Chapter 38

The Angel and The Beast

(A Week Later)

Konan stood on the deck of her flagship, Dawn.

Her eyes observed the ten other warships full of armed soldiers that were all sailing towards the Land of Lightning. It was perhaps the largest naval expedition in shinobi history, perhaps one of the largest in mankind's even.

Yet the odds were against her almost completely.

She was an inexperienced commander with very poor knowledge on naval warfare. The only reason she was even commanding was because Naruto needed her to and had given her a battle plan which would help her fight against the vastly superior, larger and well trained Kumo naval fleet.

The Land of Lightning was the dominant military power of the world just a few weeks ago with the largest and well trained army, the largest naval fleet in the world, and the most lethal Anbu force in the form of the Kinkaku, and lastly the monstrous Raikage.

Yet all that might and glory had been smashed to shreds by Minato Namikaze and his son, Naruto.

The Yellow Flash killed the Third Raikage, his son A, half of Kumo's army and a large chunk of Kumo's powerful armed forces. He would have annihilated the entire nation single handedly had Killer Bee : The Eight Tails Jinchuuriki not sacrificed his life to end the Konoha warrior.

Many across the world now regarded the event as Konoha's justice towards Kumo for assassinating the Nidaime Hokage and attacking Uzu. The truth was far from that, but nobody except a handful few knew that.

Minato's son had also played his part by liberating Uzu from Kumo's clutches and massacring a 1000 Kumo shinobi, including the Two Tails Jinchuuriki, Yugito Nii.

With its leadership shattered, army half killed, and its Jinchuuriki dead, the Land of Lightning was ripe for an invasion.

It was karmic justice that Uzu decided to seize the opportunity first.

However, Konan knew between her and total victory stood the Kumo Naval Fleet which were rumored to have 100 ships and two thousand experienced sailors. Naruto had destroyed two dozen ships in the Battle for Uzu, yet that still left nearly 70 warships and more than a thousand sailors as Konan's opponent.

She had soldiers fit for land warfare, not naval ones like Kumo had.

If she was to destroy those five important cities she had to crush the Kumo Naval Fleet first which was a monumental task.

"What's on your mind?" asked a heavy voice,

She smiled on seeing her teammate Daibutsu arriving beside her. Seeing someone she trusted here in this crucial time gave her hope. While Naruto had given her supreme command and ordered her to lead their small navy, he had made Daibutsu the Commander of their Army and incharge of their mission on lands.

He would be the one leading the soldiers into battle while Konan maintained overall command. Although the Uzukage had given Konan the freedom to make decisions she thought best.

It was a sound strategy for Daibutsu was a fierce warrior. He was young but strong as a bear, the Akatsuki soldiers which made the bulk of their army were willing to follow him. But the cult members as few as they were had clearly told her they would kill and plunder in their god's name.

Konan had to accept their hideous demand for she had to score victories and not maintain control over those monsters. If they died in their folly, Naruto had told her he didn't care.

But not one of them was to be captured alive and in event that such a possibility seemed happening, Konan was ordered to kill them with Hell Fire.

So many challenges and so little time.

"I don't know if I can pull this off, Daibutsu" she confessed, showing her fears to her only friend in this entire army.

Her large friend and fellow Ame ninja remained silent for a while staring out at the sea. The Gods had been kind to them for so far they had not experienced any major storms which was a small blessing.

"We have no information of our enemy or where they are exactly. Before attacking we must gather intel or we'll fall into a trap" he advised, earning a nod from her.

''I thought the same. But we don't have much time nor can we stay out in this sea for long" she pointed,

"You don't have to worry about that"

The two Ame ninjas saw the Akatsuki army representative walk towards them. He was pretty average looking with a short sword on his back. There was nothing threatening about him but the look in his eyes showed he knew much more than either Konan or Daibutsu did.

"Explain yourself" commanded Konan, she could not have miscommunication within her forces. That was one of the biggest mistakes that had defeated the greatest armies of history.

The man who called himself Mika almost smiled. He beckoned them to follow him, which Konan and Daibutsu reluctantly did.

They trio walked into the small war room which only the flagship had for strategy formulation. There Mika placed his finger on the Land of Lightning.

"My fellow Akatsuki spies have infiltrated our targeted cities. By now they are ready to sabotage the city defenses from within" revealed Mika calmly,

"How do you know this?" asked Daibutsu skeptically,

"I know"

That was all Mika said as an explanation and stared at them silently. Konan wanted to berate him for he was looking at her as if she was a silly child who had been given a toy to play by the true master.

But she remembered these were Naruto's men, his Akatsuki soldiers, people whom she didn't know or understand their reasons for supporting Naruto in his wars.

For all she knew they could be mercenaries, and that kind should never be trusted for they would sell their own mothers for the highest bidder.

However, she also didn't know the true extent of Akatsuki's power or its intelligence network.

Naruto had been quite secretive in matters of his mysterious group of criminals and these mercenaries, just how powerful was he truly? Not even his best friends knew, nor did Yahiko know fully despite being a member of the organization.

Of course, Yahiko denied any knowledge on this matter but Konan had a feeling her fellow Ame ninja had developed a deeper loyalty for Naruto. Especially after they successfully carried out that famed ambush against Konoha.

Yahiko had transformed into a man from a nervous boy after that. A warrior willing to do what was necessary for the sake of his nation, his friends and peace.

There were too many cards being played in darkness, all by Naruto's hands.

Granted it kept the prospect of betrayal limited and their enemies unaware of their plans. But it also left allies like her and Daibutsu in the dark, if the enemy managed to strike Naruto directly...

Konan shivered.

For with Naruto's fall their entire cause could be defeated.

The war lost.

And it would spell disaster not just for Uzu, or the Akatsuki, or for the future peace Naruto was fighting for, but also for Ame of whom Naruto was a staunch ally.

No, she had to achieve victory for him and not fail.

If that meant trusting these mercenaries, so be it. One thing she had observed about them during her brief stay in Ame was the fact that they almost worshiped Naruto and followed all his commands. And fortunately he had given these mercenaries the command to follow her orders without question.

Hopefully they would comply or this campaign was doomed.

"Tell us what you know. Everything" she commanded, earning a nod from Mika.

"Our spies tell us that Kumo has around 80 ships in total all scattered across our targeted cities. Each of these cities may have almost 20 ships with all of them manned and ready for attack. Kumo is expecting an attack, Commander" reported Mika,

"That is troubling" commented Daibutsu, but Mika smiled again.

"They have divided their forces and while they still outnumber us, they don't know where we can attack. When we strike, our spies have orders to shut down all communications so that our other target cities don't know about the invasion. Some of our spies are also in position to help our army land on the shore, they can even try to destroy the Kumo ships before the enemy even realizes" said Mika almost childishly, as if this was all some silly game.

Daibutsu frowned but kept his silence as he always had.

"Is there anything else?'' asked Konan finally,

"We will follow your command because Leader-sama has asked us to. We will obey" reassured Mika, and this time Konan felt he might just be telling the truth. Or he could be lying.

But for now that should be enough. She ordered him to leave the room and when he went out she stared at the map alongside her friend.

"We..." she hesitated, not knowing which of the ideas forming in her mind was the right one.

"Out with it" said Daibutsu flatly, making her flinch. He was never one for hesitance after all.

"I am not fit to be commander. Not of such a large force or such a large army, if I fail..." said Konan worriedly,

Daibutsu gave her a small smile.

"Then we fail. All I know is that I am here to fight for my friends, for our cause, for Amegakure's future. I am not smart or cunning, all I have is my strength, my conviction, and my loyalty. And they are yours"

Konan felt tears arrive in her eyes at his honesty. Her shoulders trembled as the teenage girl within her tried to gather herself.

Daibutsu laid a firm hand on her shoulder...

"Give me the command, good or bad, right or wrong. I will get you victory no matter what" pledged Daibutsu in his iron voice,

"How can you be so sure?" asked Konan,

"Because I am a ninja. I will fight for my nation and my friends for as long as I can, maybe I'll win or maybe I'll lose. But until there is breath in this body of mine, I will continue fighting. No retreat, No Surrender"

She found some of her lost strength and confidence returning on his words. She wondered where he got such conviction from and when she looked in his eyes, she got the answer.

Daibutsu believed.

He accepted that he was just a man, one ninja who had to do his duty. He didn't know the future or his fate, all he could do was fight for it.

Maybe she had to do the same.

She had to believe in herself.

"Thank you, Daibutsu" she replied, and gave him a brief hug as he patted her back with his big manly hands. Such a Bear.

"I'll go see the men"

And then he walked away silently without another word. Konan suddenly felt grateful for Naruto to have sent Daibutsu alongwith her.

He could have sent Yahiko but it was as if Naruto understood that she would need the iron strength of Daibutsu and not the fierce passion of Yahiko.

Naruto understood the value of people and knew where they could be sent to show their true potential. He had trusted her, and it was time she trusted herself. If not for her sake, then atleast for the sake of her friends.

With that thought, she got to work by grabbing a nearby piece of paper.

(Next Day)

Daibutsu stared at the retreating form of Konan's flagship, Dawn.

He could see her standing on the edge watching him sail away to carry out his mission. Smiling he waved his hand at her and she waved back.

For the next few hours he alongwith a small force of 100 soldiers now sailed towards Kobe.

He had to admit he had never expected Konan to take such a bold strategy but if it succeeded then it could take their enemy by complete surprise.

So, here he was leading a small force of soldiers and maybe two dozen Jashinist cult members who were dying for a fight. Reigning in these men was difficult but he had already warned them that disobeying his orders would earn them the wrath of Naruto who was his friend.

Daibutsu had never seen the mad cultists so afraid after hearing that. Whatever they were, their fear ran deeper than their loyalty for Naruto whom they called their 'Dark Lord'.

They had promised to obey but demanded to slaughter indiscriminately in their Dark Lord's name.

Daibutsu himself had slaughtered many a men, the memory of that Iwa ambush staged by Domino squad still ripe in his heart. The things he had done that night still haunted him.

Kumo might be an enemy but Daibutsu still had his honor as a warrior left within him.

"Listen up, you fools. You do what I say, when I say, and exactly as I say. We have our spies waiting for us at the docks, they have been instructed to cause a distraction at midnight. That is when we strike with our main objective to burn down all Kumo Naval ships at the harbor. Understood?" asked Daibutsu sternly,

"How much resistance should we expect?" asked a nameless soldier, from a nearby boat.

"We have intel that majority of Kumo sailors visit the bars and brothels in the city at night. They are not far from the harbor, but it still leaves only a skeleton force of 50 or less. We will kill them all" ordered Daibutsu, earning a cheer from the cult members. They were truly insane.

"What about the city defenses and our plan to burn the city?" asked another soldier,

"After burning the ships, we shall link up with our spies as few as they are. They have assured us that traps have been set all across the city to corner the defenders. If we move fast enough, we can overwhelm them. Lord Naruto has asked us to take no prisoners so you are free to kill all the soldiers, but leave the civilians aside if they don't get in our way. Our main objective is to burn down the city. Think you fools can handle that?" asked Daibutsu with a frown, as he stared at the few cult members carrying barrels of Hell Fire with them.

They gleefully stared back at him.

"We shall burn everything for our DARK LORD!" yelled the first one,

"Yes, YES! A magnificent sacrifice!'' said another cult member,

Religious fanatics.

Daibutsu cursed them to whatever hell that existed for such creatures for he knew despite his orders many innocents would die today by the hands of these mad men.

But it was also true that only these men were crazy enough or brave to carry Hell Fire with them on their backs.

Whatever the case, he had a mission and he was going to see it through.

By sunrise tomorrow, either Kobe will burn.

Or Daibutsu and his men.

She stared at the dark sky whose moon was concealed behind the vast clouds.

There were no rains falling from the heavens but soon the lands would be drenched regardless. As she flew high in the sky with her wings of paper carrying her weight, she knew what people would remember her as from this day.

The Angel of Death.

Her gaze settled upon the rich port city of Sasesbo. Large mansions, flourishing markets that still operated at nights, high walls to protect the city, and a large harbor where nearly 30 ships were still on duty.

This was Kumo's 2nd largest and most wealthiest city after the Capital of the Lightning Damiyo.

And she had to raze it down to the ground.

She could see her entire fleet slowly approaching towards the city in the darkness of the light. Nearly 2900 soldiers ready to kill and butcher every single soul in the city.

She had decided to approach a twin strike strategy with Daibutsu attacking Kobe which held a large amount of Kumo's food supplies. While Konan herself would destroy Sasesbo which was a symbol of Kumo's wealth and powerful economy.

Even now she could see the defenders still at their posts despite time approaching close to midnight. They were not willing to take any chances.

And neither was she.

If that fleet of 30 ships marched out to meet Konan's own ships then that would be the end of her campaign.

She clasped her hands together and called forth large reserves of her chakra.

"Shikigami no Mai (Dance of the Formula Paper)"

From her entire body were unleashed hundreds of paper tags that started to fall down to the earth, towards the harbor that held the...

Naval Fleet

(Sasebo City Walls)

A young Kumo chunin with sandy blonde hair was the first to feel something was wrong. His sensory powers were warning him and he turned towards his superior and defender of the city.

"Commander Dodai!'' yelled C, as he ran towards the young man who had been the Third Raikage's aide.

The eyepatch wearing shinobi turned towards C and the chunin knew that Dodai was not blind to the actions happening in the dark.

"What do you feel, sensor?" asked Dodai calmly,

"Yes, Commander. I feel an enormous energy buildup in the skies, something big is happening" warned C, making his leader frown a little as he stared at the dark clouds in the sky.

"Possibly a storm is brewing in those dark clouds, C. These are tell tales signs of a lightning storm not uncommon across our nation" pointed Dodai neutrally, but C adamantly shook his head.

"I know what I feel. It's not natural!" protested C,

Dodai was about to say something when of the nearby Jounin pointed his finger towards something.

"What the fuck is that?"

"Snow?"

"Too big for a snow particle"

Commander Dodai immediately grabbed a sea glass and gazed his one eye into the hole. He zoomed the glass towards the particles falling from the sky and his blood froze.

They were...

"WARN THE FLEET!"

His scream was drowned in the sea of explosions that rocked all across the harbor. Dodai watched in horror as sailors were blasted to shreds, ships set ablaze in raging inferno, burning men and women jumping into the waters to save themselves.

Already 10 ships were sinking and many were still getting pounded by the explosives falling from the skies in the form of paper.

"With me!" he commanded,

He jumped from the edge and started to run down the wall towards the burning harbor. He had to save the fleet at all costs.

Behind him he heard angry roars as hundreds of his fighters followed after him. All ninjas ready to butcher the person who had done this atrocity.

"Look out!'' yelled C, the sensor boy.

Men screamed again as paper shuriken sliced their throats making their lifeless bodies fall down to the ground. C's warning managed to alert many who deflected the incoming attacks with their kunai's and swords.

And that was when Dodai saw his opponent.

Descending from the sky with wings of paper on her back was a woman with bright blue hair and a godly face devoid of emotions. It was from her body that explosive paper tags were raining down on the ships and sailors, her hands that were now unleashing paper shurikens in an effort to pin down Dodai's men.

Again a new set of alarms rang out and this time they were from the seawatch tower off in that small man-made island.

"Ships!" yelled C,

"Are they ours?" asked a hopeful young chunin girl,

They got their answer when the seawatch tower was blasted down by projectiles launched from those incoming ships.

"A full attack" thought Dodai grimly,

He heard the roars and battlecries from the hundreds of soldiers standing eagerly on the decks of those ships. Waiting to spill the blood of Dodai's people.

"C, report back to headquarters and get my second in command to take charge of the city's defenses" commanded Dodai,

"What about you, Commander?" asked the young boy in alarm,

Dodai grimly stared at the approaching enemy army and that dangerous woman butchering the ships and sailors.

"I cannot leave those men out there to be butchered. I'll get as many of them back and then we shall have to hold them from our walls!" advised Dodai,

"But the Fleet-"

"Is dead. We don't have the time to save the ships, now go!"

C offered a quick salute and soon retreated behind the walls with another dozen warriors.

Dodai commanded the wall defenders towards that woman and soon enough she was being bombarded by explosive arrows and kunai.

"Kill her!'' yelled Dodai,

The winged angel directly stared at Dodai and for a moment he thought she would attack. But she proved her tact by retreating away from the range of attacks leaving behind half the Kumo fleet destroyed.

The rest of the ships were a mess with sailors injured or dead, hulls damaged but the worst thing was that every remaining ship that was not destroyed had their sails torn making them sitting ducks in the water.

The enemy ships were now less than a kilometer away from the harbor and there were still hundreds of Dodai's people trapped there. He couldn't leave them to be butchered.

"Help the wounded, now!''

His men moved to carry out his orders as Dodai ran forward with his hands already moving through hand seals. When he reached the shore he slammed his hands on the water.

"Yoton: Gomuheki (Lava Release: Rubber Wall)"

The sea water in front of Dodai evaporated as hot lava spilled out of his mouth. Seconds later, the growing lava mass geld together in the form of a rising wall that rose higher and higher until it stood as a firm defense against the approaching ships.

He watched his soldiers working furiously to get the wounded back behind the walls of the city leaving behind hundreds dead for whom they could do nothing.

He doubted this would stop his enemy, but it would halt their landing for a time which was required for Dodai to reorganize the city for a siege.

(Kobe)

In deep water of the sea were the silent moving forms of a hundred plus soldiers. In the cover of darkness they moved towards the shore having ditched their boats behind to launch a stealth strike.

Daibutsu saw some commotion occurring on the docks, perhaps some fight between people that was attracting the attention of the guards.

The spies were in action.

He signaled his forces and watch them move towards the scattered enemy ships, the darkness hiding their forms easily in the sea water.

Daibutsu had his doubts regarding the strength of his men in open battle, would they be of much use...

His breath stopped when he saw one of the Akatsuki soldier smile at him before literally merging inside the wooden hull of a nearby ship.

"What the hell?" thought Daibutsu in shock, just what were these people?

One by one he watched the rest of the Akatsuki soldiers doing the same thing as they stealthily entered all other ships. Only the cult members and Daibutsu stayed behind for now.

The Ame shinobi pressed his hearing and faintly heard soft and faint cries of dying sailors across the ships.

He tensely waited praying to the gods not to get discovered. His eyes widened when a Kumo sailor from a nearby ship walked across the deck and directly looked at him.

Daibutsu was about to attack when the Kumo sailor changed his form back to the Akatsuki soldier who had smiled at him.

Across all other ships spread around the harbor, Daibutsu watched dead bodies of sailors being thrown in the water quickly.

One by one from all ships he saw Kumo sailors emerge only for all of them to wave at him secretly.

Skin Changers.

These were no ordinary ninjas.

He quickly commanded the cult members carrying the Hell Fire to board the now conquered ships. Daibutsu himself was helped to climb aboard by a Kumo Akatsuki.

When Daibutsu touched him he was sure the transformation performed by the man would be disrupted, but instead the Kumo sailor smiled at him with an arrogant smile.

"What are your orders, Commander?" asked the Kumo, or Daibutsu's own soldier.

Daibutsu looked across the ships to see his men wearing the faces and bodies of Kumo sailors waiting for his orders. He tried to keep his shock or his horror in check.

They were all true assassins.

"What is this?" asked Daibutsu quickly, looking at the Kumo sailor who smiled at his question.

"We can infiltrate almost anywhere. Walls don't mean anything to us, we can take the form of a man to his very DNA. We can even remember their recent memories and perform the techniques known to them to a certain extent" explained the sailor,

"What are you?" asked Daibutsu warily, if the things he had heard were true then these men were not to be taken lightly ever again.

The sailor smiled.

"We are all called Zetsu"

Daibutsu dumbly nodded, his mind too pre-occupied with the revelations.

"Orders, Commander?" asked Zetsu again,

"Can our spies get us within the city, even me and these cult members?" asked Daibutsu skeptically,

Zetsu smiled as he turned towards the harbor. Daibutsu noticed the commotion had stopped and most of the people were going about their business but he saw dozens of men looking exactly in his direction.

Are they all?

Zetsu waved his hand towards the men.

And they all waved back quickly.

In the darkness of the night, the savage smiles of the cult members was clearly disturbing for they now saw an opportunity. Zetsu turned back towards him and had that same creepy smile on his transformed face which disturbed Daibutsu even more.

''Let us be Ninjas of the Night, Commander"

(Uzu)

Naruto marched through the ranks of his soldiers at a brisk pace. There was a heavy frown on his face and anger in his eyes which made everyone give him a wide pass to walk.

Lord Arima and Yahiko walked by his sides and they were not happy either.

They were all supposed to begin their march towards Kumo and for the past week all the preparations had been made accordingly. But now a complication had arose...

To begin with Naruto had not been in a happy mood these past few days. It might be due to the fact that his mother was yet to talk to him after he presented his intentions. Sure, they lived under the same roof but Kushina was still in a dilemma and so he had left her alone.

His frustration was also due to the slow pace of gathering supplies and logistics for his campaign against Kumo.

Lord Arima and Yahiko were doing their best, but the other noble houses were not very openly co-operative in providing their wealth and hidden supplies for war. In the end, only through numerous threats and persuasion had they been made to fall in line.

And it had wasted a lot of time.

Yahiko too was not happy like his redhead friend for every moment they wasted here, Konan and Daibutsu were in more danger. And they both didn't like that.

"We should kill them, Lord Fourth" said Arima bitterly, earning a sharp glare from his leader.

"They come under a peace banner, my lord. And one of them is of our blood" reminded Naruto,

"Distant Relative. Tsunade Senju is only Lady Mito's granddaughter, and have you forgotten how they butchered our people when they only wanted aid?" asked Arima,

"We don't kill the messengers, my lord. Certainly not our own kin, no matter how distantly related." said Naruto flatly,

"Would Konoha have treated your people the same way, Naruto?" asked Yahiko hesitantly,

Naruto flinched but soon regained his composure and looked at both of his supporters.

"That is a difference between us and them. I intend to keep that difference, am I clear?" he demanded fiercely,

Arima nodded reluctantly and Yahiko did the same even if they didn't agree.

They resumed their march and soon came towards the small command center where Naruto's wolf was growling against two shinobi.

One of them was a tall man with long white hair in an unruly hairstyle. He was wearing a Jounin Flak jacket but carried no sword or heavy weapons. His eyes widened when he saw Naruto's approaching form.

His companion nearly took Yahiko's breath away.

She was a beautiful woman with glowing blonde hair tied in a single ponytail, her skin extremely fair, her angular face and chin only adding to her beauty. Even her Jounin flak jacket couldn't hide her voluptuous breasts or her womanly figure. And she gasped when she saw Naruto.

The Uzukage approached towards them and laid a hand on his wolf making him back off and stand by his side which only seem to surprise the Konoha ninjas.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki, The Fourth Uzukage"

The blonde beauty surprisingly gave a respectful bow which only highlighted a portion of her breasts making Yahiko blush and look away. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other Konoha ninja still staring at Naruto earning a small smack on the head from his partner.

Naruto's frown was replaced by an amused smile as he watched the Konoha man nurse the lump on his head. But he too bowed before him even if his heart was not in that gesture.

Then the woman formally introduced herself with a smile that was strangely warm and affectionate.

"I am Tsunade Senju, granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, student of Hiruzen Sarutobi- The Third"

"I am Jiraiya, student of Hiruzen Sarutobi- The Third, teacher of Minato Namikaze"

If Naruto was surprised by their revelation, he hid it well behind his stoic expression. Instead, he asked them why they were here and it was Tsunade who chose to answer with a smile that made him uncomfortable for it was too genuine, as if she was truly happy to meet him despite their villages now being sworn enemies.

"For Peace"

Author's Notes: End of chapter.

Hope you guys liked it.

Reviews would be nice.

Until Next Time,

Blackwolf501