I may sound like a broken record, but I'm very sorry to have taking so long to update. Truth is I've had a terrible case of writer's block. I already know how the story is going to play out, but I have a terrible hard time in writing the chapter for reasons I don't know.

Thankfully after backing off for a bit, I was surprised to see how easy it was to write this chapter. I wish I was a bit better at writing but at least you guys won't be kept waiting. So from now on, expect more updates. This time I mean it though. It I don't go through then I'll let you come over and slap me on the face.

Naruto: Making of a Hokage

The Gathering Arc

Ch.35 Almighty Push

As soon as he entered Sage Mode, Jiraiya was on the move.

"Fireball Jutsu!"

Flames shot out of Jiraiya's mouth, engulfing whatever was in front of him, but the three of the Akatsuki quickly jumped high in the air. However, the Toad Sage was well aware of the possibility, and the two toads on his shoulders released a joint attack of sound waves.

One of the Akatsuki members quickly put himself between the attack and the other two and, much to the shock of Jiraiya, absorbed the jutsu.

"We should take care of 'im first," Fukasaku said.

"You got that right," Jiraiya replied as he thrust his hands to the ground, "Summoning Jutsu!"

A large cloud of smoke appeared beneath the Sage's feet as he was lifted upwards by the head of a large purple toad. When he noticed that two of the Akatsuki members who here still in the air, dove towards him, he was quick to run through hand signs quickly.

"Sage Arts: Mud Dome!"

The ground around the toad raised high and then curved inwards to make a large dome with Jiraiya and the toad inside. One of the Akatsuki ran through hand signs and thrust both hands forward to create a powerful blast of wind that broke a piece of the dome. However, as soon as the hole was made, a blazing flames shot out of it and engulfed the Akatsuki member, leaving nothing but ashes.

Yahiko frowned as the fire died down and the hole on the dome was restored. Attacking head on was futile, and because this body lacked the ability to use his Rinnegan to its full potential, he couldn't simply eradicate the wall. If that was the case then...

"Earth Style: Dark Swamp."

By placing his two hands on the ground, the ground beneath the dome was turned into a muddy mess that caused it to break and come down. At that moment, the large purple toad jumped out of the debris and spat out a jet of oil that covered his other body.

"Sage Arts: Toad Oil Fireball!" Jiraiya shot fire out of his mouth and ignited the oil, setting anything it touched ablaze, including his other body. However, as expected, it absorbed the jutsu. But now with the member preoccupied, the Toad Sage set his sights on Yahiko.

"Giant Rasengan!" Jumping off the toad, Jiraiya created a massive Rasengan that was many times the size of his body, and dove towards the leader of the Akatsuki.

"Futile." Yahiko said. "Fireball Jutsu," he let loose a slow-moving fireball towards the Sage, before following up by placing his hand around his mouth, "Devastation."

Jiraiya cursed as the fast-moving wind made contact with the fire and set off a powerful explosion that sent him hurling through the air, and before he could fall, the other Akatsuki member caught him in the air and put him in a painfully firm grip that threatened to break his back.

The Sage was not out of options as his hair lengthened and wrapped around the torso of the Akatsuki member before it spiked and pierced his body. Blood flowed out of the enemy as the spiked hair tightened around the body before his grip finally became weak enough for Jiraiya to get out of.

"Impressive indeed, Jiraiya-sensei," Yahiko praised in a stoic manner. "Fighting you has proven to be much more troublesome than I first thought. Unfortunately, I cannot fight you with my full power."

The bleeding Akatsuki member left the scene as the old mentor and student faced each other.

"I assume you still need the guy that just left," Jiraiya concluded with a smile. "Or, could he be a corpse you are animating in some way."

"What brought this assumption?"

"He didn't even flinch when I pierced his body. The other body too, there was no scream or anything. Which means that they are probably just puppets."

Yahiko's eyes narrowed slightly, "Troublesome indeed."

"Ah. Kabuto. Sasuke. I don't remember calling for you."

Orochimaru said calmly, head resting on his left hand as he sat leaning against the side of his throne.

"But you expected us," Kabuto deadpanned. Talking about plans for the invasion had been false, he noticed now, Orochimaru had done it as a subtle way to wait for them to attack.

"You take me for a fool Kabuto." Orochimaru said in amusement. "All the time you've been under me, you have shown marvelous restraint in keeping your bloodlust in check. Were it someone else then they would have been blind to your betrayal, but such things can't be kept from me. I've known about your treachery for years now. I was wondering when it would be that you would finally show your true self, but, to be honest, I never expected you to team up with Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked, "You give yourself too much credit old man."

"He's right Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said as he pushed up his glasses, "You know that I am not a risk taker. If we had no chance to kill you then standing here against you would be the last thing on my to-do list."

The snake summoner chuckled, darkly, dripping with venom.

He got on his feet.

"No matter. Even if there were ten of you. There is nothing you can do against me."

Sasuke's sharingan came to life as the old man shot forward at an incredible speed.

Pain and Konan were greeted with empty streets upon entering the village's gate. It seemed that they had been prepared for their arrival, something that must have been because of Jiraiya. The man was dangerous in every way.

It wasn't long before they could spot several figures jumping from roof to roof and moving towards him.

"Start out strong! Attack!" The commanding ANBU shouted.

Ten of the large group of ANBU, jumped high in the air and ran through hand signs. Pain watched with an expressionless face as many powerful jutsu were created and aimed at him. Much to the shock of the Konoha ninja that, despite knowing that the attack certainly wouldn't kill someone so strong, never expected him to simply raise his right hand and create a force field that negated their attacks.

"Konan."

On the name was a single command that only she understood, as her body separated into tiny pieces of paper that easily covered the surrounding area. Some of the more experienced ninja managed to react, but the others weren't so lucky, as hundreds of sharp spears were created from the paper and impaled many of the ninja in the area. Some were killed while others had gaping wounds on their arms and legs that easily rendered them useless for combat.

"Damn it," the ANBU commander cursed. Around ten had been killed by the surprise attack. "Attack Formation Number Thirty!"

Five ANBU charged in at the orange-haired Akatsuki member and, as more spears formed to attack, another three ANBU provided cover with various water jutsu that pushed the attacks away. Once the five were close enough they formed a circle around the enemy and ran through hand signs.

"Foolish." Said Pain as he thrust a hand on the ground and summoned a massive three-headed monstrosity with black rods on its body and ripples in its eyes. All around them were instantly blown back as the ferocious beast howled loudly and ran at the group of gathered ninja.

The ANBU leader clenched his fists, preparing a command, but stopped when he felt something sharp on the back of his neck. Turning his head slightly, he noticed the blue-haired Akatsuki member standing behind him with one of the spears on her hand.

"Now tell us. Where is the Nine-Tails?"

In a flash of yellow, Naruto and Ino arrived in their apartment with content smiles. Their apartment was much cooler than Whirlpool and they could instantly feel the difference.

However, their calm was broken by a series of screams outside.

"What's that?" Ino wondered out loud as she set some of her stuff on the table.

"Don't know," Naruto answered as he opened the sliding door to their balcony and saw a large group of people being led by Genin. "Huh?"

"Hurry! There are already battles at the gate!"

Naruto frowned and jumped down to one of the Genin giving orders, "Hey, what's going on here?"

"N-Naruto!" The Genin let out in shock, awe on his tone, but he quickly broke out of his admiration, "Sir. Some group of people are invading the village. They're called the Akatsuki or something."

The instant he heard that, Naruto paled and ran back to the apartment, where he saw a worried Ino.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

"They're here."

Tsunade tapped her foot impatiently as she watched another group of villagers enter one of the many evacuation tunnels she had gotten built once she became Hokage. Made with a lot of Earth jutsu specialist, as well as help from Yamato, the tunnels were well-made and led out of the village. She never thought that they would need them so quickly but was thankful that they had been made without a hitch.

Still.

It was taking longer than she thought for everyone to flee, and from where she was, she could make out that there was a battle on the South Gate. Even with the ANBU she knew that they could only slow them down until their strongest ninja could take him on, and even then she wasn't sure they could do it. Jiraiya himself wasn't sure if he could beat the Akatsuki leader.

Suddenly, in the distance, she noticed a massive cloud of smoke and an equally giant beast appear.

"What is that?" She said, her voice filled with concern.

The creature began to wreck havoc, destroying buildings and taking on countless of jutsu as if they were nothing.

"Lady Tsunade!"

She turned to see Sakura joining her on the balcony of her office.

"The last of the villagers have been evacuated."

"It was about time," she responded, "Stay here and care for the wounded."

"I can't do that," Sasuke responded heatedly, "I'm not about to stay back and watch everything from a safe distance. Please let me go with you."

Tsunade felt a bit of pride at those words and nodded, "Fine. But if things get too rough I want you out of there. After me, you're the best medic in the village, we'll need you alive."

Sakura nodded before the two left the area.

"Most of our members are here and accounted for my Lord."

Danzo nodded as he heard the report from his ninja.

Sitting behind a large desk in a dark room, he was well-aware of the fact that Konoha would suffer greatly, but he was prepared for the sacrifice. After many years of living in the shadows, Root would finally come out and rule the ruined village.

Even if Tsunade survived, she would be easily dealt with after being in a fight with the Akatsuki. The same applied to any other ninja that opposed him, all would be killed before they could take away his rightful place.

Root would rise from the ground and control the village, just as he always envisioned.

"Tell me," Jiraiya began in a somber tone. "Why are you doing this?"

"The world we live in is twisted." Yahiko began in a toneless voice, "Only those fortunate enough to have been born in a strong village are safe. Those damned to live anywhere else are cursed to suffering and pain. That is why I will show the world true pain. I will make them live in pain. And then, I will rebuild the world."

Jiraiya glared, "You make yourself sound like a God."

"Sound? How foolish. I am a God. A fierce God that will bring this world ruin before making it perfect."

"So you really are a lost cause..." Jiraiya lamented before running through hand sings. "Then you leave me no choice Yahiko!"

The Toad Sage slammed both hands on the ground and caused a whirlpool of mud to form under the Yahiko's feet. Next, the purple toad that stood on the sidelines for the time being, spat out a jet of oil that covered the massive muddy crater on the ground.

"Sage Arts: Toad Oil Fireball!"

The area was lit up in flames that seemed to extend to the heavens. Jiraiya panted as the effects of Sage Mode died down and he came out victorious in their fight.

"It was too easy," he muttered somberly.

"Like he wanted you to kill him," Shima agreed.

"You better get back to Konoha Jiraiya-boy," Fukasaku suggested.

"You're right," Jiraiya nodded before he let out a long sigh, "Dammit. I can't believe I played right into his hands. This is worse than bad."

Kakashi did not like how things were going.

The massive summon was still rampaging on the streets and the front lines could only slow it down. Since he was with the other Jonin, they weren't instructed to attack yet. He had been in many battles and this was standards, some of the stronger ANBU had been put with them most likely to make out the attacks of the enemy before they attacked with new forces.

But this time was different.

One of the Akatsuki members had fled as soon as the summon had appeared.

Just what were they going to do?

"Above!"

Kakashi looked up and saw that the Akatski member with orange hair was floating in the air and moving upwards.

"Jonin! Bring him down!"

Finally able to attack, Kakashi began to run through hand signs.

Pain floated high in the air over Konoha. Konan had gotten out of the range of his attack, and his summon had kept the ninja preoccupied enough so that his next attack could go perfectly. Even though he could see that the ninja were preparing to attack him, they were too late, none of their attacks would reach him in time.

"Now this world shall know pain."

"Almighty Push."

Ch.35 End

I know it's short, but I wanted to get this chapter out so that you guys know that I'm still alive.