"So we're sneaking in?" Naruto asked. Konrad nodded.
"Yeah. I'm not sure about you, but sneaking is my speciality, so try to keep up." Konrad said, smirking at him. Naruto grinned.
"Please, I was avoiding Anbu's since I was in the academy! Let's do this!"
Sasuke was training incredibly hard; blasting fire jutsus and using Chidori to destroy the creatures that lurked in the Forest of Death. He had gotten permission from Anko to train there.
"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"
Sasuke inhaled, and then exhaled a large amount of flames, completely destroying the lizard in front of him. However, the Forest had other plans, and several other lizards jumped at him.
Sasuke jumped high into the air to avoid them, and he started forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Sasuke sent over a dozen fire projectiles, which was enough to incinerate all the lizards. Sasuke landed on a tree branch, feeling a bit winded. He looked around with his Sharingan to find if there was anything else, however, he found nothing. Looks like he scared them off.
'So what if I scared them off? Naruto could do these kinds of things even before the Chunin Exams! And it won't be enough to take care of that assassin, or even Itachi! But...would Naruto want me to take revenge? No, but I have to! I-I...' Sasuke shook his angrily, as if his decision could somehow affect the world.
"Everything is just so confusing! I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do anymore!"
Sasuke's Sharingan changed, its design now star-like with a black dot at the centre. The tree in front of him was suddenly set on fire. But not just any fire. Black fire. Sasuke looked at it in both confusion and shock.
"What...what are these flames?" Sasuke asked himself, blood dripping down from his eye.
Naruto and Konrad were lurking in a tree, carefully watching the guards that were at the southern entrance of the capital.
Apparently, after every 12 hours, they would switch shifts with another group of ninja. They would use that small opportunity to get in.
'3...2...1...now!'
They both dashed through the gate, somehow bypassing the guards without getting caught. They quickly went into a crowd, as to not raise suspicion.
After a couple minutes, Konrad and Naruto regrouped at a local park.
"So are we gonna kill everyone here or only Yagura?" Naruto asked him quietly.
"Yagura and all of his ninjas are what we're concerned with. The civilians have nothing to this." Konrad explained to him. Naruto nodded.
"Got it. But first, let's find a place to rest. We've got around 20 hours left, so we should plan our moves." Konrad smirked.
"Way ahead of you. We have a spy here that'll give us some intel. How do you think we knew about the southern gate's shifts?"
"That's great! Lead the way!"
After a couple minutes of walking, they arrived at an enormous Japanese-style house. Naruto was shocked. He noticed along the way that most of the buildings in Kiri were cylindrical, and that they had vegetation growing on top of them (completely different from Konoha). However, this was unlike anything he's seen before. It was almost as if he was in a completely different village!
"This is our spy?" Naruto questioned.
"His name is Kanata Yuri. He was originally a part of the Mist's council, until Yagura shut it down. Publically, he agrees with Yagura's ideologies, however, in reality, he doesn't. He was actually a close friend of my grandfather's..." Konrad said, sounding a bit sad at the end. They walked up to the ninjas guarding the house.
"I suppose Kanata is expecting us?" Konrad said to them. They nodded, giving them space to walk, but not before giving Naruto a suspicious stare. Naruto just waved at them mockingly.
After entering the house, they walked down the hall and made a right turn to enter a huge Japanese-style living room. A very old man with short white hair was there to greet them.
"Hello, Konrad! I've expecting you and your friend."
He looked at Naruto kindly, reminding him of the late Sandaime, "We've got your rooms and your beds ready. I hope sneaking in wasn't too much of a problem?"
"No, Kanata. It went incredibly smoothly. Anyways, how have you been?" Konrad asked him, removing his usual mask of coldness.
Kanata chuckled, "I've been fine. Though it's been very hard lately to cover my tracks. Being a spy is hard work."
"Yes, but it's for the sake of the village, right?" Konrad said. Kanata chuckled again. Naruto felt like an intruder.
"Yes, you're right. You know, you remind me of your grandfather. Strong, calm and focused. Anyways, let's stop talking about us. Who's your friend there?" Kanata asked curiously. Naruto straightened his back.
"Naruto Uzumaki is my name, sir."
"Oh, no need for formality! Just call me Kanata. I heard you'll play a key part in the battle, so I expect you to do your best!"
"...you know, you're pretty nice." Naruto said bluntly. Kanata blinked, before bursting into laughter.
"Thank you, Naruto. I don't I've met anyone as straightforward as you."
"Well, I'm known to be pretty unpredictable in my village. I'm the hyperactive ninja or something stupid like that."
The two of them laughed like old buddies. Naruto remembered he had these kinds of conversations with the Sandaime. Those were good times...
"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but Naruto and I have to get ready." Konrad said seriously. Kanata nodded, his eyes suddenly having a lot of sadness in them.
"You two are very young. You shouldn't be doing this. But I understand you must. Though I must ask, please be careful." Kanata pleaded. Naruto gave him a thumbs up.
"We'll be fine. We've got Kira the Legendary Assassin on our side!"
Kanata smiled, and the two left to their rooms. It seemed Konrad already knew where to go as he was easily able to navigate them to their room. However, Naruto had something on his mind, something Konrad noticed.
"What's the matter?" Konrad asked.
"I was just gonna ask...how old are you?" Naruto asked curiously. Konrad blinked, not expecting that question.
"14."
"14!? You're a year older than me then! I thought you were younger since-"
"Since what?" Konrad said, sharply interrupting him. Naruto scratched his cheek.
"You're shorter than me...?"
"I'm not short. I'm 5'2. That's almost average." Konrad stated.
"Almost average. I'm 5'4, almost 5'5 and I'm only 13. You're just short, you gotta accept that, man."
"I am not short!" Konrad said angrily. Naruto laughed at his serious expression, making Konrad feel extremely annoyed.
"We have a huge battle tomorrow, and you're here cracking jokes!? Take this seriously! A lot of lives depend on our performance tomorrow!" Konrad shouted angrily. Naruto shrugged.
"Relax. If we're tense all the time, then we'll probably do some silly mistakes that'll cost the mission." Naruto said wisely.
"For you, maybe, but not me. I'm used to pressure. I'm an assassin, remember?" Konrad reminded him, getting extremely angry at this point. Naruto just snorted.
"There's a difference between killing for money, and killing to protect." Naruto pointed out.
"Whatever." Konrad said, turning away from him. Naruto sighed. This was getting them nowhere.
"I'm gonna grab a bite to eat. Want something?" Naruto asked, walking to the door.
Konrad glared at him, but Naruto just shrugged. He walked around the house, and finally realized something.
"I'm lost."
Naruto was about to open his map, before he heard a familiar chuckle.
"Lost, Naruto? Where do you want to go?" Katana asked kindly.
"The kitchen. Wanted to get some food." Naruto told him, a bit embarrassed.
"Follow me." Katana quickly took him to kitchen, which was actually right across the living room. Genius Naruto.
"What would you like?" Katana asked, walking to counters.
"I'll take whatever there is."
Katana nodded, and retrieved a bunch of stuff from the refrigerator. He began cutting vegetables.
"I'm making a sandwich. Is that fine?" Katana asked.
"Sure."
There was an awkward minute of silence, with the sound of Katana cutting vegetables filling the place.
"You know, Konrad wasn't always like this." Katana suddenly said. Naruto blinked in confusion.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, confused.
"Konrad was a prodigy, the grandson of an S-class ninja known as the Living Plasma." Katana told him.
"The Living Plasma?" Naruto repeated.
'That's sounds really fake. Who even comes up with these names?'
"Yes. His real name was Kurtis Ira. He used a kekkei tota known as Plasma release, which was basically the combination of Lightning, Fire and Wind. It was incredibly destructive, I've seen it first-hand since I was on his team." Katana explained.
"Kurtis' son, or Konrad's father, wasn't a ninja. He never inherited the Plasma release. However, Konrad did. He was a prodigy like no other. He became a genin at the age of 10 and became a Tokubetsu-Jounin when he was 11. His specialty in ninjutsu gave him that rank." Katana said, surprising Naruto.
'I became Tokubetsu-Jounin a couple days ago, while Konrad was one when he was 11! That's awesome!' Naruto thought. Suddenly, Katana's expression turned angry, something that just didn't fit him.
"But then when Yagura took over as Mizukage, he targeted his family. Kurtis and all of Konrad's family were killed since he thought his offsprings might have inherited his Plasma Release. Somehow though, Konrad survived. Apparently, he said it was a tall blonde man that saved him. Maybe that's why he took a liking to you..." Katana said, trailing off. He shook his head, and continued the story.
"Konrad was eventually found by Clovis' gang, and he's been training hard ever since. Even though I told him not to take revenge, he's still going after Yagura. Before he became Kira, he tried killing Yagura on 3 separate occasions! That boy is just too much sometimes..." Katana said, shaking his head.
Naruto stood quiet. It was a bit hard take in Konrad's past. He told him snippets of it in their fight, but not in detail.
"Yagura is an evil man. He delights in pain and enjoys every minute of it. He doesn't even show a shred of decency or mercy. Many ninjas are after his life because of it. He's ruined families, clans and doesn't even feel remorseful about it." he said, before softening his eyes. "However, that's just how humans are. People think that what they are doing is the right thing to do. We can't say what we're doing is right, either. It's just we personally think."
Naruto scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean? He's clearly evil! I personally knew someone else whose life was ruined by that man!"
"Maybe he is evil, maybe he's not. Has it ever struck you that maybe he's gone through things that we possibly couldn't understand? Maybe someone close to him died due to some kekkei genkei? We can't assume things unless we know what he's gone through. You're a jinchuriki, no? You should understand his pain." Kanata said to him.
"I guess. I've been alone for most of my life, and the same probably applies to him, too. But is killing really right?" Naruto asked him.
"Konrad kills all the time, and you don't say anything about that. Is it because that he's your friend that it's alright? In the end, everyone is equal, Naruto. We all the die the same, and that's reality." Kanata said grimly, before sighing and smiling at him.
"Heh! Sorry for making you listen to this old man's ramblings. I just-"
"It's alright. I kinda get where he's coming from now." Naruto told him. Katana chuckled, and gave him a plate full of sandwiches.
"Here. Give it to Konrad. We don't have anything else, so I hope this'll do." Katana said to him. Naruto nodded, and took the plate.
"Right! Thanks, old man!" Naruto quickly walked away from the chuckling Katana. As he was going through a hallway to his room, a screen appeared in front of him.
Because you talked to Kanata, your relationship with him is now Friendly.
'Nice.' Naruto thought, before barging into the room. He placed the plate of sandwiches on a table in front of Konrad.
"Yo! I got us some sandwiches!" Naruto said happily. He immediately took a couple sandwiches and dug in. Konrad sat quietly, just staring into space.
"You know, you should eat. You have to keep your strength up." Naruto advised him. Konrad stared at him for a second, and then actually took a sandwich.
"You're way too relaxed." Konrad commented.
"And you're too tense. I get that you want revenge, but don't be so eager about it. I had a friend just like you, but in the end, he realized his mistakes." Naruto said, referring to Sasuke.
"It's hard to move on. I've killed many people. Hundreds among thousands. Some that didn't deserve it, and some that did. I bear the burden of being a murder. No matter what happens, I can't change that. And I won't stop now. I'll carry my burden until the end. Until the world becomes a better place." Konrad sighed, and looked at him.
"You wouldn't understand. Everything always goes your way. I've heard how you defeated the Ichibi jinchuuriki and defended your village. You even fought Orochimaru. Everything comes so easy for you. Your friends probably feel the same way."
Naruto snorted. "I wish that was the case, but it's not. In the end, I wasn't able to protect anyone in that invasion. Not my friends, nor jiji. I was in the middle of all of it, and I didn't do shit! If I could, I wish I could kill that bastard Orochimaru!"
Konrad smiled. "I guess we've got something in common, then. Let's finish Yagura and then go for Orochimaru. Seems fair since I dragged you into this mess."
Naruto grinned. "Deal."
Because you are helped Konrad Ira with the Rebellion, your relationship with him is now Honoured.
At Konoha
"What's taking sensei so long?" Kiba asked, annoyed. Akamaru barked, agreeing with his owner.
"Guy-sensei is never late. There must be a good reason for this." Lee said, a bit worried.
Behind the entrance of the Forest of Death were the Konoha 12. Well...more like Konoha 10, since Shikamaru became a chunin while Naruto was gone.
They were still sad about Naruto's death, but it had been a week now, so they had recovered a bit.
"Relax. Our sensei's called us for a good reason, right?" Ino said. The others just shrugged.
You see, they were suddenly invited by their sensei's to come here. Whether it was for training or a mission, they didn't know, though it was likely it was the former.
"Well, why are they so late!? It's been an hour now!" Tenten shouted angrily. Sakura sighed.
"Kakashi-sensei is probably dragging them down. He's always 3 hours late." Sakura explained to them.
"Always?" Ino asked in disbelief.
"Always." Sakura replied, feeling slightly ashamed of her sensei.
All of the genins suddenly felt lucky that they didn't have Kakashi as their sensei. Of course, Tenten and Neji would rather have a sensei that was late than Guy. He was just plain weird.
Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared before them. After the smoke settled, their sensei's, Shikamaru and Sasuke walked out.
"Yo. Sorry for being late. We had to drag two stray dogs here." Kakashi said, making Sasuke and Shikamaru twitch.
Shikamaru sighed. "So troublesome...being a chunin is enough for me."
Asuma laughed. "Well, it's going to be a whole lot harder."
Sasuke raised a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously.
"I see no harm in telling you. Basically, we're going to be training you." Kakashi answered.
"What's so bad about that?" Chouji asked skeptically.
Kakashi chuckled. "Scratch that, not we, Guy."
Everyone slowly turned to Guy, who had a crazy grin on his face. "Yes! I will be training you all!"
"Tenten, Neji and Lee will be training with us, since they've already trained with Guy. Good luck." Kurenai said, silently praying for them.
"Kurenai-sensei, please don't leave us!" Kiba pleaded desperately. Even Shino added his own 2 cents.
"I must agree with Kiba. I think-"
"Lady Tsunade specifically asked for this. You all need hardcore training, and Guy will be perfect for that." Kurenai explained, interrupting Shino.
Neji put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Good luck. You'll definitely need it, Uchiha."
"Do not worry! Guy-sensei is the most incredible teacher in the world! You will be most youthful after his training!" Lee shouted, before getting dragged away from his teammates. Guy gave him a thumbs up, before turning to them.
"Alright! Let's start off with a simple warm-up. 200 pushups and situps! Then, we'll go onto the more challenging things! Let's go! The power of youth will finally flow through your bodies!" Guy shouted passionately. Everyone sighed, before starting their regimen. Sasuke did his exercise while still reflecting on what happened in the Forest of Death.
'The Mangekyou Sharingan...is that how those black flames were formed?' Sasuke asked himself.
Naruto and Konrad were acting inconspicuous, slowly walking towards the Mizukage's Office. Like the rest of the village's buildings, it was cylindrical, though much, much larger. It would obviously be hard to sneak into.
Luckily, they were given a map and schedule of the office with them, (courtesy of Kanata) and had a solid plan ready.
Flashback
"Alright, with Kanata's map, we should be able to sneak in without a cinch. But would do we after?" Naruto asked his partner.
"We'll disguise as the two guards in the front entrance. There's a small gap between the shifts. We'll use that time to knock the old guards out and take their clothes. Once we get in, we'll slowly, but carefully, take down the ninjas there." Kanata planned out.
Naruto put his fist into his palm. "Oh, I get it! When we're done taking care of his minions, we'll go up to Yagura and attack him by surprise! He won't know what's coming since he'll have no one there to help him!"
Konrad shook his head. "True, we'll catch him off guard, but that won't be enough to beat him. Trust me, I've fought him before, he's one tough ninja even without his Sanbi."
"So, what should we do then?" Naruto asked.
"The instant we start fighting him, I'll give the signal to the others. They'll destroy the capital from the outside in, and help us against Yagura. We also requested special assistance just for this battle, so we have a huge advantage here." Konrad told him.
"Awesome! Oh yeah, I forgot! Take this, too." Naruto said, giving him a paper seal. Konrad looked at it in confusion.
"What's this?" he asked curiously.
"It's a seal for the Sanbi. All you have to do is place it on top of his seal, and poof! No more Sanbi!" Naruto explained excitedly.
Konrad looked at him questionably. "Are you sure this'll work?"
"I've used this on the Shukaku, so don't worry! I mean, I didn't actually put it on myself, and I didn't really test it either or even seen it at work, but...uh...but I'm pretty sure it'll work!" Konrad glared at him. "But just in case, use it when the Sanbi is weak." Naruto said to him sheepishly. Konrad nodded, and put the small paper seal in his pocket.
"Alright, it's time to go." the guard said to his partner, who nodded. They both left the front entrance, giving space for the new guards.
Konrad and Naruto nodded at each other, and shunshinned behind the two. Naruto chopped one of them on the neck, while Konrad grabbed the other's head and electrocuted him. They quickly hid their bodies.
"Call me impressed. What was that?" Naruto asked curiously.
"I electrocuted him using a special lightning jutsu. I usually use this to kill opponents, though this time I was merciful. Now here, wear this." Konrad said, throwing him their clothes.
"Why not just use a transformation jutsu?" Naruto asked, confused.
"We've tried that before. It doesn't work. They have special sensor ninjas in case something like that happens. How do you think these guys have been winning the war so far?" Konrad told him.
"This is gonna be tougher than I thought." Naruto admitted. "But with you and I, we should be able to pull through!" Naruto said, determined to beat the tyrant Yagura.
At Konoha
Tsunade was sitting in her office, both drinking and doing paperwork. Obviously, it wasn't a good idea and Shizune was desperately trying to stop her.
"Naruto...you just had to die...like Dan and Nawaki..." Tsunade muttered to himself, taking another gulp of her sake. Shizune sighed.
"Please, lady Tsunade. You have to focus. Naruto wouldn't-"
"He's not here!" Tsunade yelled angrily. She sighed, and looked at the ceiling.
"Everyone I love dies anyways...you should leave me, Shizune. Helping an old lady like me won't do you any good." Tsunade said somberly, shocking Shizune. She never referred to herself as old! Never!
"Looks like you're holding up pretty well, eh, Tsunade?" Jiraiya said, leaning against the window.
"Shut it, ya perv!" Tsunade shouted, almost throwing her sake at him. He chuckled, before turning serious.
"Alright, enough mourning. I found something rather...interesting." Jiraiya said with an edge to his voice. Tsunade raised an eye.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"Naruto is alive."
Tsunade spat her sake out.
"WHAT!?"
"It sounds ridiculous, I know. But-"
"Don't you lie to me! Whenever Kira goes on a mission, someone dies! It's a fact! You can't just-"
"Tsunade." Jiraiya called out sternly. "Relax and let me explain."
Tsunade sat back down on her chair. If Jiraiya was this serious, then something was up.
"I summoned Gama so I could tell the toads that Naruto was dead. Because of that, his name should've disappeared from the summoning scroll. But it was still there..."
Tsunade stood up, knocking her chair over. "WHAT!? Why didn't you tell me sooner! We had a funeral and everything!? Not only that, but we'll have to explain to everyone that he's actually alive! And how did this even happen!? If you remember, there was blood on his headband and even in Training Ground 3! That-"
"One question at a time, Tsunade." Jiraiya said, cutting her off. Jiraiya took a deep breath and began explaining.
"I never bothered to check the scroll before because I obviously thought he was dead. And as you said before, whenever Kira is after someone, they always die. We know Naruto went to face Kira on his own in Training Ground 3, evident from the blood. But...we never actually saw a body, right?"
"So what? Kira could have burned his body or something." Tsunade pointed out.
"If that were the case, then we would've seen burn marks on the ground, And if he hid it, we could've used the Inuzuka's to find it." Jiraiya replied sharply.
"Alright, fine. Let's say Naruto is somehow alive. Where is he now, then? He would've come back to the village by now." Tsunade said insightfully.
"I know this might sound crazy, but it's the only conclusion I could come up with. I even ran this through with Kakashi, and he agrees with me. I speculate that...Kira took Naruto with him." Jiraiya said, dead serious.
"No way." Tsunade replied, immediately rejecting his idea.
"He had to. Kira is obviously stronger than Naruto, even if he uses the curse mark or the Kyuubi. I heard from my spies that Kira actually goes by the name of Konrad Ira. Ever heard of that name?" Jiraiya asked, making Tsunade's eyes widen.
"Konrad Ira? The prodigy of the mist, and grandson of the Living Plasma? But how!? He was dead, killed by Yagura's men!" Tsunade exclaimed. Jiraiya shook his head.
"He somehow survived, and began exacting his revenge against Yagura. He probably took Naruto with him to reach that goal. Especially since Yagura is a jinchuuriki. The only way to fight a jinchuriki is to have another jinchuriki." Jiraiya explained to her.
Tsunade nodded. "Fighting fire with fire, makes sense. But would Naruto even join him?" she asked.
"I doubt Naruto just scurried away and joined them. And that's exactly why this is serious. Naruto is probably being controlled, or worse, being tortured until he does their bidding." Jiraiya said gravely. Tsunade gasped, and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Can't you use the toad to reverse-summon him back?" she asked. Jiraiya shook his head.
"That would require the toads to come in contact with Naruto. And I doubt they're just leaving him alone. The instant they're summoned, they'll be killed by the guards. And the toads wouldn't like it if something like that happened." Jiraiya explained to her.
"Alright then, do you have any spies in the mist?" Tsunade asked sharply. Jiraiya grinned.
"Of course! I'm trying to get as much information as possible."
"I'll send a team after him." Tsunade said, looking out the window.
"I'm going. I'll take Kakashi, Asuma, and a Hyuga." Jiraiya requested. Tsunade nodded.
"I'll get them ready. I just hope Naruto is doing okay...and we may need to reconsider that Triple-Alliance!"
'That was easy!' Naruto thought, walking alongside Konrad. They were currently in front of Yagura's office door. They had already taken care of the ninjas there, so this was the final showdown. The last stand against Yagura.
"This is kind of like a game, isn't it?" Naruto said to him. Konrad blinked in surprise.
"You play video games, too? I thought I was the only my age who did that."
"I used to play all the time, until I became a ninja. Speaking of which, I still need to beat Calamity Ganon." Naruto commented. Konrad shook his head, chuckling.
"Way to keep my nerves down, Naruto. You're really a great guy." Konrad said, finally opening the door.
They walked in to see a young man with messy-grey hair, pink pupiless eyes, and what seemed to be a stitch-like marking running from under his left eye, all the way down to his cheek. He also carried a staff-like pole weapon with uneven sized hooks with a green flower on the larger end. Konrad narrowed his eyes at him. This was Yagura.
"...why are you here?" Yagura asked, not looking back at them.
'This is great opportunity! His back is turned and we can-"
"Special Delivery?" Naruto replied jokingly, interrupting whatever plan Konrad was making.
"Is that a statement or a question?" Yagura asked, now confused and looking at them. Konrad face palmed.
'This is a great start..' Konrad thought sarcastically.
"Both?" Naruto answered, a bit confused himself.
Yagura stared at him blankly.
"Um... this is an assassination attempt?" Naruto said nervously. Yagura raised a brow, making Naruto sweat.
"Just kidding! We're just...janitors! Yes, newly recruited!"
"We don't have janitors." Yagura pointed out.
'Dear lord, help us.' Konrad silently prayed, making a cross sign.
Naruto blinked. "Then how is this place so clean?" he asked.
"We clean it. We don't need janitors." Yagura answered him.
"Well, now you do!" Naruto said. Yagura stared at him, before laughing. Konrad gaped.
'He's laughing! This is a chance!'
"You're interesting..." he simply said.
"Nah! We're actually here to kill you." Naruto suddenly said, quickly transforming into his Second Curse Mark Stage.
"Great going, Naruto. Nice and direct." Konrad said sarcastically.
Yagura blinked, before getting punched in the face by Naruto. He slid across the floor before getting kicked in the back by Konrad, hitting face-first into the ground. However, Konrad wasn't done yet. He walked up to Yagura and picked him by his hair.
"How does it feel, Yagura? To have your life being threatened?" Konrad asked angrily. "All the people you hurt, all the people you killed, will finally be able to live in peace. It's time for you to die, you bastard!" Konrad was about to electrocute him, but Yagura's eye's suddenly changed into a Sharingan. Konrad gasped.
'This is-'
Before Konrad could finish his thoughts, Yagura kicked him in the stomach, causing Konrad to let go of him. Yagura then uppercutted him, and finished him with a round-house kick. Naruto caught Konrad before he could hit the wall.
"You okay?" Naruto asked him worriedly.
"I'm fine." he said, shrugging him off. "Looks like Ao was right."
"Huh?"
"Yagura is being controlled by someone. Someone with a Sharingan." Konrad told him. Naruto gasped.
"A Sharingan!? But Sasuke and his brother are the only Uchiha's left! So how-" Naruto suddenly flashbacked to what Minato said.
"Thirteen years ago, there was a masked man. He called himself Madara Uchiha, and when the seal was at its weakest, he struck."
'Could it be? Is that masked man back?' Naruto thought worriedly, remembering his father's words.
"The jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails...I didn't expect you to be here. This might make things a bit more challenging." Yagura said, his tone almost completely different from before. It was as if he was being controlled...
"We'll do more than give you a challenge." Konrad said aggressively. Yagura just smirked, angering him further.
'This chakra...it's similar to Madara's...' Kurama commented.
'What do you mean?' Naruto asked him.
'I sense something from this Yagura...an outside influence beyond Isobu, and it's almost like Madara's!'
'Almost?' Naruto repeated curiously.
'Yes. Now that I think about it, that mask man seemed like Madara, but his chakra was not. This may be an imposter on our hands. A powerful and convincing one at that.' Kurama said to his host.
"Oi, Naruto, focus!" Konrad called out. Naruto grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry, sorry! So what should we do now?"
"I've sent the signal to the others. The invasion should start right about...now!"
Boom!
All three of them looked out the window, and saw a building lit on fire. Konrad smirked. The invasion truly had began, and all they had to do was defeat their leader. Easy, right?
Yagura looked back at them, and narrowly dodged a surprise kick from Konrad. However, that was just a diversion. Naruto came in and uppercutted Yagura in the jaw, sending him upwards. He quickly jumped behind him and tried finishing him with an axe-kick.
Unfortunately, Yagura caught Naruto's foot and threw him at the wall. The Mizukage then appeared behind Konrad, and tried to side-kick him. Luckily, Konrad was able to duck under his attack, and the assassin tried countering with a kick to the stomach.
Yagura easily caught his legs though, and threw him into the ceiling. However, Konrad used the ceiling to rebound towards Yagura, using the momentum to do a spin-kick targeted at the Mizukage's head.
Yagura smirked though, side-stepping Konrad's kick and elbowing said assassin in the neck, stopping his momentum and smashing him into the ground. Yagura then kicked him at the wall right next to Naruto.
"Man, this guy is strong." Naruto said to Konrad.
"Obviously." Konrad replied bitterly. Naruto glanced at him, before Observing Yagura. 'Observe.'
Name: Yagura
Class: Mizukage
Level: Lvl103
HP: 900,000
CP: 500,000
STR: 220
STM: 300
DEX: 255
INT: 100
WIS: 100
LUK: 100
Elemental Affinity: Water, Wind
Status Effect: Controlled
Yagura is the jinchuriki of the Sanbi, and the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure. His reign of terror over Kirigakure led to many rebellions against him. He is secretly being manipulated by a man claiming to be Madara Uchiha.
"Konrad!" Naruto called out. "You have the slight speed advantage here! Why don't you just-"
"I know what you're thinking, but it won't work. The difference me and him is experience. He's fought me before, and can easily counter me by now. If we want to win, we'll have to pull out all the stops." Konrad quickly explained to him.
"How 'bout I spam Rasengans?" Naruto suggested.
"Risk blowing up the entire village...? Sure, let's do it. I'll even use my own jutsu." Konrad said, smirking. They both released as much chakra as they could, catching Yagura's interest.
'Kurama! Chakra Mode now!'
'Right!'
Naruto's chakra turned yellow, and he was quickly wrapped by that same chakra. In a quick puff of smoke, Naruto summoned a hundred Shadow Clones, who were each preparing a shuriken-like Rasengan. Some of them were even latching on the building's exterior. Basically, Yagura was surrounded by clones, and a ton of them, too.
On the other hand, the chakra surrounding Konrad slowly detached from him and instead formed into purple, plasma orbs, even bigger than Naruto's Rasengan. All fifty of them were levitating around him, as if waiting for a command.
"WIND STYLE: RASENGAN MEGA BARRAGE!" All the clones shouted in unison, charging at Yagura with a shuriken-like Rasengan in hand.
"Plasma Style: Sacred Orbs of the Shinigami!" Konrad screamed out, directing all of his orbs at Yagura as well.
Yagura just smirked, letting their attacks engulf him.
Boom!
Their combined attacks completely wiped out the Mizukage's office, not leaving a single trace of it. In fact, even the surrounding buildings were effected, being slightly tilted now due to the explosion.
Fortunately, Naruto's Chakra Mode allowed him to create a mini-Kurama avatar to shield them.
"Do you see Yagura anywhere?" Konrad asked, looking around. They were lucky that the civilians were evacuating, or else they could have actually killed someone.
"...yeah. I can sense him somewhere...his hatred and killing intent." Naruto replied forebodingly. In his Kurama Chakra Mode, he could sense negative emotions/feelings.
Suddenly, the two warriors felt an enormous pressure. Naruto had felt something like this before.
'Is this...'
'Isobu...' Kurama finished for him.
Emerging from thick red chakra, in front of them was the Sanbi in its full glory. It resembled a turtle, except with a crab-like shell and three shrimp-like tails. However, it also had a Sharingan in its eyes, indicating that it was being controlled. The amount of chakra and killing intent it was emitting far surpassed that of Shukaku's.
"I think this is when we run." Naruto said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere while also going to his base form to conserve the transformation's time. Konrad just gulped. It obviously wasn't working.
The two immediately bolted when the turtle formed into a ball and started rolling towards them. As they were running through the village, they heard the noises of the beast running over and ultimately destroying the village's buildings; it was moving dangerously fast for something that big.
Naruto looked behind him, and was shocked to find the beast right behind them. He closed his eyes, praying that he could somehow make it out of this.
Suddenly, a huge ramp made out of sand and dirt formed in front of the rolling Sanbi. The tailed beast rolled right onto it, and due to the speed it was moving at, went flying out of the village and right into the water moat outside.
Naruto and Konrad saw the Sanbi go out of the village, and stopped to see who caused it. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the dark figure responsible.
"Gaara, my main man! It's great to see you!" Naruto exclaimed, before quickly shunshinning to the low roof he was standing on. He quickly noticed that Gaara was level 60.
'He must've done some serious training.' Naruto noted.
"Likewise...I didn't expect you to be here, though. What brought you here?" Gaara asked, although sounding as if he really didn't care.
"You know, saving villages and defeating tailed beasts, the usual. But anyhow, what're you doing here? I thought Suna still needed to recover from the invasion." Naruto said, curious as to why he was here.
"We need more alliances, and helping the Mist in their civil war will help with that. We're planning on having a triple-alliance between Konoha, Kiri and Suna." Gaara explained. Naruto nodded.
"Gotcha."
"Enough chit-chat! He's coming." Konrad said, looking at Sanbi who was slowly approaching the gates.
"Alright, let's finish this! I think it's time we kick things up a notch!"
'Ready for the Tailed Beast Transformation?' Naruto asked Kurama.
'Never Better! Let's show this Masked Creep what we can really do!'
A huge yellow aura started surrounding Naruto, causing Gaara and Konrad to stiffen.
"Listen guys, this transformation will only last for a minute, so I'll need you to actually finish this guy off." The two were about to retort, but Naruto cut them off. "Trust me. I can't even form a Tailed Beast Bomb without it blowing up in my face. So send your most powerful attack when Kurama disappears."
The two nodded, and Naruto stepped forward to face him.
The yellow aura finally engulfed him, and it was as if he was on fire. The yellow fire-like chakra expanded and started forming into Kurama, towering even the Sanbi in size. The only difference from the actual fox was that it was yellow and had thick black lines all over it. Not only that, but the yellow chakra was flickering - disappearing and reappearing - showing its instability.
Naruto, in this new form, jumped across the village, being careful not to damage the buildings or the civilians. He landed on the Sanbi, creating a huge wave of water that splattered everywhere, and pushed it further away from the village so that they could battle.
The two beasts roared, and charged at each other. Naruto's Kurama avatar was running on his four legs and was far faster than the Sanbi, allowing him to slash the Sanbi in the face first.
The Sanbi didn't react, as its hard skin absorbed most of the damage, and bit Kurama's neck. Kurama's avatar screamed in agony, and bit him back, to no avail. The amount of water they were spilling everywhere was enough to fill an entire two-story building.
'Alright, his shell is tough. Any ideas, Kurama?'
'Isobu's shell has always been strong, but this is on a whole new level! I think Yagura's chakra is somehow strengthening him. Luckily, he does have a weakness.'
'And that is...?'
'His right eye. Isobu always closed his left eye so that he could cover more of his vulnerable spots. However, he still needs to open his right eye to see. Go for that, and your friends should find a huge opening to exploit.'
'Thanks, Kurama!'
Naruto snapped back to reality, and paled when he saw the Sanbi charging up a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"How did I not notice that happening?" Naruto asked himself.
The Sanbi swallowed the enormous ball of chakra, and spat it back out towards Naruto at a very high level of speed.
'I can't dodge it or else it'll hit the village!'
Naruto's Kurama avatar caught the ball, using both its claws and tails to hold it. However, it was getting incredibly difficult to hold it as the transformation was near its end.
"HAAAAA!"
Naruto-Kurama used all his strength to push the bomb up into the sky, causing the clouds to part away and the bomb itself to blow up. Naruto-Kurama, noticing that the Sanbi was fatigued, dashed at it and slashed its right eye.
The beast roared in pain, and tried to move. However, there was sand latching onto its arms, legs and tails, completely restricting its movements. But it wasn't just any sand, it was Shukaku's sand. It clearly had the one-tailed beast's distinct black markings all over it.
'Gaara! Did you learn to control Shukaku? That's awesome!' Naruto thought happily, his Kurama avatar also disappearing. He landed on pile of floating sand, which was obviously Gaara's as well. Said ninja quickly flew next to him.
"Are you alright?" Gaara asked with a spark of worry.
"Never better." Naruto answered, giving him a thumbs up. Gaara nodded, and then used his hands to manipulate Shukaku's Sand. He forced the Sanbi to keep its right eye open while also restricting all its other movements.
Konrad, floating on sand as well, put his arms out in front of him and released a massive amount of chakra.
"Prepare yourself, because this is my ultimate attack! Plasma Style: Final Aurora Beam!"
Konrad blasted a huge purple beam of plasma from his palm directly at the Sanbi's right eye. It was so powerful, that even the Sanbi had to scream in pain.
"Is that a freakin' Kamehameha!?" Naruto exclaimed.
"I gave him Shukaku's chakra, but I didn't expect him to use it this well." Gaara commented while creating a sand sphere around them.
The blast pushed the beast back and blew up in its face, creating smoke and covering the outcome of the attack.
Konrad panted and fell on his knees. That attack took all of the chakra he had, including Shukaku's.
Soon, the smoke disappeared, and a huge crater in the shape of the Sanbi was there. In the centre of it was Yagura, who was clearly unconscious.
Naruto blinked, not believing what he was seeing, and jumped into the air.
"We won! We actually won! Alright!"
Naruto smiled at Gaara and raised a fist towards him.
"Is this an attack?" Gaara asked, confused at his action.
"It's a fist bump! It's basically a sign of celebration!" Naruto explained to him. Gaara, still confused, formed a fist and slowly bumped it with Naruto's. Naruto sighed.
"You really need some friends." He muttered quietly so Gaara couldn't hear.
Naruto looked around him. The city was almost completely destroyed with most of the building either on fire or destroyed. However, what really struck him were the amount of dead ninja. Some were stabbed, some had their heads chopped off and others were even burned. It was a gruesome sight.
And what made it worse were the ninjas themselves. A couple of them were ones he recognised from the Mei's camp, and some he saw around Yagura's village. Even though they were enemies and comrades, they died just like Kanata described it.
"We all the die the same, holding our beliefs, and that's reality."
They had their own beliefs, and they followed them just like he did. He did what he thought was right, and they did the same. So what was so different about him? Why did they have to die, and not him. Were their beliefs truly wrong?
"Maybe he is, maybe he's not. Has it ever struck you that maybe he's gone through things that we possibly couldn't understand?...We can't assume things unless we know what he's gone through." Naruto remembered Kanata saying.
The civil war was finally over, but was this really victory?
A/N Thank you so much for 250,000 views! It means a lot!
