Waking up in a bed was usually a good sign, so when I opened my eyes and realized where I was, I knew it meant I hadn't fallen into the ocean. My second thought was that I may have been buried under rubble, and I was just hallucinating... Or that I had awakened inside an enemy interrogation chamber, but no, none of that was true.
I was lying in a bed while my entire body felt like it had been filled with wet sand.
"Ah... fuck..." I muttered when I managed to look towards the window, into the bright sun.
I slowly moved my hand up so I wouldn't go blind, while I also began moving my toes, noting that at least I was functioning properly. However, when I tried to access my chakra, it felt awful. It was super sluggish and thin, barely enough to let me stand on water. Somehow, I expected this, I think.
So, I opened my eyes again, this time carefully, and while the room was unfamiliar, I knew I was still in the Uzumaki village. Which meant that maybe a day had passed... Or two? It shouldn't be more if I was still here and the island wasn't lost to the enemy.
"Come on," I muttered to myself, gathering my strength. "We killed an army... We can sit up."
At first, my body didn't obey, so I tried again, pushing myself upright one painful move at a time until I was leaning against the headboard and breathing like I had just sprinted across the village.
"Holy hell... When did I become so pathetic?"
While groaning, I looked toward the window, and from where I was lying, I could see blue sky and the upper edge of a red-tiled roof. I shuffled sideways, grabbed the windowsill, and pulled myself closer, wanting to see more, and after several deeply undignified seconds of groaning and huffing, I managed to look outside. The spiral roads descending toward the harbor were mostly intact. Yes, some rooftops were damaged, and I saw a watchtower near the cliffs had lost its upper half. There were also several blackened areas marked where attacks had struck inside the village, or... Oh. Those could also be blood where some of the unfortunate had landed. Hm... also, there were multiple columns of smoke still rising from the shoreline.
But the village was standing, and I saw people moving along the streets. Judging by the look of the place, it had to be the morning after the battle, so... I'd only been out a few hours. What was reassuring was that whoever I saw, nobody was running or seemed to be in a hurry.
"Okay, so, we won," I whispered, starting to grin, "Big win!"
Then I looked toward the harbor, thinking about how I managed to change the course of history, and I noticed that multiple large ships were anchored there. Huh? They were much larger than the Uzumaki patrol vessels. Plus, their hulls were armored, their decks crowded with shinobi and supplies, and their sails... Oh. That's Konoha's mark. Aaaand... The people were carrying stuff onto those ships... Are we... still evacuating?
The door opened behind me just then, and I twisted myself too quickly, felt the room tilt, and nearly fell out of bed, but two hands caught me from tumbling.
"Careful!" Minato said, and when I managed to refocus, he looked terrible, too. He was probably just as tired as I was now. "You're awake... and so soon? That's a good sign!"
"So it seems." I glanced at his bandaged hands. "You good?"
"Tired and a bit strained, but otherwise fine."
"What happened?" I asked after he released me and I managed to sit straight again.
"Haaah," He shrugged as he pulled the chair from beside the table and sat down. "A lot."
"How long was I out?"
"Two days."
"Wait, wait, waaaait! Two days?! I thought I was only out for a few hours?!"
"Pft, no!" He snorted, "You used up nearly all your chakra, Renji, and if not for the Uzumakis having enough to spare, you would be dead."
"Huh?"
"The medics said there was barely enough left in you to keep your body functioning normally. Your Sharingan also strained your eyes badly."
"Did they?" I touched my face. "Am I blind? Doesn't feel like it."
"No, nothing like that," He chuckled, shaking his head. "But I heard they did mention that you would have trouble activating them again until you recover. And that your vision may remain sensitive for a few days. So don't strain it! Or you may really go blind. Or at least, turn your glasses into a permanent addition. The first Uchiha to ever do so, huh?"
"Noted." I nodded seriously, and that alone made the room swim... ugh... Shit.
"That was a close call..." Minato stared at me, speaking slowly, "Don't tell that to Sayuri."
"I wasn't going to," I stared back, then I looked out the window again. "What happened after I went down?"
"Where to start..." Minato followed my gaze toward the harbor, smacking his lips. "For one, their air force was destroyed. You destroyed almost all of it."
"We. We did it."
"Sure." He chuckled, "A few shinobi who jumped early survived their fall, but the Uzumaki captured most of them."
"What about the battle below?"
"Once the bombardment stopped," Minato continued, looking towards where the smoke was coming from, "the formation teams redirected more chakra toward the shore defenses. Sensei and his frog destroyed six ships before the Kiri fleet pulled farther into the fog and fled for good."
I had no sympathy for them at all. I didn't really care what happened to them while they tried to retreat, or if they were captured. The enemy soldiers had come expecting to wipe out a village, so even if they got tortured for information, I wouldn't even bat an eye.
"So, everyone retreated?"
"Eventually." He nodded.
"And Konoha? When did the reinforcement get here?"
"The first ships arrived shortly after dawn." He said, his eyes moving towards our ship, gesturing towards them, "The fastest teams came with Sakumo-san. The fleet arrived later, yesterday afternoon, to be precise."
"Did he fight?"
"No," Minato's expression became faintly amused when I asked that, "By the time Konoha's ships entered the waters, the enemy ships were already in retreat, and they disappeared before they could get punched in the face."
"Good enough for me," I chuckled as I sank deeper into the pillow. "That reminds me... What about the evacuation ships?"
"It's all good," Minato said with a smile. "They made it."
"All of them?"
"All three transports reached the Land of Fire." He nodded. "We got confirmation on the following day."
"And the escorts?"
"Mhm..." His smile weakened at that. "Two warships survived." From the four... Well... Considering they thought none would, I say, that's a victory. What matters is that the transports escaped while all four escorts turned back against the pursuing ships. I don't know the details, but it's much, much better than what should have happened if..."
I knew what he meant. Indeed... With this alone, history had been changed in a way that I may not be able to properly guess what will come next. Yes, the war was on, that's for sure, but now, Konoha still has their ally... A terrifying one at that. So... what's next? As if reading my thoughts, Minato spoke up again.
"Konoha is taking them in. They've already established temporary shelters near the landing site, while their future compound is being prepared inside the village."
"Good." I smiled, but then I noticed his wording. "Wait... Compound? Huh?"
"Uzushiogakure is being abandoned." He said firmly, and I just stared at him.
"What? After we just saved it?"
"The village survived, Renji, but Ashina-sama and the council don't believe it can survive another coordinated attack."
"But Konoha is here now."
"And we can't stay, not in this current situation," Minato said, his eyes unfocused as he looked into the distance, which somehow made his words worse. "The enemy withdrew because the first assault failed, but we all know that doesn't mean they've given up. Kiri still controls many of the sea routes. If they attack again with greater numbers, or just continue harassing them, Konoha would need to keep a permanent army here, weakening and opening us up for an attack from Iwa's direction."
"Tsk..."
"Ashina-sama decided the clan is more important than the island. Nearly everyone will relocate to Konoha while a small group may remain temporarily to dismantle important seals and remove anything the enemy could use, if they take over the island. The civilians, shinobi, archives, and clan relics are already en route to Konoha."
"That's..." I began, chuckling, "You know what? That doesn't sound bad at all."
"I think so too." He grinned. "We were already wearing part of their symbol on ourselves, so... this was maybe inevitable.
"That's one way to put it." I nodded.
"There were discussions about it through most of yesterday. Hiruzen-sama spoke with Ashina-sama directly after arriving."
"The old man came personally?" I raised a brow.
"Yup, this morning."
"I wonder how the other old bastards will look at this," I muttered as I gazed toward the largest ship again.
"I overheard Sensei mutter the same thing," He chuckled, lowering his voice. "From what I, well... spied on, is that the formal details will take time, but the Uzumaki will enter Konoha as a full clan. Their shinobi will join Konoha's forces and their council will retain authority over internal clan matters, just like how yours are operating."
"Oh..." I stared at him, furrowing my brows. "I hope they won't be completely isolated."
This was not supposed to happen, so I don't want it to turn into a weird copy of what was supposed to happen to the Uchihas. I am here to change that, not to double the massacres! Haahh... Konoha would have hundreds, maybe thousands, of Uzumaki after this. Their children would grow up alongside the Uchiha, Hyūga, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Aburame, and every other clan inside the village... Oh boy. Please be a good change! Please!
However, my mind immediately began finding more problems because apparently I hated anything to do with inner peace. The Uzumaki were powerful, and I guess our Uchiha leadership would notice the balance of power shifting. It could give the hardliners new ammunition, so I will have to keep an eye on that. Tetsuma probably already had a stroke... Which was perhaps another benefit; please let him die in his sleep. I just hope that Fugaku would be careful... I'll need to keep a close eye on them and not let the Uchiha become more paranoid.
"We will have our hands full, huh?" I asked, looking at him.
"Oh, for sure." Minato nodded. "Sensei was already grumbling that you, personally, will have to do a lot to make this transition go down smoothly."
"Yeah." I agreed, surprising Minato with my answer, "That's true. But, my Little Brother, whatever political disaster came from dropping an entire great clan into Konoha, we could deal with it later."
"Whoa, whoa!" He stood up, "Little Brother?!"
"Well," I smirked, "I have a larger kill count than you. Naturally, that makes me the senior now."
"No, it doesn't. We never had that type of rule before! Don't just make things up out of the blue!" He snorted, placing his hands on his hips. "I am not calling you Big Brother."
"Sure, sure, Little Brother Minato."
"..." He just stared at me with a blank face. "Stop it."
"Nope."
He was about to blow a gasket when the door opened again. Looking towards it, I expected a medic, but instead, Genta ducked into the room carrying a tray stacked with enough food for five people. He was bandaged around the head, one arm rested in a sling, balancing the tray in the other. Despite that, he grinned when he saw me sitting upright.
"The dead awaken!"
"Braaaaaains!" I answered, making him look at me with a fake, horrified expression.
"Oh no, he became an undead!"
"He's just stupid." Minato snorted, making Genta laugh once again.
"Same thing."
"Oi! Is that a way to talk about your Big Bro here?!"
"Ah, he can still speak! So he isn't braindead?" Genta snorted and placed the tray on my lap with a grin.
"Ugh!" It nearly crushed me when he pulled his hand out under it. "What is this?"
"Food." He said simply, leaning over to Minato. "What do you think? Is his head okay, or should we look for a suitable place for him to live out the rest of his life?"
"The latter. I already have a place in mind..."
"I can hear you both," I snorted, leaning sideways to see them over the massive pile of food, "So... What the fuck is this?"
"You need chakra," Gentai said, patting his working hand on his thighs.
"Duh, I need functioning arms to eat, too."
"You will be fine. Just start eating," Gentai snorted as he dragged another chair closer and sat backward on it, resting his good arm across the back. "You look terrible..."
"You look worse." I shot back, rolling my eyes, but then I grabbed a rice ball and stuffed it into my face.
"I suppose I should show more respect." He continued, and the way he said it made me narrow my eyes.
"What did you do?"
"Me? Nothing." He chortled, "It's what YOU did."
"What...? Minato?"
However, Minato suddenly looked interested in the wall. My Uchiha senses were tingling, and soon enough, Genta stood back up and bowed so deeply that his forehead almost touched the tray.
"It is an honor to serve the Savior of the Whirlpool."
"Ghghgf?!" I stopped chewing because I inhaled the rest of the riceball, almost killing myself. "Excuse me?!"
"The Savior of the Whirlpool," Genta repeated, straightening his back, grinning.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"It's already spreading." Minato joined in, making me desperate. "There were more, of course: Black Sun, Thunder of Fire, but in the end, most people went with the Savior one."
"Stop it! Now!"
"I can't." He grinned, "It's too late."
"You can absolutely stop saying it!"
"I could," Minato admitted, still smiling, "But I won't, and neither would any of the Uzumakis."
"That's right." Genta nodded. "Just accept it. It was Ashina-sama's phrase, so it is pretty much official."
"That makes it worse!"
"How?" They both asked, looking at me, ready to break out into laughter.
"Because people will take it seriously!"
"They already do," Genta said, "And he has one too."
"Huh?" Minato flinched, and my curiosity was already piqued. "I do?" He pointed at himself.
"Yeah," Genta nodded, his eyes moving between us, "The Yellow Flash and the Black Thunder, bringing a Firestorm."
"..." We just both looked at each other, letting out the same, tired sigh at the same time.
Why does it feel so... tacky?!