My mind was blank. With a gnawing cold in my chest, I watched as my parents' hearts beat ever slower.
After the flash, the Nine-Tails was transferred into the seal on my stomach, which I couldn't even feel. Kushina and Minato simply collapsed to the ground, living out their final seconds.
The God of Death still loomed over us. It was granting its summoner these last moments, knowing he wasn't going anywhere.
Gusts of wind sounded nearby. Three shinobi appeared and, in a panic, moved toward us. The oldest of them lifted me from the pedestal… Someone familiar? Oh… a younger-looking Hiruzen… How indifferent it all felt compared to the pain inside me. But I had no strength left to suffer. Only the burning in my chest remained.
"Fourth-sama!" a concerned jonin said, lifting the Hokage into a sitting position.
His comrade did the same with Kushina.
All three looked with alarm at the horrific, gaping wounds. It was a miracle that those who had sustained such injuries were still alive.
"Minato… Kushina…" Hiruzen spoke their names with bitterness, his hands trembling.
Don't drop me now… I noted melancholically.
"Hiruzen-sama…" A strained smile appeared on Minato's face again. "Forgive me… I must leave you…"
The old man turned a desperate gaze upon him.
"Please, convey my words to the people of Konoha… I want them not to think of my son as the vessel of a monster… one who brings only grief. Let them know him as a hero…"
"Y-yes…" Hiruzen nodded resolutely. "I will tell them."
"Third…" Kushina whispered. To hear her better, Hiruzen moved closer. "Take care of him…"
"Of course. Don't you worry," the old man nodded without hesitation.
"His name is… Naruto…"
"…"
"…"
The ache in my chest intensified…
Kushina's heart stopped.
But why does it hurt me so much…
Hiruzen watched with sadness as the young woman's life came to an end.
"Kushina-sama," the jonin shook her, but turning to the Third, he saw only a slow shake of the head.
The Hokage shifted his gaze to Minato. The life had drained from his eyes, which were fixed on the elderly shinobi.
At that moment, the Shinigami stirred. With its free hand, the one without the beads, it drew the tanto from its mouth. Then, opening its maw wide, it sucked the Fourth's "soul," along with half of the Nine-Tails, into its bottomless stomach. Then, methodically placing the weapon back, it vanished without gracing anyone with so much as a glance.
"Hokage-sama?" inquired the shinobi who had been holding Minato.
"Let's go. We must take everyone to the hospital… and bury the dead with dignity."
A few days later. Evening
In a spacious office overlooking Konoha, a not-so-young man was once again seated. Whatever one reincarnated soul might think, he didn't have gray hair yet, which meant he wasn't much of an old man.
(The illustration is of the wrong office, but the "old man" is the right one)
Resting his chin on his clasped hands and lighting his pipe, he was lost in thought.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's mood was abysmal. He had just returned from the cemetery, where honors were paid not only to two of Konoha's heroes—Minato and Kushina—but also to many other Leaf shinobi… as well as his wife, Biwako. That was the old woman who had delivered their child.
In a single moment, problems had piled up over the man's head. But the main question he couldn't solve was: How? Based on the wounds on that medical-nin and Biwako, how had someone managed to infiltrate the place where Kushina was giving birth? The Fuinjutsu Division had placed the best possible protective seal on that rock. Even he, the Third God of Shinobi, would have had to work on it for a long time to break it. But more than that, a formidable ANBU team—operatives specializing in combat—was stationed outside. Yet they were all found strangled, none of them able to make a sound—they died right at their posts… After that, the unknown assailant managed to fight one of the strongest shinobi in the history of the Leaf—the Fourth Hokage. Even if he was exhausted, in that state he could have defeated several elite ninja, but he failed against the intruder…
Every loss, every burnt leaf, was a dull ache in Hiruzen's chest.
The conclusion was that to pull something like this off, an incredibly powerful shinobi must have appeared. He entered the village undetected by the barrier. He killed so many people… Only someone on the level of Madara Uchiha would be capable of such a feat. The Sharingan had been visible in the eyes of the rampaging fox, meaning an Uchiha was involved in the incident. But Madara was dead! One of Hiruzen's own sensei, the First Hokage, Hashirama, couldn't have lied… Or could he? In any case, even if it were true, it changed little. That enemy wasn't here, unlike many other problems.
The village was in mourning. Many streets and houses were destroyed. This had to be dealt with.
Fortunately, things weren't as bad as they could have been. From the start of the hostilities, Hiruzen had ordered the young shinobi and civilians to be sheltered under barriers in the bunkers located within the Hokage Rock. The future of the Leaf was intact, even if their hearts were wounded. But… time would heal that.
With a sad sigh, Sarutobi exhaled a cloud of smoke, remembering his wife.
It has to heal…
The position of Hokage signified a highly respected shinobi leading the Great Hidden Village of the Leaf. And it was a lifelong appointment. If a new Hokage was chosen, it didn't mean the previous one lost their authority.
After the Kyuubi incident, a village council was convened, where one of the issues raised was the next leader. Hiruzen had readily offered to take up the burden again. He understood that the village needed a manager, and since Sarutobi already had the experience, he would be the best one to handle the aftermath of the tragedy.
However, one of the councilors—Shimura Danzo—was against it. The authority of the councilors was almost equal to that of the Kage. Shimura argued that what kind of Hokage was Hiruzen if he couldn't protect the Fourth? But Sarutobi defused the situation, stating with a smile that he would hold the post until a better candidate was found.
No one objected, except for the aforementioned councilor. Even the other two councilors, who often opposed some of Hiruzen's decisions, didn't say a word against it.
And why was that? Sarutobi, though a clan ninja, always put the village first. Such was the Will of Fire, left by the nearly extinct founding clan—the Senju. Despite being one of the strongest in the village and a veteran of three wars, the man remained gentle. At least, toward the residents of the Land of Fire. It was in his character to try to resolve conflicts peacefully. This wasn't always effective, or even useful at all. But overall, it was a decent approach. The other two mentioned councilors disagreed with him on some points, but they respected the title of Hokage and compromised with him. The three of them, by the way, had been on the same team in their youth, led by the Second Hokage. But the Konoha Council also included Danzo—Hiruzen's longtime rival and practically his opposite. A not-at-all gentle fan of radical solutions. In their youth, all four had had to work together. Later, after the death of the Second, it was through their joint work that they managed to create something of a balance of views and lead the village to prosperity together.
Whatever some might think, Hiruzen, like all the councilors, strove for the prosperity of Konoha. It was another matter that they sought it through different paths. However, the final word always belonged to the Hokage… even if Shimura sometimes forgot that.
Thus, the student of the Second Hokage continued to perform the duties befitting his post.