Catching up with Naruto was one way to get Tama's mind off the Hokage. Sasuke was with Kakashi , trying to see if they could control the curse mark seal. Tama had studied it and found that it feeds off of negative chakra. Now, she was taking a break and dealing with Naruto's nine tailed beast dilemma.
"He was so cool, dattebayō. I had no idea that's the kind of power Jōnin have!", the boy sang as she studied the seal on his stomach. He was recounting three missions that his team went on, outside of the village. Apparently, Kakashi wasn't afriad to show his skills and fight like a legend when enemies tried to hurt his team.
Apparently, aside from the mission in the Land of Waves, team seven had also gone to the Land of Snow, and the Land of Tea on escort missions. Now, know that such missions were A-ranked, and only suitable for Jōnin, so Tama was a bit surprised. However, after much consideration, it would be hypocritical to oppose the Hokage's decision in letting them go. After all, her own first mission was B-ranked.
She was just about to answer him when an Anbu appeared just outside the house. Neko knelt before the open door, catching Naruto off guard. Startled, the boy sat up.
"The Hokage would like to see Uchiha Ojōsama and her four wards.", he said. Tama paused, took Naruto's hand, gathered the girls, and immediately sped towards the Hospital. The Hokage had been moved there in order to avail him to his family. When they arrived, Konohamaru and Asuma were already there, along with Sasuke, Jiraiya and Kakashi.
"I understand, Hokage-sama.", Sasuke said, just as they entered the room.
"Tama-chan, my time... Is almost over.", the man began once he saw her. He reached out to her, and she took his hand as she knelt next to him.
"Karin-chan, Akira-chan... I want to thank you girls for... giving Tama-chan the honor of raising you. You've shown me that I... Didn't completely ruin this kind child... Thank you.", he said, using his free hand to pat their heads respectively. At this, they both began to cry, along with Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry that... things had to be how they were. You may not understand now... But I had my reasons for... Not taking you in... As I meant to...", he took in a deep breath, "I... I'm proud of you, all of you, and... I'm sorry for not... Being the man I had to be..."
"Jii-chan... It's okay, dattebayō! You did your best and... And...", Naruto trailed off, his speech transioning into a messy bawl. He burried his face in Tama's shoulder.
"There there, you're such... A sweet, forgiving boy... I should have done better... For you...", the Hokage said. He coughed. The room fell silent, everyone was too afraid to speak.
"Tama-chan... No words could... Begin to express my sorrow... And gratitude to you. Your dedication to... Konoha showed me that... You truly... Love the village.", he said. Tama kept her gaze on him, watching his chest fall and rise with each strenuous breath. "I know how much you... idolise the second Hokage. I'll have you know... That he told me... That he saw a fire in your... Eyes. He said that your spirit... Burns bright... And that you might become... One of the next... Legends in the shinobi world. I agree, at your age... While I would've fought, by his side... I couldn't have risked my life like... You did. You're a... A...", he wheezed, and began to coucgh painfully. This time, he couldn't stop. He coughed up blood, and Kakashi immediately took the children out.
Jiraiya and Tama watched, solemn, as the man slowly began to take in deep breaths. Tama thought back to the fight with Orochimaru, the Monkey King had been shouting the whole time that Orochimaru should die. If only the Hokage had done so sooner, maybe this could have been avoided.
"Call Kakashi-kun...", the Hokage finally said again. Jiraya did so, being the closest one to the door.
"Listen closely, all of you... The fourth Hokage had a vision... For Tama-chan... For the village... I will leave you... With one final mission... the village... Must be protected... No matter what it takes... Tama-chan, please... Watch over the village... Fulfill your duty... As Minato intended... Now, summon... The reaper death and end... My misery...", he said.
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Wildflower Book 1 | Naruto Fanfiction
Fanfiction'"Look at me. My feet are drenched in my mother's blood! My father's blood is all over me!" She stepped forward, avoiding the corpses of her dead parents. Anger was the one emotion that she could harbour, anything else would be too much. "I'm afrai...