Naruto: Shy Fox Chronicles

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Shy Fox Chronicles

Prologue Part 6: Fulcrum of Monkeys and Dragons

Gripping the staff firmly, Hiruzen dug deep into his mind and soul, and shifting his feet slightly, he surged forward. Immediately, all others save for Jiraiya lost track of him as he smashed through a stone strongpoint with a single swing. Several teams converged around him, all attacking in unison to try and overwhelm them. Unfortunately, they did not see the very bone shattering blows coming, as in the blink of an eye, over a dozen shinobi were dead at the Hokage's feet from a single swift and fluid motion.

For a moment, some of the Stone ninja stepped back in fear. In an instant, a dozen men were taken down. They could not believe it. Was this the power of the God of Shinobi…?

However, one brave Iwa nin was the first to lead the charge. "He's just one old man! Take him down!" the Hidden Stone shinobi roared out, charging into the fray as the others roared and followed.

"Very true." Hiruzen mused as he let the shinobi charge at him.

Following the lone shinobi was a tidal wave of Iwa nin, all roaring towards Hiruzen and Jiraiya. Looking at each other, the student and teacher pair nodded to each other as they both went through hand seals. Hiruzen made four Shadow Clones of himself, each one of them making a separate set of hand seals. Meanwhile, Jiraiya made a set of hand seals as fast as he could. Once they were done, the five Hiruzens inhaled while the Toad Sage prepared his jutsu.

'Five Release Great Combo Jutsu!' the five Third Hokage all thought as each one unleashed a different elemental jutsu blast of one of the five elements.

'Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet!' Jiraiya thought, using Senjutsu to fill his mouth cavity with oil made from his chakra, then expelled and ignited it at the same time.

The massive wave of elemental Ninjutsu approached the charging shinobi, who all went through hand seals of their own. Many were nervous but knew they could not back down. They needed to win.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" The Stone nin at the front of the line all called out as they made a massive wall of stone appear between them and the blast, hoping that this would be enough to save them.

However, they quickly discovered how wrong they were. The massive elemental blast hit the wall hard, the Lightning Release part of the combination attack going straight through the wall like it was made of paper. The structural integrity of the wall being compromised by the hole in it allowed for the other parts of the blast to begin punching their way through as the Lightning Release blast tore through the Iwa lines like a hot knife through butter. The wall then gave way as the rest of the blast tore through the Stone shinobi. When the blast dissipated, the Stone shinobi looked on in disbelief.

As if heaven itself had voiced their displeasure at them, no human defense could have stayed or even slowed this show of power. The shinobi were torn asunder in too many ways to describe. What was left in the elemental onslaughts path was a scoured and torn asunder gorge on the battlefield. It had been twisted, torn, and left to a jagged crag in the once carefully cared for earth. After surveying this for but a moment, the Hokage turned towards the walls before him.

Taking up his staff again as his Shadow Clones dispelled, Hiruzen charged into the fray with Jiraiya right behind him. One Iwa nin gulped as the two Kage Level shinobi charged right at them. One began to pray on a rosary as another opened up his weapons pouch. Then, with a roar, the first of the Iwa shinobi charged in as his compatriots roared and followed behind him in a tidal wave of bodies.

With stoic expressions, the Hokage and Toad Sage charged together towards the small army of enemy nin. When they made contact, the two plowed straight through the front line of foes. Spinning his staff, Hiruzen smashed and jabbed his way through enemy after enemy while Jiraiya, using pure hand-to-hand combat, punched and kicked his way through their foes. The two each dodged under an attack from a foe before kicking them away hard enough to send them crashing and digging into the earth.

Kicking a foe in the face, Hiruzen used his enemy as a springboard to leap into the air as he made one-handed hand seals while kneading chakra. 'Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!' Hiruzen thought, breathing out a blast of fire that quickly took the shape of a dragon and divided to attack multiple targets.

The blasts erupted in fiery explosions as Hiruzen landed on the ground and rushed forward. Spinning his staff, he smashed and jabbed his way through multiple foes. Spinning his staff overhead to gain some distance, Hiruzen then extended it forward to smash through a line of Iwa nin before sweeping it aside to smash into more of them. Quickly retracting the staff, Hiruzen threw a handful of shuriken before making one-handed hand seals.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Hiruzen called out as the handful of shuriken quickly multiplied into a storm of razor-sharp steel.

The massive barrage of iron hell carved a path through the Hokage's enemies as Hiruzen made three one-handed hand seals. He then turned towards another line of Iwa nin as a mud source appeared and took the form of a massive dragon head.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" Hiruzen called out as the dragon shot out massive, high-speed balls of mud.

Hiruzen then made more one-handed hand seals. 'Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!" Hiruzen called out, exhaling a massive gout of flames from his mouth that lit the mud balls on fire.

The flaming mud balls collided with the line of foes and exploded on contact, causing a series of explosions. Charging back into the fray, Hiruzen spun his staff as he swiped, smashed, and thrusted it against his foes. His every blow shook the earth, his every strike a localized earthquake for the spot he struck. No foe who was in his way survived first contact with him. Soon, the first line of foes was wiped out by Hiruzen and Jiraiya as the two took a deep breath. Turning towards the enemy lines, they surveyed the situation.

Behind them lay a hole in the lines, one cut open as if by the hand of a deity. Walls crushed into rubble, trenches flattened open, traps torn to kindling, and other defenses ripped open as if by a giant. Even Jiraiya was a bit stunned at how much devastation they were bringing. Hiruzen, however, remained focused. Too many had suffered for his mistake. These poor souls would hopefully be the last to have to pay for it, to save the rest of the shinobi world.

Taking off at high speed, Hiruzen and his Shadow Clones went through hand seals. 'Fire Release: Great Flame Flower Jutsu!' they thought, leaping high into the air before breathing out a multitude of large fireballs.

The barrage of fireballs rained down on the enemies' defensive lines like a meteor storm, blowing apart barricades and hitting enemies on impact. With each collision, the fireballs erupted into geysers of flames as they exploded on impact. Stone ninja left and right were either incinerated on impact, blown to pieces from being near the points of impact, or light ablaze by the flames of the explosions and burned to death. No man or woman was spared from the devastation of the bombardment.

Landing on the ground, the Hokage and his doppelgangers went through more hand seals. 'Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!' They thought, unleashing barrages of smaller fireballs into the enemy lines.

With each fireball that hit, the enemies were either lit ablaze on impact or shredded into mincemeat by shuriken hidden within the fireballs. The enemy were forced to slowly begin to retreat from the relentless assault. The older shinobi before them was no man. He was more like a monster or a vengeful god who had come to claim their lives.

When they looked, the Hokage and his clones were all gone. The Iwa nin were puzzled at first before ten of them each found themselves grabbed by the ankles. Too little too late, they realized what had happened.

"Th-They're underground!" one of the enemy nin shouted out in fear before the ten were all pulled into the ground until only their heads were sticking out.

The Hokage and his clones then popped up out of the ground and kicked the exposed heads of five nin, knocking their heads off and sending them flying like rugby balls across the battlefield. Doing the same to the other five, the five Hiruzen's turned to stare down at the enemy before them. As if feeling them out, assessing their numbers.

Drawing some kunai, the Hiruzen's threw all of them at the enemy. Though the enemies seemed to dodge them, one nin looked at a passing kunai and noticed a strange marking on it. A technique formula. Realizing too late what this meant, the nin did not have time to scream before one of the Hokage appeared behind him with staff in hand and smashed his head in. The five Hiruzen's each jumped from kunai to kunai, smashing down or cutting the throats of enemies before throwing the kunai again and repeating the process.

Going through hand seals, one of the Hokage duplicates activated another jutsu. "Bringer of Darkness Jutsu!" he called out as the entire area seemed to turn black for the enemy ninja.

It felt as if a dark, empty void was swallowing them up as they tried to look around for their targets. Thinking quickly, one of the commanders produced an idea.

"Back-to-back, men! Hurry!" the commander barked out as the enemy nin grouped together into formations to try to watch each other's blind spots.

However, the strategy availed them nothing. The Hokage and his clones continued to zip around the battlefield, smashing and slashing into enemies to cut them down. The enemies' numbers began to dwindle. One by one, they were going down. Slaughtered like animals at an altar to a wrathful deity.

Kneading chakra in their bodies, the five Hiruzen's transformed it into water before shaping it into senbon needles. Spitting them out, the five Hokage duplicates unleashed a barrage of water needles that tore through some of the still blinded enemies like machine gun fire. The enemies screamed in pain as they were gunned down by the hail of sharpened water needles. Seeing the losses they were taking; they continued trying to fall back.

Seeing the damage they were doing, the Hiruzen's tried to concentrate on their part of the battlefield, leaving Jiraiya's part in his capable hands. Going through hand seals, they prepared to unleash another jutsu. 'Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!' they called out mentally, kneading chakra in their stomachs.

Soon, the five Hokage duplicates unleashed copious quantities of water from their mouths. The streams of water smashed through earthen defenses, the water crushing and annihilating any enemy shinobi in their paths. Going through more hand seals, the middle aged Hokage doppelgangers prepared their next assault. 'Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!' they mentally called out, expelling massive amounts of water from their mouths.

The water blasts turned into massive vortexes that rose up and came crashing down onto their foes, smashing them into the ground before washing them away. The water pooled deeply on the ground of the battlefield, forcing all the shinobi present to use chakra to stand on the water beneath them. Going through a multitude of hand seals at a seemingly impossible speed, the Hiruzen's began their next offensive. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!" they called out, molding the water beneath them with chakra.

The water took the shape of five water dragons that crashed down onto their targets, doing a massive amount of damage as explosions of water went off in the area. Going through more hand seals, the Hiruzen's pressed their attack. "Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!" they called out, beginning their next attack.

The water began to swirl in pools on the surface before taking shape into highly compacted projectiles. The high-pressure water projectiles were shot from the water at high speed in spinning forms, shredding through every enemy they hit. One officer, however, by some miracle, stopped several of the stone shinobi from fleeing.

"Are you all just going to let this old bastard walk all over this village!?" the officer roared.

"Sir. He already is." a Genin replied, referring to the carnage unfolding behind him.

"No excuses, Genin! Engage attack formation fire!" the officer ordered.

At that the shinobi formed up, and all began to perform synchronized hand symbols. Hiruzen turned his head to see just as they finished.

"Combination Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" they yelled.

Molding chakra in their bellies, they unleashed massive torrents of fire at the five Hokage doppelgangers. Unperturbed, the five Hiruzen's quickly went through hand seals for a group Water Release jutsu to block it. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" the five Hokage doppelgangers called out.

Five spiraling walls of water shot up from the water beneath their feet, blocking the combination Fire Release jutsu as the heat turned the water to steam. Unable to see their enemy, the Iwa nin could only prepare for whatever he would do next. Before they could react, a barrage of kunai came out from the steam that, despite being dodged, allowed the Hiruzen's to appear within their ranks in flashes of yellow light, having just gone through hand seals. The Stone nin could only look on in horror at what came next, too slow to counter it. 'Water Release: Water Severing Wave!' the five Hokage doppelgangers mentally called out.

Shooting out highly condensed, pressurized water waves, the five Hiruzen's swept their attacks across the battlefield. The pressurized streams cut clean through their enemies like sweeping blades, slicing them in half, cutting off limbs, or decapitating some of the luckier ones. Before they could be attacked, the five middle-aged Hokage threw more kunai and jumped to the blades again. Going through hand seals, the five Hokage doppelgangers prepared their next attack.

The five Hokage duplicates pooled together copious amounts of water beneath groups of their foes. Soon, the pools of water fired their enemies into the air and shot numerous water bullets at them. The water bullets then formed into massive water dragons. Motioning with their hands, the five Hiruzen's brought the water dragons down on their foes.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Explosion!" the five middle-aged Hokage called out as the water dragons bit down onto their foes and sent them crashing to the ground in explosions of water.

Seeing only a solitary group left, the Hiruzen's went through more hand seals and pooled some more water beneath their foes that exploded, shooting them into the air. The five middle-aged Hokage launched themselves into the air above their foes, creating large whirlpools around their arms. "Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!" The five called out, striking their opponents with the attacks, and bringing them down in large watery explosions, killing the last of the enemies between them and the gates. Finally, out of chakra, the four Shadow Clones disappeared in puffs of smoke as Hiruzen panted from exerting himself so much.

"I'm getting too old for this crap anymore." Hiruzen said as he soon walked through the wreckage to the main village gate.

"Getting soft, sensei?" a familiar voice called out as Hiruzen turned to look at the source, seeing Jiraiya and the great sage toads covered in blood.

"I don't think the path of corpses would agree with you." Hiruzen answered his pupil.

"Fair enough. So, how're we gonna smash open this gate? I could probably handle it myself." Jiraiya offered to his old teacher.

"No." Hiruzen sternly said as he walked to the center of the gate.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at that as Fukasaku spoke up. "No? Ya' have a plan of yer own in mind, Hiruzen-chan?" he asked curiously.

"This war started from my short-sighted mistakes. So many lives on both sides, entire clans, whole countrysides of innocent lives… All their blood is on my hands. This is between me and Ōnoki. If that short, lazy bastard doesn't have the balls left to come out and face me, then I'm going to bust down his precious gate, tear the stone from his village's foundation, and MAKE him face me!!!" Hiruzen roared as he got into an eerily familiar stance.

Jiraiya and the two toads looked on in shock as chakra began leaking out of Hiruzen and his skin began turning red. "The Eight Gates!? Lad, be careful! Yer not as young as ya' used to be!" Shima called out in concern.

"I KKKNNNNOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!" Hiruzen roared, cutting above the din of the battle.

The middle aged Hokage's hands glowed white with air pressure as he prepared to punch. "OOOOOXEN STAMPEEEEEDE!" he roared out before punching forward with all his might, unleashing a barrage of punches like an air cannon.

The massive shots of air took the shape of a herd of charging oxen as the blasts of air smashed into the gate with the force of magnitude eight earthquakes. Each time one of the oxen made of compressed air collided with the gate, an explosion went off as the ground shook like a god stomping the earth. Soon, the gate began to bend as the stone around it began to crack apart. It would not hold out much longer.

Finally, Hiruzen panted heavily as he prepared one last attack. "CRANE WING ATTACK!" he roared out as he leaped into the air, a blue aura surrounding him taking the shape of a crane's wings.

As he shot forward, the attack sliced like a blade into what was left of the gate. The impact blew it into pieces and smashed it in as the walls surrounding the gate gave way and crumbled like rice crackers under the sheer force. The gate was breached at last.

The dust cloud slowly began to settle as the bulk of defenders congregated to make their stand at the breach. Grimly they stared into the murky cloud as a figure slowly walked out. To the defenders' horror, it was not a man, but their god. Dusting himself off, Hiruzen, caked in sweat, gore, and masonry powder, stood in defiance of the shinobi's efforts to save their village.

"Who's next?" Hiruzen asked, doing his best to hide the panting and escalating exhaustion.

In a single wave of motion, weapons and tools were dropped as the shinobi threw their hands up where they could clearly be seen. Nothing known to man could stop the clear final motion of the war. It was over, and the Village Hidden in the Stone had surrendered to Hiruzen, God of Shinobi.

Tsuchikage's Office: Several Hours Later

Hiruzen was ushered into the Tsuchikage's office, to be met by the stern glare of Ōnoki. Motioning to take a seat, Hiruzen sat down on a chair provided for him before the door was closed behind him. An awkward silence soon fell upon the Kages.

"You're starting to bald." Hiruzen said, trying to break the ice.

Ōnoki seemingly grew offended at that but tried to contain his anger due to knowing that he had lost. "And I see you beginning to develop liver spots, Sarutobi. Perhaps you should consider choosing a successor. The stresses of being a Kage tend to wear on a person and you're not a spring chicken anymore." the older, significantly shorter Kage replied with the best smile he could.

"If that's your definition of retirement, then why are you still in that chair? Or did you run out of successors to your glorious hairline?" Hiruzen answered, raising his eyebrow.

Ōnoki's eye twitched in irritation at that. "I simply haven't yet found a shinobi in my village worthy of being made my successor yet. You, on the other hand, have many fine young shinobi in your village capable of taking the mantle of Hokage off your hands so that you can enjoy retirement, Sarutobi. Need I remind you of your precious students the Sannin or those striplings Uchiha Fugaku and Namikaze Minato?" Ōnoki replied with a snide edge.

"Indeed, they are quite the candidates, if you wish your future peer to be green around the gills. Of course you would, but I will not accuse you of something so clever. I would remind you of your successors, but it appears they all have contracted a terrible case of 'I killed them all'." Hiruzen calmly replied.

Barely containing his anger, Ōnoki smirked. "It appears you're going soft in your old age, Sarutobi. You would've been capable of a much more stinging comeback than that if you were ten years younger." the Tsuchikage replied.

"I would if I had better material to comeback from." Hiruzen simply answered with a sly smirk.

Sighing, Ōnoki of Both Scales gave a smirk. "Touché, Sarutobi. But enough of the pleasantries. We have negotiations to get through."

"Indeed. For this war has gone on for far too long. Far longer than it should." Hiruzen mournfully said in agreement.

"On that, we agree. Regardless of which of us started this war, it has gone on for far too long. Even if the Hidden Stone did suffer unjust accusations of provoking it." Ōnoki admitted equally as mournfully.

"You started this war. We have the evidence. Several Iwa shinobi in clearly your uniforms and kit attacked our embassy in the Land of Grass, a civilian target." Hiruzen sternly answered, pulling out a scroll for the fellow Kage to see.

"What!? I ordered no such attack! Let me see this so-called 'evidence' right now!" Ōnoki demanded, incredulous at the idea that any of his men would have committed such an unjustified attack without his authorization.

Hiruzen raised his eyebrow at that reaction but unfolded the scroll for him to see. The old Fence Sitter looked over the pictures and descriptions with a fine-tooth comb. All the while his stony visage was cracked by the brutality of the massacre of the event. Yet through it all, he sat back, not with anger, but as if he had learned a horrible truth.

"Hiruzen… I think we've both been had." Ōnoki admitted in frustration.

"What…?" Hiruzen asked, his breath leaving his lungs in shock.

"Look at the markings in these pictures from the attack. There are clear indications of Earth Release jutsu having been used, but the damage is too minimal to have been done by any Iwa nin who attacked with intent to kill or cause intensive damage. Not to mention that the scorch marks from Fire Release jutsu are too dark and intense. We Hidden Stone shinobi are mainly Earth Style natured when it comes to our Chakra Natures, which means that the scorch marks should be less intense and the damage from the Earth Release jutsu more intensive." The old Fence Sitter pointed out, which encouraged the aged Fire Shadow to look more closely at the damage his older peer pointed out.

"Their kit doesn't even appear to be genuine articles but finely made reproductions. They even attacked from the top of the building like how our forces would, not from the ground level like yours. This whole war… gods, what have I done…?" Hiruzen said, his voice being lost near the end.

"You mean, 'What have we done,' Hiruzen. We were both played by whoever started this." Ōnoki corrected his slightly younger fellow Kage, clear anger at the fact that they had been set up against each other in his voice.

"For now, until we can set up a session to properly negotiate, we both should investigate on our own ends to find the underlying cause of this. And if finding it, deal with it so the others don't find out." Hiruzen said simply, closing up the scroll.

"Agreed. If word got out that someone from your village staged an attack on your own embassy and pinned it on mine, this could prolong the war out of outrage and turn all five Great Nations against each other in a five-way war that would destroy us all." Ōnoki admitted with a nod.

"Rest assured; it will be resolved tonight." Hiruzen answered ominously.

Ōnoki raised an eyebrow at that. "You have an idea of who might be behind this?" He asked the Fire Shadow.

"I do. My only regret is that I wish it didn't have to come to this." Hiruzen said before walking out, leaving the old stone Kage confused at just what was about to happen next.

Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, One Week Later

Hiruzen led Orochimaru and Jiraiya through a winding, old path of the forest. While the two Sannin were confused at their master's lack of words, they followed him regardless. Soon they arrived at what was clearly the entrance of Root, forcing the two Sannin to speak up.

"Sensei, why are we visiting that old war hawk Danzō? I thought you said you had to do something that was vital for the negotiations." Jiraiya asked, clearly confused.

"I am. To ensure peace, the hawks of the village need to have their wings clipped." Hiruzen ominously answered.

"You suspect that he may have had something to do with the start of this war and wish to deal with this as quietly as possible. Don't you, Sarutobi sensei?" Orochimaru said, taking a guess at what his old teacher was thinking.

"I wish it was only that." Hiruzen responded, not making the two men feel any better.

"Then why are we here? You should be able to handle this yourself." Jiraiya pointed out.

"If I don't return in half an hour, your S-Rank mission is to wipe Root off the face of the planet." Hiruzen ordered sternly, shocking Jiraiya and even surprising Orochimaru.

"How deep does this go, sensei?" Jiraiya asked worriedly.

"For once, I agree with Jiraiya. This must be much worse than it seems if you are assigning us a mission like that, sensei." Orochimaru added.

"I'm doing this to protect you and everyone else in the village, regardless of what happens to me. I swore at the start I'd finish this war." Hiruzen answered grimly, before walking towards the entrance, hidden to most lesser eyes.

The door to a small, squat compound was flung open for him by two masked Root shinobi, who then afterwards immediately bowed as Hiruzen passed. The aging Hokage, however, did not say a word as he passed Root shinobi on both sides of him bowing. They did not matter. He kept his eyes literally on his prize down the long, narrow hallway. He even passed through the open center of the compound, through the bulk of stationed troops there, parting for him wordlessly. When he finally reached the office of the head of root, the door was opened for him, to reveal an incredibly surprised Danzō.

"Hiruzen? Is something wrong?" the old war hawk asked his leader and old friend, surprised by the suddenness of this visit.

"You tell me, old friend." Hiruzen dryly answered, lowering his head so the Root leader could see the look in his eyes.

The look in the aged Hokage's eyes scared Danzō a bit, even if he did not show it. He had only ever seen that look in Hiruzen's eyes when they were on the battlefield together, facing down enemies. What could his old friend have discovered among his secrets that would make him look at him with those eyes. Then, even though he did not show it, the old war hawk felt a chill go up his spine as he got an idea of what it could be.

"Hiruzen, whatever I have done to anger you, I am sure we can work things out." the one-eyed council member told his leader, trying to cover his own ass in as subtle a way he could in this situation.

"Good. Then you can start by giving me all your files on the Land of Grass Embassy attack." Hiruzen answered.

Danzō's one eye widened a bit, realizing that the Hokage knew. "I'd be happy to, but why would you need those files? It's clear cut what happened. The Hidden Stone attacked the embassy, which is what sparked this conflict in the first place." he replied, trying to contain his fear.

"I wish to cross reference your findings with this copy of the Stone's findings. Ōnoki-dono personally gave a copy of them to me from his own personal vault." Hiruzen said, revealing the travel sized scroll hanging from his belt.

If Danzō were anyone else, he would be visibly shitting bricks at this moment. Instead, he was merely overly concerned, which was about as close to shitting bricks as he could get. "He did, did he? Then it would be best to go over both versions of the incident to make sure that everything lines up, would it not?" the old war hawk asked, trying to hide his fear.

"Agreed, old friend. Perhaps you can provide me with that copy. If you could be so kind." Hiruzen said, putting his hands on his friend's desk, leaning forward to look him in the eyes.

The one-eyed council member nodded in response, trying to keep from shitting himself. "Of course, Hiruzen." he replied, reaching into his personal vault to pull out the documents.

"I want the Root copy. Not the version you gave me." Hiruzen politely asked, sending a chill up Danzō's spine.

"O-Of course, Hiruzen. I am more than happy to help." the old war hawk stuttered for a moment, cursing his own slip up.

Outwardly, Danzō looked relatively calm considering the situation. On the inside, however, he was panicking. If he gave Hiruzen the same file from before and he noticed it, he would be dead. If he gave him the Root version, thereby outing himself, there was no telling what the aged Hokage would do to him. In their younger years, Danzō would have been confident he could take Hiruzen in a fight if necessary. Now, however, it was a vastly different story…

Weighing his options and deciding that, for once, genuine honesty would be best to keep him from getting himself into even more trouble, the Darkness of Shinobi opted to give Hiruzen the real file as he reached into his vault and pulled out the scroll with the file. "Here you are, old friend. I hope we can resolve this matter as quickly and efficiently as possible." He said, handing the aged Hokage the file.

Hiruzen politely took it, and unfurled it, slowly reading it. To his old friend's horror, he truly could not tell at that moment how he was taking what he was reading. For the first time in their lives, Hiruzen was as completely unreadable as stone to Danzō. Once he had finished, he gently added the scroll to his bed. Then in an instant, Hiruzen practically teleported to Danzo, and slammed him into the wall by his neck hard enough to rattle the compound.

"H-Hiruzen, what are you-" Danzō choked out, only for the aged Hokage to cut him off.

"You lied to me." was what came from the Hokage's voice, now showing the true depth of betrayal and rage boiling inside him as the one-eyed council member began to panic.

"I-I only did what was necessary to ensure a potential threat to the village was eliminated before it could become a problem!" Danzō choked out in a panicked voice, trying to reason with his old friend.

A single vein on the old Hokage's head popped upon hearing that as he replied, "You lied to me, the village, the very people you swore an oath to the heavens to protect, and you have the gall to say that! IF you wanted that, you would have prevented a war!! AND YOU HAVE THE GALL TO LIE TO MY FACE NOW!!?"

"H-Hiruzen, calm down! Please be reasonable!" the old war hawk choked out in fear, trying to regain control of the situation. If he had even had it in the first place.

A second vein popped in Hiruzen's forehead as he pulled the man back off the wall, only to slam him back into it harder and make him release a choked cry of pain.

"You started this war! You killed citizens of the Land of Fire! You brought our allies to the brink of destruction! ALL ON A NEVER-ENDING LIE YOU WISH TO KEEP ALIVE NOW!!??" Hiruzen roared in volcanic rage.

"H-Hiruzen, please! L-Let me explain…!" Danzō begged in a choked panic, trying to calm his old rival and friend down.

"Explain?! EXPLAIN!!? How about you explain to the families of the diplomats you murdered! The clans and families of the shinobi of all the nations you condemned to a pointless death!! The thousands more you have scarred for the rest of their days! The countless civilians killed and displaced in this war! That will be the only explaining you will do if I have my way with you! YOU'RE lucky I'm not dragging you to the center of the village, proclaiming you and your TREASONOUS organization's crimes to the village, and beheading you and your minions PERSONALLY!!!" Hiruzen roared, his voice threatening to crack the walls of the room from its sheer force.

Danzō remained silent at that, realizing that there was no way out of this for him. If he said anything further, it would only make his inevitable punishment even worse. Seeing that now, he decided it was best not to say anything more and listen. Hiruzen then let go of him, letting him drop to the floor and gasp and cough for breath like a caught fish.

"And yet fortune still smiles upon you, for I have more important matters than dealing with you right now. Like fixing your mess." Hiruzen said, before slowly walking towards the doorway.

Danzō continued to cough and gasp for air like a man who had nearly drowned, his throat burning from the pain of the tight grip Hiruzen had held him in just moments before. Looking up at his old rival's retreating back in fear, the old war hawk tried to collect himself. To his horror, however, Hiruzen stopped.

"Your orders are to recall all your agents from the field, regardless of the importance of their mission. You and Root will be put under house arrest here by the Anbu under my command until I decide what to do with you. Do you understand?" Hiruzen sternly ordered, without looking at him.

Finally, having recovered enough to speak, Danzō opted to obey. 'Yes… Hokage-sama…" he replied in a defeated tone of voice.

With that Hiruzen slowly and assuredly left. Not a single soul daring to resist or even look up at him from their bows. The path to peace could now finally begin.

The Land of Iron, Two Months Later

The grand summit hall of the Land of Iron stood defiantly against the harsh, cold elements of the mountainous nation. Its gray plate clad samurai standing equally defiantly in defense of their nation, guarding the hall as they always had in an ever-changing world. From the great hall stepped a man with a long face and a sharp chin, with a samurai's topknot for his dark gray hair. The various Kage of both sides one by one made their way through. Ōnoki led the way, followed by his two compatriots, the stoic Mizukage and the hulking A the Fourth.

"It is an honor to have you all here, Ōnoki-dono." the samurai said courteously, bowing his head in respect for the aged lord of shinobi.

"Thank you for hosting this summit, Mifune-dono. I just wish it were under better circumstances." Ōnoki replied, taking his seat and setting his hat down in front of him.

"I merely am grateful that the war didn't drag further into a spiral of endless destruction. The fact that no nations were completely exterminated this time is a step in the right direction." Mifune said with a sigh.

Soon the other side of the negotiations arrived, though admittedly in grander style. While the first three Kage had amazingly simple escorts and maybe an advisor standing near them, Hiruzen certainly did not skimp. Rasa and his delegates arrived first, his stern, appraising glare set the tone for his allies. Behind him was Oda, shocking the other side's Kage as he was no longer the leader, decked out in his old robes as leader.

Clad in metallic sheened robes of the deepest black, purest gold, and sharpest silvers, it was embroidered in the flowing, twisting curves reminiscent of a dragon emerging from a whirlpool. A great hood obscured the old man's face as his great cane firmly tapped on the hard stone. No symbol or marking, not even of clan besmirched this fine ornament except one thing. Both the front and back were emblazoned with the kanji for one in the finest and deepest of blood red silks.

Thundering up the steps behind him were twelve great figures in similar attire marching in lock step in two lines of six. The minor difference for each was the numbers two through thirteen in a z pattern descending order down the lines. Each one carried an ancient, masterfully crafted spear of smooth lacquered wood, and some of the finest blades those who saw them had ever seen. Yet most striking of all was their robes eschewed the hood of their old, wizened peer. Instead, the rest of the room was faced with great war masks made in the image of the faces of snarling, pine green and gold dragons. When Oda sat down and flipped back his hood, the twelve in a concave formation took their vigil, standing behind the other shinobi escorts.

A the Fourth raised an eyebrow at the display. "The Thirteen Shadow Dragons of the Whirlpool, huh? You sure didn't hold anything back when it comes to bringing the muscle, old man Oda." The muscle bound Raikage said, addressing the ancient Uzumaki.

"Those who are strong draw attention to their strength. Those who are weak draw attention to their weakness." Oda answered simply.

A nodded in response as the Hokage's entourage arrived on the scene. Hiruzen walked up being accompanied by only four people. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato, and Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha Clan. Hiruzen calmly walked up to his seat, bowed his head in respect to their host Mifune, and took off his own hat as he finally sat down.

"I thank you all for agreeing to this. After the true origins of this war had become known, this is a war that must end and be put behind us." Hiruzen said, putting his hat down on the table.

"You've yet to tell us what you mean by that, Hokage." A pointed out, getting right to the point.

"We will not seek a grand unifying treaty for peace. We all know how the process to come up with those would end up. I propose instead that each village individually seeks peace with each on their own terms in relation to this war." Hiruzen explains simply, catching the three opposing leaders off guard.

"Your wisdom shows, Hokage-dono. The idea has merit since it will speed up the proceedings and allow each village to negotiate things on their own terms." Rasa said, seeing the value in such a proposal.

"As the representative of Konoha, I wish to tell you personally Ōnoki that I will not pursue reparations from you for this war." Hiruzen said, stunning not just the room to silence, but to shock and horror from his own retinue.

"Orochimaru, did you know he was gonna do that?" Jiraiya whispered.

"I did not, Jiraiya. What could sensei be thinking…?" Orochimaru replied quietly.

"This is pure madness. The village will be in an uproar." Fugaku sternly whispered.

"I'm sure he has his reasons, Fugaku. After all, he knows what the consequences will be for something like that." Minato whispered back, knowing that the Third Hokage would not do this without good reason.

"What is your game, Hiruzen? You know that the rest of your village won't take that lying down. You may even be forced to step down and choose a successor." Ōnoki replied, his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what was going through his peer's head.

"To be a true heir to Hashirama's legacy is to ultimately view the hat, the robes, and the title as simply those things. To be a true Hokage is to do what is right for the village. I came to that conclusion as soon as this war started that my time was up. If I have to give it up to bring peace, true peace for both our nations Ōnoki, then I will happily throw the title in the trash if necessary." Hiruzen explained calmly, looking the old man directly in the eyes so he could see his intentions.

The younger leaders were surprised by Hiruzen's words while Oda and Ōnoki simply smiled, impressed by their junior's wisdom. "Well said, Hokage-dono. You should contemplate staying on as an advisor for your eventual successor." the diminutive Tsuchikage replied.

"Whether they are my successor or not, my retinue will be my legacy. They will continue on in my stead. I will advise however I can if they will have me." Hiruzen answered.

"I look forward to meeting you later to finalize a proper end to the war between our nations, Hiruzen." Ōnoki replied with a smile.

"As do I, Tsuchikage-dono." Hiruzen answered, bowing his head in respect to his senior.

"If anyone else wishes to address something, the floor is yours." Mifune said, looking about the room.

No one else raised their voice and, at that, the meeting was over. Hiruzen smiled, before leaning back in his chair with a deep, exhausted sigh. It was as if the exhaustion he felt through the entire war hit him at once. It was so bad that Orochimaru and Jiraiya had to help their master out of his seat. As he slowly exited the hall with his allies, among the crowd of the rest of the delegations he found Seishin. The towering lord of the Kamishini smiled and bowed respectfully to the Hokage.

"Well done, Hokage-sama. I couldn't have done better myself." the heroically proportioned lord told the diminutive God of Shinobi.

"If you did it, that old stone goat would have been chewing on the carpet by now." Oda said, rolling his eyes at his younger counterpart.

"I appreciate the compliment. However, before we leave, I wish to propose something to you two." Hiruzen said, his voice carrying a mysterious whimsy quite unexpected for the man at this stage.

The two older leaders each raised an eyebrow at that. "And what might that be, Hokage-sama?" Seishin asked curiously.

"An offer to settle both of your clans in Konoha, in honor of your service as allies in this war, and to write the wrongs committed to your peoples." Hiruzen said, leaving everyone around him speechless. Unlike before, however, it took Hiruzen an infuriatingly long time for everyone to find their voice again.

Oda smiled at the much younger leader. "Where do we sign, kid?" he asked, obviously pleased with the offer.

"On the dotted line after I get the council to vote on it. My time may be at an end, but I think your clans' reputations will see me through my final days as Hokage." Hiruzen said, his voice mixed with sorrow at a regretful end and joy for being able to get a retirement he did not think he would get.

To Be Continued...