Rise of The Phoenix Sage

CHAPTER 28: The Forgotten Hero - Part 3

(Back At The Shinobi Burial Grounds....)

It seemed that the terrifying wind that shared the rage of Naruto doesn't affect his mother or his sister as they were unfazed by the wind apart from their hair flowing in the wind lightly. Seeing the lack of surprise or shock on the faces of both Tsunade and Shizune, it is now crystal clear that this is not the first time they are witnessing something like this.

Tsunade calmly kneeled in front of her son unfazed by the chakra he was emitting or his killing intent because it was not directed at her. "Don't let your anger to control you..."

Even though Tsunade said lowly, Naruto heard it loud and clear. He seemed to somewhat calm down, but the wind is still howling ominously, and the birds are still screeching angrily responding to his anger.

"But mom... What was done to him was wrong..." Naruto said with sadness and slight anger.

"Yes... But you can't do anything about it as long as your rage takes control over you..." Tsunade chided her son.

That seemed to calm him as the wind settled and the birds started calming down too and returned to their nests.

"Mom...?" Naruto said after he completely calmed down.

"Hmmm...?"

"lets go and meet grandpa Hokage... I have something to talk to him..." Naruto said turned towards the direction that leads to the Hokage tower and started walking.

Knowing what her son is gonna do now, she just laughed to herself and said, "Alright..." she then followed her son along with Shizune who is also smiling cause her brother is calmed down now.

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(Hokage Cabin...)

While Hiruzen was still thinking about the reason for the strange phenomenon, the wind and the birds suddenly settled down. He seemed genuinely curious now but another Chunin barged in to the room and kneeled.

"Hokage-sama... The Senju Family is here to see you..." reported the Chunin.

That seemed like a genuine surprise for Hiruzen, Koharu and Homura as they didn't expect them to be here when there is a situation like this. "Send them in..." the aged Hokage said. Both Chunins present in the room left leaving the Hokage alone with Koharu and Homura.

Soon the door to the Hokage cabin was ripped off from its walls as Naruto pushed it and he then let the door to fall on the adjacent wall.

"Lady Tsunade... What's the meaning of this...? This is disrespectful and can be considered an attack on the..." Homura started saying but was interrupted by the Slug Sannin who said, "My son here has something to talk to you two and the Hokage..." She then turned to her son who nodded without even looking at her, so she continued again, "...and after the discussion, whatever happens will decide whether the Senju Clan will be a Leaf village clan or not..."

That statement made the Hokage and the elders to get shocked at the imminent warning hidden in it. The Aged Hokage was the first to recover from his shock and he immediately pointed to the chairs in front of his table and said, "Ok Tsunade... Have a seat and lets talk..."

Tsunade and Shizune took the seats but Naruto opted to stand instead. Tsunade got comfortable in her seat and gestured her son to carry on.

"Hokage-sama... I want to know what is 'The Will of Fire' that every Leaf shinobi is so proud about...?" Naruto questioned.

Hiruzen was initially surprised when Naruto called him Hokage-sama instead of the regular old man or grandpa and thought the discussion would be over some really nasty thing, but when Naruto said it was about 'The Will of Fire', a smile made its way on his lips and he sat down in his chair and gestured his old teammates to do the same.

"Naruto-kun... The Will of Fire is something that every Leaf shinobi has to protect their comrades, their loved ones and their next generations." Hiruzen said with pride.

"So those who protect their comrades, their loved ones and their next generations are those with 'The Will of Fire' and they will be remembered forever right...?" Naruto asked with absolute calmness.

To Hiruzen, Naruto's calmness felt like the calm before the storm. But he answered anyway, "Yes Naruto-kun..."

"Then why can't I see the name 'Sakumo Hatake – The White Fang of The Leaf Village' on the Leaf's memorial stone...?" the lack of anger in Naruto's voice made the question even more unnerving.

The room was filled with pin drop silence at the question. Eventually Koharu was the one who broke the silence by saying, "He was given a top-secret mission which he abandoned...." She couldn't complete her sentence as Naruto interrupted her by saying, "To save his comrades, his loved ones and his next generations..."

There was no answer from Hiruzen or the two elders to that statement. "He chose to save his comrades, his loved ones and his next generations by abandoning the mission... He rescued each and every one of them stuck in that life and death situation..." Naruto took a pause to calm his rage that started to raise again and continued, "Instead of giving him the proper respect for his efforts the entire village started blaming him, totally forgetting about this 'Will of Fire' that the Leaf village boasts about, and even those who were saved by him started to scorn him... So basically, a person who cannot even be defeated by The Three Legendary Sannin themselves was eventually defeated by his own comrades, his own loved ones and his own village."

The tension in the room's atmosphere became too much as everyone in the room knew whatever Naruto was saying was actually the harsh truth.

"So, I ask again... I want to know what is 'The Will of Fire' that every Leaf shinobi is so proud about...?" Naruto's question cut through the silence in the room like how a hot knife cuts through the butter.

"Naruto-san... You need to understand that a mission for the Leaf village is top prio..." Homura started saying but was interrupted by Tsunade who said, "A village is not a place... A village is its people... Save its people, you save the village... and if I'm not wrong that's what Sakumo Hatake did..." Homura had no answer for that statement.

"Why you people preach the younger generations about this 'Will of Fire' that you yourself can't accept...? Why boast about 'The Will of Fire' and then extinguish that fire by pouring salt water on it...?" with each and every word that Naruto kept on saying, his rage slowly started to build inside him, which triggered the sky predators once again as they are now flying on top of the Hokage tower with loud and angry screeches demanding answers causing the shinobi to be on high alert.

After a few very silent and tense moments later, Hiruzen just released a resigned sigh and said, "I know what you're trying to say Naruto-kun, but I don't have the power to determine everything..."

"You're the Hokage... And if the Leaf Village's Hokage cannot properly respect a Fallen Hero... Then I don't want to be a part of this village."

"You can't do that...!" Koharu shouted standing up throwing all her dignity out the window.

"Mom...?"

"Yes Naruto-kun...?"

"If Sakumo Hatake was not given the proper respect he deserves within the next 7 days, can I quit the Ninja Academy, and can we go back to Wave...?"

"That's not possible...!" Koharu shouted again.

"Yes, you can quit any time and we can return to Wave Naruto-kun..." Tsunade replied completely ignoring the outburst of Koharu.

"Naruto-kun wait... A Hokage does not have the autho...." Hokage started to say but was interrupted by Tsunade who said, "Then who does...? The Fire Daimyo...?"

I was about to say that the Civilian Council must agree to it first... Hiruzen thought but didn't say out loud.

As if she knew what was on her master's mind Shizune took out a small and empty scroll from her sleeves and handed it to Tsunade who started to write something in the scroll.