Chapter 10: Scorched
Konoha was in a massive state of semi-panic. Shinobi and ANBU alike were scrambling for war. The demon they had banished was coming to bring his vengeance upon them. As that happened, Danzo made some preparations with the civilian council.
"Have we deployed enough forces to Wave and Spring?" he asked.
"Of course." Homura grinned. "The brat wouldn't want to risk friends dying over this petty revenge scheme of his, right?"
"And once we play him,-" Koharu continued. "-Sasuke can finish him off once and for all, and we will gain everything the Empire has."
"Alright,-" Danzo started. "Then let us prepare for his arrival."
Great Naruto Bridge...
A small army of Konoha chunin and ANBU made their way across the bridge, obviously disgusted by whom the bridge was named after.
"If this goes well, and the fox child finally bows to Konoha's whims, we can get these commoners to change the name to 'Great Sasuke Bridge'." one chunin said.
"Yeah. That demon brat shouldn't have a great bridge such as this named after him." another agreed.
The casual conversation continued...until they spotted some shapes in the distance. The small army became tense as they drew their weapons.
"Medea was right. They really are daring." Cu remarked with a smirk, readying his weapon, the red spear Gae Bolg. Right behind him and Altera, who raised Photon Ray, a company of soldiers of various warrior classes emerged, weapons and magic prepared.
"Westerners..." a chunin spat. "And that's the girl who hurt Sasuke. Hey! Why are you working for a demon? What has he done to warp your minds?!"
"The demon you speak of..." Cu began to snarl. "-was the one to unite the lands of the West into a peaceful and powerful Empire. He has done nothing to warp our minds and you know nothing of the struggles he faced to bring Alvarez to life!"
"And for your insolence, we shall destroy you and your civilization." Altera let out a low growl.
"Don't stand in our way!" a chunin threw a kunai with an explosive tag at Cu, but it was swatted away by the Scourge of God with her sword. The kunai fell into the water, where it exploded. With her fellow general charging in bravely, Altera gave the order to the platoons under her and Cu's command.
"Kill them all."
Spring Country...
Koyuki Kazahana was in the middle of paperwork as both a Daimyo and an actress when the door to her office suddenly opened followed by the sounds of men being slashed and stabbed and falling to the ground. She quickly drew a wakizashi from her desk and pointed it at the open doorway. Soon enough, stepping into the room of the Spring Daimyo was Achilles.
"Daimyo Koyuki Kazahana, you're in danger. ANBU have infiltrated your village so that the current Hokage Danzo Shimura may have you as ransom." he told her. Now, there were more noises of men dying, followed by the sound of whizzing projectiles flying through the hall outside.
"I thought Lady Tsunade was th-" Koyuki was quickly cut off when Achilles raised his free hand.
"No time to explain. We have to go." he told her before turning to the doorway. "Atalanta, all clear?!"
"Clear, but remain cautious." Atalanta's voice called out in reply.
Meanwhile, outside the castle, several Spring guards wearing chakra armor and armed with swords and kunai volley guns were fighting Konoha ANBU in an even fight when they heard the sounds of big footsteps. Asterios charged into the courtyard, hacking and smashing every ANBU that came into his range.
"These ones are terrible at their job." Asterios grunted, keeping them at bay.
"Thank you!" a Spring shinobi exclaimed at their savior. "Are you with the West?"
"Yes, and by the orders given to me by my Emperor, I will aid you."
Konoha...
The remaining forces left in Konoha waited at the gate, ready to meet the "demon fox". In front were Danzo, Koharu, Homura, and Sasuke, who looked eager to end the life of his former teammate once and for all.
Then, he came. Emerging from the darkness of the Forest of Death was the black haired Emperor in the red coat and sleeveless body armor. Emperor Zeref Emiya appeared before them, not even threatened by the show of resistance in front of him. Ninjas and civilians alike drew weapons and readied jutsus. Seeing how tense they got from seeing him, Zeref smirked.
"Aren't you all a sight for sore eyes." he scoffed.
"I don't have to bend anyone to my will this time." Danzo muttered to himself before letting himself be known. "Naruto Uzumaki, you have no other choice but to surrender to us now."
"Or what, Danzo?" Zeref raised an eyebrow.
"Or Wave and Spring will suffer for your immaturity." Koharu spoke. "No one needs to get hurt if you hand over your Empire to Konoha. It is our right to annex whatever we can to become the greatest ninja village. Furthermore, you will be put on trial for desertion and excessive violence aimed at our own Sasuke Uchiha. He and Danzo will be able to take care of your lands."
"So...you want me to just hand you my land so Wave and Spring don't get hurt?" Zeref snarled. Of course, he expected this, he was just playing along.
"It is by my right as an elite to have whatever I want!" Sasuke shouted. "I'll take your land and your women so that I may become strong enough to finally kill Itachi! And I will rule your Empire the way an Uchiha can: with an iron fist."
"And we his loyal wives will be by his side, crushing any and all resistance!" Sakura added, the other CRA girls in high amounts of makeup and holding scissors cheered as well.
Zeref remained silent, processing everything they had said. Were they serious about what they said? Did they really just say that? It was laughable.
"I would assume from your silence that you agree?" Danzo asked the still silent Emperor. "Very well then. Take him away!"
Several chunin grinned at the chance to finally lock up their biggest problem child for good and be known as heroes throughout the Land of Fire. As they walked towards Zeref, ready to take him in,...
"Shinra Tensei!"
A devastating wave of repulsive forces hit the Konoha forces hard, sending them flying.
"Do you all take me for a fool?! Do you all still think of me as the same, gullible boy that expected care from his home when it obviously never came?! I am not that same boy anymore. You really think I'll just hand the reins over to your precious Uchiha over worthless threats, you're all pathetic! While you spoiled yourselves with gifts you never deserved, I risked my life day and night to unite a great land in turmoil, and you just want it all handed to you instantly?! Never again will I tolerate your foolishness. Kurama and I will finish what he started...together."
When he made his words known, Zeref made some hand seals and activated the Rinnegan.
"Six Paths: Shadow Clone Jutsu! Animal! Asura!"
Two separate explosions of smoke are shown right beside Zeref, revealing some shadow clones, yet somewhat altered. Thanks to the use of Shadow Clone jutsu, Zeref was able to create shadow clones that can use one of the Six Paths.
The first one didn't have much alterations, besides the animal-like features like claws, gorilla feet, and the old whiskers.
The other received drastic alterations. This shadow clone sported no hair, upper body clothes, or footwear, but his physique was significantly greater in size and sported six arms instead of a simple two. Metallic marks appeared all over his body as his two main arms suddenly altered to reveal what appeared to be a saw blade.
Meanwhile, the Konoha group wasn't doing much better. The shock from the Shinra Tensei and their aging physiques resulted in instant death for Homura and Koharu.
"Councilor Koharu! Councillor Homura!" Sakura screeched as she desperately tried to heal them, but it was too late.
"Get the Hyuuga Branch family and anyone else worthy of mercy out of here. Slay any and all opposition." Zeref ordered his clones, who merely nodded before summoning Durandal.
"You want your chance to slay your demon once and for all? Come and get it." Zeref taunted.
"KILL HIM!" a grieving/enraged Mebuki Haruno ordered the army of Konoha ninjas and civilians as they descended on the Emperor, who gladly accepted their challenge. He prepared a familiar technique with some alterations.
"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" Zeref threw a large scale Rasengan swirling like a fuma shuriken at the Konoha crowd. It both injured and killed some people. As that happened, Sasuke and Sakura lunged at him.
"CHA!" Sakura threw a lot of chakra into that one fist as she threw a punch at Zeref, which he effortlessly dodged before crossing blades with Sasuke. His Mangekyo Sharingan came to life out of hatred.
"This strength...Your Empire...I should have it all!" he roared.
"Like hell I'd let you have everything I worked hard for." Zeref snarled, pushing Durandal to the point of overpowering Sasuke and putting him on his knees.
"No! I bet you used your demon magic to bend the West to your will!" Sakura roared from behind and threw another punch, but the Emperor smirked and moved out of the way as Sakura's fist connected with Sasuke's face. Zeref quickly moved behind the pinkette and, with a Hiraishin kunai, stabbed her in the throat, killing Sakura in an instant.
"Chidori!" Sasuke charged in with his signature jutsu, but Zeref had a plan of his own.
"Chibaku Tensei!" he threw a black sphere at Sasuke right before he hit his Chidori. The last Uchiha felt himself being pulled upward as matter was being pulled towards him. Soon enough, up in the sky, above Konoha, Sasuke was trapped in a planetoid large enough to put fully grown Gamakichi in if it was hollowed out.
With Sasuke restrained and Sakura dead, Zeref made his way towards the Konoha crowd.
With the Asura and Animal clones...
As a giant drill-beaked bird smashed through the wall while on that specific side of the village, the Asura Path clone laid waste to any main family Hyuuga clan members that stood in his way, shifting his arms into blades and rocket fists as he did so. They were careful not to harm any branch family members, whom they allowed free through the hole made by the giant bird.
"Fang Wolf Fang!" Suddenly, Kiba and his mother Tsume launched themselves like drills towards the Animal Path, which quickly hopped off while the giant bird kept them at bay. The Asura Path saw the opposition and quickly changed its weaponry. Parts of the body opened up to reveal small cannons. The arms all became cannons as well.
The Asura Path fired concentrated chakra blasts at the Inuzuka matriarch and her son. The resulting explosion clearly vaporized them. As that happened, the Animal Path clone made another summon: a Giant Snake-Tailed Chameleon. It remained watchful as several citizens and shinobi unwilling to stay in Konoha under Danzo's rule ran like hell.
"Die!" Altera swung Photon Ray and cleaved multiple ninja's heads in a single swipe in the ensuing battle on the Great Naruto Bridge. With the Konoha army being pushed back, Cu decided to make a show.
"Gae Bolg!" He threw his spear with such great force that the resulting magical shockwave wiped out the remnants of the Konoha attackers. In doing so, not only was the blue haired spearman in a great deal of pain, he blew a hole through the bridge.
"Oh crap..." Cu sweatdropped as Altera stalked over the frightened last ninja and cut his head clean off. Afterwards, she reached towards her crystal.
"Wave is secure."
"Phoebus Catastrophe!" Atalanta took the opportunity at Spring to wipe out the ANBU with her signature ability. Firing a green arrow of magic into the air, it suddenly began to rain magic arrows at the remaining ANBU, easily destroying them. As that happened, Achilles grabbed his own crystal necklace.
"Medea, Spring is secure."
Back to Zeref...
Despite their superior numbers, Zeref wiped the floor with the Konoha ninjas and civilians. He dodged every strike and jutsu they threw at him before countering and dealing massive damage to each one that failed. He wasn't even using any weapons, just taijutsu and whatever weapons he took from them, and yet Zeref inched closer to the fleeting Danzo and the civilian council as the planetoid holding Sasuke remained afloat. (Imagine the "Madara Destroys Army" scene)
"No! Get away!" a now frightened ninja tried to run, but the Emperor caught him and slashed him across the neck with a kunai.
"Enough fooling around, kit. Let's end this!"
Zeref smirked as he kept the army at bay with a Shinra Tensei. "You're right, Kurama. Let's go!"
Combining his strength with his lifelong Tailed Beast partner, the Emperor of Alvarez unleashed Kurama's chakra, activating Tailed Beast Chakra mode and allowing him to take form. To all of Konoha, it was as if the Nine Tails came back to life to wipe them all out for good. As that happened, the Asura and Animal clones dissipated and the summons left.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!" Zeref called out as Kurama quickly formed his signature attack and fired...at the planetoid that held Sasuke. It struck with full force, wiping it out until there was nothing left.
Now, Konoha was in a panic. Sasuke was dead, Sakura was dead, the remaining loyal Inuzuka clan members were all dead, etc. It was that fateful day all over again. Kurama gladly laid waste to the village on his own volition, smashing his tails and paws here and there, crushing buildings and groups of people alike. However, Kurama and Zeref both had one target in mind: Danzo.
Left with no choice, Danzo revealed his entire power: the Uchiha eyes he stole along with the Senju's Wood Style. He went for the Kotoamatsukami, hoping he can gain control of both the Emperor and the Nine Tails, but that wasn't going to happen.
"Fool! Die!" Zeref took it from there and Kurama's form dissipated back into his jinchuuriki. Zeref quickly summoned a Shadow Clone that armed itself with Caladbolg II while the original brought out Durandal. As a last resort, Danzo quickly protected himself and the civilian council by spontaneously summoning trees from his right arm, but he wasn't expecting someone of such speed. Before he could react, he felt the Sharingan he stole from Shisui Uchiha get crushed, and he felt his right arm of bloodlines being severed before he could even notice.
Zeref had just cut off Danzo from a majority of his power, leaving behind a tree in the middle of the road. (Does that work? Is that how Izanagi works? I don't really know that much. Don't say I didn't warn you)
"Can't use your secret power if you can't expect this to happen."
"Wind Style: Va-" Danzo couldn't get the words out as Zeref swung Durandal, taking his head clean off.
"No! Damn you, demon!" Mebuki Haruno got her last words out before her own head was cut off.
And so, the rest of the civilian council followed, their heads plopped off like they were nothing.
With the loudmouths dead. Zeref slowly turned to the remnants, now too frightened to fight, or stand.
"M...Mercy...please..." a chunin begged, terrified about what may happen.
"Kurama...you can have fun." Zeref smirked as Kurama took over once again, the towering beast rampaging across the village like a kid in a sandbox. Then, he jumped from Hokage Rock to look at the village from above. He knew what to do.
Kurama charged up a larger Tailed Beast Bomb...and fired it in the heart of the village. The resulting explosion consumed all of Konoha with a blinding flash of light as Kurama hopped away from the blast radius.
"It is finished, Naruto." Kurama said inside the Emperor's head.
"Indeed. Let's go home." He reached for his crystal to contact Medea.
"My lord, Wave and Spring are clear." she told him through the communication crystal.
"It is done. Konoha is no more."