Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Lesson Thirty-Eight
Battles Without Honor and Humanity
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"Have you considered what you would do if you ever managed to get out?" Naruto asked as he sat atop the cage and swung his legs through the bars.
Red smoke wafted from the Kyūbi's mouth as he stared at the swaying leg like the annoyance of a persistent fly.
"Sure, you would go on a killing spree in celebration, specifically partying all over Konoha but after you take over the world what are you going to do?"
"I am destruction and hatred and vengeance."
"Do you know what I think?" Naruto asked.
"I don't want your opinion."
"I think you're going to get bored. You won't have anyone to challenge you anymore."
"Malevolent beings do not get bored. Demonic beings are eternal. Our sense of time is not finite. And when I finally pass into the void and I begin my next cycle of reincarnation it would only seem a moment, but I will reappear into a different world than the one I wish to destroy."
"A different world?" Naruto asked.
"It could be a world without ninja, a world full of machines and people who have forgotten that chakra exist, a world where all of your efforts now will be but a raindrop in the river of time."
"If that's the case, if time means nothing to you, why not wait until I die of old age instead of always trying to escape?" Naruto teased.
"IN THIS CYCLE I HAVE BEEN IMPRISONED BY MERE INSECTS THAT HAVE THE ARROGANCE TO BELIEVE THEY CAN CONTAIN MY POWER! I AM THE DEMON OF NINE TAILS, SON OF THE SIX PATHS, I AM NO ONE'S PET. I BELONG ON A THRONE. NOT IN A CAGE."
"I get it," Naruto said sincerely. "No one likes to be caged but I can't let you out either."
The Kyūbi did not want Naruto's sympathy. He would prefer to see him suffer. "Quit wasting my time and ask what you have come here to ask."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What would that be?"
"For my help," The Kyūbi said obviously.
Naruto laughed at the idiotic notion. "I didn't come here to ask for your help. I just wanted to annoy you."
The Kyuubi thrashed nine-tails against the bars but it did not knock Naruto off his perch. "You can't defeat them without me."
Naruto looked into the bloodthirsty eyes of the Nine-tailed fox. "Yes I can."
It was the early hours of the morning, only a day away from the moment Lightning would march across Fire Country borders with all its resources and all its men. Hinata rested a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "There's nothing else to be done."
Naruto eyes hurt from reading the dark ink under the lowlight. "It's not enough," Naruto said insistently. "Do you comprehend how much we are outnumbered? All of Lightning's manpower and resources have been mobilized against us."
Hinata leaned against the table where the maps she had created herself were spread to the far reaches of the forest. She looked down at the five small cloud icons facing a lone leaf. "I comprehend better than anyone else. I can see them."
"I have to make sure everything has been thought of, that there are no holes." Naruto said bitterly as he stared at the map. "I'm no Shikamaru."
Hinata gently turned Naruto to face her with the sharp touch of her fingers. "If the Hokage wanted Shikamaru she would have assigned him to command but she didn't. She gave you this job. You are the person she believes has the best shot of fending off Lightning," Hinata tilted her head with a twist. "You used to be known as Konoha's number one knuckle-headed unpredictable ninja."
"Now they call me The Demon Fox." Naruto said sourly. "But that's the problem, I'm not what I was during the Fourth Shinobi War. I can't maintain Fox cloak indefinitely and I can't fully transform into bijū mode without the Kyūbi's cooperation."
She carried darkness on her lashes. Hinata whispered, for some thoughts were not meant to be said too loud. "What is the nine-tails price?"
"He wants me to kill you and the kids."
Hinata's eyes narrowed. She tilted her head as her fingers tapped along the table.
"What a dick."
Naruto's tired eyes scrunched in amusement. He reached and interlocked his hands with hers. "There is no other option." He scanned his fingers through his hair. "Growing up I was always the underdog. I forgot how awfully scary it is to face something bigger."
Hinata leaned into Naruto's chest. She picked up the lone Leaf piece on the board. "You don't have to do everything alone. Konoha has many leaves on its tree."
The Land of Hot Water is known for its Hot Springs. It was a famous center of tourism and leisure, before the Fourth Shinobi War scarred the land. The Daimyo residence had been one of the most envious palaces in the known world, embellished with gold and gems, before Sound invaded and tore the palace down.
The Daimyo of Hot Water was a hard-bitten man and was not impressed by the stature of Naruto Uzumaki. Years ago, the Daimyo sat on a throne of gold, today he sat on a slab of stone. A scar ran across his eyebrow.
"I'm not a ninja," the Daimyo said as he sharpened a katana. "When Sound invaded my country, I led the resistance. All of my men have seen non-stop battle for years. They kill like men with no souls. They are the hardest men I know and yet they readily admit a fear of you."
Naruto's face was impassive but he hid an impressed smile. Never had he met a civilian, without any chakra to protect him, who has led ninja into battle.
"But I'm not a ninja." The Daimyo sat atop the ruins of his palace. Ninja stood at his side and gave him the earned respect of a Kage. The Daimyo looked into Naruto's eyes. "No. I will continue to do business with Lightning. They pay good gold and keep my smiths employed."
"Your allegiance used to be to Konoha."
"And Konoha did nothing when Sound invaded. From what I understand, we weren't important enough to get involved," The Daimyo spat. "The great countries have trampled their feet carelessly over my land. Why must the people suffer when the gods go to war? I do not want Leaf ninja in my country. Let the fighting remain on your borders. Lightning is your enemy, not mine."
"I understand," Naruto replied. Influence in the land of Hot Water was crucial to the conflict. If Naruto could gain access he could essentially stop the flow of supplies to Lightning's main army. "Perhaps after the war is over, Konoha and Hot Water will re-establish business relations. I'm sure we will see each other again."
"I hope not," The Daimyo said blackly.
The wind swept through Naruto's hair as he looked behind him. The war-hardened expression never softened. Then Naruto Uzumaki disappeared.
The Daimyo's head of security immediately leaned down and said, "We're doubling the guards."
"I am going to retire for the evening." The Daimyo of Hot Water stood and limped towards the small cottage surrounded by five guards. His son and wife had died in the invasion. He hardly had enough family to fill a cottage, much less a palace. The candle burned dimly.
The Daimyo sat down and penned his day down in his journal. The day I met Uzumaki Naruto was on opposite sides of the war… The shadows moved. The Daimyo placed down his quill. The woman drowned in shadows stepped forward. Ino tossed her golden hair with a smile.
"The answer is still no. Your threats will not move me."
"I'm not here to change your mind," Ino scoffed. "I'm here to take it."
Ino's body fell limply and the Daimyo of Hot Water caught her. He placed Ino's body in his bed and she rested like that of a newly chosen mistress. The Daimyo carefully echoed the limp and walked back outside.
"Contact Uzumaki Naruto. I've been convinced that his is the winning side of the war."
The Raikage crossed the border into the territory of Fire Country. Trees taller than lightning rods towered over his head. The thick forest hid a darkness between their boughs. The Raikage immediately thought, 'If there was a place Konoha would begin their attack, it would be here. That's what he would do.'
The Raikage noticed an odd expression coming over C's face. "What is it?" The Raikage demanded.
The chakra sensor, C shook his head in confusion. "They're out there but I can't get a clear read on anything. It's as if the enemy is everywhere, thousands of them."
Bee could sense Naruto's chakra all throughout the forest. "It's shadow clones. Naruto is using clones to hide the position of his army. One thing for sure, I wouldn't go into those trees alone."
"Sir, the sun is setting. It's not wise to wander through this forest at dark. We should make camp and dig in defensively," C suggested.
The Raikage considered the advice. But before he could make a decision, the darkening shadows were chased away by the bright meteor shower of rasengan quickening towards the march of Cloud ninja.
The Raikage was unfazed by the show of power. The Raikage raised a fist and pinned the Cloud ninja to their feet with three words, "Hold your formation!"
At the speed of which the rasengan bore down on them, Bee had only eight tails and immediately swatted away the rasengan directly above the Raikage's head. But it was only eight rasengan out of hundreds.
Panic swept through the entire line. Staying still meant dying.
The Raikage looked back with a crack of the neck as men began to scatter into the forest or were lost in the explosive impacts that decimated everything to dust.
Bee stood ready for any more attacks but after several tense minutes of waiting, the Raikage signaled Bee to lower his defenses. Eight chakra tails dissipated into the air.
"Set up camp and raise defensive positions." The Raikage demanded.
"What about those who fled into the forest?" C asked in concern. Even though they had lost men in the attack, more had attempted to evade the danger.
The Raikage shrugged. "They should not have broken formation."
The Cloud ninja stumbled out of his sprint at the force of the impact behind him. Then he turned around and found himself surrounded by the thickness of trees. The tangled canopy prevented any sunlight from reaching the forest floor.
He listened for the sound of the Raikage's voice but the only sound that echoed from the forest was the caw of crows. The Cloud ninja quickly decided he did not want to be stuck in the forest at night by himself. Chakra stuck his feet to the trunk of a tree in an attempt to locate his unit. He ran up the tall tree, reaching for the peak of white clouds through the leaves.
And never made it.
Hinata Hyūga used the cloud to break her fall. She lifted her hand from the conclave of his chest. The darkness of the forest did not hinder her sight and watched as her unit dispatched the lost Cloud ninja with ease.
She pressed her hand to the radio. "All targets eliminated. Returning to base."
The ground shook each time a tree was felled. Gradually a circle of the forest was cleared out so Cloud ninja could properly make camp. The Raikage sucked in a breath and blew it out like a bull. "Report."
C reported the number of those who had been lost in the chaos of the surprise attack. There had been more lost to the forest than the rain-shower of rasengan. It was such a devastating attack that Lightning was forced to reconsolidate their units.
"Sentries have been posted around the camp and our engineering unit is beginning to break the frequency of their radios."
The Raikage really thought this was going to be easy, thought that Fire country was war-weary and on the brink of crumbling.
With an excited smirk, the Raikage declared, "From this point forward, we will burn down this damn forest until their village is no longer hidden in leaves."
Kurotsuchi had been assigned to command the Iwa units that were aligned with Konoha. She found herself increasingly delighted to watch the twisting gears in the head of Uzumaki Naruto.
The command center was expertly hidden beneath ground to prevent any expected damage from lightning strikes. A large detailed map of the forest was spread onto a long table, a map so detailed it showed the topography, elevation and points of interest. Underground tunnels crafted by sprawling roots branched off to the carefully protected area for medical operations. Above ground the camp stretched upwards to the branches of the trees where Leaf ninja were used to making their beds.
Kurotsuchi watched as ninja clung to Naruto like leaves clinging to the support of a tree. He was surrounded by voices and assistants while Naruto stayed rooted to a calm that exerted itself over the room.
"We suffered no casualties in the surprise attack but we can't lose the momentum. We will follow-up with a counterattack. Shino, your unit will provide the distraction to allow Kurotsuchi and her men to strike. I'll take care of Bee and the Raikage." Naruto described as he circled an area on the map.
Kurotsuchi drew closer to the table and closer to the hooded man that preferred the darkest corners of a room.
"Kurotsuchi, I want you to direct your attack against their food supplies, equipment, and their engineering squad before they have a chance to scramble our radios."
Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes on the radio in Naruto's ear where a voice was continually giving him a steady stream of information until Naruto had outlined the entirety and specifics of Lightning's camp.
"Have you planted spies in Lightning's camp?" Kurotsuchi asked. "How are you getting this information?"
"I can assure you this information is accurate if that is what you are worried about," Naruto answered, standing straight in a reminder of how much he towered over her.
Kurotsuchi said slyly. "It's dangerous to have an active signal in Lightning's camp. They invented the radio after all."
"I appreciate your concern," Naruto said with ambiguous sincerity. "Have you memorized the coordinates of your targets?"
Coordinates were important to Stone ninja. It allowed them to see underground. After a moment of silence Kurotsuchi answered, "I have."
"The Raikage is beginning to organize his ninja to burn down the forest," Hinata's voice reported in Naruto's ear. Hinata crouched in the trees with her attention divided between Cloud and Leaf's camps. The Hachibi and his ability to sense Naruto's chakra prevented Naruto from getting too close for espionage. From the comfort of a distant tree branch, Hinata reported on anything that moved in the forest.
Kurotsuchi watched as Naruto suddenly smirked, a horrifying mixture of mischief, ingenuity, and the definite knowing that someone was about to die. "Never mind Shino, the Raikage has provided the distraction." Naruto turned to the bored kunoichi always at his beck and call. "Go gather all the wind users that we have."
"Yes sir," Hanabi acknowledged and bowed. She quickly set herself to the task without question.
"Let's welcome Lightning to Fire Country."
Night descended and the Raikage sensed Konoha was going to launch an attack. Even though a ninja's battle was by night, the Raikage knew that sending his army into the dark depths of the forest would swallow them whole. He had to level the terrain advantage.
Karui was in command of the Cloud ninja that formed a long line before the Raikage. He watched as Karui gave the signal. The Raikage didn't flinch at the sudden cascade of light. Lightning crackled from the fingertips of the Cloud ninja and attacked the closest defense of trees until they toppled over. The lightning caught fire and contagiously spread into the forest.
Then the direction of wind began to change. The smoke obscured everyone's vision. The heat of fire warmed the Raikage's face.
The line of lightning users turned nervously back towards the Raikage. The Raikage demanded the line to hold but the wind maintained its direction and the fire never stopped coming.
"Break," Karui ordered. Karui reformed the line to defend the camp from the coming fire.
While Cloud ninja were running past him and efforts were organized to stem the flames from reaching camp, the Raikage threw off his burning robe and walked into the fire.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" The Raikage called out from the ground of burnt ashes.
Naruto lounged against the branch of an untouched tree. Naruto motioned his hand like that of a beckoning cat.
The Raikage charged forward, creating a line of destruction through the forest as lightning charged chakra incinerated everything it touched.
"Yo, it's just a shadow clone," Bee sighed deeply when the Raikage charged recklessly through the forest. The wind was beginning to die down and the fire was getting easier to manage. Bee turned when he noticed another portion of Naruto's chakra had appeared rather close to camp.
"Let's not wait. Let's go investigate."
The Raikage grumbled as he stomped back into camp, disappointed that the expected sound of bones breaking underneath his fist had been nothing but a puff of shadow from a clone. He walked back into camp and found the fire had been extinguished but had left angry lines of ash throughout the camp.
C had been waiting for the Raikage's arrival.
"What's the damage?"
"We suffered little damage from the fire but our enemy used it as a cover to hide a surprise attack from Iwa ninja. We were hit pretty hard with significant losses to our supplies and our engineering unit."
"Order more supplies to replace what we lost." The Raikage ordered.
C reported nervously. "We've also received a letter from the Daimyo of Hot Water. He's cancelling all business transactions with us."
"Then send a squad of ninja to threaten him until he changes his mind," The Raikage said as if the solution should have been inherently obvious.
The Raikage finished surveying the camp. The faces of several Cloud ninja were beginning to realize that penetrating into Fire Country wasn't going to be easy. The Raikage found someone missing. "Where the fuck is Bee?"
"I'm married." Naruto announced.
"Congratulations, yo," Bee punched Naruto in the shoulder. "It's about time you tied the knot. Is she hot?"
Naruto chuckled as he sat against the trunk of the tree. Naruto's blue eyes reached up to Bee. "Yeah, she's hot. But, its, you know, politics. How have you been feeling?"
Bee rolled his shoulders. "The Cloud medics have been trying to ease the pain, but every transformation is still a drain."
"I don't want to fight you, Bee."
"I can't guarantee anything because the reality is that now we're enemies. There was always the possibility you would have to fight me."
None of the two men carried any animosity.
"I know but I can't see us as foes no matter what happens tomorrow. I'm thinking of a master plan, but there's nothing but sweat in my hand. It's A I don't understand."
Bee sighed. "It's gotten worse since his birthday. He's sixty this year and he fears dying in bed when death comes near. He isn't the person to be defeated by old age. He's seeking a more glorious stage."
"We don't need to get killed for his mid-life crisis. What are we fighting each other for?"
"Some of us learn to love war."
The sound of broken bone folded underneath the roundhouse kick. The punch cocked back like a springboard and the limp body went flying into the sky.
"Dare to challenge my fist of youth!" Lee roared. The bowl cut swayed as he cocked his leg backwards into a ninja coming from behind.
"Lee."
A punch struck Lee's chest and it bounced back with a ring, as if hitting steel. Lee's long braid whipped around as he spiraled and crushed the ninja underneath his fist.
"Lee!"
"Oh Neji!" Lee said emphatically as he pressed a hand to the radio and pressed another hand into the gut of a Mist ninja.
"You were supposed to be on the other side of the bluffs by now for the next maneuver."
"Right!" Lee exclaimed. He released the weight from his feet. Ninja in the nearest mile radius fell over like bowling pins. "Count!"
Neji audibly sighed over the radio. "I'm not playing this game with you."
"Oh come on." Lee stopped his speed just before he fell over the cliffside. Down on the beach the front ranks of leaf ninja were suffering against the ocean assisted Mist ninja. Lee bounced up and down enthusiastically on his feet for the signal.
Far into the sky, a butterfly's wings reflected the sun.
A tiny ninja rode a butterfly high into the sky. Chouji Akimichi peered downwards. He had come so high that the dark armies of ninja were meaningless to the expanse of the massive ocean blue.
Then Chouji jumped.
From the size of a larvae, Chouji began to grow and grow, casting an engulfing shadow over the water until a mountain-sized cannon ball plummeted into the ocean. The water swelled and exploded upwards at the force.
Mist ninja rained down. Lee leaped into the air and batted Mist ninja across the sky.
"Sir, the Leaf ninja have advanced past our first line of defenses."
Kyouya cackled gleefully within the underwater grotto where Mist held its command center. Kyouya never thought things would get so interesting so quickly.
"Shut up that idiotic cackling or I'm going to kill you myself," Sandayū Momochi said. Sandayū was of the opinion that the entire Houzuki clan should be drowned in the deepest depths of the sea. Sandayū reached across the map and ordered his men to specific points along the coast.
Kyouya leaned forward. "We should hit them where it hurts. We should attack their camp and take out their genin and wounded."
Sandayū said rigidly, "If I destroy the genin, who will rise to challenge me after I kill their parents?" Sandayū questioned. "I have had years of war experience. Get out of my camp."
Kyouya pouted and dispersed into an angry puddle.
"Sir, our left flank is crumbling."
Sandayuu Momochi hefted the razor's edge of kubikiribochi over his shoulder. He strolled atop the water. It was rumored that Sandayū never smiled, but a twist lifted his lips as he walked into the fray of battle.
Half the torso stood upright, as if wondering which direction it wanted to go before crumbling to its feet. The upper half had been severed with the ease of a katana.
Left.
Naruto turned to his left and deflected a Lightning a jutsu.
Right.
Naruto plunged two rasengan into the chest of two Mist ninja.
Behind.
Naruto twisted on his heel. The tip of his katana froze an inch away from the Leaf hitai-te. Naruto grabbed the leaf ninja by the shirt, shoved him to the ground, and a dome of wind released in all directions to protect the leaf ninja from the cloud that converged on their position.
Naruto's ear buzzed with the sound of Lightning. He spun out of the way, sticking his feet to a nearby tree and riding it down as it crashed to the ground.
The Raikage pulled his hand out of the earth. He knew immediately when Naruto took the extra effort to evade, that he had finally shifted through the various shadow clones in the field.
The Raikage chased after Naruto through the trees. From the sky, a bolt of lightning and a streak of fiery chakra carved a maze as trees fell around them. Naruto skidded to a stop, barely evading a bijū bomb that bowled through the forest like an angry scar. Naruto turned and caught the Raikage's fist in the face, flew backwards, and then was slammed to the ground by the force of the Hachibi's suckered tail.
Naruto blasted himself up with the force of a rasengan. Multiple shadow clones began to disappear the moment they were created as the Raikage systematically eliminated them. Naruto landed with a bloodied palm on the ground.
The moment Gamabunta saw the full formed Hachibi, he asked, "You're kidding?"
"Long story," Naruto sighed. The Raikage landed behind the Hachibi's horns and Naruto faced the world's number one tag-team. The Hachibi roared. Naruto ran across Gamabunta's back. Chakra claws grew out of his cloak to grab the bull by the horns. Naruto and the Raikage collided. The explosion leveled the field.
The earth shook.
Hinata lost her footing when the ground moved beneath her feet. She looked up at the approaching tip of a katana. It felt right past her ear when the katana loosened from its owner's grip. A Jyūken crushed his throat.
Hanabi reached out and pulled her sister from the ground. A looked exchanged between them. With their backs pressed together, they protected each other's blind spot. Their Jyūken was a perfection of movement, precision, and death.
Lightning bolts rained down from the sky. Hanabi rolled forward and sprung back to the ground when a katana nicked her arm. Hanabi evaded the charged katana and the confident grin of its pink-haired wielder.
Hanabi prepared hand signals but before she could attack, Karui turned and thrust her sword through the chest of a Cloud ninja.
Suddenly entire crowds of Cloud ninja were turning against each other until only those who were mentally fortified enough to break the genjutsu retreated backwards.
"Unit 4 retreating," Hanabi reported and bowed her head to the genjutsu user before she went in search of another fight.
Kurenai tripped an incoming ninja with the bandages unwound from her arms. Her red eyes were the color of blood as she sliced her kunai through his throat. Then she signaled to her genjutsu unit to regroup for their next target.
The battlefield was a pockmarked forest. Entire regions were burnt and cleared out. An area of trees shook leaves to the ground and Cloud ninja ran for their lives.
Omoi turned with a curse when another team member fell to the ground as a pile of bones. He ran as fast as he could through the forest, stopped when the route for retreat was cut off by a wall of fire. Omoi made a right as another Cloud ninja screamed. The buzzing came louder and louder.
Omoi jumped from the tree and dived into the water of the river.
A shadow emerged from the forest. Shino crossed his arms with a pronounced grudge. "Missed one."
Naruto fell like a comet at Shino's feet.
Shino's beetles picked Naruto off his feet before the Raikage came through. Naruto and the Raikage tumbled over the waterfall with punches at each other's faces. Naruto hiraishined away just before A crashed into the lake below.
Naruto reappeared atop Gamabunta's head, seeking to capitalize on the time while the tag team was separated.
"We need to manage those tails," Gamabunta determined.
"They grow back if we cut them. The goal isn't to defeat him. We need to pressure Bee enough until he transforms back."
"You've got a plan?"
"A long-term one. Distract him. I'm going to give it all I got before A comes back."
Gamabunta moved his pipe to the other side of his mouth. The sporadic flames had trapped the battlefield in a heat wave. Gamabunata removed his happi coat to reveal an intricate tattoo of peonies and waves that covered his entire back.
Naruto created eight shadow clones and targeted each tail with a rasenshuriken. Gamabunta slashed through the tough shell-skin of the Hachibi.
The Eight-tails found itself overwhelmed. Bee, you need to make a decision. Naruto is giving it all he's got. We've got to do the same.
Naruto made a clean cut through the tails. Immediately they began to regenerate. Naruto gathered all the chakra he could afford in Fox mode. Bee twisted around. A bijuu bomb charged in Hachibi's maw.
If Naruto's attack missed, Naruto would be left in a vulnerable position. Gamabunta leaped forward. The bijuu bomb veered sideways. Like that of a small star, the large rasengan was brought to bear directly against Hachibi's chest.
The battlefield was blinded by a flash.
Naruto stumbled forward. He lifted his eyes in a cloud of blue. The Hachibi condensed and a tentacle plucked out of Gamabunta's chest.
Gamabunta's dosu blade fell to the ground. "Bunta," Naruto placed his hand on the chill creeping through Gamabunta's chest.
"Good run," blood cough from the Great Toad's mouth, "kid…"
Bee shook as he crawled to his knees in unbearable pain. His body refused to heal from the trauma of the transformation. Bee's face fell at the sight of Gamabunta's prone body. "Naruto, watch out!"
Having powered down, Naruto was unprepared when the Raikage blindsided him. The punch struck Naruto in the chest. Naruto flipped backwards and landed on his face. A puddle of blood smattered the ground at a sharp eruption of pain. Naruto kneeled over, looked up in agony as the Raikage neared him.
The ground beneath the Raikage's feet ruptured and a giant snake swallowed the Raikage in its maw.
"Be still," Hinata insisted as she pressed her hand against Naruto's chest and studied him with her byakugan. "This is beyond my expertise." Her words echoed in the radio in Naruto's ear. "Sakura, we have an emergency. Naruto needs you now."
In seconds, Sakura appeared, connected to the hiraishin kunai that Naruto held. Sakura immediately checked his vitals.
"There is pressure building in his arteries. He's going to need surgery." Hinata reported.
"How hard is it not to get hit?" Sakura asked him. She had blood on her hands from a previous operation that she smeared on her forehead. She didn't hesitate as she injected Naruto with the serum. Sakura brandished a shrapnel and cut into Naruto's chest.
"Naruto, I need you to relax. Keep your heart rate down," Sakura ordered.
Hinata bound her fingers through his. She knelt forward until her face obscured the destroyed terrain. Naruto whispered, "Bunta's dead. I can't believe… the old toad is dead. I thought he'd outlive all of us. It didn't seem so long ago when I first summoned him..."
Naruto paused when Hinata's attention broke. She turned at the flailing of her own summon. Smoke wafted after a bolt of lightning struck from the sky. Hinata winced. The Raikage dug himself out of the nest of scales. Guts coated his clothes when he emerged out the belly of the beast.
"How much time do you need?" Hinata asked.
"As long as you can give me," Sakura answered. Sweat gathered along Sakura's forehead but her hands were sure and steady.
Hinata stood and walked forward, barring the Raikage's path.
"I guess the Nine-tails isn't so invincible after all."
"All of us are mortal," Hinata said succinctly as she entered her Jyūken stance. Hinata had already run this scenario several times through her head. The Raikage was faster and stronger than she was. His elemental affinities were at an advantage. Even though all organs, no matter how strong their constitution, was vulnerable to a Jyūken strike, she would never have a chance to hit him. Her only option was defense.
Her byakugan watched the twitch of his muscles. She began to dodge the moment he decided to attack. The punch swept past her face.
The Raikage narrowed his eyes and began to analyze how he had missed someone slower than him. He threw several more testing punches which were all successfully evaded. Then he smirked. Chakra cackled around his one arm.
The sudden intensity of chakra turned Hinata's grey vision into a sudden shock of white.
Hinata wheezed when the fist plummeted into her stomach. She didn't even see the attack. It was only one hit, but it was enough to send Hinata to her knees.
The Raikage challenged, "Is this all the Hyūga are capable of?"
Hinata fisted ashes and dirt in her hand as she attempted to get up. Her mind knew exactly what she wanted to do: throw the ground in his eyes as a distraction and go for the throat but her body was not physically capable of picking itself back up no matter how much she willed it.
The Raikage slammed down his foot. Dirt welled in her mouth when Hinata's face hit the ground. The corner of her left eye caught on a rock. Hinata remained silent as he kicked into her side and ribs cracked.
But Naruto heard the bones breaking.
"Sakura, what the fuck is going on?"
"Shut up. It isn't easy to perform heart surgery on the field."
Sakura punctured a hole and added a stint to relieve the blockage. Naruto could feel the pressure of pain ease. Sakura applied the antidote and watched as Naruto's skin knit together without the need for stitches.
Sakura kept her hand held down against Naruto's chest. "Call in a retreat. You're out of immediate danger but you need to rest."
Naruto set his jaw. But he had come to know his limits and he accomplished today what he set out to do. Naruto activated his radio. "Call a retreat."
Naruto motioned to Sakura and ordered her to circle around.
The Raikage watched Hinata's attempt to push herself up before he forced her back down. The Raikage could have killed Hinata by now but he was stalling for time, waiting for Naruto to get back up and start the real fight again.
"That's enough," Naruto's voice carried a strength that he no longer physically possessed.
The Raikage immediately recognized Naruto was done fighting for today. He reached down and picked Hinata off her feet. Her hair had come undone, and was matted and stuck to the blood and dirt on her face.
Naruto walked forward without any hint of fear or any reserves of chakra left in his body. "Enough people have died today."
Behind the Raikage, a unit of Cloud ninja were gathering Bee from the ground to deliver him immediately to a medic's tent. But the Cloud ninja dropped with a senbon needle sticking out of his neck, and another was killed by sheer force before he ever hit the ground.
Sakura held a kunai over Bee's throat.
The Raikage looked over his shoulder. "Agreed. Enough people have died today." The Raikage placed Hinata in Naruto's arms. Sakura lifted her kunai and backed away.
The distance between a cloud and a leaf wasn't so far.
On both sides, it was agreed the Leaf ninja had won the day. Lightning had gained no ground and lost too many men. But there wasn't time for celebration.
Immediately in camp, Naruto's attentions were directed towards tomorrow. "The initiative today was successful but we have to maintain the ground," Naruto told those in the room and outlined all the preparations he wanted done before Lightning recovered from their losses.
"Report."
"I'm still gathering the count but this is what I have so far," Hanabi answered. Few dead, some injured. Naruto knew that no matter what, people were going to die under his command. Naruto dismissed his lieutenants to carry out his orders.
"While they are weak and least expecting us, we should do another raid." Kurotsuchi suggested as everyone began to file out.
"No."
Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes. "If this was Mountain we'd crush them, every single one into dust."
"We don't need to kill them to defeat them." Naruto argued. "I know it's not the typical strategy of Iwa ninja. No, because a stone never wavers – victory or defeat. But even stones can be weathered." Naruto walked around the table, as if prowling towards Kurotsuchi. "As a reminder, if Iwa breaks the peace treaty and attacks either Suna or Konoha, we will not help you recapture Mountain."
"I'm well aware of that," Kurotsuchi crossed her arms.
"I will always honor my promises but if you cross me, if you betray my trust, I won't hesitate to kill you."
By her values, Kurotsuchi stood her ground as Naruto came closer. She refused to back down even as Naruto reached behind her, bodily pressing her against him, then snatched a piece of paper from her back pocket.
It was sealed and ready to be sent.
"What a crude seal," Naruto said. He unlocked it in seconds and read the contents.
"It doesn't mean anything," Kurotsuchi said simply. "I was simply compiling information… just in case."
Naruto tore the letter detailing the abilities and names of Konoha's top ninja. "That was a warning. I only give one."
Hinata blinked as her eyes attempted to adjust after hours of her grey byakugan vision. She winced as Sakura prepared to dose her with heavy pain medication.
"No, I don't want it."
"Hinata, a fractured rib like this takes at least six weeks to heal. You might as well take the medicine, there is no way you are going back out into the field." Hinata breath hitched when Sakura pressed a bag of ice on the injured area and tightly wrapped her ribcage.
"If I was to guess, the Raikage didn't want to kill you but he completely succeeded in disabling you." Sakura explained what Hinata already knew. It was obvious to them both that the Raikage still held hopes for Hinata's eyes.
"I don't want the medicine," Hinata repeated. "I can't afford not to have a clear head."
Sakura cleaned Hinata's bruised and bloodied eye, and then applied gauze. The last time Sakura had seen Hinata beaten this badly was the chūnin exams against Neji.
Sakura turned to wash her equipment. The silence was tense. But someone had to address the the evident issue in the room. "Hinata, there are high levels of mifepristone and prostaglandin in your system. You've been trying to induce an abortion."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Hinata said and pulled off her blood splattered pants. Then she took off her bloody underwear. Sakura handed Hinata a clean pair of clothes that Hanabi had delivered earlier. The Raikage had unknowingly taken care of her problem.
"Why didn't you get an appointment before you left Konoha? It's much safer that way."
Hinata struggled with the clothes. Sakura reached and helped place Hinata feet into her underwear. "I was hoping the drugs would work faster." Hinata looked at Sakura pointedly. "I didn't want anyone else to know."
Sakura understood the meaning behind her words immediately. Only one person in Konoha's hospital was allowed to operate on a Clan Head. "There's patient confidentiality. I would not have told Neji."
Hinata gave a blank blink. "Neji is a Hyūga. He knows."
"But who…" Sakura's jaw dropped at the realization.
Hinata stared at the soiled clothes on the floor. She reached out for the crutches and balanced her weight against them. Her hair covered the coldness in her voice, "It doesn't matter anymore."
A medic nin's most prized attribute was that of silence. Sometimes the silence was harder than even the most traumatic of missions. The silence built up in your chest like heartburn.
Hinata limped into the command center at the sound of torn paper. "Am I interrupting?" Hinata asked to break the tense stand-off between Naruto and Kurotsuchi. Hinata could see the twitching of Naruto's hand, as if he hadn't decided to lunge for a kunai.
Kurotsuchi turned on her heels. She stomped toward the exit and passed Hinata who held a clinging hand on the wall. It was silent as both Naruto and Hinata waited until Kurotsuchi's footsteps had faded into the distance.
Then Naruto was atop Hinata angrily. "I told you I'd pick you up," Naruto reprimanded. Then he reached under Hinata's legs, carried her in one arm and picked up the crutches in the other.
"I'm the Second. I can't be carried through camp," Hinata argued. "No one would respect me."
Naruto sighed, even though he was beginning to understand how important appearances were to the people you led. Never show fear, or doubt, or regret, or any weaknesses that could reveal you were mortal and just like them.
"What were the doctor's orders?"
Hinata answered, "Sakura said you should get some rest and lay down. Avoid anything extraneous for the next 24-hours. Which includes carrying me."
"You weigh nothing and that's not what I meant."
Hinata knew that's not what he meant. "She gave me a week. After that, I should be well enough to go out into the field." Hinata reported. They reached the small hole in the wall with enough room for a low-lit table and a bed on the side. Naruto gingerly placed Hinata on the pile of covers. They stared at each other with a knowing that things today could have gone horribly wrong.
"If A knew exactly how far you could see into their camp, he would not have hesitated to kill you," Naruto whispered. It was scary how much information was the line between life and death. "I'm pulling you from the front lines indefinitely, regardless of how much you're lying to me."
"I'll be fine in a week," Hinata insisted. "People go into battle wounded all the time. If I hadn't been on the front lines today you'd be dead."
"And I appreciate it," Naruto said sincerely and placed a kiss against her resistant lips. "But the truth of the matter is, your eyes are more important to the overall war effort than just on the frontlines. Stay in HQ and feed me information on what is going on. I can't lose you. A lot of my plans hinges on what you can see."
It was worse that Naruto didn't appeal to her emotionally but logically because Hinata didn't have a good counter-argument.
"But-"
"That was a fucking command Hinata. Understand?"
Hinata looked up at him with soft eyes. "I want to die by your side."
"I'm not dying," Naruto told her confidently. "Do you understand, Hinata?"
"Yes sir," Hinata whispered.
Naruto straightened and pulled his shirt over his shoulders. "Everything went according to plan. Things will be different tomorrow. I should only have A to worry about." Naruto looked at Hinata questioningly.
She activated her byakugan and reported, "Killer Bee won't be fighting for the rest of this campaign."
"How long do you think it will take them to figure out why he's not healing?"
"It took Sakura an hour when it happened to you. I give them all night. Even so, they won't be able to treat the poison I created. It's specifically designed for a Jinchūruki."
"And you're sure it won't kill him?"
"The poison doesn't actually inflict any harm. It's simply a placebo that diverts the attention of a jinchūriki's healing abilities and renders him unable to recover from his transformation." Hinata reached up and touched the new scar above Naruto's heart. "Sakura had to use it on you to make the surgery possible. It's useful when you have the antidote."
Naruto looked down and traced his fingers on the upraised skin. It's been a long time since he's gotten a scar. "We both knew today was going to be hard. But now that Bee is out, I can handle the Raikage."
Naruto turned over and wrapped his arms around Hinata. His hand lightly touched the bandages, an awful reminder that other people didn't heal as fast as he could. He pressed Hinata against his ailing heart.
"What's wrong Hinata?" Naruto asked. Before she could lie, "Hinata, I know you. Something is wrong."
The fact she was a trained kunoichi in the art of hiding her emotions unsettled her to Naruto's sense of knowing when something was wrong with her. "After the war," Hinata whispered.
Naruto thoughtfully traced a finger down the ridges of her bandages. "It doesn't compromise the war campaign?"
"No."
"After the war," Naruto agreed as he bowed his head against her shoulder. He felt a shiver run through Hinata's body. Tears dropped on Naruto's arm. Sometimes even he didn't want the war to end.
He was dead on arrival. The medic ninja shook their heads at the bloating corpse but he was too important to roll out into a ditch like all the others. This was the sort of body with enough gold and status that even in death it was certain he would be cremated at home, so important that one dead corpse took up space in the medical tents that could have been reserved for the living.
Chouji rushed toward the medic tents the moment Shikamaru told him over the radio. Chouji stared at the pale corpse of his father.
One of his cousins and Chouza's lieutenant bowed at Chouji's appearance.
"I should have been there," Chouji said as the guilt ran through him.
"If you would have been there, you would have been defying orders," The lieutenant replied respectfully.
"What happened?" Tears began to spiral down the tattoos on Chouji's cheeks.
"Momochi had us pinned down. Your dad was wounded from an earlier involvement. We tried to convince him to go back and get medical attention but… you know your dad, he wouldn't budge." Chouji's hand bled with the blood of his Father's wound. "We will get him back home soon, I promise."
"No," Chouji said. "There's no room to store him here." Chouji's hands increased in size and easily hefted his father's weight in his arms. Chouji carried him outside into the night. He took refuge under the arching trees and placed his father under a branch of leaves.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Chouji watched his father burn and the fire reflected in his eyes. Shikamaru placed a supporting hand on Chouji's shoulder. Chouji looked up at Shikamaru and said, "I need a sandwich."
Shikamaru turned and scanned his eyes through the camp for someone he could use. "Asami, I need a sandwich."
Asami, Kusuro and their third team member, Yuuki looked at each other as they hauled a crate across camp. Ame nodded without question. "Yes sir!"
They dropped the crate of building supplies and rushed to the mess area. No one was manning the station and they were forced to make the sandwich themselves.
"Do you think he likes cheese?" Asami asked.
"What about lettuce?" Yuuki asked.
Kusuro threw his hands in the air in frustration. "What are we doing?!"
"Making a sandwich," Asami said obviously.
"People are dying, our sensei isn't even fucking here, and we're making a sandwich," Kusuro spat.
An explosion went off in the distant forest and Yuuki cringed at the sound. He closed his eyes as the sound of battle drew closer. "I can't… I can't…"
Kusuro leaned down. "Hey, it's going to be okay. They aren't going to let anyone come into camp."
Suddenly thunder shook the sky as if threatening to burst it apart. Asami looked up, fearless because even though a storm was brewing the shadows were growing. A Nara was strongest at night.
One drop of rain splattered on Yuuki's skin in a cold shock. Startled, he ran off into the forest.
"We have to follow," Kusuro insisted. "We can't leave a friend behind."
Asami raised an eyebrow. "He's the one that ran."
Kusuro ran off without her. With a sigh, Asami conceded it was safer in numbers. She activated her kekkai genkai and handed the sandwich to a tendril of shadow that lifted from the ground. "Make sure this gets to uncle," She lectured the shadow before it darted across the ground.
Asami followed Kusuro tracks and found where he had stopped. Kusuro stood and stared at the body of Yuuki pinned underneath the branch of a fallen tree that had struck him in the head.
"Huh, what an odd thing to die from," Asami noted.
Kusuro looked over at Asami. "What is wrong with you?"
"Ah well," Asami leaned down and went through Yuuki's pockets for his shuriken. "He's not using them." Asami collected the weapons, then her head swiveled around. She was alone. "Kusuro?" Asami called out. "This isn't funny."
When there was no answer but the rain that fell around her feet, she began to get worried. Asami placed her hands to the ground. The shadows were pliable under her skin. "Find Kusuro for me," Asami asked. The shadows did nothing. Asami pouted. "Please."
They moved. Asami waited and listened until they whispered back to her. She smirked. "Got you." Asami raced off into the forest and peered up into a branch where a ninja was caught intertwined in her shadows. He held an unconscious Kusuro in his arms.
Asami brandished her kunai. "Let him go." Asami demanded from the ninja, "or I kill you."
The ninja turned. Asami froze when the rain fell on the stark white mask and the leaf symbol etched on its forehead. Then the ANBU escaped from the shadows that had captured his legs.
"No!" Asami cried out as she chased after the ANBU. "Why are you taking him? He's not the enemy."
The ANBU easily evaded the vine of shadows that attempted to deter his escape. Finally, the ANBU turned. A glint of kunai pinned Asami's pants and then shirt to the tree. Asami brought her hands together for a jutsu. She cried out when the next kunai stabbed through the middle of her palm and stuck it back into the bark.
She looked up just as the ANBU loomed before him. "LET ME GO!" She screamed. "YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET THIS. I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" Her screams ended with a knock to the back of the head. She limped against the tree.
The ANBU crouched and wove an intricate genjutsu to cover her body and protect her from the sight of her enemies. The ANBU looked down at the tears fallen on the young Nara's face.
"You'll get over it," Boar said confidently. Then he gathered Kusuro under his arm and disappeared in the night. He had a mission to complete.
The continued rain was beginning to turn the ground to mud. The foundation of the camp was quickly becoming unstable.
Tomu wiped the mud from his eyes and then hefted a box of medical supplies in his arms. On the side of the box was a logo Tomu knew well. It was the logo of the construction company he worked for. Mushi and Hohei followed behind and picked up crates with the same logo that reminded Tomu that this was more than a war just on the front lines.
"Hurry up," Temari commanded as she rushed around camp and organized the relocation. "We need to move to drier ground now."
Medical ninjas rushed passed carrying cots of the maimed. The dying, those that couldn't be saved without extensive medical care, were left behind. Mushi step forward and her foot stuck in the mud. Hohei and Tomu paused to pluck her foot out of the sinkhole.
A line was formed as the medical unit trekked through the forest in search of dry ground.
"Fuck," Tomu spat and stopped at the burn in his thighs. He wasn't used to such physical demand. "I can't," Tomu said hoarsely. His legs were shaking underneath the weight of the crate.
"We can't fall behind," Hohei said insistently but no amount of coaxing returned the strength to Tomu's legs. "Mushi, grab the crate," Hohei ordered.
Tomu felt helpless as his girlfriend carried his load. Then Hohei crouched in front of him and lifted Tomu onto his back. Then they resumed their march uphill.
"I'm sorry," Tomu whispered through the curtain of rain. He conceded that he didn't have their physical training nor was he used to the physical rigors a mission often demanded.
Hohei put one foot in front of the other. "It's my turn to carry you."
Temari watched as the camp gradually emptied to seek refuge somewhere else, except there was one tent left standing. Temari rushed into the central command tent. There were three others left in camp: Shikamaru, Chouji, and Naruto.
"We've got to move. This entire hill is about to collapse," Temari said insistently.
"Not yet. If we move the radio equipment, the entire army will be blind," Shikamaru warned. Eating a soggy sandwich in one hand, Chouji was gathering up all the important maps in the other. Naruto watched the situation unfold impatiently, knowing that it was more complicated than simply grabbing the equipment and moving it somewhere else. The antennas had to be set up and the correct frequency needed to be established. It took time to set it back up - time that Shikamaru had determined was needed more now.
"We've broken through the second line of defenses. I'm about to engage Momochi," Neji reported.
"No, do not engage Momochi," Shikamaru said insistently. "We're about to lose radio contact. When that happens, I'm transferring all command to you. You have the best visibility in the field," Even though Shikamaru was the strategist, he agreed that Neji was better at command. Shikamaru could formulate intricate perfect plans that needed time to form within the synapses of his mind. Neji was a prodigy in a different sort. Neji could react to situations quickly with an immediate plan under the circumstances, even if it wasn't the perfect one.
Shikamaru turned to Chouji. "I need you to gather your father's men and back up Neji immediately."
Chouji scarfed down the rest of his sandwich. "Right away." Chouji dumped the rolls of maps in Naruto's arms and then went outside.
"Human Bullet Tank Jutsu."
Chouji rolled downhill.
Shikamaru continued to shout orders. "Kankurou, maintain your position. Chouji I want you to…" Shikamaru realized he was talking to himself. He turned around when Temari had dismantled the connection. Before she could place the lumbering radio equipment in a storage scroll, the ground beneath their feet gave way.
Naruto clung to the maps as the mud knocked his legs over. Naruto reached and shoved them in Shikamaru's arms. It wasn't a shadow clone made to be durable but to simply observe. The shadow clone collided between two rolling trees in a cloud of smoke.
Shikamaru winced as the table flipped over his head, hit his elbow on a tree root, but maintained a grip around the maps as he was dragged down hill. Shikamaru could have stopped his quick descent with a jutsu but he was unwilling to let go of the maps that were as important as a shogi board to the pieces that played on top of it.
Temari's fan caught Shikamaru's fall. "You should have went after the radio," Shikamaru argued in his current frustration, unable to understand why she didn't choose the most logical and advantageous course of action. Shikamaru spotted the radio equipment only seconds before it sunk deep into the mud.
Temari gave him a blank look. "You're my husband."
Sometimes Shikamaru's plans were often ruined because people didn't take the most logical course of action. Shikamaru collapsed backwards against the ridges of the fan. He let the maps fall from his hand. They fluttered in the air against the rain.
It was still raining, but only a drizzle and the ground was solid. Hohei was drenched in sweat when Tomu moved off his back. Immediately the medics, genin, and support staff began to rebuild a base. Hohei, Tomu, and Mushi were quickly enlisted to help. Even though everyone was exhausted no one complained as the wounded were tended to and protected.
Suddenly Hohei snatched at Tomu's collar and whispered, "We're surrounded."
Seconds later the entire camp was enveloped in a thick fog of mist.
"Where did this river come from?" Temari questioned. A dread filled Shikamaru's stomach as they neared closer and closer to the area where the camp was supposed to be relocated. There was no camp.
Shikamaru landed in the forest clearing. A river of bodies floated past his feet. The rain had stopped but water continued to drip from the leaves.
They lost the entire medical team except for those retrieving bodies out on the field. They lost their supplies. They lost the genin.
The genin were younger brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, daughters and sons. A whole generation swept out to sea.
"Shikamaru, I want the head of whoever did this. Was it Momochi?"
Shikamaru studied the ambush, logically shifted through the logistics and planning. "No, this isn't Momochi's work. We have a rogue element on the field I didn't account for." Shikamaru was about to place his hand to his ear and remembered the radios weren't working anymore.
Water splashed as he collapsed backwards and stared up at the clouds. "Every time I work through the scenarios, we lose, no matter what. Not just the battle, but the war."
"So you've given up?" Temari asked. "Is that what your problem has been lately? You're defeated?"
"Don't you see Temari? We've already lost. We've lost our King." Temari walked over and kicked Shikamaru in the leg.
"Ow, Temari, stop."
"Get up, you lazy ninja. Get. Up." Temari said as she continued to kick Shikamaru off the ground. Temari yanked Shikamaru forward by the shirt. "I was serious about what I said. After this war is over, I am going to live in Konoha with my husband and my daughter. Now, we've got only thirty minutes before your initial plan comes together."
"You promise?" Shikamaru asked.
Temari knew she had a track record of broken promises. Temari turned with her arms crossed. "I'm not planning on becoming a housewife and cooking all your meals if that's what you're asking."
Shikamaru grumbled, "If you did, I would accidently kill you wondering what ninja was masquerading as my wife."
Naruto jolted awake when his shadow clone dismissed from the Eastern front. He reached over Hinata's huddle body and grabbed his utility belt. Naruto pulled his shirt over his head. When he reached down to grab his boots, he stumbled into Hinata's eyes. She gave him one look.
"They might need me," Naruto told her. "It's not looking good on the Eastern front."
Hinata narrowed her eyes and then turned on her side.
"Fuck Hinata, what am I supposed to do? Lie here while people are dying?" Naruto asked. "I know I've only rested an hour. I know I haven't recovered enough chakra to hiraishin there and get back. I know that this is where the Hokage ordered me to be."
Naruto paused and questioned himself. "What if there is a surprise attack and I'm not here?" His Second was obviously not in any shape to command.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Naruto said as he collapsed back down in bed and Shion's vision plagued his thoughts. "What's the point?" Naruto asked Hinata softly. "Shion foresaw that Kiri is going to invade Konoha. What if everything I've done so far doesn't mean a thing?"
Blood was beginning to stain Hinata's bandages. Every time she breathed pained her. "Why do we keep fighting?"
Naruto searched his soul for an answer, "Because we don't know how to do anything else."
Mushi caught Tomu in her arms as he grew faint from the sharp drop in his chakra levels. Mushi didn't hesitate to force a chakra pill down Tomu's throat.
Naruto had given Tomu a set of hiraishin kunai. Tomu had one in his pocket, which he had just used to clear his teammates to safety before the Mist ninja attacked, and the other was at the initial campsite just in case he ever got separated. But the camp had rode a mudslide downhill.
Hohei flipped over Mushi and, "Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven", deflected the water cannon that shot directly towards them. They found themselves on the shores of the beaches where the worst of the fighting was located.
The tide surged forward and washed red water around their feet. Hohei brought his hands up to defend against the charging Mist ninja but slipped when he stepped on a shuriken fallen in the sand.
A metal tipped crossbow bolt shot into the Mist ninja's throat.
"Forward!"
Mushi helped Tomu to his feet as a line of Leaf ninja overtook them. The Leaf ninja dropped to their stomach and loaded crossbow bolts.
"Where did you three come from?" Tenten asked as she reached down and dragged Hohei to his feet. Then she whipped around with a fuma shuriken that cut through three mist ninja. "Hold," Tenten ordered the line until enough targets were in position. "Fire," Tenten commanded the ranged-unit.
Guided by chakra, the accuracy and precision of the bolts reached their targets regardless of how much the Mist ninja were moving in battle, always avoiding the Leaf and Sand ninja just inches apart.
Mushi watched as one her aunt's beetles landed on Tenten's shoulder and whispered in her ear. She recognized it was a method of communication Konoha used to employ before the invention of radios. "We're losing men to the sea. We need to hurry and back up the commander's forces. We've only got twenty minutes before the grand finale."
But everyone knew twenty minutes was a long time on the battlefield.
Tenten patted a hand on Hohei's shoulder. "I love how a Hyūga always shows up when I need them," Tenten smirked. "The radios are dead and I need eyes on the field. Guide my men through the holes on the battlefield, understand?"
Hohei stared out toward the beaches of mass massacre. "I understand."
Tenten turned and motioned to Mushi and Tomu. "Get in formation," Tenten signaled to the ninja behind her to move. "Stray from the formation and your dead."
Tenten lifted a bow the length of her body and released the arrow.
Moegi turned with a fire jutsu as the Mist ninja behind her caught an arrow to the eye. Water splashed on the scar that marked her face. Moegi increased the intensity of her flames and directed it downwards. The water boiled and burned the feet of the three Mist ninja surrounding her.
One hopped backward in the air and was caught by the snapping fangs of a nin-ken. Sharp claws tore through his skin. Hana whistled. Three large nin-ken surged forward. Hana slid off her mount and gathered a floundering raccoon summon in her arms. Its summoner was dead. Hana strapped the raccoon onto the back of her nin-ken and raced down the coastline. She dunked down when two clattering puppets floated across her head.
The two puppets snapped around two Mist ninja and exploded, sending the ocean surging backwards. Kankurou played the strings along his fingers like keyboards and the puppets reassembled like puzzle pieces. The sand shifted in the bag Kankurou carried at his waist to form a set of numbers ticking down the time: ten minutes.
The time was erased when a splash dampened the sand. Kankurou looked up annoyed when Lee landed in front of him, crashing the head of an enemy ninja into the ground. The head splattered apart like the seven points of a starfish.
Lee looked up and flashed Kankurou a thumbs up before creating a stream of water behind his feet, completely soaking Kankurou and washing the white and purple make-up from his face to reveal a distinct frown.
Waves were formed under the speed of Lee's feet. Lee rounded when he saw Chouji bowling towards him, Chouji rolled along the arch Lee created and was redirected towards a crowd of ninja trying to reform to maintain a mist.
Chouji crashed right into them, splattering the ninja in the air. Then Chouji increased in size to swat at the Mist ninja floating on the water.
Momochi darted between Chouji's feet. Neji ran across the ocean as waves followed behind him, but he couldn't run as fast as Momochi swam. Neji was pulled underwater. He spiraled around, excreting chakra from every chakra point and forced Momochi backwards.
Neji pulled himself out of the water. Watching Momochi's movements underneath him, he avoided every attack. Then the water lifted up and formed a bubble that picked Neji's feet off the surface of water. Neji spun around and his Jyūken attacks bounced off the interior.
Momochi emerged out of the water with eyes hungry for the hunt. He lifted the sword, Kubikiribocho.
A crossbow bolt shot straight through the hole of the massive butcher's knife and embedded itself in Momochi's arm. He looked around for the attacker but she was leagues away. Tenten smiled smugly.
The distraction was enough. Neji's byakugan had searched for weaknesses in the bubble that held him, zoomed in on the water, zoomed in on the two molecules of hydrogen and oxygen bound tightly together by chakra. With a controlled concentrated strike of chakra, the atoms burst apart.
Momochi broke the bolt out of his arm.
A single leaf floated on the wind, swaying and tumbled until it fell between the tense stares of Neji and Momochi.
Momochi's sword was atoms away from Neji's chest. Neji's hand was atoms away from Momochi's cold heart.
A shadow loomed overhead, but Momochi refused to break the impasse. "Times up," Neji told him. "We've won." Mist ninja began to rush past them, fleeing back into the sea.
Then mountains of sand exploded out of the air.
Neji wiped sand from his hair as he straightened. The border between the ocean that had stretched for miles on one side and hills of forest on the other, had been engulfed in a desert of sand. Mist ninja were retreating backwards towards the oceans humidity but the sand had a mind of its own. One by one Mist ninja disappeared underneath the depths of sand, never to be seen again.
Gaara collapsed backwards. He fell into Temari's arms. It had taken Gaara at least an hour to move an entire section of the desert from Suna to the other end of Fire Country. Gaara had used all his chakra to complete the stunt.
Temari watched in triumph as Sand ninja capitalized on the opportunity and destroyed the Mist ninja not quick enough to get away.
A dark cloud dispersed out of the sky.
Kyouya dropped to the ground and landed with a splash. "Wrong move, Sand ninja," Kyouya said with a chakram at the back of Temari's neck. The sharp metal cut hairs. Gaara yawned and fell asleep in Temari's arms despite the danger.
When Kyouya attempted to strike, she found herself stuck to her own shadow.
"Now it's my move," Shikamaru said as he walked forward with his hands in his pockets. He knew a person like Kyouya couldn't pass up on the ripe opportunity at the Kazekage. He knew that a type of person like Kyouya had to feel her own hand cut through the Kazekage's throat. It wasn't a job she'd leave to a water clone.
Kyouya screamed as she attempted to disperse back into the air but she had been trapped within her own trap. She struggled as the leeches of shadow crawled up her legs.
Temari hefted her fan, and then the blade edge cut across Kyouya's shoulders. Kyouya's head rolled across the ground.
Shikamaru stopped and stared at the twisted scream on Kyouya's expression. The torturer had never known fear until she truly felt what it meant to be trapped and unable to escape. Shikamaru picked up her head and tossed it to Temari. "Happy anniversary."
Temari said in a tease, "Aww, you remembered."
Shikamaru and Temari shared a smile.
There were only a few hours left until sunset. Naruto studied the terrain for any advantages he could use against the Raikage. Naruto swore that for a one-armed ninja, the Raikage was sure damned hard to kill. "I'd never thought I'd say this, but thank Sasuke for taking this guy's other arm," Naruto said as he sat back and went through schemes in his head.
One thing about being Commander was that he couldn't focus solely on his battle anymore, he had to figure out a way to lose the least amount of men while Lightning lost the most. Naruto raised his head when Shino entered central command.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked.
Shino reached for a map and pointed toward the coastline. "What is going on? My scouts have located a second force coming by ship from Lightning. They just landed on the coast."
Naruto combed his fingers through his hair. "Alright, hold on." The shadow clone disappeared.
Naruto hadn't gotten very much sleep. He pinned close to Hinata, cherishing her heat while the air temperature began to quickly descend, but she was the problem. Typically the steady rhythm of her breathing lulled him to sleep but the lullaby was off-note in her struggling and inconsistent breaths. He constantly woke up to check if she was alright, until he finally decided to watch her sleep.
Naruto once again ran his fingers down the ridges of her bandages while the thoughts of the shadow clone settled in his head. He knew the moment he moved away, she would wake up. So he laid still for several moments more.
He reached over for a shirt. Naruto placed a hand on Hinata's chest just as she jerked awake to prevent her from sitting up and worsening her wound. Hinata's heartbeat raced under his hand. Hinata turned towards him. "What's going on?"
"Shino caught sight of a second force landing on our coast."
"What time is it?" Hinata whispered.
"Almost sunset."
Hinata reached over for her bra. Naruto knew he couldn't possibly keep her stubbornness in bed. "Do you need help?"
"I think I've got it. Get back to Shino before he thinks you've forgotten about him," Hinata said as she lifted herself up and the pain seized her body. Naruto saw the change that came over her expression. He came up behind her and helped slip the straps over her arms. It was a simple black sports bra that kept her breasts anchored in place.
"I'm usually taking these things off," Naruto teased.
"You did take it off."
"To help you stay comfortable," Naruto grinned. Then he helped her put on the rest of her clothes. "Here, I thought you might need this so I got it for you."
"You went all the way back to Konoha?" Hinata asked as she took her grandfather's cane from Naruto. "You're impossible."
Naruto left a kiss on her lips, before scooping her in his arms to speed up her walk through the tunnels. Shino waited patiently in a corner until Naruto reappeared, unsurprised that Hinata was behind him.
"Shino says there is a second force that landed on our coast. Can you see them Hinata?"
Hinata activated her byakugan. "Darui is leading the force. It'll take several hours before they make any inroads into the forest. Judging by the time, they are attempting a coordinated strike with Lightning's main force later this evening. It's almost exactly the same maneuver Lightning did during the Sound war."
Naruto brushed back the hair that was a constant in his eyes. "We don't have enough men to take on both forces."
"Is it not possible to prepare a trap?" Shino asked.
"It has to be a trap intricate enough to capture all of them, keep them from attacking our flank, at the same time, its needs to be by a small force we can afford to lose." Hinata added.
Naruto tapped his fingers as the pressure to find a solution began to weigh on him. "Shino, go and grab Kurenai. I have an idea."
Darui landed on the northernmost tip of Fire Country's eastern coast. Darui led his army toward the suspected position of the Leaf ninja's camp.
Darui leapt to the trees and rushed to make the deadline to time his attack with that of Lightning's larger force.
"Sir," Darui's lieutenant said as the sun began to sink. "We're about to miss our deadline."
"The camp has to be around here somewhere," Darui insisted. All around him were an endless maze of trees that seemed to stretch on forever.
"Not too tough without your tag partner?" Naruto asked smugly after the satisfying hit to the Raikage's face.
The Raikage smeared blood along his jaw as he returned to his feet with a mad smile. The adrenaline pumped like fire in the Raikage's veins. A flurry of snow whipped around their heads and covered the dead.
The Raikage's fist equipped gloves of lightning. Naruto unsheathed his katana coated in a turbulence of wind, a glistening of bubbling red chakra, and blood.
The two combatants disappeared to the naked eye but every blow bellowed like thunder.
The Raikage plummeted to the ground like a lightning bolt, sundering the ground with the skull of his head. Naruto floated to the ground on all fours with the soft touch of fresh snow. The Raikage lifted from the crater, his head ringing in agony but he was enjoying every minute of the battle.
"Flee or die," Naruto demanded, with his katana pointed towards the Raikage.
The Raikage gave a red grin and challenged, "Are you worthy enough to be the one that kills me?"
Suddenly the cloud ninja across the battlefield began to retreat. Naruto raised an eyebrow and sheathed his blade. "Looks like your army chose for you."
The Raikage swiveled around at the crumbling of formations. "What is going on?" The Raikage demanded.
Karui appeared and bowed before the Raikage. "I called for a retreat. We cannot hold our position any longer."
"No," the Raikage demanded. "We must hold until Darui arrives."
"He is late. We cannot wait any longer."
Naruto interrupted the private conversation as he rocked back on his feet. "I might know what happened to your lost unit."
The Raikage spat, "Retreat."
When the Raikage arrived in camp he heard a host of complaints. They didn't stop complaining when he went to take a shit. They didn't stop complaining when he threatened to rip their tongues out. Finally, the Raikage convened a meeting.
"Sir, winter is getting harsher and we have no supplies. Hot Country betrayed us. Not only have they refused to sell to us but they've begun disrupting our supplies out of Lightning."
"Darui is either lost, dead, or captured," Karui added. "Another push forward would be suicide."
"Killer Bee is helpless until he heals from his transformation and its going to take as long as the rate of a normal person. He could be out of commission for months. He could catch a disease. He could die," Omoi emphasized.
"So what? You punks want to run the fuck away?" The Raikage demanded.
"There are rumors that Konoha defeated Kiri. They have nothing else to distract them. We need to regroup at the very least," C suggested. "I doubt they'll dare to follow us into Lightning."
The Raikage opened his eyes and asked, "You accept defeat at the hands of a smaller and inferior army?"
Sometimes numbers doesn't win a war. The Cloud ninja looked at each other. "We'll be back. We won't accept defeat."
"Withdraw back into Lightning," A finally ordered.
The Raikage always came back to war, if only to test the limits of his mortality.
"Sir, something's not right."
Darui agreed. They've been running for hours and only found exhaustion settling into their bones. Darui motioned to make camp and collapsed backwards against the rough bark of the tree. The grass was slightly damp under his hands. The wind touched his face. The birds chirped in the branches but he had never actually seen any birds.
Darui sat up and stared at his surroundings into the dark shadows of the trees.
"Hmm," Darui said as he placed his hands in his pockets.
"It's a genjutsu trap," Darui told his lieutenant. They were in a very elaborate genjutsu trap, so detailed, he would not have realized anything was wrong but for the fact they weren't going anywhere.
The cloud ninja looked at his commander confused. "What does that mean?"
"It means they knew we were coming hours before we got here. They've probably got genjutsu users surrounding us maintaining the jutsu. It also means we don't have enough genjutsu users to counteract what they've created, which would have to be twice as many."
Darui scuffed his feet on the ground. "It cancels out when they run out of chakra but if they're smart they're probably keeping a rotation. Therefore, they can keep us here for as long as they want, until our supplies run out, until our food runs out, until we starve to death."
Darui walked forward and held up his hands. "I surrender."
Darui didn't receive an answer until two days later. He had been going through the numbers for how much they would have to ration their supplies when an imperceptible change occurred in his environment.
"I accept your surrender."
Everyone in the make-shift camp jumped for their weapons at the sudden appearance of Uzumaki Naruto in the center of their camp. "Move and you will be burned alive."
Darui gave the command to his army to stop and lay down their weapons.
"You might not have heard but The Raikage has retreated back to Lightning. You and your army have no business here," Naruto said in a crisp and clear tone.
"How do I know you're not lying?" Darui asked.
"Believe what you want, but either you command your army to turn around or die." Naruto gave his ultimatum and meant every word.
With the genjutsu finally broken, Darui could see eyes in the shadows of the trees. Darui backed up a step and then commanded his army to turn around. Naruto followed, walking beside Darui as if they were comrades. Their feet left prints in the snow. The leaves moved with them.
"A lot has happened while you've been in the dark for two days." Naruto chatted amiably. "Konoha has successfully pushed backed Kiri's forces to the outer islands of Water Country."
"Congratulations," Darui was careful with his words.
Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at the Cloud ninja with steel eyes. "Perhaps Lightning entered the wrong side of the war."
"Perhaps," Darui shrugged. "But there isn't a wrong side. In war, no one wins."
"If that's the case, why do we still go to war?" Naruto questioned.
Darui said thoughtfully, "We might talk of things we will do "when the war is over," but it's just a way to the pass the time. No one truly means it. Peace is the real hell. There is something so frightening about peace that keeps us coming back to war."
They arrived at the coast where the great ships of Lightning's armada had landed. The coast was sparsely populated by trees and the majority of Naruto's forces stayed back into the forest. The ocean brought an even colder breeze.
Darui was calm but casually took in the fact he and his forces were no longer surrounded. The reports claimed he had the numbers. Darui reached for his sword.
"I give one warning," Naruto said and watched the sun glisten of the surface of the ocean.
Darui unsheathed his sword. The army had been watching their commander for a sign. They immediately turned and charged back toward the forest.
Naruto exerted just enough effort to minimally evade the blade. Darui kneeled over to the sudden knee to his gut. Naruto pinned Darui to the ground with his foot, reached down, and snapped back his arm. The bone stuck out like a dead tree branch.
The earth shifted and swallowed the entire army of Cloud ninja in a maw of stone. Without hesitation, Naruto gave Kurotsuchi the signal. The earth collapsed inwards.
"You could have saved their lives. Always remember what price you pay for stepping into Fire Country uninvited." Naruto placed chakra draining cuffs around Darui's wrists. The earth molded back into the ground.
For years to come, the entirety of Fire Country's eastern coast would be known for its red sand.
Tsunade hadn't had a cup of sake for the past two nights. She watched over Konoha through her view out the window, always distant from what she protected. Being a Kage was a lonely job.
Tsunade swiveled around when Captain Cat appeared within the office. Behind the mask, Tsunade couldn't tell if it was good or bad news. "Report."
"We've sustained heavy losses against Kiri but Kyouya Houzuki has been killed and Kiri's force has fled back to its outlying islands. We have not been able to confirm the death of Sandayuu Momochi."
"And Naruto?"
"He has kept Lightning out of Fire country," there was a hint of emotion in the ANBU's voice, "and remarkably pushed Cloud all the way back to Lightning Country despite a great disadvantage in numbers. He has effectively taken the Hachibi out of the war and captured Darui, next-in-line to the seat of Raikage."
A smile cracked along Tsunade's face. These were the sort of battles that will remain in the collective memory of Konoha's history. Perhaps Konoha was going to lose this war, perhaps many more will die before it was finished, but for today Tsunade will have a cup of sake.
x
Konoha has many leaves on its tree
AN: And thus the importance of terrain advantage.
Soundtrack: All I Do is Win by DJ Khaled
Updated: 06/24/14