Chapter 336: Goodbye
Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 336: Goodbye
"Father…" He approached the center of the chamber with trepidation.
"Since when are you so shy? Come here and give your mother a hug," Ino told him.
"Yes, it doesn't really fit your image of an old man," his little sister said in between chuckles.
"I am an old man," he huffed, but still approached and gave his mother a warm hug, before turning to his sister. "I'll let you know that I am close to retirement."
"You are giving up being the Hokage? I thought that was your dream," Naruto pointed out.
"Dad, I have been Hokage for over fifty years already…" He knew his father had a weird sense of time. For him, that conversation must have felt very recent.
But from Shinobu's point of view, he had already lived a long and fulfilling life.
Hinata joined the conversation. "I heard that the next Hokage is going to be an Uchiha. They have been waiting for that since the times of Madara."
"I see that you still keep up with what is going on in Konoha, aunt." He could have sworn that his family had become completely disconnected from the rest of the world.
"And yes, it is an Uchiha. The grandson of Asuka...father's former student. His sister has been working as my assistant for the past six months or so, to get the hang of things."
"An Uchiha as Hokage…well, I wish him well. Because I'm afraid that I won't be able to completely keep my promise to Tsunade," Naruto had a tone in his voice that Shinobu had not heard… ever.
"What are you talking about?" Shinobu asked.
"Lady Tsunade didn't tell you about their deal?" Ino looked surprised. She was sure that the woman would have informed her successor.
"Deal? She never said anything of the sort," Shinobu responded.
"Haven't you wondered why Konoha has enjoyed such a long-lasting peace? Other villages have experienced more wars, attacks, and other tragedies, while Konoha has not been touched since the 'One Day War' ended almost eighty years ago," Hinata explained.
"We have the strongest ninjas protecting our village, including myself, of course," he said with the pride of someone who had kept peace for his entire term as Hokage.
"We also have kept good relationships with as many villages as we could, caring for the international pr—"
"Let me stop you there," Ino said. "You are not completely wrong. I'm not going to say that you haven't done a great job leading Konoha, and we are all very proud of you. But there is also the fact that Naruto had promised to guard Konoha for one hundred years."
"He did?" He looked at his father. "You mean… you have been protecting the village even after you left?"
"There are currently millions of my clones keeping an eye on things. If any serious threat appears, they eliminate it, leaving only minor ones so the ninjas of Konoha have something to do. Over the past eight years, they have stopped hundreds of conspirations, attempts of coups, and war threats. I made a promise to Tsunade and I intended to keep it."
"We even had some aliens trying to invade the planet a few times," Ino said with a grin on her face, remembering the good old times.
"I didn't know about any of that…" Shinobu looked down.
"Maybe Tsunade didn't tell you because she didn't want you to become overconfident or rely too much on your father. Who knows?" Hinata said.
"Regardless of that protection, you did do a great job leading the village, Shinobu. Never doubt that," Hinata told him.
"That is no longer important. Because from today on… Konoha will have to defend itself on its own. It will be up to the future generations to keep that peace going," Naruto said.
"Didn't you say before that the promise was for one hundred years?" Shinobu asked.
Naruto nodded. "I did. Unfortunately, my cultivation has reached a point where I can no longer keep it back. I have been on the brink of breaking through for the past ten years."
"Your father has really tried to hold on as much as he could," Ino said. "He really wanted to stay a bit longer." She glanced at her husband, her eyes filled with love.
"He tried for ten years, but if he continues to contain his cultivation, it could have very harmful consequences. He could become stuck where he is right now… unable to ever take that last step," Hinata added.
Shinobu looked confused. "I'm sorry, but I know I'm not good with all this cultivation stuff. Isn't breaking through a good thing? Is this about those tribulations that you once told me about? Is another one of those approaching?"
Hana shook her head. "There are no more tribulations. You don't have to worry about that. The problem is that our father is already on the brink of achieving Godhood."
"Godhood? You were serious about that?" He always thought that his father was exaggerating when he talked about achieving immortality or becoming a God. Some words came to the front of his mind...something that his father had said often when asked what his ultimate goal was.
"'Ascending to the Heavens'… is that…?"
Naruto smiled. "You were paying some attention, it seems. Yes, that has been my goal from the beginning. And now I'm very close to achieving it."
"But once he ascends to become a God, he will be forced out of this world," Hinata explained.
"The universal forces that created the universe won't allow any God to remain in a mortal world," Ino added. "They will be forcefully expelled and directed to a higher realm of reality."
"You mean…" His eyes moved to his father. "You are leaving."
"Sorry, my son. I tried to delay it as much as I could. But it is time for me to go." Naruto stood up. Meditation was no longer effective to keep his energy contained.
"You called me here to say goodbye," Shinobu realized.