"Will I really meet Mito-sama?"
The girl with the luscious red hair asked again, her eyes shining with excitement.
Tsunade let out a heavy sigh, shifting the weight of the child on her back.
"This is your fifth time asking me that..."
Around them, a large procession of Uzumaki refugees moved through the forest. Dozens of adults carried heavy scrolls and salvaged crates, while older children trailed close to the shinobi.
They formed a long, guarded line snaking through the greenery.
After the group rested, Ashina had approached them with a final request. He asked them to take Kushina Uzumaki back to the Leaf.
Following the brutal siege, Ashina refused to risk the village's future. The Land of Whirlpools remained a target, and he couldn't guarantee their safety if another invasion arrived.
He gave Yoichi and the team a formal mission: deliver the refugees to the safety of the Senju.
Awakening... I still have no idea what it is.
As for Yoichi's own situation, the answers remained out of reach. He turned the word awakening over in his mind, but found no conclusive evidence to satiate his curiosity.
For now, theories remained mere speculations.
Yoichi felt like controlled by the threads of fate, interweaving his own life. But, he didn't let this matter dictate the current state of affairs.
"It's not like I don't have any choice," Yoichi muttered. "This issue might resolve itself once I have a leverage or strength to tackle them, if there's ever a chance."
Speaking of strength, the harvest was staggering.
Yoichi had amassed 323 souls during the siege, and the sheer volume of spiritual energy caused his own soul to sublimate.
Coupled with his stacks of sensory-type passive abilities, his perception was exceedingly sharp as hell. The natural range of his perception reached roughly 5 kilometers with a near perfect details.
However, everything became such a nuisance like a discordant symphonies of flora and fauna.
Countless streams of information surged into his mind, threatening to overload his consciousness.
He felt like a certain character with blue eyes and white hair, cheekily smiling while being relentlessy drowned in an infinite flow of useless data.
So, Yoichi took his rest time as a way to upgrade his Spirit Aperture into a whole nother notch.
A big level up.
Instead of being employed in a previous manner which was a singular shaping of the target, he made his perception a 3D mental map. Like a simulation room with grid lines, each object whether it was organic or not couldn't escape his perception range without missing any details.
Of course, the refinement brought out a drawback.
It lowered his perception range down to a 1 KM.
Still, it was a huge upgrade in his perspective.
The procession continued its steady march through the Land of Fire. Within three days of travel, the group emerged from the thick canopy to see the high, imposing walls of Konoha rising on the horizon.
A new beginning for the Uzumaki refugees and a problem resurfaced into Yoichi and the three.
"Halt!"
A cold voice rang as multiple shadows blotted the sun. One tall, authoritative shinobi masked stood upright and scanned the whole group until his eyes landed on Yoichi and the future Sannin.
ANBU? No... It is a Root ANBU.
Due to their disobedience, Yoichi made his way to the front along with the three. They knew that it was not a good time to disobey the higher-ups since one spark right now could potentially fuse a war.
However, what they believed was their defiance somewhat solved the Konoha's allies problem.
They had ignored orders to stay put, but the sea of red-haired survivors behind them served as a silent, living justification.
In their eyes, the survival of the Uzumaki was worth the stain on their records.
"Would you like to surrender quietly or... " the ANBU leader asked.
He had heard the reports of their victory against the combined forces of the Hidden Villages.
Even behind the mask, his eyes betrayed a flicker of fear.
"And these people?" the masked man asked, gesturing toward the sea of red-haired refugees.
"They are undocumented. They cannot enter."
"These will be the new citizens under the jurisdiction of the Senju," Tsunade interjected, her voice sharp as a blade.
"The old man will know this. Stand aside."
Subsequently, the news of their return sparked some murmurs and the bystanders began to pile up, looking at the heroes with admiration as their initial doubts and perplexity vanished like smoke.
"Hahaha! Look at them, they are our heroes!"
"I never even doubted them once!"
"Look, even some of the Uzumaki members are here! We are totally delighted by their stay here! Welcome home!"
"I wonder who would do such misleading news to these heroes... This is such a slanderous mistake from the administration. They should be ashamed!"
The news about their victory reached into the ears of the villagers three days ago. Of course, such a good news must be so exhilarating and rousing from the public's perception.
The prowess of Yoichi and the three were properly highlighted in the news, stating that they fought remarkably against the joint assault of the hidden villages.
Some bystanders had been skeptical, whispering pessimistic hearsay that helping the Uzumaki was a strategic mistake but the raging momentum of the victory buried those doubts in an instant.
However, the main spotlight was centered around the emergence of the mysterious Murakami Clan and their otherworldly strength.
The shockwaves from this revelation rippled far beyond the village walls. This demonstration of force felt like a tremor from a forgotten era.
Not since the days when the God of Shinobi and the Ghost of Uchiha reigned over the Warring States Period had the world witnessed such a one-sided erasure of military power.
And the best part was that the one they merely cultivated was Martial Arts. No Chakra leakage or signatures was perceived when they revealed their domination and the validity of the news was further expressed by the leader of the Murakami himself.
Now, the stocks of Martial Arts began to shoot up.
"I wonder what'll be the reaction of the Hokage..."
Yoichi's mouth curled upwards as his goal to promote Martial Arts was becoming more and more easier to accomplish. He along with his friends was escorted into the Hokage's office while the Uzumaki eventually stayed on the Senju's soil.
...
...
...
The heavy oak doors of the council chamber groaned open, and the silence inside hit Yoichi like a physical wall.
Danzo sat like a statue of stone. Beside him, Homura and Koharu looked equally incensed, their faces etched with lines of deep-seated anger.
They looked as if the four was somewhat had a huge debt. Technically, they did ever since they became loose cannons that might potentially compromise the fragile stability of the world.
Hiruzen's shoulders slumped as if the weight of the Hokage hat had doubled. Before him lay a stack of urgent missives, each bearing the seal of a different nation.
"The delegations from the four hidden villages have already sent their demands," Danzo stated, his voice a low, dangerous rasp. "They are aggressive, unified, and they are demanding the surrender of the Martial Arts techniques."
"They also demand that Yoichi be handed over for questioning regarding the 'unnatural' force used." Danzo added.
The air in the room felt thick with the scent of old parchment and Danzo's suppressed killing intent.
"The world is terrified," Koharu interjected, her voice sharp. "They compare this event to the eras of Hashirama and Madara. They believe Konoha is hoarding a weapon of mass destruction, and they are threatening a total war if we do not comply."
This council is truly beyond redemption. I must have a contingency to wipe out these senile elders if things went out of control.
Yoichi had anticipated this outcome, yet he had given them the benefit of the doubt.
Now, that decision was biting him back.
"What a load of bullcrap!" Tsunade's voice exploded through the chamber, shattering the tense silence.
"If they want war, then let them come!"
Usually, she sought peace, but this demand triggered a primal fury within her. Her partner had made compromises to promote these techniques for the village, strengthening them as the potential and strength became apparent.
The thought of foreign nations having the gall to snatch them away was unbearable.
Who wouldn't be wrathful with that proposition?
"Tsunade is right. We bled for this victory. Handing over our own people is not how Konoha operates."
Jiraiya stepped up beside her, his usual playful demeanor replaced by a hard, somber mask.
Orochimaru didn't raise his voice, but his golden eyes narrowed with a visible disdain.
"A pathetic proposal. Yielding now only invites further predation."
The three students stood in a unified front, their shadows stretching long across the floor.
They looked at the council, then at their sensei, their respect wavering.
Hiruzen had the power to reject these one-sided demands, yet he sat in silence, looking every bit the tired old man the elders wanted him to be.
Look how the tables have turned... So, what should be your response? Is it war or another disappointment?
___________
As you can see, I stopped now playing with AI.
The sentencing words and the incoherence began to surface once again. By the way, thanks to doomslayer24 for staying here. Man, I can seem to thank you for you reading this shit.
Now that we're in the last vestiges of my fanfic, I decided to fuck it we ball thing. If there's any inconsistencies or other wrong words, tell me!