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Chap-36 The Kinslayer
🕑 Added 2022-03-01 08:22:49 +0000 UTCNaruto stood still unable to accept what was just asked of him. In front of his eyes, he saw flashes pass by one after another. He could hear every scream tear through his heart, all that blood staining his skin even now. His hands slightly trembled as the memory of what he did that night came back to haunt him.
He had sworn never to say the truth to anyone, sworn that he would take that secret to his grave bearing the curse.
And yet in the eyes of all three Senjus, he saw only one thing...
They wanted the truth.
It was his darkest secret, one even more important than the existence of his unborn children with Shizuka. If he revealed it to anyone, it could very likely tear his clan apart.
But if he didn't then it was almost certain that his people would die fighting against both the Daimyo and Senjus.
Kinslayer
He could still hear that voice calling him that and he cursed himself for getting into this situation for there was no going back now. He had laid out all the cards and his opponent had called him on it. Now it was time to pay...
He could refuse but it would undermine his credibility and destroy any chance of the Senjus laying faith in him.
He inwardly laughed on even thinking that such a moment would come where he would be desperate to get the Senjus to trust him when all his life he had wanted nothing more than to make them pay for killing his brothers.
Life was certainly a roller coaster ride, at least in his case.
"I need a drink" he whispered hesitantly,
It was barely morning and he wanted to dull his senses, but he could figure out no other way where he could tell the Senjus what they wanted to hear. There was no way in hell a sober version of him was going to tell them even a quarter of the truth.
Thankfully, Hashirama didn't question or even rebuke his demand and simply ordered one of his people to get the finest wine or sake available at the earliest. Naruto was more than relieved for the fact that he had skipped breakfast today, it would only allow him to get drunk faster.
It was a risk because it would dull his senses, and if the Senjus decided to kill him then they could bloody well do it.
But they wouldn't...
Because if he died here, then it wouldn't matter who killed him or why. Madara would burn this entire city with everyone in it and murder Tobirama in the cruelest ways known to man...
His brother's anger sometimes even terrified him, and after what he was about to do it would not just be Madara but his father and aunt who would all be pissed at him. Greatly.
Still, there was no going back now so he took a seat on the couch as the Senju family took up seats on the one on his opposite. The guard luckily brought two fine bottles of both wine and sake, he knew drinking both of them together was a bad idea but frankly, he didn't care right now.
While he had his drinks and felt his senses dull more and more, his audience maintained a respectful silence and made every effort not to stare at him too openly. Although he did see Tsunade getting a little disappointed on seeing him finish his two bottles and the effects kicking in so soon.
He stored that information for later, maybe someday he could engage the Senju princess in a drinking contest. If they became allies, then that had a great possibility of happening.
Even with his dulled senses, he aimlessly stared across the room seeing faces he never thought he would see again. The bright red walls only seemed to remind him of all the crimson blood that had been shed that night.
Finally, he mustered all the courage he had and hesitantly looked at the three Senjus who if his drunken mind was seeing right were quite eager to listen.
"It all started after our victory at the Great Tama river..."
(Flashback: Ten Years Ago)
Naruto sat in the middle of the Naka Temple surrounded by his clansmen on all sides. All of his family was here except for Madara who was currently away on another mission. The Uchihas looked to be in a good mood for they had just scored their single largest victory against the Senju in years.
And they had the Sharingan back.
He saw his father stand up making their remaining clansmen seize their chatter. Every set of eyes were now fixed on Tajima Uchiha...
"We have achieved a great victory" announced Tajima proudly, earning a loud roar of cheers.
When it finally died down, Tajima looked at his people with even more confidence and they could feel his enthusiasm as they looked back at him with hope.
"I have called you all here because it is our custom to thank the gods for giving us the strength to achieve what we did. It is true that we paid a heavy price for that..."
Nobody blamed Tajima when he took a pause for while many had lost friends and family, Tajima had lost the most with the death of his three sons. But at the same time, he had gained immense prestige and had his position secure as clan head for the rest of his life now that his last two sons had the Sharingan. In fact, Tajima's family reign was guaranteed for generations...
"But we won. So today, I seek blessings from the gods and ask you to join me" declared Tajima,
There was not a single protest from everyone as all the Uchihas rose as one before joining their leader and his family in kneeling before the statues of Amaterasu, Shinigami, Tsukiyomi, Hachiman, Izanami, Izanagi and The Dragon.
Naruto found himself intensely staring at the ancient deities, people said they were not worshiped anymore because they were old and never existed in the first place. But one look at his people showed him they didn't believe it for one second.
No matter who they were, there was not one Uchiha who didn't look a devoted person.
He remembered tales of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun.
The scary tales of Shinigami, The Death Reaper. Not one Uchiha could claim not to fear this god...
The songs of Tsukiyomi and his loyalty. The brother of Amaterasu and the God of the Moon, not to mention the Uchiha's prime god.
The courage of Hachiman, the God of War.
The twins Izanagi and Izanami, God of the Sky and Goddess of the Earth.
The Dragon, his clan's proclaimed ancestor. He didn't know if they truly existed or not, but by now most of the world believed the Uchihas to be retainers of dragon blood.
Standing before these seven gods made him feel at peace and gave him strength as he tried to suppress the feeling of missing his brothers. They would never join him in this pious task, never get to share this peace with him...
He was brought out of his musings when the prayer was finally completed and the people started getting back on their feet. Soon chatter broke out amongst the clan members and even Tajima was surrounded by people eager to talk to him.
Even Aunt Naori was swarmed by a group of women and looked to be busy...
He bit his lip and waited for any of them to look at him and was not proven wrong when Tajima beckoned him to step forward. Naruto obediently walked towards his father and saw an old man with a stern face and ice cold eyes waiting for him. His once dark hair had turned all white and his wrinkled skin made him look more like a glorified mummy.
"Meet your great-uncle, Yamamoto Uchiha"
Naruto's friendly expression vanished as that name struck home. If he remembered it correctly, then this man was one of the distant cousins of his late grandfather. When he died, this man tried to take the Uchiha leadership from Tajima but couldn't gather enough support. In retaliation, Tajima had sent his uncle away on various missions that had kept him away from home for decades.
But the resurgence of the Sharingan was a big enough event for an exile to come back.
And he certainly didn't like the way this man was looking at him. He knew that look, had often seen it enough in Inabi and Yashiro's eyes whenever Izuna had doted on him.
Jealousy.
Still, protocol demanded him to show this elder respect despite his past actions. So he swallowed his pride and suspicion before giving a respectful bow to the older man.
"You taught him well, Tajima, " said Yamamoto crisply,
Those words were meant as a praise yet the condescending tone left little doubt regarding the man's true feelings regarding Naruto and his family.
Fortunately, Tajima was used to something like this and simply looked at his relative calmly.
"This was a courtesy, Uncle. Since you hold an honorary seat on the elder's council it was my responsibility to inform you of our latest victory. I have done my job and I hope your stay here will be comfortable" replied Tajima,
Even Naruto could see the older man grinding his teeth in order to contain his fury because Tajima again reminded him that he was not welcome to stay any more than necessary. What made it worse was the fact that there was nothing Yamamoto could do to change that...
Realizing he couldn't hurt the Uchiha leader, the old man then turned his gaze towards Naruto and this time he didn't try to hide his true feelings.
"Show me those eyes of yours" commanded Yamamoto, and even he couldn't hide his eagerness.
"No"
Tajima smirked on seeing the gobsmacked look on his uncle's face on hearing that answer. He had clearly not expected that and he couldn't be more proud of his youngest son than he was right now. Looking at the boy, Tajima saw an icy gaze staring at Yamamoto refusing to bow to the man's blatant demands.
"Are you disrespecting an elder and a member of your family, boy?" reprimanded Yamamoto harshly, if looks could kill then Naruto should have been on fire.
Tajima narrowed his eyes dangerously. It was true that things were not exactly peachy between him and Naruto, but to watch his boy be talked to like that invoked a renowned fury in him.
Certainly not from this man...
Before Tajima could come to his son's rescue, the boy took up the job himself.
"My father taught me it is treason to command your liege lord's family. You expect respect but give none in return, I hope you understand that you have no right to ask anything of me. Even if you had, I wouldn't give you a penny"
Tajima was more than impressed by what his son just said. If they were not surrounded by their clan, he might have even praised the boy for not acting like a child but far more maturely. Yamamoto looked thunderous and Tajima didn't miss nearly a dozen Uchiha inching close to the three of them...
He narrowed his eyes at those people remembering each of them perfectly. They were all his uncle's supporters who had tried to overthrow him, many had recommended them to be put to death for their treason but Tajima had not done that knowing how much it would have hurt his dead father's soul. Besides, their clan had taken a mighty blow from the Senju and he could not afford to lose trained fighters at any cost. So instead, he gave them missions that kept most of them away from home for a very long time.
But now that vacation was about to end.
Naruto tensed as he too noticed the unknown people closing towards them. He was still deciding his next move when Tajima stepped before him protectively and glared murderously at his uncle and his supporters.
"We are done here. Pack up your shit and leave before first light tomorrow" commanded Tajima icily,
"And if I don't?" challenged the old man,
Naruto could practically see the supporters of each faction eyeing each other warily. One wrong move and things could go haywire...
"Kento Senju..."
Nearly every Uchiha in the vicinity flinched on hearing that hated man's name. But their reaction was not one of disgust but of utter terror.
It was a well-known fact that Kento had been the instigator who slaughtered Tajima's siblings when his father tried to offer peace.
What Tajima did in return was enough to even terrify his own men.
It took years but Tajima was relentless. He finally managed to capture Kento and his entire family except for his son Butsuma. What happened next was enough to even make Yamamoto flinch as he remembered that incident.
Tajima didn't kill his prisoners or torture them even.
He broke them.
Months of imprisonment in the dark cells with only the barest amount of food and water had left most of the Senju family insane or terrified. Their mental capacity was so eroded that they saw shadows everywhere waiting to kill them...
Tajima gave Kento and his sons who were still sane one offer.
Either have Kento's wife and daughters be raped by hundreds of Uchiha. Or do the deed themselves...
The prisoners had begged and screamed, but Tajima was merciless. He knew they would do what he wanted them to do and watched in grim satisfaction as the Senju head and his sons were forced to do one of the most disgusting acts on earth. And he made them do it again and again just as they had raped his little sister.
The family was broken beyond repair and then Tajima simply allowed those women to be raped again and again by Uchiha until they died. Kento's sons tried to fight and Tajima slaughtered them brutally before their father's eyes further traumatizing the man.
By then, nothing was left of the Senju head. His spirit was broken...
And then Tajima let him leave.
Kento turned up at his hometown a few weeks later a completely broken man and before his entire clan, he set himself on fire. His screams as he was burned alive were enough to traumatize Butsuma for a lifetime as he vainly tried to save his father, but in the end failed.
The Senjus got the message clearly.
Fire and Blood.
From that day forth, Tajima Uchiha was considered a brutal man.
Naruto saw for the first time the respect and fear in the eyes of even those who hated his father. Tajima dared them to defy him but no one did. Not even Yamamoto...
"Get the hell out of my sight" commanded Tajima coldly
Just after dinner, Naruto had sneaked out of his home in order to visit the lazy fox. The beast always pretended to be annoyed or even furious by Naruto's increasing visits but the beast's eyes that always sparkled with curiosity betrayed his true feelings.
As for Naruto, he found Kurama interesting and fun to be around. Since Madara was always away on missions, it allowed him to spend time with someone with whom he was more comfortable than either his father or aunt or any other Uchiha. It was a sad truth and he could only hope his relationship with them improved in the future.
He was about to take his secret route to sneak into the forests when he felt it.
A faint presence in the southwest direction and there was only one place of importance there. Curious, he activated his Sharingan only to have his faint smile falter and be replaced by a heavy frown.
Goddamn if it wasn't those orphans trying to break the rules again, he never really cared as to what they did since most of the time it was completely harmless but today his father was clearly pissed off and might just deal with them harshly if they were caught.
So, he changed course and instead followed the source of chakra signatures.
Within minutes, he arrived at his destination and frowned on sensing those presences moving further underground.
Those fools!
Didn't they know they were not allowed to be in this place after sunset?
With a resigned sigh, he entered through the doors and looked around in the darkness. It was dark, but thanks to his Sharingan he easily saw the trail of chakra and followed after it descending towards the basement.
He heard voices...
So many voices...
"We move tonight!"
His breath stopped as he realized the owner of that voice. The same man who had nearly threatened his father to a fight in the morning.
Yamamoto Uchiha.
Still, he calmed his nerves and decided to listen on the conversation. If they were going to harm his family, then he needed to know everything before going to Tajima.
"There's no going back after this, Yamamoto-sama. Are you sure this is really necessary?" asked a hesitant young voice,
"It is the only way, Keiji. You can verify it yourself..." assured Yamamoto calmly,
"I have waited years for this. Finally, we can put Tajima in the ground for what he did to us" whispered another,
"Once we rebel there is no going back. Either we'll live or Tajima and his family, steel your hearts because we will wipe all of them out and take this clan back to its rightful place" declared Yamamoto,
"Can we really take Tajima head on along with his supporters?" asked a skeptical voice,
"Yes. We can" reassured Yamamoto with so much confidence and the slightest hint of certainty.
Naruto had gone deathly pale by the time he finished hearing the conversation. His hands were trembling, these people were going to attack his family!
Tajima needed to know about this revolt immediately. Even if Yamamoto had fewer supporters, it still didn't diminish the danger to Tajima's life and that of his family.
He was just about to leave when he heard a terrified scream followed by dozens more.
Women and children.
Had they already started taking hostages from Tajima's supporters? If that was the case, then the situation was even more alarming than he had previously imagined. He could feel there were at least 50-60 people in the basement, how many of them were enemies that he couldn't know...
Tajima needed to know right now!
"Orders?" asked a cold voice, devoid of any emotion.
Naruto stopped mid-flight clearly trapped between running and staying. His heart threatened to burst out of his chest, he had already started sweating and his hands just couldn't stop trembling. His people, his clan were all in danger...
"Kill them all"
His sword was unleashed as those words passed his ears. There was no time to react, no time to get help, he had to save these people from those madmen. He ran down the stairs at an alarming speed with his sword ready and eyes wide in terror. He didn't think what would happen, he couldn't imagine doing anything else...
Channeling chakra through his sword he brutally carved the wooden door of the basement in half and crashed inside.
Rolling in quick succession, he got back on his feet with his Sharingan blazing.
He saw nearly 20-25 fully armed Uchihas standing around helpless and terrified women as well as little children tied to wooden posts. Their eyes full of horror, fear and unending tears, while the armed men looked shocked at the intrusion.
"What the hell are you doing?" yelled Naruto furiously, glaring straight at his great-uncle.
The man sneered at him, his eyes full of so much loathing.
"If it isn't The Young Dragon..." mocked Yamamoto, even going so far as howling a poor scream of a dragon.
The old man's supporters now turned towards him with the same look of utter loathing in their eyes as they raised their weapons.
"I command you to release these people at once. Disobey and you shall be executed for treason!" warned Naruto, his Sharingan glaring murderously at these people.
And they laughed at him.
He gritted his teeth as he saw the women and children whimper on seeing their captors were not going to obey that command even if it had come from their liege lord's son. They were really going to rebel...
"That was something. Maybe you do have some dragon blood in you..." mocked Yamamoto,
"These people are our family. You have no right to do any harm to them" warned Naruto again, earning a snort from the rebel Uchihas.
"We don't want to but for the greater good of our clan,we have to..." said Yamamoto reluctantly, and was not surprised when the angry young boy frowned at his words.
"What?"
"So naive. You think you and your brother got the Sharingan because you're special?" asked one rebel Uchiha in disgust,
"It's just a simple process. One which your father kept hidden from everyone for years..." roared another rebel,
"What the hell are you talking about?" hissed Naruto bitterly,
Yamamoto sighed in frustration but stepped aside a little to reveal their family's ancient tablet. There were many secrets engraved in that stone and only a handful Uchiha in history could read it. And even they couldn't read it much without the Sharingan...
"Our clan suffered for centuries without the Sharingan. But your father and his ancestors before him kept this secret from us. You activated those eyes because of the pain you felt when your brothers died, it must not have been a good experience but it gave you the power to serve your clan better. We are doing the same" proclaimed Yamamoto,
"By murdering innocent women and children? These are OUR PEOPLE! We are SWORN to defend them!" yelled Naruto in disbelief and mad fury,
"If two Sharingan's could give us such a big victory over the Senjus. Imagine what hundreds more would do?" asked Yamamoto eagerly, all sense of rationality gone from the man's eyes.
Naruto stood still aghast seeing what was happening before his very eyes. This was a dream...it had to be...
Madness runs in your clan.
His breath stopped when he remembered Kurama's warning about his clan and what they were capable of. He had refuted the fox back then telling him that the Uchiha were only cruel to their enemies.
But now after hearing these rebels and seeing those innocents about to be butchered, his belief shattered.
"We will take back what is rightfully ours in Fire and Blood. These women and children are our nieces and nephews, we love them but their sacrifice will be remembered in the future. Today, we all shall rise as Dragons!" declared Yamamoto enthusiastically, making every one of his supporters cheer for victory.
"We will strike down Tajima!"
"We will butcher the Senjus!"
"And we will RULE the world!"
The mad cheering was stopped when a murderous aura spread across the entire basement. The killing intent that was unleashed made the captive children cry as the woman tried to console them despite being tied to different posts. The rebels flinched when they saw a pair of Sharingan eyes glaring at them murderously...
Yamamoto clenched his jaw on seeing the defiant boy and unleashed his sword making his followers do the same.
"Half of you, start the ritual. The rest shall help me in putting this runt down" declared Yamamoto,
''Hai!" chorused the rebels in silent glee, the eagerness to activate their Sharingan clearly visible on their maniacal faces.
"Now you die, boy" warned Yamamoto, pointing his sword right at Naruto.
Naruto's hands inched towards his pouch on the back, after his and Kurama's encounter with the Kaguya and Hagoromo clans he had made it a habit of being fully armed when he visited the fox. That habit might just save his life today...
He glanced at everyone of his enemies and realized one bitter fact. There were too many of them...
Still, he had no choice but to fight even if it meant his death. He could never look Izuna in the eye if he ran here leaving these women and children to die...
He raised his own sword and looked his great-uncle right in the eye...
"Then let us die!"
Before anyone could react, Naruto unleashed two large smoke bombs from his pouch and shrouded the entire basement in a cloud of purple smoke. He heard the rebels and the prisoners coughing violently, many shouted to each other asking for Naruto's whereabouts because they could not see the boy.
But Naruto could see them with his Sharingan.
He glanced at his sword knowing despite all the reasons, he would be killing his own people to save his own people.
There was no victory here...
Only duty!
The five sharp kunai flew from his left hand hitting their targets with perfect accuracy. A part of him died as he saw the wounded men clutch their pierced throats as they spat blood. Their horror was clear for Naruto to see as they all slumped to their knees before falling lifelessly to the wooden floor.
Tears stung his eyes and oddly he felt the world move even more slowly as he charged.
He gave a wordless battle cry before plunging his sword clean through the nearest man's heart. Before the man could even fall to his death, Naruto had moved to his next target and then the next one.
He oddly heard the women and children scream painfully in the chaos before falling silent one after another. Naruto rushed in their direction but was blocked by four strong men who saw him clearly now that the smoke had started to disappear.
Already he had killed 10 of the rebels much to Yamamoto's horror. The old man watched four of his best fighters charge towards his great-nephew and gulped when he saw the boy's Sharingan evolve into three tomoes.
A full Sharingan.
Naruto saw each and every movement of his enemies before they could even act halfway with his sword making quick work of them. They were all stronger, older and more experienced than him. But he was faster and smaller, and he could see what they wanted to do before they even did it.
He watched Yamamoto take a few steps back in fear as the last of his supporters tried to stop the red-eyed boy.
"BURN HIM!"
"BURN EVERYTHING!"
"BURN THEM ALL!"
Yamamoto had lost every last ounce of his sanity, his crazy eyes watching the boy carve the rebels left and right. On hearing his frantic command, the last four of his supporters quickly performed a set of hand seals.
Naruto barely had enough time to gasp as four giant fireballs were unleashed at him. In such close proximity, he had no space to evade and no water to call for his defense.
He gave a silent scream as the fireballs hit him.
Distantly he also heard the women and children behind him scream as they were hit by one of the fireballs that went astray.
The entire basement was caught on fire!
Despair coursed through Naruto's heart as he watched the flames engulf him and the women and children. They screamed, he didn't.
He waited for that inevitable pain to consume him just as it was consuming those innocents, but strangely he felt the pain equivalent of a small knife tearing up his skin.
He was on fire and yet he was not burning...
His pale skin was turning beet red, and in some places even black from the fire but even so he was not getting charred. A fact which shocked his remaining enemies...
Pure rage coursed through Naruto's heart as he looked at these monsters!
The rage he had only felt when Izuna died in his arms!
The four rebels tried to flee away from the burning boy only to realize they were trapped in the fire of their making. They raised their swords in a last effort as Naruto charged towards them with murder in his eyes.
Yamamoto winced when he saw his great-nephew butcher his last men. The boy took away their limbs, their bare hearts, their genitals, before taking away their heads.
Covered in blood, gore, and guts and being consumed by fire made Naruto appear as the Shinigami himself born alive.
He saw Yamamoto frantically grab one of his dying supporters...
"Kill him!" yelled the old man, only to see the wounded man die.
When he finally turned away from his now deceased last supporter, he saw Naruto standing in front of him.
All around them was fire, blood, and death.
They were the last ones standing.
"What are you?" asked Yamamoto in horror, as his eyes saw the fire still clinging to the boy covered in blood, gore, and guts.
"A true Uchiha"
With those last words, he charged forward and took a high jump. Yamamoto weakly raised his own sword to defend but Naruto poured in every ounce of his strength into that strike and watched as his sword destroyed his great-uncle's weapon before cleaving the man in half from head to toe.
Showers of blood and flesh rained down on him as the man fell and was soon consumed in the flames he started.
The entire Uchiha temple was on fire now and its foundations were falling apart. Despite the collapsing structure he was in, Naruto moved forward with mad fury burning in his Sharingan eyes.
He could not think, he could not feel anything but hatred.
Those men were monsters but the thing which started this madness was right in front of his eyes.
He raised his sword and brought it down brutally against the Uchiha tablet. The stone cracked but did not shatter, Naruto raised his weapon again and attacked.
He screamed himself hoarse as his sword attacked the tablet again and again.
Finally, after two dozen strikes the ancient relic shattered in half as Naruto grabbed the pieces and flung them viciously into the raging fire.
His rage finally died and silent tears fell from his eyes on seeing despite his best efforts the rebels had managed to kill the women and children. He had failed again...
Just like he had failed in saving his brothers...
Broken and defeated, he marched towards the center of the burning basement grabbing a chair. He sat down and lowered his head as his hands clutched his bloodstained sword. The fire burned all around him and the ceiling started to collapse destroying the ancient Uchiha temple...
But he couldn't see or listen to anything...
The only thing he could remember were those words that would haunt him forever.
"Kill them all"
(Flashback End)
"That's where My Father and my clan found me..."
The Senju family sat in stunned silence as Naruto finished his tale. Their faces pale and eyes wide as they heard what the Uchihas tried to do to each other in their mad thirst for power.
Hashirama had watched Naruto every second as he revealed the truth to them and never once had he detected any treachery or lies. The Senju head knew the boy had said nothing but the truth for the tears in his eyes were real, the pain, the sadness and most of all the guilt of his failure still haunted Naruto till this day.
Tsunade and Itama still could not believe Naruto went in despite the danger. He fought against enemies that outnumbered and outclassed him knowing he would die all for the sake of innocents that were caught in the madness of the Uchiha.
It went against everything they had heard about this man...
"If this is true...why didn't you tell anyone? Why did your father hide the truth?" asked Itama hesitantly, and saw the hollow gaze of the Uchiha stare back at him.
"The family is all that matters. The clan is all that lives on..." recited Naruto, the words of his father.
"It would have torn your clan apart if the truth was revealed. Your people would stop trusting each other and your allies would desert you..." whispered Tsunade, as she realized the aftermath of this tragedy the Uchihas could have faced.
She flinched when Naruto's Sharingan eyes looked at her and in them, she saw nothing but pain and guilt.
"Would you have done it? Would you have stepped aside and let those innocents burn to death? Would you have kept your oath of loyalty and let those madmen do what they wanted to do?" asked Naruto bitterly,
For the first time in her life, Tsunade had no answer to give and she could only lower her gaze in shame.
She or Itama could not look into this man's eyes whom everyone had called a Kinslayer when all he had tried to do was protect his family.
"Why?"
Naruto turned to look at Hashirama who was staring at him with sadness present in his dark eyes.
"A ninja protects from the shadows, never seeks glory, only his duty"
Hashirama closed his eyes as a lone tear slipped past his cheeks. It was never easy with Uchihas, one could never love them truly or hate them truly.
There were madmen in that clan like Yamamoto and his supporters who would go to any lengths for the sake of power. Even killing their families. Such people could never be trusted no matter what!
But at the same time, there were loyal and good men like Naruto.
Ninjas who did their duty to the best of their abilities without expecting anything in return.
Looking at Naruto, Hashirama finally realized the extent of his sacrifice.
He accepted disgrace in the place of honor, hatred in the place of love bearing it all with his unwavering silence and all for the sake of the Uchiha name.
He sacrificed his entire life so that the Uchihas could live theirs.
Now that same boy was risking everything to save his people again and there was the only reason for that which was clear for Hashirama to see in the boy's eyes...
Love.
Naruto got up from his seat and wordlessly walked towards the exit until a firm hand was placed on his shoulder. He stopped...
Turning around he saw Hashirama staring at him with great pride in his eyes.
"Enough"
Tsunade and Itama both joined their eldest brother. They didn't say anything but their faint nods were all that Hashirama and Naruto needed to see.
"I will believe in you, Uchiha Naruto"
Hashirama extended his hand forward as he finished those words watching the stunned boy glance at his face then at his offered hand.
Thousands of years of war, millions of deaths, an unending story of suffering, pain, and hatred.
And it was about to end.
Naruto looked at Hashirama seriously trying to find any treachery in the Senju but could not find any. He then glanced at Itama who gave a small smile of confirmation. Tsunade gathered her courage and looked at Naruto when he stared at her...
In her eyes, he saw guilt, hesitation, and fear. But there was also hope...
A small smile formed on his lips...
"I have seen your guts"
Hashirama smiled widely as Naruto raised his own hand and joined it with Hashirama's bringing an end to a war that had lasted thousands of years.
