Hope you all had a happy new year, and welcome to 2010. I didn't get to go to any party this year, I had to work. I didn't update last week because of work and, well…anyone else addicted to Assassins Creed 2?

Disclaimer: Riyuto-san does not own Naruto. Nor does he own Bleach, but that's another story.


Chapter 12: Belligerence

"We make war that we may live in peace." ~ Aristotle

Kushika giggled merrily as she splashed water at Naruto. Naruto laughed, cheerfully trying to block the oncoming water. The family of four was currently relaxing in a small pond that was connected to the river near Daichi's home; As Daichi had told Naruto, "Think of this as a reward for finishing the training." Naruto glanced over at Hinata, wearing a lavender one-piece bathing suit she had bought this morning from the village. Kushika was wearing a dark-pink one-piece with bright sakura petals running up and down the piece with arm and waist floats, just to be safe.

Naruto smiled at Hinata mischievously. Before she could question his glance, he vanished underwater. Hinata became instantly alert as everything around her became silent. Daichi and Kushika were watching intently, looking for Naruto as well. Hinata took a step back, and suddenly she felt a jerk on her left foot. She caved and was pulled underwater.

She spun to see Naruto laughing underwater. Hinata's cheeks flushed, but her shock turned to play as she smirked at her boyfriend. Naruto stopped laughing and tilted his brow. Hinata pushed herself forward by pushing off of the ground, and launched herself at Naruto, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing. The two laughed as Naruto, with Hinata still attached to his chest, pushed himself up to the surface to breath.

All four of them began laughing again. Naruto glanced down at Hinata.

"I didn't expect that, Hinata-chan." He said.

Hinata smiled warmly and giggled, laying her head against his chest. "Naruto-kun…" She cooed. Naruto blushed.

"My my, would you look at that, Kushi-chan?" Came the voice of Daichi, which snapped Hinata back into reality as he eyes widened.

"Yep! That's because Mama and Papa are in love!" Cheered Kushika, splashing water as she danced around in the pond.

The couple blushed and pulled away from each other. "Now, now. There's no need to feel so embarrassed. I mean, you two are going to be married one day, Kushi-chan is proof of that."

"Ano…." Hinata's blush deepened as visions of the future danced in her head once again. A grin spread across Hinata's face as her imagination kept soaring.

Naruto looked down at Hinata and, noticing her lost gaze, waved her hand in her face several times. "Hinata-chan! Helloooo! Hinata, are you there?" He asked, several times.

Daichi laughed. "I don't know what you did to get her to fall in love with you, but it sure seems like you did a number on her. I bet she's imagining being your wife right now or something."

Naruto flushed and lowered his head in embarrassment. It also didn't help when he heard Kushika splashing around singing, "Mama and Papa sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Daichi chuckled. He glanced up at the sky, and his cheerful expression became serious. He could feel it. Something was not right. And it was approaching fast.


"What do you mean by that, Shikamaru?" Asked Tsunade, rising swiftly from her chair.

"It's exactly as I said. They're going to strike today. It's estimated within the next thirteen hours, but that's irrelevant." He replied calmly.

"How can you be so certain?" Asked Shizune.

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, as a combination of reading that book and interrogating that time ninja, I believe I have discovered enough information. First of all, the freezing time technique is not a ninjutsu, but a genjutsu. That means that if they do not catch their targets in the illusion the first time, they will have a very large disadvantage."

"Can't they just do their technique again?" Asked Shizune.

"No, they have to recharge their technique. It all depends on the area of the affected area. For example, if they wanted to combine their efforts on a smaller area, say one building, then they could reuse the technique again on a different building. However, if they were to use it on something larger, say…Konohagakure, then the entire village would be caught in a genjutsu. But-"

Tsunade cut him off. "But if they miss, then it would take them a long time before they could use it again."

Shikamaru nodded. "Giving us a fair chance of winning this war."

"But how did you figure out when they were going to strike?" Asked Shizune.

"Oh, I just went and watched our prisoner for a few days. He keeps mumbling about how "my brothers are coming in the next sun," I'm not sure exactly what he did, but Ibiki-sensei did a real number on him."

"Do you have anything else to report, Shikamaru?" Asked Tsunade.

"No, Godaime-sama." He said, respectfully bowing.

Tsunade nodded as she turned to Shizune. "Shizune, help me gather the remaining villagers. I have a plan."

"Hai."


Later that day, around noon, Naruto lay sprawled out on the couch. Hinata and Kushika sat by the fire as Hinata told Kushika stories she had heard from her mother. Naruto listened and smiled as he watched mother and daughter together. He let out a long sigh and wondered why life couldn't be like this every day.

Daichi sat in the corner of the room, sitting Indian style, in deep meditation. Naruto noted that he had been meditating since they had gotten back from the pond. She shook his head and tried to relax and focus on Hinata's story.

Suddenly, Daichi's eyes shot open and he sprang to his feet, breathing heavily and shaking with fear. He let out a terrified yell, startling everybody and scaring Kushika, who clutched her mother's chest.

"What's wrong?" Asked Naruto, shooting to his grandfather's side.

Daichi grasped Naruto's shoulder tightly, causing Naruto to recoil slightly. "They're coming! I can sense their chakra, and they're attacking your village right now!"

Naruto's eyes widened.


The assault on Konoha had begun. Random buildings in the village began to rumble and collapse as minor explosions engulfed the village. A large tower imploded from the base and toppled onto several other buildings. The Time Ninja had wasted no time in delivering their swift attack. As the explosions began to subside and the smoke ushered throughout the roads, the vast army marched throughout the village, glancing around at their carnage. The group stopped as they came upon an area that was easier to see. The village seemed empty of dead bodies.

"What's going on? Where are all of the bodies?" Asked one of the time ninja.

The leader of the battalion glanced around the open area. "Search the buildings. They may be inside."

The foot soldiers nodded and spread out, raiding every building within sight. They regrouped moments later, shaking their heads. "Not a single person, sir."

The leader, Keito, sneered as he turned to one of his men. "You, go group with Group D and find out if they have seen a single person within this village."

The man nodded and sprinted away. A few moments later, he returned. "No sir, they have not received any reports of the enemy. Multiple squads were converging, claiming the exact same thing, sir."

Keito snarled. "What the hell is going on? Did they manage to figure out we were coming?" He asked, mostly to himself.

As more and more of the smoke began to become more transparent, it was clear to see that the entire village was vacant. Many Time ninja were converging and regrouping, perplexed at the turn of events.

"Does this mean that Konoha simply gave up, turned tail, and ran?" Asked on the ninja.

Goro, the now one-handed time ninja, closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm not entirely sure that's the case. They must be up to something."

"Could they be much smarter than we anticipated?" Asked a man named Chuu with short pure white hair and a large gash across his left eye.

The man standing next to Chuu, a man about seven feet tall with seals engraved in his skin running from every direction on his body clad in all black with pure white hair reaching his back, grunted lightly. He wore a necklace of prayer beads around his neck as well. "Brother, can you be over thinking these Konoha shinobi? What if what Osamu-sama says is true, that they are nothing but cowards?"

"No, Zuu. Not these people." He paused, dropping his head in thought.

Suddenly, a loud whistle echoed throughout the village; it was a shrill, high pitched sound. All of the time ninja spun around in search of the source. Almost all at once, they found the source.

Standing atop the Hokage Monument cliff, were hundreds of Konoha Shinobi. Among the frontlines were Kakashi, Sasuke, Gai, Rock Lee, and Tsunade. Tsunade was holding a bright-yellow whistle to her lips. As she lowered it, she cleared her throat and pointed at her village. "Underestimating Konohagakure will cost you your lives!" She roared, followed by a chorus of cheers from the ninja behind her. "Show no mercy!" She yelled.

With that, the Konoha shinobi leapt from the cliff, and down into the village. The real war had finally begun.

The time ninja were almost caught off guard, but quick shouts from the generals had awakened the ninja, as they moved to counter the Konoha attack. As the ninja armies met, sounds of metal on metal rang throughout Konoha, as well as special attacks. Several Konoha ninja had already died at the start of the battle, but even more time ninja.

Sasuke, whilst in the air, sped through the seals and launched a massive fireball down at the village, aiming for a large group of time ninja.

The leader of said group, Mao, saw the fireball and hollered for one of his men. "Yuji!"

Yuji snapped out of his stupor and nodded. He spread through his own seals. "Ponpu no mizu!" (Literally Hydro Pump). A massive blast of water came shooting from a nearby stream and met with the fireball. The collision of the two created steam, which Sasuke shot through like a sharp blade. He whipped his katana out and sliced directly down onto Yuji, slicing through his torso like a butter knife. As light left Yuji's eyes and he fell back, Sasuke eye's snapped over to a man who was readying one of his own attacks. Sasuke took his katana and threw it at him with tremendous speed. It pierced his heart and carried him to the wall of a dilapidated building, pinning him to it.

Sasuke rushed to his weapon, removed it from the corpse, spun around and continued through the lines of foot soldiers.

Gai spun in the air and brought his leg out and slammed it into a man's skull, killing him instantly. Gai heard a whoosh, and ducked a blade. He reached up and snatched the man's wrist, snapped it like a twig, and chucked him into the air. As he helplessly descended back to earth, Gai leapt up and delivered a kick right into his rib cage, sending him flying through several buildings.

"Heh, too slow." He taunted, bouncing up and down.

"Sorry for being slow." Came a reply from behind him. Gai's eyes widened as he performed a back flip over his enemy, narrowly dodging the blade about to pierce his back. As Gai went to spring on his hand, the enemy crouched and swept at Gai's wrist, causing him to lose his balance and fall. As the man went to stab Gai once again, Gai recoiled in mid-air and kicked the kunai out of his hand.

Gai caught himself and landed on his feet. He stood up fully to take in his opponent. The man was wearing a black cape, as well as a green vest and blue sweats. His hair was spiky and red, with multiple scars running down his face. His left ear was missing as well.

The man looked Gai over. "My, my, it seems that Konoha isn't full of weak little men after all. I was beginning to worry, seeing as I've already killed ten of you."

Gai's gaze narrowed. "What was that?"

The man chuckled. "You heard me. Tell me, what is your name?" He asked.

"Gai." He replied blankly.

"That was a rude way to say it." Said the man. "My name is Ryuuto, remember the name as the light fades from your eyes. My speed cannot be topped, as you will soon se-" Ryuuto's eyes widened as an arm shot out of his chest. The hand had a ball of electricity dancing in it. Ryuuto's eyes slowly glanced down at the hand, and then rolled back and he went limp.

Gai glanced around the body to see Kakashi. Kakashi had the bodies of two men through his arm. Kakashi pulled it out and both fell. Kakashi shook his hand to get the blood off and glanced at Gai. "Yo."

Gai sighed. "So much for him." He looked at Kakashi. "Care to double-team?" He asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, this way we can conserve chakra."

Gai nodded, and the two rushed deeper into the battlefield.

Shino seemed to be having little to no trouble with most of his adversaries; He managed to engulf them all within his man-eating bugs. He fought back-to-back with his father, who's insects were busy protecting the backs of many comrades.

"Keep it up, Shino." Said his father. "We are what stands in the way of the enemies surprise attacks and our comrades."

"Of course," Came Shino's reply.

Battles big and small spread to all corners of the village as time ninja and Konoha ninja alike fell to one another's techniques.

Goro was making quick work of the Konoha forces that rushed him. Even with just one arm, he seemed to be a one-man army. At least thirty men had died fighting him. His illusionary techniques were far superior to that of his comrades, since he was blood-related to Osamu.

Another Konoha Shinobi rushed him. Goro smirked as he allowed the attack to connect with his chest. "Such a simple fool." He stated calmly as he activated his technique. "You of all the ones I've killed should have at least seen this one coming. I mean, you saw me do it several times." He shook his head, and sidestepped the attack. He grabbed his knife and dispelled his technique. He sliced off the man's arm, spun the blade around, and pierced his chest. The Konoha shinobi gasped in shock as he collapsed to the ground.

Goro shook his head. "Far too easy. Where are the real players at?" He asked himself.

"I'm sorry if I took too long getting here," Came a reply. Goro raised a brow and turned around slowly to see Neji standing on top of at least fifteen time ninja. "I would have gotten here a lot sooner if your friends hadn't slowed me down."

Goro looked him over. "I remember you. You were with Uzumaki Naruto the last time we attacked this worthless village."

Neji smirked. "And I remember you. From what I hear, you're missing your arm because of Naruto."

"And you think you'll have an advantage fighting a handicap?" He asked.

"Of course not, I can sense your chakra levels, and they're astonishing. I cannot allow you to kill anymore Konoha Shinobi." Neji lowered into his Jyuuken stance and raised his palms.

Goro smirked. "This fight might be fun after all."

Goro rushed, and Neji braced himself.


Sasuke's chidori breezed through several time ninja, killing them instantly. Sasuke stopped, spun around, and caught an enemy's blade. He redirected it up and through his head, killing him instantly.

Sasuke glanced around, looking to see if anyone needed assistance. He also looked to make sure Sakura wasn't hurt. He spotted a group of three Konoha shinobi being swarmed, and rushed off to their aid.

Suddenly, Sasuke sensed an attack and leapt to the side, narrowly dodging the fireball aimed at him. Sasuke landed and unsheathed his katana again, glancing over at his attacker.

"Look here, brother. We found ourselves a really powerful opponent." Said Chuu, standing next to his brother.

Zuu looked Sasuke over. "I don't want to fight him, Brother." He said.

"Of come on, Zuu. You're no fun. You want me to fight him instead?" Chuu asked, reaching behind his back and unsheathing his blade.

Zuu nodded. "I don't like fighting. It's bad."

Chuu rolled his eyes and snickered. "For now, my brother."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and examined Zuu. This man was large, and well built. What intrigued Sasuke the most was the ancient runes running up and down his body. He noted the man looked uneasy on the battlefield, while his brother seemed eager to fight.

Sasuke glared at Chuu. "Isn't it a little pointless to bring out someone unwilling to fight onto the battlefield?" He asked.

"You shouldn't be worrying about Zuu here, at least not yet. And that's if you manage to defeat me." Replied Chuu.

Sasuke smirked as he channeled lightening chakra into his blade. "Touch me once with your attacks, and then claim that you have the abilities to defeat me."

Chuu's eyes never left the blade as he spoke, although he smirked. "Oh, aren't you a cocky brat. You think you can defeat someone of my caliber with pure talent?" Chuu tipped his katana up and flames began to pour out of the hilt and dance around the blade. "I've been preparing for this day for 200 years now."

"Tell someone who cares." Replied Sasuke coldly.

Chuu's eye twitched. "I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should."

The two fighters stood their ground for a moment, studying each other intently. Suddenly, they dashed at each other, and element met element as sparks danced as the blades collided.


The general of the time army wasted no time in dealing with anybody who got in his way. With just simple flicks of his wrist, he sent many people hurdling through buildings. This man, Isei, was yet another blood relative of Osamu. As ten Konoha ninja rushed him at once, he smirked and raised his arms. In one arm, what appeared to be a green web appeared in his hand; in the other, a flame web. He slammed his palms together and brought them to his mouth in the same way one would perform the fire style technique. "Jikou Katon no Jutsu!" He roared. The time energy and the fire mixed perfectly together, and shot forth like a beam from his fingertips at a frightening pace.

The orange-green flames engulfed the ninja and even several buildings, reducing everything touched by the incredible flames to ash. Once Isei released his attack, the flames burnt out as well. Isei glanced around the battlefield. He spotted a few of his men being beaten by Konoha ninja.

He smirked. "Can't have that now, can we?" He asked. He raised his palms and aimed directly at the Konoha Shinobi.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and he leaned back as far as he could, palm still stretched out. He caught Gai's swift kick that was aimed at Isei's head and used him as a melee weapon to strike down upon Kakashi, who was aiming at his legs with his own kick. Kakashi barely had time to block the hit as Gai collided with him and the two were sent across the land. The two quickly rose to their feet to meet the gaze of Isei.

"So you two want to take me on?" He asked.

Kakashi and Gai said nothing as they continued to stare him down.

Isei sighed. "Please try not to disappoint me, as your fallen comrades did before you."

"Bastard…" Started Gai, clenching his fists.

Kakashi stretched out an arm to hold Gai back. "Calm down, Gai. There will be time for mourning later. We need to deal with him first, though."

"A wise decision." Said Isei. "Are you going to attack first, or shall I?" He asked.

Gai and Kakashi wasted no time. They rushed at Isei, attempting to find a weak spot in his defenses. Kakashi rushed right, and Gai rushed to the left. Isei smirked and managed to catch the lightening fast kicks of the two men. He slammed them into each other and threw them to the ground.

Kakashi recovered first. He quickly charged up a raikiri, and glanced up to meet Isei's tauntingly calm eyes. Kakashi charged at Isei at a blinding speed, catching Isei off guard and piercing his chest completely as blood burst out of his back. Kakashi's eyes went wide. Was it truly that easy?

Isei smirked. "Sorry."

Suddenly, Kakashi found back to when he was charging up the raikiri. He blinked a few times in confusion. Isei smirked and rushed Kakashi this time, at an even faster speed than him. Due to the raikiri, Kakashi had no time to dodge.

Before Isei could reach Kakashi, Gai leapt in and dove into Kakashi, knocking him out of the way of Isei's attack.

As they tucked and rolled to their feet, both men turned instantly to Isei, who was regaining his composure after the missed attack. "What happened to you Kakashi? You stopped moving completely for a few seconds." Asked Gai.

"I'm not sure. I remember charging up my attack and piercing his chest. Then I was suddenly back charging up my raikiri, and he was unscathed." Replied Kakashi.

"I don't understand." Stated Gai.

Isei smirked, motioning with his hand for them to rush at him again. "Care to try again?"


Sasuke had to admit that this man was on a completely different level as Hiroshi. His sword techniques, the way he could expertly pull off a feint and even catch Sasuke off guard, and his overall strength left an impression on Sasuke.

The two elemental blades continued to clash at a rapid speed. Konoha shinobi and time shinobi alike were quickly annihilated if they accidently found themselves caught in the duel. Zuu just continued to watch his brother fight Sasuke, almost as if he were at peace with everything.

Sasuke parried Chuu's blade, and then attempted to strike at his chest. Chuu almost laughed as he countered by leaping above the blade. He slammed his blade down onto Sasuke's and chopped at his neck with his arm. Sasuke leaned back easily to dodge as he spun around and struck at Chuu, only to meet Chuu's fire blade.

"You're sword work is quite impressive, boy," Said Chuu. "But I thought you had the skill to back up your backtalk, you little smart ass."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He closed them, and opened them to reveal his Sharingan eyes, catching Chuu off guard. "What the hell's up with your eyes?"

"It's called the Sharingan, and it will be the last thing you see before you die." Said Sasuke as his eyes scanned every inch of Chuu and his weapon.

Chuu quickly shook off his feeling of intimidation and shook his head. He had to keep calm, or else his enemy would have a mental advantage. He smirked as he brought his blade out again. Sasuke easily parried and, eyes focusing, managed to slip his blade through a defense crack of Chuu's. Chuu realized this and leapt back. He focused his chakra, producing even more flames on his blade.

Sasuke watched with no emotion. "Come." He said, raising his katana.

Chuu growled. 'Is this little brat mocking me now?' He asked himself. Chuu pushed chakra to his feet and leapt at Sasuke. When their blades met, Sasuke easily batted it away and, spinning around, cut straight through Chuu's torso.

Chuu smirked. He vanished in a puff of smoke. Sasuke's eyes widened, and then softened. He spun around and sliced down, cutting off Chuu's right arm and sending his blade down to the ground. Chuu howled with pain as blood began to pour out of the open wound. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he collapsed to the ground and attempted to crawl away. Sasuke stood stock still, watching at Chuu crawled away fruitlessly.

Chuu crawled his way in fear to his brother. Zuu reached down and picked up a wheezing Chuu. "Are you alright, Brother?" Zuu asked.

"Do I look okay, you damn idiot?!" Yelled Chuu. His eyes went to the prayer beads around Zuu's neck, and his wheezing and panting ceased. Instead, it became a fit of maniacal, mad laughter. Sasuke raised a brow.

Chuu turned to Sasuke as he pointed his one arm at his brother. "Take a look at him, Boy. He looks like a pansy, doesn't he?" He asked in hysterics. "Over 200 years ago, my brother single handedly destroyed the Village Hidden Lake with his bare hands. These seals and prayer beads keep his incredible powers and killing intent at bay. He is so powerful, in fact, that he is the only man that Osamu-sama has ever feared!"

His eyes were wide and beady; he was going mad with rage. "That is the reason Osamu-sama has forced him to wear these prayer beads, and the seals etched into his body. However, this is a war! Anything goes!"

Sasuke still continued to stand, unimpressed.

Chuu turned to Zuu and raised his arm to him. He closed his eyes and began chanting. *"Solvo bestia neco cetarus! Solvo bestia neco cetarus!" Zuu's eyes widened as his hands shot to his head in pain.

"Make it stop, Brother! Make it stop!" He yelled.

A faint light seemed to emit from Zuu's body. The many runes adorning his body began to slide up to his chest. Once all of the letters had converged, they vanished into nothing. Chuu laughed triumphantly as he reached up and removed the necklace from Zuu's neck.

Zuu's eyes widened as his pupils all but vanished. His muscles grew, and a green aura began to gather around him. He roared as he continued to transform, as all of the power that had lain dormant for so long began to resurface. Blood streamed out of his pores and eyes as his entire body shook. The ground rumbled and cracks formed all around the battlefield.

Once he had stopped roaring, he stood next to Chuu, breathing very heavily and twitching. Sasuke could tell, this man was blind with rage and power.

Chuu chuckled madly as he stared at Sasuke. "It sucks to be you, brat. Now my brother will d-"

Zuu raised his fist and slammed Chuu into the ground, flattening him and killing him instantly. He roared again and beat on his chest rapidly. Once he stopped, his attention went to Sasuke. Zuu smirked and roared again, this time it was because he had finally regained all of his dormant power. Without the Sharingan, Sasuke would not have seen Zuu rush him. Zuu ran at Sasuke blindly, full of rage and blind with power and his urge to kill.

It almost seemed that Sasuke's body refused to work for him, as his lungs refused to even allow him to breathe. He was in shock. For the first time in a long time, Sasuke felt completely overwhelmed by a power far superior to his own.

And it wanted him dead.


Woot, another chapter down.

Zuu killed Chuu because he was the nearest thing, and his sanity had just flown out the window.

And because I know people might ask, here's a quick character bio. I might do these for the time ninja during this arc.

Chuu: Chuu is a master swordsman with one fatal flaw. He never learned to ignore his emotions. If he were to ever get mad or intimidated, or even frightened, he would abandon whatever strategy he had. He would panic too easily; hence, Osamu would regard him as useless, since he is far too easy to trick when his fellow ninja would spar with him. He was, however, considered a flame master in his lifetime.

In short, he was an idiot that was expandable. Hope your questions were answered somewhat about him.

Preview: War! As the war continues, many lives are lost on both sides, and Sasuke is forced into a corner while Kakashi and Gai attempt to find out Isei's secrets before they are killed.

*The chant Chuu was saying translates into "Release the beast to kill the rest."

Remember, 5 reviews or no update.