Author Note

Hi.

Allow me to address what seems to be the source of a lot of my criticism.

This story will feature very OP villains. If you do not like this idea, please do not say I haven't warned you. You will likely not enjoy this story.

Now that I have said that, hopefully some of you will have stayed. That's very kind of you. Thanks.

I hope you enjoy 'To the Future'.

Thanks in advance,

Cbehrills


HOPE, A THING OF THE PAST – THE HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE

The Hidden Leaf Village Tunnels

The tunnels beneath the Hidden Leaf have a history to them, they have been used for evacuation purposes many times. People fled through these tunnels during the attack of Orochimaru so many years ago. People ran for these tunnels when they came under attack from Pain, so many years ago. During Pain's assault on the Hidden Leaf Village there was one great difference though, a hero who everyone was waiting for, Uzumaki Naruto. This is a different time however, a time without Uzumaki Naruto, a time without Uchiha Sasuke, a time of great war.

"Keep moving please" Inojin requests as he ushers the civilians along the corridor.

It would be considered natural to bawl and shout in these circumstances but Inojin is a professional, Inojin is a shinobi. It's of the utmost importance in this situation that he keeps everyone calm, if they were to get too agitated they may start to run, that would put elderly and the young at great risk.

As Inojin swings his arm in a sweeping motion, urging people on he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns around to see a familiar face from his youth, a close friend of his mother's. This woman with pink hair is the last survivor of the Hidden Leaf's most legendary team, the last survivor of team 7. Uchiha Sakura.

"Inojin, is my daughter safe?" Sakura asks, her face showing a unique expression. While everyone else in the tunnel is afraid, Sakura is worried.

Inojin shakes his head, "I don't know Aunt Sakura" he answers truthfully, "She said that she will be the last one to leave. As the Hokage it is her duty to protect the village with her life".

This is what makes Uchiha Sarada different to the other shinobi, leaving the village is not so simple for the Hokage. So many had protected this village with their lives, for the Hokage to leave would be to spit on their legacy, great shinobi like Senju Hashirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Namikaze Minato.

"But…" Sakura starts before feeling a hand on her own shoulder.

The owner of this hand is a man who many have come to love and respect. This man has been making plans to retire, to join Sakura's generation in handing over his responsibilities to those that have come after him but as with all happy stories in the ninja world, if it appears too good to be true it usually is.

This man is of course, Sarutobi Konohamaru.

"Lord 8th…" Inojin mutters before saluting.

"Come on Sakura" the 8th Hokage begins, "Our descendants are working hard to clear the village, we shouldn't get in there way".

Sakura lowers her head, an empty look in her eyes. "Konohamaru, these monsters killed Sasuke, they killed Naruto, do we stand a chance of surviving, is there even a point in running".

The many civilians walking down the corridor were quiet a second ago but now they are murmuring, whispering to one another. They all know that this could be the end of their lives, but to hear Uchiha Sakura, their hero, say this is something else.

"Lady Sakura, your generation became heroes when they fought in the great war, everyone was left with no choice, no other option than believing in you" Inojin remarks, "You rewarded their belief greatly, you won, now you have to give us the chance to do the same thing".

Sakura waits for a moment before nodding, maybe not out of belief but instead out of a sense of necessity and of her duty. "You're right" she replies before raising her head to look at the civilians before her, "Let's go everyone".

The medical shinobi begins to walk down the tunnel in parallel with the frightened citizens, reflecting on the battles she has fought in the past. 'If only I had my former strength, I could be fighting with Sarada'.

BANG!

Suddenly a huge explosion happens, nobody knows what caused it but they can all tell it happened nearby. As dust begins to fall from the roof of the tunnel the screams of children fill the enclosed space.

"GO" Konohamaru shouts at the top of his voice.

As the civilians begin to run Inojin approaches the 8th Hokage, "Lord 8th, what do we do?".

"How could this happen" Konohamaru asks aloud, "This village has been here for so many years".

"It's been built on the hard work of generations of our shinobi".

"Yet these people… they're so strong… not even Naruto and Sasuke could stand up to them".

Inojin points down the tunnel, "LOOK".

Coming towards them is a familiar sight, a man with a crazed look in his eye without any intention of communicating with them. This is the enemy they have been fighting for years, not just one, but hundreds of thousands of them. An enemy they cannot negotiate with, an enemy they cannot reason with and an enemy too strong for them to defeat.

As the insane warrior spots Konohamaru and Inojin he begins to sprint towards them, his body an empty vessel with only one intention that can be distinguished from its features. The intent to kill.

The 8th Hokage raises a kunai from his side ready to defend his villagers from the attack that would inevitably come from this warrior.

As the insane warrior continues to run towards Konohamaru and Inojin both ready themselves for a fight. The warrior never reaches them though, his body is impaled by a sword from the rear, a sword that is familiar to both shinobi. As the sword is pulled from the insane warriors gut he falls to his knees and then onto his face, revealing the attacker.

"Mitsuki" gasps Konohamaru as his student approaches him. Mitsuki has been a student of the 8th for years. The son of Orochimaru having worked hard has earnt his reputation as one of the hidden leaf villages mightiest shinobi.

"Sensei, why are you still here" Mitsuki asks with frustration clear in his voice, "You need to go".

"But I'm the 8th Hok…".

"These people need as many shinobi as possible to guide them, or they will die" the young shinobi reminds his sensei and his friend.

Konohamaru holds his head in shame, guilt fills his body as he realises that Mitsuki is right, although it is his duty to stay and defend the village protecting the villagers is even more important.

The pale skinned shinobi had turned his back on his sensei, facing down the tunnel in case any more attackers came. He quickly turns around again "Why are you still here…".

"Both of you… GO NOW".

Konohamaru nods reluctantly, "Come on Inojin" he says before he begins to lead his subordinate down the tunnel.

The Hokage's Office

Sitting in the chair in the Hokage's office is a young woman, only the second woman in history to be in that position, Uchiha Sarada. Sarada undoubtedly possesses the qualifications to sit in this chair, one of the strongest shinobi in the village, the daughter of two legendary warriors. Yet the quality that Konohamaru and Naruto most admired about Sarada was something they all shared, a dream to be Hokage, that is why they decided she would be a great successor.

"It's no good" comes the voice of her chief advisor, "They are overrunning the village".

Sarada looks at the dark-haired man, someone who has a family history in the advisor position, Nara Shikadai. From a young age Shikadai could be seen to be a genius, a tactician of almost flawless strategies. Working together with Sarada many believe them to be the greatest duo to ever work in the Hokage's office.

Sarada, hearing Shikadai's analysis activates her Mangekyo Sharingan, "Then I will die fighting them".

Shikadai slams his hand on the wooden desk that has been passed down from Hokage to Hokage, "Don't be stupid Sarada, the survivors will need you to lead them".

The young woman walks over to the balcony, looking at the swarm of insane warriors below. "I am the 9th Hokage, this is my village, everyone within these walls is within my care".

"Now you are telling me to run away while it is destroyed" Sarada shouts as she turns to face Shikadai.

"Villages can be rebuilt" argues the advisor, "If you die it's permanent".

Seeing that Sarada doesn't move Shikadai approaches her and looks her dead in the eye, "Please listen to me, we have to run".

Sarada's hand plunges into her pocket before pulling out a mobile phone. Quickly she dials a number that she has memorised and used many times in the past. Shikadai hears a brief click confirming that the call has been answered.

"Mitsuki, is the village clear" she asks.

"Yes, you are coming, right?" comes the answer, "If you wait much longer the entrance to the tunnel will be blocked off".

Sarada looks one last time to Shikadai, the young man from the Nara clan who could swear that he sees tears in the eyes of his Hokage. He knows what she is thinking and simply nods.

A deep sigh comes from the Hokage, "Alright, I'm heading there now".

"I'm going to start heading into the tunnel to meet up with Konohamaru sensei" Mitsuki replies before ending the call.

As Sarada puts the phone back into her pocket she looks to Shikadai, a new look of determination in her eyes. It is a key exhibition of what is perhaps her greatest strength, her mental fortitude.

"Let's go Shikadai".

Shikadai takes the prompt and immediately runs to the balcony, leaping down towards the insane warriors below. As he falls he takes out a collection of kunai from his jacket, throwing them and the attached paper bombs down towards his enemies.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As Shikadai hits the ground he notes the bodies around him, but there is one warrior who has not joined the bodies, one warrior who has survived. The insane warrior thrusts his hand towards Shikadai only to be stopped by a timely use of the shadow possession jutsu.

While the insane warrior is paralysed he is killed by a flying kick from above, such strength is put into the kick that it is clear only an elite shinobi could have delivered it. There is no shinobi more elite than the Hokage.

Sarada spots an incoming batch of insane warriors and quickly uses her Amaterasu to clear a path through them. Suddenly a yellow ribcage materialises around her and Shikadai, something that some shinobi would recognise as the Susano of the Uchiha clan.

"Let's go" Sarada says as she, along with Shikadai, head towards the evacuation tunnels.

The Evacuation Tunnel

As Mitsuki catches up with Inojin and Konohamaru he notices that they have now been joined by the Akimichi clan's latest representative in the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, ChouChou. Not only that but an elderly man seems to be walking the other way through the tunnel.

As the elderly man approaches his features become more and more distinct until an artificial looking smile comes fully into the light.

"Father, what are you doing here" Inojin asks, to the elderly man. It is his father, Yamanaka Sai.

"Rest assured, I am just making sure that everyone is out of the village" Sai answers with a smile.

"Dad" Inojin starts with a look of frustration, "You need to let me handle this, go and find mum and stay down until we tell you to come out".

Sai's smile disappears as he realises that his son isn't going to allow him to do as he pleases. "There is a certain jutsu that Lord Danzo passed down through the foundation" he remarks.

"This is a jutsu that only I can perform… I have to do it the moment we are clear of the village".

"Damn" ChouChou curses, ignoring Sai's talk of special jutsu, "Where are Sarada and Shikadai, they are taking far too long". It is worrying not only to ChouChou but to everyone that Sarada is taking so long to arrive. In this time of war Sarada is their greatest hope, a beacon of shining light in the darkness, a Hokage.

It is at this moment that a silhouette appears in the tunnel, but it is not Sarada, it is not Shikadai, it is another group of insane warriors. No matter how many times the shinobi of the hidden leaf kill them, it seems that more emerge to bring the fight to them. While these warriors have no great strength that is truly threatening, what is threatening is their numbers. Fighting for so long against them without a break poses the risk of exhaustion for many shinobi.

Mitsuki raises his sword, ready to fight the group but his weapon is quickly shown to be unnecessary. A giant yellow skeletal hand swings from one side of the tunnel to the other, smashing the insane warriors into the wall, brutally crushing them to death. Only one person in the world is capable of such a feat, Uchiha Sarada.

"Sarada… Shikadai…" Konohamaru greets his youngers.

"Let's go sensei" Sarada replies as she dissipates her Susano, not bothering to slow down as she walks towards the group of shinobi before her.

Unperturbed by those moving around him Sai begins to weave the signs for his special jutsu, the technique passed down through the foundation. "You guys go, I need to remain here to activate this jutsu".

Inojin feels that he knows what this jutsu could mean, his instincts tell him to expect the worst. "Dad, can't a clone do it".

Sai shakes his head, "No, it would be too weak… my real body is needed for this technique".

"Dad…".

"GO INOJIN" Sai shouts at the top of his lungs, something that nobody has seen before.

"But I…".

Inojin is stopped mid-sentence by a blow to the back of his head. A blow from Mitsuki. Orochimaru's son swiftly lifts his long-term friend onto his shoulders and begins to carry him away, with Shikadai and ChouChou not far behind.

"It's no good" Sai begins with a shake of his head, "I don't have enough chakra to execute the technique".

"Sai, what exactly is this jutsu that Lord Danzo had passed down through the foundation" asks Konohamaru, fearing that he already knows the answer. It is his grandfather, Sarutobi Hiruzen who struggled greatly to stop Lord Danzo's unethical dealings with the foundation.

"It's a bomb" Sai answers, "underneath the hidden leaf… it will destroy the entire village".

Sarada's eyes widen, her Sharingan shining spectacularly in the darkened tunnels, "But we can't do…".

"They are going to destroy the entire village anyway" the artist cuts her off mid-sentence. "We should at least take them with it".

"Sai" Konohamaru begins, "You have to be this close… the technique will kill you, won't it?".

"Yes".

"And you require one of us to stay behind to give you chakra, don't you?".

"… Yes".

Konohamaru's lips curl slightly into a resigned smile. "I think it's an easy decision" he remarks as he creates a clone. Sarada admires the clone, her sensei was personally trained by Lord 7th in this technique, he is a true master of it. What Sarada fails to expect though is the incoming attack from that clone, paralysing her with a perfect shot to a chakra point.

"Sensei you…".

As the clone begins to run away with Sarada, Konohamaru smiles with pride at his student's bravery and determination. He is immensely proud to have been the Hokage, perhaps teaching Sarada was the only achievement he had that could ever surpass that.

'The clone will disappear soon, but it should be able to take her out of the blast radius before it's too late'.

Guttural groans can be heard from further down the tunnel, both Sai and Konohamaru have trained their hearing in the past, naturally neither will miss the evidence of an incoming attack.

"Lord 8th, they are coming" Sai comments.

The 8th Hokage rests his hand gently on Sai's back as chakra begins to flow from him to his senior.

"Then send them all to hell".