It had been a battle to remember.
Where once stood the well-known rain village, there was now nothing more than a simple lake, hiding beneath nothing but a crater and chunks of destroyed buildings. Remains of metallic pipes and other surviving debris now rested on the bottom of the crater, completely filled with water. To any foreign people wondering the country, it would seem nothing ever existed in the land.
A few days had passed and the aftermath was what many had hoped. Madara had been defeated in a not so easy battle, and Naruto was presently recovering in one of the many tents deployed around the village.
Once the battle had ended it was decided unanimously that they should camp a few days in the rain country before moving out. This would give time for the shinobi to rest after the harsh war, heal any wounded shinobi and the time to pack everything up, including cleaning the zetsu corpses.
Naruto had slept for three straight days and allowed his body to slowly recover and his chakra to replenish. Hinata had been adamant to never leave his side while he was in his weakened state. Despite several people assuring her that no one would disturb him. And with Naruto asleep there really was no one who could force her against her will really.
Kakashi and Minato were walking towards the tent were both Naruto and Hinata have been staying. "Do you think you could ask Hinata to ease up on the rain?" Kakashi asked, looking at the dark sky and the pouring amount of water that followed.
"Not likely" Minato replied with a laugh. Thinking back when Hinata had been controlled by Madara, there was no small amount of panic when they realized what had happened. The general consensus was for the main brawlers to go help Naruto until Tobirama had pounded some sense into them.
"GURH!" Minato was broken from his thoughts when he heard a retching sound. "What is this you are forcing me to eat?" Naruto's unmistakable voice came from inside.
"Eat you big baby" Hinata sounded somewhat exasperated. Minato smiled at Kakashi's snicker as both approached the tent.
"Are you sure I can't have ramen? I'm sure dad could flash to Konoha" Naruto pouted. Hinata's glare shut him up for good and he returned to eating his dinner. His meal consisted of some brown paste with something that resembled chunks of meat. The sight was not appetizing and the smell ever less.
"You two seem to be having fun" Naruto looked up to see Minato and Kakashi pushing the tent flap aside and coming in.
"Yummy" Kakashi joked but was quickly silenced by Hinata's glare.
"As to what you are eating" Hinata huffed "It's a single-cell protein combined with synthetic amino acids, vitamins, minerals and fast acting digestive agents. It has everything the body needs" Hinata finished but all she received was blank looks.
"Of course it has" Naruto muttered as he continued to eat his nutritive 'soup'.
"You know? I know you want to be cool as me but you can't pull of the white hair" Kakashi said with an eye smile, earning a chuckle from the audience.
A brief silence followed his words and the only sound was Naruto's spoon running over the metallic cup. Naruto finished his meal. "Can I get a moment with alone with my dad?" Naruto rhetorically asked. Kakashi nodded and absently walked away. Hinata was a bit reluctant to leave his side.
"I will be outside" Hinata finally agreed and walked outside.
"I-"
"Stop" Minato said, raising a hand to stop Naruto from speaking. "I know you are going to apologize or go into some speech about how sorry you are for killing my father, right?" Minato asked and Naruto nodded, somewhat surprised.
"The truth is that I was left alone in Konoha when I was very young. I have very few memories of my early years, Naruto" Minato sighed and sat down next to his son. He ran a hand through his hair before continuing. "I know he loved me, and my mother very dearly. I remember that much"
"But after my mother died he snapped. I could feel the change in his black eyes, and that very same image is still imprinted in my mind. She was killed by rain shinobi but I'm unware of the circumstances. He had nothing before he met her and even she was taken from him. You know what Tobirama said about Uchihas and their ability to show love."
"After she died…He trained me to the ground, sparred with me until I fell asleep with exhaustion. And the moment my eyes awakened, he stopped and dropped me off in Konoha, saying that he would not force his son into his path. I will remember him as a loving father, but the man that was defeated a few days ago was not my father" Minato finished sadly.
"Just another victim of a war torn world" Naruto muttered when Hinata poked her head inside the tent.
"You have a visitor" Hinata said and pulled the tent flap to the side, showing Uchiha Izuna being escorted by two shinobi from the Rock Village.
"What is his story? I do not remember him during the war" Naruto asked, motioning for Izuna to come inside, still escorted by the guards.
"Izuna did not fight in the war. He was found in one of the houses with the very same stasis seal as every citizen of the rain village" Hinata explained. Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest and turned to Izuna who remained completely neutral.
"You wanted to speak with me?" Naruto trailed off.
"Alone" Was the single word what came out of Izuna's lips.
Neither Minato nor Hinata looked particularly pleased by his words. "Gives us the tent please" Naruto said as the two shinobi left the tent. "You two as well" Naruto said, looking at Minato and Hinata.
"But-" Hinata tried to contest.
"I will be fine" Naruto replied. Hinata bit her lip but went outside and stood by the entrance with Minato.
Naruto finally turned towards Izuna who still stood with the same neutral expression. "Do you hate me?" He asked.
Izuna seemed to have reacted to the question and his eyes were immediately filled with blood red color and spinning tomoes. His face twisted into anger and his fingers twitched before Naruto announced. "Think things carefully, Izuna" Naruto warned and Izuna watched Naruto's eyes being filled with a silver color and concentric circles. "My body may be weak…but my chakra remains just as powerful"
Izuna snarled and removed a single scroll from his inner pockets. He threw harshly at Naruto who caught it midair. "I'm leaving" Izuna announced making Naruto look at him. "I've known nothing but death since I was born. I'm leaving this life for good" He said before turning around and stepping out of the tent.
He was immediately blocked by Minato and Hinata. "Let him go. Just…let him go" Naruto announced from the inside. Izuna scoffed at them and ran off, disappearing in the darkness of the rain forever. Naruto felt Izuna's chakra dimming and truly hoped that he found happiness with some girl in the end, just like Madara once did.
"Come inside" Naruto called and both Minato and Hinata stepped inside the tent.
He drew his attention back to the scroll in his hands. "Some last trap by Madara?" He pondered, flipping the scroll over several times in search for any trap. He turned it over once more until he noticed a small seal engraved in the opening lock. "A blood seal?" Naruto thought with surprise.
A blood seal was as the very name said. A simple seal that locked whatever the user whished, and could only be opened by those blood related to the one who locked it in the first place. Naruto bit his thumb and placed a single drop of blood directly over the seal. The blood was absorbed into the scroll and the lock vanished in a small puff of smoke.
Naruto carefully opened the scroll and started reading…
I am not sure where to begin since I have never written anything like this. I supposed I should start by explaining who I am. My name is Uchiha Madara, former leader of the Uchiha Clan.
If my wish has come to pass then you, Naruto, should be reading this and I've long been sent into oblivion after our battle. I wrote this in the hopes of explaining the reasons behind my plans, and the decades of work I put into everything. You are the key, Naruto. I want you to finish what I started so long ago.
This is the Last Will and Testament of Uchiha Madara, son of Uchiha Tajima, 84th leader of the Uchiha Clan.
Where to begin? Where to begin? How about the very beginning?
The world was embroiled in endless battles, an era of warring states. The one-village-per-country system did not exist back then. Ninja organizations were militia groups, divided by clan name.
Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, Aburame, Hyuuga, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Fuma, Hatake, Shimura, Hozuki, Inuzuka, Kurama, Sarutobi, Yotsuki, Yuki. The list went on and on, seeming almost endless.
In this world of constant strife, power was everything. The Uchiha Clan was known all over the world as a warrior clan with remarkable chakra and their powerful bloodline, the Sharingan. And then there was the "Senju Clan of the Forest", said to be the only clan to rival the Uchiha Clan in strength.
Their leader, Senju Hashirama, was the most powerful ninja of his time. If one nation hired the Uchiha Clan, the opposing one would hire the Senju Clan. Time and time again, the Uchiha and Senju clans clashed against one another in a foolish war over supremacy. However, this endless fighting threatened to destroy both clans. Members who believed in this banded together and created a new organization.
It would later be known as the Hidden Leaf Village in the Fire Country.
But the Uchiha and Senju were like oil and water, unable to work together. Or so the stories had us believe.
The truth is slightly different from what they teach in your academy. The truth is that I grew up considering Hashirama as both friend and enemy. We shared similar backgrounds, having lost family to war. We were both tired of it, but too young and weak to do anything. Time went by and we met in the battlefield each time, and each time we stood against each other as equals.
Then came Izuna's death at Tobirama's hands. I never felt so much hatred for a single person.
I felt it in my heart. My pain grew and my eyes reacted, blossoming into the mangekyou. Armed with a new weapon I charged against Hashirama and the Senju with all my might and anger. But in the end I was defeated once more. But to my surprise, Hashirama was willing to give up his life to change mine.
I laid down my weapons and teamed up with Hashirama. Konoha was born.
Years passed and I left the village, not for losing the Hokage position, but because of my pathetic and foolish clan. They wanted more. Of course they did. In retrospect, I should have seen it coming. The human greed never ceased to amaze me. The war had stopped, the world was blooming with peace and prosperity but that wasn't enough for them.
I warned Hashirama of my clan's ambitions and left the village. I stuck to the shadows and watched with grim eyes the flame of war sparking once more. War, it seemed, was engrained in our very own DNA. It seemed that war was what made humanity.
A long time ago, when people still didn't know anything about the concept of chakra…they still used to fight each other. Instead of chakra they used swords and arrows. With the knowledge of chakra you could say things become worse. In the end the battles became even more gruesome.
Hagoromo's vision was flawed. He spread chakra through the world in the hopes of connecting people. He wished for everyone to understand each other without words. He wanted to usher a new era of peace and prosperity with everyone understanding not only themselves but one another in a far deeper level than simply trading words.
But he underestimated us, the humanity. We are flawed creations in the end.
People didn't use the chakra to connect with others, but to instead connect their inner spiritual and physical energies together. They kneaded their inner chakra to amplify it and transform it into modern-day ninjutsu. In the end, they ended up using their chakra in battle, just as Hagoromo's mother, Kaguya, once did.
I was lost. I did not know what to do. My family had died to war. Even when we achieved peace, the flame of war still carried on, coming from both outside and inside the villages. Hagoromo brought peace to our world once before. He gave us understanding, peace, harmony, a paradise on earth. But even with all that, humanity wanted more.
I didn't know what the world needed anymore. Did it need peace and prosperity brought through love and kindness? Or did it require subjugation and domination brought upon by a dictator and tyrant?
Since the first did not work, I went for the obvious alternative. But I needed to be stronger. I wasn't powerful enough to take on the world alone. I fought Hashirama for a piece of him, literally. But even with Kurama by my side, yes I know your name, I lost. I wasn't surprised really. But what really shocked me was that Hashirama did not kill me.
At the very end he looked at me and walked away. Neither of us could kill the other. I was terribly weak, injured and bleeding.
Then she found me.
Namikaze Hanako
An ordinary civilian girl, the daughter of a small local fisherman.
It's funny really. How the fate of the world rested on the hands of a single, seemingly mundane and unimportant woman.
She found me. Dragged my unconscious and bleeding body to her house. She treated my wounds, fed me even when food was scarce and pulled me out of my own darkness. She showed me kindness even when I offered her nothing but hate, resentment and coldness.
She was gentle, strong-willed and kind to a fault. She valued her family just as much as me. I could see so much of her in Hinata. It's funny that both hers and Hinata's name were related to flowers. Hanako reminded me of what we were. Humanity may be flawed, but I had finally seen the goodness in some of them.
But my vision of world peace through domination wouldn't allow the goodness in this people to flourish. So I changed my ways, going so far as leaving it all behind. Why should I the one to bring peace to the world? They had just as much duty as I had. I had found something else to live for.
Hanako was my light, my love, my wife…my queen.
Then death came for her. I held her in my arms as she left this world. And even in death she had a smile in her face.
I had never felt so much hatred in my life. I slaughtered those rain shinobi and my hate dimmed but still lingered.
Hanako…she…she died because the world was at war. She was a civilian, she was innocent. She deserved a happy life, free of pain…instead she was wounded by four rain shinobi and left to bleed out cold and alone.
Minato was the sole reason I didn't march in the walls of the rain village and ended their existence.
I felt guilty. I felt that Hanako's death was my punishment for giving up on the world.
So I carried on with renewed vigor, never forgetting the goal I wanted. I left Minato in Konoha. I didn't want him to follow my path. This was my burden to bare. I wanted him to have a complete and full life.
I had an idea in mind. I had a plan. I would make the world stand against me. I would focus all their hatred, all their malice and will to fight on me.
And so began my life plan. I grew old and my Rinnegan finally awakened. I had never felt so powerful in my entire life. I could finally feel everything, I could understand the pain of the world.
I realized that the world would need a champion against me. They would need someone to defeat me and carry out the final piece of the puzzle.
This person would need to be strong enough to stand against me and eventually defeat me. I believed there would be no better person than the one who would eventually become my grandson. I placed a genjutsu on several ninja of Kumogakure and told them to kidnap one Uzumaki Kushina for her special chakra.
What very people knew was that she was related to Hashirama, her granddaughter to be precise. I would recognize her chakra anywhere. I discretely put Minato on her trail and watched with satisfaction the outcome I so desperately wanted.
Mankind had their champion now.
I grew old and chose another person to carry out my plan of 'world domination'. Uchiha Fugaku, leader of the Uchiha Clan. What better person to offer absolute power than the very ones that drove me out of Konoha in the first place?
The Akatsuki rose and threatened the world. But you, Naruto, did you job almost too well and nearly stopped my resurrection.
I pushed my plan forward and threatened the world with war. They came for me. They banded together against me. They focused all their hatred on me and charged against me and my army like a wrathful maelstrom.
With my death, all that hatred has dissipated. The first part of my plan was finished.
The last piece is up to you, Naruto. You need to guide them, usher them into an age of peace. With all that hate gone, they can finally focus on reconstruction and helping others.
In the valley of the end, look beneath the right foot of my statue. There you will find the entrance to my hideout. In there you will find Hanako's crypt along with several other things. Everything inside belongs to you. The original white Zetsu survived Hinata's biological weapon. I'm leaving him to you as well.
I don't care if you cry, laugh or even hate me. I did what was necessary to save this world.
I know of your plans for immortality and watching over this world. Allow me a parting gift. You will remember these words…sooner or later.
Sometimes…to change the world…you have to be the villain.
Uchiha Madara
"D-dad" Minato stuttered, a single tear running down his face. He walked out of the tent without a single more word.
"He…even though he lost everything…he still sacrificed his life to try and change the world" Hinata sobbed, hiding her face between her hands.
"ARGHHHH" Naruto yelled in anger, sending the metallic food trail to the ground. "Tobirama was right all along" Naruto screamed bitterly. "We really are one cursed family"
"What will you do now?" Kurama asked. He had been pretty silent during the whole time Naruto read the letter.
Naruto pushed to covers away to get up. "Stop Naruto-kun. You are still very weak" Hinata said in a worried tone. Naruto stumbled but Hinata caught him, hoisting his body on her own.
"I need to finish what he began…otherwise everything will have been in vain" Naruto said, straining his leg muscles and walked out of the tent, leaning on Hinata for support.
"Naruto, what the hell are you doing?" Minato yelled and rushed to them, helping Naruto stand on the other side.
"Call them all" Naruto said towards Minato. "Call them all to me" He repeated and Minato nodded slowly.
"I can stand, Hinatchan" Naruto said and detached from Hinata. He walked forward slowly until he stood where the supposed rain village once began. Where the massive walls and gates once stood.
All the surviving shinobi got out of their tents and quickly formed a group behind Naruto. It was the least they could do for the man that defeated Madara. Shinobi from all the villages and Samurai alike gathered together, waiting patiently from what Naruto wanted to do or say.
Hinata finally understood what Naruto wanted and stood behind him, placing a hand on his right shoulder. Minato repeated his action and placed a hand on his left shoulder. Slowly the action repeated itself throughout the army. Thousands upon thousands of shinobi linked their chakra together.
Naruto could feel the chakra of everyone single shinobi in the world. "Onmyoton (Yin-Yang Release)" Naruto said, opening his arms. The clouds drew apart and the sun shone in the rain country. His body was rejuvenated and his hair regained his traditional blonde color.
"Creation of all things" Yin and Yang mixed and new city rose from the ashes. This one possessing the chakra and will of every single shinobi in the world. A city unifying the different cultures and wills in a single unified banner.
Republic city had been born. A place where civilians and shinobi from all nations could live and thrive together in peace and harmony.