Н‘¾Ð‘¯Ð‘¬Ð‘Μ Ð‘»Ð‘¯Ð‘¬ Н‘¾Ð‘°Ð‘Μ𝑫 Н‘©Ð‘³Ð‘¶Ð‘¾Ð‘º €¢Ð’Ƒ𝒙Н’Ƒ• Who We Want To Be

It took a while for him to reach his destination, since his leg wasn’t fully healed yet and his body was still too weak after… after Kurama, but he still managed to get to where he wanted to be.

And as he stood in front of the giant gates, a wave of melancholy washed over him. It’s been a while since he was last here… Weeks? Months? He stopped caring about time after he left…

Even though he still heard the clocks ticking noise.

Seems like the reconstruction had started long ago, since there were a lot of buildings standing strong… Standing strong on the previously flattened land.

He moved his body forward, but stopped before his foot even reached the ground. Was this a wise choice? To be here after everything? After the fight? After killing Danzo? After Team 7 was reunited again, just for their reuniting to end in bloodshed?

Was it wise?

Probably not.

He didn’t know how much time he had left… Even though he was feeling fine now, nobody had ever survived after their Tailed Beast was extracted, or in his case, dead. He didn’t know what was going to happen…

So, after he made up his mind, he took a step forward, and stepped through the gates. And, as soon as that happened, he felt it… He felt it and it almost made him tremble at the sensation.

The breeze.

It had been so long since he last felt it… So, so, long…

The feeling of it on his skin was almost exhilarating… Almost…

So much time… He had spent there… So many memories… He had left behind… And he didn’t plan on taking any of them back. He was done with this place.

He was done with Konoha.

Then, the most unusual thing happened.

“Sasuke?” He whispered out loud as he sensed the boy’s signal. What the hell? He was there? In Konoha?! What for?! Then… “Orochimaru…? Suigetsu…? Juugo…?” They were there along with him. Didn’t Sasuke say he killed Orochimaru? What the hell was going on?!

It was then, that he sensed something else.

Four more chakra signatures. One he knew very well, one was familiar and the other two were unknown to him.

“The Third Hokage and the…”, his heart constricted inside his chest, “… Fourth Hokage”. Just what the hell was going?! They couldn’t have been brought back to life… So that leaves only…

The Reanimation Technique.

Bending his legs, he took off, ignoring his throbbing body.

_

He stumbled on his feet as he landed near a wreckage. The signals were coming from under it, so Akashi walked around, trying to find some kind of entrance point.

Ah. There it was. An opening with stairs leading down.

What the hell was going on down there?

Wanting to find out, Akashi slowly went down the stairs, careful not to alert anyone of his presence. He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes, raising his hand in a hand-sign. “Conceal”. He felt the chakra in his body stop moving.

There… That should do the trick. With that, nobody should be able to sense his presence, but on the downside, neither can he sense theirs nor can he use any kind of jutsu.

It was like a double-edged blade.

Then, he slowly proceeded down.

He reached a small, dimly lit, hallway which led into another room. The room, as far as Akashi could see, was lit up and he could hear voices coming from it. He needed to be quiet, so he walked forward and leaned on the side of the wall, close enough to hear everything, but far enough so they couldn’t see him.

“I believe that ninja are those who endure for a purpose”. Akashi heard a man speak up. “But, depending on what that purpose is, a ninja can change…”, the man trailed off, “Just like Madara… and I did”. Madara… and he? This man… Was he perhaps… The First Hokage? He had learned about his and Madara’s rivalry while he was still at the academy, so it only made sense he was the First Hokage…

So, the two people who’s chakra he didn’t recognize must be… The First and Second Hokage. Which meant that Orochimaru had somehow reanimated every dead Hokage.

How nice of him. But, what were his plans?

“Ninja…”, Sasuke spoke up, “Ninja are those who endure… in order to achieve their goals”. He stopped.

“For me, it was building a village”. Hashirama said. “But it seems Madara found something else”. There was a moment of silence, before the man continued. “This plan of Madara’s that Orochimaru mentioned earlier… To erase all the ninja in this world… I don’t know what that means in literal terms, but…”, he trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

“It’s the Infinite Tsukiyomi where village, ninja, and citizen are all irrelevant”. Sasuke said. “He intends to put everyone under Genjutsu and manipulate them as he sees fit. To negate everything that my older brother, Madara’s younger brother… and all of you… have tried to protect”. He finished.

Infinite Tsukiyomi? A Genjutsu? What was he going to do with all of the people once he did that? Have them under it for the rest of their lives? What the hell was he going to do?! Was this why he needed Kurama?! To use him for his plans?!

“My older brother inherited your will without even talking to you”. Sasuke spoke up. “My older brother… Even as he shouldered that heavy responsibility for the clan… He stood between the village and the clan in their strife… He was forced to kill his own clan and endure the brand as a Rogue Ninja… Yet, he continued to keep an eye on the organisation that wanted to harm the village”.

Itachi… The man had sacrificed a lot for the sake of the village… His clan… His position… He sacrificed his bond with Sasuke…

All for the sake of Konoha… So Konoha wouldn’t be destroyed.

And here he was… Akashi… Wanting to destroy the world because he was hurt… Because he was in pain… Because he couldn’t handle the burden on his shoulders, even though Naruto could…

He was weak.

But maybe… Only maybe…

“And even in death… My older brother endured longer and harder than you… And died stating that he was proud to be a Konoha ninja”. Akashi’s trail of thoughts was interrupted by Sasuke. “Isn’t it ironic that the ninja who understood you more than anyone else… was from the Uchiha Clan?” He questioned.

“Your brother was not the only one”. Another unfamiliar man spoke up… He was probably the Second Hokage. “I had a subordinate named Uchiha Kagami who was much like your brother”.

“Second Hokage… I thought you despised the Uchiha”. Sasuke asked. Ah, so he was right, it was the Second Hokage.

“That’s not entirely true. I treated anyone who posed a danger to the village, no matter what clan they belonged to, with extreme caution”. Tobirama explained. “And there’s no doubt that the Uchiha Clan warranted my suspicions…”, he trailed off. “The Uchiha just happened to be a clan particularly disposed to be considered as such, but it is also because they could feel such deep love that there were quite a few Uchiha over the years like your brother and Kagami… who could transcend the boundaries of the clan and devote themselves to the village”. There was a moment of silence.

“My elder brother believed the village was something that could eliminate the framework of clans. Well, the reality is… This wasn’t so simple”. He continued after a brief pause. “The idealism of my elder brother Hashirama… And the danger Madara posed… Mediating between these two things, and protecting and strengthening the village were my duties as the Second Hokage”. He finished.

“Uchiha Shisui was a descendant of Kagami Uchiha”. The breath almost left Akashi’s body at the sound of that voice. Sarutobi… The last time he heard that voice was when they were fighting… Akashi had said awful things to him… Awful… And then, the man died and Akashi hadn’t even had the time to say goodbye. “He was a friend of your older brother Itachi. Many, including myself, embraced the First Hokage’s Will of Fire, but perhaps, I was more naive than any other ninja. I wasn’t able to continue the Second Hokage’s task of village-building skilfully enough. Which is how I ended up burdening Danzo with the village’s darkness”.

Danzo was burdened with the village’s darkness?

The man was darkness itself…

“I killed Danzo in vengeance… Someone you held dear helped me with that… Uzumaki Akashi, sound familiar?” There was no reply to Sasuke’s question for a while, until Akashi heard a heavy sigh.

“Akashi… I had failed in protecting that boy… I tried, but it wasn’t enough… It was my fault…”. Sarutobi’s sorrowful voice resounded and Akashi felt his heart constrict inside his chest.

“Third, the fault is mine to bear, not yours… He is my son and I made the wrong decision… If I didn’t do that, he would be home right now…”. Minato spoke up, something heavy coating his words.

Regret?

“An Uzumaki?” Harshirama questioned. That reminded Akashi, the First Hokage was married to an Uzumaki. “It pains me to hear that someone from that clan chose the path they did…”. It was the same with him… Something heavy hanged on his words.

Sadness?

“The price of vengeance is hard to pay”. Tobirama said, his voice was emotionless, but there was something there, too.

A small spark of something akin to grief?

Why did the Hokage’s feel that for someone like Akashi? He was unimportant to them… Someone they didn’t even know, and yet…

“He chose the path he did because that was the path he was forced onto… Just like my brother… But unlike Akashi, Itachi said he would protect the village no matter how dirty the means…”. Sasuke jumped in.

“It seems I’ve failed miserably time after time as the Hokage”. Tiredness dripped from Sarutobi’s words. “I guess I’m responsible for creating the situation that exists now”.

“No… You’re not to blame, Lord Third”. Minato interrupted him. “You did everything you could for the sake of the village respectably… I’m the one who died during the Nine-Tails’s attack on the village!” He raised his voice towards the end. “You had such high hopes for me as the Hokage… And I couldn’t live up to them”.

So was the situation with Akashi… Minato expected him to bare the weight of the Nine-Tails, but he couldn’t… And when he finally succeeded in doing that, Kurama was gone and Akashi was left alone once again.

“I’ll say… After he passed over me and picked you”. Orochimaru spoke up. “Everyone was so disappointed”. He added.

“Orochimaru… You sound like you’re pouting”. Suigetsu spoke up for the first time since Akashi arrived.

“A little… since the Third Hokage is right here”. The snake-man admitted.

“Had I lived, perhaps I could have helped to foil the Uchiha’s plans for a coup d’etat much sooner… And maybe Akashi wouldn’t be where he is now…”. Minato said.

Maybe… Maybe that was what could have happened… Sasuke’s clan would still be alive… Akashi would have never left the village… He never would have had to fight Naruto… Maybe he could have even become friends with the Nine-Tails…

Maybe…

“Now then… Sasuke… What will you do?” Orochimaru questioned the boy. “Will you destroy the village? Or…?” He trailed off, waiting for Sasuke’s reply.

Then, there was silence…

Sasuke said nothing to answer Orochimaru’s burning question…

Moments passed and Akashi waited… He waited for an answer…

“I’m going to the battlefield!” Sasuke suddenly exclaimed. “I won’t let the village, and Itachi become nothing!” Ah… As expected… Akashi wasn’t surprised at his words.

“It’s been decided then!” Hashirama’s excited voice rang out and Akashi heard shuffling which sounded like someone was getting up. “Tobirama! Prepare to fly us outside!”

“Even if I wanted to use Flying Thunder God, I’m bound right now”. Tobirama explained.

“Orochimaru, was it? What will you do?” Hashirama questioned the snake-man.

“You said earlier that you’d follow Sasuke”. Sarutobi spoke up.

“Of course… We will accompany him”. Orochimaru confirmed Sarutobi’s words.

“What?!” Suigetsu’s panicked voice rang out through the room. “Juugo, what about you?” He asked.

“I’m going too”. He said. “It’s my job to protect Sasuke”.

As soon as Akashi heard shuffling, he raised his hand in a hand-sign. “Dispel”. He felt his chakra flow through his body again and then, he immediately had to move out of the way, because the wall he was hiding behind got smashed into pieces.

“Tobirama?!” Hashirama’s alarmed voice was the first thing Akashi heard, before Tobirama’s crimson orbs were in front of him. The redhead ducked under a punch and jumped back, a wince escaping him when he landed on his right leg. Damn it… Why wasn’t it healing?! He slid under Tobirama’s extended arm and ran into the room the others were in.

“Akashi?!” Both Sarutobi’s and Minato’s confusedly asked. “You were here?!” Minato added, his blue eyes wide in disbelief. Akashi didn’t get to answer, because, once again, he ducked down as a fist went flying over his head. Tobirama landed in front of him and turned around, just for his eyes to widen at the sight.

“Red hair?” He questioned and straightened up, staring at him as his eyes narrowed.

Akashi stayed quiet at his question, but was not able to hide the wince that left his lips nor hide the fact that he leaned his body weight onto his left leg.

“Akashi?” Minato questioned once more, taking a step towards the boy before him. Akashi was in front of him… In the flesh… Without a second thought, Minato lunged forward and wrapped his arms around him. “Akashi…”. His grip tightened and he leaned his face into Akashi’s hair. “You’re here…”. He whispered, not knowing if his body was hurting in pain or in happiness.

The others stood still as they watched the exchange happen.

They watched as Akashi’s arms raised and dropped back down, fingers twitching… As if he didn’t know what to do. “I hate you”. Hashirama sharply inhaled at the confession. “I still hate you…”. But the boy made no move to push Minato away.

“I know”. Minato mumbled. “I know…”. His voice softly rang out through the room and the others could do nothing but watch. “I won’t apologise… You seemed really angry when I did it back then… So I won’t…”.

Akashi stayed silent… Just being still in Minato’s arms. Then, the said man pulled back and looked at the redhead. “You changed from the last time we met…”. He noticed the boy’s pale face… Too pale… His eyes lacked the coldness they carried when they met for the first time.

“I no longer have the Nine-Tails inside of me”. Minato’s and Sarutobi’s eyes snapped wide at the revelation.

“What? How? How are you alive then?” The older man asked, taking a few steps towards Akashi. The boy glanced at him and turned to look at the ground.

“I do not know”. He really didn’t know… “Madara attacked me and I had no other choice but to…”, Akashi trailed off, feeling his heart constrict.

“But to what?” Surprisingly Tobirama was the one who asked the question.

“To destroy the Nine-Tails inside of me”. Collective gasps of disbelief rang out from around him.

“Destroy? How did you destroy a Tailed Beast?” Orochimaru’s sleazy voice asked from behind him and Akashi turned around to look at him. Then, as he did that, he met eyes with the raven-haired boy next to him.

Orochimaru’s question was forgotten as Akashi stared at Sasuke. The said boy’s eyes were barely widened, but Akashi noticed it… Then, without another word, he started walking up to him.

Sasuke did the same.

They met in the middle and Akashi watched as Sasuke’s lips opened. “I thought you had died”. Were the words which left him. Akashi tiled his head to the side as he stared into those onyx eyes of the other boy.

“I thought that, too”. He said. That was the truth. He didn’t think he would have survived Kurama’s death. He was prepared to go along with the fox… Seems like fate had other plans for him.

“Would you answer my previous question?” Orochimaru asked and this time, Akashi decided to answer it.

“The Adamantine Sealing Chains… I used them on the Nine-Tails”. Orochimaru said nothing else after he received the answer. “But, I think that was only possible because I was a Jinchuriki”. Akashi added after a moment.

“Did you know that you would die without the Nine-Tails?” The redhead turned his attention back to Sasuke. He looked like he desperately needed the answer to the question.

“I did”. He wasn’t prepared for what happened next. A fist connected with his jaw and he was knocked onto the ground, with the Uchiha following after him. Fingers gripped onto his collar and he was harshly pulled up.

“Why the hell did you do it then?!” The dark-haired boy demanded, his even darker eyes searing holes into Akashi. This… This was the most emotion he had ever seen the boy show…

“Because… I would rather die than give him to Madara”. Sasuke froze atop him. “The man was the reason the Nine-Tails was sealed inside me and Naruto… He was the reason my mother and father died… Why should I help him in any way possible?” His collar was unexpectedly released from the hold Sasuke had on it and Akashi’s head almost slammed into the ground.

“You could have died”. Sasuke whispered.

“But I did not”. He said, staring up at the boy. Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a sigh, before he opened them and stood up, extending a hand for Akashi to take. He did and he was pulled to his feet.

“Akashi”. The said boy turned to the man who said his name. Blaring golden hair, so familiar to Naruto’s, entered his field of vision. “Will you be join-?!”

“You know… I hated him for the longest time, the Nine-Tails… I wanted him gone from the moment I learned he was inside me…”. Akashi started, cutting Minato off. “And then, the most unexpected thing happened… I found out that he wasn’t as bad as people said he was… His pain was much greater than my own…”.

Minato could hear the pain in the boy’s voice.

“I finally saw him as something other than a ‘beast’… I saw him as a possible companion… Someone who will always be by my side… Someone who could understand my deepest feelings…”. Minato’s fist clenched at his side. “We finally understood each other…”, he trailed off, taking a deep breath, “… I learned his name and he called me by mine for the first and last time…”.

“I had to say goodbye before I could even say hello”. Akashi felt fingers intertwine with his own and he didn’t have to look to see who it was. “To answer your question, yes, I will be joining you…”. Minato felt an inexplicable feeling of relief at his words. “Madara needs to pay for what he forced me to do”.

The others watched everything that happened before them.

Hashirama observed the Uzumaki. The boy had went through a lot… Defected from his village in search of revenge, which he achieved along with the Uchiha boy…

But, who would have thought?

An Uzumaki and an Uchiha…

Together…

He glanced at his younger brother and saw the small, almost hidden, smile on his face at the sight before him. Hashirama huffed out a laugh and Tobirama’s smile disappeared, replaced by a scowl as he glared at his older brother. “I won’t tell anyone”. Hashirama teased, watching as the scowl deepened and those crimson eyes of his glared holes into him.

_

All of them exited from underground and stood over the Hokage Mountain, overlooking the village.

“This view brings back memories!” Hashirama exclaimed as he looked at the village which spread out in front of him. Then, suddenly, Suigetsu turned around and bolted away from them.

He didn’t get far.

Karin appeared and kicked Suigetsu in the face, making him fall onto the ground. “What the hell?!” The boy asked.

“It’s you after all, Sasuke, Akashi!” Karin yelled and landed on Suigetsu, furiously punching him in the face. “I sensed your chakras and I couldn’t believe it, so I backtracked and look what I find!”

“Karin”. Sasuke said as he watched the redhead slam her fists into Suigetsu over and over again. The boy was half-water-half-human right now.

“Oh my… So many of my best experiments gathered here in one place!” Orochimaru said, almost proudly.

Karin stopped her punching and stood up. “Bastards! I’ll never forgive you!” She yelled as she looked at Sasuke and Akashi.

“I’m sorry, Karin”. Sasuke apologised, making a small blush appear on Karin’s face. Akashi remained silent… He wasn’t sorry…

“You bastard! As if a simple apology will get you off the hook…”. At the sound of Sasuke apologising, Karin completely ignored Akashi. “… You good for nothing…”. She practically melted at the end of her sentence.

“I see you still have a weakness for Sasuke, Karin…”. Orochimaru commented.

Karin walked up to them and pointed at Sasuke and Akashi. “Listen, Lord Orochimaru!” She said. “This one stabbed me!” She glanced at Akashi and then at Sasuke. “And this one had the gall to leave me!”

Orochimaru glanced at Akashi at the revelation. “What he does doesn’t concern me and I’m helping Sasuke now, which is perfect timing. You help too”.

“What?!” Karin exclaimed and immediately latched onto Sasuke. “I guess I have no choice…”. She rubbed up against him and Akashi blankly stared at the scene.

How familiar.

“Karin, let Akashi bite you”. The said boy, along with the girl, whipped to look at him.

“What?! No! He stabbed me!” Karin stepped away from Sasuke, pointing an accusing finger at Akashi.

“Karin”. Sasuke repeated a little more harshly this time. The girl’s lips trembled and she grit her teeth. Before he knew it, an arm was extended towards Akashi.

“Do it”. Karin had turned the other way around, not facing the boy. Akashi glared at Sasuke and the said boy gestured at Karin. The red-headed boy sighed and pulled Karin’s sleeve up to reveal multiple bite marks staining her pale skin.

Seems like she was used a lot for her healing abilities.

Here goes. Akashi thought as he bit into her arm, almost immediately feeling himself be refreshed. His chakra replenished in a few moments and he leaned back, pulling the sleeve back across her arm.

Karin glared at him and moved back to stand next to Sasuke, a scowl on her face.

Akashi bent down and hovered his hand over his injured knee. Soon after, a green glow shone brightly on his palm as he healed it. A few minutes or so later, he straightened up and leaned his full body weight onto his right leg.

Nothing hurt, nothing throbbed, it was completely healed.

That brought relief to Akashi.

“Who is she?” Hashirama asked his brother, staring at Karin.

“Judging from the chakra and that red hair… She’s from the Uzumaki Clan”. Tobirama replied, also staring at Karin.

Hashirama walked up to the edge of the cliff and stopped. “Fellow Hokage! As we stand atop the Great Stone Faces that have watched over Konoha… Let us burn this sight of the village into our memory!” He exclaimed, raising a fist in the air as an excited grin overtook his features.

This wasn’t what Akashi thought the First Hokage would be like.

Sighing, Tobirama walked up to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder, the two of them disappearing a moment later. Minato did the same with Sarutobi, but not before he glanced at Akashi and sent him a small smile.

Akashi didn’t return the smile.

Instead, he stood still and watched as the Hokages land on their respective monuments on the side of the mountain.

He couldn’t help but wonder…

… Was this the right decision?