Naruto: Next Generation Ninjas

FIVE DAYS BEFORE THE SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF UZUMAKI NARUTO

Shikamaru and Temari were enjoying their morning coffee, like any normal couple. Shikamaru had the daily paper on his lap, while Temari sat across from him. They were in the middle of some casual morning chatter when—hold on—what's that sound? Footsteps? At the top of the stairs? 

They both froze mid-sentence and looked.

Shikadai had woken up. 

Now, if you know Shikadai, you know this is *not* normal.

Standing there at the top of the stairs, wide awake, was their son. Not leaning. Not sleepwalking. Nope, he was just... standing there. Eyes wide open.

Temari sprang out of her seat and rushed toward him, a bit of panic in her voice. "Shikadai, honey?"

He simply held out a hand, like some sort of dramatic sage and pointed to the phone on the wall. He said one word: "Hokage." Then, as if all the energy in his body just deflated like a popped balloon, he turned around and sleepily trudged back to his room.

Shikamaru didn't waste a second. He went quickly for the phone, his fingers flying as he dialed the Hokage's office. Something was up.

And sure enough, something *was* up. Five minutes later, Kakashi was found passed out on the floor—yeah, you read that right. The former Hokage had had a seizure the night before and nobody had noticed. (Ninja life, am I right?) He was rushed to the New Konoha Hospital, where the situation went from bad to worse.

 It was one of those rare ninja illnesses with no known cure that strikes when you've pushed your chakra too far. Kakashi had used techniques that don't belong to him, and, oh yeah, survived multiple wars. Kakashi had been running on borrowed time for a while.

Sakura wasn't playing around. She made it clear that even the tiniest use of chakra could make Kakashi's condition worse—and, you know, kill him. So, while the medical team scrambled to come up with some miracle antidote, Kakashi was under strict orders to stay in bed.

But if you thought Kakashi would just chill out in bed, you clearly haven't been paying attention. The *first* thing he did when he woke up? Called a board meeting, of course. The topic of discussion – naming the next Hokage: Uzumaki Naruto.

Things were about to get interesting, folks.

Sasuke, the last Uchiha, had served his time. The prison gates swung open, and he felt this weird mix of emotions—like Atlas having a huge weight lifted off his back. Once, he was an avenger then a criminal then a hero. Now? He was a father. Soon-to-be Hokage. Or, well, Shadow Hokage. Same difference.

Waiting for him at the gates was a woman with pink hair. Sakura.

Naruto wasn't there. Too busy with the whole coronation thing, Sasuke assumed. They'd talked about it the night before. Naruto had been excited, practically glowing because his wife was expecting their next child.

"When is she due?" Sasuke had asked.

"Soon. I'll be with her every step of the way," Naruto replied confidently. "Nothing's keeping me away."

Sasuke had observed Naruto each time he visited him in prison. And Naruto *always* visited. A lot had changed about his friend, yet, somehow, nothing had. Naruto's hair had grown long at the sides, mimicking his dad's style and even longer at the back mimicking the Toad Sage. He laughed a lot more now, these loud, belly-shaking laughs that shouldn't be unlike Naruto but was very unlike him too.

And he talked a lot about family.

Family.

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder about that. Family, or lack thereof, had been their shared pain—the invisible thread tying them together. But now? Naruto had a wife, a whole clan, an entire village, and a pair of troublesome twins to manage. And what did Sasuke have? A five-year-old daughter he'd forbidden Sakura from bringing to see him, and a wife who still felt more like a teammate than a partner.

A dark thought crept in: *Naruto will always be one step ahead.*

Then, another: *I'm glad it's Naruto and not me.*

Sakura called out to him, snapping him back to reality. She wasn't with their daughter, just as he had asked.

"I don't want to be reminded of my absence in her life, Sakura. Don't bring her next time," he had told her. She'd looked so sad holding their baby girl, but she never brought her along again.

Naruto, though... Sasuke smirked at the memory. Naruto had *pestered* the guards at the prison gates, yelling that his daughter was there to see him, and neither of them would leave until Sasuke came out. Every day, for three years, Naruto showed up, and one day, Sasuke could not resist coming out. And finally saw his daughter again.

She had dark hair with a slight tint of blue, just like him. She was a scrawny little thing, not much like her mother at all. When he spoke to her, she had just looked at him for a long time, silent. He asked about her health, about Sakura.

Finally, she spoke. "Mom is always busy at the hospital, so I stay with Boruto and Kawaki."

"And do you like staying there?"

"The Lady Hinata is very kind, and Lord Naruto… he's a pain, but I like him," she said with a laugh. "The twins are troublemakers. Boruto gets us into all sorts of pranks, and we always end up in trouble. Kawaki's the serious one. We pick on him the most. We eat Ichiraku ramen together sometimes. Konohamaru-sensei treats us, 'cause Boruto hates ramen. when I'm at Lord Kakashi's, he insists I eat my vegetables. Ugh. But Kakashi-sama is still the best."

Sasuke had asked, "Would you like to stay with Mom and Dad?"

She looked straight at him and said, "I'd like that very much, Dad. And Lord Kakashi too. We'd make a great home."

His heart clenched. "I can't do that just yet," he had said. "But when I get out of here, we'll be a family again. I promise."

She gave him this big smile and did the classic Nice Guy pose, raising her thumb just like Lee would. Sasuke had stiffened—there it was, clear as day. His little girl was hurting.

She never came back to the prison after that. Naruto never brought her again either.

Now, as Sakura drew closer, she called softly, "Sasuke-kun." The old nickname, still there after all these years.

"Let's go home." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

Home. Sasuke remembered the promise he had made to Sarada.

Yes, he was home. He had to be.

As Sasuke started towards the leaf with Sakura in his arms, Tsunade, in another part of the prison, a hidden lab that looked more like something out of a sci-fi movie than a prison cell with none other than Orochimaru in charge. Honestly, she'd long stopped being surprised by the guy. Charm, charisma, a dangerous obsession with power—the man could probably talk a cat into swimming. That's how he'd convinced the officials to let him run wild with his experiments from jail. And now, his prison cell was more like a full-blown lab. Machines, pods, lackeys everywhere—classic Orochimaru.

Leaning over a desk nearby, Kabuto was scribbling notes. The whole room was brightly lit, filled with all kinds of tech. A strange pod grew from the ground right in the center. It was... odd. Tubes sprouted from every angle, and inside? A creature that looked like a boy suspended in some weird liquid. Science had leaped forward in the years Tsunade had stepped away, but Orochimaru had stayed abreast.

"It's magical, Tsunade," he said in his waspish voice. He was standing next to her tracing with one finger, the pod covering the features of the entity.

Once, she would've been horrified, disgusted even. But not anymore. After so many failed attempts, countless experiments, and harvesting of her own stem cells (because, why not?), they had finally done it. Inside the pod was a breathing, living being—a child. And Tsunade couldn't look away.

She'd always wanted a child. During the peace that followed her time as Hokage, Tsunade had tried to find her place in the world. She left the Leaf in great hands and set out on a journey, searching for... something. But no amount of charity work or village-building could fill the void in her heart. She eventually found herself in the Hidden Cloud, where she and the Raikage had a... let's call it a "mutual understanding." Not love. Not like what she had for Dan, and certainly nothing like what she could've had with Jiraiya—a home full of laughter and mischief. But the Raikage was a strong man, with a sense of justice and honor that matched her own. They made it work.

Still, Tsunade wanted a child.

Orochimaru had pestered her five years ago.

"I need a female for this Tsunade," Orochimaru had said. "He'll be your son."

"And yours too." She'd made a face.

"And mine too," he'd replied in his crackling voice.

Tsunade had rolled her eyes then, but now, staring at the pod, she felt... something.

Kabuto spoke up. "He's not... fully alive," he said, leaning in closer. "Half-snake, half-human. He'll need constant supervision, and we may have to restrict his diet to avoid, well... him eating people. But he's going to be powerful. I can feel it."

Tsunade, still staring, asked quietly, "When will he open his eyes?"

"Three days," Kabuto answered with a sigh.

She nodded. "What's his name?"

Kabuto scratched his head. "We've been calling him case number 3467 this whole time." 

"Mitsuki," Tsunade said with finality. "I believe you need me no longer in your debauched experiments. When I come to Konoha for the coronation, I'll hear more of this." then looking at Orochimaru with pleading eyes she said, "Take care of Mitsuki till then."

Orochimaru, with his long hair knotted into a ponytail at the back of his head, looked very distinguished. It seemed he'd let himself get a bit older and had a nice beard above his mouth. His charming ways were not lost in any of those ten years. Reaching out to hold her hand he said,

"He's the son I have with you, Tsunade. I will protect him with my life."

***

Three days before Naruto's coronation as Hokage, and the village was buzzing with excitement. But not everyone was caught up in the festivities. Shikamaru, always the picture of calm efficiency, was making his way to Naruto's office. Inside, Naruto was struggling with the reports.Without Kakashi to lighten the load, the work had been overwhelming, and Naruto, being Naruto, was about ready to throw in the towel for some much-needed Ichiraku Ramen. Just as he reached for the door, though, Shikamaru almost collided with him.

"Oi, Naruto, my bad," Shikamaru said, stepping back.

"Hokage-sama to you," Naruto shot back, a little too pleased with himself.

"You're not Hokage yet, *baka*." Shikamaru retorted as he entered the office. He took one look at the mountain of paperwork on Naruto's desk and shook his head. "You're not up to the task either."

 "Nani?!"

"Calm down," Shikamaru said, his tone shifting to something more serious. "This is important, Naruto. It's about Uzushiogakure."

Naruto's face instantly shifted from playful to focused. "Uzushiogakure? The Uzumaki lands?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Since the Great Ninja War, something's been... off there. People have been reporting strange occurrences—ghosts, voices, that sort of thing."

Naruto frowned. "A lot of lives were lost in Uzushiogakure. It makes sense people would be afraid of it. There's a lot of history there."

"True," Shikamaru agreed. "But this goes beyond that. People have gone missing. Villagers nearby launched an investigation, but none of them came back. Three search parties followed, and all of them... disappeared."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying, Shikamaru?"

"This is a priority, Naruto. I spoke to Hikan, and he just got back from a quiet investigation of the area. He found something... interesting." 

Naruto leaned forward, intensity written all over his face. "What did he find?"