Chapter 75: The Origins

Hiruzen coughed up blood from his mouth, his hands rubbed his swollen ribs. Looking into Naruto's eyes, he could not believe that this boy had changed so much. The old Hokage could still remember that smiling blonde bundle of joy, but there was a difference now.

Instead of a smile, there was a sea of sadness in Naruto's eyes. Even now Hiruzen could see that Naruto was not enjoying what he was doing, he was angry but he had not murdered hundreds of his own breatheren just for the sake of revenge. Hiruzen could see it in those eyes...

His eyes widened in shock, when he saw a giant Toad and a slug being summoned right in the middle of Konoha. And from the looks of it both of them were on opposite sides. His shocked eyes darted towards Naruto asking the unsaid question, as the boy simply gave a nod.

"Tsunade is on my side..." confessed Naruto, as Hiruzen's heart nearly shattered.

If his adoptive grandson betraying him was not enough, then now he was about to see the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju helping in the destruction of this village. It broke his heart completely...

Hiruzen closed his eyes and sensed the remainder of his shinobi losing ground, he felt Gai heavily engaging hundreds of Oto shinobi who had him trapped in the eastern district. It was definitely one of Naruto's moves, keeping the best Taijutsu user at bay.

Jiraiya would probably not be able to win since his opponent was Tsunade, who was being backed by a fully transformed Gaara.

Hundreds of his soldiers were dead, the reinforcement that had came in the form of the Damiyo's forces were almost killed. He saw Sasuke dropping Kurenai on the ground like a bag of meat, so she was out too.

Many of his ninja were injured, not to forget the thousands of civilians who were cramped up in the mountains. His own family included...

Sasuke quickly came beside Naruto, and Hiruzen saw Itachi tensing. The former Anbu captain was a lethal fighter, but fighting against his beloved younger brother would be an entire different story. The Hokage doubted Itachi could kill Sasuke; Not to forget Naruto was still in front of him.

Looking into Naruto's eyes Hiruzen saw the boy had arrived at the same conclusion as him...

"Forgive me Shodaime, Nidaime, Yondaime...I failed all of you" thought Hiruzen remorsefully,

"Itachi..."

The said shinobi turned towards his leader and was shocked to find a defeated look in Hiruzen's eyes.

"Gather our remaining shinobi and help the civilians escape...' said Hiruzen calmly, as Naruto closed his eyes. Sasuke gripped his tanto tightly, he was just about ready to stop that from happening.

"Hiruzen-sama? Are you asking me to abandon Konoha? We'll lose the village..." said Itachi in disbelief,

"The village was never Konoha. It was the people in it that made it, a village can be rebuilt by its people. He wants you to protect that hope, isn't that right gramps?" asked Naruto knowingly, as Hiruzen got the unsaid message which made him give the boy a grateful smile.

"Naruto, you can't possibly allow them to escape. Have you forgotten these people abused you for years?" asked Sasuke angrily,

"I haven't forgotten anything. Even if Itachi tries his best, he'll only be able to save a handful. I want them to escape because that would be the ultimate punishment. Losing their home, losing their life that would be their curse..." said Naruto flatly, and was satisfied when Sasuke accepted that answer.

"Maybe, you're right. But I can't let this bastard go..." said Sasuke hatefully, as he glared at Itachi.

The boy was surprised when Naruto shook his head again, what the hell was wrong with his best friend?

"You're not strong enough to face him. Besides, the Kazekage and his men are killing my reserve soldiers at this moment. Go with Haku and save them, I want that Kage alive..." ordered Naruto,

"Naruto-" argued Sasuke, but stopped when Naruto glared at him.

"The mission comes first. I've given up everything for Valkyrie, it's time you do the same. The time for vengeance will come for you too, just as it came for me today..." advised Naruto harshly,

Itachi was actually surprised when after a short staring match between Naruto and Sasuke, his impulsive younger brother sighed and looked at him bitterly.

"This isn't over, Itachi. The next time we meet, I will kill you..." promised Sasuke,

"I'll wait for you..." replied Itachi calmly, as Sasuke vanished in a quick shunshin.

Itachi's gaze then shifted towards Naruto who looked around to see hundreds of dead bodies of Konoha, Suna, and Otogakure ninjas.

"It's over. Run away with whatever few you can save, there is no victory here..." said Naruto sadly, as his heart broke on seeing several dead bodies of his own soldiers. He knew there would be sacrifices, but these men died following his orders. They died for his dream, his vision.

It reminded him of the several Root friends whom had died following his orders, it reminded him of Sai.

With a quick bow to Hiruzen, Itachi vanished to fulfill the last orders his leader had assigned him. Hiruzen saw Naruto walking forward and sitting on top of a small boulder, the boy's eyes were moist which brought a few tears in Hiruzen's eyes.

"You haven't changed, have you?" asked Hiruzen kindly, as a dry chuckle escaped from Naruto's lips even as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I got what I came for, I destroyed Konoha..." boasted Naruto, but there was no sense of accomplishment in his words. Just emptiness...

Kakashi slowly walked into the street, as Naruto just gave him a glance since he had known the man had listened to the entire conversation from the shadows. The copy ninja had once been an Anbu, after all.

"I don't understand, Naruto. If you wanted revenge, why even spare a single one of us? You have us surrounded, and yet..." said Hiruzen in a confused voice,

"I'm not an animal, gramps. I would be no better than the civilians who tortured me all those years, if I killed them knowing they could not defend themselves. Besides, Itachi can only save a few important ones. The rest will still fall in my hands, and I know what to do with them..." said Naruto seriously,

"You're not going to kill them, are you?" asked Kakashi frankly, as Naruto shook his head.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. I'll need them for my greater plan, all of this is for Valkyrie. But you can consider this an act of mercy from me..." joked Naruto,

"Naruto- The Merciful..." suggested Kakashi dryly, as Naruto laughed.

"It has a nice ring to it..." retorted Naruto, making Kakashi smile. There was still a little part of his old self left, Naruto was still there inside.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you, Naruto. It was my duty to protect this village, and I did my job. It will never be enough, but this is the least I can offer you for sparing a few of my people. Although it won't change the fact that I will kill you here..." promised Hiruzen,

"We'll see about that..." said Naruto calmly, as he saw many questions floating in Kakashi' eyes.

"Naruto, there is something I have to ask you..." said Kakashi honestly,

"Speak..."

"Why?"

"Do you know my entire truth? My entire story?" asked Naruto seriously,

"Yes"

The boy sighed as his lonely eyes glanced across the burning hidden leaf village.

"I lost faith, Kakashi. In this village, in this shinobi world. Shin and so many of my Root friends died horrible deaths years ago, but I continued to believe and fought for this village. The death of my friends was my first pain...Rei was the final straw. When she died, I lost everything. It made me realize that even though I had grown up nothing had changed, nor will it ever in this cursed shinobi world. I noticed that my answer was nothing but bullshit, I owed Rei my life. She was my dream. All of them were my irreplaceable family for whom I would have happily given my life." answered Naruto sadly,

Silence followed between the 3 men, as Hiruzen eyed Kakashi skeptically. He was the only one who didn't have a shred of hatred in his heart for Naruto, even after the damage the boy had done to Konoha.

"Kakashi, what is going on in that head of yours?" said Hiruzen flatly, as he remembered Kakashi was as much fucked up as Naruto, when the copy ninja was of the same age and had returned from a war only to join Anbu Blackops. One of the many mistakes Minato made, who the hell pushed an emotionally disturbed child into a dark unit like Anbu?

Naruto observed his guardian closely, even as Hiruzen's hardened eyes looked at the man.

"I've lived a life full of regrets. You're the only good thing I ever did in my life, Naruto..." said Kakashi honestly,

"You see yourself in me. I'm the person you feared you would have become, if you didn't have friends to bring you back from the darkness you got lost in...'' answered Naruto, and smiled on seeing the shock in Kakashi's eyes.

He had seen right through that man.

''I know you, Kakashi. Before all of this, before Root, there was just the two of us. You were my father, my brother, my friend. Nobody understands me better than you, and I for you..." said Naruto kindly,

"Naruto, I know you're not doing this for revenge. You were never that kind of person, there must be a reason for all of this. I want you to tell me what Valkyrie is.." said Kakashi seriously, as Hiruzen scoffed.

"Kakashi, he won't tell you anything while I'm around..." said Hiruzen flatly,

"I beg to differ. You're not going anywhere, gramps. I've made sure of that, if you kill me then my plan dies with me. It's as simple as that, maybe hearing the truth will motivate you to fight harder against me. God knows your old depressed heart needs something to fight for right now..." said Naruto nonchalantly,

"Arrogant, are we?" asked Hiruzen, a frown visible on his wrinkled face.

"Just confident..." replied Naruto smartly,

"Tell me, Naruto. I want the truth..." said Kakashi seriously,

"It all began a thousand years ago. A time when humanity was innocent and young, as hard as it is to believe our species was a peaceful race once. People who lived in harmony and worshiped one god who protected their lands, their cattle, their homes. The god was called Hachimon..." explained Naruto patiently,

"The God of war?" asked Hiruzen curiously,

"Hachimon prevented wars by maintaining the peace, that was his job. But there were a few among humanity who wanted power, who dreamed to become a god. Those morons thought that they could do a better job than Hachimon in maintaining peace. Sure, small conflicts happened at that time too but there was never a full scale war. But that changed when Kaguya took that peace from us..." said Naruto bitterly, and Kakashi realized whoever this woman was Naruto resented her from the bottom of his heart.

"She did something bad, didn't she?" asked Kakashi knowingly,

"She destroyed our species and bestowed a curse upon us. In her thirst for power, she approached Hachimon and made him fall for her. For eons, the god of war had protected a sacred tree. It was called "The Tree of Life" and was supposed to be the origin of all life on this planet..." stated Naruto, surprising Hiruzen.

"How do you know all this?" questioned Hiruzen, as Naruto pointed his finger to his Mangekyo sharingan.

"These eyes of mine can decipher the Uchiha Tablet. It has every information about our origins, you only need to have sharp eyesight to decipher it. I've got those eyes..." admitted Naruto,

"Kaguya ate a sacred fruit that grew on the tree of life once in a thousand years. It gave her divine powers which humanity was forbidden to get no matter the circumstances. The power which we know as Chakra..." said Naruto seriously, as an aura of blue colored chakra glowed around his body showing the point he wanted to make.

Hiruzen and Kakashi were visibly shocked on hearing this information, it didn't match with the facts they knew.

"But the Rikudo Sennin was the one who gave us chakra, and taught us how to use them. Didn't he?" asked Hiruzen quickly, his knowledge of their world coming to light. He was not a professor for nothing.

"The Sage of Six paths was one of the sons which Kaguya had with Hachimon. He inherited the power which his mother had stolen, excess power is not good for anyone's health. Kaguya was delusional in thinking she could sustain that enormous power and maintain the absolute peace by becoming a god greater than Hachimon. That stupid bitch ignored one fundamental fact, humans never desire peace. We seek conflict..." explained Naruto regretfully, as he himself was guilty of this sin just like the two people standing beside him.

The hundreds of dead bodies around them, and the countless wars that had followed since that judgement day were a proof of how flawed humanity was. Kaguya may have given them the power, but they themselves were responsible for their destruction. The blood of innumerable people was on humanity's own hands.

"Didn't Hachimon try to stop her? Since he was supposed to be guarding that tree which bore the fruit?" suggested Kakashi, getting a nod from Naruto.

"He did, but that fruit was pure energy and it gave Kaguya more power than Hachimon had. She couldn't defeat or kill him since he was a god, so she did the next best thing..." hinted Naruto,

"She sealed him..." concluded Hiruzen,

"Correct. Kaguya sealed Hachimon inside the same tree he was supposed to protect. It still didn't stop the god of war from trying to correct his mistakes, he knew he had to get the power of chakra back from humanity. But it was we who betrayed him in the first place, so he got mad. Overwhelmed by rage, he became the beast known as the Jubi..."

Kakashi gulped on hearing that word, he had seen how scary the Kyuubi was on a first hand basis. To think, there was a monster greater than the nine tails was simply terrifying.

"The Ten Tails is a myth..." said Hiruzen flatly, making Naruto chuckle.

"It's as much real, as you and I gramps..." answered Naruto,

"And so those two fought. Kaguya and Hachimon fought again and again for years, the destruction caused by their continous wars was simply too much and humanity was almost obliterated until her sons finally grew up. They fought and killed their mad mother, in doing so the younger brother sacrificed his life. Now came the point which changed our race's history forever..." said Naruto calmly,

"Hachimon in the form of the Juubi wanted chakra back, and I guess the Rikudo Sennin had some other plans..." suggested Kakashi smartly, getting Naruto to smile.

"The Rikudo Sennin was an idealist like Jiraiya and my father. Just as my naive father hoped that I would be seen as a hero, the Rikudo Sennin believed that instead of consolidating the power of chakra like his mother, if he taught humans how to use chakra, it would connect us to each other. Hachimon didn't agree, but the god of war had lost a lot of his power in fighting against Kaguya all those years. He was tired and the Rikudo Sennin was his true son, so at the cost of his life he divided the Juubi into nine tailed beasts and sealed its body in the moon, thereby completely putting his father away. Then he taught humanity to use chakra, and the rest is history..." explained Naruto,

"The Uchiha and Senju were said to be descendants of the Sage of Six paths. So that makes you..." said Hiruzen in shock, getting a nod from Naruto.

"A Demigod (Half man, half god). And one of the last descendants of Hachimon, the one who inherited his will..." testified Naruto,

Everything started becoming clear to the old Kage now. Naruto's story explained why since the beginning the Uchiha and Senju were the strongest among the entire ninja race. It made him understand the unbelievable power which Madara Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha, Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju had.

But now the Uchiha and Senju were gone, with only a handful of survivors in the form of Naruto Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha and Tsunade Senju.

All of them fighting on different sides...

The Uzumaki's were also a branch family of the Senju's and now he knew why they were masters in the art of sealing. He shuddered on thinking of the possibility of even a few of them being alive and the horrors they could inflict if they sided with Naruto.

"Fulfilling Hachimon's incomplete work is Valkyrie. I will revive the Juubi and give back the power of chakra which we don't deserve..." said Naruto seriously,

"Impossible. You can't do that..." said Hiruzen in disbelief, and frowned when Naruto gave him a mischievous smile.

"I am Naruto, the Man of Miracles. I graduated at the top of my class, became the youngest Anbu, the youngest Anbu captain. I've led more missions than any of your ninja has ever done, I stopped a civil war, I ousted your prized student Orochimaru in his own turf. I created a nation, built an unbeatable army within months. Is that enough of a resume, oh I forgot to add one more thing to the list. The First leader to completely defeat and erase two of the major five hidden villages from the face of this planet..." said Naruto darkly, as Hiruzen felt a cold chill across his spine.

"Two?" thought both Kakashi and Hiruzen in shock, and moments later they realized the second village which Naruto was talking about.

It was Sunagakure.

"Don't worry, this is just the beginning. The remaining 3 will also follow, and so shall the smaller ones. I will unite this world and make it a better system in the form of the First Reich..." said Naruto proudly,

"An empire? That's..." said Kakashi hesitantly, he was still trying to get over the things Naruto had done. And now he wanted an empire?

"You foolish boy, you'll start the next great ninja war..." said Hiruzen angrily, and narrowed his eyes when Naruto gave him a murderous glare.

"Listen to me, you senile geezer. We have been at war forever, Hashirama Senju simply changed the world from a cannibalistic system to a more organized system that encourages violence and warfare. The Ninja villages always fight against each other for power, money. They wage wars because they know they have the power and can get away with the repercussions. When the conflicts increases, there is a full scale great ninja war. When that's not the case, we have the everyday skirmishes taking place between ninjas from different villages." explained Naruto,

"There is nothing wrong in protecting one's nation. But a traitor like you won't understand that..." accused Hiruzen, making Naruto scoff.

"Sure- Murdering civilians, kidnapping helpless women and children, extortion, protection of crime lords who pay ransom to the village, intentional sabotages to start conflicts, genocides, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we ninjas truly do. In the name of protecting one's nation, we do things that stain our souls. We are nothing more than thugs with swords, mere killing machines ready to follow whichever scum who throws money at us. Maybe you're fine with this role, I'm not..." said Naruto defiantly,

"Naruto, you can't change the nature of humans. Even if you succeed with your revolution, humans won't stop fighting. In time, they'll find a new power to fight against each other..." said Kakashi frankly, and was actually surprised when Naruto gave an affirmative nod.

"I'm aware of that, and it will happen no matter how hard I try. Our race will be extinguished at this rate in this ninja world, one or two more world wars and we are finished. Hashirama even made the foolish mistake of distributing the Biju's like they were candies to the power hungry ninja villages. It's like giving a foolish kid a knife to play with. And we're not even taking into account the Biju's feelings on being used as weapons of mass destruction. The only justification we can give for this barbaric act is by saying we simply can. Then doesn't that make us tyrants? The Biju never disturbed our kind in the thousand years of their existence, it was we who sought them out in the search of gaining more power. The rest is history..." said Naruto angrily,

A faint smile came on Kurama's face when he saw the first human who accepted the truth. The Biju knew awakening the Juubi was a great risk, and frankly there was not much he could do to stop Naruto even if he wanted to. But if Naruto succeeded, things could change. In his entire existence, the fox had felt nothing but loneliness and sorrow. Maybe returning to his home would bring him peace, just as Naruto wanted to bring peace for humans.

The thing he liked about Naruto was the fact that the boy was a realist. He had the balls to call what was right or wrong, he never shied away from his crimes like Hiruzen and the countless other ninjas. He accepted his mistakes and wanted to improve them, Naruto was no longer the naive kid who believed that only by serving his village he could bring peace.

Today the boy was fighting not just for himself, but for all the Biju's and entire humanity itself.

To correct all of their sins, Naruto very well knew history would probably remember him as a tyrant. But he was fine with that, if it meant stopping the conflict in this world.

Now that Kurama thought about it, Naruto was right. From time to time, a few humans always rose and their actions slowly helped in reducing violence and lead the world to stability. First there was Rikudo Sennin who ended Kaguya's reign, then came Ashura and Indra who while divided the world into clans also prevented humans from merely killing every person beside them. They organized the humans...

Then came Hashirama Senju who ended the bloody clan wars era and brought a much more stable system in the form of hidden ninja villages.

And now Naruto Uchiha and his 1st Reich...

The revolutionaries changed, but not their goals. Each of them with their actions helped in stabilizing the world which Kaguya destroyed.

A time may come when even Naruto's empire would fall and a new better system would take its place. Maybe it could be a communist world, or even a democratic one. Who knew? But evolution was necessary, that was the law of nature.

Humanity was flawed. There were heroes and villains both, the only thing that mattered is who you preferred and sided with.

Only now did Kurama understand this concept, and he had lived for a thousand years. And yet looking at this 15 year old boy, he could not believe that Naruto understood this concept at such a young age. Hiruzen who had lived for decades couldn't understand it, but Naruto could.

Now Kurama knew why the sword called Ryujin Jakka had accepted Naruto as its first true wielder and allowed him to use its powers.

"Naruto, you truly are the chosen one. The person whose next in line to take all of us one step closer to the promised land..." thought Kurama,

"You're insane. I can't let you destroy the ninja world, you'll lead us to our doom. Not just through your insane dream of an empire, but by reviving the Juubi..." said Hiruzen flatly,

"It's only a matter of time before humanity faces its doom if it continues at its current course. Now I know reviving the Ten Tails has a few risks..." said Naruto hesitantly, and smiled sheepishly when Kakashi gave him a scary look.

"What risks?" demanded Kakashi,

"For starters, I doubt I'm still strong enough to control it. But I'm working on it..." admitted Naruto, as the two older men stared at him incredulously.

"WHAT!"

Naruto cringed when both Hiruzen and Kakashi yelled at him, with good reason. Sometimes even he himself had doubts whether he could actually do what he was saying he wanted to do.

"There's also the problem that chakra exists not just in humans but in every particle of nature starting from animals to forests, rivers, air. So, I'm still contemplating about the after effects if chakra is taken back from all these things. One thing is for sure, if I don't find a common ground with the Juubi every ninja in the world will die. Myself included..." thought Naruto secretly, he would be damned if he let this dark secret out to anyone.

Only Tobi and he knew this, and he intended to keep it that way.

"Naruto. your plan carries a great risk not just to yourself but this entire world. Creating an empire is one thing, but if you fail or screw up then you'll unleash the apocalypse on this world. And this time, there's no Rikudo Sennin around to stop it..." advised Kakashi seriously, as Naruto raised his hand towards him.

"Then don't make me screw up, help me in bringing the change. I can't do everything on my own Kakashi, I'm not saying whether I'm right or wrong. But this is what I want to do, Kurenai chose to protect Konoha and the ninja world like Hiruzen and I respected that. But I would be lying if I said I didn't want you by my side, you know me better than any person in this world. I also understand you took an oath to defend this village and be a ninja, not to forget you have friends and family here. You have Anko, but sometimes you have to fight for something greater than yourself..." said Naruto persuasively,

Naruto saw Hiruzen grabbing his staff, and from the ice cold look in the Hokage's eyes all bets were now off. The 'God of Shinobi' was now going to fight at his full power without anything holding him back. And if Naruto made even a minute mistake, he would be dead.

That much was sure...

His eyes looked into Kakashi's as he asked the decisive question...

"What shall it be, Kakashi?"