A/N: This one does not have a happy ending. This one has been in my head for literal years, like the other Naruto story.

Published: 11/03/2017

Warnings: Meh.

A Kage's Resolve

Yagura had never truly lived. His life, his existence, his very being, could not be called living. Yagura was a slave. Yagura had always been a slave.

His prison was not the typical one. His prison was not a thing that could be physically seen. To the outside world, there was no prison. There were no walls. There was only Yagura, and, to them, he was free.

Yagura was not contained behind stone walls.

He was not surrounded by armed guards. He was not chained down. Physically, there was nothing holding him bound. To the untrained eye, the boy-king of Mizu no Kuni was free.

Yagura's cell was his own mind, and there is no worse prison.

Yagura had long ago let go. He couldn't bring himself to care anymore.

The first time that spinning red eye had met his own, Yagura had been enslaved. His torment was a never ending thing, and Yagura knew, now and forever, that he would always be bound by these chains.

If only he could see Zabuza once more, free and with his own will intact, one last time.

Then, he could smile and apologize.

But, Yagura had no will that was not his master's will.

Yagura was a prisoner in his own mind.

He had always been a prisoner, since the first time he met the masked man, at the age of five.

Tailed Beasts.

Bijuu.

There is nothing in the Ninja World more revered or feared than the power of these abominations. The Kyuubi, capable of leveling mountains with a swing of it's tail. The Hachibi, massive and destructive, the scourge of Kumogakure. The Nanabi, with it's fierce wings and vicious poisons. The Rokubi, the massive slug that only recently went missing. The Gobi, that left entire villages reduced to ruins with it's inhabitants boiled alive. The lava spewing monkey king, the Yonbi. The two tailed hellcat, the Nibi. The sand wielding psychopath, the Ichi.

And, there was also Yagura's personal favorite.

"So, your name's Iso-Iso- Isosu?" the child smiled.

Most children would turn, run, and scream in terror at the sight of a Tailed beast.

Yagura, on the other hand?

What a cute giant turtle! Yagura silently wondered if his mother would let him keep it. It was adorable!

Yagura wondered why people feared them so much.

Isosu was perfectly capable of speech and comprehension. After all, how else would Isosu have told him his-

"My name," the Sanbi spoke with the tongue of someone who was quickly growing exasperated, "Is Isobu. BU. Not So, BU."

"Isosobu!" The child grinned up. Isobu blinked down at the small creature that had dared approach him, a Tailed Beast. Then, the massive creature smiled. Isobu, like his other siblings, often avoided humanity. They had grown dark since the age of Nishu, which was so long ago that even Isobu had almost forgotten. Still, in children like this one, Isobu could see what Hagoromo had mean-

"This child is capable of controlling your power. Fascinating."

Isobu turned his massive head and came face to face with the dreaded eye that all Bijuu had come to fear. A symbol of utter darkness, the beginning of the Shinobi age, of endless wars and destruction that had led humanity to forget their origins.

A glowing red spinning eye. Isobu screamed and moved to attack, only for that eye to spin.

Isobu froze.

How… How was this… The Uchiha held not the power to put Bijuu under their sway, only leave them in a wild uncontrollable rage, then how- Behind the man, Isobu could see a glow, reminiscent of the past, of that monster, and it was then that Isobu knew no more.

"Isosu? ISOSU!" Yagura leapt up. With a snarl, the child turned towards the masked man. "Who are you, what did you do to Iso-"

"Sleep," lazily, a red eye met Yagura's and the world spun.

That was the last day Yagura of the Sanbi knew any freedom.

Obito was enthralled. He was curious. He… Was slowly realizing just what drove Orochimaru, actually. This boy was capable of influencing the Sanbi. No normal child could walk up to a Tailed Beast and live to tell the tale, after all. This boy could both suppress and empower the Bijuu. Was this how they had captured the Beast before to seal it within Rin?

Rin…

Good, kind, innocent Rin.

Smiling Rin.

The girl who took his heart, who would hold it for all eternity.

Obito knew that he would never love again. Shinobi die young, and Obito had known that when he'd fallen for her. It didn't matter how young they had been. Obito loved her, she was his world, she was his everything.

This place, this twisted nation and this twisted Shinobi world, took her from him.

Obito had realized long ago, that the only way to fight darkness is to surrender oneself to it. So, Obito chose to give into the dark. What he was about to do was evil. It was wrong. It was immoral. Incomprehensible.

Obito Uchiha, however, had grown up as a Shinobi. He had been used as a child soldier. He had slain his first man when he himself was only four years old. His moral compass had been skewed from the start. As such, the idea of imprisoning a child within his own mind, making a little boy into his slave, his minion, and a monster really didn't phase Obito.

After all, had Madara not done the same to him?

Obito was no fool.

Him, match Minato-Sensei? Him, successfully fight off several Anbu that left even Kakashi defenseless? No. Obito understood full well that whatever Madara had done to him to preserve his existence had left him changed. Obito was no longer human. No, he was so much more. He understood that half his strength, half his battle power, half his abilities had been literally implanted into him by Madara. Madara had not taught him. He had not trained him. He had created Obito into the being he currently was.

And this child…

Obito would do the same to him, morals be damned.

Yagura never knew.

Yagura didn't even remember.

What is a child against the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan?

Yagura never knew. Yagura grew, Yagura became the Sanbi Jinchuriki, Yagura became the Mizukage, because in the Shinobi world age does not matter. What truly matters is strength and power, and there were none stronger than him. He had made a pair of friends that he cherished beyond anything else.

Yagura truly loved Zabuza and he truly loved Mei Terumi.

Because of them… Because of all the suffering he had seen… Yagura wanted to change Mizu no Kuni. He wanted to make it better. He wanted to change the Shinobi World. An impossible dream, sure, but… All dreams start somewhere, right?

Yagura smiled.

Yes. He'd start here. He'd make Mizu no Kuni into an example. Kirigakure would be the heart of the change. And, who knows, maybe, one day, the change would spread across the whole of the Shinobi world! Yagura was not stupid. He knew complete peace was out of their reach. That was an impossible dream. But, the concept of Hidden Villages and Shinobi not slaughtering each other on sight had once been an impossible dream to, had it not?

Yeah, that was it.

Yagura would inspire the change! Yagura would be the change! Now, that he was in a position of power, he could actually implement-

"Hello, Mizukage-Sama."

Yagura turned.

And the world spun red and black.

What good are senses when all they do is lie to us?

What good are dreams when we have no will of our own?

What are hopes when the chains that bind us run so deep even we can not see them?

What are friends when, instead of seeing the chains, instead of realizing that something is wrong, that something is horribly wrong and that there is obviously another factor at play, what are friends when instead of that they-

"Die, monster!"

Yagura dodges back.

Zabuza is trying to kill him.

Zabuza, friend, protector, his most trusted Shinobi, practically Yagura's second in command, Zabuza is trying to kill him.

Yagura didn't blame his old friend. After all, Yagura wanted to kill himself too.

Unconsciously, Yagura lifts his staff as Kubikiribocho came down. Zabuza is strong. Zabuza has the strength of a Kage. There is a reason that Zabuza, and not that fish faced freak, Zabuza is Yagura's second in command. Or was, apparently. Yagura much prefered this form of resignation. No messy paperwork through sort through and maybe, just maybe, he could finally die this way?

Yagura had dreamed of a better world. Sometimes, he could still see it, in his dreams. Not that they mattered much. Not anymore. Not when reality came crashing down in brutal waves around him.

Not when reality was spinning red and dark as his limbs moved against him.

The world, instead, was a haze. As Yagura fought against Zabuza, for a moment, that haze vanished.

He could see.

He could hear.

He could feel.

Perhaps, just maybe-

Awaken, Sanbi.

Yagura freezes. Zabuza takes advantage. Kubikiribocho runs through his chest, ripping apart at Yagura's organs, tearing him apart, ripping at his heart. Almost. He had almost had it. He had almost been there. Almost. Almost, but not close enough.

Yagura looks up.

Zabuza, strong and powerful Zabuza, emotionless and ruthless, cruel and brutal, a man who encompasses the heart of a true Shinobi… Zabuza is crying. Zabuza is crying, and Yagura realizes, so is he.

"I'm… Sorry, brother. I'm just not strong enough. I'm so sorry."

Zabuza looks confused. Startled, even. Yagura allows himself one last smile before the haze takes over. Then, it's too late. Then, the world explodes in red and he knows no more.

Later, Yagura learns, Zabuza escaped. Zabuza survived. Somehow, Zabuza lived.

He isn't surprised.

If anyone can survive a Jinchuriki on a wild rampage… It's his second in command. Yagura rejoices. He rejoices, and he mourns. Mourns, because whatever the outcome… The world will never be the same again.

Madara has taken that from him.

Madara has taken everything away from him.

So, Yagura decided, within the brief sanity of unconsciousness, he would take everything from Madara.

They learn the truth not by his actions but by chance.

Chance alone is Yagura's saving light.

In the end, they didn't see. None of them saw. Zabuza, perhaps, might have, but Yagura isn't certain. Even as the land around them erupted in a brutal civil war claiming thousands, Zabuza had fled. Zabuza was gone. Zabuza, who had started this, Zabuza, his closest ally, Zabuza was gone.

Run off, into the distance.

Zabuza had escaped. Half heartedly, Yagura had sent several Hunter-nin after his old friend. Not that it would matter, no. Against an opponent of Zabuza's caliber, mere Hunter-nin would be incapable of bringing a dent in that monsters armor. However, Master didn't seem to care much as long as Yagura made some sort of half hearted effort.

Its Ao who learns the truth, as the Civil War around them burns around them. Ao, who sees the truth, who sees Yagura for who he truly is. It isn't because of some sort of Shinobi intuition, no. It isn't because they knew each other as children, either. It wasn't because Ao had realized that Yagura's rapid shift had been unnatural, had been strange, had been so unlike him.

No.

Ao, like the rest, had assumed that Yagura's sanity had crumbled at the hands of the Sanbi. How little faith his friends had in him, it seemed.

But Ao…

With that stolen Byakugan, Yagura watches as the pieces finally, at long last, click.

"What… What is this- What the hell is this!"

"Ao… Run."

In the end, Ao is only saved by Jinpachi. Yagura stares coldly down at the corpse broken at his feet. Honestly. It seemed all the Ninja Swordsmen were turning on him. Part of Yagura couldn't blame them.

He had become a monster, after all.

Part of him, however, in the back of his mind, could. How dare they? HOW DARE THEY? How dare any of them!

None of them could see. None of them wanted to see. They only saw the beast, forgetting the man behind the mask.

The next time his Master set him against his former allies, Yagura wasn't sure whether his actions were his own or his Master's will. In the end, it all became such a blurry mess of rage that he had a hard time telling one from the other.

Mei. Beautiful Mei. Strong and destructive. Powerful beyond measure, a Shinobi that could fight him head on. Even Zabuza couldn't do that. No. Zabuza, while powerful, had been forced to flee.

Mei did no such thing.

No, instead, she was giving him a run for his money.

Yagura cursed his body as it instinctively dodged, and he cursed his Master for giving him the awareness to realize what was happening.

Mei's eyes were cold. Unlike Zabuza's, there was no remorse in them. They held a firm determination. A will that would not be swayed. Not by anything in the world. She would kill him, here and now, and Yagura realized she had the full ability to do so.

She was exactly the kind of being his Master wanted to destroy. Wanted to purge. Erase from the pages of history.

That raging hypocrite, with those glowing crimson eyes of his.

Then again…

His Master was nothing if not brutal. From what Yagura understood, Itachi Uchiha had massacred his entire clan rather recently. Hmph. No matter how powerful the child was, killing off all the Uchiha singlehandedly without anyone in the Oldest Ninja Village taking a notice was too impossible to believe.

His Master had helped wipe out his own clan. Really, Madara's profound hatred of bloodlimits knew no bounds. Idly, Yagura wondered if this would all end with Madara performing suicide when he was the last Bloodline wielder left. Even now, Yagura could dream.

Still, Yagura realized, his mind turning back to his opponent as his hand rose of its own volition, covered in the Sanbi's chakra, shielding against the scorching steam that slammed down upon him, Mei had to know. Ao had seen. Yagura had been sure of it. She had to know.

Which meant…

Which meant…

There.

Beneath the facade.

Eyes frozen with the glacial wrath that rivaled that of the Yuki clan, Yagura realized the reality of the situation. Mei knew. She did. Of course she did. And, she was determined to free Yagura of his prison.

She was determined to make death his final resting.

Yagura wasn't sure wether to cry or whether to jump for joy at the realization. It didn't matter. Either way, he knew, this was all about to come to an end.

With a snarl, he attacked even as Mei twisted the elements themselves against him, fierce and powerful like always.

In the end, even Mei is not enough.

He's crying, Yagura realizes. It's been so long since he's allowed himself to cry. Instead, he had frozen his heart to such emotions, becoming a true Shinobi. True Shinobi. Ha! He was a failure as a Ninja, a failure as a Kage, and a failure as a friend.

He remembers the last time he shed a tear. Zabuza had been there. It isn't surprising, really then, that he's crying in front of Mei. The two of them had meant the world to him.

Mei lays sprawled out before him. She lays there, on her back, choking breaths escaping her lips. Around them, the Mizukage palace crumbles. There are no others in sight, but Yagura realizes they're there. They're terrified, and why shouldn't they be?

Their greatest hope, their most powerful card, their only hope, really, had failed.

Mei laid broken at the Jinchuriki's feet. She's gazing at him, her eyes still holding the same icy iron resolve. Yagura sometimes wondered if it would have been different. If Mei had been chosen as the Sanbi Jinchuriki, would things have turned into the fucking mess that they had?

Would she have been as useless as he was? As powerless? As broken?

Yagura strides forth, staff lifting in the air. His fingers tremble. He doesn't want to do this. He doesn't want to do this. He does not want to do this.

Tears splatter on the broken stone.

Kill her, a voice whispers.

Mei stares at him coldly.

Kill.

"Get on with it, puppet. Finish me!" Mei snaps. Even broken at his feet, her resolve doesn't waver, not in the slightest. She is about to die. She is about to die, but Yagura realizes that she won't show any weakness. This is her resolve. This is the strength of Mei's will. This, Yagura realizes, is her heart.

Kill!

Yagura trembles.

If it had been Mei, she wouldn't have been as weak. As pathetic. Bending to the whim of a Master while declaring herself a Kage. Mei was strong. Mei was powerful. Mei was the strongest person he had ever known, really, and it had nothing to do with her Bloodlines. No, it was that iron will of hers.

She was willing to die for her beliefs. And, in that moment, Yagura realizes the difference between them.

She was willing to die.

Yet here he was, a part of him desperately clinging, a part of him wanting to survive.

Finish her already!

The staff slams down. Those eyes don't flinch, even as the stone next to her crumbles.

Yagura grips the staff, eyes scrunched in pain as he uses it to support himself. Its difficult. Oh so difficult. He almost doesn't manage it. Almost… He can feel it crumbling. Alone. He's alone. He's not… He's not strong enou-

Mei's hand wraps around his leg and a pulse of Chakra, warm and familiar, pulses through him. Then, a voice he hasn't heard in so long speaks to him, in the back of his head. It has been so long. So long. Yagura hardly remembered it anymore.

Scattered memories of a far of place that felt like a lifetime ago.

"We fight together."

Isobu. Isobu was with him. Alone, Yagura was helpless, but… But like this… This, he could work with. Like this, he could fight it. Like this, he could survive. Could survive. Would survive.

Then, Yagura snarls.

He feels the coil in him snap as he takes several steps back. The staff falls with a clatter. His knees hit the ground. Blood. He's bleeding. From his eyes, from his ears, from his nose, from his mouth.

He's bleeding, but he can't help but laugh, loud and hysterical.

Free. He's free.

He's free!

Eyes wide with glee, he looks up. Mei meets his gaze, and, for once, the ice is replaced by hope. Yagura grins, and Mei joins him. To the rest, this must look so strange. So very strange.

"Hi. It's been a while. Sorry to keep you waiting." Yagura smiles, teeth and all, eyes closed in a u like shape as he scratches the back of his head.

"Baka!"

If Mei could move, Yagura has no doubt he'd be getting a beating. It doesn't matter. He can't help but laugh.

Free.

Free.

Free, he's finally free-

Then, reality crashes down, just like it usually does. He feels it before any of the others. Perhaps they feel nothing at all. Perhaps its only Yagura. His Master… His presence is a difficult one to sense, something that fades oh so easily. More of a shadow than a man. More of a ghost than a Shinobi.

He has his staff in his hand and he stands before Mei, protective. He won't let this bastard near her. He won't. He refuses.

The man in the Orange Mask materializes.

"Oh? What's this? You've broken free?"

Then, the man laughs. As if the idea of Yagura being free of his influence was such a hilarious, outlandish idea that he can't help but snort and laugh and find humor in the act.

Yagura trembles, this time with rage.

"I am my own person. I am Yagura, Fourth Mizukage, Jinchuriki of Isobu, and you are trespassing in my village. Begone!"

Chakra explodes in all directions. Blue and calm, like Isobu. Pure. Not the uncontrollable dark red mess of rage and hatred, but instead the calm wrath of the sea.

"I will never be used by you. Ever again."

Madara lets out a laugh. Then, that red eye spins, staring right at him.

"Come on, little pawn. Submit."

To Madara's surprise, his 'little pawn' does not in fact, submit. Instead, with a mighty roar Yagura is on him, tails of Chakra whipping behind him.

Yagura knows that his freedom is not meant to last.

No. He understood that the moment he had broken free.

He understood that the moment he had looked into Mei's eyes and the moment he had seen that iron resolve. Yagura understood. He understood how things had to end, because the prongs Madara had instilled in his mind went to deep.

They seeped into the very essence of his being, and Yagura understood.

Mei was gone. He had distracted Madara long enough for that boy, Chojuro, to grab her. Good. She didn't need to see this. She didn't need to witness this. No. This was his moment alone. It was time for them to bring this to an end.

"You're sure?"

"It's the only way."

Yagura nodded.

The only way.

Madara stood, unfazed by any attack Yagura could muster. The area around them was an explosion of wood, the binds sapping at Yagura's strength. The Monster of the Uchiha began to walk towards him with a calm, almost bored air around him.

"Yagura-kun, Yagura-kun, Yagura-kun. You don't seem to understand. You. Are. My. Plaything. Tobi's toy!" Madara jumped, like a child being offered candy. "So," Madara wagged his finger at him as if Yagura was being a rather uncooperative baby refusing to eat his dinner, "I don't appreciate when my toys try to gain independence." the voice turned cold. The threat of pain and agony beyond Yagura's imagination carried in it.

Yagura, however, only smiled.

"I understand now. I really, really do. I- I am a free man, and I choose my path! I won't be your slave. Not again! Never again!"

Madara only chuckled. Yagura ignored him, his resolve set. It took Madara too long, far too long, to realize it. When he did, it was too late.

"Wait-" Madara stretched out a hand, his voice suddenly slipping into alarm.

"Die with me, Master."

Then, Yagura ran his staff through his own heart, and felt the world explode around him. His chakra, Isobu's chakra, their dying will, exploding out in a destructive wave. Yagura died with a smile.

Several years later, as his eyes snapped open and he lived again, if only partially, Yagura took one look at Madara's twisted eyes and swore loudly, letting loose a stream of expletives that left the Nanbi Jinchuriki blushing

"Welcome back, my slave." Yagura was sure the bastard was smirking beneath that mask. Then, he knew no more.