Woot! It's been a while hasn't it! Well guess what! I'm back! And so is this story! So now for the final part of the arc!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 14: Desolation
The Fourth Great Shinobi World War Arc
Part IV of IV
Naruto sat in his tent with a distraught expression on his face. He could hear the screams of his brethren as Sasuke and the rest of the military cut through the Uzumaki. Unabara especially felt betrayed and started tearing through the unarmed Uzumaki with no remorse in their strikes. Many of them felt betrayed, so betrayed that they left the battlefield after helping in the massacre, saying that they'll never fight alongside an Uzumaki, even if he was a half-blood.
On that night, the reinforcements that he so prized, disappeared in a night. His forces shrunk once more, leaving him with the choice of going back to ordering another batch of Version II Zetsu clones or asking Sasuke to request another reinforcement group to aid the collapsing battle line. Within an hour of the exodus and grand desertion, Iwa broke through their lines and shattered the western front and the northeastern front, both of which were filled with Uzumaki.
Naruto sat through the entire slaughter with tears pouring down his eyes. There was nothing he could do for his people, even though their family members back home did the deed, they were blamed for it. They were as innocent as it got, but that wasn't enough for the raging Unabara and the nervous Konoha shinobi. Many of those Konoha shinobi fought alongside many of those men and women that they cut down during the Battle of Konohagakure, and knew of their powers and hidden techniques, and to be frank, it terrified them.
That was more than enough reason to kill them off as soon as possible. Just as the fourth year came along, almost all of the reinforcements from home were new recruits and recently promoted jounin and chunin. Many of them were wet-behind-the-ear brats that thought that the war was an exciting place to be, but they all quickly found that it was a nightmare, and many of them wanted to go back home and sleep in their beds, safe and sound behind the massive walls.
They were tired of the fighting and the killing, and they began to desert and go their different ways through the Tsuchi no Kuni wilderness trying to find their way back home or to find themselves a new home, far away from all of the killing and violence that plagued their world. It was aggravating to many of the newbies as the fighting had slowed for just a few months, only to shoot right back up as the Uzumaki Civil War broke out.
Naruto sighed and let out a small sniffle as the cries of pain finally died down. He looked up to the ceiling of his tent and whispered a silent prayer.
"Kami…forgive me for my sins. Forgive me for my betrayal of my people…" Naruto whispered as tears began to trickle down his tired face once more.
-In Uzushiogakure…
"Move! Continue the purge! Any Unabara and sympathizers of Seiji's rule are to be executed!" The Uzumaki commander shouted.
All across the civilian half of the massive city, Uzumaki and Uzu shinobi and samurai loyal to the other Lords of the Uzu Islands, were charging through the crowd, slicing and hacking their way through anyone who got in their way. Men, women, children; it didn't matter. Children were run down by Uzu samurai on top of their horses, while men were slashed across the chest, without any care, while women were dragged off to the different alleyways and brutally raped before their heads were removed from their bodies. In the port, massive explosions were going off as Iwane's fleet of Northern ships and the Unabara fleet was eradicated and blown out of the water.
Sailors and shinobi of both allegiances were wailing in pain, as the Uzumaki flame made from fuinjutsu engulfed their bodies. They ran across the port, looking like speeding fireballs with legs. Water didn't put out the flames; nothing could put out the flames. They writhed in pain as the flames dug and burned into their bones and skin. Their flesh turned to steam and melted from their bodies.
On the main street stood Iwane's Honor Guards from the north, dressed in blood red armor with the flaming Uzumaki swirl on their chests. They sped through a few hand seals and spit out a great blast of lava from their mouths, covering the street in molten rock, melting the legs from under the Uzu samurai horses, launching them into the lava itself. But from behind the samurai stood some Uzumaki clansmen from the west, their fuinjutsu wrapped Uzumaki seal blaring for all to see.
They suddenly went through a strange set of kata. The seals that surrounded their sigil spread out and covered their bodies as the seals began to glow. Water soon contorted to their actions and rose from the ocean nearby and the men directed the waves towards the lava. With a quick action, they cooled the lava and turned it back into stone.
The honor guards narrowed their eyes and got into defensive positions, ready for the hard fight ahead.
-In Kaminari no Kuni…
"T-Those fucking shits!" Atsuo roared as he slammed his fist into the meeting table. "We have to do something Hiro! Father left you in charge because you could come up with the best plans in the midst of unbearable pressure! Now, what is that great mind of yours saying?!"
"Calm down Atsuo!" Saya slapped her brother in the back of his head. "Let Hiro-chan think!"
"There isn't much to think about though!" Koji quickly added. "Those bastards are murdering our clan! Our people! Who knows who else in about to get slaughtered too?!"
"This is why you're not making choices for us, Koji!" Honoka, elder sister to Hiro stated. Honoka shook her head but was quickly replied with an insulting comeback from Koji. "There's a reason that Hiro is the one tasked with making the choices!"
The four immediately broke out into a massive and quite militant argument. With each sentence leaving their lips, it only served to insult one, or all of them in one way or another. Hiro, the youngest of the five sat there with his eyes shut as tightly as he could get them, trying to get the images of when they were younger, out of his head. Oh how his siblings never knew how to grow up. He clenched his fists as he tried to drown them out. But then, the door swung open and in came Honoka, Hiro's niece.
"Honoka-chan." Honoka quickly changed attitude and smiled sweetly at her niece. "What are you doing here?"
"Just delivering a message to Uncle, Honoka-obasan." Honoka bowed to Hiro and walked out of the silent room and slowly shut the door as she left.
"Why the hell did you name your daughter after me Koji?" Honoka asked with a deadpanned expression.
"I dunno. Ask my wife." Koji picked his nose and looked away. "Anyway…Hiro…"
"I know what father said alright. I know what he said and I kept whispering it in my sleep to make sure that I'd follow his command, but…Toshi has gone too far." Hiro growled. "Gather the first army we can build up and send the fleet off towards the waters of the homeland. We're taking the fight to them."
-In Konohagakure…
"Mito-chan, Arashi-kun, Konohamaru-kun." Orochimaru sighed. "Come one. We need to continue training. Who knows when you three might be called off to the front to fight?"
"We know, Orochi-sensei, but…" Mito sighed as she flipped her golden hair slightly. "We're just…"
"It's ok…I know the significance of this day Mito-chan." Orochimaru looked down and frowned. "But we shouldn't just wait around and mope. Let's get some training with your elemental techniques. Since you two aren't as gifted, no offence, as your elder brother and sister, it'll be a lot easier to train you two and Konohamaru being of the Sarutobi clan, he is going to be easy to teach because of his most likely, fire affinity."
"Understood, Orochi-sensei." Arashi nodded his head and shot to his feet and stood at the pale-skinned shinobi's sides. Orochimaru sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked off towards the Hokage tower but he noticed something was a little strange. There seemed to be a great deal of shinobi heading in the direction of the Hokage Palace.
"I doubt it's of any importance."
-At the Hokage Palace…
"Asuma…" Minato sighed. "I'm sorry, but all of the evidence points directly to you and the Shimura clan."
"We were fighting the war Minato!" Asuma roared. "You can't do this!"
"Oh, but I can Asuma." Minato replied. "I am the Hokage. I have every right to do so."
"Tch." Asuma growled. "But we haven't even been home since the start of the war! The only Sarutobi left are non-shinobi and children!"
"Then why is there evidence of many of your notable clansmen and Shimura clansmen stealing important scrolls and village secrets?" Minato asked. "All of the evidence is there! As of now, I am waiting the response from my interrogators and the information they extracted from those caught in the act."
"Ah, speaking of interrogators, here they come." Minato said.
"Hokage-sama. They have confessed to the crimes." The Yamanaka said as he bowed. "They confessed to everything. The murdering, the conspiring, the raping and the stealing."
"See." Minato sighed sadly. "I have no choice but to convict your clans under the clause of distrustful clans…"
"The Yamanaka are known for their mind tricks!" Asuma roared. "They could have fabricated those memories!"
"All of that is just speculation Asuma-san." The Yamanaka said. "That is also impossible for us to do such a thing with just chakra."
"Don't mock me Yamanaka!" Asuma was about to strike the blond man but four samurai charged out and grabbed each arm and held Asuma back using chakra negation seals.
"Lock him in a cell for the night." Minato said. "Asuma, the Sarutobi and Shimura have forty-eight hours to vacate their estates and leave the village."
-Three months later…
Kurotsuchi sat in the darkness of her tent with Luo, Shikei, Yaseo and Recca watching the chaos ensue just outside of her tent. People were in uproar. The message from the bees that that one Kamizuru spy had reached Jibachi. The word spread and now, many of her troops wanted her dead for what she's done.
"Kurotsuchi-sama." Shikei whispered. "It'll be ok. We'll defend you with our last breath if it comes to it."
"Indeed Kurotsuchi-sama." Yaseo smiled softly. "You have a baby on the way. We can't let anything happen to you."
"T-Thank you…" Kurotsuchi said in a near whisper. "If anyone comes in, kill that person."
"With pleasure." Recca growled.
-In Kaminari no kuni…
"Is your army ready?" Hiro asked.
"Yes little brother." Honoka nodded. "I have a small fleet waiting just at the bay in the south. I have another fleet meeting up with Koji's just a few miles out to sea."
"Atsuo has his footmen and shinobi built up on landing ships ready to head back to the homeland in the northern isles to take them back." Honoka said. "Saya is gathering her shinobi forces at the coast with her fleet finishing up the remaining warships needed for invasion."
"Understood." Hiro sighed. "From this day forth, we are an independent nation. We are free from the reaches of Toshi and his corrupt, power hungry generals."
"Let's begin shall we?"
-In Kaze no Kuni…
Kabuto smirked at how everything was turning out. It was quite perfect really. With the slow degradation of the Uzumaki, Senju and Yamauchi, it was leaving less and less competition for the supreme crown, and left less opposition for his empire. Kabuto pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and motioned for his troops to bring forth his most recent prisoner.
"Let me go!" The woman screamed. "You must not know who I am!"
"Oh I have a good idea of who you are…Sabaku no Temari." Kabuto smirked even wider when his troops threw her onto the floor in front of him. Temari pushed herself off the floor and brushed herself down, while wiping blood from her forehead.
"My lord. We were able to capture two hundred resistance shinobi. What should we do with them?" One of his sound nin asked.
"Kill all of them." Kabuto smiled. "Take your time. I want the rest of the nation know what happens when you cross Otogakure."
The shinobi bowed to kabuto and quickly left the office, leaving Temari and Kabuto alone together. Temari glared at the man and fixed her kimono to keep herself covered. She heard stories about Kabuto during the war, like he was a rapist, while other stories said he was a eunuch. Temari didn't want to take any chances with the man that destroyed her home, so she made sure to keep some chakra built up.
"Now, now, Temari-chan." Kabuto smiled. "There's no need to channel your chakra here. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Now why would I believe a man that has destroyed my home, ten times over?" Temari rebuked. "What do you want from me?"
"Oh nothing." Kabuto simply replied. "And I never said anything about trusting me now did I? Besides, what would I gain from hurting the precious princess of Sunagakure?"
Kabuto slowly caressed Temari's cheek, but quickly turned away and rested his hands on his desk. The man reached up and removed his glasses and placed them on the table behind him and continued to stare at Temari, without a word being said.
"Why am I here, Kabuto?" Temari asked.
"You're here as my prisoner I guess…" Kabuto yawned. "You're not going to die. Yet, at least. I'll need you to bring out your precious little baby brother, Gaara."
"Now why would you want my baby brother?" Temari asked as she began to pace around Kabuto.
"I want Shukaku." Kabuto went straight to the point. "The Tanuki would make a nice pet."
"I don't know if you're soft in the head or just plain suicidal." Temari scoffed.
"I could be both." Kabuto laughed. "Or it is you that is soft in the head."
"Now why would I be soft in the head, if I'm the one holding a kunai at your throat?"
Suddenly, the world around them shimmered and began to change to reveal a darker room covered in blood with Temari holding a bloodied kunai against Kabuto's throat. Kabuto wasn't fazed. Temari narrowed her eyes at the man and kept her kunai held against his throat. An explosion shook the city, followed by a series of explosions.
Footsteps were heard and ten resistance shinobi showed up at the doorframe covered in the blood of their enemies and smiles on their faces.
"Suna is ours once again princess!" One of the resistance jounin smiled.
"Good. Take this trash to the prisons and have double protection on this bastard." Temari grunted as she hurled Kabuto towards the jounin. "That genjutsu sure worked wonders."
"You think that this is over?" Kabuto laughed. "Believe me princess…it has only just begun."
-Four months later…
Naruto stood in front of his tent with a blank expression. News from Konoha had just been received in the fronts and the effects were immediate. Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Nara and even the Hyuuga, jumped at the chance and started assaulting and imprisoning Sarutobi and Shimura clansmen and shinobi. It was utter chaos for the last few weeks with men and women dying left and right, most of which, have been friend since the start of the war.
But now, Naruto stood in silence as the screams died down and the dead were lit on fire to stop their corpses from filling the entire camp with the smell of decaying flesh. It was bad enough that they smelt it on the battlefield. They didn't need it in their camps. Now no one could trust each other. Sasuke already had to cut down a few of his own friends in the midst of the confusion of the Sarutobi/Shimura purges.
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and sighed a great sigh of distress and stared into the depths of the fires, knowing full well that those were his friends that he was setting on fire. The people roaring out in pain were his friends. The people causing the pain were his friends, and yet, all of this had to happen. First his clan and Sasuke's clan, then his village, then his sister and now army. Why did he have to lose so much, and why did he have to lose so much?
"Naruto…" Sasuke said from behind.
"What is it-?"
Sasuke punched the boy in the face nearly knocking him into the giant bonfire. Naruto was confused, but moved to defend himself and kicked Sasuke back, and knocked him into a few chunin and jounin. Those chunin and jounin happened to be on the thin line between sanity and insanity. With a moment of surprise, the jounin and chunin lunged for the Uchiha, but he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and killed the Konoha shinobi just with a glance.
"You little fucker." Sasuke roared. "Don't play that shit with me!"
"I don't know what you're talking about Sasuke!" Naruto dodged a punch and sent an elbow into Sasuke's face, knocking him back a few feet. "Calm yourself!"
"No you fucking bastard!" Sasuke drew out his katana and started swinging for Naruto's head. "You think I don't know about you and the Yougan-hime?!"
Now let the games begin. A Yamanaka smirked from the shadows while the rest of the forces went into an all-out brawl, with some dying and others become mortally wounded shinobi. People were now shouting at each other, screaming and tearing at each other's throats. Some were defending Naruto while others immediately caught on to Sasuke's words.
"I don't-"
"SHUT UP DAMN IT!" Sasuke pointed his sword at Naruto causing a massive blast of lightning to shoot at him like a stream of lightning. Naruto dodged without a second thought and the blade of lightning burned through three shinobi fighting each other behind Naruto. The blond prince stood back up and was quickly slashed at by Sasuke's lightning blade, and it sliced through five other shinobi and samurai, killing them as well.
"I know what you've been doing with the Yougan-hime!" Sasuke screamed. "You've been fucking the enemy! You've been fucking the one who got your own sister killed!"
"How do you know about this bastard!?" Naruto charged forward with a triple rasengan attack with a tail made from the synchronized bijuu state.
The three rasengans blasted through the Uchiha and sent him flying into a tent, tearing it down and nearly killing a few shinobi in the process. But once the Namikaze recuperated from the attack, he was assaulted from all sides by his own shinobi.
Once swung for his head with a kunai, another swung with an axe and the last swung with a sword covered in fire. Naruto dodged each one with ease and punched the weapons from their wielders hands, and forced a rasengan into their chests, tearing apart their internal organs and lacerating their lungs. He grabbed one of their kunai, and in a quick motion, slashed their throats open.
"You want to know who told me?!" Sasuke shouted out to the Namikaze as the Susano'o began to take form. "Do you really want to know?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes as senjutsu chakra began to flow into his system. Sasuke merely smirked as the Mangekyō began to take control of his mind and ruin his mental health. He reached forward and a massive, invisible, blast of chakra tore through the ground and through a large group of shinobi and Zetsu clones, killing all of them in the process.
"Yamanaka Inoichi told me!"
-In Uzushiogakure…
Toshi sat on the throne with a bored look on his face. In his right hand was a golden scepter. He was quiet as was the rest of his hall, minus the screams and the howls of pain coming from the center. There were five men burning to death in the center of the throne room of the Uzumaki Palace. Those men were the last of Iwane's forces and guardsmen. They were captured in the midst of one of the uprisings from the north, but they were quickly defeated.
As of now, the noble families of Uzushio and the Uzu islands were watching in masked horror as the five men burned a slow death. They don't know what Toshi had done to them to make the flames burn so slow, but whatever it was, it was making everyone uncomfortable. But by the time the men were finished burning to death, everyone had already managed to get past the smell of burning flesh.
"Let this be a reminder of what would happen to those who chose to betray me!" Toshi roared out. "Uzushio is mine since Seiji chose to degrade the Uzumaki name. No longer will we sit idly by and let the Uzumaki get trampled by our neighbors because we come from a country not as big. No! Today, we will become one of the greatest elemental nations to ever grace this wretched planet!"
-In the Northern Isles…
The waves crashed softly against the side of the Junker. A small group of shinobi and Zetsu clones were being led ashore with Uzumaki Honoka in the vanguard of the attack. She had on the clothing of the Uzumaki clansmen with armor covering her chest, legs and arms. On her back was a pair of katana's crossed down her back. Her red hair was tied up in a bun with instead of chopsticks, two knives. She wrapped her fists with bandages and had ninja claws strapped over her knuckles.
Behind her, the invasionary fleet was at least ten thousand strong, with Uzumaki from the colonies and Zetsu clones as the brunt of the attack force. Within minutes, she could see the coast becoming more and more visible with the lights of the coastal villages and cities lighting up the horizon with a dim lighting. She scanned the area for any ships or any other form of resistance from Toshi's newly erected, Royal Navy.
Seeing that it was clear, she sent a small almost undetectable signal of chakra to the rest of the attack and they began to increase the speed of their rowing and within seconds, they landed onto the beach with little to no resistance. Sure there were a few shinobi they had to get rid of through means of their fists and blades, but they managed to dispose of those guards as quietly as their ships had landed just behind such men.
The first attack landed almost a thousand soldiers onto the beach and they each broke into twenty different directions, with men and women and Zetsu clones running all across the beachhead and finding that the defenders have blocked off the entire entrance to the cities and villages through the ocean. Honoka looked up and realized that there were watchtowers with industrial lights pointed down onto the villages and cities, almost as if Toshi was keeping the Northern Uzumaki imprisoned on their own island.
Honoka shook her head and sped through a few hand seals and slammed her hands onto the sandy floor, bringing up a swarm of beetle summons and insects that she knew Uzumaki or anyone not from the North would find repulsive. The insects flew towards each watchtower and killed the guardsmen stationed in each one, with some getting eaten while others were simply pushed from their watchtowers. Either way, Honoka felt that it was necessary to kill them.
"Everyone. Here's the plan." Honoka pulled together her captains. "We will split into our twenty targets. Kill as many as you can, and if you end up taking prisoners, kill them. We have no time to care for people who surrender."
"But that's our family…" Another Uzumaki said.
"It doesn't matter." Honoka sighed. "They didn't think that when they killed our grandfather."
"For Uzushio!"
-In Tsuchi no Kuni…
Kurotsuchi stared off into nothing just as she'd been doing for the past four months. Since the Konoha invasion had gone berserk with the betrayals and the internal fighting, Kuro knew something wrong was going to happen. It turned out that Naruto's main battle group had split in half with one half siding with Naruto and the other half siding with the Kogane Kishi and Sasuke.
Kurotsuchi couldn't help but realize the similarities with her army and his. Her army hated her now, her father hated her now, her husband hated her more and now, even her own little brother hated her. She turned and looked to Luo and his team of saviors. She smiled at them and slowly rubbed her hand over her growing belly. She sighed and Yaseo walked over and sat at her side and gave Kurotsuchi a tight hug.
"I don't know what's going to happen, but at least the Zetsu clones are still on your side." Yaseo smiled. "Even if the rest rebel, you could still annihilate them with the Zetsu clones."
"Yaseo!" Shikei reprimanded. "You can't tell Kurotsuchi-sama that she can slaughter her people because she outnumbers them."
"Oh shut up Shikei! I don't see you doing anything to help the situation!" Yaseo rebutted.
"Will you two quiet down?" Luo asked sternly with his eye pressed against a hole in the tent opening flap. "I'm trying to see something."
"What is it Luo-sensei?" Kurotsuchi asked quietly.
"It looks like…" Luo reached up for his war hammer. "It looks like the Zetsu are slaughtering your forces for you! I can't believe it!"
"Wait! Sensei!" Recca shouted. "The Zetsu are heading this way with their weapons drawn!"
"Oh shit! They're after the princess!" Luo roared. "Get our defenses ready!"
The tent flap was sliced open as an Iwa shinobi still loyal to Kurotsuchi was slashed through and tossed into the tent with his body diced. Standing on top of the dead shinobi were three Zetsu clones painted red with the blood of Iwa. Luo narrowed his eyes and slammed his war hammer into the face of one of the clones, and blasted the other two through the tent, ruining the rest of the structure.
Yaseo grabbed her pistol and shot a massive hole through the top of the tent, allowing them easy access to the outside world without getting stopped by the tent tarps. Once the rest of the tent fell, she looked around with wide eyes as their Zetsu army was killing Iwa shinobi and samurai with no remorse, and it wasn't even on Kurotsuchi's orders. Someone else is orchestrating this.
"We have to get Kurotsuchi-sama out of here immediately!" Luo shouted as he slammed his hammer down onto the ground sending large boulders towards groups of Zetsu and shinobi.
"Understood sensei! Let's go!" Shikei shouted over the shouts and explosions going on around them.
The group charged ahead, and cut down whoever got in their way. But, just as they were getting towards the mountain pass just a few yards down the campsite, a few Iwa troops jumped in front of them with their weapons drawn out and jutsu already getting shot.
The lead shinobi had finished off his fire jutsu pattern and fired off a steady stream of flames, and burned through a great deal of the area around them before it actually hit the Luo and the team. Kurotsuchi though wasn't going to have any of their shit. She sped through hand seals faster than what anyone would have expected at first, and managed to cover them in a massive wall of lava mixed in with earth for added strength.
The attacks smashed into the wall of lava and rock and nearly forced the five shinobi to the ground and back into the fray of the slaughter just behind. Kurotsuchi growled slightly as she tried her hardest to keep the wall up and hold back the combined jutsu's and weapons being flung at them. But it suddenly stopped, and Kurotsuchi dropped the wall to reveal a large group of Zetsu clones tearing through the shinobi like they were garbage.
"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku!" Luo shot out the massive flame bomb and blew back the Zetsu into the mountain side, leaving an entire pathway towards the mouth of the mountain.
"Let's go!" Kuro charged ahead with Yaseo right behind her. "We have to get to Taki no Kuni!"
"Why Taki?" Yaseo asked.
"That is where we'll meet Naruto-kun so we can escape the mainland!"
-Elsewhere in Tsuchi no Kuni…
"Yamanaka-san." One of the konoha reinforcements whispered. "The Zetsu clones have managed to turn against their commanders."
The Yamanaka smirked and nodded at the Konoha shinobi. Once the shinobi left the scene, he turned to the lead Yamanaka. His name is Yamanaka Fuu. The Yamanaka had a short ponytail and a large nose, but he was quick on his feet and speedy with hand seals. He got the message and ran up to see Naruto and Sasuke still battling it out against each other with jounin and experienced ANBU too afraid to step in and stop them from killing each other.
"How many times have you two fucked huh?" Sasuke asked with a bit of mirth flowing from his lips. "What? Four years? Five years? Six years?!"
"Fuck off Uchiha!" Naruto dashed forward and smashed his fist into the Uchiha's face, but Sasuke popped into smoke and turned into a log. Naruto's fist dug through the log, showering splinters and wood all over the place. Sasuke drew out a sword and charged ahead attempting to kill Naruto. The blond saw this and spun on the heel of his foot and dug his sole into Sasuke's chest.
The Uchiha saw this and once again popped into smoke and turned into a log, but appeared behind Naruto and bashed the sword butt into Naruto's neck, knocking him forward and breaking his up until now, solid defense. Naruto tried to recuperate as fast as he could, but Sasuke started using the sharingan to help his attacks hit faster and in places that Naruto was weakened in.
"KAI!"
All heads turned around and looked at Yamanaka Fuu standing on top of a tent, balanced perfectly with a tiger hand seal and shooting off waves of chakra in all directions. Naruto and Sasuke pushed away from each other and stared at the Yamanaka in confusion. Suddenly, Zetsu pulled out their weapons and started cutting down their forces from all directions.
Tents were lit on fire and even specially marked areas such as the mess house and the food stores, were ablaze. Men and women were running in all directions as the Zetsu and Konoha reinforcements charged into the fray killing everyone in their path. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other with wide eyes and started killing as many of the Zetsu clones as they could and as quickly as they could, but because of their previous fights, they were running low on chakra and felt that they were going to pass out soon.
-In Konohagakure…
"News from the fronts!" A herald shouted out. "The battle-lines have collapsed! Uzushiogakure is experiencing civil war; Suna is losing against the invasion from the west, and the Tsuchi no Kuni battle-lines have disappeared! Mass betrayal from the fronts! The Yougan-hime started murdering her own people as did the Kogane no ōji!"
"Scandalous!" Another herald shouted out. "From multiple sources, I have come across the information that the Kogane no ōji and the Yougan-hime have conceived a bastard child! Betrayal, deceit! They have been called for death by the Hokage and the Tsuchikage!"
"The Hokage has banished the two largest clans in Konoha; the Sarutobi and the Shimura over the allegations of treason, bribery, stealing and murder!" Another herald shouted out. "Three quarters of our shinobi force was banished because of it, and now, we are barely holding on to our new territories! What is the Hokage thinking?!"
Minato could hear them from his office in the palace. Sweat was pouring down his brow as the sounds of protest and the slanderous fallacies of his son became louder and louder with each passing second. In front of him was probably the only person he felt that he could trust; Yamanaka Inoichi. The one true friend that stayed by his side throughout all of this and managed to give Minato some great advice.
The blond Hokage ran a hand through his unkempt, sweaty hair and released a sigh of pain and regret. He picked up his extra-large bottle of sake and took a massive swig, downing the entire bottle in less than a second. Inoichi sighed as well, but for different reasons.
"Minato." Inoichi said. "You know what you'll have to do to get people to like you again."
"Yes I know, but the war…" Minato sighed. "I can't lose this war. Especially after everything that has already been lost."
"What more will we have to lose if everything is already lost?" Inoichi asked. "What will be left to fight for if everyone is being sent to fight? Call back the regiments and the battalions. Let's end this war and consolidate our forces for another counterattack from Kumo or even the west."
"It'll take time though…"
"Time we do not have, so I beg you to do this as soon as possible." Inoichi said.
"Alright…if you say so." Minato ran from the room and headed towards the throne room and generals quarters for strategizing a full retreat from Tsuchi no Kuni.
Inoichi was about to leave the room, until the door opened and in walked Tsunade and Jiraiya. The two of them looked disheveled and ready to kill someone. They both glared at Inoichi, but the Yamanaka continued to play dumb, knowing full well that Jiraiya knew that he was Akatsuki, even though the sannin had no proof on the matter. Inoichi then changed his look of innocence and replaced it with a smile of malicious intent.
"I know what you both want to say, and I'll say this; I sacrificed my baby girl for the order, so don't preach to me about family you swine." Inoichi began. "I will end you Senju, and I will enjoy watching as you and the rest of your wretched clan burns in the fiery pits of Yomi."
"We'll see about that." Jiraiya replied.
"We'll see indeed. Now, if you'll excuse me and hand over the voice recorders I'll get going." Inoichi smirked.
"How did you-?" Jiraiya was punched in the jaw and forced into the doorway and Tsunade was kicked in the knee, dislocating the joint. Inoichi pulled out a knife and held it against Jiraiya's throat and pulled out a strange weapon and pressed it against Tsunade's temple. Its cold barrel began to warm up as chakra began to compress at the trigger.
"You two may be great shinobi's and ninja, but you two are terrible at hiding anything." Inoichi smirked as he held the knife against Jiraiya's throat. "Now, hand them all over and smash them or I'll blow her brains out and slice your throat."
Jiraiya nodded his head to Tsunade and the woman reached into her bra and pulled out a recording device no larger than a paperweight and placed it on the floor. Tsunade channeled chakra into her fist and slammed her fist into the machine, shattering the device completely. Inoichi smirked softly and placed the pistol in his holster and sheathed his knife and quickly fixed himself up as the door opened up to reveal Minato standing there with a few scrolls in his hands.
"Father, Mother…what are you two doing in here?" Minato asked. "Ah, Inoichi, here, can you read over the papers?"
"Of course Minato."
-In the Northern Isles of the Uzu Islands…
Nagato stood with a group of Uzu colonists and Zetsu clones behind him. Explosions shot up in the water around them as they closed the distance with their ships and the coast. Nagato looked around and found a massive invasion force of thousands of boats flowing down and onto the coast. Uzumaki shinobi and infantry were shouting out in rage and excitement as the coast came closer and closer.
Fires raged in the distance and villages were ablaze with Uzu colonists fighting their way through Toshi forces and any of the other Uzumaki clansmen. Within seconds though, the boat in front of Nagato exploded in all directions, spraying him and his men in the blood of their allies and friends. Their boat caught onto something and they quickly realized that they had finally made it to land.
They jumped over the side of their boats and drew their swords and got ready to attack. They drew their swords and got their hand seals ready for the attack. But suddenly from all directions, great balls of fire and waves of water, to lightning bolts and boulders, were flying at them.
Nagato growled and sped through his own hand seals and sent out a massive blast of wind, sending everything back at the defenders of the Uzu island. He raised his sword and sounded the charge. Without another word, the armies of the colonies charged for the shingle at the head of the beach. All the while, they were pelted with kunai and shuriken from strange devices that required nothing but a shinobi or samurai to crank the weapon.
Nagato used the shunshin to teleport past the shingle and cross into enemy territory. A shinobi ran up to him a team of three samurai right behind. Nagato dodged the attack and punched the shinobi in his bottom right rib and kicked the man away. One of the samurai got too close for comfort though. In a quick motion, Nagato stole the Samurai's wakizashi and slashed out the samurai's throat. As the man hunched over, bleeding from the massive wound on his throat, Nagato hurled the wakizashi, impaling another samurai through his face.
"Get the traitor!" Another samurai shouted out. Nagato smirked and raised his katana, blocking a few kunai and shuriken. Soon enough the rest of the samurai of the battlement was upon him with their naginata and katana pointed at him.
Nagato simply smirked at the challenge and dashed into the fray with his katana slicing through his opponents with little care. It was almost as if he were dancing. With each swing, he painted the room and the comrades of the slain in red. Nagato ducked back as a war hammer came swinging towards him. He reacted perfectly and swung his leg out, knocking the hammer from the shinobi's hands, leaving the man unarmed.
He lunged forward and dug his katana into the chest of the shinobi, killing the last man standing in the first battlement of many on the beachhead of the Uzu Island. He shook his head and wiped the blood off of his face and left the battlement to join the rest of the fight going on outside.
A small explosion shook the building he was in and nearly sent him into the massive corpse covered floor of the structure. He looked outside of the weapon and arrow holes and saw that his army was making great progress fighting back the oppressors from the south. He narrowed his eyes as something came flying towards him.
"Oh shit!" Nagato quickly sped through hand seals and shunshined from the building as quickly as possible and landed in the middle of the fray. The battlement exploded violently as the attack connected with the building.
He jumped back with his red hair dancing in the wind as explosions went off all around them. A shinobi charged for him ready to take his head, but Nagato punched the man in his jaw sending him back a few feet. He took this as a chance and closed the distance as fast as possible and lodged his knee into the man's chin, blasting him back into the mass of men and women fighting on the beach.
He landed and punched a shinobi in his jaw and kicked a kunoichi in her gut, disposing of the two of them in less than a second. He spun on his free foot and slashed down, cutting open the kunoichi and swung back around, digging the blade into the shinobi's chest, killing them both with the same swing. As the light left the shinobi's eyes, Nagato kicked the dead man off of his sword and charged right back into the fray.
-In Tsuchi no Kuni…
Naruto ducked as a Zetsu clone swung for his neck, but the prince swung back, cutting open the Zetsu's guts. The blond kicked the dead clone back, but was suddenly caught in a shadow possession. He could see four Nara clansmen holding him down with their shadows thicker than trees. Two Inuzuka charged in with their bodies spiraling in the fang over fang, heading right for him.
But before they could connect their attacks, Sasuke came in with his Susano'o activated and protected Naruto from the attacks. Sasuke reached up and caught the two Inuzuka and stopped their spinning. Once they were caught, along with their nin dogs, Sasuke snapped their necks, killing all four of them, and tossed their bodies towards the Nara.
"He's my target." Sasuke growled. "I will be the one to kill him, not you!"
Suddenly, the Susano'o shot out four blasts of perfectly aimed Amaterasu flames that quickly caught on to the Nara, burning through their skin and their clothing. Their screams were nightmarish, but Sasuke didn't care, he was on a blood rage at this point and the only way to sate hi hunger for blood was to kill Naruto. Sasuke turned to Naruto with his Mangekyō blaring violently, and seemed more terrifying than what it normally would. The Susano'o exploded out with its power expanding and its flames becoming more and more defined.
"You betrayed me, and not only that, but you betrayed Kaede…" Sasuke roared. "For that I can't forgive you!"
"You don't understand what you're talking about Sasuke!" Naruto shouted back as his body exploded in gold.
Seals shot up and down his body as his haori joined in on the golden color. His collars rose and seemed like flames. His hair raised up forming two horns. His whisker marks defined into black rectangles and his eyes turned into the blood red color of the Kyuubi. Naruto suddenly began to float up into the air with the body of the Kyuubi forming out of chakra, towering over Sasuke and his Susano'o.
"I will ask you to stop Sasuke." Naruto said in a foreboding voice. "I will destroy you if you don't."
"Your threats mean nothing to me bastard!" Suddenly, the Susano'o expanded and grew legs. Sasuke began to float up as the Susano'o grew taller matching the height of the Kyuubi. The Susano'o grew armor and a kabuto helmet. Two of its four arms grew purple swords of pure chakra while the other two were working in conjunction, with one holding a bow and the other pulling the bow and arrow.
"Let's go then!"
The Kyuubi and the Susano'o clashed, causing a massive shockwave to shake the battlefield. Many were forced to the ground along with the Zetsu falling on their own swords with shinobi doing the same. Others were unlucky and ended up falling into a misfired jutsu, and others were just unlucky in general. The Susano'o was the first to recuperate from the collision and raised his fist, ramming it in the Kyuubi's jaw, sending it flying a few yards.
Naruto pushed himself off the ground and held his hands out from within the Kyuubi's mouth. Spheres of red and blue color began to join together, forming a massive ball in front of Naruto. Naruto shot the ball towards Sasuke's Susano'o. The Susano'o punched the bijuu bomb back towards Naruto.
The blond's eyes shot wide open. She grabbed a hiraishin kunai and sped through a quick series of hand seals sucking up the bijuu bomb and sending it to another area far away from their camp. The resulting explosion though, shook the entire area, causing the mountains surrounding the encampment to collapse, raining boulders and pieces of the mountain upon them crushing many within the first few seconds of the hail.
The Susano'o swung down for the Kogane no ōji, but Naruto punched the quad-armed Susano'o in its chest, cracking the shield protecting Sasuke from damage. The attack had so much power in it; Sasuke felt his chakra shrink exponentially after the attack connected. Sasuke struggled to maintain the Susano'o, but within minutes the Susano'o collapsed and dissipated.
Naruto's bijuu mode followed shortly afterwards. Soon enough, the two of them were on the ground covered in sweat and panting uncontrollably. Zetsu charged for them once their defenses were down, but the Kogane Kishi charged in and protected the two boys from the attacking Zetsu. But soon enough, the Kogane Kishi were split down the middle with one half siding with Sasuke and the other half siding with Naruto.
"We can't keep fighting like this Sasuke…" Naruto panted. "We need to get out of here…"
"There is no 'we' any longer Naruto." Sasuke growled back as he took a quick breath. "I'll kill you no matter what…"
"We'll see about that Sasuke…" Naruto was hoisted onto Kakashi's back and Naruto's half dashed away to escape the rock rain coming from the collapsing mountain.
"Sasuke…we have to go. We'll die if we don't. We are vastly outnumbered and you are running low on chakra." One of the Kishi said.
"Follow them. I still have a score to settle!"
-In Sunagakure…
Temari was welcoming the rest of the resistance force back into the village. Shinobi and civilians welcomed their Kazekage, Gaara, back home. Behind him an army of battle hardened and veterans of the war. There were hundreds of them, and the people called out to them raining on them flowers and tossing bottles of water at them. Some of the women ran up to a few and kissed them over and over again to express how happy they were to see them.
At the front of the force was Gaara with a scar over his right eye. Strange since Shukaku always healed Gaara from any wound he would receive. It must have been one powerful weapon. Also, Gaara had a massive bandage covering much of his arm since the bullet shot into his body was stronger than the healing abilities of Shukaku.
The group walked through the main street of Sunagakure and headed towards the Kazekage tower expecting to see the current Kazekage, Temari. Once Gaara arrived, he charged for his sister and embraced her in a tight hug. The two of them knew what had happened to Kankuro but they made sure not to bring him up at the current moment.
They had finally won a decisive victory over the invasion from the west and now they had to bring their forces back together and reform the triumvirate. Even though it wouldn't be much of anything anymore since Uzu was in a civil war and Konoha was getting itself in some political troubles. Gaara shook his head and sighed when he realized that Naruto chose to do the stupid thing and follow his heart.
Gaara released his sister and turned to look at his home and felt his heart clench at the damage done to his people. The crushed walls and the ruined buildings made the once powerful village look like a dump; ruins. Not any longer he told himself, not any longer. Gaara clenched his fists and made a silent vow to protect his people from anyone and anything, be it foreign or domestic.
-In Taki no Kuni…three weeks later…
Kurotsuchi landed on the ruined clearing that held so many memories and so much significance for her so far, interesting life. She held her growing belly and sighed in pain. She really didn't want to go home to Iwa, but she knew that there was almost nowhere to run to. She felt her heart shrink as each scenario that she thought of ended in death or worse, the death of her child.
Her Kuroi Manto were protecting her from all sides to make sure that there wasn't going to be any other attacks or any hidden surprises. Knowing that Taki no Kuni is full of surprises since they were with Kaede, they kept their weapons steady and their chakra poised. It was nighttime, and they've spent the last three weeks running for their lives through an entire country that was out to kill the five of them. It was tough, but they made it through without much problem, just a few scratches and cuts that were easily healed without much problem.
Yaseo was nursing a deep scar on Shikei's face, much to his mirth and Recca was nursing his own wounds, while Luo shaved off his red hair and made himself bald to fit his body size and stature as the leader and master smith of the group. Kurotsuchi held Kaede's sword tightly, but suddenly felt a familiar chakra signature coming in fast, along with five other signatures that she didn't recognize.
"Get ready for anything…Naruto-kun is on his way…" Kurotsuchi whispered.
Suddenly from the brush, Naruto and the Kishi sprang and landed in front of the group. Their golden armor glinted softly in the moon's light. Naruto nodded at the knights and they all removed their breastplates to remain secret and hidden. The boy knew full well that they probably attracted a few unwanted followers, but they had to hurry and get out of the country as soon as possible, especially since there was a horde of more than two million Zetsu clones flooding Tsuchi no Kuni.
Naruto charged for Kurotsuchi and grabbed her tightly right before he pressed his lips upon hers. They held the embrace for as long as possible. Her arms wrapped lovingly around Naruto's back while his were wrapped around hers. After a few minutes they broke the kiss and stared into each other's eyes, memorizing the color, the iride designs, everything, to make sure that if anything happened, they'd always know what the other looked like.
"We have to leave Naruto-kun…" Kurotsuchi said. "The Uchiha-hideout seems nice?"
"No. Sasuke found out about us and now he out for my head…" Naruto looked away. "Apparently our affair has spread like wildfire and just about everyone in the entire elemental nations knows about our relationship…"
"What happened to your camp?" Kurotsuchi suddenly asked.
"My Zetsu clones turned on me…" Naruto whispered.
"You too?!" Kurotsuchi was terrified. "The exact same thing happened to us!"
"Someone is pulling the strings…" Naruto growled. "It's a safe bet to place the blame on Inoichi…"
"What does he want?" Kurotsuchi asked with a grunt.
"I don't know. So far, he hasn't said anything and my spies are all but dead right now." Naruto sighed.
"Naruto-sama, I advise that we head away from Taki and towards the Colonies in Kaminari no Kuni." Kakashi said. "We need to vacate any territory here on the mainland, minus the colonies. I have a feeling that we can trust them without a problem. We just have to be fast and quick with our preparations."
"I agree Kakashi-sensei." Naruto replied with a nod.
The trees rustled slightly, gaining everyone's attention. Weapons were drawn and Naruto was tossed Kaede's black bladed sword. Suddenly though, a storm of shuriken shot form the trees, pelting the Kogane no ōji and the Yougan-hime. The two jumped away while blocking the projectiles with their blades.
Yaseo drew out her pistol and began to fire off towards the forest, tearing down a few trees in the process with the massive chakra bullets she let off. The resulting explosions shook the area as trees and splinters were shot in all directions, into the air and into the ground around them. But form the smoke formed, the other half of the Kogane Kishi appeared covered in scars and blood, but still serviceable.
Naruto glared at Sasuke and quickly moved to protect Kurotsuchi. His body exploded with Kurama's chakra, covering the area in his Yang aura. Naruto barred his teeth and Kaede's sword glowed golden yellow just like the rest of Naruto's body. Naruto felt a swelling power from within and realized that Kaede's sword was strengthening him.
"Sasuke! I am asking you to stop! Stop this right now and let us go!" Naruto shouted.
"You think I'll do that?!" Sasuke howled. "You are a traitor to your own family! Not only that…"
"Don't say it Sasuke…" Naruto growled menacingly.
"You've let your sister die in vain!" Sasuke roared. "Let's not forget your mother-"
Within a blink of an eye, Naruto was in front of Sasuke with a rasengan spiraling with bijuu charka enhancing the attack. Naruto smashed the chakra ball into the man's chest, forcing him back through the trees and into the ground. Naruto didn't even look back to protect Kurotsuchi; He was now in a full blood rage. All he wanted now was to end Sasuke's life.
After Naruto jumped into the forest for the Uchiha, the rest of the Kogane Kishi turned their attention to the Yougan-Hime and charged for her, not taking into consideration the strength of her Kuroi Manto. But before they could even get to the Iwa shinobi, Naruto's Kogane Kishi clashed with Sasuke's stopping the attack before any damage could be made.
"Stop this!" Kakashi shouted. "There's no need for this shit!"
"And who are you to decide that?!" One of the Kishi shouted. "You're all traitors just like the Kogane no ōji!"
"Already as we speak, the Yamanaka's and their allies have narrowed in on our position and are en route to reinforce us! You'll all be outnumbered beyond relief. Not even the great Kogane no ōji will be able to stop them!"
"Well I guess we'll have to prove you all wrong, eh?" Kakashi glared and raised his hitai-ate revealing a Sharingan eye. The Hatake charged forward and cut through the blade of his opponent and dragged the kunai through the shinobi's golden armor and slashed out his chest. Soon enough, the rest of the Kogane Kishi were in a full on battle with neither winning.
One of the Kishi from Sasuke's side got to close to the Iwa shinobi, and with a quick flick of her wrist, Yaseo was able to pop a few rounds into the man's face, blowing his brains out from his head, spraying his comrades and friends. His body flew forward and nearly forced Yaseo to the ground, but Shikei shot out with his scythes and sliced the body in half.
"Stay with the princess. It is paramount that she stays alive and unhurt!" Shikei shouted. "Recca! Let's go!"
The two boys took off into the fray with their weapons drawn and ready to strike down anyone who got in their way. A shinobi charged up form Recca's flank and kicked the boy, breaking his stance. Recca was at this point vulnerable to whatever the Shinobi had in store for the young boy, but his brother Shikei shunshined behind the shinobi and dug his scythes into the back of the shinobi and bisected the man without a second thought.
-In Uzushiogakure…
Toshi smirked at the war table and the results of the rebellion. He knew that the colonists would retake the north, but he also knew that they sent almost all of their military power into the waters of Uzushio. That left the colonies themselves either defenseless or lacking the appropriate amount. The table had a map of the islands of Uzu no Kuni and the entire north along with the waters of the northern islands were covered in black pieces to represent the rebels crossing into Toshi's territory.
Toshi sniffed and let out a quick cough when the overbearing scent of burning flesh became known. He turned around and looked to see two more rebel commanders of the North hanging from the ceiling on fire, like the chandeliers that hung above him. He shook his head and turned to the men standing in front of him.
"Inoichi-sama. Kabuto-sama. Hideki-sama." Toshi nodded his head. "Kabuto, I commend your abilities to escape even the direst of situations."
"I have my ways Toshi-sama." Kabuto smirked. "Aren't we waiting for another member of this meeting?"
"I'm here." Suddenly a cloud of bees and wasps came from the vents of the Throne Room and flew down to the table below. They built up together forming the silhouette of a man. The bees and wasps thickened and joined together and soon enough, the color and the shape of the insects flattened out and melted into the form of none other than Jibachi Kamizuru.
"Well it seems that there are four leaders here in this wonderful Throne Room." Kabuto said.
"Indeed Kabuto-dono." Jibachi mused. "Now then, are our plans in affect?"
"So far, yes." Inoichi replied. "The plan to set the Zetsu up against their commanders was a perfect idea. It worked without a hitch."
"Will we need more clones?" Hideki asked. He was the Kage of Kawagakure and the genius behind the cloning formula. "I can start up another batch, but this time with better and stronger clones."
"You could always do that, but then, what will become of us if we want to turn on one another?" Jibachi asked, making many of the other men nervous.
"Now, what might you be implying Jibachi-dono?" Toshi asked.
"Nothing, merely a simple question that is pointed at every single one of us." Jibachi said. "As far as I can tell, all of us in this room has betrayed someone important and more just to get to where we are. I'm not going to lie, but I've done it thousands of times. I've betrayed the incompetent Tsuchikage and the Earth Daimyo, and yet, I haven't given a fuck about it."
"You seem mighty sure of yourself Jibachi-dono." Inoichi growled. "It would be a damn shame if something were to happen to you, maybe an arrow to the head or your brain turned to mush because of ninjutsu."
"Your threats don't scare me Yamanaka." Jibachi laughed. "My insects are specially designed to resist your family's ninjutsu."
"You must think that, that's all we've got." Inoichi clenched his fist.
"Now, now. Let's all be friends here, eh?" Hideko asked. "There's no need to tear at each other's throats."
"Indeed." Toshi growled while rubbing his temples. "If we are to take over the continent and control our respective lands, we'll need to keep our heads level and deign from infighting. It will only tear us apart!"
The two lords continued to argue with Kabuto getting forced into the argument a few times. Soon enough their guards started arguing and threatening one another, but Toshi slammed his fist into the table blowing off a large chunk of the war table.
"Shut the fuck up!"
-In Taki no Kuni…
Naruto kicked Sasuke back, and dodged a barrage of fire balls shot from Sasuke's mouth at lightning fast speeds. The golden prince swiveled in and around each inferno and even managed to kick a few in Sasuke's direction. The Uchiha predicted this with his Sharingan and slapped the balls away and into the ground, trees, rocks and even back at the Uzumaki-Namikaze.
Sasuke activated the Mangekyō sharingan and smirked when the black flames of Amaterasu shot from his eyes, flying straight for the Uzumaki-Namikaze. Naruto saw this and hiraishined from the scene and onto a tree that held one of his kunai. Naruto grabbed the kunai from the tree and hurled the knife at his former friend and nearly took Sasuke's life with the attack.
Sasuke wasn't thinking and blocked the Kunai, making it ping off of his blade, but the moment he realized the move, he regretted his mistake. Naruto flashed in front of him in less than a split second and rammed an Oodama rasengan into Sasuke's chest, forcing him back into a tree.
Sasuke though, had a few more surprises of his own and was now in the skeletal system of his Susano'o. Naruto dashed forward with Kurama's chakra shooting off of his body, although it was a slow increase. The blond closed the distance, but was slashed back by the Susano'o and forced into the ground. Sasuke pounded the poor blond into the dirt, literally.
Naruto though, wasn't going to have any of that shit and shot form the hole that he was embedded within and landed on his feet, although he was quite wobbly at first. Naruto wiped the dirt off of his shoulder and popped his neck with a darkening look on his face as Kurama's influence and rage began to seep into the chakra Naruto was using. Naruto flashed away and punched Sasuke's Susano'o in its temple blasting it into a gathering of trees, causing a small earthquake and a massive blast of bright light that could probably be seen all the way to Uzushio.
In the wake of the destruction, Sasuke was lying there with blood coming out of his mouth and his eyes glazed over. Naruto paid no attention to the Uchiha and charged off for his lover Kurotsuchi to make sure that she was perfectly fine. But he knew that was most likely impossible, especially since it was a large team of extremely experienced shinobi from Konoha. Once Naruto burst form the brush, he found Kakashi on all fours panting and part of his mask ripped off and a great deal of Kogane Kishi wounded and on the ground bleeding out.
"Everyone…" Naruto ran forward and embraced his former sensei in a hug and grabbed his lover. It was quite a bittersweet moment for the group, knowing that they've lost a great deal of their friends. Naruto felt his heart clench when there was a great blast of negative emotion coming from all sides and even from the sky and even underground.
Kakashi and Kurotsuchi sensed it too and drew out their weapons ready to take on whoever it was. Kakashi activated his Mangekyō ready for a hard fight, but quickly deactivated it when the strain on his eye became too much. Kurotsuchi sensed the amount of shinobi and soldiers heading in their direction. She shivered in fear when she made a quick count of almost forty thousand men heading from all sides.
She looked to Naruto hoping to get him to do something about it, but he looked down and grabbed the woman as tightly as he could and crashed his lips on her as tightly as he could. Tears were flowing down his face since he knew full well that there was going to be almost nowhere they could run. Suddenly all around them, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Hyuuga, Aburame, Kamizuru, Uzumaki, and even Sound shinobi gathered around.
At the base of the trees came Sasuke with eyes as cold as ice. Almost as if he was being controlled. Naruto had examined his emotions the entire fight with him and saw that even though Sasuke wanted his head, the Uchiha still held a brothers love deep within, but now the Sasuke that Naruto had once known was officially gone from the world and probably permanently unless Naruto killed him.
"Kurotsuchi. Get your Manto ready to run." Kakashi said. "You are one of the most important women on this planet at this moment."
"I agree Kuro-chan." Naruto growled. "I have to handle Sasuke before anything else can happen."
"Go now!" Naruto threw up a hiraishin kunai.
In almost slow motion, the world around them froze. Sasuke was already speed and had closed the distance between him and the hiraishin kunai. Kurotsuchi had reached out with the hiraishin kunai. If her finger would manage to touch the handle, they'd be able to escape the area with their lives and run away from the country, despite having to leave Naruto behind.
But, Kurotsuchi missed the kunai and Sasuke nearly decapitated her. Sasuke continued on his path and slashed Luo on his side, drawing a great deal of blood, but not enough to be worried about. Sasuke stopped and turned back around, this time, his eyes were glowing a bright blue. Naruto glared at the boy and charged up a rasengan and charged once more for his friend. This time, instead of a normal rasengan, it was exploding with wind chakra designed to slice and maim.
Naruto dashed forward, but missed at the last second because of Sasuke's superior agility and speed. Sasuke spun down on his heel and sliced down with his chokutō, cutting open Naruto's back, nearly lacerating his spine, paralyzing the Namikaze. Sasuke cursed when he realized that he didn't get the boy and prepared to swing once more, but Kurotsuchi charged forward and dug the hiraishin kunai into Sasuke's spine.
Blood shot from the Uchiha's mouth as Kurotsuchi tore the blade from the boy's back. Kurotsuchi was breathing hard from fear and anxiety. She walked forward and grabbed Naruto off the ground, but the blond was suddenly stopped by Sasuke's hand grabbing onto the bottom of his haori. The two looked down at Sasuke and nearly fainted when they saw his crying. Sasuke was coughing out blood at a dangerous rate but motioned for Naruto to come close.
"N-Naruto…" Sasuke looked up at Naruto with his Mangekyō gone. "I can't believe how stupid I was…"
"Sasuke…"
"N-No…I was in the wrong…I just wanted to try my best…to protect the only family I had left…" Sasuke began. "But please…don't let the Uchiha name die with me; a man who couldn't stand with his brother." Sasuke reached up to his face and tore out his eyes and dropped them into Naruto's hands. "Take them…I have a feeling that someone more important will be needing those more than me…"
"The Kogane no ōji had just harvested the last Uchiha's eyes!" Someone shouted from the trees. "The Kogane no ōji is out to steal the rest of our clan secrets! Not only that, but he's out to destroy us! Kill the ōji and the princess!"
Soon enough, shinobi from the trees shot forwards with their blades and jutsu firing off at the group in the center of the clearing. In a split second decision, Naruto grabbed Kurotsuchi who was still being held on by the Manto, and thrust a kunai into her hands and pushed her away. He sped through hand seals faster than Kurotsuchi's ability to question Naruto.
And just like that, the Yougan-hime and her Manto disappeared from sight.
And that's that! What did you think?
Ja ne!
gottahavekyuubi