Chapter 73
MINATO NAMIKAZE
This was not human. Minato had fought against a thousand people. He had fought against Kages, against Bijuus—but this? This was something else entirely!
He had read extensively about Mito-sama's records to familiarize himself with Madara Uchiha's powers. He had scoured the records about other famous Uchiha clan fighters so that he could plan against this mighty foe.
But this was not the Madara that had fought and lost against the Shodaime.
No. This Madara went beyond that. This was a shinobi who had spent nearly half a century honing his craft, preparing for this eventual battle, and it showed.
Each jutsu, each tactic, each move was met with a counter that sent them reeling, and despite facing such uneven odds, the man strived as they all found themselves exhausted.
The world around them was destroyed. The ground was crisscrossed with craters, scorched and molten rocks, and littered with remnants of their battle.
"I haven't felt so alive in years," the Uchiha clan legend taunted, as he stood there. His armor had been broken, and his body had many cuts and injuries, yet none were life-threatening.
"But it seems like this is it," and Minato gritted his teeth as he eyed the two dead legends who had come back to help them, and saw their bodies begin to disintegrate.
"Orochimaru," the Third called out, and the golden-eyed sanin wore as many injuries as they all did as he wiped away the blood coming out of his mouth.
"The Second's technique is still incomplete. It seems like we have run out of time," and the only reason they were not dead yet was because of the Shodaime and Nidaime, and if they were to disintegrate, the battle would be over.
"We must do something, Elder Brother," the Nidaime challenged, and the First Hokage eyed him.
"I believe you must have a plan," and he did have one, but one that would demand great sacrifice.
He eyed his comrades, and saw their injuries and their exhaustion, and knew that this was it. They had no other choice.
"Everyone," he called out as he took out a kunai and stepped forward, joining the Shodaime and the Nidaime in the front as the Uchiha clan menace eyed them haughtily.
"This will be our final stand," he announced, and his words were the final declaration. One thing that had become clear over the last two days of fighting was that they could not allow Madara Uchiha to win.
That they had to defeat him no matter the cost, because if the man was to survive, then no one would be able to stop him.
This was their best and only opportunity to bring him down.
"A plan? Do you still think you can defeat me?" and no. He was not so delusional.
"We don't have to defeat you to win. We just have to end your life," and he turned towards the two disintegrating legends.
"I just need you two to restrain him for two seconds," he pleaded, for that was all he needed.
"Two seconds, that is all we need," and the Shodaime and the Nidaime nodded, and it seemed like the White-Haired Hokage understood his intentions.
"You are going to use that?" the Nidaime asked, and Minato nodded.
"I have no other choice," but he was the Hokage, and it was his duty to protect his village and his people. But more than that, he was a father, and he knew that he could not let a man like Madara live today, that he had to end him not just for himself but for his son, and the thousands of kids like him.
"Lord Third, Jiraiya-sensei, Fugaku-sama," he called out the four names, and turned towards them as the Shodaime and Nidaime began their final bout against the Uchiha clan legend.
"I am afraid I have no choice but to ask you to give up your life," and the three of them did not shift at his command, and all they offered was a nod, their trust in him evident by their actions.
"What are you saying, Minato?" Lady Tsunade asked from behind, as she healed his sensei.
"Ahh! So you want to use that?" and Jiraiya-sensei was the first to make the connection.
"Use what?" Lady Tsunade asked again.
"A seal," the withered voice of Lord Third added on, as the aged legend pushed himself back to his feet.
"One that summons the God of Death himself," and indeed, it was the only jutsu he could think of to end this battle.
"The Reaper Death Seal?" and even Lord Orochimaru seemed familiar with it.
"Yes, but given the nature of Madara's threat, I don't think one would be enough," and already the man had defied death once, what was to say that he would not be able to do it again?
"I intend to split his soul into four parts, so that he may never be able to threaten our village ever again," and it was an inspired idea, one that would require four sacrifices.
"Let's do it," and his sensei was the first to agree, even as the blonde iryo-nin tried to convince them otherwise.
"Wait! Jiraiya!" but the man pushed away her hand.
"Save your chakra, Tsunade. There is no need to heal a dead man," but she was not convinced.
"Minato! There has to be another way!" she pleaded, and if there was one, he could not think of it.
"I am afraid there really is not," Fugaku-san joined in as he stood and came to stand beside him. Madara's flames had burned half his face, and yet the man had still fought on for days.
"Tsunade-sama, Orochimaru-sama," he called out as the four of them all stood in a single file, ready to intervene as he gave them his final order as Hokage.
"Even though I have made my intentions clear previously to a few people, I still want you to carry my final message to the village," and Lady Tsunade's eyes widened as he glanced towards her.
"Tell Kushina that I'm sorry. Tell my son… that I wish I could've watched him grow up."
His voice cracked, just slightly. The image of Naruto's first steps, his first words—moments he would never see again—burned behind his eyes, as his fists balled up.
However, his duties extended beyond those of a husband and father. He was the Hokage.
"As for the village," he continued, gulping down as he pushed down his emotions.
"I leave it into the hands of Izuna Uchiha, the Godaime Hokage," and though everyone was already aware of his intentions, but this declaration was final.
"A fine choice," added Jiraiya-sensei, before he turned towards Lady Tsunade and continued, "Do tell the kid to lighten up a bit. Also, tell him to read my books if ever he needs some manly advice."
And Lady Tsunade was too stunned to speak up, as the Third spoke up next.
"Tell the boy to take heed from the mistakes of his predecessors. To not hold onto old grudges of the past and look ahead into the future," and the aged man got into his stance once more as he prepared himself for his final stand.
And now, only Fugaku-san stood there, and he did not turn away his eyes from the battle, as he added in a whisper.
"He may be the Hokage, but he is also my eldest child. Tell him to look after Mikoto, and his siblings. That no matter what, I shall always be proud of him," and with that, the man's chakra rose forth, as blood dripped down his eye.
"FUJIN!" and Madara Uchiha's fire attack was interrupted, as the man dissipated the oxygen in the air using his Mangekyo's sharingan, and just then, the Shodaime appeared behind him and held onto his body, as he activated his own technique. At the same time, the Nidaime assaulted him from the front.
"DEITY'S GATES!"
"NOW!" Lord Second roared.
In a flash, Minato appeared, teleporting Madara into the trap.
Four figures surrounded him.
Hands blurred through seals.
"ALMIGHTY…"
"NINPO: REAPER DEATH SEAL!"
The god of death emerged, spectral and terrible, arms plunging into their chests—and into Madara's.
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SHIKAKU NARA
There were few people within the village who could match his intellect. The only one who came close was their current Hokage, Minato, and so as the village found itself facing an existential threat, Shikaku chose to put his trust in the man who had spent years planning for this very scenario.
"Where are they, Shikaku-san?" and the question came from a young boy barely entering his adulthood, but the answer would come with consequences.
Shikaku still remembered the mission from years ago, where a nine-year-old Izuna had split open the entire Kumo offence, bringing Konoha a much-needed victory in a war they were beginning to lose.
That one mission had been the turning point of the entire war, and though many recounted Minato's heroics against Iwa, few remembered that Izuna Uchiha, a nine-year-old child, had destroyed the entire offensive force of Kumo single-handedly.
And all that was more than six years ago, which made him wonder just what kind of monster the boy had become in the meantime.
"I cannot answer that," he gave him the same answer he had given to Kushina, despite every fiber in his being wanting nothing more than to speak out the location Minato had mentioned.
"Why?" he asked, and unlike Kushina, his words were measured.
"Because Minato believed that we cannot push all our forces against him at once. That Konoha must retain a substantial enough force to deal with its enemies," and he had said much more, which need not be said.
"But what of Madara?" and Shikaku still hoped that all this was just a bad dream, that he had not just watched one of their founders come alive and try to destroy their village. That he had not witnessed power on such a scale that he could not even begin to form a plan against it.
"The Hokage's final words to me were to make sure that the village is protected from other enemies and to leave Madara to him," and it was Kushina who reacted to his words.
"He said that," she gasped, and Shikaku nodded.
"Yes," as the Uchiha clan boy turned towards the Uzumaki clan leader.
"Why? What does it mean?" he asked, and the red-haired woman was silent before she spoke up.
"There is a fuinjutsu from Uzushio," and though he did not know the details, he had reached the same conclusion.
"A Grandseal one that holds in it enough power to seal even a god," and he wondered if Madara was even human now, given that his last attack had involved Mokuton, the legendary power of the Shodaime himself.
"But the seal. It comes at a great cost," and her face was pale as she turned towards him once more.
"Please, Shikaku. You must stop this, they will die!" and he had expected as much, but who was he to deny the Hokage's orders?
"I can't. I have my orders, Kushina. I must abide by them," and then suddenly he felt the air shift, as all three of them looked towards the roof of the building.
"Someone's here," and Izuna was the first to vanish, as Shikaku jumped out the window as well, following after Kushina as he jumped onto the roof, and his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.
The Second Hokage stood there in the middle, his body crumbling away into air as four bodies lay around him, lifeless and unmoving.
The white-haired man was joined by Lord Orochimaru and Lady Tsunade, who were barely alive, and he did not need to use his chakra sensing to realize that the four people lying on the ground were dead.
"No!" Kushina's whisper was visceral as the red-haired woman fell to her knees, as Shikaku gritted his teeth and saw the white-haired shinobi turn towards Izuna.
"You must be the Uchiha brat, Izuna," he called out, and Izuna-kun nodded.
"Yes, I am Izuna Uchiha," and by now, the ANBU had surrounded the roof.
"Madara is dead. Your Hokage has made sure that the bastard shall never bother you again," and that was some relief, but this had come at a great cost.
"But this result has come at a cost. And now, the burden of my elder brother's dreams falls onto your shoulders," and the man turned towards the destroyed Hokage mountain as his arms fell away.
"What Irony that I must entrust this village into the hands of an Uchiha just after saving it from one," and there was self-mockery in that tone as he whispered.
"Perhaps it was my own blindness that let this hatred fester. Let this be my final repentance," and then he looked the young Uchiha in the eye.
"You are young, but still the greatest shinobi of this era have put their trust in you, and so I shall do the same," he announced in front of all the gathered shinobi.
"Protect this village, Izuna Uchiha..." and with that, the white-haired man, whose bias against the Uchihas was no secret, bent down on one knee, and the rest followed suit, the ANBU, the Hokage guard, even Kushina and himself.
"...the Godaime Hokage!"
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