Shadows of the Past
The Fourth and Seventh Hokage’s stood side by side. The younger of the two stared up at the glorious statue before him. The mighty Sixth stood nobly tall. The Hokage robes that he had never actually worn on life swirled around his body, the stone frozen in time.
The older of the two Shinobi smiled happily, but his blind eyes could not see the statue. He still recognized that his sacrifice for the village had been much easier to part with than his companion’s.
The two walked away from the statue, as the morning sun rose over Konoha. The legendary Fourth Hokage patted his son on his left shoulder. Then, in the blink of an eye, they were off to their destination.
“So… the legendary Hokages finally show up.”
“Please, Elder Hatake. Spare us the amusement.” Kanda Uzumaki requested.
Kakashi Hatake laughed. “I remember when you used to be my elder, and not the other way around.”
“I’m sure you can.”
Naruto pulled aside a chair, taking his seat as the active Hokage at the far end of the circular table. “Can we please get on with this? My team is waiting to meet me.”
“Of course.” Kakashi laughed.
“Our finances are doing well. We are receiving plenty of missions, and Sand and Mist are still supplying us with plenty of support.”
Naruto smiled. “As if we need it. Tell Gaara to do us a favor, and lay of the tributes. It’s not like we own him.”
“What about the Mizukage?” Elder Kurenai Yuhi inquired.
“Well… dad can deal with it.” Naruto noted. “You’re going back there, aren’t you?”
Kanda smiled at his son. “Of course. It was good to stop by.” He stood, preparing to depart. The famous Ninja’s golden hair had streaked with silver over the many years.
Naruto turned to the elders of Konoha. “Is that everything?”
“Yes.”
Uchiha Sasuke leaned quietly against a wall in his kitchen.
“Now, Itachi… good luck. I know you’ll do fine. Your Sensei is a good man. He’ll teach you well.”
Itachi laughed. “Thanks dad. So… who is it?”
“You know we can’t tell you. You’ll just have to wait and find out.” Sakura Uchiha explained. “Just trust us. You’ll be fine. Where is he meeting you?”
“The old training field down by the forest.”
Sakura exchanged a quick glance with her husband. They both knew exactly what their old friend had in store for their son.
As the boy slipped his pouch of kunai onto his leg, his parents looked him over.
“Good luck.”
Itachi laughed. “Like I need it.”
“Now, just remember how you did things in the academy, and you’ll do fine.” Rock Lee instructed his daughter. “It might seem like a lot, but it’s really just the same sort of things you worked on there. Try to relax, and just focus.”
Yuru Lee smiled at her father. She wore a rather short skirt, and a black sleeveless shirt. Her deep blue hair flew in the wind.
“Good luck. Now… I’ve got to go see my team, so go out and be brave.”
Yuru rolled her eyes. Her father never stopped his lectures, even when it was clear that she already understood.
The green clad martial artist disappeared down the street.
Rendo looked up at the massive gates to Konoha. His master had told him of the village, but it was his first sight of the impressive place in person. He smiled, walking through. He knew where he needed to go.
“Well… if it isn’t Itachi Uchiha.” Yuru smiled at the boy. She had a fancy for him, although she would never admit it.
“Yuru Lee. So, who’s the third member of our team?”
A voice called from behind them. “Hey! You must be my new teammates.”
The two turned, to look into the face of the boy who charged up the hill. He wore a Konoha forehead protector, which held up his drooping white hair. His eyes were pure black, deep and enticing. His t-shirt and pants were likewise black. He smiled. “I’m Rendo.”
Itachi and Yuru exchanged looks. “Are you… from around here?” Yuru finally found the words.
“Well… no, but Gaara-sama said that he was going to send a student to learn from his friend.”
Yuru was about to ask a thousand questions, but Itachi held up a hand to silence her.
“All right. My name is Itachi Uchiha.”
“I’m Yuru Lee.”
“Nice to meet you.” He extended a hand in greeting. Itachi looked at it with disgust. Yuru paused, before finally shaking the hand.
“So… where’s our new sensei?”
Itachi paused, staring at the boy as though he were some form of insect. Then he turned, and walked over to the chain-link fence, finding a comfortable spot leaning on.
A dull crunch emanated over the top of the hill on which the Genin team stood.
They each turned, staring up the man. His hair was golden to the point of being reflective as he smiled towards them. He wore a solid black tactical vest, over the traditional blue shirt and pants of the Konoha Ninja.
“Hey!”
Yuru’s eyes spread wide. Itachi smiled slightly.
“Hokage-sama? Well… where’s our sensei?” Yuru asked.
Rendo gaped. “Hokage-sama!”
“You’re Rendo? How’s Gaara doing?”
“Wonderful!”
Finally, Naruto Uzumaki turned to Yuru. “I am your Sensei. But please, just call me Naruto.”
Yuru gaped. Itachi’s eyes widened, ever so slightly. Rendo laughed slightly.
“Was Gaara-sama not supposed to tell me ahead of time?”
Yuru turned. “You knew?”
Rendo smiled. “Of course. Didn’t you?”
She shook her head, more than just the slightest bit angry.
“So… where were you, Sensei?” Itachi asked.
“Well… I was detained by a beautiful wo…”
“Bull shit!” Yuru responded.
“Gotten used to me that fast? I’m impressed. Do you really want to know?”
The group paused, thinking. Then, as one, they nodded.
“All right. Follow me.”
“What is this?”
“Every day, I come here.” Naruto noted. The three looked up at the statue. It showed a team of ninja, nine of them, smiling, as though they were having a picture taken.
“Who are they?”
“My old ANBU squad. The Fourth Hokage, the Kazekage, the Mizukage…” He added, pointing out different people. “Of course, that was a long time ago. Most of them are retired now. That’s Ink-sama, who probably taught you at the academy.”
The boy laughed. “Bullshit. There is no way that the academy teacher is the Mizukage.”
Naruto smiled, in a way that made the boy question his statement. “All right. Anyways… that’ your father and mother when they were about your age, Itachi.” Naruto pointed out Sasuke and Sakura.
“And that’s me. Your parents and I were a team, once. The guy behind us is our Sensei.” Naruto gestured to Kakashi. “Then, that’s your father Yuru, Rock Lee… he’s another Jounin at the head of a team. You’ll all probably meet him some day. And the girl there is my wife.” Naruto’s hand pointed at Hinata.
Uchiha Itachi turned to Naruto. “I thought ANBU squads were made of ten men.”
“They are.” Naruto responded. The boy looked uncannily like his uncle, even down to the lines under his eyes. The first time they had met, it was unnerving, but Naruto had gotten used to it.
“Well… where’s the tenth guy, then?” The first boy demanded.
“Come on. I’ll show you.”
The team walked through the Konoha cemetery, until they finally reached the crest of the hill, where the Hokage of the past were buried. Just past the graves was another statue. The Shinobi in this statue were huddled together, back to back. Below each ninja was engraved a name. Again, there were only nine.
“Shuhei Hisagi…” The young girl read aloud.
Itachi continued walking around the statue, pausing at the feet of another boy.
“Ah. I thought you might be interested in him.”
The words read Kase Hyuuga, but a pair of beautifully sculpted Mangekyo Sharigan orbited in his eyes.
“What kind of Byakugan are those?”
Naruto laughed gently. “Those are Mangekyo Sharigan. Ask your father. He’ll show you. For that matter, ask him to tell you about this guy, and your uncle. It’s time you heard about your clan.”
Itachi nodded. “You knew him pretty well, didn’t you?”
Naruto laughed gently, as if he were the only one who understood a joke. “You have no idea. Everyone, come over here.”
They moved over to the man standing between Kase and a blind man, with a bandage over his eyes. He had a single arm draped over each of their shoulders, and his face was broken in a wide smile.
“Who is he?”
“The Sixth Hokage.”
The kids each looked down at the name below his feet.
Ryusando Tohiryuu.
“Why was Ink-sama so stern about us knowing about him?” The girl asked.
Naruto stepped over, standing in front of the statue of Redai Obindo. “Because of what he did for us. You remember that last statue? He was the only one who died there. If it weren’t for him, every single one of us would have died.”
“Who were they fighting?”
Naruto sighed. “Do you want to hear the whole story? It isn’t very fun to tell, or to listen to, but every ninja needs to hear it. Every single ninja in this statue is dead. Some rules have no exceptions.” Naruto sighed. “Now… come on.”
The three sat on the balcony of a large building. Naruto leaned up against the railing, as his team sat on the stone steps in front of him.
“So… tell me about yourselves.”
Rendo jumped up first. “My name is Rendo. I am from the Village of Sand.”
Naruto smiled at that comment. Then he reached into a pocket in his jacket and pulled out a Konoha forehead protector on a blue cloth. It flew to Rendo, who caught it easily.
“Anyway… Gaara is my sensei.”
“And what are your goals in life?”
Rendo paused, thinking. “To become the Kazekage.” It wasn’t said enthusiastically, but rather noted, as though he thought the others would be ashamed of him.
He sounds like me… wow. When Gaara said that he’d remind me of someone, I really didn’t expect myself.
“All right.” Naruto nodded, smiling slightly. “Who’s next?”
Yuru looked to Itachi, as if asking permission, before beginning. “I’m Yuru Lee. I… well, I’m not sure I have any goals that are really worth mentioning.”
“You are the daughter of Rock Lee, aren’t you?”
“Yes… why?”
I was expecting her to start talking about the spirit of youth. “Nothing. Itachi… you’re next.”
Itachi stood up. “I am Itachi Uchiha. My only goal is to surpass you, Hokage-sama.”
Phew… I was worried he’d be like his dad.
“Well… that might take a while. I’m Naruto Uzumaki, like I already told you. And when I was about your age, I sat here with my sensei and my team, and he asked us exactly the same questions. So… when I was your age, my goal was to become the Hokage, not for fame or fortune, but because I wanted people to recognize me for who I really was. But enough of that. You’ll figure out my past soon enough. Come on. We’ve got one more thing to do before we go off on our first mission.”
“You see these two bells? Get them from me.” Naruto hung them on a loop of his belt, and walked over to lean against a tree.
The others huddled together, much to Naruto’s enjoyment.
“Well… how are we gonna do this?” Yuru asked.
“How should I know? It’s probably impossible. We’re Genins, and he’s the Hokage.” Itachi responded coldly.
Rendo shook his head. “Anything can be done with enough determination.”
“Well then… should we just go at him?”
“Probably. I doubt he’ll actually fight back.”
“Well then… I’m going in.” Rendo replied, flipping two kunai from his pouch. The blades were long and curved. Itachi and Yuru stood, dumbfounded, as he charged. His blow struck midair where Naruto should have been.
“Not to good, but you were close.”
“How did you…?”
Naruto was gone from behind him, instead standing atop a tree easily a quarter of a mile off. “Move so fast? It’s just from practice.”
The Hokage’s eyes didn’t even look away from Rendo as Yuru charged him. He recognized his mistake as a pair of white ribbons wrapped around his arm.
“Your father taught you that technique? At your age? I’ll have to talk with him.” Naruto reached over to cut the bandages, and then dove away.
“Fire Release: Breath of Flame Jutsu!” Naruto turned to see a rather large fireball coming toward him from Itachi’s mouth.
“Light Extraction Jutsu!” The fireball disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Itachi raised an eyebrow before charging angrily at Naruto. The Hokage caught both of his fists. He then spun, throwing the boy at Yuru, who had been trying to sneak up behind him. The two fell, side over side.
Rendo’s kunai was pressed tightly up against Naruto’s neck. “I think I win.”
How did he… the body flicker? I doubt it, especially at his age. I didn’t want to use this, but…
Naruto’s hand flew to his pouch of weapons. He threw a kunai at a distant tree.
“That’s not going to do much good, is it?”
And in that moment, Naruto disappeared.
“I suppose it did.” He laughed, pocketing the kunai. What did Gaara teach him?
“Holy…” Rendo’s jaw dropped.
“The Yellow Flicker. So far, you’ve already succeeded in forcing me to use two of my most powerful techniques. You pass.”
The others looked at him as though he were making a joke.
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Story notes: Spoilers for Ch. 364, and Secret of Shadows