Chapter 25

Itachi's Return

"Talking"

"Thought"

"Inner/Demon Talking"

"Inner/Demon Thought"

"Move/Ability Talking"

"Move/Ability Thought"

Last Time: Last time on Konoha's. The Invasion begun, Konoha after the last battle six months ago Is now witnessing the horror once again, but this time Sound's goals had changed slightly. As revealed, Naruto seems to be Sound's highest Interest more than either Sasuke or Gaara, not only that but Ayato's roots seem to be revealing little by little to who he really Is. Meanwhile Tsunadae and Jiraya are having a reunion with their former teammate once again, this time on the Hokage Tower. Will Konoha successfully sop this Invasion with half the forces they have, or will this be the end of the Village Hidden In the Leaves?

(Story Begins)

(Location: Konoha, Specific Location: Hokage Tower's Rooftop)

There, on the Hokage's Tower stood the three Legendary Sannin. The three people who were next to becoming Hokage all united at one spot over at the exact same tower on the exact same spot that Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had once stood being honoured and praised for becoming the Hokage. That day, he had dreamed one day one of his students would stand at that exact same spot becoming the village's next Hokage.

But not like this…..

"Remember the day Sarutobi-Sensei became the Hokage of the Leaf Village?" Orochimaru Reminded. "Kukukukuuuuuuuu, oh that was a great day Indeed. Seeing our mentor becoming the village's next great Hokage was a sure sight to behold, giving us the Image what would happen to us If we became Hokage." Orochimaru Chuckled looking at his former teammates with eyes that held humour In them.

"Hokage? Me? Yeah, I think I would've passed on that one! I mean don't get me wrong becoming Hokage Is an honour, but I rather give It to Tsunadae herself! I mean she Is more deserving than I am!" Jiraya Joked looking at Tsunadae with crossed arms.

"Oh please! The only reason you allowed me to become Hokage was to throw all of that paper work on me Instead! I know If you got all of that paper work you would lose all of those precious times you would've peeped at naked women on the Hot Springs as usual!" Tsunadae Scolded.

"Look at us. It's been years since the day we graduated and became a team and we still argue like the old days. Not much has changed hasn't It?" Orochimaru Chuckled.

"Sensei, do you need help In this fight?" The Otokage Asked as he kneeled before Orochimaru.

"No, my student, I prefer to deal with them myself." Orochimaru Replied. "I Just need help for setting the barrier up. All I need you to do Is to prevent Kakashi Hatake from undoing It seeing how his sealing skills are that close to Jiraya's." Orochimaru Ordered.

"Hai." POOF! The Otokage disappeared In a small cloud of smoke.

"Here I thought that you were the Otokage and Kabuto was your student?" Jiraya Said changing his looks In his eyes to a serious expression.

"Me? Otokage? I couldn't even If I wanted to. I would've been a sore thumb If I had become the Otokage, so I decided my student would've become the Otokage Instead. And to answer your second question yes, Kabuto Is my current student, I had lots but none as promising as both Kabuto and the Otokage." Orochimaru Explained.

"If Sound Is truly a village you made what's the point In trying to take over Konoha? Seems like a waste of time to me!" Tsunadae Said.

"That Is where you're wrong Tsunadae. It's true with Sound Konoha has no use to me….." Orochimaru Said. Orochimaru gave a brief pause, before he gave them an evil Smirk that almost made their spines shivered, before Saying, "But you, I and Jiraya all know that Konoha Is much more than Just a regular village, It's even greater than an Elemental Village also.".

"What do you mean?" Tsunadae Asked, not liking where this Is going.

"The scroll of seals, the Nine-Tails, the Senju family sacred Jutsus, the great Clans, and now the Namikaze bloodline. All the most powerful and sacred Jutsus and bloodlines gathered at one place, something no other village besides Konoha had accomplished." Orochimaru Replied as he explained It to Tsunadae. "My plan Is far more beyond than Just taking over one village Tsunadae. With sacred Jutsus and bloodlines like these we could've created a new order of the Shinobi world." Orochimaru Explained.

"You mean to tell us you haven't given up on that goal yet?" Tsunadae Said.

"Of course, I haven't, and neither should the two of you. You remember what happened In those wars right? The horrors the Second and Third Shinobi Wars have brought? There are simply too many villages with their own Independence and cultures that brings war. How many people had died In those wars? Like maybe….." Orochimaru Said. "Dan and Nawaki." Orochimaru Said which snapped both Jiraya and Tsunadae awake. "Your deceased little brother and your deceased fiancé had died In the war, being known as collateral damage." Orochimaru Said.

"Both my brother… And Dan…. Died for what they believed In!" Tsunadae Said getting a little emotional.

"Really? Because If there weren't any Independent villages then war would've never broken out In the first place. If that had happened both Dan and Nawaki would sill be alive today. Who knows, maybe your little brother would be the Hokage today If It weren't for that war." Orochimaru Said.

"That's enough Orochimaru!" Jiraya Said In an aggressive tone.

"Why should I Jiraya? I mean It Is the truth overall that the war took away her brother." Orochimaru Sai.

"I said that's enough!" Jiraya Said again sounding more aggressive than previously.

"Both of them would still be alive today If It weren't for war and you would still have them If IT weren't for It either." Orochimaru Said.

"ENOUGH!" This time, when Jiraya growled angrily and attempted to say something to Orochimaru, Tsunadae Yelled at him with an Angry tone. "Yes, I lost my brother and Dan! Yes, I miss them! I miss them so bad I never stopped thinking about It!" Tsunadae Said. "I spent the last three decades of my life drinking and sorrowing myself over their loss! And I never moved a day forward and continued to grief over the past! I was lost but guess what I found someone who should've be worse than me and he Isn't!" Tsunadae Yelled. "That someone was forced to raise himself as an Independent child, that someone had to live a life without anyone's held and he never had the chance to witness happiness from a real family! That someone was stringer than me, a full-grown adult was weaker than a mere child, and that child had suffered more than I ever could In my life! That child Is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze!" Tsunadae Said.

"Tsunadae….." Jiraya Said In a whisper not changing the look In his eyes Just looking at Tsunadae.

"What a touching speech." Orochimaru Chuckled.

A large purple Chakra circle formed on the edge of the Hokage's Tower rooftop, all the way leading to the Otokage who had a scroll set down. He clapped his hands doing a series of hand signs Saying, "Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Lightening, Combining The Five Elements Together, Bring Forth The Seal Of All Seals, And Trap Those Inside Like A Fire On The Water, Come For The Elemental Seal!".

FWRRRRRRRRPPPPPP! Immediately the circle rose up towering the sky before closing off as a cylinder's end, towering over a kilometre high.

"That seal!" Jiraya Exclaimed.

"What Is It?" Tsunadae Said, before attempting to try and touch the barrier.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Jiraya Yelled, Tsunadae backed away. "That was the exact same thing Orochimaru used against Sarutobi-Sensei, he used that Jutsu to keep Sensei In." Jiraya Warned.

"TSUNADAE-SAMA!" Far from the tower Shizune Yelled out her mentor's name, before Jumping straight towards the barrier.

"DON'T!" Kakashi Yelled, Jumping straight towards Shizune and catching her In the preventing her from reaching the barrier, Kakashi landed on the rooftop with Shizune safely In his arms.

"But why?!" Shizune Asked.

"I know that barrier. It was used against the Third Hokage. I saw ANBU attempt to aid him by passing the barrier, they were killed and vaporized the second they touched It we cannot go through It." Kakahsi Replied.

"But we need to do something for Tsunadae-Sama!" Shizune Argued.

"The only one who I know who could help her now Is Jiraya-Sama. Where Is he?" Kakashi Said.

"He's with Tsunadae-Sama, he's sealed Inside with her." Shizune explained.

"Then I guess I got no choice, I'll have to free them myself." Kakashi Said standing up.

"You can use seals too?" Shizune Asked.

"Don't forget, I was a student of the Fourth Hokage, who learned most of his sealing techniques from Jiraya-Sama. Also, I did seal Sasuke's Curse Seal to make sure It wouldn't take a hold of him." Kakahsi Replied. "Though I have to admit, I have been a little rusty In terms of seals since I don't use them much but I am second best when It comes to Jiraya-Sama's seals so I'll try my best." Kakashi Explained.

"Please do." Shizune Begged. Kakahsi was about to Jump, but for some strange reason he didn't and Instead stood straight expecting somebody. "What's wrong?" Shizune Said In concern.

"We might have some company. I would keep my guard up If I were you." Kakashi Suggested.

"What…." Shizune Said confusingly.

"Kakashi Hatake, and Shizune the apprentice of Tsunadae Senju. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you." Shizune turned her head towards the direction where Kakahsi was looking at and saw no one else but the Otokage himself standing on a rooftop higher level than they were on.

"O-Otokage-Sama?!" Shizune Exclaimed.

"You can drop the Sama on his name Shizune, this man Is no ally to us are you Otokage?" Kakashi Said In an Interrogating tone.

"To be honest with you I prefer the Sama at the end of my title with only my Sensei being the exception to that name." The Otokage Said In disappointment. "But considering we are Invading Konoha once again, I wouldn't expect anything less." The Otokage Said.

"Why are you doing this?!" Shizune Demanded.

"I can answer that question, but I rather kill you Instead." The Otokage Replied with his arms crossed. "Tell me Hatake, how well do you sleep at night?" The Otokage Asked.

"Good, why?" Kakashi Replied.

"Because when I fall asleep, I couldn't help but worry about the outside. Anytime, any when, and anywhere, an enemy village or a rogue group could attack you or your people when your guard Is lowered." The Otokage Explained. "Sure, a simple answer could be to never lower your guard, but everyone has their limits, even In terms of time. I am constantly filled with fear, fear that one day Sound could be attacked by enemy Shinobi or worse." The Otokage Continued. "Even If you were to repel an attack that doesn't mean there wouldn't be any loss of life." The Otokage Finished. "Doesn't that fear go In your head Kakashi Hatake." The Otokage Said.

"That fear goes In many others head, but that doesn't mean we attack an ally for that particular reason do we?" Kakahsi Argued. "Is this the true reason you're attacking Konoha, because of fear?" Kakashi Asked.

"And power." The Otokage Replied. "But now the time for talk has ended, It Is now time for battle. I couldn't help but hear what you've said about being second best to Jiraya's sealing techniques, which means there's chance you could undo the seal Inside but I rather you not to do that. My mentor, your Toad Sage, and your Hokage are having a reunion In there. There's only two ways to break he seal, one way Is to remove the seal Orochimaru-Sensei placed on himself, and the second Is to wait It out which would take Twenty-Four hours exactly until that happens." The Otokage Explained.

"I would be careful If I were you. I may not be a candidate for the title, and I never had any desire to seek It, but my strength Is that close to that of the Hokage's. In other words, I am close to Kage level." Kakashi Confessed.

"Really, then I t will be Interesting going against the son of the White Fang." With those words Said the Otokage cracked his knuckles and raised his Chakra high so those who were a hundred meters away could feel It. "Just remember Hatake, you asked for this." The Otokage Said, before he, Kakashi and Shizune prepared for battle.

(In The Arena)

SLASH! TWINK! CLASH! CLASH! SWAT! The Jounins were fighting against these figures one by one, the battle so far had lasted for ten minutes.

"Ayato, hurry and get on my shoulder we need to leave now!" Frosz Said, before Ayato complied laying his body over his other shoulder thereby carrying both Naruto and Ayato away Jumping away from the village, from the Arena.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Sakura Yelled.

"K-Kiba! Ehhhhh! I need you and Sakura to go for Naruto and retrieve him!" Kurenai Ordered.

"Shikamaru! You go with them as well, bring whatever team you can and leave Immediately! We'll stay here and clean things up!" Asuma Ordered.

"Yes Asuma-Sensei." Shikamaru Said.

"ITATCHI!" Shikamaru heard Yelling and turned his head to the spectator's direction looking at a tall black-haired man who had Just pinned Hinata down on the ground, and the person who Yelled this man's name was Sasuke In rage.

"If you want to save her Sasuke, then you'll have to face me, but not here too much Interference, you'll have to face me In a location further than this, follow me." With that Said, Itachi knocked Hinata out carrying her over his shoulder and Jumping away on the rooftops following Frosz.

"HINATA! DAMN IT GIVE HER BACK! GIVE MY TEAMMATE BACK RIGHT NOW!" Kiba Yelled In anger.

"ARFFF!" Akamaru Barked In agreement.

"HINATA-SAMA!" Neji Yelled.

"Guys!" They turned their attention to Shikamaru "We need to go after both of them, I need Kiba and Akamaru, I will also need everyone, Lee, Tenten, Choji, Shino, everyone! We will save both Hinata and Naruto!" Shikamaru Told.

"Sasuke did you know that guy from somewhere?" Choji Asked.

"Yes, he's my brother." Sasuke Replied.

"Really….. WHAT!" Choji Exclaimed.

"I can tell the details another time but for now we need to save them both." Sasuke Said.

"SHIKAMARU!" Everyone's attention turned to Ino who was rushing towards them In fear. "We need to warn the Hokage! Sound Is planning on an Invasion!" Ino Informed frantically.

"I'm afraid you're too late Ino. The Invasion already begun." Shikamaru Informed.

"What!" Ino Exclaimed.

"There's no time for that now! Naruto has been kidnapped, and Hinata fell to the same thing too! I have no Idea what Sasuke's brother want with her, but we do know why they want Naruto." Shikamaru Informed, everyone turned to confusion.

"What are you talking about Shikamaru?" Neji Asked.

"I'll explain on the way, right now we need to get to those two before It's too late." Shikamaru Replied. "Neji, Kiba, Akamaru, you two can pick up on their Chakra signatures, right?" Shikamaru Asked.

"Yes." They Replied.

"Arff!" Akamaru Barked.

"Sakura are you ready?" Shikamaru Asked.

"Yes." Sakura Replied with determination.

"Sasuke?" Shikamaru Asked.

"No question about It." Sasuke Replied.

"Then It's settled, we leave now!" With that Said, the Genin from Teams Eight, Seven, Gai, and Ten all left Immediately Jumping on the rooftop of the stadium before pursuing their friends and lovers.

(Location: Outside The Stadium)

BOOM! There, on the wall of the stadium from the outside had blown off, an explosion caused by no one other than Genji himself.

"Damn, nimble woman, she might be a lot harder to kill than I thought." Genji Said. "That explosion was huge, maybe I overdid It a little?" Genji Said to himself looking at his blade. But his eyes wide open when he saw a reflection of Anko herself on his blade behind him, now holding a Kunai to his throat.

"Surrender?" Anko Said with a cocky smile.

"Never count your Kunais before they are finished being made." Genji Said, before Anko's eyes widened In realisation. She Jumped back, as Genji's back suddenly popped with spikes behind him reaching a meter away.

"What?!" Anko Exclaimed before landing on her feet.

"Oh great, now my shirt I all torn apart!" Genji Groaned with annoyance, before throwing his dark covering shirt away. "My mask Is gone too, oh well I don't need It anyway." Genji Said, before throwing It away.

Anko now for the first time had a clear look at Genji's true body. Genji was tall muscular and had tanned skin. He had multiple scars all over his body, Injuries and battle scars from war and missions. He had dark hair and red eyes with no pupils.

"So, this Is the real true you Isn't It?" Anko Asked.

"Yes, and what you Just witnessed Is my special technique. The Thousand Spears Of Death, my body thanks to Orochimaru's experiments have now officially become a weapon to use as defence." Genji Replied.

"So, In other words If I get close to you one more time then I'll be sliced, or worse I'll be punched with so many holes no one will recognize me at all." Anko Said. "When I felt all that Chakra moving on your back, I had to get away." Anko Explained.

"Clever girl." Genji Said. "You know, I can't tell you how many victims these spikes have claimed. But I can tell you that you are Indeed the only person to ever had gotten away with not only their life but limbs back as well." Genji Said.

"I'm flattered." Anko Said.

"Indeed, you should be, but know this, my spikes not only allow me to be used as a defensive manoeuvre but an offensive one as well." Genji Said.

"Why don't you show me then huh?" Anko Said with a smug look on her face.

"Perhaps another time, at the moment I don't see the necessity to use such a move against you. You see, It's very painful when I use these spikes, so I rather not. I also only use them when I need to as a last resort but testing your Chakra level, I don't think I need much to go against the likes of you." Genji Said.

"As far as I remember you weren't a force to be reckoned with either back at the forest." Anko Reminded.

"That was because I was under orders to keep a low profile, so I wasn't allowed to go all out back then so I had to pull my punches not to get noticed too much. But I can guarantee you that this time Is different, you see with the Invasion up I can now go all out and fight as much as my heart content to do so." Genji Said to Anko.

Anko didn't want to admit It but somewhere along the line Genji was telling the truth.

(Location: Forest At The Outskirts Of Konoha)

In a few minutes later, the team of Genins led by Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuga were on route to save both Hinata and Naruto from the clutches of Sound and Itachi. But they had no Idea of the oncoming obstacle that was on route to them until now….

"STOP!" Kiba Yelled, and the Genins all landed safely on a branch on a tree looking at the Inuzuka with confused expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong Kiba?" Tenten Asked.

"I smell Naruto's scent coming from that direction." Kiba Replied pointing his head at the route they were takin before, but It was slightly to the right of that direction.

"Then let's go and save Naruto-Kun!" Lee Cheered.

"Hang on a minute!" Kiba Said, before he took a few sniffs from his nose. "But Hinata's scent Is going the complete opposite direction." Kiba Explained, pointing his head a little to the left.

"Obviously they must be splitting them up. Maybe a tactic that could make us divide our numbers, so we have less strength to fight the enemy when we encounter them." Shikamaru Explained.

"We're not prepared for anything like them at all! This guy, the one with the glasses… I sensed his power, he's really strong only our Sensei could have the strength to go against someone like him." Ino Said.

"I know that Ino, I know." Shikamaru Said.

"And If we split our group up, we'll have less power dealing with either one of them." Shino Said.

"Yeah, and that's not the worse bit. If we prioritise either Hinata or Naruto Is goanna get hurt or worse killed." Shikamaru Said.

"Shikamaru, you Said something about their plot, a plan they have against Konoha, what was It?" Neji Asked.

"I can only theorise the plan but right now Isn't the time I'll explain on the way." Shikamaru Replied. "I think we should split up." Shikamaru Said.

"WHAT!" Ino Yelled. "ARE YOU CRAZY! WE'RE GOANNA NEED AS MUCH STRENGTH AS POSSIBLE OR ELSE-!" Ino Yelled before she was cut off by Shikamaru.

"Ino stop!" Shikamaru Called out. "I know this Is a risky move! But remember, our Sensei are the Jounin Elite, I don't think they would've sent us to go on a mission like this by ourselves! I think Asuma-Sensei trusted us with such a mission so we could buy them time." Shikamaru Said, now calming down. "Remember, our Senseis In the previous Invasion took down squads of Shinobi by themselves. I saw Asuma-Sensei did It single headedly without any effort, I think we're Just sent so we could buy as much time as possible. And I don't think I am the only one who has figured Sounds plan either, Asuma-Sensei looked like he knew their plan also." Shikamaru Said. "And we're not alone, we have Sands help as well." Shikamaru Said.

"Are you listening to yourself Shikamaru! Have you forgotten about what those damn bastards did to us last time! They may have been tricked that Orochimaru was their Kazekage but that's no excuse for what they did to Konoha! Or what they did to the Third Hokage!" Kiba Said In anger.

"Arff!" Akamaru Barked In agreement.

"I have to agree with Kiba, Shikamaru! How do we know Sand can be trusted! I know they helped us when Naruto tried to leave but how do we know that wasn't a plot to get our trust?! How?!" Tenten Argued.

Shikamaru could only Smirk, knowing what he was doing. "Because I have trust, I know we can trust them." Shikamaru Said, before his Smirk grew. "So, trust me." Shikamaru Said.

"Naruto-Kun….." Sakura Said with her eyes narrowed on the ground In sadness and worry.

"Sakura…" Ino Said, looking at her friend with sad eyes.

"Hinata-Chan… Damn It I should've saved her." Sasuke Said In anger towards himself.

"Sasuke…" Neji Said, looking at Sasuke with sad eyes.

(Location: Hokage's Tower Rooftop)

"ARGGGGGH!" Jiraya Coughed a large amount of blood from his mouth from the Injuries he had sustained from Orochimaru. "H-How!" Jiraya Grunted, kneeling on the ground holding his gut In pain.

"This Is Impossible!" Tsunadae Said, holding her right arm In pain with her Jacket now torn off by Orochimaru, looking at her former teammate with eyes of battle. "You may now know how to use your arms without Chakra…" Tsunadae Panted. "But that doesn't mean you should be able to use Ninjutsu again without the Chakra In your arms does It!" Tsunadae Said, panting more.

"Kukukukukuku." Orochimaru Chuckled. "Even with the lose of Ninjutsu In my arms I was still able to push both you and Jiraya to your limits." Orochimaru Reminded the time when all three first met after years of silence when he had pushed them to the brink.

"Back then….. Huuuu… Tsunadae tainted my sake with sleeping drugs, so I was not able to go full power against you at the time….. Also….. Tsunadae… Tsunadae had….." Jiraya Panted In pain.

"I had been… Training for the past… Few months since then….. So, I'm now… Back…. To the strength….. I was… Be-… Before I left the… The… The village." Tsunadae Finished for Jiraya In between pants as well.

"Yet the two of you can barley lay a hand on me. How Ironic." Orochimaru Said, before he did a series of hand sign, before releasing his next attack. "Fire Style: Fire Beam Jutsu." With that Said, Orochimaru held out a palm towards both the Sannins before releasing what appeared to be a beam of fire heading straight towards them.

Unable to move or react In time, the two Sannins closed their eyes and prepared for themselves for the fiery flaming pain that would've cam to them…..

But It didn't…..

Instead, the two Sannins with their eyes closed heard the sounds of sands moving around them. They opened their eyes to see It was a sand like dome protecting them from the flames before It finally went out. Once the flames were gone the sand had dissolved then moving on It's own backwards, towards one person who could've form that sand barrier In the first place.

It was no one other than the one and only person who knew how to control sand….

Gaara, the new Kazekage had arrived on battle.

"Orochimaru, we finally meet." Gaara Said, with his arms crossed as his sands floated above his head.

Author's Note: DONE! Two chapters In one week.

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter like always.

If you're Interested In the story, then you might be Interested In these In my account.

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These are the stories I have to offer to you.

I hope you enjoyed.

If there are any plot holes, misconceptions, or terrible phrases please write a review for me so I can fix It.

DON'T FORGET TO READ AND REVIEW.

Thanks dudes 😊.