The sound of battle ripped through the night air like the sound of a rolling thunderstorm. The battlefield was littered with the remains of a titanic battle between two opposing forces, from dead bodies of broken shinobi to small bits and pieces of the once great trees that had been the pride and joy of the forest. Mountains had been built and ripped in the battlefield. Frothing seas had risen and been drained away by the fierceness of the battle. The wind whipped back and forth, carrying the sounds of the raging lightning and blowing precious oxygen into the fierce flames that licked the sides of the raging beast.
It was no ordinary beast. It was a monster, it was a fiend, and it was a giant. It was a demon, of a size which rivaled the great mountain ranges of Earth Country. Its rough hide was scored and bloody with the myriad of wounds it had received at the world's strongest shinobi, and yet it defiantly rippled crimson as the demon twisted and turned. The demon's paws ripped up scores of great oaks and cedars, gashing the ground and creating huge holes the size of large homes. Its teeth that were once pure pearl white were wet and stained with the blood of its human prey. They were shown through a snarling muzzle, which was stained with blood as well. Demented, blood lusting eyes glowed an ominous sable and crimson through the night air, giving the demon an even more demonic expression. Nine tails ripped through the rows of ninja who were desperate summoning their last bits of chakra to summon that last jutsu.
The kyuubi was sating its bloodlust against the continent's greatest shinobi.
A Cloud ninja teleported into the tent with a roar of thunder and a flash of lightning which was typical of the Hidden Cloud's Shunshin.
"Raikage-sama, the demon is advancing another half kilometer toward the village."
The man robed in pure white and yellow nodded and waved a hand at the shinobi.
"Go back to the battlefield, my friend, and come back soon with more news of the beast."
With another flash of lightning, the shinobi was gone. The Raikage sighed and turned back toward the table. On the table was a large scroll, which was unrolled to show a picture of a map of Fire Country. Various cities and villages were marked with black circles. One was ringed with red and another black circle, indicating Hidden Leaf. The Raikage took a small red stone and moved it a few centimeters toward the Hidden Leaf circle. He looked around the table at his fellow Kage from the other four great villages.
The woman under the brown and white hat of the Hidden Stone coughed lightly into her hand at the Raikage's movement. The Tsuchikage had just been invested with the authority of Kage within his village, and already a disaster of this caliber was upon her village. Not just her village, but also that of the entire continent.
"My fellow Kage, just what do we plan to do?"
The rough, gravely voice of the Mizukage issued forth. A long, intricately handled hilt protruded from his right shoulder, attached to a blade longer than the Mizukage was tall. The leader of Mist got up from his seat and continued with his rough voice.
"At the rate the Kyuubi is moving, he will reach Konoha in a matter of hours. At the rate we're lasting, the Kyuubi might even get there within the hour at the rate our shinobi are dying. Even this alliance of nations and villages isn't lasting against the great demon. I ask again, why shouldn't we seal the monster inside another?"
The soft voice of the Kazekage came from a slight looking man within soft folds of his robes. The Kazekage was wearing a mask, which was commonly used by the desert dwelling shinobi to block sand and grit from entering their mouths from the harsh winds of the sand dunes.
"The Kyuubi is one of the great tailed demons. He isn't a Kuchiyose summon which can be sealed away and summoned at will. That has already been attempted before, and we know it won't work."
The oldest man of the five Kage then raised his voice. His voice was that of experience, of battles waged long decades ago. His body was slight and ravaged by age, but a great confidence still radiated from the man. Once, his face had been marked by six whisker-like lines. But they had been banished many years ago, when the Kyuubi had been banished from his body ages past.
"Indeed. The demons can only be sealed for a short amount of time, and even then the Jinchuuriki are targets of millions. We cannot allow the demons to live a moment longer. I should know."
The Mizukage nodded briskly at the words of the Hokage, but his words conveyed his doubts.
"Perhaps, but at the cost of two lives we can temporarily halt the advace of the Kyuubi. Then, with the time we gain, we can prepare a proper force to kill the Kyuubi. We did it with all the other demons. We can do it with this one."
The Raikage's harshly interrupted that of the Mizukage.
"You fool! This demon is different than the other ones. Those other ones were easily defeated with the help of multiple Kuchiyose. The Kyuubi has battled off five different summons and it still fights! Sealing it will just make it angrier and more powerful. We must finish it off now, when it's been weakened."
The rasping sound of metal against leather bounced off the sound of electricity crackling. The Tsuchikage and the Kazekage instantly leapt to their feet between the two Kage, who were preparing ominously to fight one another.
"My fellow Kage, please. We must concentrate on the Kyuubi."
The sound of the Hokage's reasonable voice pierced through the fog of anger of the two opposing Kage. The Hokage had stood up as well and moved his hand over the map scroll.
"I propose this. I am old, I know that. I can count the months I'm going to live on my two hands. I should have retired many years ago, but I could never let go of my dream. But now, I see it wasn't because of me that I stayed Hokage, but fate that brought me here."
The sides of the Hokage's mouth lifted slightly at the thought.
"Once, I believed that I made my own destiny. But now, I'm not so sure."
The Hokage paused for a moment, his eyes filming over as memories rushed through his mind. He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present.
"At any case, I propose that we go out one more time. I can find it within myself for a final last ditch attack. While I do so, the four of you must rally our forces. We can still take down the Kyuubi, but at the sacrifice of only one life, not two or a dozen or our entire population."
With a smile of little regret, the Hokage swept out of the tent. Outside, the night air was frigid cold, with the wind bringing the sound of battle straight toward the old man. The Hokage took out a kunai and slowly pricked his left index finger. Behind him, he could hear the sound of the other Kage teleporting with their Shunshin. Slowly moving his hands, the Kage performed the familiar series of hand seals.
I Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram/I