The Price of Your Betrayal

by Averell Torrent

Naruto sits in his cell thinking about all the events leading up to this. He was betrayed. Not thinking that it would actually happen he was slightly shocked even though he prepared for the slim chance of it happening. However, he can't help but smirk now that all is going according to plan. [Undergoing rewrite in separate story.]

10. The War and Meetings

"Now, for the time being I would like it if you would keep my identity among the few of us here."

"Why is that, and why trust us with your identity if you want it to stay hidden?" Mei asked.

"The answer is a simple. I'm trusting you because I need you to trust me. And I want you to keep my identity secret because if it was known I have no doubt that Konoha would cause problems. Not only that, but while Uzu has the barrier, it's still weak, and my allies aren't up to the strength required to fight a war."

"War?"

"Yes, I intend to destroy Konoha because of the fact that they betrayed me. They tried to have me executed."

"Why?" Ao asked. "I know that the jinchuriki are hated, but they are also seen as a village's greatest weapons. To be honest, I myself am a little hesitant to be in the same vicinity as you."

"Because they were fools who focused more on revenge than what truly mattered. In the end it will bring about their destruction. As for keeping my identity secret, if it were found out that I was in Uzushio they wouldn't hesitate come for their weapon once it was confirmed that I somehow was there. Kumo and Iwa would most likely come for the head of the Yondaime's son. Konoha…from what I have been able to gather they are going to try to take me back or kill me if necessary. This poses a problem because of another reason. If people found out that Uzu is back on the rise they would try to stop it before it starts. The barrier is the ultimate shield, but it doesn't matter because we have no way to retaliate. In the end it will turn into a waiting game. My home doesn't have the resources to wait out the elemental nations for long. Eventually we would need resources and trade to survive. We can't do that while being cut off from the rest of the world."

Ao nodded. Naruto was young but clearly understood when it was better to stay out of site, even if that meant holding off on his revenge against the people who betrayed him.

Then Naruto spoke up again. "Along with stopping this massacre and fulfilling a promise, I am also here to gain support."

"Support?" Mei asked.

Naruto sighed. "If I want to change, or do, anything I will need to make Uzu grow into a military and economical powerhouse. However, before it can even get close to that point the barrier will need to come down so that commerce can thrive. That will be the only way to support the population needed to make Uzu strong again. Along with Suna, Yagura, and the ichibi's host Garra, I hope to gain all of Mizu as an ally. Before you ask questions let me explain."

"Currently the situation in Suna is less than favorable for anyone. To help stabilize things Garra's mentor is taking up the position of acting Kazekage. I estimate that here soon he will be officially instated so as to keep all of Kaze no Kuni from being thrown into chaos. However, they are still weak and dependent on Konoha for aid in their recovery. I will not have them break ties with Konoha yet because they need Konoha a lot more that Konoha needs them. Breaking ties will only cause trouble that Suna can't handle rights now."

"Then there is the land of snow. Once I'm done in Mizu I will be heading back to Uzu to remove the barrier for a short time. They have decided to break ties with Konoha because they can more than handle themselves for the time being. They have also agreed to two things. The first is that they will not take action against Konoha until I give the word. The second is that they will send me much needed numbers. Both civilians for helping to build economic growth and to help rebuild, as well as samurai and a few of what little shinobi they have to help in defense if it is ever needed and to send out to build revenue for the village. Though some of them are less than happy about the impending move, even if I have told them that I will try to accommodate them as much as I can. The only problem is that soon I will be limited to the amount of time I can spend outside of the barrier unless I have someone else manage the barrier for me. Although I believe I know the perfect person."

"Now on to the allies I can gain from here. The most important ally in Mizu right now, is you, Mei Terumi."

"Me? What do you mean by that?"

"Your power and resilience make you respected, even among some of the Mizukage's forces if not the Mizukage himself. Not only that, but you are also the leader of the strongest resistance group there is right now. This leads me to the conclusion that when this is all over you will be named the new Mizukage. A new daimyo will probably be named, but only to help maintain stability. You will hold most of the power. However, the main problem will be that this country is still in disarray. It will take a long time for it to recover to a point that it can defend itself."

"So when we finally rebuild, you will call on us to help fight Konoha?"

"If that is how you wish to see it. Though I would like for out nations to be allies regardless."

She sat there thinking for a few moments. "Alright, as long as we can count on some of your support as well, when this war is over I will make our alliance official."

"No, as I said before neither of our countries are suited for defending against anything right now. We should keep our alliance between nations a secret among only the people who need to know about it. Even then it won't stay quiet for as long as we want. Jiraiya will eventually find out with his spy network. Not to mention other problems that I won't go into at this point in time. So for now I would like it if we can keep this between us until it no longer matters"

Mei nodded before standing up and holding out her hand. "Well then, to a new alliance that no one can know about for the foreseeable future."

Naruto stood up and gripped her forearm while she gripped his. "Agreed." He said as they stood there, gripping each other's forearms in a symbol of their newly formed pact.

*break*

Naruto was currently laying down on the cot in his tent. His Uzukage robe was folded next to the bed. He was now only in his black shirt and pants. He had been thinking for a while now.

'At this point I'm only fourteen, but even can see that I was lucky to have gotten this far. My escape from Konoha was luck. I had no idea that the clone would be maintained for so long. It was only experimental because I knew I needed to speed things along.. Then there was the battle earlier today in the camp. I thought I was going to die a few times there, yet I kept a calm face so that I could seem strong and indestructible. They could not be allowed to see that I was afraid of what could happen. Even the greatest in history could die because of a lucky kunai. So what does that mean for me? I'm stronger than most my age due to the training I had my bunshin undergo for me, but that doesn't mean I'm any more likely to survive.' Then he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again he was once again standing in the flooded basement, looking at the fox in a cage.

"What are you here for now?"

"I have a question for you Kurama."

"Of course you do." He responded sarcastically. "What is it?"

"I was wandering about something I found when looking through a library, and something else that has been bugging me. Letting you out and using your forms."

The giant fox raised his right eye brow to show that Naruto had his attention and curiosity.

"From books and reports that I was able to read and find, Garra was not the first to unleash the power of his tenant. The two jinchuriki in Kumo are famous for not only unleashing them, but being able to control and bottle back up the power at will. They can also switch out so that the beasts themselves take over. Then there was Garra, who unleashed his every time he slept because he was no longer holding it back. That is until I reinforced his seal what little I could. I was lucky to make it as strong as I did. I want to know about being able to use your power so that I can have an edge. I have little doubt about two things. One is that Yagura can unleash his at least to some extent. The other thing is that the person controlling him is most likely the person who controlled you fourteen years ago. If I can't use your power against something like that….." He left the rest hanging because it was obvious what he was saying.

After a long pause Kurama reached forward and grabbed the bars with his hands and spoke up again. "You're right, such a thing could lead to your, and by extension my, death. However, while I have been able to send you chakra, you cannot use the forms that come with it without one or more of two things. The first is the anger that has sent you into the three tailed state in the past. The second is control. Were you to unleash more than three tails without enough control it would overwhelm your mind. This would turn you into a monster with no restraint. These people from Kumo have achieved a level of control over the biju chakra that came from years of work to maintain. Granted you could probably achieve it in record time with the multi shadow clones."

"And how would I learn to gain that control?"

"You would need to practice controlling your own mind while unleashing vast amounts of it. Granted, the full details are a lot more complicated than that. At this point you would be able to access the first three tails at the cost of being extremely angry and losing some of your self-control. It loosens the seal and allows me some influence over it. Granted, the same result could come from great amounts of stress."

"Is there any way to force it?"

"Not without removing the seal. You aren't ready to do that yet without me taking control. I might be coopering with you now, but only for the interest of my own survival. Remove that seal before you're ready and I will not hesitate to consume you. However, if you are correct and the person controlling him is the same person from all those years ago you will need all the help you can get. He is not Madara. Madara knew he was too strong to be stopped and would not have hidden behind a mask. Not only that, but while that man's chakra felt extensively similar, it was not the same. That is why I will provide you with what I can from behind these bars. Granted, I do believe that when the fight starts it will provide enough stress that I can force enough chakra into your system like I normally do when you're angry. It should push you to or near the first tail state. For now you will have to stick with your current arsenal and training you got from the bunshin. At least you still get the affinity advantage because of me."

"Yes, because of you being with me for so long I gain your own natural affinities. Wind and Fire. Adds to my own affinities for earth, water, and lightning. That makes things easier for me to gain an advantage, but all the jinchuriki get that. first gets sand and the strange sealing ability, second gets the insane ability for fire, third gets something similar for water, four gets lava which suggests earth and fire, fifth gets steam suggesting water and fire, sixth gets acid, seventh gets an insane ability for wind as well as the ability to manifest chakra wings to glide, hover, and low flying for short periods, eight gets ink, water, and the ability to manifest tentacles for combat, and then you provide with insane fire and wind abilities that match up quite nicely. While I will have certain advantages, there are certain disadvantages I will need to keep an eye on. One of which is lack of experience. However, all things considered, Thank you." Naruto said before turning as if to leave. He didn't miss the fox's surprise at being thanked. Then Naruto stopped. "Mind if I ask where all of your hatred for Humanity came from?"

Kurama hesitated for a moment. "Perhaps some other time." Naruto was about to leave before the fox spoke again. "Perhaps you could tell me what you intend to do with the masks you created."

Naruto turned his head to show half of his face bearing a psychotic expression. "Perhaps some other time." Naruto said before looking and a giant glass case. Inside of it were several Narutos sitting on shelves with their eyes closed. He gave a small chuckle. "Some other time indeed." He said before disappearing.

When he opened his eyes again he was laying on his cot. While in his mind he left with a psychotic expression, his real face was stoic. He laid there for an hour before he finally decided to drift off to sleep.

*break*

The man was currently walking down the hall of the Sothern Kirigakure assault base. The base was simple with white paneling, walls, and doors. The lights were simple tube lights the fit into the ceiling to provide the lighting required. It was one of the four set up to allow a four pronged attack on Kiri all at once with their combined military strength.

They were already in their special armor. The seals on the armor allowed it to take all kinds of damage and gave the user abilities they didn't originally have.

As he walked down the hall and finally opened the door to the meeting room, he saw the two people he was there to see. The first was their benefactor that now led most of their joint operations. He was sitting down at the end of the table with Gozu, Meizu, and Angela standing behind him. The other was the leader of his own organization.

He stopped in front of the table while the man at the end of the table finished reading a report. When he set it down he looked at the rest of them for a few moments before speaking in his authoritative voice.

"So this Uzukage seems to want to end the war like we do. Are all of our units ready to move on Kiri?"

"Yes, we have the signals set up so that we can all move at one time." the newcomer said.

"Good. Make sure they stay ready until I give the order. I want to wait to make a move until this Uzukage character makes a move of his own. As it turns out he finally made contact with one of the main resistance movements."

"How can you tell?" the other leader asked.

"At first reports showed that he was behind small attacks on small groups. As of yesterday he was behind an attack on one of the Mizukage's strongholds that are in charge of large areas. Get a message to the rest of the bases and tell them to wait for orders. I want to see what he will do.

*break*

Anko was sitting in her favorite dango restaurant. It was small with dim lamps to provide with just enough light for someone to relax and read without straining themselves. It was nice and calming to just sit and eat or read. Its small size kept there from being a loud crowd to disrupt the atmosphere.

Anko had been sitting here recently since she got back from her mission. When she returned and found out that Naruto was gone she was both relieved that Naruto had gotten away, but also upset because even the Inuzuka clan had no success with finding Naruto. She had talked to Neji about everything that had transpired when Naruto ad left, bet even he hadn't been told Naruto's destination. So far they were all waiting for word from him. They were all waiting to see what he would do. All she knew was that all she could do now was wait.

She took a bite from her dango before she saw someone sit down in front of her. She looked up to see that it was Sasuke. She didn't hate him because she knew that eventually they would have taken Naruto down for using the kyuubi at some point. However, part of her held it against him because it was him running away that caused Naruto to use the Kyuubi at that moment instead of later on. Part of her felt that a part of the blame rested on his shoulders. That was why she chose to try and ignore him at this moment.

She sat there munching on her dango for another ten minutes before she realized that Sasuke wasn't about to leave. That whole time he just sat there and looked at her like he was waiting for an answer.

"What do you want?" Anko asked.

"I want to know where Naruto is."

"And you think I know where he went?"

"You were often with him and his other two friends, Hinata and Shino. There isn't a single person in this village that doesn't know you have a sadistic streak. You're famous for your skills in the interrogation unit. You use your snakes to get to anyone afraid of them, and you use genjutsu and torture methods to bend their perception of reality until they wind up at the brink of insanity, some even begging for death. It's how you get information from them within record times. While he is head of the division, even Ibiki doesn't get results like you do. Meaning you had to be close to Naruto and the others if you would actually be near them in friendly circumstances. You have to know because even I can tell that you were one of the few in this village that Naruto trusted."

"You're right. I was one of the few he trusted, but that doesn't seem to make much of a difference now. You read the reports. His original dream was to be acknowledged by the village. To change the way they saw him. But now I fear that this betrayal has changed his dream to one where he slaughters everyone who stands in his way." She smiled. "No, that isn't the way he is. However," she said, her smile fading, "I have no doubt that he was telling the truth when he said that he will destroy this village and everyone in its walls. When he gains the strength needed to return he will make good on his word. He will bring down this village for their crimes. I just hope he still knows what mercy is when he does, because some people will be begging for it."

'No, that's not true. It can't be. His dream is to become Hokage. Because of what I've done I owe it to him to make sure that dream comes true.'

Anko stood up and adjusted her trench coat. "I can see what you're thinking. I's all over your face." She said, sounding solemn. "You want to bring him back and help him fulfil his old dream. That dream is gone. I watched a lot of it all up close, I knew him more than most could say they did. There was a point when I saw a side of him he never showed. Hit was his sympathy for his world. This world that hates him. You can't stop that. You can't bring him back. Your motives are good, you want to help him with what you still believe to be his dream, and you want to show so kindness to right your wrong. But be where. Those who seem kindest, or try to be, are often the most insidiously cruel. Few, if any, can be trusted until the very end." She said before turning around to leave. Before she took two steps Sasuke was on his feet.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"What was that question again?" she asked without turning around.

"Do you know where he is, and if so where is he?"

She sighed. "No, I don't know where he went. He disappeared off the face of the earth and no one knows where he went. Not even his friends." Then she walked out the door of the restaurant.

Sasuke stood there for a few moments to think about what she said before hardening his resolve and walking out after her.

'Eventually she will lead me to him. All I have to do is keep track of where she goes.'

It was later at night and Anko was walking down the street when she noticed movement down a back alley. She chose to keep going before she walked past another and noticed the same movement. Someone was following her. She turned down the next side alley she came to and was able to see that the movement was someone walking back in the alley behind the buildings. When she got to the end of it she saw a figure in a black travelling cloak standing there. What she didn't know was that Sasuke had been following her and was now standing behind the corner she had come from. Under normal circumstances she would have known but was too focused on the figure in front of her.

"Who are you and why are you following me?"

The voice that answered her was distorted. "A friend. If you want to know how to find Naruto then meet me here." The figure said while handing here a slip of paper, before instantly disappearing into a whirlpool of water that appeared underneath of him and grew to encompass his previous location only to disperse to show empty space, all of which happened in the space of less than a second.

She wasted no time to shunshin behind him. Sasuke came running out from behind his corner. He had wanted to stop them so that he could also get answers but was too late before they were both gone. His face showed all of his anger at being denied this opportunity for answers.

When Anko appeared again she was standing on top of the tower in the forest of death. She looked around and didn't see the figure.

"Where are you?!"

"Here."

She panicked as she heard the voice in her ear. She instantly had a kunai in her hand and spun around. What she saw shocked her. There was Naruto wearing the travelling cloak with the hood down now. Another thing that shocked her was that his hair was red, though if you looked closely you could see blonde at his scalp to indicate that he had dyed it red and it was starting to grow back out.

"Naruto, how-"

"After I took down the barrier around the village it was a simple matter of making sure I wasn't seen by the sensory types they have patrolling the walls. Also, I'm only a kage bunshin. The real me is doing something far more important. However, I'm here to tell you where to go if you want to join me. Head to the southernmost point in the Land of Hot Water. There will be a small village there. Wait for a ship to pull into the docks. The name of the ship is the Black Pearl. Then it will take you to me. I suggest you leave in a few days. However, you should make sure Sasuke is unconscious before you leave. He followed you after you left the dango shop. I don't want him getting in the way. It would be troublesome."

"Troublesome?"

"The Nara do not have a monopoly on the word. Anyways, I won't kill him if he ever confronts me because he is my friend, however, I will not let his misguided thoughts stand between me and destroying this place."

"I understand. So how are things going?"

"Currently they're going well for how early on everything is. However, it will be impossible to act any time soon."

"Alright, then I will see you soon."

"So long as everything goes cording to plan, yes. For right now I'm running low and I'm about to disperse. Leave soon. I have no doubt that Sasuke will tell Tsunade about you knowing where to find me here very soon. The moment he lost the trail in that alley he knew he was going to need help with tracking me down. However, he will try to keep them out of the loop for as long as he can so that Tsunade can't get to me first. At least he's smart enough to know he shouldn't trust the sannin. However, I can no longer stay. I'll see you in a few weeks." Naruto said before dispersing.

In a moment Anko was also gone. She needed to leave as soon as possible. If she stayed to long then she wouldn't be able to get away before they were on her trail.

*break*

Naruto was hiding behind a rock so that he could remain unseen for the moment. He had his Uzukage robe on and his hair was starting to grow out so the natural color could barely be seen growing out of his scalp. In a moment he would start his attack which would signal the rest of the forces to commence their own attack. Right now though he was making sure the device in his hands was ready. In his hands was an eighteen inch around, two foot long, and canister like device.

The device had five seems. Four went up the sides of the device while the fifth went around the middle. These seems were so that the eight individual panels could separate and be automatically sealed into the two sealing arrays on the two ends of the device. When the panels were sealed it revealed most of the device to be covered in a black grid pattern over a grey back ground. The inside of the canister was actually a covering itself. Under the grey and black grid covered a one inch around metal tube. The grey and black grid was there, taking up the rest of the device's interior, because it was actually billions of sealing arrays stacked on top of each other to form a hollow three dimensional cylinder. After he had managed to gather some documents in his family's library on seals and some things that Mito Uzumaki had given Kushina after she was brought to Konoha. He had his bunshin working on making dozens of them before he left because they took months to create.

The sealing arrays had been modified so that they would eject their contents within a matter of seconds. To make a weapon out of the design Naruto had simply filled each of the billions of seals with thousands of metal senbon. The device would decimate everything around it by ejection all of the thousands of billions of senbon in a matter of moments to rip apart everything. He had also managed to engineer the seals so that they would be linked so that they could fire them all in a single direction, although the one in his hand would send them out in every direction so that it could be the most effective in this situation. This device that he had created was one that he called, a 'chaos mine'. It could be engineered to respond to several things. A timer, motion sensor, applied presser, removed presser, a key word, remote detonator, and impact. These allowed them to be deployed in many ways for many situations. This particular one was set for impact.

Before commencing his attack he created several dozen bunshin, each pulling themselves from his shadow, to protect him while he ran for it. Before taking off he strapped the chaos min to his lower back. The fortress he was attacking had large stone walls with several small buildings inside, and a main, five flour tower at the center.

Once he took off with his bunshin taking up formation in front of him it took only a few seconds before he was noticed. The moment he was, he was assaulted with a barrage of kunai, explosive tags, and long range jutsu. He and his bunshin avoided what they could while the copies took what couldn't. The moment he hit the wall he was most of the way up it in no time. Now the copies ran ahead and allowed themselves to be stuck with the paper bombs so that they could take them back up the wall to the people who through them. Although the bombs were detonated before they got very far, it helped to vibrate the wall, and therefore through off the aim of those at the top.

What happened next happened within seconds. The moment he was on top of the fortification he had to lean backwards to avoid a blade being stabbed towards his face. He quickly grabbed the wrist of its owner and twisted it so that the enemy would be flipped, while also pulling him into the air. Naruto had forced himself to move past the sickness he felt when killing and grabbed the man's throat before slamming him into the floor. When the man's head hit the stone he also had his windpipe crushed by the force Naruto was applying.

After that he had move quickly to avoid the wave of spike that had been coming for him since he landed on the wall. Jumping up over them, Naruto had a bunshin pop into existence to through him towards the person who had used the doton jutsu. When Naruto was in rage he drew his sword and impaled the man through the heart in a streak of black and green.

Then he saw a streak of lightning flash towards him from behind. Thinking quickly he sank into the stone wall before reappearing behind the attacker who turned around to counter attack. However, Naruto was already in the air with the front of his right foot hooked behind the man's head, and the heel of his left pushing against the left side of the man's face. He pulled his right foot back and pushed his left foot forward to produce a sickening crack as the man's neck was twisted at an un-natural angle.

Deciding to get out before the rest of the guards could continue to attack he removed the chaos mine from his back and tossed it over the wall. The moment it left his hands he shunshined away. When he reappeared he was running with the rest of the army he had signaled by starting his attack. He was now leading the charge with Hinata and Shino at his sides. Hlooked at both of them for a moment as they both nodded. They were ready. It took another ten seconds before they were at the wall that was turned to dust at this point due to the chaos mine. The body parts that could be identified were ripped apart and turned into pin-cushions. The wall, surrounding buildings, and the shinobi around that location were obliterated and turned to mist or dust. Naruto gave the signal and Jirobo jumped out of the attacking wave to the front. When he landed he used a doton jutsu that shifted the ground they would be moving over to get rid of the scattered senbon on the ground. When he fell back into the ranks with the rest of the Uzu four, Naruto led them in and they started systematically moving in. many of them were splitting up to take different areas and keeping support busy.

Naruto and the other two of his team charged through the paths towards the main building, taking down those who got in their way as they went. Shino would send his insects out ahead and around corners, Hinata disabled people who got close enough to the rear, and Naruto used his sword to impale or decapitate or would shove a rasengan into the midsection of anyone who got close enough in general. When a group of seven enemy shinobi rounded a corner in front of them Naruto created a dozen bunshin to keep them busy while they went in and took them down.

It took them another minute before they had met up with some of the other teams outside of the south entrance of the main building. Once there Naruto had some of his doton users come forward and destroy the door. With the door gone Naruto also saw smoke rising to signify that the other entrances were also being breached. Knowing that the other teams were able to see the smoke to signify that their door was clear he rushed in, followed by the rest of his forward infiltration team. Now it was up to all four teams to do their individual jobs.

Once inside they once again split up to take individual halls and rooms. It didn't take long before most of the building was secure. After many small skirmishes Naruto, Hinata, and Shino split off to take on their own target. It didn't take long for them to find him killing some of their units. The man was middle aged with plain black armor and two katanas, one in each hand. He was the general in charge of this base. They were now in a large atrium that seemed to serve as a connecter for some of the branching halls. This place was meant to make intruders lost if they didn't know the way, or didn't have others helping them map it out.

Once he noticed Naruto and his team Naruto could see the man become nervous for a split moment. He had heard of the Uzukage's involvement in fighting against Kiri. However, he quickly got over it and attacked. Hinata and Shino were about to help Naruto with a counter attack when more Kiri shinobi entered the large room. All three shared a look before Hinata started moving to disable the chakra and pressure points of some, while Shino consumed others with his insects. When some got to close they engaged in taijutsu and used kunai to fend off enemy blades.

Naruto had pulled up his own sword to block both of the enemy's swords at once. He pushed the man back before putting him on the defensive by creating a bunshin and having it henge into another of his black and green sword. He quickly took up both of his blades and charged in to keep the man on his toes. Every time he would slash across the man's middle he would switch one of his blades into a reverse grip to block while using his other sword to block the blows Naruto tried to deliver to the man's throat or face. However it didn't last long as the man used Naruto's own momentum to flip him onto his back and toss away Naruto's swords, one of which dispersed upon impacting the stone floor. He then held his swords at Naruto's neck.

"You were a good opponent for your age, and you did not disappoint my expectations from your reputation. However, this is where you die."

"Not quite." Naruto said with a smirk before disappearing into smoke.

"What the-?!"

The man was cut off as he felt a sword impact the back of his armor and impale him. he could feel part of his spine being severed as the sword came out from between the middle of his left rib cage, and therefor puncturing the left lung.

"I am sorry to use such a deceitful tactic on such a worthy opponent such as you, however, I cannot die here. There are things I need to do. I wish I could have fought beside you as you would have made an excellent ally. That is why I wish to know your name." Naruto said from behind.

"General Mikami Katase. Tell me a couple of things before I die. Why can't I feel anything, and how did you do it?"

"Before my attack ever started I had my sword on a table. Then I created a bunshin. Because I myself was not holding the sword my bunshin didn't have the sword himself. So I then picked up my sword and henged myself into it so that I was holding my sword inside of the transformation. I had my clone wield the sword I was transformed into so that if the need arose it could toss away the swords so that I could cancel the henge and strike from behind. As for the other thing, I made sure to sever part of your spinal column so that you would feel very little. You deserve that for being one of the few honorable and worthy opponents I have faced."

"Well, then I guess I have to say good luck. I owe you that much." The man said before dying. Naruto set the man's body down and removed his sword to put it away before turning to see Hinata and Shino finishing off the stragglers that had come in when they did.

"You two okay?" he asked.

His response was for them to nod.

"Alright, let's get moving while we're in the clear." Naruto said. Before leaving he created several dozen bunshin to map out a rout to the rendezvous point. It didn't take long before Naruto had a rout and led them out of the chamber. As they walked down the network of halls there were some small fights going on down other halls and marveled at how quickly the base had fallen. It had taken little time for them all to systematically take control and defeat the enemy stationed here.

When they emerged from the building through the west entrance they were greeted with Mei Terumi, her guards, the uzu four, Zabuza and Haku, and many of the soldiers resting in a courtyard. Some were also tending to the wounded. He saw one of his Uzu nin standing that was relatively unscathed apart from a few cuts and burns. She had short brown hair with pink eyes and was wearing basic shinobi clothing with a small orange stripe on each shoulder, as well as light padding to dampen blows without weighing her down too much. She was actually older than Naruto, as were many of the ex-oto nin, but had decided it was best to acknowledge him as the leader of her new home,like many of the ex-oto nin had also done. After waving her over she gave a small tip of her head to signify that she was awaiting orders but was ready to move when needed.

"I want you to get together a status report for me. Compile a list of losses, wounded, and prisoners. After that I want you to arrange for those prisoners to be brought to me along with your report. After that you will be dismissed to your normal responsibilities." Naruto said. As she left to carry out her orders Naruto sat down on a small piece of rubble. They had managed to keep most of the base intact, but explosive tags had still done some damage. This counted even more for buildings that had been covered in them as traps.

He sat there with Hinata and Shino for another ten minutes before the nin he sent to get a report returned.

"Report." Naruto said, standing up as he did so.

"Total casualties on our side were fifty-three. Twelve of those were Uzushio shinobi. The wounded count is sixty-four. Seven of those are Uzushio shinobi. However, none of them were to injured to go back into combat within a few days. As for prisoners, we captured five. However, one was able to kill one of the others and them himself before they could be properly restrained. Also, it seems that most of them were only here because their families are being held. If they surrender then their families are killed."

"Alright, unfortunate. However, it can't be changed right now. For now that leaves us with over five hundred left alive, thirty-six of which came here with us a week ago. I don't want to but it seems I will need to employ more of my chaos mines in a few days when we assault the village. For now, tell everyone to rest up and get ready. Also, prepare a funeral pyre for our fallen. After that you're dismissed." He said. She nodded and walked off to give the message she was told to spread.

Shortly after the three remaining prisoners were brought in front of him. "You will be sure to tell everyone in Kiri that we are on our way. Understand. Tell them that our attack will be brutal. So long as that happens we will point you south west towards the village."

When they all said that they would he wave a hand to have them taken away. He also quickly had another Uzu nin come over. "Before they leave make sure to break one leg on each of them. I don't want Kiri to have time to plan a counter attack. After that, let's hope everything goes according to plan."

*break*

Naruto was laying in his tent thinking about the day, about the victory that might not have been if the exact conditions had not been met. He hated thinking about it, thinking about the lives he had taken. However, his mind was slowly helping him ignore the pain, ignore the faces. It no longer mattered. This had to be done to make sure that everything went according to plan. He knew that civilians would die tomorrow. That couldn't be changed. They would be used as shields anyways. He needed to do this. He rubbed his eyes before sitting up and putting his legs over the side of the cot so that he was looking at the small coal holder that heated the tent. There was a small opening the allowed the small amounts of smoke to vent. He looked at his feet and picked up the four folders that sat there. He looked at all four of them.

SPRING CONTINGENCY, SUMMER CONTINGENCY, AUTUM CONTINGENCY, WINTER CONTINGECY

He opened the spring folder and flipped through the pages. He cried at some of these things and how this plan was now useless like so many other were before he destroyed them. He looked at the last page.

Get married.

Live.

Be happy

Fulfil my dream to change the view of Konoha towards me and possibly become Hokage

Those were the last items in the folder. They were meant to show the end result of the plan. They were meant to be a check list that could be crossed off once it was complete. He saw a tear fall and soak into the page. It didn't matter anymore. The plan inside was useless. He took the contents out of the Spring Contingency folder before opening the small heater and putting the pages onto the fire inside. He then tucked the folder into his pack to his left along with the other contingency folders. He sat there and wondered if the Summer Contingency would also become obsolete. He sat there and wondered how much the darkness of this world would consume of his life, of his plans, of his happiness.

Then he decided that it was time to go to sleep so that he could rest for the coming battle. He was involved in a war for a good cause, an important cause. But what would be the cost at the end of all of this? When did the cost of life become more that the end result was worth? He didn't know, but it was going to be something he would have to deal with, something he would have to take in stride if he wanted any of his dreams to come true.

When he laid down and closed his eyes he was distracted by a knocking on the post of his tent. He sat up before responding.

"Yes?"

His response was for Hinata to push aside the entrance flap and step inside.

"Hey Naruto. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Alright, What is it Hinata?" he asked before gesturing for her to sit down next to him.

After she sat down she steeled her resolve and spoke. "Naruto, today when you were fighting the general while Shino and I were fighting the guards one of them tried to go for you while both of us were busy. He was about to stab you with a kunai before I hit a fatal point on the one I was fighting and rushed to kill him as well. I killed him just in time before he got to you, before going back to fighting the others. That showed me just how important it was to protect my friends. To protect you. Ever since you came to help me while I was being bullied by those kids, since you never gave up, since you became my friend and helped me, I decided that I care about you Naruto. Before today I was still too shy to tell you that. To s-say it at all. But when I saw him about to kill you I reacted to protect you. After that, I had to face that fact that it was a possibility that you or I could have died today and I would never have told you. In a few days when we attack Kiri, we could die. So I need to tell you, while I still can." She turned her head to look him in the eyes. "I love you."

Naruto was speechless. He wasn't sure how to react. He looked closely at her. Her hair was staring to grow back out so that there was some of her natural black at her scalp. She still had her contacts in though.

"Hinata, I have to tell you that I don't know how to respond. You have been my friend for a long time. To be honest, I don't know if I feel the same, if I ever will, or if I even can feel the same way at all. So for now, all I can truthfully say to you is that you are my friend. And in that regard I care for you as well. You, Shino, and Anko are the most important people to me. After all these years I consider you the closest thing I have to family. So promise me something. If I never do, if I never give you an answer, or if I die, move on. I would hate it if my surrogate family couldn't let go of me."

She nodded. "Alright, but only if you agree to not die any time soon."

"I will try my hardest." Naruto said. He felt something inside of him shift and change. He let his mind's eye shift to view his mind scape. He saw the glass case. It was shaking, glowing, shifting, and vibrating. He could see that the glass was being stressed by an invisible force. He let the mind's eye shift to see the rest of the scape. Everywhere he looked he could see the same stress of some invisible force.

"Be careful. You are now treading a path that has led to insanity for those who walk similar paths. You are now burdened with a weight that could break, or even destroy, not only you but your mind. And when it does I will be there."

However, Naruto came back to focus completely on reality. He put aside what he saw and heard to bid Hinata a good night. As she left he laid down on his cot and closed his eyes. He opened them to appear in his mind scape. Then he looked up to see the kyuubi.

"What are you here for now host?"

"Why did you talk in my mind? Why did you say that?"

"AHH, that. That was not me. I heard it as you did, but it was not me. I don't know what it was. That is why I myself am nervous. There was another presence with that voice, so tread lightly. Be careful about what happens in the future."

Naruto nodded. This was something to be feared if it made Kurama nervous.

*break*

Naruto was standing on the crest of a hill with the forces of his unit behind him. The total remaining forces had been divided into three groups. The first would come from the North East, the direction of the base they had taken a few days ago. The other two were set up to attack from the south east and North West. With them surrounding Kiri they were set up for Naruto to once again signal the attack. With the Kiri forces knowing that their base had been stolen they had their forces focused in that direction until they could plan a counter attack.

Naruto was able to see the village walls from his current position but was mostly hidden unless the enemy was looking closely. When his attack commence they would draw most of the enemy in their direction while the rest of their forces would commence their own attack and take control of the unguarded places to catch the enemy from behind and take over quickly. This plan was also the give the other units the opportunity to secure the civilians. This was so that most of the shinobi would surrender with their families safe.

However, long before arriving there, Naruto had henged so that he could plant several of his chaos mines within the village. He had planted them in several place to systematically destroy their defenses and give them the openings needed. Naruto had place one at each gate, two in the main barracks where the off duty enemy shinobi tended to stay, one he had placed in the main armory, two along the walls of the kage tower to create openings, and a few on another network that were underground in the sewers to trap and slow down shinobi around the village.

The ones in the sewers were keyed to a detonation seal on his right hand while all of the others were keyed to one on his left hand. It was meant so that he could activate the ones on his left to cause chaos all over the village and thin out their numbers. The ones on his right was so that he could cause even more chaos as they tried to react. The name 'chaos mine' really fit the purpose of the devices.

Then he turned around to face his unit before speaking up. "This is it. This battle will end the war. Get ready!" he yelled, drawing his sword and turning around to face the village again. Now was the time to end this war. "Attack!" He yelled as he look off at a sprint with Hinata and Shino right behind him.

*break*

The man was standing on top of a ridge overlooking the nearby Kirigakure. His black cloak flapping in the tense wind. His hair was now pulled up into a small wrap that kept it pulled up in the back of his head. He did this every time he was about to fight or go into battle.

"Is everyone in position for the assault?" he asked another of his generals.

"Yes sir. We also made sure to remind them that they need to identify themselves as allies and only defend themselves as needed."

"Good, I would hate for them to attack us when we come up behind them. Have they started their attack yet?"

"No s-yes. Their attacking right now."

"Good. Attack." He said before drawing both of his double edged swords and charging with the rest of them.

*break*

Sasuke walked into the Hokage's office at the same time that Jiraiya did. He had told Jiraiya that he needed to talk to the two sannin. He hadn't seen Anko since he tried to follow her, but he guessed it was her that knocked him unconscious since she was nowhere to be found after he woke up. He decided it was time to tell the sannin about what he had overheard and why she as gone.

'I should have gone to them sooner. They could have made her lead us to Naruto. Now that she's gone there's nothing I can do..'

When Sasuke and Jiraiya sat down with Tsunade and Shizune sitting in front of them, Tsunade asked what this was about.

"I know why Anko is missing." Sasuke said. His response was a questioning glare. "I saw her talking to a man in a black travelling cloak. He offered to tell her where Naruto was. I tried to stop them before they shunshined away and I lost them. After that I found no trace of Anko until I was knocked out yesterday morning. I only woke up an hour ago, leading me to believe that she drugged me so that she could have time to cover her tracks. I think we all know where she went, or rather who she went to." He finished.

Tsunade stood up before dragging her arm across her desk, sending everything flying and some glass shattering. She said nothing, but you could see the anger radiating.

"Get me files for the bingo book. I want Naruto and Anko brought beck here as soon as possible." She let out in a low, yet murderous, voice. Shizune ran out of the room to accomplish her task.

When she started to try to calm down Jiraiya turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. I want to train you."

"What did you just say?" Sasuke asked, now surprised and slightly angry. He already knew where this was going.

"You heard me. Naruto trained with me for a little over a month. I didn't teach him much but he did improve. Plus, who knows what he'll do before we find him again. You're going to need the extra training."

"Then I can train with Kakashi."

"You already know that won't be good enough. At this point he's probably training in everything he can with those kage bunshin of his. You're going to need to train under me. And there's the toads."

"What are you talking about Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked.

"When Naruto escaped I tried to have them remove his name from the contract. Gamabunta refused. He said that I had Naruto sign the contract and it couldn't be removed. Though he did assure me that he wouldn't let any of them be summoned, there was something off. There was something in the way he shifted that told me he wasn't telling me everything."

"However, they did agree to let me put your name on the contr-"

"No!" Sasuke said, shooting to his feet. "You can keep it. There are a few clan contracts in my clan's library. The toads won't be needed."

With that Jiraiya shook his unease and nodded. Sasuke using some more of his clan's techniques would probably be best.

*break*

Naruto quickly activated the seal on his left hand. He watched as dust shot up into the sky from the village. The chaos mines were working. He lifted up his hand to give a signal. When he felt Hinata and Shino place their hands on his shoulders he disappeared in his uzumaki shunshin with them. When they reappeared they landed inside of the walls. It was their job to go in and create as much chaos as possible before the first unit got there to help them. Naruto interlocked his arms with theirs while bringing up his hand to form a cross.

"Now, let's see if this works as well as I think it will." He said before several dozen of each of them appeared. Hinata and Shino appeared slightly winded but it passed as they saw Naruto in the exact same state. For him to be winded was a rare sight.

"Alright. You all know what to do. Let's finish this!" he yelled as all of the copies grouped together to form a wave. Each of the Shinos raised their hands up as their insects flew to form a wave that flooded down the surrounding streets. Screams of pain could be heard over the roar of buzzing. But that passed and every Hinata activated their Byakugan to fight the enemies jumping down from the roofs. The Narutos also attacked with their swords in one hand and rasengan in the other. They would quickly impale the enemy on their swords and destroy their bodies with the resengan they shoved into the Kiri shinobi's chests. When no more enemies were in the immediate area all of the bunshin disappeared.

Naruto and the other two were about to get to fighting again when more Kiri shinobi appeared. However, they were stopped as their forces came through the gate. Before Naruto and his cell could take off they were stopped by one of the resistance members.

"Lord Uzukage, on the way down here we encountered another large force coming from the North, South, East, and West. We thought they were enemies but they seem to be on our side."

Naruto closed his eyes momentarily to think. When he opened them again he spoke. "For now we shall count it as a blessing. Take the help you can get and be thankful that less of our side will die."

The resistance member nodded before taking off. Naruto explained the situation to the other two before they left as well. Running down a street they quickly got ready to fight as four Kiri shinobi jumped from the roof of a building to block their path. Before either side could make a move the enemies fell dead.

Behind their bodies was a man in strange armor with a sword in his hand. The armor had red on the bottoms of the feet, white up to the knees, which were blue, and then white until it reached the middle torso. Above that there was a red midsection with blue and white on the rest apart from a black object adorning the center of his chest. The shoulders of the armor jutted out slightly past the arms. On his head was a helmet with a black object on the forehead just above spike above the eyes that branched out. On the sides were two more of the black objects where the ears should be. Past that a wide spike jutted out of each side. On his left should was a large blue shield it green around the edges.

In the man's hand was a large, wide double edged broad sword. At his hip were two Katanas with silver blades, blue sheaths, white handles, and silver guards. One was at each hip. Then he spoke.

"You must be the Uzukage. Things will be explained later. For now all you need to know is that we are here to help you." He said before disappearing. Naruto knew that whatever conversation held this explanation would be long and complicated.

*break*

The man was currently walking down the halls of the Mizukage's tower. He had used the chaos to ignore everything but getting here. When he stepped around a corner he was assaulted from all sides by Kiri shinobi who also came from the ceiling. He responded instantly as time seemed to slow around him by readying his two swords. He spun around in a flare to slash open the chest of four of them. He then jumped into the air to decapitate one, kick off of the body, and launch into two enemies who were also still suspended in the air. With his blades in front of him they reached the two before he did, impaling their necks. He then moved his legs forward to kick off of them and downwards. On his way down he decapitated two of them. He slid to the ground and turned to dash forward and disembowel one more. When he was done everything sped back up and the bodies fell. He had moved so quickly that it had happened in the span of a second.

He turned to look at the only remaining enemy, who at this point had wet himself at how quickly everyone around him had died at the hands of one person. He started to walk towards the Kiri nin who instantly took off running down another hall way. The man chuckled. He always got a kick out of it. It was one of his few pleasures in life. He continued walking until he reached his destination. He opened two large double doors to find himself in a relatively large atrium. Once inside he saw who he was looking for. He saw the Mizukage, Yagura, picking up his weapon, which was a staff-like pole weapon with uneven sized hooks with a green flower on the larger end, to go fight in the battle taking place outside of his tower. However, he looked up to see the man enter, his emotionless face looking at the intruder.

Yagura appeared to be just entering his teens, but was actually an adult. He had messy, light-grey hair, pink pupiless eyes and a stitch-like scar running from under his left eye, all the way down his cheek. He wore a grey, sleeveless shirt with the his hitai-ate attached to the front, short-sleeved mesh armour over which he also wore a green poncho along with a turquoise obi around his waist, paired with a green apron over his pants, and brown boots. He also had a tanto on his right hip and a wakizashi on his left. The wakizashi had a silver blade, a green guard that was a simple diamond, and a handle that was black along with the pommel.

"Who are you?" Yagura asked.

The man looked towards the shadows of the round room in a single spot to the right of Yagura.

"I could ask the same of you, over in the shadows. He who truly pulls the strings. Why don't you come out and let me see who you are?"

There was a tense silence before a man walked out of the shadows. He wore black shinobi sandals, bandages around his lower legs, and slightly baggy black pants. He also wore a black robe that went down to his knees, had a thick purple trim, and a grey obi around his middle. Under the robe you could see bandages covering his right hand and arm, as well as bandages covering most of his chest. His hair was long, black, and spiky so that it had a wild appearance. However, his face couldn't be seen as it was covered with a mask. The mask only had an eye hole for his right eye, which could be seen as a lone sharingan, and was yellow with thick, stylized, black lines around the eye, although only two of them touched the outside of the mask.

"Ah wonderful! Now I understand, you are the famed Madara Uchiha!" the man said with a joyous tone. He seemed unfazed in the slightest, and on the inside he was. He had expected this person to be behind everything, just like he was the one behind the Kyuubi attack all those years ago. "Wait," he said, his voice dropping a little, "I got that wrong. I meant to say you would be Madara Uchiha if you weren't actually his successor, and he wasn't dead." He didn't miss Madara flinch, if only slightly. From everything he had gathered over the years he had put together a profile on many things, including Madara and everything surrounding him. Though, some of it was speculation.

"HAHAHA! No, I'm very much alive."

"Of course you are, but your flinch a moment ago confirmed my suspicions. You are not the real Madara Uchiha. He died long ago, probably bequeathing everything, including his name, to you. So tell me, how am I doing so far?"

"To be honest you're getting on my nerves. But before I kill you, tell me….how did you figure it out?"

"It was not easy if that's what you're worried about. You see, I had to wait for you to tell me. And that took patience I didn't know I had." the man said with a smirk. "Don't get me wrong, I had the idea for quite some time. I built a profile on him a while back. I noticed something and thought to myself, 'why would someone who can single handedly re-write the maps hide his face?' So I decided to try and trick you. I have to say that it wasn't that hard. I was a little disappointed."

"Hmm. Well, I must admit I didn't expect someone to deny my claims in such a way that I was forced to admit it."

"So then, would you be so kind as to take off that mask so that I can know who you really are. I think I deserve that much at least, for all my hard work."

"No, I think not." He said as the air started to shift and wrap around him before he was pulled into it.

When Madara was gone the man had to quickly defend himself by putting up both of his swords to catch Yagura's staff that was coming down to crush his head. He quickly kicked Yagura away only for the kage to rush back with his tanto in a reverse grip in his left hand and his staff in his left. The man quickly twisted around to slice his staff in half as it was brought down and leaned backward as the tanto tried to bite into the flesh that kept his jugular un-severed. When the tanto passed the man jumped away.

The man ran forward and slashed at Yagura who constantly leaned backwards or sidestepped his blades. The man leaped back to avoid the now drawn wakizashi. He held up both of his swords to block the downward slash of Yagura's blade. He saw Yagura thrusting his tanto towards his ribs. He released his grip on is swords to reach in and grab both of Yagura's wrists. Yagura twisted around, bringing the man's arms with him. He quickly broke free and slashed his tanto across the man's chest, though not deep enough to hinder him.

The man quickly leaned down to avoid Yagura's wakizashi, grabbing his own swords at the same time. When he came back up he was able to stab forward. As Yagura turned away to avoid it the stab slashed across his upper arm. When Yagura retreated the man could tell that he had done some damage. Yagura had had the misfortune of having a severed tendon. Making use of his inability to use the wakizashi, the man rushed forward and cut Yagura's Achilles tendon. He wasn't expecting to see the wakizashi coming down at him immediately after. He took a cut to his shoulder as he retreated. He saw the wound on Yagura's arm closing rapidly. He knew he needed to act fast before the rest of his wounds healed and Yagura decided to enter his tailed beast state.

Stabbing his swords into the ground, he flashed through hand seals.

"Destruction's light!" he yelled before lighting shot from every tip of the man's fingers, toes, hair, and even nose. The lightning streamed out of him and into storm forming in the center of the room. Within seconds the storm made it so dark that only the man could see. However, the darkness was short lived as a bright light accompanied the sound of thunder. The man could feel the impact coming from the force of all the energy of a hurricane being released all at once. He could feel the destruction it was creating. When the light cleared the walls were cracked and looked ready to fall, yet were still standing due to being built to withstand powerful jutsu.

However, the man was also panting and looked up to see Yagura. Yagura was covered with burns, his cloths singed, and he was on his knees. He was obviously not finished yet, but he was still stunned due to having so much light and sound go off directly in his eyes and ears. The attack was meant to destroy everything, but the man had lessoned its power considerably so that he didn't exhaust him himself, though he had still put in most of what he still had. From his assessment of the Mizukage's condition a fully powered attack would not have killed the kage and the man would have been too exhausted to finish him off. However, while the kage was still stunned, the man pulled his swords out of the ground and walked over to the kneeling jinchuriki. He then put his swords at the kage's neck to decapitate him in one move.

"Your sins are not your own, but that does not mean that if left alive you will not commit them. Forgive me for this." He said before pulling his swords back so that he could get the momentum to sever the head instantly. Before he could complete the movement the doors that were somehow still standing burst open.

In the doorway stood Naruto, Hinata and Shino. Naruto was stunned to see the man about to kill the kage but quickly got over it.

"Stop! I need him alive!"

The man looked reluctant as he saw Yagura starting to stir. "You realize that he is in this state because I was able to surprise him, right? He is under a genjutsu and will no doubt attack when he comes out of this."

"I know." Naruto said as he walked up to the still kneeling, but slightly more aware, kage. He then took a knee in front of him and pulled out a piece of paper. He then applied the paper to Yagura's forehead and channeled chakra into it. "Forgive me my friend. This is going to hurt."

As soon as the words left his mouth a seal appeared on the paper and Yagura collapsed on the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. After a few seconds Yagura stopped and blacked out.

"What was that?" the man asked.

"Back when the kyuubi was kept in Uzushio people putting the jinchuriki under genjutsu was not exactly rare. Because the biju was uncooperative they had no way to break it themselves unless they had unbelievable chakra control. So the people of Uzushio developed a seal that momentarily stopped all flow of chakra in their bodies. The only flaw was that the bone crushing pain often caused unconsciousness." Naruto said before checking Yagua's pulse. "A sub flaw was that on rare occasions it would cause death. By rare, I mean it happened twice."

"So what about cases like Yagura, where it was nearly impossible to apply the seal1?"

"It happened once. How do you think Madara Uchiha so easily got ahold of the kyuubi before it was sealed into Mito? He used a genjutsu to control the previous host until he was ready to extract it. So a variant of the seal was created. The seal was placed at the base of the neck. The trigger was for the detection of a foreign chakra signature causing irregularities in the chakra network. This was why the Jinchuriki was always guarded with some of the fastest shinobi. When the jinchuriki were rendered unconscious they would pull them out of the situation and retreat."

"Yes, that was brilliant. So now that this is taken care of a guess introductions are in order, Uzukage."

Naruto stood up and faced the man. "Yes, I agree. Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, the Shodaime Uzukage" Naruto said as he extended his hand.

The man extended his hand and they clasped each other's forearms. "Good. I have been waiting to meet you ever since you started intervening in the war. As for me…you may call me Chronicle." He said as they separated and took a step back.

"Chronicle?"

Chronicle smiled and gave a small chuckle. "I long ago forgot my name. There was a time in my life where I talked to no one for so long that I forgot it. So I now go by the name Chronicle. I'm sure you have a few questions for me."

Naruto's face turned serious. "Yes, I would like to know a little more about who you are and why you're here."

"Of course." Chronicle said, his face also serious now. "Come on. Let's first make sure that order is maintained within our ranks. Then we can have a meeting to discuss everything. But first, who are your team mates?"

Naruto gestured to them. "Hinata, and Shino. Two of my closest friends."

"Good. Now, let's go and make sure our two armies don't kill each other."