Chapter 81
TSUNADE SENJU
Oftentimes, as Tsunade stared at the village, she found it somewhat unrecognisable. The streets, the buildings, and the people remained the same, but one could see the shifting of the era, just as her ancestors had witnessed it when her grandfather had brought an end to the Warring States Era.
But this was different, for while the Village system seemingly remained intact, the world was beginning to change through other means as new and unique technologies were getting introduced, and things which had once been a rarity were now becoming common.
And at the heart of this transformation was the shinobi in front of him.
The Godaime Hokage, Izuna Uchiha.
She could remember the time when he was but a little child, trying to learn all he could about Iryo ninjutsu. His own clan had shunned him for his interest in the art, but he had persisted, and now that very clan was recognised and feared the world over because of him.
Nearly two decades ago, Minato had chosen him as his successor even though he had been. Still, a young man at the time, and while many had doubted the former kage's decision at the time, he had not taken long to crush those doubts as he led Konoha through a Great War all by himself. He cemented the village's position on the continent as the most dominant force and power.
That was all decades ago, and the Fourth Great Ninja War was long over, yet the reverberations from it could still be felt all over the world, for after turning Konoha into a military behemoth, the Hokage had turned his eyes onto other matters.
He had poured great resources into research and development of new technologies, and through that had gone on to make Konoha the leading economic force of the world, pushing them so far ahead of the world that it became nearly unviable for the rest of the villages to survive and thrive without their village.
His mere presence made the idea of war unthinkable for their enemies, for unlike his predecessors, Izuna Uchiha did not let the hat saddle him to his chair, and held little to no hesitation in jumping into battles, much to the troubles of his advisors—which included herself.
"I am thinking of retiring," he began, blunt as always, and truthfully, she was not surprised.
Izuna Uchiha had become the Hokage when he had been sixteen, and even before that, he had dedicated his entire life to the village. In the twenty years of his reign, Konoha had survived one Great War and two major conflicts, including a substantial war against Amegakure.
Throughout all that he had led the village from the front, putting his life on the risk and while many thought that he did this out of a thirst for battle, the truth was that he did so just to save as many lives as he could.
His once luscious black hair had now begun to show hints of greys and whites, and though he was at the prime of his life at thirty-six and was a veteran of over a thousand battles, she could see the weariness that remained hidden from the world.
"You should," she agreed with his suggestion, and he seemed surprised by her answer.
"You won't ask me to reconsider," and why would she do something so cruel? He had dedicated his entire life to this village until now, and he deserved his rest.
"No," and for good reason.
"You have done your duty, Izuna," and you have done it best, and now, because of his actions, Konoha was stronger than ever, and apart from being the cultural and economic center of the world, it was decades ahead of the rest of the villages boasting a total of thirteen elite S-ranked shinobi along with nearly two dozen elite A-ranked shinobi, who could rival anyone in the village.
"You deserve to rest," and he seemed taken aback at her words, and leaned back in his chair.
"Still, may I ask what brought this on?" she asked, and he hesitated for a second before he answered with a name.
"Konan," and she should have guessed, and the purple-haired kunoichi was his wife of twelve years, mother to his two children.
"She suggested it, a few months ago, and for some reason, I found myself thinking about it," and he seemed to have given it much thought.
"In the end, despite much thought, I just couldn't find a reason to deny her," and of course, he couldn't.
"Have you thought of a successor?" she asked, for that would be the next thing, for he would need to choose wisely, for he was not just the Hokage. He was the specter of Death keeping all their enemies at bay, the strongest shinobi in the world—he was Konoha's God of Death.
"I made a tentative list," and she saw him slide forward a folder, and Tsunade reached for the folder and found herself staring at rather familiar names, most of them young.
Minato's son was on the list, along with his own younger brother, and a slew of other shinobi, but the profile that made her stop belonged to a kunoichi who shared her grandmother's features and name.
She was around the same age as Minato's son and was one of Konoha's leading experts in fuinjutsu, having taken on much of Minato's work to refine it.
Her fighting style was said to be a mix of her own grandmother and Namikaze, which made her a menace on the field. This was particularly impressive when one considered that she held within herself a part of a bijuu herself.
"What about her?" she asked as she slid forward the file, letting him see her name.
"Karin," he whispered with piqued interest, and she nodded.
"Yes, she has the strength to hold the title," and more than strength, she had the determination to protect the village that had given her and her mother a home.
"Do you really think she is ready?" he asked, and as one of her former teachers, Tsunade nodded.
"Yes," but he still seemed doubtful, and of course, he would, for as strong as Karin may be, no one was as strong as him.
"She may not be as strong as you," Tsunade admitted, for there was no one who could match him, given that he had long surpassed her own grandfather in strength and power.
"But her abilities as a sensor are unmatched," and that was an understatement, for Karin had trained long and hard to hone her kekkei genkai, and through years and years of effort had managed to succeed even her granduncle in the art.
"What do you mean by that?" and she leaned back proudly, like an aunt, as she boasted of her.
"That War Room of yours," and she still found herself amazed and surprised even years later, as she thought about that. And now, with years upon years of work, Izuna had only refined Minato's concept further and further, making it more and more intricate and accurate such that if Konoha so wanted, it could track the movements of any singular shinobi over the entire continent.
"Karin can replace it all by herself," and he frowned for a second before his eyes widened in realization.
"You cannot mean..." he gasped, as Tsunade smirked.
"Her range. It is the entire damn continent...."
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0000
KARIN UZUMAKI
As Karin strode through the streets, she saw many people wave at her, greet her, and that was not how it had always been for her. Not for her.
Most of the residents of Konoha had always enjoyed a semblance of peace and belonging, but despite it being nearly a decade and a half ago, Karin still remembered the cold and unkind stares of Kusa.
She would remember her mother's strained smiles, and how cold and weary she would be as Kusa would exploit her, for her kekkei genkai, and for a few years, she had always thought that the same fate awaited her.
A fate of pain and servitude, but all of it had changed one single day, when he had come to Kusa.
He had been young then, some years older than her, but even then, he had single-handedly defeated Kusa's entire forces and had rescued Karin and her mother from that cold, dark place.
He had then brought them to Konoha, and the village had become her new home. He had given her hope, home, and family.
And as he strode through the streets, she stared up at the Kage mountain and the face carved into it, and even now, just a single glance at that filled her heart with ease and reassurance in her most vulnerable and darkest moments.
For even in the darkest nights, during the most hopeless situations, any and every Konoha shinobi knew in their heart that they were not alone. That they just needed to hold on, for their Kage would not abandon them.
As long as Izuna Uchiha watched over them all, hope was not lost.
Karin wanted to be like him. She wanted to be this larger-than-life figure who could inspire thousands. She wanted to be the person who could offer hope to others like her in the most desolate of times.
She wanted to be for the Godaime-sama what he had been for the Yondaime-sama.
She wanted him to rely on her, to depend on her, for while the rest of the village saw him as the beacon of light and hope, Karin's Kekkei Genkai allowed her to see a lot more.
"What?" she asked, as she ran into Ino-san at the office, and the daughter of the Intel Division Head had been a classmate of hers, and both of them were working under his father.
"You have been summoned to training ground four," the blonde repeated, as Karin frowned, for that was the Hokage's personal training ground, often reserved for him and his own family.
Though she had not witnessed it herself, she had sensed his chakra clash there often with his lady wife, Konan-san.
"But why?" she asked, but the blonde had no answer.
"No idea, but you should hurry," the blonde added.
"The summons came from the Hokage-sama himself," and that was even more surprising as Karin nodded.
"Tell Inoichi-sama about the summons. I will head out at once," and with that, she left the Division, jumped onto the rooftops, and headed straight towards the secluded training ground, which was previously off limits to her.
And a minute later, as she landed on the ground, she immediately knelt down on her knee as he stood there in flesh, clad in his ceremonial cloak and hat.
"You summoned me, Hokage-sama," she whispered, and saw those eyes land on her, scrutinising her.
"Rise, Uzumaki Karin," he ordered, and she stood tall once more and saw him raise a bro.
"Tell me, Uzumaki Karin, what do you think it means to be a Kage?" he asked, and the question came as a surprise to her as she answered after a few seconds.
"I don't understand the question, Hokage-sama?" she asked, and the man smiled kindly.
"It is not a test. It is a simple question," he began once more, with a small chuckle.
"What does the word Hokage mean to you?" he asked, and she thought of her life and the man standing in front of her, and she answered with the only word that came to her mind.
"Hope..."
0000
So, it ends!
Damn, did I have fun writing this! This is one of my favorite fics that I have written, and I am pleased about how it turned out.
Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it as well.
And now, with this done, we take a foray into the intricate and enigmatic Hyuga clan!
Thankful for your love and support as always.
Drkest
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