26
-Into the Light-
Sunagakure
The foreign agents were secretly stowed away, locked within their rune-protected hotel since the bloody conflict of their top-secret infiltration. A kunoichi in a boar mask knelt in the center of the room, veins bulging around her pale eyes as sweat dribbled down her temple, maintaining her impeccable surveillance technique for excruciating hours since the suspicious twins investigated them. The prickly sting of fatigue had long since crept behind her vision.
Sasuke attempted to wake his recovering companion immediately after the Suna nin departed. However, despite his relative stability, Naruto's body was refusing to react to external stimuli as it worked with the Kyuubi's chakra to fully sow the shinobi's tissues. Shaking him, breaking aroma capsules under his nose, dumping cold water on him; nothing could rise the jinchuuriki from his slumber.
"Sasoriza," the Hyuga summoned professionally, remaining still in her place on the dark green carpet. She spoke again as the man crouched at her side, "Suna's shinobi are behaving differently. I do not see any defensive qualities of their conduct."
"Are they preparing for an attack on us?" the captain inquired, half expecting her to say yes.
"It cannot be, their forces have collected on the north side of the village. They seem to be… Mobilizing? It seems that half of their military is gone based on the numbers we recovered. I do not like it," she told him quietly. The twins had visited them just before sunset, having apparently been searching the entire village throughout the day in a calm, "routine" manner as to arouse the least suspicion. Now the sky blackened, and the shadows grew thick. Yagiza knew it was suicide to stay, but the idea of escape forced her to face what grim consequences may lay. She turned, raising her voice toward codenamed Borei, "Time to leave."
Without hesitation, Sasuke unfolded his arms and reached for Naruto with the help of Sasoriza. Gently placing him over the viper's shoulders, Yagiza gathered her medical equipment and checked on his condition.
"Nearly a day since infliction… Uzumaki chakra… hmm, Kyuubi's chakra too…" Yagiza muttered in spoken thought. She scanned his physique and tracked his vitals over two minutes, firmly pressing her healing aura into him as she tried to rouse him for the fifth time. With a low, commanding tone, she spoke in his ear, "Naruto. If you can hear me, wake up. We are not safe. We need to retreat from Sunagakure."
No response. The accompanying silence cast a bleak tone among the group, and the stoic wolf turned away. He reached the front door and commenced a small flurry of soft hand signs before using a special ninjutsu to eliminate any organic evidence. There was a dull flash throughout the room before the kunoichi joined him, ensuring they reacquired every parcel of equipment they brought. No trace, no ties.
Sasuke looked away from the duo and over his shoulder, eyeing his comatose comrade. The pale Uchiha shook his head with a curse, donning his porcelain with a swift motion.
He stared through the holes in his reptilian disguise and into the thick, knitted carpet as the color evoked his memory. Years ago, during one of their missions as chunin, Team 7 ambitiously sought to capture an assassin who was known as an unstoppable, unchallenged threat to the nations and their figureheads; so long as one had the money for the kill. They went without their jonin and failed the mission, mainly a result of Sasuke's own overconfidence.
Their original trap for the outlaw was a bust, causing the situation to go awry, escalating the stakes as they were forced into direct combat with someone said to be an S-ranked opponent. Naruto had not really been himself during that time and was hindered by his inner demon and the restrictions it brought while Sasuke lost to his pride born of familial arrogance.
Hinata was standing as lookout for the obvious reasons, on guard for the rumored "gang" their target supposedly entertained while the boys waited for their prey. Unfortunately sensed by the criminal's keen detection, the two were quickly forced to defend themselves.
The young Uchiha got ahead of himself, arguing with his comrade about what to do. This gave the ronin his chance to incapacitate the Uzumaki, feinting his death. Once Naruto was slashed across his back and lay unmoving, Sasuke chased their target in a tunnel vision of arrogant rage. The assassin led him away, and he never returned to his team. In the process, he chased the enemy into a trap of their own, leaving Hinata alone against the gang while Naruto's life fell into true danger as he continued to bleed out.
Alone when she was confronted by the criminal's posse, the dozen or so were strong and opted to try and kill Hinata after questioning her. Forced into lethal battle, she was not to blame for the shock that dazed her as she quadrupled her total lifetime kills holding them at bay.
Borei remembered pieces of his fight, then nothing. He recalled floating in a mass of tranquil warmth. Then, still one of his most profound and vivid memories, the Uchiha miraculously opened his foggy black eyes to see low shades of green. He winced at the rapid wind as he adjusted to consciousness, staring through slits at the leafy canopy. Then he looked up and saw the tan, whiskered face of Naruto who carried him carefully with their teammate on his back. The blonde noticed Sasuke after a few moments, merely smiling in a manner of impossible relief and thanks, despite breathing in heavy rasps. It may have been the rays of a falling sun, but he could have sworn tears of joy rolled down those worried whiskered cheeks.
"Borei."
"Hm," Sasuke replied, cocking his head as he returned to the present.
"Stay between Yagiza and I, we will protect you. We are leaving this village."
He nodded sternly, "Yes sir."
The trio vanished from the hotel with their precious cargo. Suna would eventually come to realize they were fooled and did in fact have the invaders right in the palms of their hands.
But the superiority of the Leaf Anbu proved victorious. At least for the time being as they slunk through the shadows at a painstakingly slow pace, only moving as Yagiza directed. The dutiful kunoichi strained against excruciating visual exhaustion as she guided them east and gradually north. For several hours the jonin navigated the cramped shadows, narrowly avoiding detection. The sheer stress of the stakes at hand chipped at their stamina, let alone the overuse of Yagiza's byakugan.
At last, to the incredible relief of the squad, they reached the final hurdle. Sunagakure's great wall.
Sasoriza took the lead from here, tunneling below the entirety of the stone bulwark, leading his unit underground. Emerging from the sand some sixty meters outside Suna's perimeter, Konoha's elites celebrated with a sigh before their kunoichi put a hand to her temple and collapsed, caught gently by the wolf as she fell unconscious from depleted chakra and extreme exhaustion. Sasoriza hefted his partner in his arms, continuing their sprint through the nocturnal desert beneath a great round moon.
Unbeknownst to the infiltrators however, two silhouettes wreathed in white wrappings watched silently from their perch atop the wall. Unmoving beneath their custom fuinjutsu apparel, the duo had caught the foreigner's scent toward the end of their lithe departure, despite their caution. Allowing the squad to escape, both Spec. Ops., tall and short, fell back into the village with malign grace.
Each Uchiha carried their companion through the night as they put distance between them and the many concealing sand dunes. Suna's menacing walls soon faded below the horizon as the terrain eventually shifted in a gradual manner, slowly growing in shades of blackened greens as plant life became abundant and sand turned to soil.
Once they were safely hidden amongst the girthy oaks south of their homeland, Sasoriza cleared an area for rest atop the trees. Laying their sleeping comrades on the huge branch, Sasuke made sure the two were comfortable and stable while his captain confirmed their geological position and fully secured the immediate area.
"We made good distance. We are still leagues south of home, however." He spoke quietly, allowing a small silence to accrue as he pondered. "We should rest here. We will try to wake them when it is time to leave."
The viper's fierce visage looked up, mildly surprised they weren't going to continue sprinting to the village. The idea of a break set him at ease, which may have been the goal. The mysterious captain appeared to reflect this.
"See if you can sleep, I will keep watch. Make sure you eat." The wolf took his place on Yagiza's right, crossing his legs as he removed a pouch from his lower back and raised his mask, so he too could nourish himself.
"Yes, taichou," codenamed Borei answered, eyeing his distant relative. Sasuke took his seat on Naruto's left, putting the resting shinobi between him and their captain. Acquiring his military-grade rations, the young soldier nibbled his unappealing food bar as he studied the Anbu across from him.
He had not even considered it, but this was the first time he was able to see Sasoriza's face. Fascinated, he looked closely at his fellow clansman.
To Sasuke's surprise, his eyes were blue, unlike his academy friend and ultimately unlike the rest of the Uchiha bloodline. They were deep and layered with whispers of aqua and a peculiar hint of gold toward the centers. He had sturdy features with significant eyebrows and lips, currently surrounded by the short black prickles of a full beard since they had not had time to tend to personal appearances.
He retained a certain weight to his visage, like he had been carrying more than a lifetimes' worth of sorrow or regret. Sasuke did not notice the aching feeling it gave him until he relaxed his grip on the nutrition bar. He wanted to talk to the man in an attempt to connect with him, a habit formed from years of friendship with a certain jinchuuriki. But he simply couldn't prompt himself to say anything while he observed the stoic Special Operations shinobi.
It frustrated him, being alienated from a member of his own heritage. That thought reminded him of the cultists, and he was angered further. He couldn't wait to put those cult bastards down for dragging his clan's name through the mud.
This stress caught Sasoriza's attention, much to Sasuke's silent chagrin. 'Kh, damn it…'
Immediately the man became tense and looked about, apparently searching for some sort of threat. He turned back at the maskless young man.
"What is it?" he asked, restless.
"Oh, nothing." Sasuke suddenly felt small and awkward, a rare occurrence of which he despised. "I just- hadn't seen your face before."
The man regarded him curiously, blinking once. "I suppose you are right."
The spiky haired prodigy perked up, seeing an opening. "You have blue eyes."
"I do." Sasoriza appeared to almost fold in on himself.
Sasuke flinched internally, "I just-"
"I know. I am not a pure blood." There was that sensation of hidden, dulled anguish that made him ache. Sasuke was forced to learn to pick up on those hints as Hinata displayed them in her shy genin youth. Their third member also began to develop those same tendencies once he overtook the burden of the hateful Nine-Tails. He struggled in the beginning to subdue the beast and its spiteful agenda. Sasoriza's eyes softened faintly, resting in quiet contemplation, "…My mother's eyes were blue. Very blue. Like a mountain lake under clear skies."
The Uzumaki's prone body stiffened briefly as his eyebrows raised in sleepy question. Pulling the men from their private dialogue, they watched him with suspense. 'Did he…?'
Through an obvious strain of will, Naruto's wounded body seemed to creek as his heavy eyelids opened, shifting his weight in a weak movement. Both raven-haired sentinels appeared to relax in released anxiety as the jonin finally came to. Sasuke huffed to himself exasperatedly, eyeing downward at his dreary comrade, "Welcome back, loser."
"Hm…?" the blonde finally breathed aloud, blinking dazedly, "Sasukeul?"
Naruto locked eyes with the watchful jonin, sharing a moment of silence as his cheeks lifted in a small grin.
For Sasoriza however, the passage of time gnawed at his better judgement. The Anbu's body language was seemingly comfortable as he stepped to the Uzumaki, "Good, you're finally back. Naruto. You are on a mission in Sunagakure with me, Sasoriza, as well as Yagiza and your friend Sasuke. You were injured on-mission. Do you remember this?"
His dreary gaze closed before slowly opening. They remained so as he seemed to drift on the edge of consciousness. He murmured lowly, "Yes, Sasoriza-sama."
"Excellent. Now, we need to return to Konoha as fast as possible, time is of the essence. Do you think you can show me that legendary teleportation I have heard so much about?"
A smoke bomb appeared to erupt between the squad in a sudden quake of noise. The unexpected burst caused both Uchiha to engage in agile stances, ready to defend their vulnerable comrades against whatever threat had arrived.
A frightened, fragile green toad was nearly cut in half as he appeared to the conscious jinchuuriki, finally permitted to appear now that he was awake. Sasuke was forced to knock his airborne kunai in another direction with a quicker, follow-up shuriken as the Anbu captain stopped his blade short of friendly fire. The swift summon dodged, shouting as he dashed onto the sage's abdomen.
"He's with me, taichou," Naruto called out weakly, straining against the exhausting soreness under his healing wounds. The toad's landing on his lower belly did not feel nice either.
During this, the commotion had more than fully awoken Yagiza as she held her head, standing upright against a terrible spine splitting migraine to assess the supposedly dangerous situation. She resigned to a sitting position once current danger was omitted.
Sasoriza sighed quietly beneath his redlined mask, sheathing his katana as the toad caught its breath, sputtering incoherent phrases and questions; together which sank a lead ball in the jonin's gut as he attempted to piece the startling language together. "Slow down."
His deep voice dropped into deadly seriousness, "What are you saying? What happened to Hokage-sama?"
This and the summon's frantic, terrified nature caused Naruto to perk up, wincing down at him through one eye, "What's wrong with dad, Gamagosu…?"
"Naruto-sama! K-Konoha!" the green youngling stammered urgently, shaking his smooth head in disbelief, "Konoha is under attack! A giant monster appeared in the village- Minato-sama sent me to warn you- y-you're in danger!"
Yagiza leaned forward, exchanging a lethal glance with her partner. "What monster?"
"The Ichibi has appeared in the village!" Gamagosu cried out in despair. "The bijuu of the Sand is destroying Konoha!"
Konoha; Hinata
Two fingers fell yet another foreign shinobi as Hinata gracefully danced through the invasion with her younger sister Hanabi as they challenged dense groups of the enemy.
Previously caught in the blast of one of Shukaku's landings, Hinata worried sickly for Yume, whom she was on rotation for visiting to upkeep her morale.
Now the half-collapsed building burned in the distance as altered shinobi charged through the streets with heightened killing intent. It practically dripped from the rogue horde as the Hyuga girls attempted to keep their strikes nonlethal.
A virtuous goal that was initially nigh impossible as the surprise of an ambush under the appearance of a bijuu electrocuted the nerves of Konoha's military forces. Thankfully, the strength of the village had been underestimated as all ninja from genin to jonin participated in the defense of their homes.
"What are they?!" Hanabi questioned in frustration through the first break in combat since the start of the raid. Chopping a woman with chitinous features in the space between her protective plates, the wretch dropped unconscious into the gutter.
"They must be followers of the Cult- we saw similar looking people on our mission," Hinata shouted, palms ablaze in azulene lionheads. "Although those people were in poor condition… Maybe those were the rejects!"
There was a sudden rumble in the distance as the Ichibi got to its feet, followed by a reveling cry in the glory of its kill of the Akimichi clan leader. The heiress felt sick.
"Was that really-"
Hinata nodded in solemn grief as she sprinted in the bijuu's direction. Hanabi followed quickly, activating her byakugan to see for herself. "Akimichi Choza… Poor Choji."
A great white canine barreled past the kunoichi, ridden by its snarling counterpart, Kiba as they hunted a couple of the strangely marked trespassers who seemed to radiate power. Their fearful faces did not, however, as Akamaru sank its great teeth into the upper body of one while its human leapt off, sinking his own claws into the back of his prey.
The girls stopped short, approaching the frenzied duo. Hinata called to the Inuzuka, as he had obviously fallen into his animalistic bloodlust, "Kiba…"
"Kiba!"
The man-beast whipped around aggressively. His sharp features softened as he recognized his classmate, "What is it, Hinata?! Can't you see I've got a lot of hunting to do?"
She wanted to be delicate, but there was no time. Thankfully she had her sister, "The Ichibi just killed Choji's father…"
"Have you seen Choji? Or the other two?" Hinata watched as the jonin's doglike features softened more with sadness. He shut his eyes and whipped the blood from his claws as his visage bent into an angry scowl once more.
"No… But I'll keep on the lookout for the big guy." Kiba tilted his head, sniffing the air with a shake of his head. "I'll find him, just go wherever you were going. I'll find him and make sure he's okay. C'mon- Akamaru!"
A great bark clapped in return as the behemoth galloped off, picking up its companion as it passed.
As the Inuzuka departed, the Hyuga carried on toward their objective; home. They needed to make sure their family was safe, although they had faith in Neji and the others.
Remains of Konoha's Hospital
"Yuumeeee!" Unzari boomed in dreadful worry, repeatedly yelling her name as he dug through the crumbled medical wing on which she had been recovering. "Yume! Yumeee!"
'Oh no… No, no, no, no, no…' The terrified man trembled with presupposed grief as he scoured the piles of concrete, mangled beds, and smashed life support systems; absentmindedly recovering the limp bodies of those yet to be identified. Collecting the corpses with gentle hands, he softly set them aside in respectful rows as he continued his melancholy quest with streams falling down his face. "Hh-hh- Yume!"
"Yume? Yume!" the shaky, sing-song voice of the Ryu called as she used her acute sense of smell to help search for her lost ally. After a few minutes her heart skipped a beat as the unmistakable, metallic taste of the Uchiha's scent hit her over the face like a brick. Following the aerial traces of blood, Kiken called her sorrowful companion, "Unzari! Unzari, I got something; this way!"
Watching as his warped face lifted and brightened in restricted optimism, the two of them raced down into the smoking rubble, aggressively tossing chunks of steel supported cement aside with desperate fervor. Then Kiken stopped, and Unzari stopped. However, Yume was nowhere in sight.
Instead, at the kunoichi's feet was a dark puddle of nearly dry blood. Some of it trailed down into the flaming, collapsed section below, filling Kiken's senses with the deathly scent of that burnt body fluid, paralyzing her.
"…What? Kiken, what? Where is she?" Unzari questioned, refusing to accept the gore as the end of the trail, unconsciously choosing to ignore its existence entirely. "Where's Yume?"
The delicate woman shook her head as her own childhood trauma clouded her mind. Her face remained worried and her lip quivered somewhat every couple of seconds before she could formulate a weak sentence, shaking her head, "I don't know."
Unzari stepped back in denial, unwilling to submit to the situation. He was tearing at the seams with a fear for his childhood companion, some of his only family; not to mention the fate of their village. A fate which was highly questionable as mountainous rumbles reverberated through the earth and artificial structures due to the bijuu outside. He clawed at his hair, running his hands down his dusty, dampened face as he stumbled away dejectedly.
"Rrrrrrraaahhh!" the livid warrior bellowed in anguish, viciously pulverizing a useless heap of support beam as he continued to refuse the idea. "No, no! No!"
The woeful cry echoed throughout the ruined halls of the ward, resonating with the horrendous, heartbreaking scene. Death clung to the air, but that did not forbid the presence of good. Of hope.
After many long, arduous moments in the smoky dark there was a sound in the distance. Not noticed at first, it continued in cycles, gaining import with every passing repetition. Then, minutely, two pointed ears perked up.
"Wait- what was that…?" Kiken asked in a calm, surreal voice as she lifted her hands out thoughtfully in suspense. Her violet-eyed counterpart began to question her before she cut him off, "Shutup! Listen!"
There was a sound that the ice user couldn't hear. That was, until it got louder, closer. He soon realized it to be a voice over many voices that continued to call out in search. Then Unzari made out a hopeful, friendly inquiry that stood out against the rest.
"…?! …Unzari?! Unzaariii!" The questioning shout was no doubt a response to the wrathful roar emitted moments prior. A second wind brought the young jonin out of their stupor as they responded automatically with disbelieving gasps. The person responded hopefully, "Unzarii?!"
"Ino? Ino!" the man replied gratefully, leaping out through the rubble to locate the approaching Yamanaka.
"Oh- Unzari! This way!" the platinum blonde called hopefully, elated at his acknowledging response. Her heart had sunk at the terrible sound he made.
Shouldering through a wall, the powder covered man sprinted forward before arriving below the caved-in roof, looking upward at Ino, a dreamlike sight that eased his nerves. Leaping to her side, he looked her over and around through the smoky air, but he did not see his missing teammate. The realization began to visibly overtake his features in an indirect snarl before she snapped on him, shaking her head and waving her hands consolingly as she grabbed his arm and pulled. "Yume's alive! We have her; she's alive!"
Hyuga Estate
Neji ducked the blunt steel of nunchaku as he kicked aside a rapid sickle sword. After landing three successive tenketsu strikes on the woman with two pairs of spiny wings, a quick heavenly rotation gave him room enough to reorient himself as he sensed a friendly incoming. Other battles could be heard about the perimeter of the clan's domain as he clashed with the strange shinobi, remarking a series of congruencies that he would have to bookmark for later reflection.
Perhaps at a time when he wasn't caught between four enhanced ninja of an unknown caliber. Despite his clear superiority over the wicked group, the jonin was unable to do much more than sustain his own survival while blocking any further entry into the compound.
The intrusive squad spat hateful comments at him about the Hyuga and their gifts, proclaiming that it was selfish to keep their secrets and their eyes all to themselves.
Hiashi finally appeared in his area of the well-trimmed outer gardens, eyes wide as he came into line of sight with the battling prodigy and shouted over the commotion, "Where are Hinata and Hanabi?!"
"They left to defend the village," Neji informed coolly, breaking out of a taijutsu lock before using a couple fingers to slice through some deadly substance one of the creatures shot at him, bending around the sickle and over the spinning nunchaku after that.
"You are supposed to look after them!" the aging man shouted in stern anger, making no motion to help as the jonin flashed with strict form in aggravatingly impressive blurs of precise strikes and deflections.
Neji looked him dead between their transfixed white-eyed gaze with a look of blank serenity. His jaded eyes asked the question he was too patient to say aloud, 'They're your daughters. Aren't you?'
Turning away, the heiress' father left without a word and sprinted in the direction of the Ichibi, leaving the branch member to defend their home.
Ichibi
Biting his thumb bloody, Jiraiya slammed his hand onto the ground and summoned two more enormous toads. Appearing on top of the Ichibi, the new warriors were Gamahiro and Gamaken. 'Heh, good idea Minato. We'll have this situation under control in no time.'
Gamaken was the magenta-colored toad wearing a black kimono, boasting many curved, black markings on his body and face with horns protruding from his head just above his eyebrows. He carried a bowl-like shield and a y-shaped sasumata as he plunged the weapon into Shukaku to keep him pinned. To Gamaken's left was his equally massive cohort Gamahiro, an aquamarine-skinned toad with a darker swath running from his forehead and over his backside with separate, grey markings around his yellow eyes. The agile defender wore an orange sash around his waist where the sheaths of two colossal katana could be seen crossed on his back as he stabbed both weapons into the bijuu's ribs, producing a piercing wail of pain from its gritty maw.
"Oi, listen up!" the sannin's booming command caught the toad trio's attention as he appeared before them. He broke a cultist's neck with a simple chop before he came closer and continued, "Take this piece of shit out of the village! Try not to kill it, if you can; we don't want the Ichibi to manifest in the wrong hands again!"
"Aye, yes sir!" Gamabunta boomed firmly, nodding at his comrades. Gamaken and Gamahiro grunted in kind, sheathing their weapons together. The gigantic summons smashed the bijuu with a series of blows to disorient the chakra being. The force of the pounding portrayed the likeness of an earthquake before they quickly grappled it around the arms and neck. With a single, coordinated, godlike jump, the four giants disappeared over the tree line beyond the village walls.
The Clearing
"Well, well, you boys have been quite busy," Aoto chuckled sarcastically, palm ablaze as he smacked aside a razing blast of plasmatic fire bolt. Colliding in momentous impacts, the opposing sides locked blows as his brother berated them in turn.
"Eternal Mangekyou, huh Obito-san? Who'd you force them to murder to pull that off?" the brawny soldier taunted, using his bare hands to take on Shisui's taijutsu, thankfully assisted by the kunoichi at his side. "Even more reason for you to see our side of the situation. You're no better than us!"
"If you do not already understand how you are wrong, Yushin, then I do not believe you can," Itachi stated across the grouped conflicts, playing the rapid kunai dance in order to gain as much information about his experienced opponent as possible. The disloyal shinobi just discovered the truth regarding their extraordinary dojutsu potential and they still engaged the prodigies with a confidence all too natural. Aoto was double his age and by no means a slacker. There was no doubt Itachi had his hands full with the commanding leader of the nocturnal incursion. "Therefore, there is no other choice but to defeat you."
The distant crashing and clanging of another battle got exponentially closer, unexpectedly forcing the current confrontation to pause and disperse abruptly as a man barreled past, chased too closely by a series of deadly purple lightning bolts that hurtled down from artificial clouds above.
Kakashi cut the flow of chakra as his opponent dashed into the midst of its allies, standing across from the lone Shisui and Itachi. Divided by a shallow trench the jutsu carved, the lightning user used shunshin beside Obito to protect the two Uchiha who faced off the four cultists.
The soot covered arrivals already boasted marks of battle, scuffed with blood and dirt as they analyzed their mighty foes.
"Huh. Aoto, Yushin, Hideo, Nanami," Obito breathed chronologically, folding his arms as he surveyed the standoff. Too fixated on the dangerous shinobi, he ignored the tectonic appearance of the new toad summons behind, internally calming as the reverberating sound of Jiraiya's voice reduced stress. Then, quite swiftly, the youngest of them all appeared amidst his superiors with his signature look of detached interest, causing Yushin to glower, "Ahh, and Kosai. Every known traitor to the clan right here. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to cut out the Uchiha's shame and acquire the Ichibi."
The entire party of conspirators shared looks and chuckled lowly, causing the guardians of Konoha to grow agitated and shift for a deadlier stance.
"Suna, huh…" Kakashi held his wrist as a rasengan whirred into existence. The air around him became charged, swirling about and popping in sparks of violet electricity. He tensed, asking seriously, "What could you have to gain from turning on the people you had bonds with? Your own people! The ones who loved you!"
"Your own blood," Shisui accused additionally, brow furrowed and tanto at the ready with crimson, tomoe-spotted eyes.
"Kh, Shisui no Shunshin… What do you think?" Kosai retorted sarcastically, resting the great fan on his shoulder. The wind had become much stronger over the past few minutes as natural clouds from the northwest were beginning to accent the sky in accompaniment to Kakashi's manmade plumes. He ran a lazy hand through his sharp hair, "We're gaining the right to do what's best for the future of our clan."
Kakashi shook his head as he focused the ninjutsu in his palm, "Do you expect the Uchiha to just up and leave? You think they'll just abandon their homes and their friends to join you – a bunch of hateful deserters?"
"We are going to achieve the glory of conquering Konoha! We will have the honor of liberating the Uchiha clan," Hideo preached this time, still refusing to go red with his visual technique. "They will come to see things for how they are, and we will have the pleasure of allowing the true strength of our people to flourish. A chance to grow freely, untethered by the claustrophobic morals of outsiders who can't even begin to understand the legacy of our ancestors."
"It's the Uchiha's time to rule, Kakashi," Aoto answered in calm succession, strolling in a casual gait to lay a hand on the shoulder of his sibling during the standstill. The loyal elites scowled while the man simply paced, continuing, "Our clan is responsible for the creation of this village, but the Hokage has never been Uchiha. How is this possible? Our clan produced Madara, a shinobi of godlike proportions as the village's cofounder, so how is it that not even he was chosen?"
Itachi silenced the silver-haired man with a calm look, turning his placid black gaze back at his forsaken relative.
"The Hidden Villages are young Aoto. The Senju founded Konoha with the Uchiha to acquire peace. They had a vote, and Hashirama was chosen by the village's people," Itachi explained coolly, knowing this counterargument must come from none other than a fellow Uchiha. "It was by the union of the two clans that the Leaf was able to survive and accumulate this relatively warless period. Not to mention our considerable rise in strength as a whole."
Shisui spoke up with clear frustration, speaking to the cult leader with a sharp glare cast toward his uncle Hideo, "You may not realize it Aoto, but reality isn't dictated by what you believe. The truth is that the clan is as untethered as ever."
"Hm. But was it truly fair? How do you know?" Aoto questioned cryptically, ignoring the genius. He tightened his leather gloves in careless patience as his brother chuckled in low hums, "The election; was it fair? This is the shinobi world, after all… The Senju held the spot of Hokage twice – back to back. They were brothers, even. Afterward, still no Uchiha. Just a Sarutobi- and now a clanless man from a nobody family who encourages amity with the foreigners?! If the decision was to 'fairly' vote a new leader, then why haven't you been nominated, Itachi? Despite your numerous successes? With your ability to inherit the true identity of a shinobi and a leader, not to mention your discipline and mastery of the arts. Or you, Shisui…? Or even you, Obito."
Hideo scoffed indignantly. Itachi merely blinked.
"There is no need for such a change. Minato is the best suited for the position," the ever-placid prodigy informed, raising his right hand with two fingers extended upward about his chest. He waited, acutely prepared to unleash his catastrophic jutsu at a moment's notice. "Perhaps the right member of our heritage will claim the Hokage's seat someday. But I am not arrogant enough to believe I am better than the Fourth. You do not truly wish for such a thing anymore; it is not up for debate for either of us. You will fight, and we will stop you."
His comment made the scarred commander grin, "Hmm. You may be right, Itachi… You are quite the shinobi. But tell me: If you know the Leaf does not fear the Uchiha, if you know our clan has not been subjugated to measly policework, if you know there is no blatant tension caused by how we stand out- the Hyuga too- then answer me honestly… Who would truly prevail in battle if the lives of your family were at stake: Minato… or you?"
There was a tense silence as Itachi remained statuesque, motionless, imagining his younger brother. Heads turned toward his silence, and the delay promoted Obito to speak up in his place, "That's hardly a rational question-"
"Ah! But who is the stronger ninja, hm? Who has the most power, influence and otherwise? You are more than renowned and command the respect of the entire village. Who's the mightiest; best suited to command the people and their armed forces- especially now, with your mythic Eternal Eyes…?" Aoto deviously inquired in his uniquely convincing way, somehow prolonging the inevitable violence by spoken treason.
The defenders were stunned by his suggestion, wondering to themselves about the comparison before there was a sudden, earth-quaking rumble. Three summoned toads launched from the earth, flying off beyond the village walls with the Ichibi's howling form. The cultists shared an uncomfortable series of glances before the veteran ignored it, continuing, "…Come to think of it, which of the founding clans is the strongest in Konoha today?"
More strained silence was now enhanced by the absence of the prone, wriggling bijuu. They knew it was a fruitless argument and nothing was about to be changed through dialogue. They wanted to remind them of the Hokage's sannin sensei, and his victories in war. The jonin wished to say that no Uchiha has officially rivaled Madara's legacy, so obviously other, better shinobi had become their Kage.
But it was no use. The cultists had not spent years preparing for this fight just to be convinced that they were in the wrong. Yushin grinned threateningly and lifted his chin in arrogance, waiting for the answer they all thought before his elder brother continued the charismatic lecture. "Shouldn't the answer be the Senju, based on Konoha's history? Well where are they now? We know of Tsunade. But as far as significant members of that fading clan go, she's all that's left. Now our people… The Uchiha. What clan of ninja rivals the Uchiha collective, hm? Tch, the Hyuga? They wish. So, who then?"
Aoto's team progressively eased into a state of assurance that became evident in their composure. Their esteem began to raise as for them the conflict was extraordinarily satisfying. Finally, after many years for some members, they had the chance to enlighten some of the strongest Uchiha to see for themselves; opening the conversation for doubt. This and the pleasure of imminent battle to truly test the progress of their skills since they parted their homeland.
The loyalists refused to speak, and Aoto nodded his head exultantly. Obito had become increasingly restless and agitated, his body taught in hair-trigger anticipation. Kakashi appeared similarly agitated, rasengan buzzing in his lowered palm while the lead cultist chuckled carelessly, addressing the prime clanmates before him, "You cannot deny it. For your own good, quit being naïve and face the reality. The Uchiha alone would defeat the rest of Konoha if they so wished. We are strong - stronger together, and not under the rule of outsiders who call us freaks when we unlock our potential – through pain! So why would you stay on the side doomed to disloyalty, alienation and failure?"
"Disloyalty?! You abandoned and killed your own people!" Obito growled with all the sweltering hate born of betrayal, outstretching his hands to reference the carnage that continued around them. He was at wits end with the purist's shallow excuses. "Just admit that you fucks are in it for power and be done with it- stop acting like you care about them or us! You would have just as easily slaughtered Hideo's niece if she disobeyed you! You've unleashed the fucking One-Tail to ravage our village! You're a traitor- you're all traitors!" he shouted, throwing his hands down with lost patience. The eight other warriors held their breath in tense quiet as the Anbu official grimaced darkly. His chest settled as he took a focusing breath. The tension was suffocating.
Surfacing from a moment of concentration, Obito opened his molten eyes, "and now- now you're going to die like traitors."
Obito's phantom silhouette sprung behind the cult's leader, nearly beheading him with a swinging kunai. Drawing blood from a shallow wound as Aoto dodged, the ninja engaged in what could only be described as the height of close-quarters, single-kunai combat, consumed in a whirlwind of slashes, deflections and counterstrikes.
In the blink of an eye, Itachi met both his pointed index and middle fingers. Flashing forward in a thrust of his arm, he ignited a single laser-like bolt of white plasma off his outstretched fingers.
Nanami, who had the quickest reaction between the cultists, twitched to guard the ally closest to her as she appeared before the targeted Hideo, raising her armored claw at the bolt.
The fluid energy crashed into her palm as her enchanted gauntlet absorbed the ninjutsu, leeching the chakra and charging the armament with dangerous electricity. Nanami's catlike features spread into a charmed smile as the spike in chakra reserves kindled her eyes into red-hot coals, "Too slow."
Itachi shut his eyes with indifference, disappearing in a ghostly burst of black crows as the kunoichi's reciprocating fire dragon rushed, melting his position. She huffed, scanning the scorched battlefield as her companions engaged in mortal combat. "Shit."
…
In the same blink of his comrade's hybrid technique, Shisui dove unto his cousin with personal vendetta. Kosai's uninterested black eyes widened with an amused grin, slamming his war-fan into the elite's oncoming tanto. Clearly boosted with confidence, the younger ninja challenged him directly, "Where are those eyes, cousin? Don't you wanna impress me?"
Dropping from the deadlock unexpectedly, Shisui spun with the released pressure to fuel a spinning heel kick. Blocked by the flat weapon, he used the same move to pass his short sword from his right hand to his left. Using his kick to push the weapon away vertically, the motion extended Kosai's arm which left a wide, lethal gap.
In came the glimmering silver tanto as the smug deserter slowly recognized his inability to match Shisui, rungs below the genius' nigh-peerless mastery of the ninja arts. Kosai's overconfident midnight gaze widened in peril as he twisted as much as he could to manage the angle of the oncoming blade as it pierced his jacket, shirt, and skin, slicing upward under his ribs and against his right lung. Bright stains sapped into the fibers of his black and white jacket as he howled in agony.
A hand of crushing purpose found itself around the tanto's wielder, slamming the broad side of his gunbai into Shisui's face as it fanned him away. Gracefully recovering just meters from the skirmishes around him, Shisui regarded his familial enemy with reserved surprise.
The calm, blissfully nonplussed prodigy jonin was suddenly rippling with potent chakra. Gusts tussled the shinobi's jagged, moon-soaked hair as his ragged breath had become morbidly stuttered and deep. Blood dripped between the fingers of his left hand as he cupped his torso, leaning on his weapon for support as he stared at the reddening dirt.
Finally, with bleeding organs, Kosai's pitch black eyes exploded into a hellish red, spinning with the birth of black ripples from the pupil, blessed by several tomoe. He smiled eagerly, pleased with his cousin's curious expression. To showcase his strong dojutsu, Kosai ripped Shisui open from behind as the man stared on at an afterimage.
Recoiling from the excruciating pain, Shisui's clone exploded as his real body appeared behind Kosai, slashing his tanto in a mirror image of the previous attack.
The bloodied cultist flashed a grin as the afterimage instantaneously ceased. He retaliated, shattering a chunk of substituted wood with his gunbai after the triple-feint, "It's useless to try and trick me, Shisui-kun!"
Turning, Kosai's sharingan strained to track Shisui, able to witness the swift creation of a clone that slunk underground. "I see you!"
Twitching in newfound vigor, the boy swung his gunbai horizontally, generating a wicked blade of wind that carved through the earth like hot butter. Butchering the subterranean clone, he rushed to meet his real cousin halfway, clanging in a weaponized embrace as he cringed through the pain, "C'mon Shisui-kun, you need to get serious or this is gonna be boring."
Shisui's eternal sharingan twisted in on themselves, reshaping into his blocky, angular Mangekyou design. Kosai clenched his teeth in a challenging smile, chuckling gleefully.
The elder shinobi snapped forward, slamming his forehead into Kosai's face, gushing blood from his nose as he recoiled. In a flash of unbridled speed, the cultist choked on the red fluid as his cousin ducked, delivering a lightning scorpion kick that smashed Kosai's face in, throwing the boy's limp body across the battlefield.
…
Spinning around with a razor-edged swipe, Nanami smacked a series of pinpoint accurate shuriken away. She followed the signature of Itachi's crows and successfully absorbed a burst of fire ninjutsu. "Itachi! You're not going to get anywhere with weak tactics like that!"
The stoic elite stepped beside her, grappling with the kunoichi before blocking her clawed hand with an elbow – kneeing her in the kidney before she whirled around, exchanging a series of blows before creating space.
With her custom, unorthodox hand signs, Nanami launched a series of muddy projectiles that the man tried to deflect. The jutsu landed, shrinking as the multiple earthy globs siphoned his chakra at a rapid rate, filling the user with wells of energy before he substituted out of the predicament.
'So, she's no push over,' Itachi thought to himself in calm study as he dashed in ethereal streaks.
The woman sneered, rushing her enemy to exchange a series of kicks before she witnessed an opening in which her signature agility would prove absolute. Feinting a submission of strength with the kunai in her left hand, Nanami plunged her talons into Itachi's hip, causing him to cringe and jerk away.
Blood splattered onto the gravel in fat splotches as Itachi grasped his gaping wound.
"Hah! You're mine now, pretty boy."
Nanami blinked, staring off into the distance in a lightheaded disarray, "Wha- Huh…?"
…
Hideo breathed in relief as his vampiric subordinate protected him from the destructive ninjutsu. 'At this rate there's no point in hiding it anymore…!'
With Hideo distracted beyond a lifesaving kunoichi absorbing Itachi's high level technique, Kakashi instantly fused the chakra torrent in his palm with lightning nature. Just as his rasengan began to screech with the chidori's violent hunger, the technique evolved, masterfully advancing the ball of critical energy into its highest electrical potential. Pulsating in purple waves of stormy crackles, the spinning sphere of chakra was now a larger vortex of tightly bound strands of lightning.
Hideo whipped on the screeching shift of power as Kakashi's glowing figure careened forward with a frightening speed, rivaling the laws of nature as his lightning-boosted technique thrust him toward the veteran. Unfortunately, the White Fang's son was not the only master of strategy who attempted to catch someone unexpectedly.
In his haste, Kakashi missed the subtle release of chakra from Hideo that burst a trap between them; releasing a cloud of ninja-wire dripping with liquid. Unable to stop, the masked man opted to throw the jutsu at the deserter before a hard, dense body blindsided him. Yushin grunted through the brutish shoulder charge, crashing the masked man into the flattened remains of an office. Running up on the legend, the Uchiha raised his massive arms to crush Kakashi.
…
Protected once more, Hideo dodged in time to witness the incredible technique crash into the distance and explode in a blinding scene of swirling lightning storm. Tearing his widened gaze from the spectacle, the captain saw his subordinate clash with a man of crows. 'She doesn't stand a chance!'
He rushed to her as the two of them exchanged a brief swath of taijutsu before the kunoichi's eyes glazed over and she wasted chakra casting a ninjutsu at thin air.
"No!" Hideo nearly panicked, catching a kunai-wielding wrist as he saved the girl's life.
Itachi brushed to the side before his eyes widened a touch at the tightening of wire around his wrist and body, melting into a murder of crows.
While the prodigy used his shunshin, Hideo touched Nanami, delivering chakra to dispel the powerful genjutsu she had succumbed to. His heart sank as the task was greater than he believed, 'It takes this much?!'
Kicking the stubbled man in the liver, the ponytailed phenomenon spun in the air to kick a disoriented Nanami in the head, sending her back several meters as the protective trapper recovered himself and blitz Itachi.
As Hideo engaged the younger ninja in hand to hand, Itachi noticed his eyes had finally ignited into heated sharingan. Nonplussed, Itachi took note of the lack of a third tomoe in each eye as he grappled with the stout traitor.
…
Yushin's tidy nature became disheveled as he battled Kakashi. Pulling a kunai to combat the lithe opponent, he defended himself before the scream of that peculiar electrical vortex erupted with a congruent flare of blinding violet light. The concentrated chakra rippled in shocking waves of power, reflecting in his sharingan as his own chakra flared to evade.
'Fuck this.'
Blurred into the distance, Yushin abandoned the legendary ninja who lunged toward him and tore through much of the hazardous building, exploding from the adjacent side.
Appearing with significant space between them, he speedily scanned the battlefield, cataloguing the state of affairs for each shinobi.
His eyes landed firstly on his brother, who engaged Obito in a haze of movements only ten meters from where Hideo and Nanami defended against a frightening Itachi. Yushin's sweeping, fiery gaze caught all this in a second as more dull sounds brought attention to his right.
His body surged with chakra as he propelled himself through another shunshin, dropping to a halt as he caught Kosai's limp figure from the air. 'Tch, stupid kid. I told you.'
Dodging in haste, Yushin held the unconscious jonin under his arm as he slashed away Shisui's flashing tanto in departure.
There was a momentary blur where two of the aggressive shinobi appeared to exist as he moved so fast that he was visible in multiple locations at once, slashing at the brute midair.
Critically struggling to match the prodigy's advancements, Yushin popped a concussive fire jutsu to separate them.
'Shisui of the Body Flicker… Of course you were his opponent.'
Knowing he could not defend against this kind of power carrying an unconscious comrade by himself, Yushin raced toward his sibling. 'It's time to end this.'
…
A kunai pierced through the air so fast that sound struggled to keep pace before the steel was stopped in a shrieking dink by its enemy. As Aoto intercepted an upward stab from Obito, he smugly caught a dense punch from the passionate loyalist with his free hand, bending in a twist against their weapons' pressure. The scarred man side swept, jerking violently to drive home a hard knee.
With a muffled thump, Obito rotated his torso but otherwise ate the blow in order for him to headbutt the nimble man. As he reeled, a successive one-two kick was delivered to his ribcage before Aoto caught the ankle, currently unable to breathe. Pulling it past him, he kicked Obito in the face before his spinning kunai swing was thwarted and Konoha's soldier broke the encounter.
Two kunai raced through the air in opposing directions, colliding point-to-point in a sparking din as the influential duelists engaged in taijutsu.
"You'll never win, traitor! Konoha is not so easily misguided."
"How do you think we came to exist, Obito-san?"
Obito growled, grappling with the veteran in asymmetric breaks and closed-fist strikes, blocking reciprocal blows with his forearm, "The poisonous ideals of the few will not overcome the many who maintain the Will of Fire."
"The poison you talk about will eat away the rotten pieces of this village. We will conquer Konoha and take it as ours or it will be eradicated and replaced. There is nothing in between!"
Obito's clone finally managed to sneak up on Aoto, grasping him in a fatal headlock as the real one inhaled, razing the man and his doomed earth clone in a bright hail of writhing flame.
He bit off the heated blast, catching one of the airborne shuriken in a blink, using its edge to knock away the latter projectiles. His eyes searched as he noticed the scorched remains of his earth clone, deftly accompanied by a burnt log. "Tch."
Launching a spray of metal, Aoto's phoenix fireballs melted them from harm as he fired his volley at Obito.
Kicking up a small earth wall, the dutiful shinobi made it through his hand signs before the lava from the melting wall could reach him. Flickering in a circular motion around his enemy, he held his opened palms toward each other, fingers bent in a claw-like fashion as he inhaled again.
"Yoyu-kosho jutsu (Molten Pepper Bomb jutsu)!"
Between his palms swirled a torrent of wind dotted with a millions stone specks, swept away by the hose of fire he breathed as he launched his hands forward.
In a predictive fashion, Obito aimed where Aoto was not and where Aoto would be before finally targeting the man.
As the traitor maneuvered, attempting to read the technique and its user's intent, the twisting hail of tiny molten bullets sprung from the whipping stream of scorching flame.
"Agh!" Aoto covered his face with raised forearms, blocking some of the damage as he was pelted and burned all over. Nearly forgetting about the main part of the ninjutsu, the commander's hands blurred as he finished charging his energies. "Raiju no Ago (Jaws of the Lightning Beast)!"
Thunder crashed as a brilliant tornado of lighting barreled down on Obito, who vanished, dodging in a quick sliding twist of motion. His graciously fast series of signs allowed him a chance to erect a thick mud shield just before the warped specter could sink its lambent fangs into him.
Far more powerful than anticipated, the animated lightning annihilated his defense and bit its paralyzing teeth into Obito, ripping through him and smashing him into the earth, leaving him a smoky silhouette of electrical burns.
The man winced as Aoto laughed in the background, climbing to a knee as he was still crackling in electrical arcs. Coughing, he wiped his face with a forearm, clearing the soot. "Hmph."
Bursting forward, the scorched Uchiha slashed at his traitorous elder with heightened vigor. Just as the enemy raised his metal to block, a shadow appeared between them.
Uzumaki Estate
Minato arrived at the complex as fast as physics could allow. Stopping short of the perimeter, he surveyed his surroundings with all the accumulated ninja scrutiny he had developed in his lifetime.
There were no traps.
The father pushed in, lurking in acute stealth amidst his own home, ready for his imminent ambush. The immediate area was silent, despite the forlorn chaos erupting in irregular waves deep within the village.
He reached the window of his son's childhood room, studying its vacancy. Slipping through the mechanism with ease, he shut the glass behind him as he entered. His pulse was racing, and his face gleamed with sweat.
The room was kempt, entirely thanks to his wife's tidy nature. He made his way to the door.
As Minato held the handle he listened. There was nothing. No motion.
Dead silence.
With a wild pounding in his chest, he opened the door and dashed through the house, searching every square inch of his family's living space in a flash. Again, nothing.
Not a single trace of foul evidence. 'What did I tell her?'
Get Ayama- Stay here!
The area proved stealth fruitless, prompting the Hokage to shout for his family, "Kushina! Ayama!"
"Where are you?!"
Suddenly he felt something outside. Crashing through the rear of the building, Minato pounced on the presence with the deadliest rasengan and a snarl.
"Don't-"
The phrase caused him to hesitate as he feared the reason for doing so. Standing before him amidst his wife's garden was a woman with short platinum hair that reflected the moon's brilliance with mocking beauty. Her gaze was downcast, and her posture was that not of surrender, but of sturdy resolve. She met his enraged stare with radiant eyes of gold. Then she spoke words which chilled Minato to the bone.
"We have your family." She studied him closely as she could hear the blood pound in her ears. She barely escaped a grisly death; she still faced one. "Cooperate and they will survive."
Minato felt sick, blanching as his jutsu whiffed into nothing. His stance sagged, and he felt like he had been impaled, eyes wide in the freezing grip of fear. He held the kunoichi's gaze, asking softly, "Where are they?"
"It doesn't-"
"WHERE ARE THEY?!" Minato exploded as he suddenly stood over the traitor with a kunai pressed to her jugular and a reborn rasengan raised above. "WHERE'S MY FAMILY!"
The woman was struck with divine fear, paling under the might of her forsaken leader. "I-If I tell you, they die!"
Minato's eyes burned into her as he leaned into her neck, "If they die, you die."
"He'll kill them if you harm me…" she choked meekly, faintly grasping his wrist as the torrent of energy above her cast wild shadows and powerful gusts.
Her neck started to bleed as the blonde struggled to accept the situation. Slowly, his wrath ebbed into fearful despair as he shut his eyes. Clenching his teeth, tears had swelled and dripped onto the prone woman. There was nothing he could do.
Minato stood, looking down at her once more, he whispered coldly, "When this is over… When your cult has been defeated, you are mine…"
Unable to even breathe, Reina began to nod in petrified mortality.
"Do you understand me?"
She nodded again. A shiver ran through her; curled in meek defense.
"Hmhmhmhmhm, I don't think you'll be doing anything like that."
Minato couldn't believe what he heard as he turned over his shoulder. A tremor surged throughout his body as his killer stare met with yellow eyes of reptilian theme.
"Nice to see you again Minato-kun. Or should I say; Hokage-sama?"
End
Good day, and thank you for reading.
-Kyzer-
