Chapter 91
When did it become so cold? Hiruzen couldn't help but ask as he touched the first snowflakes falling from the sky. Was it because it was the Land of Iron? Or because he had forgotten that winter was coming?
When had the time passed so quickly? Hiruzen wondered, as he wondered about many things. What would this little trip even accomplish? Probably nothing, but there he was, still trying. That's about all he could do. Just try.
In the quietness of watching the snow fall, Hiruzen could only think of how many times he had tried and failed. How his actions had brought him here and now. In this situation, that shouldn't even have happened.
He always thought that whatever he did, he did because it was the right thing to do. And yet, everything had changed. The butterfly effect had long since disordered the future for worse or for the better; he couldn't say.
Now he could only try to keep up with it, no matter where it would bring him. And hope. Hope that he was capable enough, or that everyone around him was capable enough, to weather whatever was coming. But he believed.
Not at himself, but at the people around him. Konoha will stand strong and grow peacefully. With him or without him, it mattered little. Maybe it might even be better without him. But while he was here, he would try to do what he had to do.
"This is the place," Hiashi Hyuga commented as he looked at the temple on top of one of the Land of Iron's mountains. "There are twenty-four samurai and nine monks, all of them capable fighters."
"Security, but for whom?" Jiraiya asked. "Does General Mifune expect trouble?"
"He wouldn't be wrong to do so," Hiruzen replied. "Onoki still not around?"
"No," Hiashi gave a quick answer after checking once more.
The wind picked up again. Hiruzen looked up, prompting Hiashi to do the same. While Hiruzen only looked at the sky, trying to peer into the grey clouds, hoping they would disperse, Hiashi, standing next to him, thought of something else as he stiffened and peered deeper into the sky.
"Apologies, Hokage-sama; you are right, he is here, above us," Hiashi said. "If I hadn't focused on the ground, I would have noticed him sooner."
Hiruzen just glanced at Hiashi, and only after a few minutes did he finally understand what Hiashi was talking about. Jiraiya whistled with a laugh as he, too, looked into the sky. With all three of their gazes fixed on the sky, a shadow started to fall.
Creating a gust of pressure that pushed the falling snow around them, Onoki and his two companions descended before Hiruzen. He was a lot shorter than Hiruzen expected him to be. But he was glad that there was at least someone shorter than him. And older than him.
Though he didn't expect this old man to be here and watching them. How long has he been here? Waiting for him? Well, Onoki did look abxiously paranoid even for a shinobi. Though Hiruzen hoped that with his age, Onoki would want to take it easy.
"Your senses haven't grown dull, Hiruzen Sarutobi." Onoki was the first to speak. "Though your eyes aren't as cold as I remembered them to be. You look almost happy to see me."
"Your memories must have grown rusty then, Onoki," Hiruzen replied, dulling any emotion he had to appear as cold as possible. "With your age, you are bound to make mistakes recognizing others. Though I never expected you to grow any more foolish."
"What did you say?" The air around Onoki stilled as he looked up at Hiruzen with furious eyes.
"So, your hearing is going bad too," Hiruzen added. "How is your back? Knees? At your age, you should have stayed in bed."
"Let's see which of us should have stayed home, right here, right now!"
Onoki looked furious and ready to get into a fight, but it was Hiruzen who felt rage build up inside him. He doubted himself. He started to believe that all this conflict was because he had made mistakes. But now, seeing Onoki, he realized that was not it.
How could it be his fault when it was they who sought to fight him and his village? Onoki, Rasa, and Obito all wanted war. Hiruzen would be satisfied living in peace, but they were keen on bringing war to him. And Hiruzen wouldn't have it.
"Now those eyes I remember well," Onoki commented. "Cold and firm, like steel. I thought that you had lost your touch when you asked me to come here for talks."
Hiruzen didn't reply to him as he looked at the two jinchuriki who came with Onoki. Hiashi and Jiraiya both measured themselves against them, keeping their eyes on them at all times. Then, General Mifune, who had probably detected their presence outside the temple, came to meet them.
"Gentlemen," Mifune was old, far too old to stand so tall and firm as he looked at two Kages before him. "Why not escape this wretched weather and come inside?"
"I wouldn't refuse a hot cup of tea." Hiruzen was the first to step forward as he spoke. "For all that it is worth, I hope to at least come back home after enjoying the famous tea of the Land of Iron."
"Famous would be an overstatement," Mifune replied. "But it is well known and well received; I'm sure you will enjoy it, Hokage-sama."
"Hmph, I'll have some too then," Onoki said. "I came a long way, and the cold isn't good for my bones."
Mifune only let out a sigh as he let them into the temple. It was a beautiful place. The monks worked tirelessly to keep it clean and functioning. A Buddha statue stood in the middle of it, with a stone table already prepared for them, and hot tea steaming in the cold.
In the middle of the table, Mifune sat down first, followed by Hiruzen and then Onoki. The two of them looked at each other across the table. Neither of them had anything good for the other in their eyes. But Hiruzen refused to be controlled by this emotion that swelled inside him.
Rage at the stupidity of the people in power in this world. The system itself that continued this pointless cycle of hate. He closed his eyes and opened them without any emotion toward Onoki.
No good or bad, just clear eyes that wanted to talk things through before this ridiculous conflict could spread any further. Before, the children of their villages would have to pay the price of their foolishness. This had to end there, and with them. That was Hiruzen's only goal.
As the tea was poured by a monk, Hiruzen was the first to taste it. Rather than tasting anything special about it, he only felt relaxed by its scent. He couldn't put his finger on what he was tasting, but it was a calming and relaxing tea, making it perfect for these talks.
It showed Mifune knew what he was doing. And while he drank his tea, Hiashi and Jiraiya stood behind him, looking at the two jinchuriki, focusing fully on them. Roshi and Han, both skilled and deadly shinobi, were among the most powerful there were.
Roshi had red hair and a beard. He might look short and small, even shorter than Hiruzen, but he was imposing, and his eyes flared like he might catch on fire at any moment. He didn't back away from Jiraiya's eyes, daring him.
Han was more mysterious. Taller than even Jiraiya, his face was covered by a red mask, and his upper head was hidden by a red straw hat. Beneath the hat, he wore a white cloth that covered both sides of his head. His armor made him even more imposing, but he was quiet as a mouse. Hiruzen couldn't even hear his breathing.
"So, are you going to talk, or stare us down the whole time?" Onoki was impatient as he glared at Hiruzen. "You begged me to come here, and here I am. So, speak your mind, tell me how wrong I am. That I shouldn't seek conflict and so on."
"Aside from our history and your putrid hatred toward Konoha, why are you trying to seek a conflict with us?" Hiruzen thought that being straightforward would be best. "Why now?"
"Hmph!" Onoki snorted at Hiruzen's question. "You are going to pretend like you don't know. I don't know what kind of deal you have with Suna, but it didn't escape my notice. I heard everything that happened during the Chunin Exams. And you just let them go? What did you demand of them, to strike Iwa when the time comes? And what about Kumo? What did they offer you to accept their peace treaty? You all are conspiring about something, and I won't be caught off guard."
There was silence as Hiruzen looked at Onoki; any lingering hate for this little man was now gone, as he realized. Onoki was a little man. He was a fearful man. And so, he was a hateful man. Good or bad, it didn't matter; he didn't trust anything, and he suspected everything.
Maybe that's how a shinobi was supposed to act. Maybe that's how it all was. And Onoki did have the right to not like the current political climate. He was out of allies and now probably felt like he was surrounded by enemies. And in the center of it all was Konoha.
"You are the last man I thought would be afraid of shadows cast by other shadows," Hiruzen said slowly, trying to think of the right word, but he couldn't come up with it. "When have you grown so cowardly, Onoki?"
"You dare!" There were no hand signs, but Onoki still somehow managed to lift the heavy stone table they sat at.
"I do," Hiruzen replied, releasing his chakra, making the stone table before him crack under the pressure. "We are old; I have accepted it. Now it is time for you to do the same. Are you going to make your children inherit your hatred and fear? Will you not allow them to live in peace?"
"There will never be peace while you and your village command it through your own strength," Onoki countered. "You want peace, but you will only accept it on your own terms, using your power to strangle the rest of us."
Hiruzen let it go, calming himself, and he drank the tea. Onoki did the same as they looked at each other. Onoki looked at Hiruzen suspiciously. Now, Hiruzen understood why. To him, Hiruzen forced the peace between Suna and Kumo.
From his perspective, Hiruzen must have been using his power to threaten them, and they had no choice but to accept Hiruzen's terms. Onoki didn't want the same for his village, and so he chose to act. Firstly, by poking them to see how they would react.
Now Hiruzen wondered what Onoki expected from them. What would have been a proper response to it all? Did Onoki even know? Hiruzen thought about it, but couldn't think of an answer. He could only do what he had to do and hope that it was the right thing to do.
"You are not someone to be controlled by your emotions, Onoki, but we all grow old," Hiruzen said, starting to understand Onoki's side. "And we do everything for the people we love. The difference between you and me is that I hope for the future; you fear the future. There was no threatening Suna or Kumo. I begged them for peace, and I will do the same with you."
"Beg?"
"Yes, if you want me to get on my knees and beg, I will. You were right, I have changed. I am not a shinobi of the past."
"You would abandon your dignity, your pride?"
"What are those trivial things compared to smiling children as they play in your yard, with no idea what war even is?" Hiruzen asked as he finished his cup of tea, relaxing into his chair. "I hope that your shinobi would come to my village, and they would be excited to compare their skills with my shinobi. Where they would laugh together, learn together, and live together. I am willing to do anything to break this cycle of hatred we carry, to end it all with us."
"Are you drunk?" Onoki asked, surprised by Hiruzen's words, as anyone would.
What a ridiculous question it was, no matter how surprised he must have been. Insulting, really, but it made Hiruzen stop as he picked up his second cup. He looked down at it, and he saw that his vision was getting blurrier, his mind lighter.
He dropped the cup, and as it shattered on the stone table, Hiruzen snapped his eyes toward the silent Mifune. He didn't look surprised at Hiruzen's glare; no, his eyes were glossy, like they weren't even seeing anything.
"You have noticed sooner than I expected." Even though Mifune spoke, Hiruzen didn't think it was his words. "But not soon enough. The poison is already in your system. There is no point in fighting it back; you should feel it by now."
"Ding!!! New quest. Survive. Ding!!!"
With realization, a ringing echoed in his head. It was a trap, but as he snapped toward Onoki, he saw the same realization reflected in him. Onoki was shocked by it too, completely caught off guard. And even more surprised that it wasn't Hiruzen's doing.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.