naruto:Reborn as Iruka

The Hokage Tower was silent.

The halls, usually bustling with early messengers and night patrol reports, lay still. Only the soft flicker of oil lamps and the faint tapping of footsteps echoed in the pre-dawn hours.

The door creaked open at precisely 4:02 a.m.

Three shinobi stepped in, heavy with soot and blood.

Iruka set one unconscious child down gently in a prepared cot.

Guy placed two more beside him, arms aching, eyes haunted.

Kakashi stood behind them, silent, every movement calculated. His flak vest was heavier now—not with weapons, but with truth. Scrolls, sealed tightly, lined the inside like hidden knives.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood behind his desk, arms crossed, his gaze sharper than it had been in years.

No words were needed.

But Iruka spoke anyway. "It's done."

Kakashi stepped forward and placed the scrolls on the desk. "Documents, lab manifests, mission logs, black ops orders. Everything they were hiding."

Hiruzen opened one. His fingers trembled.

Inside: classified orders implicating Danzo in the sabotage of Sakumo Hatake. The leak that led to the White Fang's disgrace and suicide. Notes confirming interference in the Uchiha's chain of command during the Nine-Tails attack. Psychological conditioning reports designed to cripple potential Hokage candidates—including Kakashi.

He looked up slowly.

"And the children?"

"Hundreds," Iruka said, voice like sand. "Only three still had enough life left in them. The rest… they're gone."

Guy's fists clenched, knuckles white. "They weren't just orphans. Some were kidnapped. Some… were born in there."

Hiruzen closed the scroll. "And Torune?"

Iruka stepped forward. "Alive. Sealed. We're holding him in the ANBU chamber."

A beat of silence passed.

Then, Hiruzen nodded. Slowly.

"I want Danzo executed," he said, voice low and steady. "In front of the whole village. Fu as well. No more shadows. No more secrets."

He turned to the side door. "Homura. Koharu. Bring them in."

Two ANBU nodded and left. Moments later, the old advisors were brought in, still in their sleep robes. Homura opened his mouth to speak, but Hiruzen raised a single finger.

"You are both under house arrest. The moment any of these scrolls tie you to Root, to suppression, or to treason against the Will of Fire—don't expect mercy."

Koharu's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't—"

"I would. And I will," Hiruzen snapped. "You think this is still the council of Tobirama sensei's time? You've corrupted that legacy long enough. Get out of my sight."

As the ANBU dragged them away, Hiruzen turned toward Iruka.

"There's more."

Iruka nodded, stepped forward, and handed him a final scroll—stained with blood.

Hiruzen opened it.

He didn't blink for a long moment.

The words carved into the page felt like knives.

Mission Approval – "Cleanse the Senju"Target: Nawaki SenjuPurpose: Prevent future Hokage threats.

Hiruzen closed the scroll with trembling hands.

"I had my suspicions. I always did. But to see it…"

Iruka's voice was quiet. "There's more. Danzo pressured Dan Katō to pursue Tsunade. Used Shizune as leverage. Her only family. Dan's file shows surveillance, threats, manipulation. He was never given a choice."

Hiruzen stared into the distance.

"My student lost her brother… her lover… her peace… because of this man."

He turned sharply.

"You," he pointed to a masked ANBU in the shadows. "Assemble a retrieval squad. S-class authorization. You are to locate and bring back Tsunade Senju immediately. If she resists…"

He didn't want to say it.

But he did.

"If she refuses to return and accept her role in rebuilding this village, she is to be declared a missing-nin. Kill on sight."

Iruka flinched.

"Hokage-sama…"

"She's been running long enough," Hiruzen said, his voice full of the weight of decades. "This village has bled enough for her absence. If she still has the Will of Fire, she'll return. If she doesn't… then let the fire judge her."

He turned to Kakashi.

"You've seen the extent of what they tried to do to you. Your Sharingan is draining you, slowly. It's limiting you."

"I know."

"I'm ordering you to have it sealed—by Jiraiya when he returns. A custom seal. One you can open and close like a switch. No more constant chakra drain. No more passive sabotage."

Kakashi nodded. "Understood."

Hiruzen gave one final nod—then walked to a small circular summoning seal in the corner of the room, freshly inked hours earlier.

He bit his thumb, pressed it into the ink, and slammed his palm onto the center of the circle.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

With a puff of smoke, an elderly monkey, smaller than Enma, appeared. Wrinkled and wise, with golden cuffs around its wrists.

"Hokage-sama," it greeted with a respectful bow.

"I need you to deliver a message to Jiraiya. Go through his toads if needed. This can't wait."

Hiruzen wrote quickly on a sealed scroll and tied it to the monkey's vest.

"Tell him this: 'Jiraiya—enough of your chosen one hunt. I order you to return to the village within ten days. No more delays. No more excuses. If you don't… don't come back at all.'"

The monkey nodded. "Understood."

It vanished.

And with it, the last excuse for delay.

**

An hour later, Iruka stepped through the door of his small apartment.

He closed it gently.

The place was dim, the lamps long burned out. The scent of reheated rice and miso clung faintly in the air.

He moved toward the kitchen—and froze.

There, curled up awkwardly on a dining chair, was Kurenai.

She was asleep, her head resting against the table, arms folded under her cheek, her hair loose and tangled.

She hadn't even changed clothes.

She was waiting.

Iruka didn't say anything. Just looked at her for a long, quiet moment.

Then he moved softly into the room, took the blanket from the couch, and draped it over her shoulders.

Her eyes blinked open slowly.

"…Iruka?"

He knelt beside her.

"I'm back."

Kurenai looked at him—his battered flak vest, the blood smudges on his cheeks, the faint trembling in his hand—and she didn't ask anything.

Instead, she reached out and brushed a streak of ash from his jaw.

"I made you food," she said sleepily. "You didn't come back, so I kept it warm."

His throat tightened.

"I saw things tonight I won't forget."

Kurenai leaned forward, resting her forehead lightly against his.

"I know."

They stayed like that for a moment—two shinobi in the silence before sunrise, their grief a shared shadow, their warmth a quiet flame.

And as the sky began to lighten, just barely touching the edge of the window…

Iruka whispered, "It's really over."

Kurenai's voice was soft.

"No. It's just beginning."

to be continued....