Just to prevent confusion, the 'first fight' you'll see referenced in bold is the fight Naruto, Ino, and Sasuke just had against the Sound Five. Technically, that kind of open fighting, completely unprovoked, was a declaration of war.
6:37 AM, 6 hours after the first fight.
ANBU team 15 jumped into the clearing, warily searching for any signs of hostility. Their captain, a short, petite woman with close-cropped brown hair and a mask that vaguely resembled a cat, made several hand signals. The other three ANBU spread out, checking the bodies as they went. The clearing was a mess. Wood chips and broken branches littered the border of the clearing, small pools of blood lay drying around the corpses they came from, kunai and shuriken were scattered around almost buried in the soil. The scene was gruesome, but to the hardened ANBU, it was nothing new.
One, with a wolf-like mask, whistled appreciatively. "Must've been quite a fight."
"Ah. Must have." The captain responded. "Are ours alive?"
"Yeah, just unconscious," the ANBU with the bear-like mask said as he checked the pulses of the two Genin and the Jounin laying on the ground in front of him.
"What about their opponents?" she asked.
"Dead," the last operative said as he kicked the corpses to make sure they weren't faking. Whatever emotions he had about the scene were well hidden behind his boar-like mask.
The captain nodded. "Take the Uchiha's head and the fish-man's sword. Burn the rest."
With brutal efficiency, her orders were carried out. Several Goukyaku no jutsu later and ANBU team 15 were on their way back to Konoha with three injured and unconscious allies on their backs. As they left, the black, oily smoke from the burning corpses tinted the morning sky, ominously clouding the sunrise. Unsurprisingly, the sun was red. The same color as freshly spilt blood.
6: 47 AM, 30 hours after the first fight.
Ino was the first one to wake. The beep beep beep of the heart monitor drug her out of her slumber. Squinting against the glare from the unforgiving fluorescent lights, she struggled to sit up. Finally, reaching a somewhat upright position, she looked around.
The hospital room was no different from any others. The white walls, Spartan curtains, unfriendly air, the odor of sickness and antiseptic, it was just like any other hospital. What did catch her eyes was the fact that she didn't have a room alone. There were two other beds. To her right was Naruto. He lay on his bed, apparently unconscious. Though the doctors had apparently removed his mask, they had carefully wrapped some thin gauze around his eyes, no doubt to prevent any accidents. To her left was Sasuke. He was slightly paler than usual, but for the most part, he looked ok.
The door opened and a nurse walked in. Seeing that one of her patients was awake and sitting up, she paused in surprise. Quickly recovering, the middle aged woman bustled about, fussing with Ino's sheets.
"Oh, deary, I'm surprised you're awake so soon. They only brought you in yesterday morning. Are you feeling ok?"
Ino tried to say she was fine, but all that came out of her mouth was a rather pathetic croaking. The nurse tutted and poured a glass of water. When the first drops passed her lips, Ino realized just how thirsty she was. She tried to drink as fast as she could, but she ended up coughing and sputtering. The nurse kindly patted her on the back. Once her airway was cleared, Ino managed to give a small "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome, deary."
"Um… so, what happened?" Ino asked.
"You don't remember? Taking on two S-classed criminals is dangerous work. My my, and you barely look any older than my daughter."
Ino frowned. "I remember the fight, but what happened after that?"
"Oh, one of the ANBU patrols found you. They brought you back here to Konoha. Now, I don't mean to imply that I know everything that's going on, but from what I heard, several of the smaller villages are planning an attack. That message you brought back gave the Hokage a scare, but the Ninja are mobilizing right now."
Ino started to try and get out of bed, but the nurse gently pushed her back down. "None of that now, deary. You're to stay in bed for at least a week. Doctor's orders."
Ino sighed in defeat, sliding down so that she could lie fully on her back. She gave a huge yawn and reached up to rub her eyes. Her hands met gauze. Curiously, she felt it out. It was a thin strip of gauze, more like a bandanna than anything else. It was firmly, but not uncomfortably, tied around the back of her head, covering her eyes.
"W-what's this?" Ino asked.
"Oh, that. Well, the doctors aren't quite sure how it happened, but your eyes are exactly like… Naruto-san's. We'd rather not risk any accidents, so we covered them just like Hokage-sama asked us to."
The nurse bustled about, checking the various machines and running a few diagnostic jutsu on both Sasuke and Naruto, leaving Ino alone to think. She couldn't believe it. Absently, she ran her hands across the gauze. Naruto had told both her and Sasuke all about her eyes. She knew how powerful it was, but, from watching Naruto, she knew how much of a bother they were as well. Silently, she stewed. The more and more she thought about it, the more she found that the change was more of a hazard than a help. Sure, she could knock someone out just by looking at them, or even kill them, but on the other hand, when not in combat, she could inadvertently do that to someone she knew and cared about.
Slowly, her eyelids became heavier and heavier. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.
11:23 PM, 47 hours after the first fight.
The battle was ferocious. Ninja on both sides clashed, kunai flashed through the air, blood sprayed, and cries of pain and anger tore through the day. The three small villages, Sound, Grass, and Rain, had joined their forces and marched on Konoha, who had, in turn, assembled their troops and marched out to meet the approaching armies. Though the armies were currently several days' travel from each other, the advanced scout teams had met and were now clashing.
With a loud cry, one of the Sound Ninja let off a huge jutsu. The mud dragon tore through the trees, crushing several Konoha ninja when it hit. Responding in turn, a fire dragon was shot back. The blast incinerated a half-dozen of the enemy scouts. For a moment, all was still, each ninja jumping away to hide. When neither side revealed themselves, they both withdrew. The main rule of warfare was 'when the time comes, withdraw so you can fight again'. Barely fifteen minutes after the fights had started, the clearing was silent again, nature itself paying homage to those who had died.
12:17 PM, 60 hours after the first fight.
The Stone advance scouting teams cautiously walked through the desert. Just like their allies had told them, Sand would be completely unaware of their presence. The two dozen scouts were spread out over a half-mile, looking for traps, sentries, scouts, and hiding places. Things of tactical importance. After marching for nearly an entire night, they were tired, but they had a job to do.
Finally, when the mid-day sun became too bright and too hot to continue, they stopped under the dubious shade of a scraggly tree next to a small spring of water. This little rocky outcropping was slightly taller than the dunes around it, giving it the impression that it was an island in the middle of a sea of sand. Carefully, they drank their fill and settled down for a midday nap. They would need their strength if they were to continue their scouting.
In their infinite folly, they didn't assign sentries. That just made it all the easier for the red-haired figure to sneak up on them. Rising from the sand, Sabaku no Gaara eyed the Stone scouts. Early that morning, they had received a message bird from Konoha. It had revealed the incoming invasion. Apparently, Stone had an agreement with Sound and its allies. They would keep Konoha busy while Stone would take on Sand. Fortunately, Konoha's spy network had caught wind of the plan and had sent an urgent message back to Konoha, who had mobilized to stop the invasion of their home. The warning Konoha had sent them had given Sand just enough time to mobilize their own forces and prepare themselves for their own incoming invasion.
Gaara, recently, had done some deep thinking. When his sister had tried to stop him from crushing a small boy who had bumped into him on the streets, his sand had lashed out at her, injuring her. At first Gaara didn't care, until Temari had, despite her injuries, tried to fight off the sand from hurting the terrified little boy. Gaara had, to his shame, tried to kill her as well. From that point on, he wasn't quite sure what happened. All he knew was that he found himself on his back, staring up at the cloudless blue sky over the Sand village.
His sister, who he had thought was weak, had beaten him. Gaara rubbed a half-healed cut that had run right across his tattoo. It had hurt. There were other wounds on his body, but none were as severe as
the one on his head. It had almost cut through the bone. Gaara had come to a frightening conclusion: when fighting to protect someone or something, even the weak can overcome the strong.
No matter how hard he though, no matter how loud the demon inside him had screamed, there was nothing he could do to overcome that conclusion. That was several weeks ago. Even after almost killing him, his sister had cleaned his wounds and stitched up the wound on his forehead. It would leave a scar, and Gaara couldn't help but think that every time he saw his reflection, he would remember.
Kankuro and Temari had been there for him when he was soul-searching. They had talked with him, probably for the first time without fearing instant death. It shamed him. His search wasn't yet done. He still hadn't found himself. But, the one conclusion he had come to was that he would be strong. He would protect his siblings, and by proxy, the village he lived in. Perhaps, he mused, someday they would forgive him for how he was. Until then, he would protect his village with his life.
Giving an evil grin not quite up to par with the ones he used to give, he let his sands drift across the stone outcroppings, gently covering each Stone ninja in a sand cocoon. His 'mother' would still feast on blood, only now it would be the blood of his enemies.
As Gaara walked away from the small spring, he smiled. Perhaps… things would turn out for the better. On that rocky outcropping, two dozen smears of blood were all that was left of Stone's advanced scouting party.
3:07 PM, 63 hours after the first fight.
The Raikage was a vengeful person. He never forgave, and he never forgot. When his brother had been killed by that trice damned Hyuuga, he had demanded retribution. He had received it, and at first he was satisfied… until he realize two things. It was not the Hyuuga Clan Head's head; it was his twin brother's head. Second, the Byakugan had been destroyed by the Caged Bird Seal.
This insult on top of a costly war was too much. At the time, Cloud wasn't strong enough to go to war. So he had waited. He had plotted, and he had prepared. Now, though, his spies had found the perfect opportunity. Sound, Grass, and Rain had joined forces to march on Konoha. The Raikage knew that Konoha would defeat them. They weren't the strongest ninja village for no reason. Also, Stone had marched on Sand. The two war fronts would keep both villages occupied.
Here, though, his spies had reported that Konoha had made a grave error. They had committed almost ninety percent of their forces against the Sound alliance. That left the village almost unguarded. The Raikage grinned evilly. It was a weakness that he was willing to exploit.
Pulling a piece of paper out of his desk drawer, he wrote out a simple message, signed it, and stamped it. Cloud was going to war.
5:19 PM, 65 hours after the first fight.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino, amidst the shouted protestations of nearly the entire hospital staff, walked out of the front doors of the building. Why, one may ask, would they do that when ordered to stay there for a week? Because Naruto had heard about the ongoing war.
"Come on, we don't have much time. I've got to finish up your training." He said calmly, ignoring the indignant nurse that was nagging them.
With a chorus of 'hai', they made their way through the streets. The people tensely went about their business. It was war. Things had to keep on moving, but that didn't make them any less scared. The trio paid them no heed, making all haste to Naruto's apartment. Once inside, Ino and Sasuke sad down on the couch, trying to ignore the smell of stale tobacco smoke, as Naruto rummaged around through a pile of scrolls on his desk. Finally, he pulled out two moderately sized ones. Turning back to his students, he gave them a pointed look through his goggles.
"I've been putting giving these scrolls to you off for quite a while. I think, after that last fight, you deserve them. We've got some serious training to do, and we don't have much time." He paused for a moment. Almost as if an idea beat him over the head with a baseball bat, he turned back to his desk and pulled out two rather plain looking necklaces. They were simple leather cords that wrapped around two perfectly cut quartz crystals. Naruto held one crystal in each hand. Ino and Sasuke's breaths hitched for a moment, feeling the chakra spike Naruto gave off.
Blue chakra visibly swirled around his hands as he poured it into the crystals. Slowly, the two crystals began to take on a blue tinge, as if dye was slowly filling them up. Faintly carved seals on the surface of the stones began glowing a brighter blue than the rest of the crystals. For several minutes they did nothing more than watch as Naruto's immense chakra was poured into them.
Finally, it was done. Panting heavily, Naruto collapsed into his desk chair.
"Naruto-kun… what was that all about?" Ino queried, worry apparent in her voice.
"Chakra batteries. You're gonna need them for the training I'm gonna put you through," he said, giving them the best sadistic grin he could muster, despite his fatigue.
"What do you have in mind, sensei?" Sasuke asked, as calm as collected as ever.
"You'll see. You'll see." Naruto said. Standing up, he gave one necklace to each of them. Worriedly, they put them on, waiting to see what happened. Nothing.
Naruto chuckled at their nervous faces. "Come on, we've gotta train."
He walked to the door, pausing when they didn't immediately follow. He gave them a pointed look and a beckon. Ino and Sasuke looked at each other and nodded, walking out the door in front of Naruto. Just before he left his house, the blonde took one of the spare pairs of goggles hanging up by the door, just before closing and locking his apartment.
"Here, Ino. Put these on. They're more comfortable than the gauze."
Ino frowned slightly. Closing her eyes tightly, she pulled off the gauze and put on the goggles. Adjusting the strap slightly, she got them to a perfect fit.
Naruto nodded his approval before jumping away. The other two followed after him shortly after. There were far fewer ninja than usual jumping across the rooftops. Most were out fighting and the rest were patrolling the walls or other parts of the village.
Finally, the training grounds came into view. They landed in the shade of a large tree near the edge of the clearing. Naruto sat with his back to the tree's trunk while the other two sat across from him.
"Go ahead and open your scrolls." He told them, watching apprehensively.
The two cracked open the wax seals and unrolled them. Their eyebrows shot up almost to their hairlines at the techniques revealed there.
It was Sasuke who spoke first. "Sensei, this is too much. I'm honored that you'd take the time to create a jutsu of this scale just for me, but…" he trailed off.
"Sasuke, the Firefight no jutsu is perfect for you. It fits into your fighting style, your elemental affinity, and is exactly what we need for large scale warfare. I've been teaching you how to manipulate elemental chakra just so that I could teach you this technique. It's very similar to my Wind runner no jutsu, which I have yet to use in a large scale battle. Besides, you've earned it." Naruto gave Sasuke something of a proud smile. Sasuke returned it, bowing his head low and giving Naruto sincere thanks.
Ino, on the other hand, found herself clutching at her scroll in shock. "H-h-hi…" she trailed off.
Naruto, breaking the silence, said "Yes, Ino, that is the Hiraishin no jutsu, the same one that gave the Yondaime his nickname and made him the most powerful ninja in his time. Unfortunately, I can't use it. I've got a Wind affinity, which is very strong against Lightning, but the two don't mix. It's almost impossible to have opposing elemental affinities. The two tend to cancel each other out as you try to mold them. I couldn't use it if I tried. You, on the other hand, have a Lightning affinity. It's perfect for you." Ino, in her shock, barely registered the words. Like Sasuke, she thanked Naruto. Unlike Sasuke, she glomped him while doing it.
Once they had recovered, Naruto spoke again. "Now, I know that using normal training methods won't allow you to master these in time to make a difference in the war. So, that's why I gave you these chakra batteries. If you remember, I've already taught the both of you the Kage Bunshin." The two nodded. "Good. Then, you two will read these scrolls. Study them well. When you're ready, use the chakra in the necklaces to make as many Kage Bunshin as possible. Then, have each clone train in your jutsu. Depending on how many you make, we can get several years of training into several days. Though, I should warn you, disperse them in small groups. Otherwise, you may not be able to handle the mental strain. Got it?"
They nodded. "Alright then, get training."
Half an hour later, when they'd rolled up their scrolls, two loud cries of "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" rang through the forest along with a series of pops so numerous and loud that many in the village mistook it for thunder. The training had begun.
1:15 AM, three days after the first fight.
The Sound alliance slowly crept through the forest. Their scouts had reported that Konoha ninja were close, so they were going as stealthily as possible. Uneasily, they moved. It had gone too smoothly so far, despite the advanced warning Konoha had. It had to be a trap. Radios crackled as the message was passed along. Prepare for ambush. When things went too smoothly, and ambush was there.
The explosive notes that had been placed earlier went off. Bodies, blood, and mangled limbs flew into the air. With creams of pain, the lives of countless ninja were snuffed out. A hail of kunai and shuriken rained down on the Sound Allied ninja. Blood flew and dripped from wounds. Steel struck against steel as some were deflected. The explosive notes wrapped around the thrown weapons went off, taking small groups out at a time.
In retaliation, the Sound Alliance ninja flashed through hand seals, sending massively destructive ninjutsu back at their attackers. The tops of trees flew through the air along with mangled bodies of Konoha ninja. They crashed to the ground in a flurry of raining gore and wood chips. A line of fireballs flew from the Konoha side, exploding into the Sound lines. The ninja on both sides scattered. Battle lines in Ninja warfare never lasted long.
For a while, it was mostly one on one fights. Hatake Kakashi sent a swirling water dragon at his opponent, making him jump into the air. His Sharingan already tracked his movements, and a quickly thrown kunai pierced the man's heart. The Grass ninja fell to the ground, dead. A hand burst from the soil, dragging the Copy Ninja under. For a minute there was no movement within the small jutsu-made clearing. Then, slowly, Kakashi struggled out from underneath the ground. His kunai was bloody.
Several ninja jumped down to try and ambush him, their kunai whistling through the air. They hit the log Kakashi replaced himself with. The sound of a thousand chirping birds burst through the night as Kakashi drove the Chidori through one's chest. Not letting the jutsu fade, he pulled his arm out of his opponent's torso, dodged an earth spike, weaved through the series of fireballs that came after him, and killed the other ninja there. Four down, many more to go.
His Sharingan found movement. His kunai blocked the incoming slice from the Rain ninja's katana. Kakashi dodged back, avoiding the follow up slice. His thrown kunai did nothing to deter the man's approach. While Kakashi managed to dodge most of the slices, he took a hit on his shoulder. His vest absorbed a large portion, but it was enough to reduce his arm's mobility.
Then, the tip of a sword shot out of the man's mouth. Blood dripped off its tip as the man collapsed, sliding off of the now bloody blade held by none other than Uzuki Yuugao.
"Ah… Uzuki-san. Thanks for that." Kakashi grinned slightly underneath his mask.
Yuugao, in turn, smirked. "No problem, Kakashi. Go on back and get treatment. I'll take over this section."
Kakashi nodded, slid his forehead protector over his eye, and jumped back into the trees. As re raced back to the rear camps where he could get treatment, he thought about the ingenious plan that Asuma had proposed. After the first ambush along the entire line of the Sound army, and the first few jutsu exchanges, most of the ninja would withdraw behind the front lines. There, each ninja would take a small expanse of ground and hold it against attackers, using the people behind him for support. Then, after exactly fifteen minutes of fighting, he (or she) would be relieved by one of the people who had withdrawn. Then, that ninja would head back to the rear lines, get treatment, rest up, and move back to support the main lines. That way, no single ninja would fight too long and their front lines would always be fresh and warmed up. It worked on paper, and so far it was doing ok, but Kakashi couldn't help but wonder how well it would hold up if the enemy attacked en masse.
Seeing one of the large tents with a red cross on it, he went inside and got a rather cute nurse to look at the wound. He was given some small healing, bandaged up, and was told to eat and drink a small amount before resting for the required half an hour before heading back to fight. How that time was actually spent was up to him, though, and personally, Kakashi preferred reading his little orange book to actually napping or anything like that.
Finding a nice little tree to sit in, he started on his book, carefully monitoring his surroundings. Even if he was at the back of the lines, one could never tell when the enemy would strike.
7:30 AM, third day of fighting.
Cloud ninja were amassed at the Lightning/Fire border. Their scouts had reported that the one patrol in the area had been taken care of. Unbidden, the army marched across the invisible border. All of them tensed. This was the first large-scale military movement since they'd been trounced by Konoha eight years ago. They were understandably nervous. But, they were also exited. Though, as befitting of a ninja, none of them made any sound, they were mentally screaming for blood. There would be plenty of it shed, and by the end of the fight, they would stand over the bodies of their enemies. Yes, they were ready. Konoha was distracted, no one knew they were coming, and everything was going according to plan.
"Yugito-san." The Raikage beckoned to the catlike woman a short distance away. "You understand your orders, correct?"
"Hai, Raikage-sama." she replied, kneeling before her superior.
"Good. We've heard rumors that Konoha has a Jinchuuriki as well. Therefore, you'll lead the assault on the village proper. They'll send their weapon after you, and you'll keep him busy while we destroy the village." The Raikage paused, placing a hand on her head. He pull her hair back so that she looked into his eyes. "I don't care if you have to die, you will keep him busy and you will do your best to kill him. Understand?"
"Hai, Raikage-sama."
He let go of her hair, allowing her to lower her eyes. "Good. Remember your place." He turned and walked away with the army. Calling back over his shoulder, along with a lecherous sneer, he said "Report to my tent tonight. I'll need a good sleep."
It was all that Nii Yugito could to to keep from crying as she mumbled an affirmative. Such was the life of a Jinchuuriki.
At the same time.
Yamada Takeshi was a low-level Chuunin. He was, mostly, an Admin-nin. He did paperwork, he passed along messages, he did his nine to five, and went home to his girlfriend. But, with the ongoing war, he was called to a more active duty. As required of the Konoha Ninja, he stayed in shape, though his combat skills were dulled since he had passed the Chuunin exams five years ago.
So, anyway, he was on active duty, patrolling with a few other Chuunin along the Fire/Lightning border. He had gone off to wash some of his cloths in a stream, but some had drifted away. So, he ran down the stream to catch up to them. When he finally got back to camp, he found a massacre.
The tents were on fire, the camp fire was scattered all over the clearing, the smoldering embers casting an eerie orange glow on everything. The corpses of his comrades were strewn across the clearing, and in the case of one of them, literally all over the clearing. It was almost enough to make him physically sick. Cautiously, he searched the bodies. There was one ninja, only one that was not a Konoha ninja.
The headband was from a Cloud ninja.
Like all the other ninja in Konoha, he knew about the ongoing war. He wouldn't be out here if it wasn't going on. But he took his duty with pride. Now, though… Cloud was coming. Takeshi wasn't a genius ninja. What he was good at was history. Cloud had attacked them before because they believed Konoha to be weak from the Kyuubi attack. Oh, the demon did a lot of damage, but it didn't completely cripple the village. They were able to hold off and eventually repel their attackers. Now, though, with Konoha being attacked by three smaller villages, their allies being distracted, and most of their ninja already in the fields, the village was an open target.
This startling conclusion jolted him into action. Using a little chakra as possible, he jumped into the trees and took off home. He had to get the message back. He had to warn them! Even… even if it cost him his life.
One he thought he was far enough away, he channeled copious amounts of chakra to his limbs. He shot off through the tree tops and across rivers, running at speeds that ANBU would be hard pressed to keep up with.
He knew his chakra reserves weren't large, but he knew that if he used up as much as possible, he could reach Konoha by mid-day. Maybe he would get the warning back before it was too late. With that thought in mind, he hardened his resolve. He was going to save his village, even if it cost him his life.
As he ran, he put a hand to the necklace he wore. Inside the locket, the picture of his girlfriend smiled happily, blissfully unaware of her boyfriend's situation.
Well, things are really going to shit for Konoha, aren't they? I've been doing some thinking, and I'll probably end this story in two or three chapters, plus an epilogue. I'll try to make them as exiting as possible, and I'll make it epic as possible. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
Smal edit here, corrected some mistakes with the elemental crap. Thanks to CelticReaper for pointing it out.
