DBNG

Lightning

"Lord Hokage," called Shikaku, dashing out from Headquarters. "I just received word that...Madara Uchiha has been summoned." he said awkwardly.

"Wait…" paused Tsunade, exchanging glances with Jessica for confirmation. "…Madara Uchiha?" she asked.

"Yeah," confirmed Jessica. "except this time it's the 'real' Madara. Right Obito?" she said, not taking her eyes off of Obito.

Obito didn't seem caught off guard or even surprised in the least by the sudden revelation. "Ha…" he laughed. "…well, I figured this would happen eventually."

"What's going on?" asked Tsunade. "Obito as in…Obito Uchiha?!" she exclaimed.

"It's a long story." Replied Jessica. "Even we Guardians don't know the full story. All we know is that we were told to hold back our power as much as possible and to refer to Obito as Madara…until the 'real' one arrived."

"Don't act as if this changes anything." stated Obito, forming a hand seal. "Transformation jutsu, release." A smoke cloud burst around Obito as he released his transformation jutsu. "All this means is that I can finally give up this charade…" as the smoke cleared, Obito's true body revealed itself. "…and fight as Obito Uchiha." Obito's clothes and attire had returned to their original form before he had absorbed the Juubi and assumed the role of Madara Uchiha.

"I'm going with the Raikage to the real Madara." Told Tsunade. "Can I leave Obito to you?"

"Of course." Replied Jessica.

"You seem awfully confident." Glared Obito. "You may be strong, but taking me on alone sounds far too cocky."

"Who said I'd be alone?" smiled Jessica.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call all these fodder fair competition." Replied Obito as he began walking towards Jessica. "In terms of competent fighting prowess, you're alone in this fight."

"You should know better than anyone else Obito…" she said.

"Know what exactly?"

"You raised the two strongest beings on the planet." She continued. "You should know better than anyone else…just how limitless those boys are."

"Enough with the riddles," frowned Obito, beginning to get frustrated. "this is over-"

Suddenly a large rip in space erupted behind Obito, followed by an ear piercing yell. The shock from the yelling alone violently shook the land they stood on.

"What?!" called Obito as he turned and faced the wormhole. Electricity surged from it, as if preparing to release something.

Then, in an instant, Zael flew the hole. Though, his body had transformed. His body was slightly more muscular than before. Additionally, the level of electricity surrounding his body was far more intense than when he fought before. However, more than anything else was the difference in his hair. It had vastly grown, now reaching far down his back.

"Super Saiyan3?!" thought Obito.

Before Obito could react, Zael had already appeared in front of him with a Big Bang Kamehameha prepared in front of his face and ready to fire.

"Farewell." Said Zael.

Meanwhile, I stood alongside Suigetsu, Itachi, and Deidara as I explained our plan against Madara.

"Listen," I started. "I'll fight Madara alone first. Idealy, we'd fight him altogether like we did in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. However, this Edo Madara might pose a problem. His infinite chakra and regeneration are going to be troublesome. I'll go out and determine how we'll handle him. No doubt we'll need to fight this Madara differently. Remain on standby until I give any orders."

I then left them as I began walking towards Madara. He merely stood in place, folding his arms as he watched me cross the desert to him.

"He's facing him alone?" asked Onoki as he floated beside Deidara. "Who does he think he is?" grumbled Onoki. Deidara didn't reply. He was absolutely silent.

"Deidara's quiet." Thought Onoki. "That's new. He'd usually be gloating by now. Is he actually listening to him?"

"Deidara…" paused Onoki. "…for as long as I've known you, I've never seen you be obedient or listen to...anyone."

"Hm?" hummed Deidara. "I don't like to…but for him I guess I can make an exception."

"Him?" asked Gaara.

"Deidara isn't very good at explaining himself." Interrupted Itachi. "So I'll explain. You see, apart from Cael and Zephyr, Nagato is the strongest among the seven of us. In other words, he's the most powerful human alive."

"Ha!" laughed Suigetsu. "Nagato's strong, I'll give him that. But he's never fought me 1-on-1, so we can't say that for certain."

"That's funny," replied Deidara. "coming from the weakest one of us."

"Whatever…" growled Suigetsu.

"Anyways," continued Itachi. "we don't listen to Nagato justbecause he's the most powerful. During our training, we'd often have group battles with the seven of us fighting together. Nagato, more so than anyone else, even more than Zephyr and Cael, showed the most leadership characteristics. He's the one who coordinated all of our battles and developed most of our battle strategies. It makes sense when you think about it. He's technically the oldest and the most experienced among us. Furthermore, though Akatsuki was looked over by Obito, it was Nagato who truly led it. So we really saw no one more suited to lead us."

"Amazing." Thought Gaara. "Even among the Guardians, there exists someone who resides above them. To be able to harness the respect of Itachi is one thing, but to have totally aloof characters like Suigetsu and Deidara follow you is something else. Nagato's ability to lead people is more than astounding, its almost terrifying."

The distance between Madara and I grew closer as I continued marching towards him across the desert.

"Your move, Madara." I said.

"How arrogant," replied Madara. "you do realize that Kabuto will most likely have me get serious rather quickly since you're my opponent."

"I assumed as much." I replied. "He would have to get serious if he doesn't want to lose such a powerful soldier."

"I hate fighting seriously..." sighed Madara. "...few are even worth fighting seriously against. But if it's you then I'll allow it. Very well, let's begin"

Suddenly, Madara clamped his palms together. For a moment, nothing was happening. Then, shinobis within Gaara's unit began to gaze up at the sky with horror stricken all over their face as a large shadow loomed over the battlefield. What they saw was a gigantic meteor falling towards them.

"What in the world?!" yelled a shinobi.

"Kazekage!" yelled Onoki. "We have to stop it!"

"No, Onoki!" ordered Gaara, raising his palm to stop him.

"What's going on?" thought Gaara. "Even with...'this' coming down on us...Itachi, Suigetsu, and Deidara...the three of them show no concern at all for their safety. None of them even gave so much as a flinch. If anything, this feeling I'm getting from them...its as if they have absolute faith in him...Nagato."

"Kazekage," continued Onoki. "you are the Commanding General of these forces! Show some...!"

"Onoki," interrupted Gaara. "put your faith in him, in them. If Itachi, Deidara, and Suigetsu believe in Nagato, then that's all the reason that we should as well. Now is not the time for me to lead these forces. A better leader is upon us. For now, let Nagato lead us to victory."

Gohan and I were taking a break from our usual training. The two of us sat quietly on the chamber floors while replenishing ourselves with water. Our training differed greatly from everyone else's. Everyone else had trainers with similar fighting styles to their own. Though some of them slightly differed in fighting styles such as Piccolo and Deidara, or Jessica and Dende, they still managed to find something similar between themselves. Such as Jessica's and Dende's healing and Deidara's and Piccolo's long range attacks. However, despite being with him for a month already, Gohan and I virtually share no similarities at all with regards to our fighting styles. It went even deeper than that. Our personalities clash completely. We are nothing alike.

"Gohan," I started. "can I ask you something?"

"Sure." he replied.

"With the time I, and the rest of us have spent in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber...I've noticed that my comrades have gotten fairly close with their trainers...even Deidara. People with similar flame attributes attract one another, and often times are very similar in character as well. So it was inevitable for them to get along with each other well."

"Yes, that's true." agreed Gohan. "So?"

"I suppose what I'm trying to say is..." I paused. "...am I really the Lightning Guardian? We've been training together for a month, and not much is different between our relationship from when I first met you. I don't mean to make our time together awkward, but I've just been wondering if I'm the right person for the role. From what I've learnt about being a Guardian, its that its a very delicate position. Just having one person, or factor, out of place could be detrimental. The last thing I want to do is hinder anyone...that's...just what's been on my mind."

There was an awkward silence between us for a moment. It was to be expected, I just asked him a very odd question. I couldn't tell anything from his facial expression either. He looked at me pretty seriously, with one eyebrow slightly raised. Eventually, he let out a sigh as he shook his head.

"Nagato, Nagato, Nagato..." he repeated. "...has anyone ever told you that you think too much?" he smiled. I didn't respond. I simply looked at him questionably, trying to understand what he was saying. "Do you remember the story I told you on the first day we met?"

"Of course." I nodded. "It was about how you defeated Cell and saved Earth."

"Yes," he continued. "but that wasn't the most important thing that I wanted you to get out of that."

"I'm sorry," I apologised. "I'm a bit lost."

"Nagato," he said sternly. "who else among the seven of you has experienced the pain of loss? I know Itachi has felt something similar, but the feeling I'm talking about is a little different. The Pain of seeing someone, who did nothing wrong in his life, die in front of you?"

And then, it suddenly became clear. Despite our differences, despite our fighting styles, despite everything about Gohan and I that was different, there was one thing which the two of us shared that no other Guardian and trainer did. We both understood Pain.

"To this day," I added. "I'll never forget that day. Every moment, every second, every sensation was engraved in my memory. I used to get so angry. But then, somewhere along the line, I decided to channel that anger, and turned it into..."

"Strength." smiled Gohan.

"...right..." I agreed.

"You see?" continued Gohan. "That's what I wanted you to understand when we first met. Had I known that I wasn't clear enough then I would've explained it better!" he laughed.

Then, for the first time in a very, very long time, I smiled. I genuinely smiled. Not just because of the connection I had established with Gohan, but because I legitimately felt that I belonged here with Cael, Zephyr and the others. My whole life I struggled with this: Where did I belong? Who is my family? Who are my comrades? It took me this long to realize it...but it was well worth the wait.

From then on, Gohan and I decided to take the entire day off and just talk...about everything. I wanted to know more about him. The day seemed to have just flown by, but we didn't care. Out of everything we talked about, though, one thing he told me stuck with me for every day that we were in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. It was something that I would never forget, and always remind myself:

"Nagato, among the human race, you are the strongest. However, that does not necessarily mean that you are it's greatest fighter. More than anything else, it means that you are humanity's Greatest Shield. Therefore, if ever a threat so great is upon the planet's people, it is you who shall be the rod that draws that threat to yourself and be the first line of defence. That is the Lightning."

I inhaled deeply, taking in a considerable amount of oxygen before completely letting it out. "That's right," I thought. "I am the Lightning. The rod that draws damage away from the Family. I wonder...if this is what Gohan felt like...when he stopped Cell." It was time. I spread my legs apart and slightly lowered my body towards the ground in a squat. I then pointed my arm directly at the ground, opened my palm, and flexed my arm vigorously as I concentrated. The land then started to shake as sand particles started to float upwards.

"Super Bansho Tenin!" I called.

I rose my arm upwards, and instantly, a large circular piece of the land that Madara was standing on was extracted from the desert and began flying towards the oncoming Meteor.

"Oh?" said Madara, bracing himself on the floating Meteor. "That was clever of you. However...Shinra Tensei." Madara extended his arms towards the approaching Meteor and attempted to push it back. Though, nothing happened. The two meteors continued drawing closer to one another without hesitation. "Hmmm...not bad, Nagato."

"Show off..." mumbled Suigetsu.

"What's happening?" asked Gaara. "I don't even know where to begin...how do you analyze a battle like this? Is this even ninjutsu? The scale is completely different from anything I've ever seen."

"Nagato countered Madara's Meteor with his own." explained Itachi. "They both used the same technique. Super Bansho Tenin drastically increases the gravitational pulling power of it's caster. Madara pulled a meteor from space, and Nagato created his own from the land itself with Madara on it. Madara, however, decided to release his Meteor and send it away. Nagato was a step ahead of Madara. Because as soon as he did, Nagato immediately took control of his meteor and is now using it on him."

"B-but..." stumbled Onoki. "...how can..."

"Stop worrying about it, old man. Hm." interrupted Deidara. "Just sit back and watch. It's not everyday that you get to see Gods do battle. There's not a single shinobi on Earth, dead or alive, that can match him. He is Nagato Uzumaki, The Lightning."