5 The Second Ninja World War (2)

The war ravaging this world for the past two years was nearly its completion.

And it was ending in Konoha's favor. It was ending that way, this fast, only because of the breakthrough in one of the Konoha's battlefronts,

In the Konoha-Kiri battlefront, a historic battle was just finished nearly a week ago!

This acclaimed, epic battle happened between the two really renowned and brilliant men.

The Third Mizukage, the leader of the Kirigakure, at some point decided to enter the battlefront to help his troops and push away the Konoha's offense back, fast, in a surprise attack,

But, the leader of Konoha's troops stationed there also overheard about this information,

He was Konoha's famous, White Fang, Sakumo Hatake!

Realizing that this was a chance to potentially end this terrible war, Sakumo acted swiftly,

He tracked down the Third Mizukage and engaged him in a fierce battle on the spot!

The battle lasted for many hours before the winner was finally decided,

In the end, Sakumo Hatake won and the Third Mizukage was killed!

Sakumo even managed to retreat safely after that,

When this information spread out, the whole world was in shock!

Kirigakure immediately retreated from the war, entering into the period of civil unrest.

Sakumo's reputation skyrocketed again. This man literally ended the whole world war single-handedly!

Everyone already forgot about those previous negative rumors about him.

- - -

In the Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's office.

The rocky mountain ranges that surround the village provide a natural stronghold that it is very proud of.

The village's infrastructure is built from much of the surrounding rock and stone, shaped into tower-like structures that are interconnected by a network of bridges.

The Tsuchikage's residence seems to be the tallest structure with a cone-shaped roof and bears the word "Earth" on it.

The standard attire for Iwa shinobi consists of a red outfit, which can either have one, or both sleeves, a lapel which is usually found on the side without a sleeve and a brown flak jacket, which also may, or may not have a pouch attached to it.

Many Iwagakure ninjas use Earth Release techniques.

Iwagakure is well-known for the rock-hard attitude of its shinobi; as soon as the Tsuchikage gives an order, the Iwa-nin follow it without hesitation, even if it means death.

Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, was looking at the report in his hands deep in thought. He was sitting on a large chair in his office, and with his small frame, it looked quite comical.

Onoki was a very proud, headstrong, and boastful individual. He hated all the other shinobi villages, and often resorted to using underhanded tactics against them, taught by his predecessors.

He was also called the "Onoki of Both Scales" due to his unique weight-manipulation jutsu.

"Father, what are we going to do now?" His son Kitsuchi asked all of a sudden,

Even though he was already eighteen-years-old and a jonin of Iwagakure, his father still didn't allow him to go onto the battlefield, citing it to be too dangerous for him, and that he's too young.

Kitsuchi is a very tall and brawny shinobi. He has dark eyes and short dark-grey-colored hair as well as a beard and a bulbous nose.

He wore the standard Iwagakure shinobi uniform with a left sleeve and a right lapel.

"We have to pull out of this war, of course," Onoki surprisingly said in reply.

"What do you mean by that, father?" Kitsuchi asked unsurely again.

"Konoha is simply too strong for us right now," He replied a little angrily.

"But, I'm just waiting to see for how much longer will they be able to act like the world despot!" Onoki added fiercely.

"The next time, it won't just two or three big villages going against them at the same time!"

"The next time, it will all four of us, against Konoha at the same time!" Onoki stated confidently.

Actually, he was very right in his constatation. Konoha grew just too strong for all the other big shinobi villages to accept.

The Land of Fire could even start thinking about conquering the rest of the Four Great Nations at this moment.

Their hidden village, Konohagakure, appears to rival the strength of all the other hidden villages of other big countries combined.

And that was not a good thing, the balance of the shinobi world must be kept.

"But, father, what about the Sunagakure, were they not their allies?" Kitsuchi asked a bit confused.

"Haha, Sunagakure? I'm afraid they want to tear the Konoha apart first amongst any of us!"

"That woman Chiyo has quite an influence in that village, now that her family was killed by Konoha, she won't just take it down quietly."

"I'm estimating that as soon as they recover their strength, they will also join us against the Konoha in the next world war."

"T-the next world war!?" Kitsuchi asked frighteningly.

"Haha, are you scared boy? Well, you should be! This next war won't be like anything we've ever seen before!" Onoki said seriously after laughing a little.

"This will be the war of all wars! So get ready, and get stronger, Kitsuchi!"

"I'm afraid that I'll have to send you onto that future battlefield as well."

"You're not so young anymore, after all!" Onoki said seriously.

In fact, he was already very proud of this son. He has the most potential of all the Iwa shinobi that came in recent decades. He was quite optimistic that this son will succeed him at the position of Tsuchikage, "Now, let's start the process of replenishing our strength."

- - -

Soon, the other great ninja villages followed suit as well, and they all made peace treaties with one another. The duration of those peace treaties was for five whole years.

Below the "Mountains' Graveyard", in Madara's secret hideout,

A white alien-like creature was reporting the recent happenings of the shinobi world to his boss, Madara Uchiha.

Madara sat on his stone chair with those white tentacles still connected behind him. He looked even more old and weak since that time five years ago.

The whole cave they were in looked very desolate and gloomy, giving off a depressing and chilling vibe.

"Hmm, this war still went like we thought it would, more or less."

Madara nodded and said hoarsely. His lips were thin, devoid of any color.

"But, Konoha's strength exceeded my imagination this time. They truly grew stronger after I left, it seems like they would have to go against the whole world in the near future," Madara added surely.

"What is Nagato doing right now?" Madara asked next.

"After his parents were killed back at that time, he started roaming around as an orphan. He met with two more little orphans like himself and they formed a small group."

White Zetsu explained, while started hesitating a little bit next.

"What is it, say it!?" Madara ordered impatiently after seeing this.

"He was also accepted as a personal disciple of Jiraiya the Sannin, not too long ago, together with his little group."

"That isn't a big deal. The stronger Nagato is, the better for me and my plan!" He shouted feeling weaker and weaker.

'I must find the carrier for my plans fast! He would need to control Nagato to reincarnate me again in the future and prepare the terrain for when I resurrect.'

'He must be a very strong and capable person.'

'I hope I'll be able to find him in this next war five years from now.'

- - -

Konoha was in a very festive mood at the moment.

This horrible war was over faster than anybody expected and in their favor.

It was all mainly thanks to Sakumo Hatake, their own village hero.

The majority of people already forgot how they badmouthed him not too long ago.

In Root's gloomy headquarters, Danzo was pacing around the central branch of his base, back and forth,

Hundreds of Root members were moving back and forth too, all the while occasionally checking something and signaling to one another.

It looked like they were jointly protecting him from some kind of an expected threat.

'Damn, I miscalculated Sakumo and now I'll pay the price.'

'I really didn't expect him to realize my plan.'

'Maybe he will come for revenge now, maybe Hiruzen will even lead his forces to arrest me, too, I really don't know!' There was panic in Danzo's eyes and he looked really anxious and fearful.

All of a sudden a shadow entered from the above, it was another Root member wearing only black.

"Lord Danzo!" He knelt while paying his respects.

"Say it fast! What's happening outside!? What did Sakumo do!?"

He barricaded himself in the Root's headquarters ever since he came back to Konoha, knowing that it will be safest here because Hiruzen probably wouldn't want fighting of that scale happening inside his own village.

"Lord Danzo, Sakumo Hatake officially resigned from the position of Anbu Commander today!"

"What!?" Danzo yelled incredulously.

"Yes, Lord Danzo, he will go back to being a regular jonin from tomorrow!"

"Incredible," Danzo suddenly exclaimed aloud.

"Wait, who is his replacement then?" Danzo asked again quickly.

"It is Shinsuke Sarutobi, my Lord. He also immediately appointed his wife as the second Vice Commander together with the "Rat"," The shadow replied again.

Danzo nodded blankly and held his hand on his chin while he thought about something.

'It seems like Hiruzen isn't so stupid when his power in this village is at stake.'

'But, I really didn't expect Sakumo to swallow this so easily...'

'Wait, is this because of his kids!? Did he give me a step down because of their safety?'

'No matter what, I'll still find a way to get on top of this village. If it isn't the political power, I'll try and gain some personal power then...'

He thought about that while referring to Orochimaru. He agreed to join his Root once this war is over and together they will experiment with various powers and hidden jutsus, in hope of getting more strength for themselves.

At the same time, in Konoha's Ninja Academy, classes were still being held.

Three years passed since this batch of students came into the Academy for the first time, they were now all eight years old.

While the lectures were being held, an assistant teacher came on the podium and whispered something into Eiji's ear.

He looked joyful, stopped his lesson, and said loudly, "We have now officially got the confirmation. Both the Iwa and Kumo also signed peace with our village!"

Suddenly the whole class was in an uproar.

"Yes, finally my father will be able to come back to the village!"

"Yes, and I heard my parents say they will be able to resume their business as usual now."

"It's all thanks to Lord Hatake, he amazingly managed to defeat the enemy leader, forcing them to surrender!"

The majority of students started looking gratefully at Kakashi and Yoshi's table, full of happiness.

Yoshi smiled as well and looked at Kakashi.

He just nodded, but there was a proud smile on his face behind the mask.

"Uncle said that we're free to graduate after the war finishes, what do you think?" Yoshi suddenly asked his best friend.

"Yeah, we can't spend all our lives in the Academy," Kakashi nodded and replied seriously.

"Alright, let's go and tell the teacher after the class."

After today's classes were over, Eiji was sorting through some papers in his office.

Suddenly a knock was heard on his door, and two young boys entered.

"Oh, Kakashi, Yoshi, is there anything?" He looked up and asked curiously.

"Yes, we want to graduate early, teacher," Yoshi said directly.

Eiji looked surprised but soon understood it a little.

"Alright, with your strength, there will be no problem. I'll inform the Lord Hokage."

Eiji is sure, their strength already broke through the chunin level, and even surpassed his own.

"Thank you, teacher, see you tomorrow then," Yoshi nodded, thanked him, and then they left.

Outside the academy stood Anko alone, still waiting for them, humming some kind of a song.

"Where were you doing until now!?" She asked annoyedly when she saw them coming outside the entrance.

"Nothing special, we just applied for early graduation."

"What!?" Anko asked startled.

"Yes, we will take the test tomorrow," Yoshi replied matter-of-factly.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" Anko suddenly went up and lifted Yoshi up by the collar.

"I forgot, haha," Yoshi smiled sheepishly.

"I will go and apply too, you wait here. I'm not done with you."

Anko said, threw him to the ground, and then went back to the Academy building hurriedly.

After a few moments, Yoshi and Kakashi exchanged looks.

"Haha, let's go back now, Kakashi."

They speedily went to the Hatake's residence.

Sakumo was already there, waiting for them.

"I presume you already applied for early graduation?" He smiled and asked, once they entered inside.

"Yes father, but how did you know?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"It's because I know my boys very well, of course. Do you know who will be your jonin-sensei?" Sakumo smiled mysteriously.

"Isn't that just you, uncle?" Yoshi suddenly asked teasingly.

"W-what, how did you guess it, Yoshi?" Sakumo asked incredulously.

"It's because I know uncle well too," Yoshi returned his previous statement and smiled.

"Really, father!? You will be our jonin-sensei?" But, Kakashi apparently didn't guess it before.

"Well, the cat's out the bag now," Sakumo said helplessly.

"But wait, who will be our third teammate, father? And weren't you the Anbu Commander before?" Kakashi asked unknowingly.

"Yes, I was before. But not anymore," Sakumo sighed and explained seriously first.

"As for your third teammate..." He smirked while looking at Yoshi teasingly, "It's Yoshi's little girlfriend!"

"What, her!?" Kakashi shouted.

Yoshi even blushed a little embarrassingly and just sighed.

Tomorrow soon came, and they left the Hatake's residence after their usual training.

However, as soon as they came outside their gate, a fist flew right towards Yoshi's face.

Yoshi just smiled, he already anticipated it coming and moved even before it came close to him.

He just sighed and said tiredly, "Sigh, Anko, you're just too violent, think about how your future boyfriend will feel..."

"What does that have to with you!?" She yelled angrily while blushing a little.

"Wait, calm down, I have some good news to tell you..."

"Well, why don't you let me tell her about this!?"

Suddenly a figure appeared behind them, coming from the Hatake's residence gate.

Sakumo was smiling teasingly while looking at Yoshi.

Yoshi suddenly paled a little and turned behind.

"Sir!" Anko quickly showed respect towards this village hero.

"Haha, no need for this, just call me uncle in the future like Yoshi," Sakumo smiled and said a bit meaningfully.

"Uhm, uncle, err," Anko suddenly blushed a little and stammered.

"Haha, no need to be so embarrassed. We will all be teammates in the future!"

"You mean...?" Anko asked somewhat expectingly.

"Yes, I will be your jonin-sensei in the future."

"Right..." Anko nodded somewhat dazed.

This legendary Kage-level monster and their village hero will be her own sensei in the future, she felt like she was dreaming.

Not to mention, she will continue to be able to spend time with Yoshi in the future...

'No, who cares about that idiot, hum!'

After a few more words, they went to the Academy, Anko being dazed on their way there as well.

Soon they came to the Academy and entered their classroom subsequently. After greeting their acquaintances, they all went to their seats.

Soon, Eiji came to the classroom himself, and after quieting down students a little, he said.

"Before we start with today's lesson, I have something to announce."

The students looked at him curiously.

"Yoshi, Kakashi, and Anko applied for early graduation. Their graduation test will be held today, after school," Eiji explained seriously.

This caused an uproar amongst their classmates.

"Then I will graduate too!" Obito suddenly stood up from his seat and yelled.

"Are you sure you want to graduate now?" Eiji replied while secretly gesturing him to Rin's direction.

Obito suddenly shut up and while looking at Rin, he thought carefully, 'Yes, if I graduate now, maybe I won't be placed in the same team as Rin in the future.'

"I will also graduate teacher, I won't let my rivals get ahead of me. It's time for my youthful strength to shine onto the shinobi world too!" Might Guy in his iconic green costume, jumped from his seat too, and yelled fervently.

But Eiji's words directly brought him down, "There's no way I'm recommending you for the graduation, Guy. You taijutsu skills are still not exceptional enough to allow you to pass from this Academy while ignoring other aspects in which you are severely lacking."

Guy sat down dejectedly.

"I also want to graduate!" Suddenly a mature and little proud voice was being heard from the back row.

It was Uchiha Kosuke's.

Eiji looked at him for a while and sighed, "Okay, you can take the exam with them too. I already thought a situation like this might occur so I prepared for it in an advance."

Uchiha Kosuke just nodded, 'It's time to officially enter the Uchiha Police Force with my cousin and help him as his assistant.'

Asuma looked at all of this but still didn't say anything. He was already getting all the training he needs from his father and his disciples, or other elite jonins when they were not around, at home.

'But the main reason is...'

He looked at Kurenai who was sitting beside him.

She also looked back at him at this time. She already understood something, she looked at him gratefully, with a touch of some kind of sweet feeling rising inside her heart at this moment.

"I want to take this test too!"

Everyone looked shocked and turned around. This voice was coming from the back row and its owner was Hyuga Takumi.

Not many people expected for this usually quiet and mysterious guy to suddenly speak at this moment.

'Maybe If I graduate now, I'll be able to find that way.'

He thought while looking in Yoshi's direction while subconsciously touching his forehead.

Yoshi also looked at him encouragingly.

"Alright, let's start for today's lesson then!"

Eiji said, turned around, and started writing something on the table, his lecture already starting.

After the final bell was rung for today's Academy activity, Eiji shouted, "Yoshi, Kakashi, Anko, Kosuke and Takumi, stay here with me."

"You others can wait outside if you want to hear the results of their test first-hand."

Other students exited their classroom and the Academy swiftly after hearing that.

Outside the Academy, nearly forty students stood in a circle, patiently waiting for the results of their classmates' test.

"Do you think they will all graduate today?" Kurenai asked curiously the boy beside her.

"Of course," Asuma replied confidently.

Obito looked at the closed entrance gate of the Academy feeling quite irritated and in a bad mood.

'Soon, I'll overtake you all!'

"Obito, what's wrong, is everything all right?" Rin asked him worriedly.

Looking at this innocent and gentle face, Obito felt quite relived immediately after.

"Everything is alright, Rin," He replied with a silly smile on his face.

Back inside the Academy's building, Eiji led those five into some kind of large hall room.

The floor was covered in a special kind of chakra absorbing wood and there was some kind of podium in the distance across them.

There stood a middle-aged man with grayish-brown hair who was wearing a majestic looking white robe.

The other people standing there all wore the same Konoha green shinobi classic uniform.

As they were getting closer to there, Eiji coughed a little and said while bowing slightly, his face full of respect towards this illustrious leader," Lord Hokage, I brought them here."

The Hokage nodded gently, his face full of kind smiles.

"Lord Hokage!" The five kids immediately bowed down in unison, for some of them, it was the first time personally seeing this big man.

"I wanted to personally congratulate you all for coming this far. If you pass this test, you'll be the youngest students to ever graduate from the Ninja Academy in history," Hokage nodded a little seeing their bows and said lightly then, his face full of smiles.

"Since you are all on top of your class in theoretical exams for quite some time, there's no need for a test in that aspect right now, you passed," He said full of charm of a leader and then continued.

"But, you must first pass the tests of these five chunin shinobi behind me if you want to graduate early."

"If they say that you're allowed to pass and have sufficient strength, then you pass, and get one of these Konoha's forehead protectors from the table."

He finished his sentence while smiling and looking at the nearby table with five identical Konoha's protectors placed on top of it, neatly.

After saying that, he looked at the five Konoha shinobi behind him and nodded a little, they immediately understood it and dispersed from their original position all across the massive hall.

"Alright, you can pick your opponents yourself."

He smiled and said to the kids while looking at the five shinobi who were scattered all across this hall in a way that allowed for five duels to be held in the vicinity of their positions.

"Yes, sir!" The kids shouted and while looking at one another, decided on their opponents silently.

They dispersed, each one appearing in front of one of the chunins.

Eiji looked at the upcoming battle curiously, confident in the strengths of these five of his students.

"Start!" Hokage shouted and started looking towards them curiously as well.

Shurikens started being thrown immediately.

Then a battle in taijutsu started, various battle tactics they learned about at the Academy were being used perfectly.

Yoshi parried the upcoming attack of this chunin before him seriously.

He couldn't manage to take his sights off him, and look at how others were doing, same as them, they all couldn't take sights off their opponents.

These were their first battles against opponents of this caliber in their whole lives.

This chunin in front of Yoshi looked very ordinary.

'Alright, let's use the Body Flicker now.'

He suddenly teleported behind the chunin, wanting to finish this battle resolutely in one strike.

But, surprisingly, the chunin suddenly disappeared from his own position too, now appearing behind Yoshi all of a sudden.

Yoshi sensed it and quickly parried it.

The chunin looked a little surprised now.

They continued appearing and reappearing, constantly changing their positions while clashing with their kunai fiercely.

'Yoshi is already being this proficient in Body Flicker? It seems like he will just tire his opponent out and win this battle today thanks to his amazing chakra reserves.'

'Truly a remarkable kid, defeating a full-fledged Konoha's chunin at only eight years old. It's the first time I saw something like this in my entire life.'

He thought about all of that and then decided to look at the other duels happening inside this hall right now.

He was looking at Kakashi's battle next. The same proficiency in the Body Flicker was being shown there as well, both between the chunin and the Kakashi.

'This kid is equally amazing as Yoshi. Had we let him use his real sword in this battle, he would've won without a doubt, too. But, now it seems it will only be a tie.'

He looked at Kosuke's and Takumi's battle next. They were both showing an exceptional strength while using their clan's signature moves, the Fire Release, and the Soft Fist respectively.

'They are both exceptional talents too, without a doubt. They would've taken all the limelight these years had it not been for those two other, even bigger, monsters. Their matches will probably be a tie this time around too.'

'This little girl is pretty amazing in her own right. She learned to apply chakra on the soles of her feet for movement speed. As well as applying chakra onto her fists for attack power in a unique way too. But she will be the only one of this group to lose this battle,'

Sarutobi thought confidently looking at Anko's battle next.

And just like he predicted, she lost after a few more seconds.

Sarutobi smiled and came towards her while nodding at her previous opponent a little.

"Sir!" Anko shouted respectfully, a little tired from her previous battle.

"You did really good this time around, Anko. Even though you didn't win, the chunin gave you his green light to pass this exam, "Sarutobi explained to her kindly.

Anko looked at the chunin in question, and he nodded. She finally felt relieved and really satisfied right now.

"Here is your Konoha protector, Anko," Sarutobi handed it lightly to her.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!" Anko shouted respectively while having a really good first impression of this kind older village leader, who even remembered her little name.

But she suddenly remembered something and started looking in the direction of the other battles.

Especially in the direction of Yoshi's battle worriedly.

This, however, didn't escape Sarutobi's crafty eyes, so he asked her softly, "Is he your friend?"

"Y-Yes, Lord Hokage," Anko replied a little embarrassingly while stammering.

This didn't escape his probing eyes, either.

"Don't worry, I feel like he will win this battle today and become an excellent Konoha shinobi in the future," Sarutobi answered full of praise towards that red-haired boy.

"Y-yes, Lord Hokage, I'm sure he will!" Anko replied quickly, feeling very proud that the boy she liked was being praised by this big man in front of her.

"In fact, he, no, nevermind..."

Sarutobi said obscurely like something was weighing on his mind regarding Yoshi and just sighed.

Anko also looked a little worried and curious as to what the Lord Hokage wanted to say about Yoshi, so she solemnly asked.

"Lord Hokage, please say it. If I can somehow help, I surely will." Anko said resolutely.

Hokage just sighed, but inwardly he smiled, as he started speaking, "Well, it is like this..."

After a few more minutes, on the other side of the hall, the battles were already being slowly finished.

The chunins decided to accept those battles as ties and allow them to pass this exam.

Soon, Kakashi, Kosuke, and Takumi came towards their direction too. It looked like they already finished their conversation.

"First, I need to personally congratulate you all. Konoha will surely be a very safe place for many more years to come because you three are here to guard it."

"Here are your forehead protectors, remember to treasure them well."

Sarutobi said while looking at those three forehead protectors full of emotions like he was reminiscing of his old days.

However, neither one of these three newly proclaimed genins were really fascinated by the performance of this 'kind' middle-aged man.

Kakashi, because he heard many bad things and learned many truths about him from Yoshi already before.

Kosuke, because his cousin Fugaku also told him many things about this seemingly kind village leader.

Takumi, because he knew that this man, the village leader, indirectly approved of the slavery that was happening in his own Hyuga clan at the moment.

But, on the surface, they still shouted cordially, "Thanks, Lord Hokage!"

And all of them continued watching Yoshi's battle together after that.

After thirty more minutes of hard battle, Yoshi's opponent collapsed on the floor due to chakra exhaustion and shouted weakly, "I surrender!"

Yoshi nodded, gave him a hand to stand up, and went towards the Hokage and rest of them.

Hokage nodded towards his action as if praising it.

Before he even came closer to them, Hokage went towards him with arms wide open first.

"Yoshi, my boy, congratulations on your awesome victory. It was really a spectacular sight to see. I'm confident that you're the biggest genius our village has ever seen."

Hokage started shouting praise after praise, it was as if the Yoshi was Hokage, and not him.

Surprisingly, Yoshi didn't find this behavior disgusting at all. Actually, he found it quite comical.

After handing him the village protector and speaking many more words of praise and the Will of Fire brainwashes, Hokage finally stopped.

So, Yoshi thanked him promptly, "Thank you for your kind and encouraging words, Lord Hokage.

I, Yoshi Uzumaki, promise on this day, that I won't disappoint your trust, nor this village's expectations for me, as long as I'm alive!"

Yoshi's acting wasn't that bad either. He looked quite moved to tears and grateful on the surface, making his chakra aura match his expression well too, making it all even more realistic overall.

Hokage was ecstatic inside while thinking.

'It truly was a great decision to bring you to this village, boy.'

'With you on my side, come Sakumo and Kakashi too, and with them on my side, together with you, I don't have to worry about anything, anymore. All the power in this village will still firmly remain in my hands for many more years to come.'

While he was thinking that, on the surface, he looked quite moved as well.

He went and patted Yoshi on the shoulder and said softly.

"Come to my office later if you have time, I have something important to give to you," Hokage smiled mysteriously and said.

In fact, he knew that if you want to bring someone on your side, sentimental ways aren't enough.

You must deliver some kind of real benefit to them if you want them to continue following you.

This was the insight he learned through many years of being in this position as a village leader.

After all, his main job was buying people's hearts.