A/N: Sorry for the late update guys, here comes the new chapter! I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter!
clank2662: Yes, he killed the Rikudo Sanin... or did he? :O
XT3100: There is a reason for what he did to the Rikudo Sanin, but that won't be explained for now.
thedarkpokemaster: Well, Ryo killed only one good Guardian actually O_O I wont really consider Tanaka good but hey, I respect your opinion :D
DestroyerDRT: Yes, it is
mundanebeast: We shall see how Naruto fares against Hitori here
Guest: Wow, thanks for the compliments. I really appreciate them.
CHAPTER 21: PEACE
ARC: FLAVOR OF WAR
Uchiha Sasuke could see that the battle was thinning out. Most of the Kumo and Konoha forces were heavily wounded, many were dead and the other majority was chakra exhausted and could no longer fight. Currently, Sasuke see that only about 100 Konoha forces were still in battle whereas Kumo had 150 from his calculations, but both side looked exhausted.
Sasuke had altogether defeated a total of twenty Kumo ninjas, most of them comprising of Jounins. It was thanks to Itachi's training that Sasuke could keep up, but most of them were already low in chakra or stamina, so Sasuke could handle himself. He doubted he could have defeated a fresh Jounin, even with Itachi's training.
"Sasuke, enemy at nine o'clock!" Gai called out.
Sasuke spun to his left and saw an injured Kumo Chuunin thrusting his kunai forward. The young Uchiha moved to his left, returning a powerful kick on the face of the enemy, breaking the Chuunin's nose. Sasuke's Sharingan scanned the area and saw none of the Kumo ninjas were focusing on him now, allowing him to regain back some energy.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" A familiar voice asked from a distance.
Sasuke turned to the source of the voice and saw Sakura running towards him, "Sakura, it's still dangerous over here. What are you doing here? Ni-san ordered you-"
"I know what he said," Sakura interrupted, "But the battle is almost over. I can handle myself too, you know."
Sasuke smirked and then noticed the weapon in Sakura's hands, "Where'd you get that katana?"
"This…" Sakura looked down at her weapon, and then back at Sasuke, "An ANBU captain gave it to me… His name's Yamaguchi… He told me it's a gift…"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Interesting… Heh, I can't imagine you using a sword though."
Sakura huffed in anger, "You…!"
A great explosion stopped their conversation, catching the two Genins by surprise. Most of the Konoha and Kumo forces stopped for a moment as well, turning to the source of the explosion. Then, everyone saw a bald man sporting a Kumo Jounin vest in a battle against Itachi and a boy that was cloaked with orange chakra.
"That's Naruto!" Sakura gasped loudly that people around her heard what she said.
"Naruto? The son of Kushina-sama?!" A Konoha Jounin said in realization.
"Is he using the power of the Kyuubi?"
"He can use the Kyuubi power now? Since when did he learn that?!"
Most of the Konoha forces then released a cry of encouragement, calling out to Naruto. As for the Kumo forces, they realized that the momentum was with Konoha and retreated for a moment. For now, the battle had stopped between the two forces and all eyes were cast on Naruto's battle.
Sasuke's Sharingan watched the battle in earnest, realizing that Naruto's fighting potential was far above him. He clenched his fists in jealousy but also prides as well, pride that he had found such a powerful rival.
"Isn't that Uchiha Itachi?" A Konoha Jounin spoke, "I didn't know he's fighting with Naruto!"
"Man, I always thought Itachi will betray us in the future, but to see him fight for us here… I guess he is really loyal to Konoha!"
Maito Gai stepped in with a wide smile on his face, exposing his shiny teeth, "Not just that, but the brother of Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke, is fighting with us as well!" Gai then pointed to Sasuke, "And he's just a Genin!"
Everyone turned to Sasuke, and for once, Sasuke wished he did not garner so much attention. However, the eyes of the Konoha ninjas were the looks of admiration; not the look of disgust and suspicion that were sometimes thrown at him. They finally believed that Sasuke and his brother were indeed, shinobis of Konoha!
Meanwhile, while everyone was watching their fight, Naruto and Itachi still could not land a devastating attack on Hitori. Even though they had learnt of how his 'touch' technique worked, it was still quite difficult to do anything to him.
"Fire release! Great Dragon Blast technique!"
Itachi finished a set of seals and then blew an enormous fire-shaped dragon towards Hitori. The Guardian laughed in the face of the dragon, opening the palm of his right hand and then allowing the fire to touch him. However, before the flames could burn him, Hitori extinguished the flames, Itachi's fire jutsu disappearing into thin air.
"Such petty techniques will not stop me!" Hitori taunted in laughter.
"Your overconfidence is your flaw." Itachi returned.
From above, Naruto was cruising downwards with a Rasengan in his hand. Because Naruto was using the Bijuu mode, his Rasengan was influenced with Kurama's chakra's chakra; a mix of blue and red Rasengan.
Hitori smirked and looked above him, "You think I don't know?! You're too far to reach me!"
Hitori prepared to welcome Naruto, but what he did not know was that Naruto could increase his range when using the Bijuu mode. From using Kurama's chakra, Naruto formed a chakra hand and Naruto transferred the Rasengan to the chakra arms. With that, Naruto thrust the chakra arm armed with the Rasengan toward Hitori.
Hitori widened his eyes in delight from the surprise of having the chakra arm lengthening and coming towards him. Hitori slammed both palm of his hands on the earth and thus, allowed him to manipulate the earth. Before Naruto's chakra arms could reach Hitori, Hitori created a large shield above him with the ground materials.
"That won't stop my Rasengan!" Naruto shouted and slammed the Rasengan into the earthen shield.
However, the more Naruto buried the Rasengan into the muddy shield, the more Hitori kept reinforcing it. The Guardian could manipulate as much of the earth now, but Naruto was not going to give up. He continued to push the Rasengan forward, but even the mighty Rasengan was slowly being eaten by the shield.
Naruto realized the shield was almost 'consuming' the Rasengan and Naruto remembered that Hitori could manipulate anything he wanted. Hitori seemed to have a limitless amount of chakra, so his earth shield could continue be reinforced up to the point that it could even trap Naruto in the shield if he did not get away. The Rasengan had disappeared now and the earthen shield continued to climb up, eating the chakra hand.
"Naruto! Get out of there!" Itachi called out.
"I'm trying but…!" Naruto realized then what was going on, "Wait, he's got my chakra?!"
Hitori laughed in delight, "I see you've noticed! The moment your Rasengan touched my earthen wall, I can use the earthen shield to 'touch' another source; your chakra! And since your chakra is linked to the Kyuubi, I basically can control the Kyuubi's chakra!"
Hitori snapped his fingers and suddenly, Naruto's Bijuu mode evaporated into thin air, returning Naruto to his normal state. Naruto landed on the ground and looked at his hands, realizing that his Bijuu mode was gone.
"Let's see if you'd like a taste of your own power!" Hitori declared, engulfing his hand with Kurama's chakra.
But, before Hitori could attack, Itachi quickly engaged Hitori in Taijutsu, forcing the bald Guardian to challenge Itachi. Hitori swiped at Itachi's neck with his Bijuu chakra hand, but Itachi stepped back and counter-attacked, throwing several punches. However, Hitori grinned in delight and grabbed hold one of Itachi's fists.
"I've got you now!" Hitori cried cockily.
"I already said," Itachi spoke calmly, "Your overconfidence is your flaw."
Before the words registered into the mind of Hitori, Itachi had grabbed a kunai with his left hand, doing so without Hitori noticing. So, before Hitori could do anything to Itachi, the Uchiha prodigy swung the kunai vertically. Hitori realized too late and Itachi managed to slash Hitori's left cheek, but failed to strike the intended target; Hitori's neck.
Hitori growled and jumped away, feeling the wound on his cheek. Hitori was a very proud Guardian and refused to acknowledge any visible injuries. Hitori felt the wound on his cheek and quickly healed it, erasing the embarrassment of suffering pain from a scum that was not even among the Guardians.
"Thanks Itachi." Naruto said, standing next to Itachi.
"He's definitely someone not to be underestimated with," Itachi stated, "There are still a lot of things that we don't know about him; his 'touch' technique has a lot of ways he can use."
Naruto nodded, "Yeah… Apparently he can 'touch' not just from his hands but also anything that is still connected to him. Since that 'earth shield' was still a part of him, he could use that to 'touch' me."
"Basically, anything that is attached to him then. If he touched my fire jutsu, he can't use that since the fire is not a part of his body; unlike the 'earth shield' he used."
"So, the last thing he touched was on his own, since he used that to heal him."
Itachi nodded, "Let's prepare a second attack, Naruto."
Naruto gathered chakra to his core, and tried to activate the Bijuu mode, and failed. Naruto blink a couple of times, unsure of this and then tried once more. A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. Itachi was watching the blonde ninja, saying nothing just in case Naruto needed to concentrate.
"Sorry kit," Kurama spoke in Naruto's mind, "But I'm out. I've been drawing out my chakra since you activated 'Wind Path' mode and then going to 'Bijuu Mode' is taking a toll on me. I can't do anything."
"Kurama, now's not the time! You know we're going against a Guardian!" Naruto admonished but Kurama sighed in response.
"There's nothing I can do… Even though we tailed-beasts are known for our large supply of chakra, I've already given most of them to you. I can't help you anymore."
Naruto realized his situation was not the best at this point. He needed to be at least in one of his powerful modes to fight Hitori on equal terms, but now, he had nothing. Also, Itachi was also visibly weakened, his heavy breathing an indicator of his low chakra and stamina.
"If you two think I'm going to allow you to come up with a strategy, you're sorely mistaken!" Hitori cried, moving towards the two.
Naruto and Itachi prepared themselves, the bald Guardian licking his lips with excitement. Itachi had met his share of crazed individuals, but Hitori was on a different one altogether. His lust for battle seemed to be concentrated on Naruto only, and saw others as nothing but pests in his way. Normally, even if someone was focused on a target, you could not waver and would have to concentrate on others if they interfered. But, Hitori was different.
Hitori continued his run until when he was just a few meters away, Hitori swiped the ground like a man inspecting dust on a clean counter. Thus, he activated the 'touch' technique, able to manipulate the earth since he last touched it. Hitori smirked and then slammed his hand on the earth. A second later, the earth formed a line and the line moved along until it reached Naruto and Itachi. Then, the ground split in half like an earthquake, breaking apart and separating from itself.
Naruto and Itachi moved away, Naruto to the left and Itachi to the right. This was Hitori's plan, to separate the two and his aim; Itachi. The Uchiha prodigy had been a thorn in his ass and the bald Guardian wanted to have a fight to the death with the second Rikudo Sanin; Naruto. Hitori raised his right hand and clenched his fists, all the while staring at Itachi.
Out of thin air, several boulders made of rocks appeared in all directions surrounding Itachi. The rocks then all moved towards Itachi at high speeds, to smash Itachi into a pancake. Itachi quickly formed a seat of seals, completing them in less than a second.
"Fire release! Grand Fireball technique!"
Itachi gathered chakra to his throat and released a gigantic fireball towards the boulder in front of him. His plan was to melt one of the rocks and then use that as his escape. However, to his surprise, the rocks were not affected by it and they were getting closer and closer. At this rate, Itachi's life would end.
As a last resort, Itachi shut his eyes and collected chakra to his eyes. It was a last resort, as his chakra was already at a very low point and using such a chakra-taxing jutsu would surely end it. But, if he did not use this, Itachi would lose his life. He needed to continue living, to continue the fight in protecting this world.
"AMATERASU!"
The rock in front of Itachi immediately melted from the dark flames of the legendary Amaterasu. With this, Itachi used the boulder behind him to give him a boost, leaping forward just a second before the boulders smashed together, escaping death. Itachi then collapsed on the ground, chakra exhaustion overcoming him.
Itachi was on all-fours, barely able to get back to his feet. His eyes were in pain from overusing the Mangekyou Sharingan, bleeding once more. His vision was blurring, he could barely stay conscious at this point and his part in this fight was over.
"Itachi!" Naruto cried, before Itachi lost consciousness.
"Heh, that takes care of him," Hitori said and turned to Naruto, "Now… If you're not going to fight me like how HE fought me… Then there's no point in keeping you alive."
Hitori manipulated the earth once more, sending shockwaves on the ground. The earth rumbled loudly, the sound deafening as it moved towards Naruto. To Naruto's point of view, it looked like as if the ground was like a wave of water, moving up and down.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and decided that the next move needed to end the fight. He created a shadow clone and while he concentrated on gathering chakra, the clone added in the nature element of Naruto; wind. Soon, the Rasengan was formed with white, sharp, shrieking chakra surrounding the Rasengan that it looked like a huge shuriken spinning around the Rasengan.
Right before the moving ground could throw Naruto off his feet, Naruto leaped into the air. This was what Hitori was hoping for, swinging his arms around and two large pillars of earth formed by his sides. With Naruto unable to do anything to dodge, Hitori thrust both of his arms forward, and the two large pillars moved in an instant towards Naruto.
"Take this!"
Charging his strength, Naruto tossed the RasenShuriken aimed at Hitori. The RasenShuriken whistled through the air, the blue ball of white chakra slicing even the air around it cleanly. Hitori moved one of the pillars towards the RasenShuriken, but as expected, the ball of white chakra easily cut through the pillar in half.
"Whatever technique you just used looks impressive," Hitori praised, "But, if you actually think such a flashy technique can kill me, you're mistaken! I already told you, I can do anything to whatever I touch!"
As the RasenShuriken neared the bald Guardian, Hitori reached out for the RasenShuriken with his hands. Although it sliced him a little, Hitori managed to 'touch' it and absorbed the chakra in a split-second, saving him from suffering any major damage.
"I told you," Hitori cackled in laughter, "Nothing can hurt me so long as I can touch it!"
Since he just 'touched' the RasenShuriken, that was what he could currently manipulate. Opening the palm of his left hand, Hitori summoned forth the RasenShuriken and but unlike Naruto, Hitori poured in more chakra into the RasenShuriken, allowing the white ball to move faster and covered a wider area.
"I'll show you how to properly-"
"Ninjas are more than using flashy jutsu you know." A voice said behind Hitori.
Hitori gasped in shock, spinning around to find Naruto there, "A shadow clone?!"
Before the Guardian could utter a word or prepare to defend himself, Naruto shoved a miniature RasenShuriken in Hitori's gut, the shining white chakra exploding within Hitori. The bald Guardian screamed in pain, trying to heal the injuries but even then, it was too much for the Guardian.
Everyone watched in awe as Hitori was thrown backwards, the white chakra inside Hitori emitting a shrieking sound before it exploded, all the while Hitori tried to heal it at the same time.
As for Naruto, that was his last attack. Naruto dropped on his behind, watching the RasenShuriken explode which resulted in a bright light. And then, it was over. Naruto expected Hitori's bodies to be in pieces, but the man was clearly seen on the ground with a gaping wound his chest; and still alive!'
"Argh…! Th-th-the hell..?! I… This is…! Graghh!"
Hitori was still alive, and was trying to heal his wounds but the damage was too great. The RasenShuriken destroys the body down to a cellular level, so Hitori was even lucky he could still move his arms. But, despite how mighty of a Guardian he was, this would be his end.
"It's over…" Naruto muttered with half open eyes, "This is… the end for you…"
***With Darui***
Darui witnessed the whole fight and was honestly impressed that the young Genin managed to fend of Hitori. It also confirmed his suspicions that the boy was Konoha's Jinchuuriki but from the look of things, the blonde had obtained more powers than just the tailed-beast power.
The Kumo and Konoha forces had stopped fighting for some time now, but with the defeat of their most powerful ninjas, the two forces were at a stand-still. Enough blood had been shed, and while neither sides wanted to go into another pointless blood battle, they were still under orders. It was up to Kumo to make a move since they were on the offensive.
Darui was contemplating on what to do when the same red-haired Kumo ninja approached him, "Sir, we just got order from central command!"
Darui gave a confused look, "What…? Central command…?"
"Yes sir, it seems Mabui-sama sent a written report with the 'Heavenly Transfer technique' about the current situation in Kumo, but we can't open it. It's locked with a seal, and it needs your chakra to unlock it."
Darui seemed perplexed about the situation, but decided that if there were orders from higher command, he needed to see it to it. With a nod to the Kumo Jounin, the red-haired Jounin went to retrieve the letter. The elite Kumo Jounin waited patiently, deciding not to give out any orders. He needed to wait for further orders.
The Kumo and Konoha ninjas waited, both sides not wanting to provoke the other into anything. They could not shed any tears for the death of their comrades; there would be a time for that when the fighting was over. A minute later, the red-haired Kumo ninja returned with the letter.
Darui thanked the man and poured some of his chakra on the seal, unlocking the letter and removing its contents. It was indeed a report about what had happened, and the further Darui read, the more he realized the treachery of what had happened. After he read the report, Darui crumpled the paper in his hands.
"Captain Darui…?" The red-haired Kumo shinobi spoke, concerned in his voice.
Darui turned to the red-haired and gave out his orders, "This war is over. Kumo will begin peace talks with Konoha. Oh, and one more thing…"
"Sir…?"
"Hitori is branded as a traitor to Kumo. No, actually, he was never an ally to begin with." Darui said with conviction, drawing his blade.
***With Naruto***
Hitori was not able to heal himself; at least not with the time limit he had. He would need at least half a day before he could repair his cells, and then he could concentrate on the gaping wound he had. But, by then, Naruto would come and end his life. However, instead of crying for help or mercy, Hitori was laughing.
"Hahahaha! Oh, this is rich!" Hitori cried in laughter, "Yes…! This is the feeling I've craved for centuries! Uzumaki Naruto, you truly are just like him!"
Naruto shook his head at this, "Have you lost your mind from taking the RasenShuriken?"
Hitori laughed again, blood spurting from his mouth, "Oh, I'm not wrong…! I'm just… glad that this world… will be so much more fun!"
"You're not going to be in this world much longer, you bald freak!"
Hitori merely laughed once more and Naruto decided not to converse with a madman. The bald Guardian had been obsessed with some guy called 'HIM' for some time now, but according to Hitori; Ryo should know who this 'HIM' Hitori spoke of. Naruto's going to need to ask Ryo about this when he got back.
Then Sasuke, Sakura and Gai arrived by Naruto's side, Gai giving him a pat on his shoulder before moving along to retrieve the unconscious Itachi. Naruto was exhausted and sighed in relief, looking up at his rival and then at his loved one.
"I'm glad you're safe, Naruto." Sakura said, hugging him.
"Ow, ow…!" Naruto grimaced in pain, "Watch out Sakura-chan…"
"Shut up idiot, you're ruining the moment!"
Naruto chuckled and hugged back, although he could barely move at this point. Naruto was rarely chakra exhausted, remembering the only time that happened was when he was using multiple shadow clones when learning with Kakashi in developing the RasenShuriken. Now, even Kurama was exhausted of chakra and the fight only lasted a couple of minutes. Naruto made a mental note to not depend so much on the 'Wind Path' mode.
"It looks like everything went well." Sasuke said, avoiding his gaze from the couple.
"Heh, I'm glad you're still alive as well."
"Hmph, I won't die here… I've still got a lot of things I need to do before I die."
"It's thanks to your matured Sharingan that you're still alive." Naruto jabbed at the Uchiha.
"And you with the Kyuubi powers." The three then shared a laugh and then, silence.
"What's going on now?" Naruto asked, "I was so focused on fighting him… I totally forgot about the fight with Kumo."
"The fighting's stopped," Sakura explained, her gaze moving to the battlefield at Kawa, "After a while, everyone realized that the fight between Konoha and Kumo was between you and… that other guy… Kumo couldn't touch you, but that guy could. So, whoever won would have won the battle."
"So, does this mean we won?"
Sasuke shrugged, "We don't know…We're just waiting for them to make a move. We've been on the defensive throughout so if they still want to try and take over Kawa outpost, we'll be giving them hell."
Even from where the three were, they could see the Kumo forces all standing with their comrades, staring back at the Konoha forces. Asuma Sarutobi was in charge of keeping the Konoha forces in line and Kumo were reluctant in doing anything rash. Naruto could not spot where Darui was, but he knew he was in charge of the Kumo invasion force.
Then, Naruto turned to see Gai picking up the unconscious Itachi, strapping Itachi's arm behind Gai's neck. Gai said something with a grin, but obviously Itachi heard nothing of it. Knowing Gai, it was probably some words of encouragement or praise.
Before Gai even took a step from Itachi, Darui landed directly in front of the Taijutsu specialist with two Kumo Jounins by his side. Darui had his sword in his hands and the two elite Jounins said nothing to the other. After that, Darui walked past Darui with Gai turning around to watch him move towards the injured Hitori.
"We just received word that Kumo had been deceived," Darui said without stopping his movements, "Hitori and a guy called Tanaka… They had been using us as some plot for war…"
"So, that means…"
"The fight is over." Darui finished, "Kumo will be moving for peace talks with Konoha soon. For now, I've been given the task of killing the man that had caused all this trouble. Tsk, this is so dull."
"I see…" Gai gave a thumb up, "I hope we will all share our youthful experience in this! YOSH!"
Gai then leaped away with the unconscious Itachi, leaving Darui shaking his head with a smile. Darui then focused on the current objective at hand, gesturing for the two Kumo Jounins to move on ahead. The three Kumo ninjas approached the injured Hitori, whom was still chuckling as he healed the heavy wounds he received from Naruto.
"You've been using us…You'll pay for that." Darui commented, drawing his blade above Hitori's vulnerable neck.
"Hehehehehe," Hitori snickered, "If you guys know about it, then that means Tanaka's dead, huh?"
"Who are you guys? It is impossible for you to control the Raikage and making the village all fall under your control. And you're not in any of the bingo books either."
"You'll find out… soon enough," Hitori answered after a pause, "But, you guys won't kill me… Or to be correct… You can't! Hahaha, urgh… Gragh, this really hurts!"
"Captain Darui…?" One of the Kumo Jounins voiced out, hoping the captain would finish the man.
Darui nodded, "You die today Hitori… You cannot escape that."
Darui raised his blade above him, an executioner to commit the deed. Even though Hitori could manipulate anything he 'touched,' if he were to stop the attack, the wound would kill him as his cells were far from functional. So, he could not stop Darui's attack and the elite Kumo Jounin knew that. Darui sighed and then slammed the blade down, aimed at Hitori's vulnerable neck.
A loud clang screamed across the air when Darui's blade clashed against another foreign weapon. Darui was wide-eyed and his instinct and stepped back to find an unfamiliar face. The person had his sword above Hitori, the one responsible for stopping Hitori from certain death.
"Who the hell are you?!" Darui demanded, moving to a defensive stance.
The woman had blue hair tied in a ponytail with crystal, white eyes. The woman was also tall for a woman and her blade was a large sword, almost the same like one of the seven swordsmen of the mist. Also, Darui noticed that on the sword, the woman had a red seal on the blade.
"Come on," The woman spoke towards Hitori, picking him up, "We're going…"
Hitori nodded and ignoring Darui, she picked up the injured Hitori. The woman then proceeds to walk away and Darui, not willing to allow the target to walk away ran towards the woman with his blade drawn. Just before Darui could slice the woman in half, the blue haired woman suddenly created a wall of water behind her, forcing Darui to stop in his tracks.
The wall of water was six meters in height and moving at a high pressured state. Darui had no doubt that if he had ran through, the high pressured water would have seriously injured him; or it could have even killed him.
"Who is she…?" Darui muttered. Darui decided not to give chase, since if she was Hitori's team mate, then she was definitely powerful. And he was in no state to fight.
***With Naruto***
"Who was that?" Sasuke said, watching the woman escape with Hitori, "She almost looks like…"
"..Spiky Ryo…" Naruto finished, seeing the close resemblance.
Naruto had a bad feeling about this; he was not surprised if other Guardians entered the fray. This was a world that the so-called 'Masters' were keeping an eye on now that the Juubi was still in existence. One side wanted to preserve the world, the other destroy it. This was going to become much more complicated.
Sasuke in the meantime was asking Gai whether Itachi was alright. Sasuke had never once seen his older brother so beaten up; chakra exhaustion and his eyes bleeding was definitely a sign that Itachi had pushed his limit. This meant that the enemy was far stronger than what they actually thought.
"He's fine Sasuke," Gai assured, "Itachi is still full of youth, but he'll probably be hospitalized." Gai then turned to Naruto, "Good work Naruto! It seems that Kumo is now ready for some peace talks, there are some complications but we'll probably get the full report from Kumo about what's been happening. For now, we should head back to Konoha… and get a well-earned rest."
Naruto nodded, but then Sasuke asked another thing, "What do we do with my father…?"
Everyone was taken by surprise, forgetting that Fugaku had been caught in the battle earlier. Most of the Uchihas and Hyuuga branch members were killed, but there were a few survivors. Fugaku, as the instigator of the Uchiha betrayal six years ago would definitely be wanted as a traitor to Konoha.
"I don't know Sasuke-kun," Gai answered honestly, "But we'll take him back with us. The Konoha elders will decide what we should do with them."
"I see…"
After that, the Konoha forces began making their return while the other half retrieved the bodies of those who died to bury them in Konoha. All of them had given their best, serving Konoha and giving their lives all for the sake of their home village. This was the first time Naruto had witnessed a battle between other villages since in the original timeline, Naruto witnessed a war between a united shinobi forces against Uchiha Obito.
"We've still got a long way to go," Sasuke remarked, "So many strong opponents in this world… And you're already one of them, Naruto… But, you just watch; I'm going to become much stronger than you soon!"
"Yeah!" Sakura added in, "And I'm to ask Yamaguchi-san and Itachi-sensei to help me with Kenjutsu! Just you watch Naruto, we're going to catch up with you in no time."
Naruto stared at the two of them and then had a vision of the two in the original timeline; Sakura the fan-girl and Sasuke who was obsessed with revenge. And now, the two were so much different. Sakura was his girlfriend and was actually moving into kenjutsu.
Sasuke was almost like a second Itachi; his Sharingan was matured much earlier and his fighting stance was much more passive than how he was in the original timeline. It was to be expected however, with Sasuke learning from Itachi, it was not too much of a surprise that Sasuke adapted his older brother's moves.
"Come on guys," Naruto said, Sakura helping Naruto get up to his feet, "Let's head back to Konoha."
Sasuke and Sakura nodded with a smile on their faces.
***Kumogakure***
The Raikage had immediately ordered Mabui to send an order to Darui to call off the attack, unable to believe that he had been under the control of some idiot for more than nine years. It was because of him that Kumo had suffered and he intended to correct his mistakes.
Kakashi and Ryo were dismissed by the Raikage after a short thanks, promising to commend them in a later date for helping to rescue Kumo from the clutches of Tanaka. Eriko had joined them later on, but held no remorse for ending several Kumo lives during the process.
"We should head back to Konoha." Ryo suggested and both Kakashi and Eriko agreed.
"I've already sent Pakkun, my summon, to report to the Hokage about the situation over here." Kakashi said, "…Including your lack of concern for the lives Konoha had suffered."
It was clear what Kakashi meant. Ryo and Eriko had not warned the Hokage that Kumo would launch an invasion and instead selfishly thought that even though they could end the war, they cared not about the other lives that would be sacrificed. Eriko of course cared nothing, but Ryo already had an attachment here. He was not afraid of the punishments however, the Guardian was instead more fearful of the others reactions to his deeds.
"Kakashi…" Ryo pleaded but Kakashi was not hearing any of it.
"I understand why you did it Ryo," Kakashi said, "But I've had a friend who told me this… A person who abandons the mission is trash… but the one who forsake his comrades are lower than trash."
With that, Kakashi led the group and Eriko followed suit. Ryo hesitated for a moment but he followed them.
'I did it so that we could end the war with Kumo,' Ryo rationalized in his mind, 'And I have no regrets… I mean, the ends justify the means… right…?' Ryo had no answer to his own question.
***CHAPTER END***
A/N: Basically, this ends the arc of 'Flavor of War'. I hope you guys enjoyed this arc as I wanted to explore something else instead of the usual Land of wave arc. Zabuza will have his role played later on in the story but I feel that arc is already used too much. It's either:
Follows the canon with some differences
Haku joins Konoha
Zabuza and Haku joins Konoha
Or something along those lines... Thought its best to come up with something original then. ANyway, next chapter will resolve some issues and more explanation (perhaps) about the new blue-haired woman! You shall all find out in the next chapter!
FOr now, just follow, favorite and review this chapter/story :)