Fate Wheel | Naruto

𝟖𝟔| "The one the wind blows away from"

CHAPTER 86 — THE ONE THE WIND BLOWS AWAY FROM
══════════════════

10 YEARS POST THIRD SHINOBI WAR

A bloodied man with bloodied hands. It was a mistake. A mistake that changed the lives of thousands and would change another thousand more.

Twenty long years briefly after the armistice was signed, ceasing fire and on-going wars for a temporary amount of time, Shinobi Villages thus started its process of fabricating infrastructure and revitalisation of depleted social, economical and political welfare. Towns emerged from brick and Shinobi Villages emerged from towns, a cycle of trade and development of technology that constructed one of Konoha's finest weaponry. Strong, sustainable metals and materials harvested from mine-shafts and mineral infested hotspots.

Miners and blacksmiths earned easy money, be that as it may not everyone was fortunate enough to have the skills and strengths to mine valuables from concrete ground. It was then, rumours started to spread, that war was lurking near the horizons and the Leaf needed new, fresh soldiers to be able to deploy to the front lines and conquer minor territories within the Fire Lands.

Most saw this as an opportunity of wealth and nourishment— why wouldn't the poor want to feed their families? Others, the attentive, the known, acknowledged the emergence of greed and desperation of land expansion in order to proliferate the Leaf's population- ergo welcoming cultural diversity as the result of ransacking the lives of innocent people. The annexation of territory meant that a minority would suffer so that the majority would flourish, either way— it was a double-edged sword. Conquest required military, weaponry and money. Konoha would soon be rinsed of its forces the more land they acquire and the more stomachs they must feed. Whereas, those being conquered would desire retribution for their stolen lands and stolen lives.

A bloodied man with bloodied hands. He was young, refutably impulsive, but young, too young to acknowledge the repercussions of a decision until that decision was made. He saw greed as an opportunity to strike deals, after all, he cared for the welfare of his people— did he not?

It was then, a deal was sealed on a fateful, dreary night. A night he would remember forever. The night he had signed the Black Clover pact with the Oogami Clan as an act of grief for his former mentor, Tobirama, who was killed by Kumo's Kinkaku unit. Grief. Partial grief, partial spontaneity. The pact ensured that the Leaf would be deployed with the strongest, armed forces of any quantity he desired as well as aid in war efforts so long he would oblige to future oaths without any argument. Hiruzen thought nothing of the generous deal, disregarding what form this payment may take or how the pact would be signed to begin with. That was his biggest mistake.

Consequently, it just so happened that this was no ordinary pact, but a blood pact.

Blood pacts: heavily enshrouded with curse energy, soul bound. Requires the blood of both recipients in a sealing vow, therein binding the hosts, their souls, their identities, their positions in an eternal promise. Meaning, any future Hokage must follow this pact unless broken by the starting host.

Maybe he didn't know it then. But he did know it when the emergence of Sorcerer Factions came to be. He did know it when they ruthlessly slaughtered thousands under his name and orders. He did know it when his actions backfired, resulting harm to his own people. He did know it, when it costed the life of a dear friend of his. He did know it, when he resigned his position and ordained his student as the Fourth Hokage. He did know it, when he had to fulfil his future oath without any argument.