The Leaf's Full Strike

Chapter 1

Confrontations

"Leader, I must apologize. Konoha had prepared for the assault. There was nothing we could do," said Itachi. His hands were burnt and weak from excessive chakra use.

The flowers in the field were of a hideous black color. They hung down as if in depression, their petals stained with dry blood. A single rose stood tall amongst the death.

Pein thrust his foot forth and crushed the last of field's remaining beauty. "Konan is dead, isn't she?" he said in a grim voice.

The last of the bloody mist in the sky began slowly ebbing away. Pein knelt down and lifted the weak flower. "The fool," he hissed. "The damn fool." With that, the flower fell from his hand, the torn petals twirling around the stem in a malevolent performance.

Itachi snapped his eyes shut in deep concentration, so hard that he was oblivious to his surroundings. Pein lifted his arm and compressed the air within his hand, causing a blast of wind to hit his minions. Before the current could disintegrate Itachi, a wave of chakra was formed and instantly neutralized the attack.

Pein groaned in aggravation. "So, Tobi, you too choose to defy my orders."

Tobi suddenly faded in above Itachi. "Pein-san, don't expect this battle to be over. We are the Akatsuki, the future lords of this world."

"It was your own orders to attack Konoha the same time Orochimaru did. And we lost Konan because of that!" Pein hissed. Itachi suddenly opened his eyes, the Mangyeko Sharingan activated.

"What did you say?" Itachi asked in a cold voice.

Samehada began to glow with chakra. Kisame glared at Pein. "You know, I've always wondered about the secrets of our organization. Like the secrets you've held from us! It's time to tell us, Pein. We have you cornered – the four of us can easily defeat you!"

Tobi roared hysterically like a drunkard. "Four! Four of us! Kisame, you are nothing but an idiot. The biggest secrets of this organization are held by me!"

Before Itachi or Kisame could attack, they were caught by a rope of chakra. The cords slithered up and around their necks like a vicious snake and eventually began to choke the two. Tobi continued laughing as Pein and Zetsu anticipated the worst occurrences.

//-\\

\\-//

A horrible odor swept through Konoha. The Yamanaka flowers had already wilted, and the once-colorful buildings were now dull and wrecked.

"Gatsuga!" Kiba roared, tearing down the giant forest of bones that covered the floor of the village.

A light breeze pushed the dirt and dust to the side as people began to emerge from their shelters. Each carried some sort of tool in their hand.

Konohamaru sat in front of Sarutobi's grave with a poor look on his face. He wiped his tears and set off as the spirit of his grandsire stood above, watching.

Lee dropped down to the ground in exhaustion as Sakura rushed to his side. "Lee-san!"

"It is okay, Sakura-san… I… I'm just worn out…" he stuttered. Another breeze pushed through, lightening Lee's heart just a bit. "I… I'm sorry for not coming before."

Neji stepped to his side and boosted him off the ground. "Where is Guy-sensei?"

Lee immediately fell down again, tears pouring down his cheeks as Neji and Sakura gasped. "No… no way!" a voice cried.

Shino and Shikamaru turned to see Kakashi standing in a tree. A few seconds later, Sasuke leapt beside him, Guy's body over his shoulders.

Kakashi looked down at Lee. 'I never expected Guy of us all to have died. And for Lee to have survived and come here… leaving Guy where he was… something happened between the two.' Kakashi thought.

Sasuke simply stared at Lee. 'To think that he once defeated me.'

It was not long before Sakura was examining Guy's body. "Unbelievable…" Sakura started. "His heart burst, along with several other organs. Lee-san, what happened?"

She was interrupted by a rattling in the bushes. Sasuke groaned and darted off before Naruto, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, and the sand shinobi could emerge. "Sakura-chan!" he immediately cried. "Are you okay?"

Shikamaru glanced at Ino's weak hands. "Ino! What happened to Choji?"

The dull flowers suddenly began to bloom as a smile came over Ino's face. "He and Tenten, they got hit hard, but they're fine now."

Naruto came close to Lee and put his hand over his shoulder. "Lee-san, what's the matter. We kicked those assholes out of Konoha, why are you upset?"

Hinata looked down at the roses, which were beginning to lose their color. "Na… Naruto-kun. How can we not… not be happy when some of our villagers… some of them have died!"

In a flash, Naruto remembered. "Shizune-sama!" he cried. Orochimaru was coming down from above when Shizune herself came in the way, blocking the attack and saving Tsunade.

Lee wiped his tears and looked at Naruto. "Naruto-kun. It is true that we drove them out. But… I have lost somebody very close in the process."

Naruto looked around him. "Guy-sensei… where is he?" Naruto whispered. Everyone put their heads down. Naruto clenched his fists. "Damn it! Where is he?!?"

Kakashi could see rage pouring out of Naruto. 'No matter what, the fox's spirit will be released soon. This is definetly not good."

"Guy-sensei is dead," Neji stated. "He was killed in the battle with the Akatsuki. Calm down…"

Before anything else could occur, Naruto crashed through the group and tore down the trees he passed. Kakashi and Sakura put up worried faces and began their chase.