— — — 13 YEARS AGO — — —
Long before the era of peace… before legends like the Sannin ever earned their titles… there was a girl who walked beside them.
Her name was Ryota Hana.
Being the last of her clan, she was found by Hiruzen and taken to Konoha.
Growing up, she dreamed of becoming the strongest—someone who could compare to the likes of Hashirama and Madara.
She made friends among the older generation—the current Sannin: Tsunade, Orochimaru, and of course, Jiraiya.
She was especially close to the toad sage, being akin to best friends.
They did everything together—trained, fought, laughed, and survived.
They were inseparable.
On the day of Hana's wedding to Keith, due to the lack of a father, Hiruzen walked her down the aisle—
with Jiraiya nearly crying in the front row.
But on the day of her childbirth—on the day Benimaru was born—tragedy struck.
The cloaked figure, armed with his signature sickles, took the life of Hana, Keith…
and Benimaru's unborn younger sister.
Since her cause of death was never fully explained to the public, Hana and her husband's deaths could never be fully documented.
Even their bodies weren't recovered—nothing but ash remained when the cloaked figure left the village.
When news of Hana's death reached Jiraiya, he was devastated.
Orochimaru, his teammate, had just desecrated the village a few months prior to this.
Coupled with the pain of losing a loved one—he almost couldn't take it.
He mourned her for a week straight—no food, water, or sunlight.
He stayed in his room, wallowing in his sorrow.
But that sorrow quickly turned to rage—he dedicated himself to finding her killer and ending them himself.
In the end, he never found them.
— — — CURRENT TIME — — —
At the Chuunin Exams stadium, all of the Sand and Sound ninja had been fully dispatched.
Baki, the leader of Team Gaara, escaped, however.
At the roof of the viewing area, Orochimaru and Hiruzen's battle had come to a close.
Orochimaru had summoned the First and Second Hokage—leading Hiruzen to use the Reaper Death Seal to deal with them—sacrificing his life.
But before he died, he destroyed Orochimaru's arms—making sure he could never use ninjutsu again.
Orochimaru and the Sound Four had successfully escaped.
All of the Leaf Jonin gazed at the sight of Hiruzen's limp body.
No one spoke—no one knew what to say.
The sound of a cane clacking against the ground rang in everyone's ears.
Chandler turned to Kakashi and nodded—to which the Jonin reciprocated.
He walked toward Hiruzen's body with a purposeful stride, kneeling beside him.
"You damn fool… you really went and died for them, didn't you?" spoke Chandler softly.
The other Jonin remained silent. The relationship between the Hokage and his second-in-command was complicated—none could really grasp it.
"I'll make sure to protect this village in your stead, old friend."
Chandler stood up, turning to the remaining ninja.
"Well, what are you waiting for? We have a village to rebuild."
The following week that passed was brutal.
Hiruzen's official burial was held—all of Konoha was in attendance.
That day a man was lost, but many others would rise to replace him.
Many wept; even the clouds seemed to cry as it rained heavily.
It was hardest on Konohamaru and Naruto.
They saw Hiruzen as their grandfather, and to lose him was… heartbreaking.
After the funeral, all of the Leaf ninja engrossed themselves in training—attempting to look past their leader's death.
Under Chandler's leadership, the Leaf Village was attempting to rebuild.
Chandler worked day and night—no sleep, no rest.
He would fulfill his promise, even if it killed him.
But in the days that followed, one question persisted in everyone's mind:
Who would be the next Hokage?
The obvious choice would be Chandler or Jiraiya.
One was the previous Hokage's right-hand man,
while the other was the Third's student and one of the legendary Sannin.
But unfortunately, neither had any aim of becoming Hokage.
Danzo was vying for the position, but no one was willing to give it to him.
After back-and-forth debates, a consensus was finally made:
The Fifth Hokage would be Tsunade Senju—the Slug Sannin.
Jiraiya and Naruto left the village to look for her and eventually brought her back.
In the meeting room, multiple figures gathered.
Tsunade sat in the center, clad in her usual green and white robe.
She coughed slightly, getting everyone's attention.
"We are here today to announce promotions," she smiled at the gathered genin, calling them one by one.
Sasuke was promoted to Chuunin,
as were Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Shino.
Benimaru was the last to be called forward.
Upon seeing him, Tsunade felt a rush of nostalgia—he resembled his mother so much.
Even though she wasn't as close to Hana as Jiraiya was, she was still a Leaf Shinobi, and Tsunade treasured her deeply.
Tsunade's lips stretched upwards as she gazed at Benimaru's kneeling form.
"Benimaru Ryota, for your help in the invasion, defeating enemy shinobi, saving civilians, and defeating that snake summon," she said, making him look up. "You have been promoted to Jonin."
Benimaru's eyes widened at the revelation.
He quickly turned around—the other promoted genin had already left, leaving only him, Tsunade, and the other Jonin.
CLAP CLAP CLAP
One by one, the other Jonin began clapping for him.
"A twelve-year-old Jonin? That's crazy."
"Reminds me of Kakashi."
"He took down that snake, so he's pretty good."
"No doubt about that."
The feeling of a large hand clamping down on Benimaru's head made him twitch.
"You did well, kid," Kakashi eye-smiled at him.
Guy, who stood on the other side, gave him a thumbs up.
"Amazing, young Benimaru!" he rejoiced. "MAY THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY UPON YOU!"
Guy's extravagant display made both Benimaru and Kakashi sweatdrop.
Tsunade clicked her table slightly to divert everyone's attention back to her.
"Of course, everyone here acknowledges your strength, Benimaru-kun. However, the missions taken by Jonin are far more dangerous than Chuunin or Genin," warned Tsunade.
Benimaru's eyes sharpened—the recent events had made him think more deeply.
What was his reason for becoming a Shinobi?
When he was younger, he just wanted to become the strongest—and when he met Sasuke, he wished to share the title.
But now—his motives had changed.
He still wanted to become stronger, but his utmost priority was the safety of the Leaf and its citizens, no matter the cost.
If the life of just one man was at stake—he would gladly risk his.
He didn't care about the glory, the fame, or the rank—strength to protect, and the will to use that strength, was what mattered.
Benimaru bore his eyes directly into Tsunade's.
For a second, she thought she was looking at someone else—not a twelve-year-old child.
Benimaru spoke seriously.
"Do you have an alternative, Hokage-sama?"
"Actually, I do." Tsunade extended her hand forward. "Benimaru Ryota, join the ANBU."
CHAPTER END
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