her ANBU babysitter seems to consider it for a moment, their hum of iron wavering slightly for the briefest of seconds.

Finally, Gai nods, a somber look on his face.

"If it were anyone else, I'd doubt them. But since it's you, I believe it."

Genma looks at the two of them before groaning loudly, rolling his eyes even as he pulls both his teammates closer to him.

"Fine, fine. I trust you too. But if you die, I'll kill you."

The taijutsu turns around in the older boy's grip, jumping to her defense, while the girl merely snorts and lets them both get their share of physical contact.

'Actually- well. Nagato was the one to request that I be appointed as Konoha's official ambassador in Ame. There's no way he'll let me out of his sight, knowing how much this alliance means to them, but I can't exactly tell my boys that.' Chiyuki cringes internally, sending another mental apology to her teammates.

'The Uzumaki child expects that you and him will be able to sit and plan things much better this way. It is not something you can easily reveal to your teammates, child.' Chou croons soothingly, trying to ease the guilt weighing on her conscience.

'I know. I know, but-'

The crowd below cheers loudly once again when Fugaku walks amongst the villagers, exhausted but decidedly pleased. The Uchiha clan's reputation inside the village had improved by leaps and bounds, thanks to not only the clan head's efforts as interim Hokage, but also his clan's performance in the war. It contrasts greatly with what happened Before, when not only the Uchiha clan's efforts weren't recognized, but they kept being isolated and looked at with suspicion after Naruto's birth.

'Some things are so different, and some have remained the same, huh.' She ponders, still listening with half an ear to the boys bickering.

Ao still managed to kill a member of the Hyuga clan and keep their byakugan, earning him the name Byakugan Killer. Sasori is also still known as Akasuna no Sasori, his body count increasing significantly after he turned the Sandaime Kazekage into a puppet. Ame is slowly but surely thriving under their alliance with Konoha and the shared leadership of Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko.

Asuma is going to leave with a delegation to serve the daimyo, which does worry her a little, but Tooru was recommended for ANBU. While the secret organization truly only obeys the Hokage nowadays, their missions aren't exactly known for being walks in the park.

'We shall keep an eye on them.' The peacock butterfly murmurs gently, trying to ease her overworked mind.

As if on cue, the Sarutobi clan heir appears in a swirl of leaves, grabbing the three teenagers in his arms in one smooth move.

"Tooru-niisan." Chiyuki greets her brother, a genuine grin on her face. Her teammates immediately stop moving, and Genma's expression in particular looks like a mix of constipation and embarrassment.

"Who wants takoyaki? My treat!" The twenty year old doesn't wait for their answer before he's jumping down from the Hokage Monument with an armful of teenagers, managing to find Asuma's team in the crowd and dragging them along good-heartedly.

For a small while, the Sarutobi child lets herself get lost in her loved ones' smiles and laughter, sharing a knowing glance with Asuma. She closes her eyes and enjoys the warm, savory, and rich taste of victory in that moment.

.

.

The ash blonde child visits the Uchiha compound nearly everyday, both to see Obito, and her godson, baby Sasuke.

For some reason Fugaku and Mikoto thought they had to ask her for permission to name their youngest son after her grandfather - she's never even met the man - and the whole interaction leaves the girl completely and utterly baffled.

"You want to name your son after my grandfather?" She asks, a dubious look in her eyes. "That's fine by me but… are you sure?"

The Uchiha couple look at her with amusement in their dark eyes, a small, playful smile on Mikoto's face. The woman holds a tiny baby in her arms, looking tired but utterly content, and her husband gives Chiyuki a nod.

"We are. Sarutobi Sasuke was a powerful and kind shinobi, it's an honor to be able to name our son after him."

The chunin presses her lips together thoughtfully, glancing at the peacefully slumbering baby. "You don't need to ask for my permission, though."

"We felt like it was the right thing to do." The Uchiha matriarch replies gently, adjusting her grip on the baby. "Besides, there's something else we'd like to ask of you."

Fugaku nods once more, glancing at his wife and youngest son with warmth in his dark eyes. "We'd like you to be his godmother, if at all possible."

Forgetting the careful control she's been trying to exert over her emotions, Chiyuki's eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets, and the amusement of the Uchiha couple increases tenfold.

"I'm thirteen." She manages to get out, an incredulous look in her face.

"Yet, a trouble magnet." The Uchiha patriarch grumbles, but quickly snaps his mouth shut after being pinched by his wife. Mikoto sighs, an exasperated but fond expression in her pale face.

"We're aware of how young you are, Chiyuki-chan. We just think your presence would have a very positive effect on him." It might actually be a bit of a political move - because let's be honest here, having her be Sasuke's godmother would be a great thing for the Uchiha clan -, but somehow, she's able to feel the sincerity in the Uchiha couple, their chakras brushing soothingly against one another and bringing a sense of familial peace to the room.

Instead of a political move, it feels as if they're retributting all the trust she'd placed on them, all those years ago, when Danzo was very much alive and a compelling threat to the Uchiha clan, and the village. Other circumstances might have led to Fugaku becoming the interim Hokage, but if the Sarutobi child had never reached out to the Uchiha patriarch back then, perhaps he'd never have been considered to fill the Hokage position - like Before.

It's a thought she chooses to dwell on much later.

"I don't think I'll be able to do much, but if you're fine with me, then I'd be more than happy to be Sasuke's godmother." She replies honestly, figuring there's nothing wrong with being present for the young boy.

Mikoto sends her a beautiful, grateful smile, and even Fugaku smiles slightly. She ends up holding the newborn in her pale arms, settling his head snuggly against her bent arm as per his mother's instructions, and even poses for an impromptu photo when the Uchiha patriarch shows up with a camera out of nowhere. His wife coos at the scene, eyes sparkling with happiness, and when baby Sasuke holds her finger tightly against his own, Chiyuki kisses his forehead and silently promises to be the best godmother she can be.

In hindsight, though, maybe she should've really prepared herself for the inevitable issue this would cause.

Between worrying about Team Kakashi and her own team, the butterfly summoner actually forgets how much Itachi loves Sasuke, and how he'd inevitably get jealous at seeing how much his younger brother likes her.

Baby Sasuke is an absolute delight, in her biased opinion. As it is usual for a newborn, he mostly eats and sleeps, only staying awake for short periods of time. Whenever he sees her, though, his dark eyes twinkle like stars, and fusses until his godmother picks him up.

Chiyuki even introduces him to Genma and Gai like a proud aunt, much to Fugaku and Mikoto's endless amusement.

She becomes a constant presence in the Uchiha compound, as the vast majority of the clansmen had been pleased when she became Sasuke's godmother, and they all see how patient and kind she is with Obito - a war hero, widely recognized by his clan, but at what cost?

In the midst of the (admittedly very few) Uchiha who weren't thrilled about having an outsider be in such close contact with their clan, there was a particular boy who wasn't exactly overjoyed to see her spending so much time with baby Sasuke.

Enter Uchiha Itachi, currently six years old, in his final year of the academy.

The Uchiha matriarch had actually forbidden him from graduating early, no matter what the clan elders had to say about the matter. As the primary person in charge of his upbringing, Mikoto had decided her son would absolutely not graduate early from the academy in the middle of a war, once-every-hundred-years-genius or not.

It hadn't been a very pretty clan meeting, and Chiyuki was immensely glad that the woman was on her side.

The chunin blocks Itachi's kick, using the momentum to lightly twist his leg, throwing him off balance. The boy uses his other leg to free himself from her grip, quickly putting some distance between them. She chases after him, alternating between quick-paced punches and kicks, pushing him back and making him focus on defending from her attacks. She packs a bit more strength into one punch, destabilizing him long enough for her to tap his ribs.

She has strength and experience on her side, which helps her immensely. She's also just barely faster than he is - a boy who's less than half her age, and what does that say about Itachi's true genius against her above average performance?

The Uchiha heir flinches violently and immediately jumps backwards, putting a good three meters of distance between him and his sparring partner for the day. The ash blonde's face remains relaxed, a sharp contrast to her mental struggle as she attempts her best to not burst out in giggles.

'Uchiha Itachi is ticklish. Oh, this is precious.'

A quick glance to the summer sky tells her they've been sparring for the better part of the hour, and she decides to call it a day. As unfortunate as it is, Team Chiyuki has to hit the road bright and early tomorrow morning for a brief outpost mission, and she still has to do a few things inside the village before she can leave with a clear conscience.

"Is it time for you to leave, Chiyuki-hime?" The boy sounds slightly out of breath as he appears next to her, looking as if he doesn't know whether that's a good or a bad thing.

"Mhmm." The jounin hums, turning a small, teasing smirk to him. "I suppose I can let you have Sasuke-chan to yourself for a while."

Itachi resolutely does not pout. His lips purse the slightest bit, black eyes narrowing lightly, and if he didn't look so much like Mikoto when he did that, she'd laugh.

Slowly, her hand reaches out to brush through thick, black hair. She gives him more than enough time to dodge it, or show signs that her touch wasn't welcome, but he does nothing of the sort. He stays eerily still, looking at her with wide - curious, eager, wondering - eyes, leaning slightly into her hand.

"You're already a great big brother, Itachi." She murmurs and continues to brush his long hair with her fingers, even as the six year old flinches lightly and breathes in sharply.

"How did you…?" He whispers, mouth agape.

She resists the urge to swallow the dry, bitter pill that's suddenly in her throat and smiles gently. "You worry too much."

The Uchiha hair reminds Chiyuki of herself so much her heart clenches and throbs painfully, wishing she could wrap him in her arms and keep both him and Sasuke safe there. Her smile turns bittersweet as memories of Before flash without warning in her mind.

'A child who knows too much, who performs too well to be ignored, a child who sometimes gets lost in himself and doesn't know how to ask for help.'

"Itachi, I know you're strong. There's no doubt about that." The thirteen year old continues after letting him absorb that information, tilting her head as her gaze turns impossibly soft. "But please rely on those older than you a bit more, mhm? There's nothing wrong with that, and we just want to help."

Itachi turns his gaze downwards, silently mulling her words in his head, when she feels the all too familiar hum of iron of Obito's teammates make their way to them. As she lets her hand fall back to her side, the boy finally answers.

"Shisui told me something similar." The academy student mumbles, a striking clarity in his dark eyes that honestly takes her back slightly.

"Did he? He's a good friend." She replies honestly and leaves it at that, figuring he's got enough to think about. Kakashi and Rin round the house and call out for her, and with one last smile and a gentle pat on his head, she leaves the Uchiha heir to his thoughts.

.

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