Will of embers

Chapter 30

Hiruzen knew a day would come when he was faced with an outcome he couldn't avoid. He knew that he would die one day, even if he tried his best to ignore it. But no matter how deep in his mind he put that thought, it was still here. So, in the end, he wasn't surprised to be faced with a certain death; in a way, he felt relieved.

It was harder to believe that he had survived this long. Even if it was just a year, he got to experience a second chance at life, so he will always be thankful for that. He did what he thought was right, and he tried his best. He had no regrets, no lingering thought of what if. He easily accepted his fate and faced Danzo without showing any emotion.

"Fuck you, Danzo," Well, mostly without any emotion, Hiruzen grumbled angrily as he took out a smoking pipe from his pocket. "You are doing this now?"

A kunai knocked Hiruzen's smoking pipe off his hand before he could put it to his mouth; the shinobi surrounding him were tense and ready to strike at any moment. Hiruzen couldn't give less shit even if he tried. He was totally fucked, and no one would save him. No amount of luck was getting him out of this situation. At least he didn't see a way out right now.

"With Jiraiya and Kakashi out of the village, is the best chance I will get," Danzo replied calmly, like what he said explained everything. "And I can't let you continue to do what you are doing with the clans. I know you are preparing to get rid of me, so I was left with no other choice but to strike first."

Hiruzen was pissed a bit that Danzo was so damn paranoid and that he wasn't. In hindsight, Hiruzen should have predicted what Danzo would do. And his getting into the prison that kept Orochimaru wasn't a coincidence either. Hiruzen purposely made it so Danzo would be able to get to Orochimaru as bait, but it was used against him.

"And now you won't even allow me to have a smoke?" Hiruzen asked as he looked at his broken pipe on the ground. It would have probably been his last one, too. "How ruthless of you."

Stalling for a time was the only choice Hiruzen had. But he knew that, realistically, that wasn't enough. Nobody would come for him here if not for an emergency, so Danzo had all the time he needed. And he could blame Hiruzen's death on Orochimaru and get away with it. The question was, where was that snake? Hiruzen was completely played.

"I can't allow you any chances," Danzo replied coldly, and with one hand motion, Hiruzen was assaulted.

Hiruzen knew he had no chance against them. He accepted his loss. But he would be damned if he didn't do some damage to Danzo. Konoha was going in the right direction; at least, Hiruzen believed so; after all, he put countless hours of work into restoring and making it even stronger. So, he was understandably pissed that all his hard work would get destroyed by this bastard.

Taijutsu skills: Drunken fist (Advanced level)

Even though it was still an advanced level, Hiruzen could use a Drunken fist to evade his attackers. The problem was that after all this time, Hiruzen only managed to learn how to relax his body to such a degree that it let him easily and unpredictably maneuver around attacks. Yet, he never was able to learn how to strike back, as every time he tried, his body would tense, and the fluidity of his body would be gone.

A sword went past him, and as Hiruzen tilted his head, it got stuck on the wall next to him, giving him time to back off. But the tight halls didn't give him much room to move; it was a blessing and a curse, as even though he couldn't move as much as he wanted, neither could his enemies. The only saving thing Hiruzen had was his ability to use a drunken fist to evade the attacks.

Every time Hiruzen tried to weave a hand sign, he was interrupted. Danzo was fully prepared to face the God of Shinobi Hiruzen supposed to be. So, every member of his hit squad was locked in and didn't give Hiruzen any chances. But at the same time, Danzo couldn't use any explosive jutsu either, for it would alert someone from the outside.

"You are growing weak, Hiruzen," Danzo's voice was distracting, but Hiruzen couldn't ignore it. "Even now, you consider these shinobi that are trying to kill you as part of your village. You won't strike them. That is a weakness that will someday destroy the village. No matter who the enemy is, they must be eliminated at any cost."

Hiruzen full heartedly agreed. He didn't know any of those men; maybe they had some sad backstory, considering they were working for Danzo. That was most likely, but it didn't matter. Hiruzen probably wouldn't feel too bad about their deaths if only he were able to kill them. It was already extremely hard to evade their attacks as they were coming from every side, and they were adapting to his style quickly.

Blood soon was spilled as a kunai cut Hiruzen's cheek. Another sword made a shallow cut on his torso. A shuriken struck his thigh. And it was just the beginning. Hiruzen found it hard to control his body as he wished, as more and more cuts and wounds got him. It truly felt like the end. He needed to quickly reverse the situation as he was pushed to a corner.

Hiruzen wasn't very prepared to face such an enemy. All he had was a few kunai and shuriken and a stock of explosive tags. Throwing his weapons, he created a small opening; using it, Hiruzen quickly surrounded himself with explosive tags and, with one hand, ignited them. It would hurt him as much as it would hurt them. But he was sure he would survive.

"You think sacrificing yourself is noble, Hiruzen?" The explosion didn't ring out as Hiruzen expected. Danzo, using wind style, cut all the explosive tags to pieces before they could activate. "This isn't that kind of world. Giving everyone another chance is too naïve. Now, look at yourself. This is the cruel reality of this world, and only I am prepared to face it."

A sword aimed at Hiruzen's heart pierced his shoulder as he turned his body at the last moment. Hiruzen was already losing a bit too much blood, and now he had quite a deep wound. Even using his perfect chakra control and medical ninjutsu, it was hard to sustain himself. He was no shinobi. He couldn't fight them at all. All the luck he had seemed to have run out.

Name: Hiruzen Sarutobi

Age: 56/82

HP: 40%

Chakra: 80%

Strenght: 8 (-2)

Speed: 8 (-2)

Stamina: 8 (-4)

Intelligence: 9 (-1)

Charisma: 7 (-1)

Ninjutsu: 8

Taijutsu: 8

Genjutsu: 8

Fuinjutsu: 8

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his stats getting weaker from blood loss and injuries. He was tired, and Hiruzen thought that maybe it was fine. He tried his best and got to this point; now, it was time to face reality and let it go. Just for this one time, he could leave the rest to others. Surely, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and the others would be fine. Surely, he could just finally give up on this impossible task and rest.

But he couldn't. Hiruzen was hurt and tired. But he couldn't rest. He couldn't give up. He wished he could. But thinking about the Uchiha massacre, about Naruto and even Sasuke left alone in the world, about Itachi's future, about the village and its people. Hiruzen couldn't let it go, for it was his village and his people, his responsibility and duty.

"You right," Catching the blade sticking out his shoulder, Hiruzen cut his palm and sprayed blood on the wall next to him. "I am not able to face the reality of the world. I am weak. I am everything you accuse me of being. But I can do something that you will never be able to do. I can change. And so I can change this world."

Still holding on to the blade, Hiruzen turned himself and the shinobi behind him to the wall that was colored in his blood in the pattern of the explosive seal. Hiruzen only needed one hand to activate it. The blood burned, and the wall exploded into fire, smoke, ash, and dust. Hiruzen barely heard the explosion for a second before all he could hear was ringing.

"We can't change this world, Hiruzen," As the ringing stopped, Hiruzen heard Danzo's annoying voice. "We can't only adapt to it. I made the hard choices, the ones nobody else dared to make. It was always me and me alone. Yes, I killed. I killed shinobi and civilians alike. Massacred children. But every life I took was for this village. Every murder made one less enemy for this village. I alone stand holding the future safety of this village. You can't deny it. No one can't deny it."

Danzo was covered in dust and ash, but he was completely fine. The only casualty was the shinobi behind Hiruzen, as his back was completely gone from the impact, leaving only a bloody mess as he lay face down on the floor. Hiruzen got quite a few new bruises, too, but that shinobi sustained most damage. But still, his condition wasn't good.

Hiruzen was worn and torn, and all he could do was look at the ceiling. Death he could accept, but he could never accept Danzo. He couldn't let Danzo run the village. He couldn't let Danzo continue on his ways. So, he had to get up. He knew nobody was going to save him. There was no one around, and even if the explosion alerted someone, they couldn't get in time.

It had to be him. He had to stop Danzo even if it was the last thing he did. It was on him. He had to keep moving. He had nothing. He had to do it by himself. If he can't do it, everything he has built so far will be destroyed. So, he got up. Bloodied and tired. His hands were heavy, he was breathing hard, and his vision was blurry. Yet, he still moved his hands from one sign to another.

"Earth Release: Mud Slide," Hiruzen had to say his Jutsu's name; otherwise, he couldn't focus on it. The ground turned into mud that started moving towards Danzo. "Fire Release: Great Fireball."

The mud and fire mixed and created a wave of flames that moved toward Danzo, but a wind jutsu cut the flames down. Weak, Hiruzen knew he was weak. He had no sense of battle, no idea how to fight someone with his whole life spent on the battlefield. Hiruzen wasn't even on the same level in experience, so he was sure to be defeated and killed.

"Earth Release: Mud Slide." The walls around Hiruzen turned into mud. "Fire Release: Great Fireball."

Please. Hiruzen could only beg. Beg his body to move and do something. Think of something. Win somehow in some way. But he could only stand here and watch as Danzo cut down his flames. It felt like the embers of his will were put down. He didn't have anything, he was just too weak, too inexperienced. He couldn't fight. He was pathetic.

"What are you doing? Why are you still holding back?" Danzo asked, looking frustrated. "Look at you! Do you still consider me as your friend? After all, I have done? I shouldn't be surprised, after all, it is just like you to think that way. Isn't that the reason why you let Orochimaru live after all he had done? Why couldn't you just do it, Hiruzen? Why did you let your emotions ruin you? This is the end for you, killed by your student."

Hiruzen couldn't help but think how stupid Danzo would feel if he knew the truth. At least at the end of all of this shit, Hiruzen would have the last laugh. He wasn't even surprised to see Orochimaru revealing himself. Hiruzen expected Danzo to get him out and put all the blame for Hiruzen's death on Orochimaru. The snake was probably watching the whole time, not even bothering to show up earlier.

"There we are again, sensei," Orochimaru said while approaching before stopping next to Danzo. "Why are you so calm, sensei? Have you already accepted your end? Is that why you didn't try your best? Every time I see you, I just can't understand you."

"The moment I decided to take on the responsibility of a Hokage, I was prepared to die," Hiruzen replied, remembering the first days in this world. "I do not fear death, but I do respect life. I have no regrets because I believe in those who will live on. Even you, Orochimaru. I believe that you will rise above your fear of death and realize there is more meaning in life itself."

"Are those your last words to me, sensei?"

"It is never too late to change." The least Hiruzen could do was end Orochimaru's hatred for the village with his death. "Live well, Orochimaru."

A blade pierced through the skin, going straight for the heart. Hiruzen looked at Orochimaru with a shocked expression as blood fell to the ground, and with a painful grunt, Danzo fell to his knees. Orochimaru retracted his blade from Danzo's chest, cleaned the blood off it, and looked at Hiruzen one last time before disappearing into the darkness.

"Next time we meet, I will no longer seek for you. Next time you see me, I will no longer need your guidance but be the person who can give it to others. Continue to shine as you always had, sensei."

"Ding!!! Quest completed. Congratulations, host. After watching you for so long, Orochimaru understood his wrongdoings and was willing to change and walk a different path. Ding!!!"

A familiar sound rang in Hiruzen's ears, but he ignored it for now as he walked to bleeding-out Danzo. The wound on his chest was nasty; the blade went through Danzo's heart. He had a few minutes to live at best. So, Hiruzen had nothing to worry about. The ROOT shinobi didn't act either for whatever reason, leaving Hiruzen able to move freely.

"Hehe," Hiruzen didn't think he had ever heard Danzo laugh before. "So, this was your way. Even if it is a bit too late, I understand it now. The world you see is through other people's eyes. So, by changing them, you are changing the world. This was your answer. Now I feel like a fool for never being able to understand that there was such a way."

"You are a fool, Danzo," Hiruzen said as he knelt next to him, not able to sustain his weight on his legs any longer. "You were always a fool."

"It's funny. For the first time, I am happy that you won," Danzo said. "I was always jealous of you. You were better than me in every aspect. So, all I could do was put you down in every way I could think. And yet, you never looked down on me. I hated that about you the most. I wanted you to hate me too so that it would have been easier."

"World is cruel," Hiruzen replied, looking at Danzo's eyes that were losing their light.

"And yet you aren't," Danzo said. "You didn't need to adapt to the darkness. Now I see it. You are the light in the darkness. I should have known better. This is why Sensei chose you and not me. Please don't fade away, my old friend. I leave the rest to you. Give my shinobi the future since I robbed them of their past and protect our village. Our home. And thank you for showing me that there was a better way. Thank you for giving this old man hope for one last time. I wish I had the strength to say more, but I will finally rest. Goodbye, my old."

Danzo stopped talking abruptly as his eyes completely lost light, and his body started to get colder. Hiruzen stood up with difficulty from the massive puddle of blood after making sure Danzo was dead. The ROOT shinobi surrounded Hiruzen and lay down their weapon at their feet while they knelt before him, just in time as Konoha shinobi started to show up at the scene.