Hiruzen, upon seeing Minato and Kushina close their eyes forever, felt immense sadness that weighed heavily on his chest. But even so, above all else, he was still the Hokage. And now, with the fall of the Fourth Generation, as the Third, he had to step forward and take control of the situation immediately.
He approached the newborn who was still crying nonstop and took him in his arms, trying to calm him while observing the chaos around.
—This is an order —he said firmly—. Anyone who disobeys it will be considered a traitor and will suffer the highest punishment in Konoha. No one must know that this baby is the son of the Fourth Generation and, at the same time, the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi.
All the ANBU present, upon hearing this, responded immediately:
—Yes, Hokage-sama!
Hiruzen nodded satisfied, although inside he felt a slight tremor at hearing the title Hokage again in his own voice. He sighed with regret while looking at the baby.
"Again Hokage…? I don't think there is anyone more suitable than me at this moment. My students are becoming less and less interested in the village… and Orochimaru… Orochimaru is becoming increasingly dark. This worries me…"
Meanwhile, in the village shelter…
Kiseki slowly began to wake up inside the shelter with his family. The trembling in his body had gradually disappeared.
"What happened to me…? I feel like my chakra reserves are almost depleted… why am I here? I shouldn't be dead…" he thought while trying to move his fingers and regain consciousness.
Mebuki, noticing that her son was starting to move, hugged him tightly without thinking.
—I was so worried! You scared me to death, Kiseki!
Kiseki, still somewhat weak, smiled awkwardly while trying to sit up.
—Mom… hehe… but everything turned out fine, right?
Mebuki frowned slightly and gave him a small hit on the head.
—Don't ever scare us like that again!
Before the situation fully calmed down, Kiseki spoke again, this time more seriously.
—Mom… I feel something strange inside me. My chakra reserves are depleted… but also… I feel something odd… like a pink chakra…
Before he could finish, Mebuki quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
—Let's leave that for later, Kiseki. There are too many people here. I know you have questions, but this is not the place to talk about it.
Kiseki slowly nodded, understanding the situation, and stayed quietly beside his mother while waiting to leave the shelter.
—Mom… where are dad and Sakura?
—They are in another section of the shelter —Mebuki replied softly—. Sakura is still very small, the dust, chaos, and movement can be dangerous for her. That's why she's in a special area for babies.
Kiseki calmed down a bit. He remembered the last moment before losing consciousness: holding his sister in his arms while everything collapsed over them.
—Attention! The beast has been contained and defeated by Hokage-sama. You may leave the shelter. The injured should go to the hospital, the rest should help those in need.
Upon hearing this, Mebuki and Kiseki quickly left the shelter along with the other survivors.
The environment was chaotic, but there was a partial sense of relief among the citizens.
In the distance, Kiseki managed to see Kizashi holding Sakura in his arms. The baby was sleeping deeply, completely unaware of the disaster that had occurred.
Seeing this, the family was finally reunited. Without saying a word, all four embraced each other.
That small moment of warmth seemed to separate them, even if only briefly, from the absolute disaster that had struck the village. Their house was completely destroyed… but at that moment, that didn't matter.
As long as the family was together, everything else was secondary.
—Dad… I have a question —Kiseki said after a few seconds.
Kizashi looked at Mebuki from the corner of his eye and immediately understood what his son wanted to ask. Mebuki also understood silently.
Kizashi sighed.
—Let's go home… in the underground I'll explain everything. If I'm not mistaken, it should still be intact.
As they walked through Konoha, the destruction was evident everywhere. Destroyed houses, broken streets, smoke still rising in some areas, injured people being treated by medical ninjas. The atmosphere was heavy, almost emotionally suffocating.
Kiseki watched everything in silence.
For the first time, he understood something clearly: hatred in this ninja world did not come from nowhere.
Although he understood the logic behind that resentment, he couldn't help but feel a weight in his chest when thinking about Naruto's future.
Finally, they arrived at what remained of their home.
—Well… we're here —Kizashi said seriously—. Release Jutsu.
He placed his hands on the ground and the terrain immediately reacted. A hidden entrance slowly opened, revealing stairs leading underground.
—Let's go, Kiseki. Mebuki, stay with Sakura. I'll take care of explaining everything.
Mebuki nodded without saying anything and held her daughter even tighter.
Kiseki began descending the stairs with his father.
The air grew colder as they went deeper.
—I know you have many questions, Kiseki… but I'll start from the beginning —Kizashi said calmly.
—We, the Haruno… before hiding, were a ninja clan, especially one with a Kekkei Genkai.
Kiseki opened his eyes in surprise.
"So… this world is not exactly the same as the original story… at least I never knew Sakura's family was once a ninja clan…"
As they went deeper, the corridor began to light up with crystals embedded in the walls. Crystals of different colors illuminated the path like solidified chakra: pink, green, light blue, orange, and finally purple.
Kiseki watched in silence, impressed by what he saw.
Finally, they reached a huge door.
On it were five crystals arranged in a star shape.
Kizashi spoke seriously:
—These are the five basic chakra elements.
He pointed to the first.
—Katon.
A deep red crystal glowed inside, as if a small flame lived within it.
—Suiton.
A deep blue crystal, calm and powerful, like a quiet ocean.
—Fūton.
A clear crystal, almost white, gently moving like a constant breeze.
—Doton.
A dark brown crystal, solid and heavy, representing absolute stability.
—Raiton.
A bright blue crystal emitting small sparks of energy inside.
Kiseki observed each one silently, processing what he was seeing.
Then his gaze moved to the center.
A sixth crystal.
Dark Violet
Different from all the others.
Darker, stranger… as if it did not belong to the five basic elements.
Kiseki stared at it, feeling something inexplicable inside him…