Note: Ah, before you read the chapter just a few things I want to say. The reason updating took so long was because I wasn't pleased with the chapter, I rewrote it over and over again for the past two months hoping to get something good and in the end this is what I got. Truth be told, I like this better then all the other versions, but in my opinion it's still not perfect. So I apologize for that.
Second, I really need to do this, if I don't vent this I will explode…did anyone realize what massive plot hole Kishimoto just created? If the Uzumaki's were hunted and killed because of who they were…then why wasn't there any mention about this regarding Naruto? Or…how come no one realized just who he was? I mean come on! Don't they teach history in the academy? What did Iruka do? Did he miss about that? Did he forget to say about the great seal masters that lived in Whirlpool country? Damn…way to go Kishimoto, I love that plot hole…
Lastly…expect a new story shortly…I know, I know…I shouldn't do it but the heat waves are messing with my head and I wrote two new stories and some chapters for my current ones…oh well, hopefully I won't regret this in the future.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (or what I pick from other places)
The Archangel – Chapter 10: Stronghold
Ninja checkpoints were always horrible, unless you were a ninja from that very country you would lose a lot of time at the checkpoints. They would scavenge through your things looking for contraband or anything out of place. The worst thing that could happen at a checkpoint, apart from loosing a lot of your time waiting in line, would be to have them think you are a potential spy.
Ninja's were always paranoid, one wrong move, one wrong item in your inventory and the next thing you know a ANBU appears next to you and asks you to follow him in a small cottage they usually have near the checkpoints. And then, interrogation after interrogation; this applied to all countries that had a hidden village, it wasn't that bad, as long as you didn't try to look suspicious and answered all the questions you had to answer.
However, today – unlike other days, the checkpoint leading towards Konoha was empty; it had been like that for a day or so. All those that wanted to have a seat for the chunnin exams final stage had already booked a ticket and were already present in the stadium, anyone trying to get into Konoha now to view the matches would have no luck whatsoever.
Four ninja's were currently stationed at the checkpoint; they were bored out of their minds. Sitting and watching the empty road was not their idea of spending their week and to think they would have to wait for one more day until someone came from Konoha to relieve them.
Suddenly, one of the ninja's looked down the road, the rest followed suit as they had felt something approaching. They could also hear something that sounded very familiar; it was like a large number of horses were approaching the checkpoint. They tensed as they looked at each other, a single thought passed through their minds. What if bandits were approaching? They weren't sure, they could only sense one chakra source and even that one seemed very … weird.
The leader made several signs with his hand as the rest nodded and jumped from their spot, assuming defensive positions. A precaution in case it was an enemy approaching. However, what appeared before them was not what they expected.
A large number of riders appeared from the forest, all of them clad in armor and in front of them an angel. Behind the riders were a couple of men – clad in armor – running, how they could keep up with the horses speed was beyond them.
The group passed through the checkpoint without even stopping, the angel however jumped in front of the ninja and looked at him straight in the eye.
"Head to Konoha! Immediately!" he ordered as he jumped away and started running after the small army, they counted up to eighty or so.
"What the?" the ninja asked as his teammates appeared next to him. Moments later the ANBU stationed at the checkpoint with them appeared next to them, he seemed tense.
"Head to Konoha." He ordered as the ninja looked at him strangely "I will take the blame if it's a false alarm." He said as he jumped away and followed the riders and the angel. The ninja's wasted no time as they also jumped down and followed their comrade.
Total chaos, the village of Konoha was in total chaos. The final stage of the chunnin exams had started just a few hours ago, everything was fine. That was until Uchiha Sasuke started fighting Subaku no Gaara. The battle started like any other battle in the chunnin exams, that is, until the Uchiha hit his adversary with the Chidori. From there, everything went downhill.
The sand-nin ran from the stadium after trying to crush the Uchiha with his sand, a genjutsu was cast on the spectators and ninja's from both Sunagakure and from Sound attacked everyone at the stadium. The ninja's trapped in the stadium were more than sure that all of Konoha was being assaulted by the two factions.
Kakashi had sent Sasuke after the sand-nin to finish the job, telling the Uchiha that he should kill if necessary. Instead of following his pupil, the jounin directed his attention to the enemy ninja's that were picking off innocent people, trapped in the genjutsu. He attacked them without a second thought; he wouldn't let them harm the people of Konoha.
The ninja's in the village weren't fairing any better, if things couldn't have gotten worse, after that initial attack strange creatures started emerging from the shadows…fighting both the defenders and attackers.
Creatures made out of fire burst from the ground and breed from the buildings that were on fire, they spread the fire to more buildings in hopes of creating more of them and overwhelming the three ninja factions.
Strange red creatures with horns, human body and claw like hands appeared from out of nowhere, ripping unsuspecting ninja's in a matter of seconds. Their large swords cut through their targets like a knife through butter. While the first attacks claimed many ninja's on both sides, both the defenders and attackers soon caught on and started defending themselves whenever these creatures appeared.
But that didn't stop the war they were waging against each other. Despite the fact that unholy creatures attacked them whenever they were weakened or weren't paying attention to them, they still fought against each other. The ninja's of Konoha tried to talk with their attackers when the first wave of … monster attacked, but they would not listen, it was like they were driven by some unknown force to crush Konoha no matter what.
The gates had fallen, at first to the hands of the two attacking ninja factions, later to the hands of the monsters. They didn't dare to go back at the gates and reclaim it, nor did they care, they kept pushing not thinking what would happen if the monsters boxed them in.
As the blond and his knights drew closer they could see the smoke in the distance. The angel cursed as he started running faster, he hoped that he wasn't too late. As the gates drew closer the blond could feel something watching them, he looked around while running, trying to figure out where the enemy was hiding, from where they were watching him and his men.
"Imps!" one of the knights shouted as a large creature suddenly jumped from a tree and on top of a rider. The rider elbowed the demon which howled in pain as it tried to slash the knight. The knight however managed to block the attack and kick the imp off his horse; with a swift move he unsheathed his sword and cut the demons head off.
More imps suddenly appeared chasing after the blond and his men; the creatures had a human shape, grey skin with bony scales on their arms and ten eyes, they were a full head taller then a normal human being. The imps screeched making the blond and a few knights cover their ears.
"Don't stop!" he shouted while glaring at the demons, they moved in for the kill. He unsheathed his sword and ducked under an imp that tried to pounce him; he turned around and cut the demon in half making its body disperse in small red tendrils.
They fought their way to the gates, cutting down the imps that tried to pounce them. Suddenly the blond realized that they were pulling back, he saw his knights pulling out their shields; moments later he realized why they did that. The imps continued to follow them by jumping from tree to tree all the time throwing small fireballs towards them.
Naruto avoided all the fireballs he could while the knights simply blocked the attacks with their shields. "Take them down already!" the boy ordered as several knights took their bows in their hands and started firing arrows towards the imps.
He turned his gaze towards the gate that was closing, two strange demons stood at the gate, channeling energy. They were large – like the imps, at least a head taller then a normal human being – had a white colored humanoid body and they were standing in a semi-crouched pose. Their elongated arms ended with bloody tumor-like bloated hands with huge inward-retracted claws.
The demons raised their arms in the air as they were surrounded by a pentagram which extended around them. Three imps popped out of each pentagram and turned to face the approaching force. Naruto growled as he raised his head and charged head first into the small blockade sending two imps flying in a nearby building and cutting a third in half.
Moments later the riders crashed into the remaining demons cutting them in half, one of the demon summoners' teleported away before the blade could strike however.
"Arch-Viles…" one of the knights stated as the small army came to a stop inside the village. The blond turned towards them.
"You all know what to do, assist the Konoha ninjas in any way you can." He ordered as the knights saluted and ran off in various directions. The blond turned his attention towards the stadium, he could feel the old man fighting there with someone, then he turned towards the opposite direction where he could feel a rather powerful demon emerging. He could vaguely sense his teammate's chakra there; however, he hoped that he was wrong about that.
The blond turned towards the arena and jumped on a nearby building, making his way towards the battle between the Hokage and the unknown ninja.
Sarutobi panted as he looked at the forms of his enemies. To think that Orochimaru would attack Konoha like this and that he would use the first and second Hokage to kill him. The man must be really desperate. The old man looked towards the remains of a coffin that he had managed to stop, if he hadn't reacted when he did he would have died as soon as the fight began. There was no way he could stand toe to toe with the fourth Hokage.
Taking a deep breath, the aged Kage turned to face his old student, his eyes hardened at the man before him. Orochimaru was grinning at his victory, just a little more and the old Kage would be dead and he would have his revenge. Nothing would stop him after this from destroying Konoha.
"Go!" he ordered as the two dead Kage's charged the Sandaime who jumped out of the way in time. He grimaced knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop them, he would need to summon the Shinigami.
Suddenly, a loud bang was heard above them and the entire place started to shake. Orochimaru turned towards one of his subordinates demanding to know what was happening; to his shock he learned that something was shattering the barrier. Before their very eyes the barrier shattered and a person dropped in front of the Sandaime, slamming the Shodaime in the ground.
The pale man's eyes widened at the figure before him, a living, breathing angel. Sarutobi sighed in relief and smiled knowing who it was. He was lucky he appeared when he did, maybe now the odds would be in his favor.
"I made it in time…" the blond stated as he stood up and lowered his sword, he looked towards the pale man and scowled "…using the bodies and souls of the dead to do your bidding, you are like a demon…"
Orochimaru grinned as he pointed Kusanagi towards the blond. "And what are you going to do about it?" he asked as the two dead Kage's appeared near the man.
"Even the odds." The blond stated as he vanished from his spot and appeared behind the first Hokage. With a swift motion he thrust his hand into the man's neck and pulled it out. The kunai with the seal controlling the soul and body came out; he grabbed the kage and vanished from his spot before Orochimaru could do anything.
He reappeared next to Sandaime and gently lowered the first Hokage who was shaking his head and groaning. Naruto looked up towards the second Hokage, trying to use the same trick again would prove useless, Orochimaru was most likely expecting it now seeing how tense he was.
The blond turned towards the first Hokage and looked at him who looked back. "Can you stand?" he asked as the man nodded not trusting his voice. "You think you can handle them now?" Naruto asked Sarutobi who nodded. Moments later the ANBU commander and his squad appeared next to their Kage and assumed a defensive position.
"We will take it from here." The commander stated as the blond nodded. He turned his attention towards the northern part of the village, the power he felt before was increasing rapidly.
Leaving the ninja's the fight their own battle the blond moved towards the source of power. The stadium was the only place that was not attacked by demons it seemed, as the blond left the stadium and arrived at the village's streets things started to change. Destruction was all around him, it reminded him of Yasaku, dead bodies were littered on the street, cut down by ninja's or demons.
From time to time he could see a demon emerge from the shadow striking down a ninja, he didn't stop to assist. No matter how much he wanted to stop and assist the ninja he had more pressing matters to attend to, if he was correct and the power emanating from the northern part of the village was that of a bijuu then things could get very ugly.
He could see him knights assisting the ninja's wherever they could by engaging the demons, they were ordered not to fight against the other ninja's – of Sound and Suna – they would stand no chance against a ninja after all.
The screams of death slowly vanished as the blond entered the forest, beyond Konoha's gates. He scowled as he passed by Shikamaru and his jounin-sensei, they didn't notice him as they were preoccupied fighting several Sound shinobi. The blond's scowl depend when he came across Shino fighting against a Sand-nin. Why were they here in the first place?
As he got closer to the source of demonic energy his senses picked up the familiar chakra signature of his teammate. The blond cursed silently, wondering what the Uchiha was doing in a place like this, why she would chase a jinchuuriki in the first place. His eyes were temporarily blinded as he entered a small clearing; crouching down on the tree branch he analyzed the area before him.
The Uchiha – still covered in the genjutsu – was kneeling on the ground holding her right arm, she was bleeding profoundly. In front of her stood a red headed boy with the kanji for Love on his forehead, everything apart from his eyes and left arm was normal. His arm looked like a massive claw made out of sand, it was covered in blood.
"Die!" the red head shouted as his arm extended towards the Uchiha. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he jumped down in front of her and raised his shield, blocking the claw. He raised his sword up and lowered it down on the claw like arm cutting it down. The red head screamed in pain as he retracted his arm, it was slowly growing back.
"You alright?" Naruto asked as he looked towards the girl with the corner of his eyes; she nodded letting a smile appear on her face.
Satisfied, the blond turned to face his adversary. The boy was howling in pain throwing curses at the blond, his entire body was slowly being consumed by the demon sealed inside of him; its features were slowly appearing before their very eyes, the boy's body was slowly consumed by sand forming a raccoon, the demon locked eyes with the blond and howled.
"A Guardian! After all this time!" the beast shouted, laughing at the sight before it. "It won't be long until Kyuubi takes another one! You will soon join us fool!" Shukaku shouted as it charged the blond.
Naruto's eyes widened as he grabbed Satsuki and jumped out of the way, the demon crashed into the tree behind them tearing it down. It roared in anger as its prey escaped its clutches.
The blond landed on a nearby tree branch and gently placed Satsuki down, he looked towards the dust covered area. "Stay here." He ordered as he jumped down.
As the smoke cleared Naruto could see the enraged demon standing in a small crater. The angel moved his sword behind him and then swiped towards Shukaku hurling a large fire ball towards it. A wall of sand burst from the ground blocking the attack, the demon then ran towards the blond with its claws raised.
The blond ducked under its swipe and jumped over the beasts' tail as it tried to swipe his legs with it. He raised his shield and blocked a punch, he then slammed the shield into the mini-Shukaku's chest making it take a step back. He grabbed its right arm and spun around, finally, the blond hurled the demon over his shoulder into a nearby tree. The impact ripped the tree in half as it crashed down on the demon.
Shukaku locked eyes with the blond; it grabbed the tree and rose back to its feet. The demon slammed the massive tree on the ground and then raised it above its head. With a mighty roar the demon used the tree as a massive club and lowered it towards the blond with the intent to squash him. Naruto jumped out of the way in the last second, the ground shook violently as the tree made impact with it. The tree itself broke in half from the impact.
With a growl the sand demon threw the damaged tree away and slammed its claws into the ground. Sand erupted around it, forming five dragon heads that shot towards the blond. Naruto jumped back as the first one crashed into the ground, he ducked under the second and cut the third in half with his sword. He looked to his sides and jumped in the air as two dragon heads collided into each other.
Naruto smirked as he flapped his wings and maintained himself in the air, the demon below growled as sand shot towards the blond. The angel dodged the attacks with ease, he twirled his sword and then pointed it towards the sand demon, a bolt of lighting shot from the sky hitting the demon and making it roar in pain and anger.
The blond turned towards the demon and started descending at great speed. He sheathed his sword and took out five piece of paper with ancient writings on them. Shukaku narrowed his eyes as he saw the blond approaching; he raised a dome of sand and shot spears towards the blond. The boy's eyes widened as he moved to the side avoiding several projectiles, he twirled in the air barely missing another hail.
As he reached the dome he grabbed on to it, using his left hand the blond punched the dome and channeled energy through his hand. Cracks started to appear in the demo and rays out light shot out from the cracks, in seconds the dome shattered revealing a stunned Shukaku under it The blond smirked as he grabbed the demon and slapped the seals on its head, arms and legs.
"Time to sleep…" the blond whispered as his gauntlet started glowing. "Seal!" he shouted hitting the demon in the chest with his gauntlet. The seals' glow intensified covering both of them in a bright light.
Naruto smiled at the boy before him, said boy was cowering in fear at the sight of the blond angel. He tried backing away from the blond, to find some place to hide, but in this strange world where everything was white he could not see any place to run to.
"So what did he tell you?" the blond asked calmly, trying not to scare the boy anymore. From what it seemed, he had been traumatized by the demon, his life had been worse then his and he couldn't even imagine through what the boy had to go to just survive.
"Stay away!" the red head shouted in fear trying to find something to defend himself with.
"Did he say I will kill you?" the blond asked tilting his head to the side, he had an idea that the demon would whisper those words to the boy ever since he laid his eyes on him.
The red head grabbed his head and his eyes widened in fright as he staggered away from the blond. Naruto crouched down and looked at the boy calmly. "Whatever he told you, he lied to you…"
"You lie!" the boy shouted in despair. "Mother wouldn't betray me!" he screamed.
"Are you sure?" the blond asked as the boy suddenly started sputtering incoherent words, like he himself wasn't sure anymore.
"Mother has always been there…" the boy whispered as the blond gave a sad smile knowing what he meant.
"But that doesn't mean it will never change, at the first sight of freedom he will take it, he will leave and he will kill you in the process…that's what demons do after all." The blond explained noticing that the red head tense as he heard the word 'demon'.
"Don't be fooled by what humans say, fear causes them to think irrationally…you are not a demon, the one sealed inside of you is however…" the blond explained as Gaara started shaking and sobbing slightly.
"Then why? Why didn't I have any friends? Why did father tried to kill me?" he asked, he listed a lot of people that – the blond presumed he had killed in self defense – tried to kill him.
"Human fear what they do not understand, I was like you in the past, hated by everyone." The boy looked up at the angel incredulously; he was an angel after all, no? To his surprise the blond started snickering. "I wasn't always like this…"
"Then how…?" the red head asked with a low voice.
"I proved them wrong." The blond said with a grin as he bent forward. "I had people that weren't afraid of me, it was a start, from there I got friends and people started seeing me in a whole new light." He said as the boy looked down in sadness. "Don't you have anyone?" he asked as the boy stood quiet, thinking.
"My sister…and brother…" he whispered as the blond nodded. "But they are afraid of me…" he continued as the blond placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Then change, show them you are their brother and not the demon inside of you…" he said as the boy looked up. "…then you will have friends, people will see you for who you truly are and what is sealed inside of you will matter not."
Gaara was silent, he didn't know how to reply or if what the angel was telling him was the truth. "If you want…I will be one of your friends." The blond said with a smile as Gaara's eyes widened in surprise. "And I will even leave you with a gift." He said as he stood up and backed away a little.
A roar echoed around them as Shukaku suddenly appeared behind the blond, numerous chains were holding him in place and each time the demon struggled the chains would tighten more pulling it to the ground. Its youki was slowly being drained by the chains, where the youki was taken the red head had no idea.
"Shukaku will no longer bother you, you will be able to sleep and these chains will hold him in place as long as your willpower is strong enough." The blond said as the boy looked at him with wide eyes. "As a bonus, the chains will take a very small portion of its youki and slowly convert it into chakra, then it will be given to you to use." Naruto said with a smile as the red head was left speechless.
Naruto looked up and smiled. "Times up…they've come to pick you up." He said as the world flashed around them.
"Gaara!" a girl shouted as the boy in question slowly opened his eyes. "Are you alright?" she sounded scared, he hadn't realized until now that she cared about him.
"Temari…" he whispered as Kankuro suddenly appeared next to him and lifted him to his feet. "…I'm sorry…for what I did in the past…" he whispered as the girl looked at him with wide eyes.
"Come on; let's get out of here before Konoha-nin show up." Kankuro said desperately as Temari moved to help her brother in carrying the red head.
Before they vanished, Gaara scanned the area trying to see where the blond was, but there was nothing around them, only the forest and the destruction from their fight. He remembered the angel's words and smiled slightly as he looked towards his siblings.
As the Suna-nin vanished from the area the angel materialized in the clearing. A small smile graced his lips, his initial plan was to try and destroy Shukaku, but doing so would have meant to kill the boy as well. In his mind, the best solution was to gather allies, even if said allies were the jinchuuriki.
"Naruto?" he heard Satsuki call as she staggered in the clearing, her genjutsu had faded. He walked over to her and motioned for her to sit down. She complied as she sat next to a tree.
"I can heal your wounds, but you will have to reveal them." He said as the girl blushed and nodded. She took off her shirt revealing her skin and bra.
"Don't get…any funny ideas…" she whispered as the blond chuckled and placed his hand over the wound on her shoulder. He closed his eyes as his hand started glowing white, she could hear him whisper in a strange language. Despite the fact she didn't understand what he was whispering, the words were calming.
She felt a burning sensation on her shoulder and by instinct she tried to pull herself away. The blond placed his right hand on her hip making her gasp and look at him, he still had his eyes closed and he was still whispering. The sensation intensified as the girl grit her teeth; she looked at his right and grabbed it, holding it tightly.
Moments later the blond stopped whispering and retracted his hand, the pain vanished like it was never there in the first place. She looked at her shoulder and was amazed; there wasn't even a scar there.
"Now, the next one." The blond said moving his hand down to her left side. He looked up at her and smiled as he moved his right hand behind her and brought her close to him. "This will sting a bit more." He whispered as the girl braced herself.
Once more the blond closed his eyes and started whispering the same words, the sensation appeared faster then before. Satsuki shook as her brain registered the intense pain; she wrapped her arms around his arm and grit her teeth, trying to hold her screams back.
After a few minutes the blond stopped whispering and opened his eyes, he moved back and looked at the panting girl. He gently moved his hand over her cheeks and smiled as the girl started smiling towards him. He offered her his hand and helped her back on her feet; she took her shirt and placed it back on her body.
"If you tell anyone…" she threatened as she glared towards the blond. Naruto snickered at her behavior. "Don't think I've forgotten what you did in class…before team placement." She said with a low growl as the blond laughed nervously.
"Sorry about that…" he said scratching his cheek in embarrassment.
Satsuki looked at him and smiled. "But I will overlook it…for helping me, twice." She said as she bent forward and pecked him on the cheek.
Naruto smiled and nodded as he offered his hand once more. She happily took his hand and following him back to the village. As they were walking she thought about covering herself back in her genjutsu, but she didn't feel like doing it anymore. Looking towards the blond she wondered how life would be if she decided not to hide anymore.
Knight Commander Klaus scanned the area before him, the knights were dragging the bodies of the demons and pilling them up for their lord to burn them, to destroy them. He looked towards the ninja's that were helping them. He was surprised they did not attack them when they first showed up. Maybe the village leader had something to do with it, maybe he told them that one day they would appear in this village.
No, that couldn't be it; surely their leader couldn't predict something like this. Not even their lord could predict this. Maybe they trust them since they focused on the demons and only on the demons; even so, these ninja were strange. Back when he was still alive the warriors of his time would have killed off anyone that seemed suspicious.
He looked up as he heard someone approaching, he bowed before their lord as he appeared in the market, behind him was a girl he had never seen. "So its over." The blond stated as the knight nodded and stood up.
"We are currently gathering the bodies of the demons and piling them up for you to cleanse them." He stated, the girl behind the angel shook slightly as he talked, it took a while to get used to their voices.
"Very well…casualties?" he asked as the commander's eyes beamed with pride.
"None…" he said as the blond was surprised, it went better then he had expected. "…the element of surprise was on our side, we took them out before they realized we were there." He said before frowning slightly. "We did have some…accidents."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at that wondering what Klaus meant. "Elaborate."
"A few were caught in ninja techniques, their bodies were destroyed but their souls not…" he said as the blond nodded, pleased with what he had heard.
"Very well then, carry on." He ordered as the commander nodded and returned to his duty.
Naruto scanned the area around him assessing the damage; a lot of buildings were destroyed, laying in rubble now. Smoke was rising towards the sky, signatures that there had been a battle here. The stench of death was overwhelming here, it seemed like this is where a large battle took place. Looking over the number of dead humans, from all three sides, it would seem like there had been a big battle here.
He turned and looked at Satsuki who was having a hard time keeping it together, she kept looking at the bodies of the demons and ninja's and was trying not to breathe the air. He placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her a little; the girl looked up at him and nodded, whispering a small 'thank you'.
"Commander." The blond said as said commander turned around. "Tell the ninja to line up their wounded, to reveal their wounds so that I can heal them." He ordered as the man bowed before running to relay the message to the ninja around the market place.
Minutes later the blond was attending to a large number of injured shinobi. They were all lined up on stretchers in the middle of the market place. Naruto was surprised by the number of injured shinobi, but then again, they had to fight against two ninja factions and demons. He should've been more surprised that they were still alive and not dead.
As he finished healing five ninja that were in critical condition word started spreading around the village. Everyone was coming to the market place to be healed by the angel, eventually; the Hokage himself arrived in the market place and approached the blond.
"I see you won." Naruto said while healing a ninja, his eyes closed and his left hand over the wound.
The aged Hokage smiled. "Yes, it's a pity the first couldn't join us." He said as Naruto tilted his head to the side. "He wanted us to free him, to let him return." The blond nodded, it was the best thing to let the spirit return to where it belongs rather then forcing it to stay on the mortal plane and within a fake body.
"What about the other ninja?" the blond asked as he opened his eyes and helped the ninja back to his feet, said ninja bowed before the blond and thanked him before leaving.
"We cut his hands off, he was saved before we could deliver the final blow." The old Hokage didn't seem pleased with that, not at all.
"You get some, you lose some." The blond said with a grin as the old man laughed. "I need to return to work, I will contact you when I'm done." The blond stated as the old man nodded.
"Very well then, I will be expecting you." He said as he turned around and started walking away. As he was making his way out of the market place he spotted the Uchiha. "Ah, Satsuki." He said as the girl looked at him and bowed. "I see you decided to drop the illusion." The Sandaime said with a smile as the girl nodded with a small blush. "Take care of yourself and please come tomorrow to my office to correct your id." He said as the girl nodded.
As the Hokage left the area she turned towards the blond who was healing another ninja now, she walked up to him. "You should head home and rest, I will be here till tomorrow most likely." The blond said before returning to his work.
Satsuki shook her head as she looked around; she spotted several med-nin's trying to help the injured and rushed towards them. The blond sighed as he helped the shinobi back to his feet; the man thanked him like all the rest before leaving. He looked around and was surprised when he saw the Uchiha helping the med-nin's. He smiled slightly at that before shaking his head and moving to the next injured shinobi.
Naruto twitched as he walked down the streets of Konoha the next day. People all around him were bowing, cheering at him. Now this wouldn't have been a problem if he was in another village, but he was in Konoha, where no one knew that he was Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Surely their praises and cheers would die down the moment they learned that.
He looked up at the Hokage tower and then at the entrance, guards saluted the blond and let him pass. The angel stepped in and walked up the stairs towards the Hokage's office, it didn't take long to reach said office. The blond knocked several times on the door and entered as soon as he heard the Hokage answer.
Sarutobi watched as the blond entered the office and closed the door behind him, the angel walked in the middle of the office and placed his hands behind his back, he straightened his back and nodded at the old man.
"I assume you are here for a reason Naruto-kun." The aged Hokage said as the blond gave a curt nod.
"I am, I wish to forge and alliance with the village and make my stronghold here." The blond said making the old man's eyes widen.
"Alliance is understandable…but a stronghold here?" he asked with narrowed eyes as the blond shrugged. "Don't get me wrong Naruto, but won't that attract more demons? I need to protect my people, I can't do that if we are under constant pressure from Hell itself." He almost shouted as the blond raised his hand in a reassuring matter.
"I know what you mean old man…but this is the problem, there are numerous portals opening up around Konoha and within Fire country, most likely Kyuubi's followers are trying to free their master and at the same time strengthen their numbers." He explained as Sarutobi leaned in his chair and let the information sink in. "I have at least a hundred knights under my command, we will be fighting here for at least a year to close all portals, but we need a well defended camp, somewhere where we can rest, heal our wounds and … even recruit if needed."
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at the blond. "That still doesn't sound good to me Naruto."
The blond sighed as he rubbed his head. "We can provide further protection from them…but think of it like this, what if we make camp in the woods, more then half of my men are injured or gone and they decide to attack in full force. I'm still a … rookie, for the lack of better words, we would all die and they would have free reign to terrorize Fire Country and then the rest of the world…not to mention Kyuubi would be free once more." The blond said trying to reason with the old man, he knew his limits and he knew that he would have great battles in the future; he needed a safe heaven to retreat to. While his men could simply leave their physical bodies and return to the main camp he couldn't do that.
The Hokage sighed knowing that what the blond said was true, but still. "You're saying you aren't powerful?" he questioned. Ever since the blond left he thought that by the time he would return he would be more powerful than himself, he hoped so at least considering what kind of burden he has.
The blond shook his head and sighed. "Power levels are different when dealing with demons, there is no rank and no way to compare with shinobi…but if I must, I would probably be at jounin now. But like I said, its not that easy to throw out a rank, I can take down a hundred skeletons in one blow, but the more they or the tougher the demons are the chances of killing them start to drop until the moment I need backup." He explained "Not even Tyrael can take on Hell himself…we aren't God's…" he reasoned as the Hokage sighed and looked out the window towards his village.
"What about the recruiting part?" he asked as he turned to face the blond once more.
"In case people want to fight them, in case they want to help…don't worry, my men will train them and help them reach their full potential…" he reasoned as the Hokage pulled out his pipe and lit the content, he inhaled once and puffed. A small smile appeared on his face as he calmed a bit. "We have bigger problems than missing-nin's, bandits or wars with other shinobi villages…you know it old man." The blond said.
He nodded with his eyes closed. "Yes you are right, the demon threat is more important…but will the other villages think the same?" he asked as the blond suddenly grew cold.
"Iwagakure surely knows this…" he said gravely as he looked at the old man "…I had to chose…save Konoha…or save Iwa…"
"What do you mean?" the aged Hokage stammered, while he didn't like Iwagakure the idea of them being razed off the face of the planet by demons was not what he ever expected, they were human beings after all.
"It's begun all over the elemental countries, Earth and Fire are only the beginning…" the blond said. "…I pray that Tyrael reached Earth in time to minimize the damage, but I will not know for at least a few months…or a year…" he said as the old man leaned forward, his eyes wide at the news.
"What exactly is happening here?" he asked as the blond scratched his neck with a frown on his face.
"War Hokage-sama…" he said simply "…the war has started, portals are opening everywhere as we speak, currently they are small and only smaller demons can travel through them…but in one years time they will be big enough to allow the largest of them to step out … and then…it will be too late to stop the massacre…just like in the past."
"Can't you close them?" the Hokage nearly shouted, fright evident in his voice. The blond was taken aback by the sudden outburst. For his part, Hiruzen was afraid of what will happen if they weren't closed and let to grow, he didn't know how many demons Hell had, he didn't know what it took to kill a demon off for good.
"It's not that simple." The blond said with a low voice. "We know the location of at least fifteen…but there are thirty-five still hidden…" the Hokage's eyes widened as he sat down in complete shock. "…me and Tyrael are the only ones that can close them…our only hope is to build a large army that can hold its ground against whatever Hell throws at them…when we close portals we are exposed to attacks, we need to concentrate on them…we are vulnerable at that moment."
For a long time in his life the Hokage didn't know what to say, he was scared for the future of his people and for his family. "They will return…" he heard the blond say and looked towards him, he was serious, he could tell. "…they will not like the idea that they were defeated and when they learn that I was here they will attack in full force." He said as the old man blinked.
"Was?" he asked as the blond nodded.
"I could leave…but it will change nothing, they will come and wipe out the village, their only goal is the complete annihilation of mankind…they don't care if they kill children, newborn…all they want is destruction." He said as the old man took his pipe out and placed it on the desk, he placed his hands over his head and stood there thinking, not knowing what to do.
"I've seen it before…" he heard the blond say after a minute of silence. "…I've seen the past…thousands of humans fighting against endless waves of demons…Tyrael doing his best to close the portals…betrayal…" he whispered the last part, Hiruzen had heard him, he looked up at the blond quizzically. "…Together we stand a chance old man…" he whispered as the Hokage looked at the pictures of his predecessors.
He thought about the village, about the people he swore to protect and then he thought of the promise he made the fourth Hokage. His eyes narrowed as his resolve strengthened and turned towards the blond. "Very well Naruto, you can have your stronghold here and an alliance."
The blond smiled at the old man, he raised his head so that the man can see his smile. "I have one last request…if we are to obey someone…we will obey you and you alone as you are the Hokage."
"And what if I chose another?" he asked as the blond continued to smile.
"I know that even the next one would be like you…a trustworthy person…we will listen to him…" his smile then faded as he looked towards the old man. "However…we will only kill demons, we will only protect the village from demons and protect ourselves if needed…we will not go on a campaign against other villages, that is not our goal."
"I would have it no other way my boy." The aged kage said with a smile as he took a sheet of paper out of the drawer. He started writing in haste as the blond stood in silence, waiting for the man to finish whatever he was writing.
After ten minutes the old man placed his pen down on the table and looked over the paper, he turned it around and motioned for the blond to come closer. The angel did as he was told and walked towards the desk, he looked down at the paper, it was a treaty. The blond slowly read it, he nodded liking what was written there and placed his hand over it.
"It shall be done, just as it is stated on the treaty." The blond stated as his hand glowed. A second later he took his hand away and the old man looked down at the paper, a strange symbol was present on the bottom of the paper. A man clad in armor, holding his sword downwards in front of him. He looked at the blond curiously; the angel smiled not answering the unasked question.
Hiruzen smiled shaking his head. "Then I welcome you and your men into our village Naruto…may the war end in our favor." He said standing up and extending his hand, the blond took it and shook it once, the pact was complete.
"Now we should discuss about your status…" the blond said with a critical eye.
The council chambers were abuzz, reports were coming in that the knights that came to help them during the invasion were drawing strange seals on the ground all over the village, the angel would stop any ninja that tried to force the knights to stop what they were doing. Reports stated that the angel had a document from the Hokage that allowed them free reign; on top of that it stated that they were now allies and that Hidden Leaf was a stronghold for the angel and his army.
The large double doors suddenly opened and the Hokage stepped in with the angel behind him. Everyone stared at the angel, some grateful that he had come to save them in their hour of need, some doubtful to his intentions after they learned what was happening in their village. The angel walked in the middle of the chamber and stopped under everyone's gaze, the old man walked to his seat and once seated he turned towards the council.
"This meeting is now in session." The Hokage said as everyone stood quiet, finally, one of the councilmen stood up.
"Lord Hokage, if I may, why are the knights writing seals all over the village?" he asked as the Hokage nodded.
"As you may have heard I signed a treaty with the angel before you and his army." He stated as everyone started to whisper with each other. "The reason for this is quite simple, we are at war now." Everyone turned towards the old man and looked at him curiously; sure they understood that they would go to war with Suna and Sound for what they had done and sure the help from a legendary being such as the angel before them would be great help, but still, they were curious as to why the Hokage gave the angel so much freedom.
"Don't take this lightly, this is not a war that we can win on our own…" the Hokage continued as everyone nodded knowing what he meant, or at least they believed they knew what he meant to say. They whispered amongst themselves.
"You are right Sarutobi…" Danzo spoke up as everyone turned towards him. "…our forces have been diminished even more after this attack; we could use all the help we can get in the war against Suna and Sound."
"Ah…but this is where you are wrong Danzo…" the aged Kage said as everyone looked at him strangely. "…his forces will not help us in fighting Suna and Sound…we are not at war with them." Everyone now looked at the old man like he had gone insane; with whom would they possibly go at war with if not with the ones that tried to raze them from the face of the Elemental Countries?
"With all due respect Hokage-sama…" Hiashi said standing up. "…but…if not with them, then with who?" he asked voicing everyone's thoughts, they all nodded at the clan heads question.
"With Hell itself Hiashi…" the aged man said in a deadly tone as everyone held their breath, many thoughts passed their minds, some even thought that being on the brink of death had made the Sandaime go senile. How would one fight against Hell? There was no way to reach it and even if there was, wasn't it suicidal? Wasn't it foolish?
"Esteemed councilmen, do not take my words lightly. Some of you may not know this as I decided to keep it a secret, but during the invasion, it wasn't only Suna and Sound killing our shinobi, destroying our village…but the forces of Hell as well." The Hokage's voice echoed in the council chamber. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes not believing what the man was saying, that is, until Hiashi spoke once more.
"So what Neji said…was true…" he breathed out, he didn't believe it when he heard it form his nephew, he didn't want to believe it even now. But the fact was that the Hokage just told them this little piece of information and an angel was standing in front of them. If someone had come to his house and told him there was an angel in the village, he would have never believed it unless he either saw it for himself or more and more came and told him. The angel before him and the Hokage's words were enough for him to believe that what his nephew said was true all along.
"Yes…we were attacked by demons, the angel before you came and defeated them, he helped us." Sarutobi said as another councilman spoke up.
"But still, why go to war with Hell? It's … suicidal!" Inoichi shouted as everyone nodded in agreement, it was then that the angel spoke up.
"They want you all dead." He said, everyone turned towards him. "The demons care not if you are allied with me or not…their goal is to wipe out mankind from the face of the planet."
"But…they are demons!" the blond man shouted once more as his friend muttered a 'troublesome' and tried to calm the man down. "How do you expect to kill demons?" he asked.
"The same way Kumo's shinobi did…" he replied as everyone's eyes widened once more. "…yes, the rumor is true, yes, I was there…"
"Then…all those people…"
"They died, then turned into mindless zombies or skeletons for Hell's army…the same can happen here, with your families, with your loved ones, do you not wish to save them?" he asked as everyone looked at each other and then back at the blond.
"I want to protect my daughters." Hiashi said quietly.
"As do I." Inoichi said, soon everyone started agreeing until Danzo stood up.
"But how?" he asked "How do you expect us to kill them?"
"Like you would kill a normal human being…stab it, gut it, rip its head off…" his tone was harsh, for the civilian councilmen it was horrifying to think that shinobi would kill someone like that, that they would rip someone's head off. "I will need every shinobi, young or old, but capable to fight to be ready." He said as the Hokage stood up.
"Our shinobi will receive special training from the knights, they will be instructed on the easiest way to kill the demons and how to fight against them." He said as the angel nodded.
"I'm afraid that I will have to decline with that." Danzo said shaking his head "The last Uchiha cannot partake in these fights; we need her to re-establish the clan."
"To breed…" the blond scowled under his hood as Hiashi started talking. "Then I will not let my daughters fight as well, nor will I let Neji fight!" he shouted and soon everyone started shouting that they would not let their daughters, sons or relatives fight a hopeless battle.
"Enough!" the blond shouted. "The battles will not be hopeless if your shinobi follow my and your Hokage's instructions…everyone will fight, even the clan heads!" he shouted as they all looked at him. "There are no exceptions, I could care less if the Uchiha clan is dying down…even one man or woman can make a difference right now!"
"I still see no point in sending such a valuable asset to her death!" Danzo shouted "So what if there will be demons attacking us, that is why you are here!" he rasped out as some of the councilmen suddenly started agreeing with the aged war hawk.
"Do you really think I would have asked for help if I could take them down myself?" he asked in a harsh tone as the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. "We have an invasion on our hands…you want me to make a connection with something? You want me to explain it like I was talking to a little child? Then very well…imagine the whole planet banding up against you!" he shouted, everyone's eyes widened at the proclamation.
"In this case it's a bit different, all of Hell has banded against mankind! For all I know Iwa could be dead by now!" a few gasps were heard in the room, Iwa was still a strong village, even after the third shinobi war it maintained its power. "They have no fear; they will come in masses after all of us, at the same time. Our only hope for survival is to band against them!" he declared as the Hokage stood up.
"And even so, because we are at war I will take full command of our forces and if he says everyone will fight then everyone will do so." At the look on everyone's face Sarutobi continued. "Consider this information, there will be no voting regarding this matter, it has been decided when the treaty was signed." He declared as he waved his hand signaling that the meeting was over. No matter how much they tried to protest now they knew that they couldn't change anything anymore.
It was at the break of dawn the next day that Naruto's knights had finished their task. The ninja's of Konoha were all starting at the sky, gazing at the angel above them. Said angel scanned the village, looking at each seal before closing his eyes and bringing his hands together in front of his chest. He started chanting, his entire body was slowly encompassed by a bright light. His eyes snapped open; he moved his hands to the side with his palms upwards towards the sky, his wings extended as he arched his body backwards.
A burst of light shot from him, expanding over the village; moments later portals started opening all over the village and numerous figures stepped out of them. Sarutobi looked at the angel from the Towers roof. A portal opened behind him and a man clad in armor stepped out of it, his helmet was in his hands, a cigar present in his mouth.
"About time he summoned us." He stated in a eerie voice as the old Kage turned towards him, his ghostly face showed a man that died in his early forties. A scar present over his left eye.
In the village everyone stared in awe as numerous knights stepped out of the portals. They were all clad in plate armor or leather armor. Some had bows and arrows, others had close ranged weapons such as swords, maces, axes and many other. Knights on horses stepped out of the portals as well, they all scanned the area around them before leaving toward the center of the village.
Kakashi stared in shock at the two knights in the distance. "Father…mother…" he whispered to himself as he saw his deceased parents stepping out of two portals, his father was wearing plate armor, the helmet was under his arm. His mother however was wearing leather armor and a cowl over her head. A bow was present in her hands. Sakumo looked around and smiled sadly at the village before placing his helmet over his head and walking away, his wife trailing behind him, they never saw Kakashi who was staring at them in complete shock.
"So good to be back!" a knight shouted as he extended his hands in the air, he looked up towards the angel which stopped channeling and smiled. "So I am under your command huh? Sensei would be proud of you…" he whispered as he started walking towards the center of the village.