Chapter 93: Aftermath Pt.I

 

The aftermath of the war had been nothing but joy. While Riku was resting, Hiruzen had temporarily taken control of Konoha’s forces and he had everyone retreat to the headquarters, joined by Mei, Temari and their shinobis.

 

There was no Leaf-nin, nor Kiri-nin, Suna-nin or Kumo-nin. There wasn’t even shinobi. There were only people, glad to be alive and happy that the war was over. Food was distributed and everyone celebrated in their own way. People mingled, small groups appeared and people got to know each other on a personal level. Some stayed away from others as the pain, hatred and hurt ran too deep. The Hyuga never approached anyone from Kumo for example. At the very least, no fight broke out, all parties understanding that this wasn’t the place nor the time and that revenge wasn’t worth it. 

 

After fighting so hard for the fate of the world and a future, no one wanted to start another fight, so soon. Especially the ones who had been brought back to life.

 

To Riku’s surprise, Mito had stayed instead of going back to the Pure Lands. When he asked her why, she simply answered she wanted to make sure Karin and Kushina knew everything they needed to know regarding the laws and traditions of the Uzumaki clan. Since her age was already advanced she didn’t mind staying alive for a few more years. She was also curious about her clanswomen’s and Riku’s studies in fuinjutsu.

 

She also praised him for making Tobirama laugh. The most emotionally constipated man she had ever met only ever chuckled at best and yet Riku made him laugh like a loony. Hiruzen still couldn’t believe it happened. A chuckle from his sensei? Yes, that he could imagine but an outright laugh? That was beyond his imagination.

 

After a whole day of partying and celebrating, it was time for everyone to go home. In Kumo’s case things were difficult. Some didn’t believe in the resurgence of their village, being too few now, while others still did. In the end Darui officially disbanded the village and wished good luck to his fellow countrymen in recreating Kumo.

 

Of the ones who have given up on restoring the cloud, some decided to retire and go back to Lightning country to live a normal life. Most of them, however, chose to join another village. The life of a shinobi was all they had ever known and they didn’t see themselves doing anything else.

 

Some went to Kiri as it was the closest to Lightning country and some, including the Nibi’s, Hachibi’s jinchuriki and his former team and friends, went to Konoha, while the majority went to Suna. The people living in the sands had suffered the same fate as Kumo and Kumo-nin and Suna-nin found common ground, understanding each other through their pain and grief of losing their people and village.

 

Before leaving, Temari almost glued the Kazekage hat on Gaara’s head, arguing that now that he was back, she didn’t have to pick up his slack anymore. It was only a partial truth as now that she was free, she could resume dating Shikamaru. It wasn’t like she had abandoned her little brother to a lonely fate. Kankuro had been among the ones reincarnated by Orochimaru’s Edo Tensei and resurrected by Kaguya.

 

Konoha being the closest Shinobi village of the alliance. Mei and Gaara made  a small detour through it at Riku’s request. The godaime Kazekage had been filled in by his sister on the events since his fall and the treaties and plans she had been part of with Riku and Mei. Wanting to know more, he had answered favorably to Riku. For her part, Mei just wanted to spend more time with Gai. Rumors had begun to spread that the beautiful Mizukage was infatuated with the green beast of Konoha. If asked about it, Gai would simply answer that it was un-youthful to ask about this kind of thing.

 

The Nibi and the Hachibi were not the only former Jinchuriki to move to Konoha. Fu, the former host of the Nanabi had clicked immediately with Naruto when he introduced himself to the group with Karin (herself clicking with Yugito, the former vessel of the Nibi). They were quickly as thick as thieves and when she learned that Konoha had a whole clan living in symbiosis with bugs, she didn’t waste any time being introduced to them. Her point of contact being none other than Shino.

 

The morning after the arrival back in Konoha, Naruto received a summon by his brother to the Hokage office. When he got there, he wasn’t the only one in attendance. Mei and Gaara were present which told him the meeting about to take place was important and wondered why he was needed. His mother, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Itachi and the rest of Team 7 were also present. He did notice the absence of Tsunade but thought that since Riku was now the Hokage, she was basically retired. Kakashi silently signaled Naruto to join his side which he did.

 

Riku finished talking on the phone and apologized for the impromptu call. Something which neither Gaara nor Mei held against him.

 

“Everyone’s here. Good.” Riku stood from his mother’s chair. “There is a lot to talk about so I will not waste any more time. Uchiha Sasuke, Haruna Sakura and Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, please step forward.”

 

The trio, wondering what it was about, said nothing, not even exchanging a glance and simply moved from their corner of the room to stand in front of Riku.

 

“The three of you, for exemplary conduct, crucial and decisive participation during the war and from the reports of many renowned and trusted Shinobi. I promote you to the rank of Jonin.”

 

Riku pulled out his book of seals from under his Hokage robe and took three Jonin vests he had made himself for the occasion and presented them to each of them.

 

“Sasuke, you proved you had the qualities necessary for being a shinobi of Konohagakure, as such, if you desire, you can continue serving the village in this manner.”

 

“YES!” Naruto couldn’t contain himself anymore and shouted in joy for his promotion. He turned to his teammate with a puppy eyed dog look.

 

Sakura sighed in resignation. “Yes, we will eat ramen to celebrate.”

 

As they began to leave Riku stopped them. “I’m not done.”

 

“There is more?” Sasuke wondered what could possibly concern him.

 

“Yes. Well, not for Sakura, but she’s technically my apprentice, so she gets to stay.”

 

The pink haired kunoichi, newly promoted to jonin, froze on the spot. Only blinking. Naruto gently patted her back and pushed her forward. Slowly and rigid as a steel stick she went to stand next to Hiruzen who discreetly invited her to his side.

 

Riku gave a look at Kushina in questionment and received a firm nod. An answer that he had been waiting for a while from her now.

 

“Next on the agenda, is why I asked you to be present, Mei, Gaara. In the spirit of friendship I wanted you to witness one of the important moments and traditions of Konoha history.”

 

“My, you never talked about this, Riku.” Mei said with amusement; She had absolutely no idea what was about to happen but knowing the man, she was sure it was going to be outrageous.

 

Riku simply winked at her. “Uzumaki Kushina, step forward.”

 

She did. More than that, she stood right in front of Riku.

 

“Are you sure you want to carry the burden?”

 

Kushina nodded with a smile. It was her long given up dream coming true. “Yes, Hokage-sama. I’m ready.”

 

“Then in that case… Jonin Uzumaki Kushina,” Riku removed the Hokage hat from his head, “You are, from this moment forth, the Nanadaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato,” and put it on hers.

 

The silence was so absolute, you could hear a pin drop from the other side of the village. Riku seized the opportunity to remove the Hokage robe and put it around Kushina’s shoulders.

 

“Good Luck.”

 

“Thank you.” She gave him a smile back.

 

Only then did the people in the room have a reaction. One and only one.

 

“““WHAT!?””””

 

“Are you barking MAD?!” Jiraiya exclaimed in total shock.

 

“Yeah! What pervy sage said! Not like you won’t be a great Hokage, mom!” Naruto quickly backtracked from supporting Jiraiya when he saw his mother glaring in his direction. “But… huh… I…” he didn’t know what to say to get himself out of this one, so he turned to Riku for answers. “Why?”

 

Hiruzen shared the sentiment. “I think we would all like an answer to this question.” He had waited years for Riku to be ready to take the hat and lead Konoha to greater heights. Seeing his hope being dashed like this after a week left him disgruntled.

 

Riku sighed and invited Kushina to sit in his mother’s chair. Hers now.

 

“I cannot be Hokage anymore, it’s as simple as that.”

 

Sakura was faster than anyone. “What do you mean?”

 

“We’re at the beginning of a new Era,” Riku started to explain, “One where cooperation, collaboration and friendship will be predominant. Where alliance will be more than simple words in the wind and where the importance of belonging to a Shinobi village will be secondary to being a shinobi of said Alliance. Konoha needs a leader representative of those ideals. I… am unfit.”

 

He didn’t explicitly say it but everyone understood what was underneath. Riku had  killed ten thousands of Shinobi before the war and completely wiped out Iwa from the map. No one in History had killed as many people as he did. Having the bloodiest Hokage in Konoha’s history preaching compassion, understanding and friendship to other villages, most of them minor, would be seen as Riku flexing his strength and playing a game. A simple ‘Join or else’ defeating the very purpose of what he envisioned for the future.

 

On the other hand, Kushina was an Uzumaki. A clan known for putting family and friends first before everything else. Staunchest allies of the Senju clan who shared the very same ideals. She had the strength and the political acumen for the job of Hokage. The perfect successor in Riku’s opinion.

 

“And it’s not like I’ve been Hokage for long. I didn’t have my introduction ceremony and there isn’t my face next to my mother. Honestly at this point Kushina-san would be the real Rokudaime Hokage.”

 

“I’ll do my best but the truth is… I’m just a placeholder.” Kushina revealed.

 

“What do you mean?” Naruto was confused, not understanding what his mother was on about.

 

“I am to present a fresh start for Konoha on the world stage and our allies. Lay down the foundations of a peaceful future as Konoha’s representative. However, developing it and maintaining it will be someone else’s job.”

 

“Who?”

 

Half the room facepalmed at Naruto not seeing what was right in front of his nose.

 

Gaara was the one to explain it to his friend. “Naruto, I believe your mother is referring to you.”

 

“ME!?”

 

“Who else, you idiot?” Riku added in a flat tone. “You have a gift for understanding people, Naruto. Proof of that is how easy and natural learning and mastering Ninshu has been for you.” He picked his book of seals he had laid down on the desk and ripped carefully a page away to present it to his brother. “Inside this storage seal are scrolls and books that will teach you everything to know about your future job. Furthermore, for the next two years, you will be traveling with Jiraiya across the Elemental nations, as a diplomatic envoy.”

 

“A diplo-nin!” Kushina interjected.

 

Mei loved it. “A diplo-nin. That is a way more beautiful word than ‘diplomatic envoy’. I’m definitely using it from now on.”

 

“Anyway…” Riku took back the floor. “We hope for you to travel with other… diplo-nin,” It sounded as if it cost him years of his life to say the word. “To other villages to form possible alliances. I was hoping Suna and Kiri would like to join the endeavor.”

 

Looking predatorily at the future Hokage, Mei spoke “Oh, I’m sure I can find a shinobi that would join Naruto-kun in his travels. An ice user perhaps?”

 

Naruto blushed on the spot while Hiruzen, Riku, Kushina, Sakura and Kakashi snickered.

 

Jiraiya was lost. “Did I miss something?”

 

“Naruto has a girlfriend~” Kushina sing-songed.

 

“MOM!”

 

“ABOUT TIME!” The toad Sage exclaimed. “Come, we need to dust off your skills with the ladies!” He grabbed his student by the back of his collar and tried to make an exit through the window only being stopped by Kushina’s adamantine chains.

 

“I swear if you turn my son into something else but a gentleman, I’ll make key rings out of your family jewels, you pervert.”

 

“I swear I won’t!”

 

With that said Kushina released the man and let him go with Naruto. Turning to her fellow Kage, she invited them to retire to a less strict and more relaxed atmosphere to get to know each other better before talking about work. It was something that Mei promptly got behind while Gaara, despite the endless shenanigans happening, was interested in making proper friends. Kushina being a former jinchuriki like him, he had hopes to get along with her. Being Naruto’s mom, they were big.

 

They all left the room, Kushina leading them elsewhere very public. Riku then turned to Sakura and Kakashi.

 

“That’s it for the two of you. Sakura, we’re starting training for good Monday next week at Senju Manor. Kakashi, I was going to visit Yugao-nee for lunch. From what I heard, she met Hayate and he chose not to stay.”

 

“I’ll bring the beers.” He nodded and left the room with Sakura.

 

Riku then dealt with the last task on his list for the morning. The Uchihas. Taking a deep breath he invited them to sit on the couch at the side of the room, Hiruzen taking the seat next to Riku.

 

“I may have passed over the torch to Kushina but I’m still officially the Hokage for a little while. That’s why my last act as Hokage is to award a habitation building to the Uchiha clan near the center of the village. I hope that bringing you back among the people will allow your clan to integrate itself back. Of course you still own the land, the Uchiha compound is on. However, considering its location and history I would advise to either raze it to the ground to rebuild something new or to sell it. The decision is yours.”

 

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.” Itachi said politely.

 

“Lastly. Still as Hokage, I have the regret to say that while your help had been decisive during the war and your name cleared, I cannot control what people think, Sasuke. I’m unable to say if you will be able to find a proper team other than with chunins. Anbu is off the table which leaves you as a shinobi career choice…”

 

“Either joining the police force, Jonin-sensei or an Academy teacher.” Hiruzen cut in.

 

“Hn.”

 

Expecting this kind of answer, Riku went on. “Of course there is no deadline for you to make a choice. Now, what I’m about to say is as Senju Riku heir of the Senju clan.”

 

This time Sasuke got a reaction. One of his eyebrows arched slightly.

 

“After the massacre, Danzo fell even lower. He stole the sharingans of your family.”

 

The youngest of the Uchiha’s brother’s reaction was immediate. He stood on his feet in outrage. “What?!”

 

“We recovered them all when he died.” Hiruzen reassured him.

 

Riku went on. “And they will all be returned to you.” Once again, he picked his book of seals and gently ripped a page he offered to Itatchi who took it graciously.

 

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.”

 

“Oh, don’t thank me yet. There is one pair missing. Your mother’s.”

 

For the first time Itachi displayed an emotional reaction on his face. “May we know why?”

 

“Yes. With no more Uchiha alive, the loss of the Rinnegan and the scientific discovery that the rinnegan could be achieved through the combination of Senju chakra and the sharingan…”

 

“You used our mother’s eyes to recreate the rinnegan.” Itachi immediately understood.

 

“Yes. While we know now that Hagoromo’s chakra is also needed for the evolution of the sharingan, we didn’t at the time.”

 

“Who has them?” Sasuke inquired coldly.

 

Itachi was the one to guess it. “Tsunade-sama.”

 

There were only two candidates after all. Riku and Tsunade. The latter was Hokage at the time and would have a better use of the sharingan and the former, from what he had come to learn, would rather die than receive a kekkei genkai.

 

“Yes. As we speak, Karin is operating on my mother to remove your mother’s eyes. You will receive them within the day. As an apology for using them, despite the need the village had for them, the Senju would like to make an important gesture.”

 

Itachi was now curious. “Such as?”

 

“Through my mastery of Yin-Yang release I can create a body for your mother based on the cells of her eyes. If you have something of her with her chakra I can bring her back to life fully.”

 

Both brothers’ eyes widened in shock. They certainly didn’t expect such a thing as compensation. They exchanged a look and had a silent conversation. It lasted quite a while to the point that Hiruzen intervened.

 

“I am of the opinion that the dead should not be disturbed. However, sometimes… Some people deserved a second chance at life. Of course I never thought it would be literal one day. In any case, I believed your mother deserved that chance. If only to see her sons and the men they became.”

 

Riku wasn’t done however. “Keep in mind that officially this version of the Edo Tensei has been deemed a kinjutsu and every note, every word about it has been destroyed. With Kaguya having resurrected everyone you have a very short window of time to make a decision and-”

 

“We accept.” Sasuke said in a hurry.

 

“There is still the problem of your mother’s chakra.” Riku pointed out after acknowledging Sasuke’s answer with a nod.

 

“I think mother’s kodachi will do. She used to tell me she constantly channeled her chakra into it on the field to the point the blade imbued itself with it. I may have a few basic storage seals she made herself.”

 

“As long as you provide a drop of her chakra it will work.” Riku clarified.

 

“Then we are in agreement.”

 

The conversation stopped there and Riku left the office. It was still early in the morning but he was really worried for Yugao. He hadn’t seen her since he became Hokage and while for her it had been a week, for him it had been almost a year. Deciding he couldn’t wait for lunch, he took the road leading to her home.