Next Morning.
Mebuki woke slowly, comfortable enough that for a moment she nearly forgot where she was. Then the memory caught up with her — the fire, the smoke, the house that wasn't there anymore — and something tightened in her chest before she managed to push it back down.
"No... just don't think about it. It's all behind us now." She cheered herself up. She had to be strong-willed in front of her children.
Kizashi was still dead asleep beside her, snoring softly, no doubt last night's activities had him all worn out.
'He sure likes to act young no matter how much older he is getting...' She almost blushed, recalling how he had just dragged her into the room and...
She even felt like beating him later when he woke up. Did he have to get into the mood on the same night their house burned down or something? Or was it the new location that made him excited?
She shook her head and didn't bother waking him. He didn't need to be anywhere this morning.
Her children did, however. So she had to wake them up, if they weren't already awake, that is.
She almost felt bad making them share a room. The original plan had indeed been for her to share a room with Sakura while Sukuna would share the other with Kizashi. But...
She sent another glare at her willful husband and sighed.
'At least he was energetic...' she muttered before getting up, almost grumblingly accepting the fact.
She made her way to their room, mildly amazed to find the door unlocked, not even fully closed. She wondered, not for the first time, what kind of training turned children into shinobi who slept with such little caution. Being a civilian herself, raising one shinobi and one kunoichi, there was a great deal about their lives she'd learned to simply not ask about.
What she found inside nearly stopped her from waking them at all.
Sukuna and Sakura were curled together on one bed, tangled up in each other the way they used to be as toddlers sharing a single crib, back before either of them had any idea what a shinobi even was. Their clothes were rumpled beyond saving, their hair a disaster on both sides, as though they'd wrestled each other half to death before exhaustion finally won.
Asleep like this, though, none of that mattered. They just looked like her children again. Small, soft, entirely hers.
'It's almost unfair how fast they are growing up...' She felt a pang of hurt, knowing that in a few years she wouldn't be able to cuddle them whenever she wanted once they had their own lives, their own houses...
Guess this is what it meant to be a parent, huh...
Mebuki allowed herself a long moment just watching them, her throat tight in a way that had nothing to do with grief this time.
Then, reluctantly, she reached out and gave them both a gentle shake.
"Up, you two. The village won't wait forever."
-x-
Konoha
Once the last of the wounded had either recovered to some degree or been laid to rest, Konoha gathered beneath an overcast sky to bid farewell to those who would never return.
The village cemetery was filled beyond capacity as rows upon rows of fresh memorial stones stood beside one another, each bearing the name of a shinobi or civilian who had given their life during the battle.
At the very front stood the largest monument of all, reserved for the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. White flowers covered the ground before it, their fragrance carried gently by the wind, while the silence hanging over the crowd felt heavier than any speech could ever hope to break.
Shinobi of every rank stood shoulder to shoulder with ordinary villagers, merchants, craftsmen, and children, all dressed in black as they paid their final respects to the people who had died protecting the Hidden Leaf.
Everyone seemed to have lost someone dear, and thus almost the entire village seemed to be present at this grand ceremony to mourn those who had departed.
Tsunade stood at the front of the gathering with Jiraiya beside her, both wearing solemn expressions that lacked their usual confidence.
No matter how much they found the Third Hokage's ruling policies flawed or his leniency toward Danzo disgusting, ultimately they knew that the old man had wanted nothing but good for the village in his heart.
Specifically, as his disciples, they knew that the old man had given up everything he could for this village. And now he had even died a warrior's death, protecting the one thing he had always wished to protect.
The village.
After several long moments of silence, Tsunade finally stepped forward. "The Third Hokage dedicated his entire life to this village," she said, her voice carrying clearly across the cemetery despite its softness. "Until his final breath, he stood between Konoha and its enemies. His sacrifice, along with the sacrifices of every shinobi and civilian we honor today, ensured that this village still stands. Their deaths were not meaningless, and as long as Konoha exists, they will never be forgotten."
Jiraiya lowered his head, closing his eyes briefly before murmuring, "Rest easy, old man. You carried this village for longer than anyone should have had to." Nearby, Kakashi quietly placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder when the blond struggled to keep his emotions under control. For Naruto especially, the Third Hokage was like a grandfather figure.
"The old man believed in every one of us," Kakashi said. "The best way to honor him is to make sure his faith wasn't misplaced."
Sukuna stood silently beside Sakura, Karin, Kiyomi, Sasuke, and Izumi, saying nothing as his crimson eyes rested on Hiruzen's memorial.
As far as he was concerned, he had no particular thoughts about Hiruzen Sarutobi's death. He wasn't as bad as Danzo, so calling him directly an enemy wasn't right. He wasn't as good as someone like Minato either.
If anything, his rule was the most confusing one. Most Hokage before and even after him died too early to really say how they would have performed in his place. Generally, a longer ruling time meant more difficult decisions to make and more chances of making mistakes.
And all of that fell upon Hiruzen Sarutobi.
While nothing saved him from being called indecisive, from his leniency toward Danzo, under him the Uchiha were destroyed, the Senju were gone, the Uzumaki were done, and those were only the highlights. There were still many more less prominent but equally important things.
However, ultimately, the real question was whether anyone else would have done better. It's easy to hate a leader. However, only when the weight of leadership presses down on someone do they truly feel its gravity.
Alas, the Dark Knight movies explained this rather nicely.
"Die like a hero, or live long enough to become the villain."
Sukuna turned his gaze to notice many people seemed to be mourning for him. At least in that aspect, the Third Hokage was better. He wasn't a complete failure.
He didn't stay there for long, mainly because he had been called in by the higher-ups to the Hokage's office.
-x-
Hokage Office
The corridors leading to the Hokage's office were unusually quiet after the memorial ceremony, the weight of the funeral still lingering over the village like a heavy fog.
Sukuna walked through them with his hands tucked into his pockets, his footsteps echoing softly against the wooden floor.
Before he even reached the office door, raised voices drifted through the thick walls. The argument inside was anything but subtle. Someone slammed a hand against a desk, followed immediately by another voice firing back just as loudly.
He recognized at least one of the voices. It was Tsunade, alright. Tsunade's irritated tone was quite recognizable, it seemed, while the calmer but equally firm voice could only belong to Shikaku Nara. He doubted anyone else had that kind of laid-back attitude besides his own son, of course.
Even the two elderly advisors had abandoned their usual composed demeanor, if the shouting was anything to go by. Sukuna paused for only a moment before knocking on the door. Almost instantly, the argument died as though someone had flipped a switch.
"Come in," Tsunade called.
Sliding the door open, Sukuna stepped inside and immediately took in everyone present. Tsunade stood behind the Hokage's desk despite not officially holding the title yet. Jiraiya leaned against one of the walls with his arms folded. Shikaku remained seated with an unreadable expression, while Homura and Koharu occupied the opposite side of the room. Judging by the atmosphere alone, whatever discussion had taken place before his arrival had been deeply political, and judging by the expressions around the room, nobody had managed to convince anyone else. Sukuna wisely chose not to comment on the obvious tension.
"You called for me... should I call you Hokage now?" Sukuna raised a questioning brow, showing no respect to Tsunade, as if saying, 'Just be quick about it, I'm busy.'
And just like always, that attitude of the boy always got under Tsunade's skin. Her temper rose, but she somehow managed to pull it back down and speak calmly, even though her brows were twitching from the urge to throw a punch at that smug pink-haired brat.
"We'll keep this brief. There are a few things we need clarification on regarding the invasion."
Sukuna simply nodded.
"First," she said, "Flying Thunder God. Where did you learn it?"
Sukuna answered without hesitation, having prepared that response long ago.
"Asked for the technique from the Third Hokage a while back."
That was it. No long explanation. He simply stated what had happened and wasn't planning to explain himself further unless asked specifically.
Shikaku narrowed his eyes thoughtfully before asking the next question.
"How proficient are you with it?"
Sukuna shrugged.
"Good enough to use it reliably in combat, though it still consumes a fair amount of concentration."
Nobody challenged the answer.
The only two benchmarks they had to compare him to were Kage. One had created the damn technique, and possibly every other dangerously broken forbidden technique in the shinobi nations that didn't have the Uchiha and Sharingan attached to it.
The other man was a war hero.
Arguably even better with Hiraishin than its creator, Tobirama Senju, himself.
Minato Namikaze.
Comparing a thirteen-year-old kid to them felt unfair. Yeah, that was the word. But the fact that he could use it meant Konoha would have another Flying Thunder God user in the future, and that was always a good thing.
Not to mention, they knew he was good with the technique. Not just anyone could teleport an entire Bijū out of the village on a whim, after all.
The questions quickly shifted toward his battle with Shukaku. Jiraiya spoke this time.
"What exactly happened after you teleported the One-Tail outside the village? We only saw the beast disappear and then return carrying an unconscious Gaara."
Sukuna remained perfectly calm.
"The full beast never actually manifested. Gaara retained control over the transformation and was operating the giant sand body from within. Once I realized that, all I had to do was reach him. Flying Thunder God made that part simple. I incapacitated him, and without Gaara's control, the transformation collapsed."
The room fell silent. No one questioned the explanation, nor did anyone ask how he had subdued a jinchūriki alone. Sukuna knew immediately why. They didn't believe him at face value, but neither did they have any reason to doubt him.
They simply didn't ask because those questions weren't what they were interested in pursuing further. They had merely been the path leading toward the question they had actually wished to ask.
It was Koharu who finally steered the conversation where everyone had intended from the beginning.
"Tell us about Izumi Uchiha."
Sukuna's eyes shifted toward the elderly advisor without betraying even the slightest reaction.
"She almost killed—or very nearly killed—the Fifth Mizukage and very certainly defeated her to the point where she was barely alive," Homura continued. "That is not something an ordinary shinobi accomplishes, especially not someone who has remained almost entirely unknown until now. Hiruzen personally assigned her to Team Eleven alongside you. We wish to know why."
Sukuna stayed silent for only a heartbeat before finally saying,
"Dunno..." He shrugged. There was no way he was telling them the old man had wanted him to spy on Izumi.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed at that because, unlike the others, she knew. She had been present when Hiruzen asked Sukuna to look into Izumi Uchiha's matter.
"You don't know?"
"Nope..."
"Didn't the Third Hokage say anything to you?"
"Nah... nothing."
There was silence in the room for a while. The elders looked dissatisfied. Jiraiya looked bored. Shikaku looked like he could use a nap. And Tsunade... she had her eyes narrowed, glaring daggers at him. However, she didn't say anything.
"Fine, you're dismissed," the elders said at last.
He sighed. Finally, it was over. Perhaps he should think about killing those two next.
Just as he was about to leave, Tsunade surprisingly spoke up.
"Wait..."
"Huh?"
"There is another matter..."
xXx
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