A/N: This is my first try as an author so bear with me. English isn't my first language so don't hesitate to pm me with any fault you find, I am always eager to learn.
First, a special mention to the reviewer 'Shattered Silence' for correctly guessing that the battle scene from last chapter was inspired from the movie The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers, from the Helm's Deep Battle scene.
Another nice mention to the reviewer 'The-Real-James-Potter', who thought the scene was from the movie Kingdom of Heaven, from the Jerusalem's Siege scene. That was a great guess too, and thinking back about it, it also fits with what I wrote pretty well actually.
I'm quite pleased that you found the answer or something really close to it, means I managed to convey what I wanted that battle to feel like, without being too obvious about the original source. I really enjoyed both of those movies, though I will have to say that I do not own any of them :)
Some of you were also concerned about Naruto's level of strength, that he should have been able to shatter or deflect that boulder before it reached its target. Well, the sealing tag was an unknown factor, plus he thought about the lives of his allies first and his instinct told him to avoid that boulder. Let's not dwell on it too much, I think you guys will be pleased with Naruto's display of power during this chapter.
400+ Reviews, favorites and alerts, thanks everyone :)
Anyway, welcome to the next chapter of Kaze No Kami.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other manga for that matter.
Chapter 36: The Siege – Part II
Samurai's Fortress
Onoki's attack managed to open a giant hole inside the Alliance's defensive line, it was a complete chaos inside the base, as Mifune's men were panicking at the prospect of soon being overrun by Iwagakure's elite forces. Most were actually ready to leave their stations and surrender.
"Silence !" This came from someone standing close to where the gates used to be. Everyone turned their heads to see Naruto looking at them. The blond closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then he started to speak.
"My sensei once had a dream, he dreamed that one day the world would be united as one in peace, that men would finally be able to understand each other. He sacrificed many things along the way, just trying to reach that goal, Friendship, Love and Family. Everybody wrote him off as an idealistic fool, everybody. And yet here we are, united in this place, ninja and samurai, representing every village in the Elemental Nations against a common foe." Naruto said, gaining the attention of everyone inside the base. Tsunade knew about Jiraya's dream, the prophecy given to him by the toads and how he lived his life to accomplish his destiny.
"Those five hundred Iwa shinobi out there have also written us off. There are a few in this world who do still believe in us, who will never give up on us, family, friends or lovers. You go back to your positions and those are the people I want in your minds, those are the people I want in your hearts." The Namikaze continued his speech. Everyone could see the truth in his words, they all had someone to go back to, someone they would fight till their dying breath for.
"Every man at some point in his life is gonna lose a battle, he's gonna fight and he is gonna lose. But what makes him a man, is that amidst that battle, he does not lose himself. The fight is not over, this battle is not over. Let's win this together, let's go back to our loved ones, help me show the entire world that my master was not an idealistic fool !" Naruto roared, followed by everyone's cheers.
All those who knew Namikaze Minato could see his shadow behind Naruto for a moment, they realized it was the beginning of a new legend, Naruto would surpass them all and even his father.
"Those were great words Naru-kun, very inspiring." Natsuki told him.
"Thanks, Na-chan." Replied the Namikaze heir.
Outside the base
The Sandaime Tsuchikage and his bodyguard joined his men on the front lines, as his battalions were reforming the ranks around him for the final assault after the Gates were destroyed. He saw his granddaughter appearing behind them in a Shunshin a few moments later.
"Report, Kurotsuchi." Said the old leader.
"Our troops from sector one met a mysterious shinobi from Konoha, they tried to prevent him from reaching the samurai's base but he managed to force his way through, knocking down a good number of our men in the process." Replied the kunoichi.
"What did he look like and what moves did he use ?" Asked the Kage.
"White clothes, blonde hair and blue eyes, nothing more accurate than that. The men don't even know what kind of jutsu he used back there, all they said was that everyone suddenly lost control of their body and lost consciousness shortly after that." Reported Kurotsuchi.
"Very well, you will stay here at the rear while I lead our men inside." Onoki said to her, leaving no room for her to argue with him.
They were about to join their positions when they heard the cheers and roars, coming from inside the fortress.
"Quite optimistic, aren't they ?" Said Onoki with a smirk as he made his way towards his army.
"Looks like they won't surrender after all ..." Replied Kurotsuchi, watching her grandfather leave.
Remote Location
Two shadows were watching the battle from afar, they were wearing Akatsuki clothing.
"Why the hell can't we just go in and join the battle ?" Asked the first one with an irritated voice.
"Can't you shut up already, Hidan ? We will remain here and wait until each side wears each other out." Replied the second.
"Aren't you a little bit too cautious, Kakuzu ? It's not like anything down there could actually kill us, you know." Hidan said to his partner.
"Our target is quite the tricky one, we can't let him know that we're here until it is already too late for him to escape from us." Replied Kakuzu.
"Fine, but I call dibs on him. I'll show that fake Kami that Jashin-sama is the only true God." Said the silver haired man with a smirk."
Samurai's Fortress
The defenders regained their confidence and fighting spirit while listening to Naruto's words and they all returned to their previous positions. Mifune ordered his men to switch to close contact weapons, putting their bows away for katana in anticipation for the fight to come.
The shinobi remained on their positions, defending the base's corners from their higher grounds. As Mifune remained near the place where the gates used to be, Naruto joined the aged Samurai General.
"I will let you and your men handle the Gates, old man." Naruto said to him, getting a nod from the Samurai.
"What are you planning to do, Uzumaki-dono ?" Mifune asked him.
"I found a weakness in their attack patterns, I'm counting on you to stall them for as long as you can." Naruto replied with a smirk.
"Will you be alright on your own, I can always have some of my men go with you." Asked Mifune.
"That won't be necessary, let's just say that most of my more powerful attacks have a wide area of effect, you wouldn't want your men to be too close to me when I launch them." Naruto said as he took some steps back and went through hand signs.
"Ninpo : Kuchiyose no jutsu !" Yelled the blond as he slammed his hands on the floor. A poof of smoke announced the arrival of one of Naruto's summon. As the smoke cleared out, everyone gasped at the sight of Ryuoh, the Dragon King himself. Unlike the other boss summon, Ryuoh was not a gigantic creature, barely bigger than Hiryu. His body was entirely covered by black scales, he had two large muscular wings and his eyes looked like Naruto's when activating the Ryugan.
"This is the first time you've summoned me, Naruto. I do hope for you that you didn't call me here for one of your stupid pranks." Roared the beast, staring at his summoner.
"I assure you that it's not the case, if you just took a look outside the base, you would understand how serious the situation is." Replied Naruto while pointing at the destroyed gate and Iwagakure's troops advancing towards them.
"Very well, I will lend you my powers. Let's go, it's been quite a long time since my last battle in the human world, I hope they will put up a good fight." Said the Dragon King as Naruto nodded and jumped on his back.
Mifune now understood Naruto's earlier words and the younger blond's analysis was correct. Their enemy didn't have any aerial support and would be hard pressed to defend against the dragon's attacks, while trying to get inside the base at the same time.
The Samurai Leader smiled as he saw Naruto and Ryuoh disappear into the night, the Dragon King's black body offering them perfect stealth.
As soon as Naruto and his dragon disappeared, the first Iwa nins were already at the doors, trying to get through the Samurai's defense lines. They were faster than Mifune's men but the Samurai were more disciplined and organized while the ninja were just randomly jumping in.
Their charge having been stopped, the Iwa nins tried to run upside the walls around the hole, only to find the shinobi from the Alliance waiting for them. Most of the Samurai had been moved downstairs, in order to hold off Iwagakure's charge so the shinobi had to cover the entire higher levels. Having the advantage of fighting from higher grounds they managed to prevent any intruder from getting inside the base.
Outside the base
Onoki was not pleased, his plan was not working.
"Report, commander !" Yelled the old Kage to one of his leading officer.
"We did not manage to get through, Tsuchikage-sama. Our men met heavy resistance behind the gates and going above the walls was a failure too." Replied the jonin.
Onoki was about to give out new orders to his jonin when he felt a strong gush of wind around his body. The older shinobi trusted his battle instincts and yelled to his men to move away from the spot as he jumped back himself. The Tsuchikage managed to leap back but his men weren't fast enough, as not a second later the five men that stood in that place had their body instantly cut in half.
Every Iwa shinobi on the field looked up in the sky to see something they had hoped to never see again, up in the sky stood the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. The man came back from the dead, trying to finish what he started all those years ago during the Third Great War.
"Namikaze Minato ! You will pay for your crimes against Iwagakure !" Roared the Tsuchikage.
Naruto looked amused by his opponent's confusion, but chose to formally introduce himself, not wanting to stay in his father's shadows.
"Are you going senile, old man ? I am Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, do not mistake me for my father." Said the blond with a smile as he sheathed his blade before going through hand signs.
"Protect Tsuchikage-sama !" Yelled Akatsuchi as he moved in front of his leader, others followed his example and moved around the Tsuchikage shortly after.
"Futon : Dai Ten'Ka Furyu En'dan !" Yelled Naruto as he expelled a giant Wind Dragon towards the Earth Kage. He was followed with perfect synchronization by Ryuoh, as the Dragon King took a deep breath before releasing a huge torrent of black flames on the same target.
Seeing the speed and size of that attack, the Iwa nins decided to hold their position and went through hand signs too.
"Doton : Doryuheki !" They yelled, as several stone walls rose from the ground, creating a multilayer protection for their leader.
Naruto's combo attack impacted the stone walls, however, instead of dispelling itself, it started to melt the defensive structure.
"Foolish humans ! Did you think you could block the black flames of the Dragon King, now burn !" Roared Ryuoh.
Before the Tsuchikage and his men could escape, Ryuoh came closer and started to flap his huge wings, stirring the fire attack around the stone wall, completely cutting off any chance of retreat they had. Cries of the suffering Iwa nins behind the wall could be heard and the foul smell of burnt flesh as well as lots of smoke rose from there.
Naruto was about to turn around and go attack the remaining Iwa nins when he saw a shadow rapidly exiting the cloud of smoke. A greatly burnt and bleeding Onoki could be seen, thrown by his personal bodyguard Akatsuchi, with the last force the big man had before he fell down and died from his multiple injuries.
"Doton : Kengan no jutsu !" Called Onoki, as his fist was encased in rock, then with his free hand he made another hand sign before calling a new jutsu, "Doton : Chokajugan no jutsu !", dramatically increasing the weight of his punch. With the momentum given by his bodyguard's throw, the Sandaime Tsuchikage managed to deliver a highly powerful punch to Naruto.
The blond was knocked off his summon creature and was falling to the ground in great speed. Onoki did not stop there, he went through hand signs and called another jutsu.
"Jinton : Genkai Hakuri no jutsu !" The same dust technique that almost took out every Kage during the meeting and the technique that destroyed the gates of the fortress was used to trap the giant dragon.
Before the Iwa leader could activate the destruction phase of his technique, Naruto made a single hand sign to dispel Ryuoh.
"Kai !" Yelled the young man as the dragon king was sent back to the Summoning World before Naruto continued his fall and impacted the ground with great velocity.
"Finish him, do not let him any chance to stand up again !" Yelled Onoki to his troops on the ground.
A large group of Iwa nins started to run towards the spot where Naruto fell, only to be blasted away by a strong gush of wind. When the blond stood up, he didn't have his jacket on anymore and his two dark wings were rising behind his back, as he used them to slow down his fall.
"Futon : Muga no Kyouchi !" Yelled Naruto as he opened his initial bloodline mode.
The blond then unsheathed his blade and started to cast his personal genjutsu field, "Futon : Maboroshi no Sekai !" as the Iwa nins were surrounding him again.
His enemies stood no chance, upon entering the illusion field, they lost control of most of their senses, allowing the blond leaf jonin to easily kill them. From outside the field, Onoki was analyzing the fight, seeing his shinobi randomly missing their target, or totally oblivious to the Namikaze's movements, as he went to kill them from behind.
The old Kage somehow knew that those were the famed genjutsu skills of the Kaze no Kami that could not be detected nor dispelled.
Samurai's Fortress
From inside the base, the Alliance was doing fine, holding off the successive waves of Iwagakure's elite forces. The shinobi could see Naruto fighting outside the base, most were unaware of his skills and looks of admiration and disbelief could be seen on their faces.
"Still powerful as ever, Naruto-kun." Smiled the Mizukage, remembering his fight against Yagura.
"Look at him going, he is definitively that man's son." Said the Raikage.
"Seeing it during a spar was one thing, but to see him using his skills in a real fight is really something else ..." Mused Tsunade as she saw Naruto killing of dozens of Iwagakure's bests.
"I'll never be able to repay him the IOU at this rate ..." Said Gaara looking at his friend.
Mifune was silently watching Naruto's actions, still keeping his men in line.
Battlefield
Seeing his men slaughtered by the Namikaze heir, Onoki ordered his men to stop their advance on the blond.
It was at that moment that Kurotsuchi joined her grandfather on the front line, her eyes widened at the sight of the countless dead bodies on the ground, including Akatsuchi.
"Jiji, what the hell happened ?" Yelled the brunette.
Onoki instinctively turned back his head to see his granddaughter, however that moment of inattention cost him dearly. Naruto saw the old Kage looking away and fell into his long range kenjutsu style.
"Futon : Kamishini no Yari !" Said Naruto as his blade glowed.
Feeling the familiar gush of wind, Onoki cursed as he saw that Kurotsuchi was just behind him, evading the attack would most likely spell the death of his granddaughter.
The old Kage stood his ground and took Naruto's attack with his already weakened and burnt body with no intention to evade. The deadly wind spear went right through his heart, leaving a gaping hole in its place then he slowly fell to the ground.
Kurotsuchi ran to him, only to see that she could not do anything to save him anymore.
"Jiji ! Wake up please !" Yelled the kunoichi with tears in her eyes.
"Kuro-chan ? Where are we ? What is going on ?" Asked the old man.
Naruto's eyes widened at the scene in front of him, starting to understand what was happening.
Remote Location
"Looks like it's time for us to go, Hidan." Said Kakuzu.
"Finally, let's get wild !" Replied Hidan as they both used Shunshin.
A/N : What do you think ?
Akatsuki is finally on the move, next time Naruto faces the Immortal duo.
Lots more of Naruto's screen time this chapter, hope you enjoyed seeing him kicking some major Iwa ass.
Is the siege over ? How will Naruto or Kurotsuchi react after Onoki's death ?
Read the next issue to know the answers to those questions.
As usual please Read and Review.
New Jutsu :
Futon : Dai Ten'Ka Furyu En'dan , Great Blazing Wind Dragon Combination. Naruto combines his wind dragon with Ryuoh's black fire.
Those aren't new jutsu but it's been a while since Naruto used them so here we go :
Futon : Muga no Kyouchi , translates as the State of Self Actualization. Naruto always had it from the moment he finished his training with Natsuki after those six years but just used it subconsciously. In this state, his control over the wind element in an area of his choice increases greatly. You may compare it with the initial "opening" of Gai and Lee's Gates system, only applied to wind control.
Futon : Maboroshi no Sekai , translates as the World of Illusions. Naruto's way to cast his own genjutsu field. Inside his zone of influence, he can control his opponent's senses the same way a classic genjutsu would but without the need to 'inject' his chakra into their brains.
Senpo : Ryu no Hada , translates as Sage Arts : Dragon Skin. One of Naruto's basic defense in dragon sage mode. He deploys his two wings around his body to protect him from an attack. The scales on those wings are extremely durable and can withstand most elemental attacks.
Senpo : Ryugan , translates as Sage Arts : Dragon Sight. Naruto gains the sight of the dragon, increasing greatly his vision field, accuracy and perception. With those eyes activated, Naruto has the ability to see detailed images at a very far distance. His mind is processing the visual information a lot quicker too, allowing him to see fast moving objects as if they were in slow motion. Finally, he is also granted the power to see perfectly fine during the night as if he was in broad daylight.
Futon : Kamishini no Yari , translates as God Killing Spear. Upgraded version of Naruto's Divine Wind Spear. The reach and speed of this attack is enormous, a lot more chakra taxing though.