Chapter 2: War

The war in Konoha was waging on. The civilians were evacuated and the shinobi were fighting the enemy shinobi, though they were losing fast. After Oto and Iwa had declared war on them, other smaller villages joined in the battle, wanting to see the fall of Konoha. They've been practically abandoned by all their allies and the only support they got from the Fire Daimyo was a 'good luck' and even that didn't seem sincere. Right now, Tsunade was making her way to the battle field with Jiraiya alongside her. The Konoha 11 were already on the battlefield, but everyone was losing hope fast.

"Are you sure you can't get ahold of him? He's the only one who can help turn this war around." Tsunade said in frustration.

"I'm sorry hime, but we have to do what we can for now. Oroochimaru is at the front gate. I looked everywhere for the gaki, but after we parted ways a years ago, haven't heard of him since then." he said solemnly.

"Tsunade-sama! They've penetrated our defenses! The snake summons took down the front gate!" a shinobi alerted her before she could say anything. Both sanins looked at one another and nodded. Today was the day. The day they took down their teammate once and for all.

Arriving at the gates, they saw their former teammates excited grin. The destruction that was around them was far too great. Buildings were burning, stores completely destroyed, dead bodies of allies and enemies scattered this way and that, blood mixed together. It indeed looked like a war zone, one that would soon end.

"Ah! So my dear teammates decided to finally join us! This is splendid indeed. As you both can see, I've nearly completely destroyed this vile village. Its sad you think that you'll win. Can't you see that your deaths are inevitable?" he mocked.

"Oroochimaru, you've really fallen so low. To destroy your own home, don't you have any dignity?" Tsunade yelled.

"Weren't you the one who ran away from your own home, as you put it? Although I must thank Konoha."

"Thank us? For what?" Jiraiya asked, confused like the rest who were there.

"Why thank you for getting rid of Namikaze's brat. Ill admit that back in the Forest of Death, he did give me a battle I won't forget. If it wasn't for my years of experience, I wouldn't have escaped. You all did well in getting rid of him. He was a pain in my side." he hissed, shocking them all.

"H-He what...?" Kakashi stuttered, having just arrived.

"Oh? You weren't told? I suppose he's like his father, never one for fame or boasting of a defeat. That, or he just didn't trust you. Ku ku ku, your sensei would be disappointed in you." he laughed.

"It doesn't matter! As long as I'm Hokage, Konoha will not fall!" Tsunade exclaimed, charging at him, Jiraiya right after her. The other battles seemed to watch as they saw a once in a life time battle between sanins. One against two.

"I have a feeling they're destroying more of the village." Sasuke muttered, as they witnessed the destruction the three sanins were creating.

"Stop slacking. We've got enemy shinobi coming! Even the Tsuchikage isn't here yet." Asuma said, taking down a sound nin, and they resumed their fighting.

"I've got to say, I never thought I would have been pushed this far." Oroochimaru said, sweating and panting heavily. He thought that his old teammates were push overs, that they let there skills get rusty. That's what you would expect from a drunk gambler and a peeping tom, but it seems he was wrong.

"We told you hebi-teme that we won't let you take down our village." Jiraiya grinned preparing for another attack.

"Well then, lets see what you have to do about this!" and before they could do anything, he went through very familiar hand signs and said, "Impure resurrection!" and slammed his hands on the ground. Four coffins with the numbers 1 to 4 were written on them rose from the ground.

"How dare you! You're willing to go so far as to decimate the graves of the former Hokages!" Tsunade yelled, only to get a chuckle from Jiraiya.

"There's no need to worry hime. All the souls of the previous Hokages are locked into the Shinigami's stomach." he laughed. "So, what are you going to do with empty coffins Oro-chan?" he said and a smirk found its way on Tsunade's face.

"Ku ku ku. I wonder what would happen, if I had access tot he Shinigami mask from the Uzumaki shrine." he smiled at the two sanin's paled faces, "this village does well in keeping the artifacts of their allies safe." The coffins opened and out of each one, a person came out. All the other battles managed to seize all together as they saw legendary shinobi, that are suppose to be dead, come on to the battle field.

"Its this accursed jutsu again! You see Tobirama, I told you not to create forbidden techniques, but nooooo, lets not listen to my older brother you said." Hashirama complained.

"What's wrong with this snake and this jutsu? How much times are you going to summon us? Tobirama twitched with anger, completely ignoring his brother.

"Oroochimaru! I sealed away your ability to use jutsu and yet you still manage to come this far!" Hiruzen exclaimed. The only one that felt out of place was the Yondaime.

"Ano...where are we?" he asked, getting the attention of the former Hokages.

"Oh Minato, you were summoned too?" Hiruzen said.

"Um, who are you?" Hashirama asked.

"Oh, I'm the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Its nice to meet you, Shondaime, Nidaime." he said, turning around, showing them his cloak.

"Yondaime? Whoa, the village survived this long?" Hashirama said in awe.

"Ah, I died before Sandaime-sama here, so I wouldn't know." he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Your granddaughter Tsunade is the Gondaime." Oroochimaru said, making Hashirama look depressed.

"Tsunade? Is the village still safe?" he asked weakly.

"Oi! What the hell is that suppose to mean?!" he heard the voice of an angry woman, and that was when the four Kages decided to look at their surroundings and saw all the destruction.

"T-Tsunade?! Is that you?" Hashirama asked.

"Its nice to see you again grandfather." she said, tears in her eyes, the latter's comment forgotten.

"Tsunade! What's going on here? Where are we? This looks like a battlefield." Tobirama asked.

"This is Konoha Nidaime-sama. We're in the middle of a war with Oroochimaru's sound village, Iwa and some smaller villages." Jiraiya intervened.

"Where are Konoha's allies? They should be helping in a time like this." he questioned and they all saw the leaf shinobi look away, some looking down with guilt in their eyes.

"Ku ku ku, you should know that question well sensei. Who brought Konoha the most allies its ever had?" Oroochimaru asked, favoring his sensei's paled face.

"What did you people do to him!?" he yelled angrily at the Konoha shinobi.

"Hiruzen, what are you talking about?" Hashirama asked, confused. Just then Minato remembered something

"Say, where's Naruto? Is he fighting somewhere else?" he asked and saw people flinch.

"Now, wouldn't that be a question." the snake sanin asked.

"Whose this Naruto?" Tobirama asked.

"He's my son. I let him in the care of the village after my wife and I died the day he was born." he replied, looking around the village seeing if he could spot his son, but instead spotted Jiraiya.

"Sensei? Is that you? Do you know where my son is? Hope he wasn't too much of a hand full." eh said cheerfully, and Jiraiya felt a knife being twisted into his chest, as were the other Konoha shinobi.

"M-Minato..." he began.

"Jiraiya, what did you people do to the boy!?" Hiruzen exclaimed angrily.

"Its quite simple really. Naruto isn't in the village. their abuse drove him out." Oroochimaru said, shattering him. He let his sensei drop the bomb. He wanted to savor Konoha's looks of fear so let them keep talking.

"Why the hell are you lying?! Why would Konoha abuse him when he's the one who saved them?" Minato yelled.

"Minato, things ended up differently than you hoped." Hiruzen sighed, knowing he had to tell the blonde the truth.

"Hiruzen, who did Konoha abuse?" Hashirama asked, his childish nature turned serious. Hiruzen sighed, and told the story, a story everyone there listened to.

"On the day Naruto was born, a masked man came and ripped the Kyuubi out of his mother, the Jinchuriki after Mito. As you know, only an Uzumaki can have the Kyuubi sealed within them due to their special chakra, so his father Minato here, sealed him into his son at the cost of his life and since his mother died from the extraction, he was an orphan. Minato wanted his son to be seen as a hero, but the people of Konoha saw him nothing more than a demon." he said, dropping the bomb on the three shocked Kages. Minato dropped on the ground, tears falling from his face, thinking of the life he gave his son.

"What idiotic fool was the one who came up with the idea of spreading the Jinchuriki's status?! Its always kept a secret!" Tobirama yelled in anger.

"Saru, how bad was his treatment?" Hashirama asked, with a bit of fear.

"As bad as having assassination attempt from the moment his status was known. He was kicked out of the orphanage at the age of three. Stores would kick him out and if they didn't, he's food would be over charged, poisoned or rotten. He would get beaten, if not on a daily basis, the worst were on his birthdays where they would get together or a fox hunt as they put it. He's a bright child, but his academic studies were hindered by all teachers except one. He had to play the idiotic bright color wearing dead last, in fear for his life. I thought that placing him on a team with the child of his godmother and his father's student would help him, but it seems to have made everything worse." he concluding and Minato just buried his face in his hands, full out sobbing, not caring if there were others there. the other two Kages, looked beyond disgusted at the treatment the boy went through.

"You stupid idiots! What makes you so sure he hasn't made it a life prophecy to destroy this village and everyone in it?!" Tobirama roared at them, giving them a full blast of killing intent. He was beyond furious! As some who lived in a time of war, he and he's brother created Konoha so that children wouldn't have to see war, or the world's disgusting side. What Konoha had done...it went against everything they wanted it to stand for.

"I would fully understand if he would want to level this place to the ground. You people are even worse than Madara! I'd actually congratulate the boy if he did!" Hashirama exclaimed, completely livid at what they did to an innocent child.

"Where is he?" Minato whispered, his hair covering his face.

"I believe he's left the village I suppose. He said that if there were a time that I were to ever die and the village's treatment hadn't gotten better, then he would live." Hiruzen said.

"Good." the blonde said as he grabbed his kunai and looked at the Konoha shinobi the shrunk back in fear as they saw blazing blue eyes look at them in anger. "I suppose we were brought here to get rid of Konoha? This is something I'll enjoy." he said, with a sadistic smile, shocking them, but before he flashed away, Hiruzen said,

"He doesn't hate you." making him look at the old man with wide eyes.

"W-What?" How the hell can his son not hate him?! Heck he hated himself!

"I said, he doesn't hate you, nor will he get revenge against Konoha. He understood your place as Hokage and that you had no choice, just sees it as the village that betrayed you. He knew of his burden at the age of five as well as he's heritage. He's actually done the impossible. He's become friends with the Kyu-erm, Kurama. That's the Kyuubi's name."

"H-He what?!" the three Kages yelled in shock.

"I was pretty shocked myself and a bit cautious as well, but he seemed to respect Naruto. After everything the boy has gone through, not once had he complained, not once had he turned to cutting or drugs, and not once had he tried to commit suicide. Personally, I think I would have tried to kill myself a long time ago, but the boy is strong. As for the revenge part, he just sees it as a waste of time. He told me that if he could waste time in planning and plotting the destruction of the village, then he'd rather plan a way to improve his lifestyle away from the village." he said.

"Wow, your boy is pretty bright. It would have been nice to meet him. He certainly as the Will of Fire brightly inside." Hashirama said, patting Minato's back.

"Y-Yeah, he's my son after all." he smiled.

"I'd like to met this young boy as well. He defiantly has my respect. Tsunade! You had a worthy Rokudaime and you just let him leave." Tobirama said.

"He is, isn't he?" she said sadly.

"He said he'll come back though." Jiraiya said, making Hiruzen raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? Who was the selfish one who made him promise that? I think he deserves a life away from this village and I suppose our allies have heard about his departure so they left?" he asked, making Tsunade flinch.

"Allies?" Minato asked.

"Oh yes. Your boy has brought in almost all of Konoha's new allies, including a trade alliance with the Wave country and Spring countries technology. The princess herself has taken a liking to him after he saved her and opened her heart." he said and Minato couldn't help but beam with pride. He's son was awesome!

"Hmm, a worthy person of Rokudaime indeed. So who made him promise to come back?" Hashirama asked.

"I-I did." Tsunade said quietly. "I-I...he was like a son to me. I actually became Hokage because I lost a bet to him." she laughed bitterly.

"Coming back? You really are selfish as always Tsunade." Oroochimaru said.

"Why did you tell him so? He deserves far better than Konoha." Tobirama said, making her look down. It wasn't her fault she wanted to keep a boy she saw as a son, as well as the only family she had left from her grandmother's side.

"Ku ku ku. The boy was pretty strong as well. He gave me a run for my money when we battled. There is no doubted that Konoha would have survived had be been here. He's in the bingo book as an SS-rank shinobi with a flee on sight order, youngest person to get this status and second person to get an SS-rank, the first being his father. He goes by the name, Lightening Flash. So you see, Konoha doomed themselves. They just helped me in destroying their own village." he laughed manically. The Kages, ignoring his freakishly weird laugh, felt pride when they heard this, especially Minato and Hiruzen. The Konoha shinobi were shocked that Naruto had such a status.

"Lightening Flash huh? You know he did saw he was going to follow your foot steps when you told him that you believed he'd become the second coming of the yellow flash in your letter. Sure makes you proud." Hiruzen chuckled

"Yea, it does. Kushina would be jumping for joy, happy at his achievement. So am I." he nodded, with a proud smile

"Tsunade! Why aren't you cool like him?" Hashirama whined.

"Urasai!" she said with a tick mark, but she too felt proud.

"DO you want to know what he's sensei, your student had written him off as?" Oroochimaru continued, wanting to put more oil on to the ire, "A weal talentless boy. Someone who should stop being a shinobi altogether. Ku ku ku, and to think the same talentless boy was far stronger than he could ever be. That's what you get when you make an enemy out of a Jinchuriki of all people." he said, shaking he's head in mock disappointment. Minato immediately started looking for his former student.

"You bastered! You want to say that to my face!?" he exclaimed and all Kakashi could do was look don in shame as he's sensei, the man he saw as a father, the man he admired...wanted to kill him. He remembered telling that to Naruto when the boy came to him, asking for help for the chuunin exams during the month break.

"Hiruzen? What were you doing when all of this was happening to the boy?" Tobirama asked the question he was burning to ask.

"I'd like to know too? Didn't he come tell you any of this?" Hashirama asked.

"*sigh* Like I said, he's a selfless boy. The council would usually block me from helping him, although I would usually find away around it, but he wouldn't tell me. What I told you of his treat was a sugar coated version and even I don't know a lot. I would usually force him to tell me. He says that he doesn't want to trouble me, and that he'll handle everything as long as I made sure the council never had him executed or banished." and they nodded, applauding the unknown-to the Senju brothers- boy for he's merciful and big heart.

"Now I reaaaaallllllyyy want to met him. Can we met him, pleaaassssee?" Hashirama asked his brother.

"Why the hell are you asking me? That stripling has control of our actions. The only way we could be freed is if an Uzumaki used the seal on their charka chains and seeing that Konoha ran out the only one there seems to be, we're demolishing the place." Tobirama said. He didn't want to destroy the village, but he secretly knew that a small part of his heart wanted to for what they did to the boy. It was funny. He never even met him, yet felt proud that there was such a person in born in Konoha.

"S-Sensei, I'm really sorry I-" Kakashi began, but was blasted by a killing intent from the blonde. He knew he screwed up, but he honestly believed that he was honoring Obito's memory, but now that he though about it, Obito wouldn't have done what he did. He really was worse than scum.

"Don't call me your sensei. I never taught favoritism." Minato hissed, "And where were you sensei? Hm? While your godson was here suffering?!" he exclaimed.

"I have no excuse except that I had my spy network to look after." he said looking down.

"Bullshit!" he yelled, making the hermit wince, "I know for a fact that there are monthly reports you have to hand in! Are you saying that you couldn't spared five minutes? Or was peeping at hot springs that important to you?"

"I-I..." he began, but knew he had no excuse.

"I can't believe you, or any of you here!" he said towards the other shinobi. "I wonder how my son turned out so selfless when he was surround by such selfish people!" he roared, blasting even more killing intent.

"Didn't the boy have any friends?" Hashirama asked.

"No. Parents would tell the children to stay away and thus he was bullied." Hiruzen said.

"Enough talk! Now that you know about Konoha's corruption and what they did to an innocent boy, we'll be destroying the village now." Oroochimaru said, snapping his fingers and suddenly, they couldn't move so freely anymore.

"Well, I won't lie when I'm saying that I'll feel a bit satisfied at its destruction." Minato said casually.

"We are royally screwed." Jiraiya whispered to Tsunade, who would have hit him if they weren't going to go against four of the best shinobi of all time. That and she totally agreed.

"I know." she said and they all resumed their stances.

"Attack all you! Konoha will fall this time and we shall be victorious!" Oroochimaru yelled at his men and their allies and they all cheered.

"We might have made mistakes in the past, this is still our home, our village and we'll do everything to protect it!" Tsunade exclaimed, trying to raise their spirits, but it didn't really do much and that's when she saw it.

The Konoha shinobi had lost the will to fight. They were belittled by the enemy and not only that, the previous Kage were angry at them for the treatment their Jinchuriki went throught, one opening declaring he would feel satisfied in destroying their home. The Konoha 11 had went throught so much training and they felt it was insignificant when they heard of Naruto's accomplishments. They didn't feel jealous, but were actually somewhat happy for him, though it pained them that Naruto was having the best time of his life, while they were struggling here in a war that they were so clearly going to lose. Kakashi felt like he'd just dig a hole or himself and bury himself there, hopefully killing him. The killing intent and hatred he felt from his sensei was suffocating, especially since it was directed to him. He knew they had all given up. That there was no reason to fight anymore. There was no use. Better just surrender to reduce any causalities really.

"Its seems, your luck as run out Konoha!" Oroochimaru yelled and lunged at an un-expecting Tsunade, who was trying to raise the morals of her shinobi.

"Tsunade-sama!/Tsunade!" she had vaguely heard the people yell her name when she saw Oroochimaru's sword inches away from her. It was too late to move and she knew it was the end. Maybe she deserved it. She knew she was being selfish when she asked her blonde gaki to come back, but he was like a son to her. A son she could never have. They would usually talk about random things, helping her with her damn paper work. She sometimes wondered if she had met him earlier and adopted him, would her life had been more cheerful? Guess she would never know. Out of pure reflex, she had put her hands in front of her, adding chakra to maybe reduce the pain. Then there was a flash.

CLANK

Tsunade found herself lift from the ground, warm arms around her, securing her protectively, but what was shocking to her, was that she didn't feel any pain. She heard gasps from people around her, then cheers, but those of happiness. She opened her eyes to see her savior and she too gasped, tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

"Yare yare. Last time I checked, I had at least two more years left of freedom before I came back to this hell hole. Now I'm welcomed by the sight of seeing a person I see as a mother being attacked by a damn snake? Hope you said your prays hebi-teme." Everyone-from Konoha-cried tears of happiness. A miracle from above, as if Kami-sama had heard their prays. He had sent someone. Some to save them. They're savior had arrived.

Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze had arrived at the battlefield.