The Power of Gods

There once existed a utopia-like paradise in the lands of the Fire Nation. It was a village which went by the name of Konoha.

The tainting of history had caused this paradise to turn into an never-ending purgatory of suffering and hatred. Feuds between Shinobi were more common than ever.

What once had looked like a method to lower the amount of fighting between the myriad clans the Elemental Nations claimed to have, only weaponized them even further.

So, what had changed over the centuries?

xXx

Hiruzen had made many mistakes during his long life. Some of them had caused valuable people in his life to die just like that, his wife and eldest son being some of them. Yet, he had never let guilt and regret take over his being.

The fact that he had let his student, a shinobi who had brought suffering and pain to many families in and outside of Konoha, was his biggest mistake. An S-rank Missing Nin who wouldn't bat an eye killing someone if it gave him something he needed.

He had ignored such acts for years, so, who'd have though he'd be the victim of one of his random acts of violence one day?

"Who'd have thought that one day, you would be forced to seek my aid, Hiruzen?"

So, imagine his surprise when he woke up – not in the Pure Lands as he had expected, but in a solar he knew could only belong to one man, Danzo.

Danzo spoke out with a tone of voice that was extremely unfamiliar to listen to in his opinion. The smirk in his face was something he hadn't see in decades. He had spent years sulking over various topics the two had clashed – but rarely felt happy as much as he showed today.

"Danzo… what have you done to me?"

The Third Hokage – and current? He was confused on his situation, as he was supposed to be dead – spoke out with irritation and anger.

The last thing he remembered was staring at the blossoming pink outside his room, refusing to look at his vile student as the last of his life force escaped him.

The aged elder chuckled as he rubbed his bandaged arm which was sitting comfortably on his table.

"No need to be so angsty first thing in the morning, what happened was simply me outsmarting your actions of you outsmarting me."

"In other words…"

"In other words, I simply overwrote your little accident, or well I had you do it instead." Danzo smiled with his lone visible eye expressing incredible excitement.

Hiruzen noticed a chink of light passing through the single window in the room, something he normally would not be bothered by, but for some reason he was.

"What nonsense are you talking about Danzo! How could you change my death, if you had such a power, you would have long have since taken my hat."

"Look at your right eye, Saru."

Danzo's face switched to one of iciness. His un-bandaged hand went towards a drawer on his desk and grabbed a mirror which he handed to his many-decades friend.

His right eye was white, if he didn't know any better he'd think it was the Byakugan.

A sudden sense of blockade overcame him, instantly realizing that his sight was halved. A thing which had escaped his notice for the entire duration of this meeting.

His face sulked instantly, realizing what this possibly meant.

Danzo had used a forbidden jutsu; the usage of it certainly landed into the category of such jutsus, banned by him and the Second Hokage, Tobirama.

"You went against the laws I set up once again, didn't you?!"

A frown made itself visible in the Third's face, this was not the first time Danzo would have done such a thing, but each time it infuriated him more and more that a treasured friend of his would even think of doing such a

"Relax Sarutobi, I only did what was necessary. After all, we can't have the Hokage die before he puts down his successor can we? Letting the Daimyo deal with it would only lead to unnecessary trouble, as he does not understand the ways of the Shinobi."

"Are you implying…"

xXx

Sasuke had few hobbies he did during his free time, which he didn't spend training or reading books left behind after the Uchiha Massacre. The fact he didn't have friends to spend that time on, made the list even tighter, not like an Uchiha needed friends regardless.

A list which was mostly spent on the Uchiha Compound, a decently-large but still desolate area of the village located at the corners, where even during its heyday few passed through.

As for now, when it was considered a cursed zone due to the fact none but one person lived in, who would even think of passing through it? It was already considered a bad omen by the normal people of Konoha.

One of the few things which helped him somewhat collect his mind was eating tomatoes. Yes, that was also something people could really like eating.

All those put together, made it a pretty relaxing day despite the bad omen the compound was infamous for.

"Yo, Sasuke, I'm here for that spar we missed on last week because of my incident!"

All but excluding two to three people...

Ren's amethyst eyes made an appearance just outside his home – Naruto's blue ones followed without notice.

One of his eyes twitched.

'They're multiplying…'

The black-haired Uchiha let down the tomato on his hand and grunted, showcasing his discontent at the duo ruining his peace.

"That's wonderful Ren, not like I have nothing else to do." He ruefully remarked with a scowl.

The red-haired boy preened as he straightened his body.

"Of course! For what are teammates, if not for reminding their companions of what they might have possibly forgotten."

"Let's just do it already, I don't have that much time to waste… Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital in the first place?"

Who'd have thought, that under such a short amount of time, the one who had originally wanted to keep sparing to the other, would soon come to regret such a decision.

xXx

"The Hokage was once again attacked at his own house?! At the compounds of his own clan nonetheless? What nonsense is this!"

Tsunade frowned as she looked at the shinobi in front of her, one who had once been in a team with her for the duration of two Great Wars.

"And, why was I not alerted of this earlier Jiraiya?!" The Hokage candidate furiously questioned the much older-looking Jiraiya who had a helpless look on his face.

"I didn't know anything about it until one of my spies spotted one of Danzo's men doing suspicious movements around Sensei's compound. I know it's a dumb situation, but I rushed as quickly as possibly to see in what sort of state he was. Excluding the fact that they took one of his eyes, he was fine."

The blonde stood up from her seat and looked at Jiraiya dead in the eyes.

"Then let me go aid to him, who knows what sort of jutsu they used. It could affect the inner organs, or even his chakra. For all we know, it could be Danzo behind all of this!"

"That, I can do."

The focus quickly switched from the two of them, to the new person inside the Senju Clan's Ancestral Building.

"Danzo…"

Jiraiya muttered as both of them recognized the old hawk just from his signature bandages and chin scar.

xXx