Chapter Twenty Nine: Guerrilla Tactics Part Two.
The Shinobi Alliance.

"Ready Tenten?!" Neji shouted as he used the Sword of the Thunder God to hack and electrocute any enemies coming near him, reverting to the gentle fist when they got too close.

"Nearly!" the weapon mistress' voice rang over the wall of the Hidden Hot Water Village.

Neji spun as the lightning from his sword spread out, "ELECTRIC ROTATION!" he shouted, clearing the area for a moment.

He stopped his spin as his Byakugan saw Hinata moving in from behind. He leapt up into the air as Hinata ran underneath him, swinging the Hyuuga Staff around as she sent her Water Chakra through it.

"HYUUGA WATER STYLE: AQUA CUTTER!" she shouted, streaming a sharp arc of water right through the next onslaught of Zetsu.

Neji and Hinata fought side by side for a solid five minutes before they heard Tenten shout, "Retreat! We can't overwhelm them!" she yelled in fake worry.

The two Hyuugas leapt back as they channelled their chakra through their weapons in a well practised team manoeuvre, "WATER STYLE: LION'S FIST!" Hinata shouted as she held the staff between her two fists, pushing forward as water chakra was imbued through the Lion's head that shot from the staff.

Neji sent chakra through his sword as he swiped through the air, "LIGHTNING STYLE: THUNDERSHOCK!" he shouted, launching a ball of lightning into the lion's head.

The Lion's head expanded with the lightning bursting forth from it, causing a small explosion that gave Hinata and Neji a free moment to turn and run.

They leapt up into the air, landing on Jirobo's wall and running up it for the next part of their plan.

On the other side of the small village, Lee was truly focussing on his sword skills, but since his speed was so great, he was having no much more of a challenge then when he would have warm up spars with Gai-sensei.

Lee spun in his Taijutsu stance, punching forward with his back-held sword before letting the chakra stream out, and after hearing Tenten's cry to retreat, he sent the little chakra he had manually moulded into the handles of his swords.

They joined together as one long double ended blade staff, which Lee spun around overhead as he ducked low, forcing those near him to take a step back or else be cut up, just like Lee had planned.

"LIGHTNING STYLE: THUNDER GATE!" Lee shouted as he stabbed his swords into the ground.

*CRACK*

The crack of lightning hit the area around Lee, turning everything nearby to little more than black dust as it all was fried to a crisp.

After the lightning cleared, Lee pulled his swords free and then apart, holding them in front of him to a point as he sprinted back towards the Hidden Hot Water Village, using his strength to leap the wall in a single bound.

Lee landed just as Hinata and Neji did in front of Jirobo, "Do it!" Neji shouted.

Jirobo slammed his hands together before slamming them once more into the top of the wall, "IRON STYLE: IRON MAUSOLEUM DUMPLING!" Jirobo shouted before ripping the top half of the wall up into the air.

All of the Zetsu and even all of the Konoha ninjas paused as they took in the sight of a single man lifting up what was basically an entire hotel made of metal. Jirobo began to sweat as his chakra formed in the center of the massive construct before he threw it.

It crushed almost a third of the current battalion of Zetsu before the chakra on the inside expanded, making the 'dumpling' crack into many pieces that began falling once more, crushing even more of them and raising a dust cloud.

The leaf ninjas glanced at Jirobo with wide eyes, causing him to grin, "What? I think that worked damn well at making it easier for them to get in, I just so happened to take down heaps of 'em" he said with a chuckle.

Neji was the first to recover, he nodded at Jirobo's words before turning and looking to Tenten, "Tenten, is the trap ready?" he asked.

Tenten nodded and they each snapped out of their shock as they began following her, taking care to step exactly where she was leaping from until they landed near Pikkon and ran the last few meters towards him.

Pikkon looked up and grinned as Neji began shouting, "Get ready for a quick fight! They're all coming over!" he said, noticing another wave of Zetsu coming up the wall and it seemingly being the last of the battalion.

Hinata turned her own Byakugan towards Pikkon's Quickslide, "But the Chunnin haven't moved onto the traversing ground yet." She said with a slight frown.

There was a moment of silence before Lee spoke up, "I will stay with Pikkon until the plan is set!" he exclaimed.

Tenten nodded, "Me too, you go ahead and get them sent off Neji." she said as she reached up to her right shoulder and sent chakra into the seal there.

*POOF*

Tenten waved Shibuki through the air, taking an attacking stance as the first group of Zetsu came over the wall.

Neji was about to yell out to them before Hinata stepped forward, "We will send them off, but be careful, there is another full battalion about double the size of these previous ones on the way." Hinata said softly.

Pikkon nodded, "We got it, get going you three." He said as he pulled out his third sword and a kunai.

Jirobo nodded and leapt onto the Quickslide, landing perfectly as he crouched on it, looking ahead for any potential problems.

Hinata leapt on a few seconds after, activating her Byakugan so that she could spot any straggling Chunnin and tell them to get on, it was time to evacuate.

Neji looked over Tenten, Pikkon and Lee before his eyes locked with his long time teammate's bushy-browed eyes, "You've got this." Neji ordered.

Lee gave a thumbs up as the large wave of Zetsu began throwing kunai as they narrowed in, "Do not worry Neji! We will see you on the ships!" Lee promised, his teeth pinging in the light.

Neji smirked before hopping into the Quickslide, moving away quickly as he activated his Byakugan to keep an eye on everything.

Pikkon and Tenten realised that Neji had left Lee in charge and as such stood at his flanks as the three of them stared down the oncoming wave of white.

Lee crossed his swords overhead, sending out an electronic shockwave that formed a deflecting shield, knocking the kunai away as he spoke, "Pikkon, use your precision shots to fight at a distance and protect the Quickslide. Tenten, let's get up close until the trap is set." Lee said.

""Hai!"" the two of them said before Pikkon stepped forward, sending chakra into his one elemental sword.

"ELEMENTAL SWORDS: FIRE STYLE: SEARING SLASH!" he shouted, sending a sharp wave of fire down the center of the group.

With the group split, Lee sprinted forward as did Tenten, ready to stall for that little bit of extra time so that those on the boats could get out on the water safely.

##########

*FLASH*

Kimimaro's team appeared along with Naruto on top of a large cliff, looking around as they tried to grasp their bearings from the disorientation of being warped through space. They focussed as Naruto stepped to the edge of the cliff, "This is the closest I can get you guys at the moment. I think I can see them though." Naruto said as he pointed down into the valley.

Coming to Naruto's sides, Kimimaro's team looked over the hundred thousand of tents which held ninjas from all over the five great nations. They sheer number of ninjas was overwhelming to anyone, but luckily Shino took notice of something important and brought their attention back to the situation at hand.

"I do believe that Tsunade-sama is situated in that building along with other strong chakra signatures." Shino said as he pointed along the cliff.

Barely more than a dot in the distance, the Alliance headquarters stuck out from the Cliffside proudly, showing that they were ready for war.

Kimimaro nodded, "We will see you later then Naruto. Let's go everyone." Kimimaro said before he began running alongside his team towards the building.

Naruto nodded to himself before looking up at the sun, 'Now to pick up a few things.' He thought with a smirk before sending his chakra towards a seal that he hadn't yet used.

*FLASH*

##########

"I see them." One of the rogue ninja following after Sasuke said, even though there were bandages over his eyes.

Sasuke nodded, activating his Sharingan as he looked down from Amaterasu's head, 'What?! Tsunade-sama didn't tell us that these ships are war ships!' Sasuke thought before his eyes saw another group of chakra signatures.

"Reaper-san, I believe there are more enemies than you thought." The youngest of the rogue nin asked, her face in a childish frown as she pointed down the coastline.

The group turned to look in the opposite direction of the ships to see literally a giant white shape moving up the coast, as Sasuke's eyes narrowed, the image came clearer, "There was no evidence of that many Zetsu coming from that direction, they all should have been at the northern end of the borderline to Lightning Country." Sasuke said.

Sakura looked from the distant ships back to the white Zetsu before sighing, "I've been training for this. As a Clean-up ninja I can clear out large numbers with minimal threat." Sakura said as she stood up.

Sasuke gripped her hand, "No, you can't do it by yourself Sakura-chan, I'm going to help you." he said as he stood next to her.

She shook her head, "Someone needs to make sure these guys stay in line, I'll take down as many as I can but some will get through, you need to be there for that." She said as her entire body disappeared in a rainbow glow.

Sasuke stepped back as he covered his eyes from the glow, the other rogue ninjas focussing on Sakura as she walked to the junction between Amaterasu's neck and shoulder, the glow faded as she came to a stop.

Sakura looked over her shoulder, "I've got this." She said with a wink before the front of her helmet fell into place over her face.

The rogue ninja with an axe pointed at Sakura with shock evident in his voice, "Y-You're Burning Speed?!" he exclaimed.

Sakura merely turned away from them, "Yep." She said before she was suddenly gone.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment before they opened again, "Amaterasu, please take us down!" Sasuke shouted to the phoenix.

The bird suddenly folded in it's wings before diving towards the ground, aiming to land to the south of the two war ships.

##########

*FLASH*

Naruto appeared in the basement of his new house. Lifting up a small scroll from the table, he smirked, 'This is it. To unite the nations under the banner of Konoha, this is my chance.' Naruto thought with a slight chuckle.

'Stop this…Naruto…'

Naruto glanced around the room as his smirk disappeared, "Who's there?!" Naruto demanded as he pocketed the scroll.

He turned, taking in every corner of the room with a scowl before closing his eyes in focus, pushing out with his sensory abilities to locate the spy…

Naruto's eyes opened as his scowl deepened, 'I can't sense anyone…' he thought before dropping out of his stance.

'Naruto…please…'

Naruto turned again, this time pulling out his sword as he swung at who he could hear, only to tear the handrail of his staircase off in the movement.

Naruto blinked, "What the hell is going on?" he mumbled.

'What do you mean kid? Who're you talking to?' Naruto heard Kurama say through their link.

Naruto raised a brow, 'You didn't hear anything?' he asked.

'Nope. Just get on with it will ya? I wanna get to the fighting.' He heard the fox say with a dark chuckle.

Naruto smirked in agreement before he felt a twinge in his head, 'Ugh, a headache at a time like this? How inconvenient.' Naruto thought as he focused his chakra once more.

*FLASH*

##########

"They're in!" Pikkon shouted.

Lee grinned, "Alright! Retreat!" he ordered before cutting through another Zetsu and blurring away.

Time seemed to be moving slow as Lee sprinted past Pikkon and ten or so Zetsu on his way to Tenten, coming to a stop as Pikkon appeared behind her in a shunshin.

Tenten smirked, "Ready Lee?" she asked.

Lee's grin grew even more as he held his sword up to the sky, "Just take the shot Tenten! Our youth will guide us to victory!" Lee shouted.

*POOF*

Tenten threw the metallic spear she had just unsealed high into the air, soaring over many of the Zetsu as Pikkon formed on last jutsu, "ELEMENTAL SWORDS! FIRE STYLE: SEARING SHOT!" he shouted as he slashed a wave of fire towards the group's right flank.

The Zetsu paused as they saw the small amount of fire light up a thin line of oil that stretched around the village before they turned as Tenten's spear shot through one Zetsu's head and pinned him to the wall of the Kage building in the center of the village.

Lee held his sword to the sky, "ATTRACTIVE LIGHTNING!" he shouted as a thin stream of lightning shot over the village.

The flaming drops of oil began to fall on and ignite a huge ring of explosive tags just as Lee's lightning was drawn through the spear into the tower, the electricity causing a power surge that lit small fire all throughout the building.

Which had its basement filled completely with explosive tags.

Pikkon, Tenten and Lee leapt onto the Quickslide as all the tags ignited, causing the Zetsu to look around in sudden realisation,

"Well…damn." The Zetsu watching the trio leave muttered.

****BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM****

As they retreated, Pikkon held the jutsu in place while Tenten used her multiple kunai to knock away any debris. Lee grinned as the entire village exploded inwards before exploding straight up into the air, "Mission accomplished." Lee said with a grin as his teeth pinged.

##########

"Area clear." Sakura said with a smirk as she reappeared next to Sasuke on the beach.

The Uchiha nodded, turning towards the boats as he shouted, "Get going already! What's taking you so long?!" he shouted.

It was this moment that Neji, Hinata and Jirobo appeared, shooting along the Quickslide at high speed as the last few Chunnin followed, "Sasuke!" Neji shouted as the Byakugan user came to a stop.

Sasuke was about to acknowledge the Hyuuga when a shout came from the closer vessel, "We're ready!"

Sasuke ducked, allowing a thrown kunai to fly over his head as the next wave of Zetsu kept coming up the beach, "Neji! Get them all going!" he shouted as he took a step forward.

A sudden pulse of purple energy moved over the area, causing Sakura to look at Sasuke with wide eyes, "Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

Sasuke smirked, "It's my turn," he began as the purple chakra began to swirl tighter and faster, "SUSANO'O!"

Sasuke was lifted up into the air as the Susano'o formed around him, it's torso detailed while it's legs were not. But Sasuke didn't care as he waved his arm, causing a shockwave that threw the first line of Zetsu away.

Sakura turned and began talking as two of the missing ninjas that they picked up, an eye-patched man with a katana and an old frail man, pushed against one of the large ships, "Let me help yo-"

""HAAAAA!"" the two men shouted before giving one hard shove, pushing the entire vessel into the shallows and onto the water safely.

Sakura was silent as she stared in awe before a shadow began moving over head. She looked up, seeing Jirobo holding a hand seal as he fell to land in front of the other ship, "EARTH STYLE: RUPTURING SHOCKWAVE!" he shouted, slamming the entirety of his weight against the sand dune.

The dune moved like a wave, pushing the boat back and onto the water slightly, just as Hinata landed in the shallows in front of it, "WATER STYLE: RIPTIDE!" she shouted, stabbing the end of her staff into the water.

A strong rip tide began to pull the boat out until it was alongside the first ship, letting go of them as they turned and began sailing away.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder as he realised the ships were leaving, "Alright, game over." Sasuke said to himself as his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan pulsed, the black flames of Amaterasu forming in his Susano'o's hand.

"INFERNO STYLE: YASAKA MAGATAMA!" Sasuke shouted as he threw the three pronged attack forth.

***BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM***

The attack decimated the army while leaving a massive crater on the beach. The shockwave pushing the boats further away and destroying much, though the ninjas on Sasuke's side were protected thanks to his Susano'o guarding them from the vast majority of the force.

Sasuke took a deep breath as he let his Susano'o fade, 'That should buy us some time.' He thought as he turned back towards his team.

Suddenly, the ground shook with a massive explosion, causing everyone to look over the dunes and see debris and smoke rising in the not so far distance.

Neji nodded, "Mission success, they'll be here in two minutes." Neji said as he came to a stop by Sakura.

She nodded and glanced down the shore line, "They'll be here around then as well." She muttered as she saw the remaining white Zetsu recovering.

Neji was quiet for a moment before Sasuke raised his arm, "Rogue nin, to me!" he ordered.

In less than ten seconds, Sasuke stood with five of the ninjas to his right and four to his left. He glanced up and down the line as he began shouting, "Show me that you're worth joining our forces!" he shouted as he focussed his Sharingan.

The ninjas nodded before the moved into positions, ready to attack the Zetsu as soon as they came within range.

Sasuke turned to Sakura and used his Sharingan to implant a thought into her head before he turned back to watch the fight.

Hit with sudden inspiration, Sakura turned to Neji, "Okay, now we need-" she stopped as she looked out over the water, "Damn! Those ships are fast!" she exclaimed.

The small group of ninjas from Neji's squad and Sakura turned to see that the boats had used the shockwave of Sasuke's attack to their advantage, launching far enough into the distance that from Sakura's perspective they were but the size of her thumb.

Sakura sighed, "We need a quick way to send everyone to those boats. Ideas?" she asked.

Neji and Hinata shared a Byakugan glance before nodding, "We'll get everyone closer." Neji said as Hinata lifted her staff, seemingly scratching at some of the intricate seal work of the hyuuga.

Sakura nodded, "How much closer?" She asked.

Hinata smirked as she began walking slightly up the beach, "Within fifty meters or so." She said as she pulled the staff into two pieces.

Sakura nodded before glancing down the coastline, seeing that missing ninjas beginning their clash against the White Zetsu.

The tallest of the group walked calmly forward with an eye patch and a heavily damaged katana, it looked worn throughout thousands of battles and as the man grinned, Sakura could tell he liked fighting. He took a very basic one handed stance as they neared before his closed eye suddenly snapped open.

The Zetsu around him suddenly fell to their knees as if gravity itself had suddenly multiplied and in a few seconds, the eye-patched man was cutting through them with single strikes of brute force, easily hacking them as they began to recover and finally fight back.

The man with the bandages over his eyes pulled out a Naginata, channelling his chakra through it to show that he had wind chakra as he used masterful skills to cut the Zetsu down as they approached even though he obviously could not see.

The youngest of the group, a girl with pink hair, formed a single hand seal before simple clones began darting from her standing position at high speed, each of them running through their opponents who – to Sakura's surprise – suddenly froze in place before small explosions would occur on and in their bodies.

The oldest of the group by far fought with what Sakura was familiar with as the basic academy style Taijutsu, but amazingly enough, he had seemingly completely mastered the style so well that the simple moves were more than enough for the Zetsu that approached him.

Sakura frowned as she saw the inevitable, a ninja who wielded an axe had just cut down maybe his tenth Zetsu when a kunai managed to get his leg, causing the ninja to pause long enough to get killed.

Turning her gaze to Sasuke's left, Sakura glanced over the four on that side, causing her eyes to widen as she focussed on the first ninja.

The tall pale man adjusted his glasses with the palm of his left hand as he pulled the finger-blades of his right hand free from a Zetsu's chest. He wore an odd pair of gloves with a twenty-inch long blade sticking from each fingertip as if they were claw-like nails. He flowed around most attacks that came his way, getting punched only once in the back before he span gracefully, tearing the face off of the nearby Zetsu to shreds.

The second female of the group was obviously a fire user, she conjured the flames from her feet and hands with seemingly no trouble as she used a fierce martial arts style to launch them anywhere within ten or so meters from her body.

The last man of the group fought with a bow and arrow, something very rarely seen in the ninja world. The part that Sakura found most interesting was that the man used a simple kunai as an arrow, but though the kunai acted as the arrow head, a tail of chakra seemed to be the main portion of the arrow itself. And when the Zetsu came close, the man easily slipped into a close combat style of fighting using the bow as a weapon, the sharp blades on each end being used to cut heads clean off.

The third woman fought with a dagger, her speed her main ninja related asset as she ducked between many Zetsu in seconds, cutting their vital points with pin point accuracy before she was surrounded completely, killing three more of the surrounding Zetsu before they finally took her down.

"GET GOING!"

Each leaf ninja turned at the loud shout to see Lee sliding down the sand dune, Pikkon and Tenten following behind him on the Quickslide.

Sasuke nodded before turning to the rogue ninjas as Neji and Hinata turned towards the boats, "Alright! Let's move out!" Sasuke shouted.

The ninjas all began to fight their way back to his side, but just as Sasuke turned to lead their exit, the man with the bandaged eyes received a kunai to the back of his head.

Sasuke scowled as he turned to fight, but the aged man with the academy techniques reacted first, "FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!" he shouted, launching the perfect fireball towards the Zetsu group.

The fire bending kunoichi held a hand seal as she focussed on the fireball, causing it to suddenly expand in a wide arc and give the group a larger gap to escape.

"EIGHT TRIGRAMS:" Neji began as he took a low stance aiming towards the boats, "SOARING SKY PALM!" Neji shouted before thrusting forward his attack along the ocean surface.

Hinata clapped the two halves of her staff together as her chakra was manipulated through the seals, "HYUUGA STYLE: WATER AND WIND! FREEZE!" she shouted as her chakra was forced to change.

The chakra poured out as Neji's attack collected the chakra, causing a long gap to open up like a tunnel along the water's surface, freezing over as Hinata's chakra caused the atoms to change from water to ice.

Lee was the first to land on the ice, his speed and strength causing him to slide across the ice at ridiculously high speed towards the boats.

One by one, the ninjas would use a large chakra push to follow after Lee, sliding out towards the boats before they had to sprint the rest of the distance across the water.

Being the last to cross, Sakura channelled fire chakra to Radical Good Speed, causing the ice to melt behind her as she raced behind the group.

Sasuke smirked as his eyes locked on Neji's gaze, Sharingan to Byakugan.

' 'Mission accomplished.' '

##########

"…And we will fight with them!"

*FLASH*

Naruto appeared next to the kunai he had left in the Hidden waterfall village, which was resting on the podium that Shibuki was currently talking to his ninjas from.

Naruto blinked as everyone stared at him, "Ah, hello again." Naruto said with a smirk.

Shibuki grinned, "Naruto! We're all ready!" he said, picking up a piece of rope.

Naruto glanced around and realised that everyone was standing in a circle around him and Shibuki, holding on to a long length of rope that Shibuki held the stand and end of, "Huh, good thinking Shibuki, is this everyone?" Naruto asked with his smirk still in place.

Shibuki nodded, "Yes, everyone is here, all two hundred and sixty of us." he said, breathing heavily as he tried to get his breath back.

Naruto raised a brow, realising that some people were holding multiple pieces of rope so that everyone was connected together and that since Shibuki was the only one out of breath, he must've gone around and passed the rope out, finishing mere minutes earlier than Naruto appeared.

Naruto nodded before turning in a circle, "Waterfall ninjas! Are you ready!?" Naruto shouted.

Shibuki nodded along with the ninjas in his village, "HAI!" they shouted in agreement.

Naruto grinned as he slung an arm over Shibuki's shoulders, connecting his chakra to the man so that everyone would stay attached in the transport, "Then let's go!"

*FLAAAAASH*

For a moment, the entirety of the Hidden Waterfall village was filled with a golden flash. Then just as suddenly, it was gone.

##########

Gaara took a deep breath from his place in the shadows. He looked out over the mass of ninjas, all of whom now wore the headband: Shinobi.

He could see that there was still inter-village bickering, back and forth glares between soon-to-be comrades. He sighed as he closed his eyes, 'How can they expect me to do this?' he thought to himself quietly.

"Gaara."

Gaara looked over at the man who had stepped out to join him, "Kakashi-sensei." Gaara said with a slight bow of respect.

Kakashi eye smiled as he came to a stop by Gaara's side, "Congrats on being our General. I can't think of many people who'd be able to fill those shoes as well as you will." Kakashi said comfortingly.

Gaara watched the man silently before looking out over the Shinobi once more, "How can I unite a world of people who hate each other?" Gaara asked softly.

Kakashi chuckled, causing Gaara to glance at him, "How could a Sand ninja and a Stone ninja come to trust and live in Konoha?" Kakashi asked in return.

Gaara looked down in thought, 'Because Pikkon and I both care for the village…for our friends…' Gaara thought before looking up, standing tall and confident as he felt his hesitation disappear.

Kakashi looked at Gaara as the red head was about to step into the war meeting room, "Gaara?" Kakashi asked, wondering if the sand user was ready.

Gaara paused as he glanced over his shoulder, "No more hate. Instead, we fight to protect on this day." Gaara said before walking out of the shadows completely, opening the door in front of him confidently as he marched inside, ready for the first and last true war meeting.

##########

*FLASH*

The Waterfall village's Shinobi appeared at the back of the large army of Shinobi, causing many ninjas to turn towards them with shock and interest before Naruto let go of Shibuki.

Darui landed in front of the group, "Good, you're here. Follow me and get into position." He said as he began to march the smaller group of ninjas through the throng of the Shinobi Alliance.

Naruto stepped back, 'One delivery down, the others only have a few hours to get here.' Naruto thought as he glanced up at the sun before smirking, 'Let's see if we can speed them up.' He thought as he felt for the seal on Sasuke's board.

*FLASH*

##########

"So that's it then." A said seriously as he put down an empty cup.

Gaara nodded, "We all know our parts. Now we just need the setup to be complete." Gaara said.

Jiraiya nodded, "I'll take care of that if you want." Jiraiya offered.

Gaara shook his head, "No, I want Sasuke Uchiha on this." Gaara said sternly.

"Are you sure?" Tsunade asked.

Gaara nodded, "In the meantime, we'll have Naruto and Fuu travel as fast as they can to the remains of the Lions ruins near the border for a temporary base where they can hide." He said.

Onoki raised a brow, "Temporary? If we're trying to make sure the two of them aren't captured shouldn't we keep them hidden permanently?" he asked.

Gaara shook his head, "There's no point. Anyone who knows Naruto knows that he'll come to fight. At least this way we have some time to analyse our enemy's movements before they come and help." Gaara explained.

The group nodded in silent agreement as Kakuzu sighed, causing everyone to turn to him, "So that's it then. Everything is in order." The multihearted man said.

Everyone was quiet as they glance to Gaara who smiled softly, "Yes…It's nearly time." He said as he stood, marching towards the door with the Kages and Army Captains behind him.

"Hold up a second."

The group paused and turned as Tsunade walked through the group to come to a stop in front of Gaara, "There's something I need to give you.

##########

*FLASH*

"Bout time." Sasuke said as Naruto appeared in a flash behind him.

Naruto took a quick glance around as he surveyed the boat he was on, "Sorry for the delay, what's our ETA?" Naruto asked.

Sakura glanced ahead of the boat, Scouter Sight glinting as the sun bounced from it, "About six, maybe six and a half hours Naruto." She said.

Naruto nodded, "And at maximum speed?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke raised a brow questioningly while Sakura just smirked, "I think we can make it in three or four." She said before turning and walking towards the back of the boat just as Naruto formed a wood clone for the second ship.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a glance before Sasuke nodded. Naruto jogged to the bow of the vessel as Sasuke turned and began shouting, "SAILS AT FULL MAST! EVERYONE GRAB ON TO SOMETHING TIGHT OR GET BELOW DECK!"

People began rushing about as Sakura stepped off the back of the boat, Sakura's wings suddenly appearing as she took off while Naruto and his clone appeared to just float up through the air as they made it to the bow of each vessel.

Misa got to Sasuke just as everyone had braced themselves for tornado force winds, "Excuse me Reaper, just what are you doing ordering my village around?" she asked with a frown.

Sasuke just blinked on his Sharingan, implanting his face into her perception along with thoughts of attraction and trust. She began to blush as he stepped up to her and cradled her face in his hands, "What needs to be done. Trust me Misa-sama, just hold tight." He said, his Sharingan swirling hypnotically.

Misa watched Sasuke for a moment before nodding as her blush grew even larger, but Sasuke broke eye contact as he glanced around him to the large chakra pulses he felt build.

Naruto's chakra flared as he clapped his hands in front of the boat, "WIND STYLE: UPGRADE BLAAAAADE!" Naruto shouted in strain as he sharpened the wind around the front of the boat.

Sasuke had to step forward and grab Misa as the boat rocked from the sudden absence of water around it's front. While at the same time, he threw the chain of his Kusarigama up into the air, extending it to be more than the length of the massive ship.

"PHOENIX WIND STYLE: ETERNAL GUST POINT!" Sakura shouted as her wings came together in front of her, creating a small blue fire that began to swirl as if it was being buffeted by a nonexistent wind. Sakura turned away from the boats and threw the fire before dive bombing towards the boat with Sasuke on it.

Naruto and his clone used his chakra to stand on the bow of the boats as he held his hands forward, cutting through the water and creating a perfectly unobscured path for the next few hundred meters.

Just as Sakura gripped the end of Sasuke's chain.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The fire seemed to eat itself before bursting forth a continuous massive wind towards the boat. The sails caught the wind and threw the ship forward at an immense speed, easily tripling the previous speed and cutting off a huge amount of time.

Sasuke looked up at Sakura, who was trailing behind the ship by holding onto his weapon, "Sakura! What's our ETA?" he shouted.

Sakura grinned and shouted back, "I think about three and a quarter hours!"

Sasuke smirked before looking down at Misa, "We'll be there soon. We should be just in time to set up camp for everyone." He said trying to seem charming.

And by the blush on her face, he definitely succeeded, "O-Okay Sasuke-k-kun." She said into his chest as the wind blew them around.

Looking ahead of the ship, Naruto smirked before hearing a noise to his side. He glanced over to see that a cannon hold had been opened and that a pair of Hot Water Ninjas were staring around in shock before their eyes focussed on Naruto.

The blonde grinned, "Hey guys! You having fun?" he asked with a laugh before letting his grip on the wind around him slip a little, blowing the hold shut and knocking the two back inside softly.

Naruto chuckled before turning forward and focussing again. His mind wandering into a meditative state once he prepared his body for the long haul.

##########

Tsunade closed the door behind her with a smirk as the Kages and commanders turned to her, "Princess Tsunade, are you sure that doing that surgery won't mess him up before the war?" Onoki asked.

Tsunade chuckled, "I'm positive he can handle the mental strain. He already has it activated you know, he seemed to be perfectly calm." She said with a smirk.

Light raised a brow, "Already? That's incredible, you really are an amazing medical ninja Tsunade." He said with slight awe evident in his voice.

She was about to reply when the door behind her opened. They turned to see the top of Gaara's head as he walked out of the room, "Gaara, you still have an hour. You should rest."

Gaara shook his head, raising it and letting everyone see the bandages as he spoke up, "I don't need my eyes to talk. Is there anything we've missed or anything else anybody can think of that we need to cover?" Gaara asked.

The group was silent for a moment before Mifune raised his arm, "Actually, now that you mention it I should ask, what are your plans of action for the daimyo of each of your nations?" he asked.

The group was quiet for a moment before Onoki sighed, "Well shit, I forgot about them." he grumbled.

Kakuzu chuckled, "So what? They're all just down a couple of levels anyway aren't they? We have some time, so let's figure it out."

##########

Opening his eyes, Naruto glanced around his mindscape with a smirk before walking forward towards the cage, "Hey Kurama, how do you think this will pan out?" Naruto asked.

The fox seemed to shrug as it sat up, "You will have a good fight. But really, I think you still could lose this war." It said calmly.

Naruto's smirk fell, "What? No way, of course I will win this damn thing." He said with a scoff.

'Stop!'

Naruto and Kurama both looked into the shadows of the far corner of the room, "You hear that?" Naruto asked.

Kurama nodded, "Sounded just like…" it muttered before going quiet, and looking off to the side in thought.

Naruto turned away from the corner and raised a brow at Kurama, "Like who? I don't know anyone with that voice." Naruto questioned.

The fox shook it's head, "No one I know, my mistake." Kurama said as it lay back on it's paws.

Naruto frowned before turning to the corner the voice came from and walking towards it. But as he got nearer to the shadows, a seal seemed to slowly crawl closer with each step.

Naruto stopped just as the growing seal was about to touch his feet. He crouched, taking a closer look at the seal before his eyes widened, "This is ridiculously complicated, I can only recognise two parts of this seal out of the whole thing." Naruto said.

Kurama reacted to Naruto's words with a malicious grin, not that Naruto could see it since he was focussing on the sealwork in front of him, "What do you recognise? It'd be best for you to get rid of an unfamiliar seal that's in your own head. Who knows what it could be manipulating or maybe even recording?"

Naruto nodded before glancing over his shoulder at Kurama, "I think…I should let it stay. It would be best to find out what it does before destroying it." Naruto said suspiciously.

Kurama kept it's face blank the second that Naruto turned around, "Whatever."

Naruto raised a brow at the fox, "Y'know, you've been acting differently lately, what's up?" Naruto asked as he stood to face it directly.

The fox grinned a toothy grin, "Nothing kid, shouldn't you be waking up soon? There's someone trying to get your attention."

Naruto blinked before listening to the outside world, 'NARUTO!'

The blonde sighed, "Alright fine don't tell me, not like you can tell anyone else." Naruto said with a shrug before fading back to reality.

##########

"Alright, so that settles it." Gaara said with a nod.

Light nodded, "You got it General." He said as he stood up from his chair.

A glanced out a nearby window, "They're getting restless again, I don't think letting them segregate by their village groups was the best idea." He muttered, watching the massive alliance army.

Tsunade nodded, "I think we have to go out now. How are your eyes feeling Gaara?" she asked, waving her hand in front of the bandages over his eyes.

Gaara casually caught her hand, looking through the bandages easily, "Perfectly normal. In fact, if I'm being honest I feel like I've been missing something up until this very moment." Gaara said before reaching back and unwrapping the bandages.

The group went quiet as the bandages dropped to the floor. Gaara stood proud as he looked around the group, his green tinged Byakugan glaring out from his insomnia ridden eyelids. The group was silent as they watched him look around the entire building with a simple sweep of his gaze.

Gaara blinked before waving his hand behind his head, "Huh, never knew that the Byakugan has a blind spot." He muttered in thought.

Tsunade and Jiraiya face-palmed as Gaara just let out a village secret.

""It does?!"" Onoki and Light asked in unison.

A stood loudly, "That's not important right now! Let's head out before another fight starts up!" A said before marching towards the door again.

Gaara nodded and deactivated the Byakugan eyes he had been implanted with before walking out the door that A held open for everyone, "He's right. Let's go." Gaara said softly before stepping outside.

##########

Naruto opened his eyes and instantly cut off his chakra, letting the waves splash back against the bow of the ships as he flipped up into the air, his wood clone disappearing in a few moments as it jumped overboard from the other ship.

The boat travelled underneath his airborne form just as he fell past Sakura, forming another wind jutsu to disrupt hers, "WIND STYLE: AIR SLASH!" he shouted as he swung his arm vertically.

The tornado force winds disappeared almost instantly and the boat started to slow as it entered the cove. Sasuke let go of Misa and unattached his chakra as he marched forward, "Alright! Get ready for land everyone!" Sasuke shouted as people began to come out from underneath the decking.

Sakura used a Flash Hop to push herself until she was over the stern of the vessel, landing safely as Naruto hovered down to stay floating next to her, "What was our time?" Naruto asked as the ship's speed dramatically slowed.

Sakura smirked, "You're not gonna believe me if I told you." she said with a small laugh as the two of them moved slowly amongst those who were readying the ship.

Naruto raised a brow before levitating up and over a few people, causing them to pause and look up at him in shock, "A few hours right? Maybe a bit more?" he asked casually while he scanned the surrounding area of the boat.

Sakura giggled before hopping onto the railing of the ship so that she was level with Naruto, "Just over two hours, forty minutes. If we leave the docking to the ship crew the ninjas and us will all make it to hear who the army's general and commanders are." She said with a smile.

Naruto smirked, "Heh, cool." He said before looking up the massive cliff that the docks connected to.

They stopped next to Neji since he was the closest team leader, "Neji, we should leave immediately and leave it to the ship hands to dock the boat." Sakura said.

Neji turned to the two of them with his Byakugan activated, "I agree. Which is why I have sent Hinata and Tenten to go inform Misa-san before us Konoha ninjas take the lead." Neji said before turning towards the approaching wharf.

In a few moments, all of the Konoha ninjas had gathered on the docking side of the vessel, Misa the only non Konoha ninja in their line. She looked back as the dock came within leaping distance, "Ready?!" she shouted.

"Hai!" the Hot Water Village's ninjas shouted.

Misa nodded and off the group leapt, landing on the dock that was over forty meters away lightly before they kept running up the sheer Cliffside.

Naruto smirked as they reached halfway, feeling two soft hands grip his. He glanced to either of his sides to see Tenten and Hinata holding him as they ran to match his pace.

Naruto's smirk grew into a grin that the two shared with him before they looked forward once more, making the final leap up onto the clifftop before they continued running towards the massive group of ninjas in the valley facing the alliance headquarters.

##########

The massive crowd went quiet as after many hours of getting ready and waiting. They were all looking up at the Alliance Headquarters as a group of people walked out to the edge of the cliff.

"What? How can we really follow someone so young huh?" a random ninja shouted as Gaara led the group of people out onto the overhanging cliff.

A leaf ninja grabbed the first ninja's collar and shook him, "Shut your mouth! Gaara is the first leader of the Aerial squadron of ANBU! He's a hundred times a better ninja than you are!" the ninja said with a shove.

The ninja that had first shouted knocked the leaf ninja's hand away, "Piss off! I'm a Jonin of the Stone! I could beat any Leaf ni-"

The two men and the group of surrounding ninjas went silent as a small ball of sand appeared between the two of them. It burst out softly, pushing the people apart before the sand rose into the air, causing everyone to watch as it came to a stop behind Gaara, who lowered his hand after summoning the sand.

Gaara stepped forward as he finally gained the attention of the hundred thousand Shinobi, he took a deep breath before he lifted his head, showing his green tinged Byakugan bearing eyes, "From the first great ninja war to the last, Shinobi have wounded and come to hate each other for the benefit of their own nation and village. That hatred led to a desire for power, and that desire for power created someone like me." Gaara said with deep emotion in his voice, echoing every word throughout the great valley.

"I too was once full of hatred and power! I was a Jinchuuriki! I hated this world and all the people in it! I constantly thought of nothing but destroying it. I was no different than what Akatsuki is now!
However a certain Shinobi from Konoha stopped me! He shed tears for me! His enemy! Even though I hurt him... He still he called me his friend! He saved me! My enemy! My fellow Jinchuuriki! He suffered the same pain as me, and yet bore no ill will! The moment we understand each other's pain, our malice will disappear!" Gaara said with a dramatic wave of his arm, basically entrancing the whole army with his words.

He took a deep breath before continuing, "Look around you! There are no enemies here! We are all one and it is because we have all been affected by Akatsuki! The Sand village, Stone village, Leaf village, Cloud village and the many Minor villages that have joined the Alliance... They no longer exist! We are now only Shinobi!" Gaara said before holding his raised arm to his chest.

"If you still cannot forgive the Leaf village for its mistakes, then I will give you my head once this war is over!" He said, earning a gasp from many of the Shinobi, "Our enemy is now after the very friend who saved me! If they capture him then it will be the end of the world!" he said, taking a shaky breath as he felt tears begin to run down his cheek.

"I..I want to protect him! I want to protect this world! However, I am too young and naive to do so...
That is why...I need all of you to give me your strength!" He shouted as if begging before standing tall again, his eyes hard as steel as he gave a vow.

"To protect our friends and this world, we will fight as one...Until our dying breaths..." Gaara said before looking over the crowd once more, "I vow on my way of the ninja to uphold this ideal! But please, for me to succeed, I need your strength!" Gaara shouted, his voice echoing powerfully around the valley for nearly a full minute.

Slowly a cheer grew up from the crowd before suddenly every single Shinobi was jumping and cheering their support for Gaara.

The redhead looked over the army once more, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips as his tears slowed to a near stop.

Gaara cleared his throat before shouting once more, "Now! Everyone listen out for your names! This process will take the rest of the day but it is necessary. These are our army's captains!" Gaara said with a gesture to the people behind him.

"Kakashi of the Leaf, captain of division one!"

"Kakuzu of the Sand, captain of division two!"

"Darui of the Cloud, captain of division three!"

"Mifune of the Samurai, captain of division four!"

"Kitsuchi of the Stone, captain of division five!"

"Konkira of the Sand, second in command of the surprise attack squad!"

"Inoichi of the Leaf, captain of the Intelligence division!"

"Shizune of the Leaf, captain of the Logistical Support and Medical division!"

Gaara took a deep breath, "They will call for you now, so listening carefully and those few of you that are left over are to meet their captain at the top of this cliff at the end. Now, go!" Gaara said with a final shout and a wave of his hand.

Instantly the captains of each division used their own shunshin to appear at different points of the canyon's wall before the opened a scroll and began shouting people's names.

Gaara took a deep breath as the alliance began to split off into their sub-units. He turned away to face the few left behind him, "Light-dono, you will be in charge of the daimyo's protection squad as we agreed," Gaara said, earning a slight smirk and a nod from the oddly thin Kazekage, "Tsunade and A as the prime commanders will stay with the intelligence division and…" Gaara trailed off for a moment.

Tsunade raised a brow at him, before the group turned to look at the top of the cliff a few hundred meters to their right.

A second later as the afternoon sun bounced off the rocks, Naruto, Hinata, Tenten, Sakura and Sasuke lead the group of Hot Water Ninjas in a leap over the cliff to land in the center of the army, crouching as they landed to take the momentum of the fall.

As soon as they landed, Misa stepped forward, "Alright, so who's collecting for my division?" she asked with a serious grin as she tightened a 'Shinobi' headband around her waist.

Every man's jaw dropped at the obviously sexy woman that had appeared amongst them, Misa smiled up at her old friend as said friend landed in front of her, "Misa-chan! It's been a while aye?" Jiraiya said before holding out his hand.

The two of them did a secret handshake as she talked, "Yeah, haven't seen you since the last book signing, thanks for that by the way." She said with a wink.

They ended the secret handshake with a simple high five as Jiraiya nodded, "No problem, your second in command is over there getting the division ready for you, hurry." Jiraiya said, causing Misa to nod before using the shunshin to appear next to the Sand village puppeteer that was calling out her list of names.

Jiraiya turned to the rest of the Hot Water Ninjas, "Alright, sorry but since we didn't expect you guys for another couple of hours you are further down on the listings. Just listen out for your name from the division captains and report to the one that called you alright?" Jiraiya said with a thumbs up.

"Hai Jiraiya-sama!" the group yelled before running over to the pile of 'Shinobi' headbands where they began to grab one for themselves.

Jiraiya turned to Leaf ninjas and the missing ninjas, "So, this is your squad Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto raised a brow, "My squad?" he asked.

Jiraiya nodded, "Naruto, you are to lead this group of missing ninjas to meet up with Fuu and her team. They're waiting in a secret passageway to the side of the main building of the Lion's ruins. You know where they are?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto frowned, "Not exactly." He muttered.

"If I may Final Flash, I have lived previously at the Lion's ruins," said the old man as he stepped up to Naruto, half smiling up at him since half of his face was scarred into a permanent grimace, "I know the way there and of the passageway." He said with a nod.

Naruto smirked, "Nice, I'll need you by my side then." Naruto said before sharing a glance with Jiraiya.

The two shook hands, metal to skin, as they made a strong eye contact, "Do what needs to be done Naruto, hold back and hide until you're told otherwise, it's vital to our success." Jiraiya said sternly, no hint of a smile or a joke.

Naruto nodded, "Got it Sensei." He said before they released their grips and turned away from each other.

Naruto looked to the old man of the group, "The Lion's ruins, they're near the eastern part of the north border right mr…?" Naruto said, trailing off at the end.

The man grinned, "Gohan, and yes, they're only a half hours journey inland from the eastern coast." Gohan said as he pointed north.

Naruto nodded, "Alright, let's get going then." Naruto said before he flew forward, forcing the others to sprint along behind him to keep up.

Jiraiya watched Naruto disappear down the valley with a sigh, 'You got this kid.' Jiraiya thought before turning back to locate and get orders from Gaara.

##########

Chapter end.

Sorry for the massive delay, as you may be able to tell my mojo is nojo hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...right.

Anywho, R&R, give me a reason to start this war for real. No more guerrilla tactics, just the divisions and Naruto's side mission.

Luv ya and leave ya, alky out.