Chapter 58
It had been years since she had slept so peacefully, and as Konan woke up again, she thought she was back at the small red home the three of them had built with Jiraiya-sensei, but those times were long gone.
As she woke, she saw that she was back in her apartment in Konoha, and it was the same as the day she had gotten it, except for a small difference. That was the shinobi sitting right in front of her, sleeping with his head tilted to the side. She looked down and saw her holding his hand, and felt her face flush as she pulled it back, or at least tried to pull it back, but found herself unable to do so.
So, she simply lay there, having never gotten a chance to see him sleep. And in his sleep, he looked still like a kid, a young teen, which he was, and she was forced to remind herself that. And yet in his brief life, he had suffered nearly as much as her, and still continued to push forward, even as she had stumbled.
And as she thought about their conversation from last night and the decisions she had made, her heart leapt in her chest, as she gripped his hand tightly, and whispered lightly into the air.
"Yahiko, Nagato...." she whispered and felt their warmth in this small room. She could see them smiling down at her from the heavens above and pushing her along.
"...I am sorry."
0000
MIKOTO UCHIHA
The arrival of the refugees from Ame had caused great havoc within the village, and many had spoken against giving them refuge, including several voices from the Police Force. But in the end, Minato had put his foot down and had decided to incorporate the men and women into the village.
He had spoken of the Shodaime and his vision for the village to be a safe haven from war and conflict, and in the end, few could argue against the kage. The Akatsuki members were given safe heaven, but the conditions imposed upon them were quite harsh as each and every one of them was to serve on the front lines of the war.
A few died, but this created a sense camaraderie within Konoha and Ame shinobi, and with every passing year, the distrust and the doubts were thawed and five years later Konoha was only better for it.
Through the Ame's refugees, Konoha gained many elite shinobi, including the girl sitting infront of her. Konan no Akatsuki, and she had heard and read much about her, especially once she had learned of her son's interest in her, and the more she learned, the more she pitied the girl whose life was filled with nothing but pain and misery.
She was a fine girl and was an even finer shinobi, being amongst the very few who could perhaps match her own eldest, who sat beside the girl, slowly drinking his tea as she tried to engage her in a light conversation.
It was obvious that she was neither used to nor was she comfortable sitting here, dining with her and Fugaku despite all her efforts to make her at ease.
"Now that dinner is over, why don't we girls go for a walk and leave these men to their own devices," she asked, catching her by surprise.
"You do know that I am your son," Izuna cut in, as she quickly shushed him.
"Shush! It's not every day that I get to meet such a fine kunoichi. Plus, there are some things that we women must discuss only within ourselves," and he shrugged, pointing towards Konan.
"Well, that is if she trusts you enough to go with you? Who's to say you won't kidnap her while you are away? It's no secret that have always wanted a daughter," and he was giving Konan a way out, and she smiled.
"Well, I would do just fine with a daughter-in-law," and that seemed to catch him off guard, as he nearly spat his tea, as she gave him a smile.
"Come," she said to the purple-haired girl.
"Izuna will take care of the dishes," and his son nodded, and the girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, before she stood tall, and it was obvious from the ties of her kimono, and dress that she had made an effort to dress up, but was not used to doing so.
"As you say, Mikoto-sama," and she tutted as they wore their sandals, and began to walk towards the garden.
"Just Mikoto is fine fear," she corrected again, but the girl did not say anything as she followed after her, and soon enough they were on the streets of the compound, as she led the two of them.
"I am glad that Itachi-kun is under the care of a kunoichi like you. It was good of you to humble him and his teammates," and both Saiko and Anko were like family as well, with both often coming to meet with her, and so it was reassuring that they had a sensei like her looking after them.
"Thank you, but your son is quite skilled. He would have done quite fine under anyone," and that was true as well.
"Maybe, Itachi has always been a hard worker. He won't speak of it, but he was forced to stay in the hospital for a year," and the memories of that time still haunted her, and she could still remember the day the Iryo-nin had found that small abnormality in his lungs.
"What?" the purple-haired kunoichi.
"Yes. He had a small growth in his lungs, something which could have become too dangerous and fatal if it had been ignored for even a few years," but that was the advantage of having an Iryo-nin in the family, as Izuna was quite strict when it came to their regular check-ups, and during one of these check-ups the Iryo-nins had picked it up before it could turn fatal.
"He underwent surgery, and they had to take out one segment of his lung," and she had thought that his career as a shinobi would be over, but Itachi was nearly as stubborn as her eldest, and had refused to back down.
"He has been cautioned against relying on the powerful breath-based Katon jutsus, which are the basics of the Uchiha clan," but Itachi had persisted, and Izuna had returned to the village as soon as he heard of it, bringing with him a special gift for his brother.
"Itachi has had to invent an entirely new style of fighting and using Katon ninjutsu in his arsenal," and she knew that he would never speak of it himself, so it was better for her to talk about it with his sensei so that she could aid him in any way she could.
"Thank you for telling me about this," and such sensitive information was not shared easily, her telling her about this was a sign of respect and trust, and the girl looked up as they found themselves outside the Naka shrine.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"This is the Naka Shrine. It is sacred to our clan," and she brought together her hands and made a prayer, before she entered the forest beside it, prompting Konan to follow after her.
"Come, we are nearly there," and despite the winding paths of the forest, she was so familiar with the place they were going to that she could reach it with her eyes closed.
And as she walked through the trees, she began once more.
"I know that most of the world sees Izuna-kun as some sort of monster," and her heart broke, that he was forced into such a life.
"He has been a shinobi since he was seven and has been at the forefront of wars ever since. Before he had turned ten, he had already killed thousands of men," and what kind of parents were they that they had pushed their child into such a life.
"You may think him heartless, and cold," she said, looking towards the girl, who shook her head.
"I don't," she said, and she smiled.
"That is good of you. But the truth is that there was a time when he hated the idea of killing—loathed it. There was a time when he dreamt of peace, of a world without war," and she came to a halt as they reached a small concealed part of the forest, one where the green grass turned red, and the trees became thinner and she steeled her heart as she looked to the front and saw several trees, with thinned trunks, with the glass around them colored a dull red.
"Yet this cruel world made it so that he had to give it all up for us. He killed that part of himself to protect us, his family, his brothers, his friends," and she saw the girl's eyes widen as she realised just what she was seeing, and each time she came upon this place, she found it hard to keep a lid on her emotions
"This is where he buried it. This is the place where a part of my son lies buried, a part of him that he was forced to kill just so he could survive in this world," and she looked towards the girl as she finished.
"This is my greatest shame...."
0000
MINATO NAMIKAZE
The date of the Chunin exams drew nearer and nearer, but he had already delegated that duty to Izuna-kun, who had once again proven equal to the responsibility and was coordinating it all.
He was aided by the return of Lady Tsunade who had helped him by taking over much of the burden of the Fifth Division, as she began working at the hospital once more. It was a welcome surprise, but one that had helped boost the morale and the standing of the village, for despite her struggles one would have to be a grave fool to deny the prowess of Tsunade Senju.
The restoration of the Uzumaki clan was still in progress, and the retrieval of Kirin-san and Karin-chan had lit a new fire in the shinobi, who had once again started their search for the lost members of the clan, and now, once more, after decades, Konoha shinobi were actively searching for members of their sister village.
By now, one more girl had been retrieved, an orphan by the name of Tayuya from the Rice country. The girl was around Naruto's age and was being cared for by Kushina who had never been happier in her life.
While he could not be certain, he believed that there were more of them out there, and he hoped that they would be able to find and help them, to wipe away some of the disgrace of their betrayal decades ago.
And once the clan was sufficiently restored, he planned to offer them back their land, though that was a plan for the future. And perhaps by then there would be another one sitting in his seat.
His reign had already passed the Nidaime's in terms of duration, and now only the Sandaime had ruled over the village as a kage for a longer time, but he was not blind to the damage it had done to his family life.
As an orphan, Minato did not wish to see himself fall prey to the same folly. With the village enjoying relative peace, a new generation had begun to grow up, led by none other than Izuna-kun, and he thought that it would be best for him and the village if he were to vacate this seat, at an appropriate time, making way for the next generation.
Of course, such a thing was still years in the making, but it eased my mind to know that the future of the village was in good hands.
"So, do you have any good news, Orochimaru-san?" he asked the Sanin he had summoned to his office, and the golden-eyed man smiled as he began.
"I believe I might have a solution to your dear student's problems," and Minato's heart raced as a sliver of hope began to emerge, as the possibility rose for him to not fail his last student.
"How?" he asked.
"Izuna-kun, and Tsunade did some great work, but they were approaching the problem in a very straightforward way," and at that, the man reached into his pocket and placed a scroll on the table.
"Their work was mostly based on healing your dear student's body. Yet in their struggles, they completely ignored a rather unique possibility," and Minato reached for the scroll, and began to skim through its contents.
While not a researcher or an Iryo-nin, he did have a sharp enough mind to put together most of it, and as he did his eyes widened.
"You wish to build her a new body," he asked, and the implications of that were not entirely lost on him as the Snake-sanin smirked.
"Yes, and from what I have researched, the Hashirama cells are the perfect substrate for such an endeavor. But of course, a human is not simply their body. No, a human is a combination of body and soul," and the latter was a subject that researchers have always tried to avoid.
"Building a body is not really that difficult. No, it is the latter part that is truly complex," and he could imagine so, but the man would not have come to him if he did not already have a solution.
"I know very little about souls. No one really does know about them at all," Minato argued, and the golden eyes man shook his head.
"No. There was one man who knew about them and played with them. A shinobi who aspired to sit right where you sit right now," and despite raking his mind, he could think of no name.
"Few remember him, for he died rather young, but he was a true shinobi who many looked up to. Dan, Kato Dan." And his eyes widened at that name.
"Him," he gasped as the man nodded.
"Yes, the only way this works is if we can access the notes, or memories of the shinobi known as Dan the Ghost...."
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