Chapter 36
Kakashi and I watch as Naruto summons three shadow clones behind him, and they disperse around the battlefield to the Allied Shinobi. Naruto's clones run around and touch all the Allied Shinobi and transfer the Nine Tails' chakra on to each and everyone one of them. A Ten Tails' tail reaches out to hit Hinata, but she deflects it and sends the tail flying back.
"She's gotten stronger after Naruto gave her chakra," I observe.
More tails then attack us. Choji and two of his clan members use their Expansion Jutsu to grow in massive size and stop the three tails.
"Don't mock me!" Obito yells angrily.
Shikamaru and Ino then use their jutsu and take control over Obito and the Ten Tails, just as planned. The Nara clan help Shikamaru out with the Shadow Possession jutsu and stop the Ten Tails in its tracks. Kakashi and I quickly head over to where Neji's body is.
"Neji!" Lee cries out in despair as he holds Neji's body.
"Lee! Stop crying!" Guy tells him.
"Lee..." Ten-Ten says in worry.
"So long as we don't abandon Neji's convictions," Guy says. "He will continue to live on, connected inside all of us."
"Let me share a little something with you," Obito calls out. "It's those connections that made me what I am today! You ought to know that bonds can be powerful curses too!"
"Naruto..." Kakashi says. "I was the one who once told you, 'I will never let my comrades die'...Those words are also an admonition aimed at myself. I haven't been able to save many comrades. Which is why I keep telling myself this time, I will protect them. But then, I end up having to face the fact that I couldn't once more. I'll be confronting those wounds...for the rest of my life."
"But that's why we're ninja," Naruto says. "We are those who endure. They'll never let you forget. But it's those wounds that prove your comrades live on inside here," he places his fist on his chest. "Your friends are still alive in here... Friends that you create inside a dream, so you can't get hurt, aren't real... That means you're just erasing your real friends! Curse or not, I want to keep the real Neji right here."
Naruto then walks past Lee after touching and giving him Nine Tails' chakra. He then walks over and infuses Nine Tails chakra to me, Kakashi, Guy, Mizuki, Ten-Ten, and whoever is left. Our bodies become surrounded in red chakra as we feel it surge inside.
"It's a lot stronger than before, and more of it than last time," Kakashi looks down at his hand.
"Wow...this chakra, along with the Curse Seal's...is tremendous," I say in surprise as I look at the chakra cloak on my body. "But I might have to be careful controlling both... Hm. I guess I'll find out what this mutated Sharingan can really do."
"Just be careful with the Curse Seal," Mizuki tells me. "We don't know if the mutated Sharingan can fully control it and prevent it from corroding your mind."
'Come to think of it, the Curse Seal has been feeling a bit different...' I think. 'It feels... the same as when Orochimaru first gave it to me.'
I decide to shake the thought off and nod as I span my wings out a bit. The Ten Tails then moves some of its tails up in the air. They seem to have broken out of the Shadow Possession and are reaching out towards Shikamaru and the Nara clan. Eight Tails then shoots a Tailed Beast Bomb at the tails, and the Allied Shinobi attack as well. They deflect the tails back and a bright light forms. The six tails then dig into the ground, surrounding us.
"A curse mark that doesn't go away until you die..." Obito says. "A shinobi curse that Hyuga's main and branch families gave rise to... An existence where one can only await one's death inside a cage. It's a nice analogy for our current situation. You're all exactly like that brat who just died a pointless death."
"Neji..." Naruto grows bothered as he forms Rasen Shuriken in both his hands and begins to run in the Ten Tails' direction. "Neji's will..."
The rest of us run and follow after Naruto as we leap behind him, forming a massive bird shape that's flying around and cutting through the Ten Tails' tails.
"Neji's will isn't dead yet!" Naruto yells.
Our chakra bird formation then heads for the Ten Tails' head where Obito and Madara are.
"I'll take the right!" Lee says as he's in his Gate mode.
"Gotcha!" Naruto says.
Naruto stops for a moment because of his dislocated shoulder, but Hinata fixes it with her Gentle Fist. This allows Naruto to hurl his Rasen Shuriken.
"Go, Lee!" Guy instructs him.
"Alright!" Lee nods.
Lee lunges forward at Madara and punches through his reanimated body. Naruto's Rasen Shuriken goes on to other side where Obito is and flies through and cuts off the connections stemming from Ten Tails to Obito and Madara. They jump off the Ten Tails' head and land some feet away as the Ten Tails falls to its side. The Allied Shinobi stand ready in front of them both.
"Unlike you guys," Naruto says to Madara and Obito. "I don't want to sever any bonds...or get them cut off!"
Naruto then suddenly returns to his lower chakra form without the cloak. The Ten Tails roars as it readies its fist.
"Disappear!" Madara yells.
He performs some hand signs and breathes out a large stream of fire. Obito then blows a swirling stream of fire along with it. I recognize the attacks as Majestic Flower Flame and Bomb Blast Dance. The Ten Tails then punches fiercely, causing a powerful gust of wind to combine with both fire attacks and the ground to crumble up and shake. The fire blasts blow through us, but with the Nine Tails' chakra cloaking all of us, we are unharmed. Madara then summons his Susano'o and has it send blue spiraling orbs in our direction. Obito then uses his Kamui to send out large kunai along with the orbs.
"The next round is coming!" Sakura says.
Naruto then uses his arms to swing a large gust of air to block some of them. Shinobi use the chakra tails of their cloaks to whip some large kunai away, along with the orbs. The kunai and orbs crash into the ground. Kakashi and I jump away from each other to evade the kunai and orbs and then our chakra cloaks' hands block more of them. Kakashi and I are some fifteen apart as we look at Naruto
'Naruto's chakra has been protecting us this whole time,' I think as my chakra cloak tail blocks a large orb and kunai. 'Are you really able to keep this going?'
After the dirt clears away, we see that Obito has disappeared.
"Where'd he go?" Guy asks.
"He disappeared...he escaped," Bee says.
"He couldn't have," I say.
"Above you! Naruto!" Kakashi calls out.
Obito suddenly appears from above Naruto in his Kamui, but Naruto quickly jumps away and Obito slams into the ground.
"Naruto, you're only fighting defensively now, trying to protect everyone," Obito says. "Is there any meaning to all of this?"
'It's too much for him trying to control the Nine Tails' charka,' I think as I watch Naruto breathing heavily. 'He'll be worn out in no time if he keeps this up.'
"You're only growing weaker," Obito tells Naruto.
"I don't think you'd understand," Naruto says. "Since you want to be alone...But having everyone by my side makes me really, really happy!"
Naruto then runs at Obito. Other Allied Shinobi run at Obito as well.
"That alone gives me strength!" Naruto forms his large chakra hand.
Obito quickly disappears with his Kamui, evading the attack.
"Did he run away?" a shinobi wonders.
"If the pain of your comrades' deaths is part of your bond," Obito appears high on a rock above them. "Then there's no need to protect them, right?"
"What the hell, you quibbling bastard?!" Naruto is irritated. "That's what I hate about you! That's not what I'm talking about, you quibbling idiot! I'm saying I can endure any pain if it involves my comrades. It means I don't want to give them up! It might seem selfish of me..." he then places his hand on his chest. "But it's more painful for me to not have any comrades in here!"
I stare up at Obito as we all listen to their exchange.
'Obito...what are you trying to confirm through Naruto?' I think.
The Allied Shinobi smile confidently at Naruto after hearing his words. The Ten Tails begins to roar out of nowhere and a strong force causes gusts of air from it as it breaks through Kitsuchi's stone wall. We cover our ears at the sound of its screech and roar and see that its body has shaped more.
"The Ten Tails can't be controlled anymore because you cut the link between it and me," Obito looks back at the Ten Tails. "Although I guess it's about time I became its Jinchuriki."
The Ten Tails continues to roar and flail its tails fiercely as it produces tornado-like winds. I then my attention over at Madara and see that his Susano'o is ready.
"Kamui!" I hear Kakashi yell.
I turn to them and see Obito quickly jumps in front of Kakashi and prevents him from using Kamui.
"Looks like you were waiting for your chance," Obito tells him. "But so was I, Kakashi."
Obito takes a hold of Kakashi's shoulder and his chakra cloak disappears.
"Kakashi!" I exclaim.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto also worries.
"Naruto! You take care of things here!" Kakashi says. "Denizu! I'll be back soon!"
I watch as they both disappear in Kamui.
"Damn it," I mutter. "You'd better get your ass back safely, Kakashi."
The Ten Tails then sends a blast of air that causes us to fly back with pieces of the ground. My wings span and catch the strong gusts, causing me to fly back further uncontrollably. Thunder and lightning form, water appears, and tornados form from the Ten Tails' wrath. I attempt to control my flying but the winds are too strong, so I retract my wings and land on the ground, sliding back some feet. The winds and storm-like attack stops as the Ten Tails groans. I get on one knee as I have my left eye closed and breathe heavily, looking up at the beast, my black flame-like markings still spread on my body.
'Damn...even after all this, Naruto still managed to protect us,' I think as I notice my chakra cloak is still around me as well as the other shinobi.
"Denizu!" Mizuki runs over to me. "Are you all right?!"
"Yeah... I'll be fine," I force a smile.
"How's the Curse Seal?"
"Nothing bad from what I can tell... How are you?"
"Good, thanks to Naruto's chakra cloak..."
I stare down at the ground.
'The truth is...' I think. 'The curse seal's power has been increased a lot, but it's not just because of the Nine Tails' chakra...something's up. I'm not sure if I should be using it at this point... But I have to. I have to test my Sharingan's abilities to know what it can do.'
I decide to deactivate the curse seal for a bit, and the black flame-like markings disappear. I glance around and spot Naruto some fifteen feet away as he stands weakly, his right sleeve torn as blood runs down his arm. He's not in his charka form anymore.
"Is that all you've got?" Naruto breathes heavily as he looks up at the Ten Tails.
I stare at him in worry. The Ten Tails then screeches as it begins to grow muscular. Naruto then falls down to one knee on the ground. My chakra cloak, as well as everyone's else's, begins to disappear.
"Nice try pretending to be tough," Madara says to Naruto. "But it seems you've reached your limit. You've given me something to look forward to, but I think it's time you made your exit."
I sprint over to Naruto and stand in front of him, along with other Allied Shinobi. Hinata stands a few feet to my right, and Mizuki is close behind me.
"We won't let you have Naruto so easily," I glare at Madara with my Sharingan.
"Everyone! Let's join together and fight as one!" Hinata exclaims.
"Right!" Everyone cheers.
"Hinata," Naruto stares up at her in awe with a smile.
"Time for you to recover," Sakura lands behind him and begins to heal him.
"Such a futile demonstration," Madara frowns at us.
The Ten Tails then expands its mouth wide and what appears to be a red ball-like object begins to come out from it.
'What the hell is it doing now?' I wonder. 'It's transforming again.'
"It's reverting to its original form," Eight Tails explains. "That was only its attack form. However...it's only one stage away from its final transformation."
We watch as the red object opens petal-like coverings, revealing its plant-like form.
"Naruto is still recovering," I state. "And Nine Tails is infusing chakra right now... It's up to the rest of us."
"Denizu..." I hear Eight Tails say to me in my head. "If we let it undergo its final transformation, we've lost. We must stop it now!"
I grit my teeth and clench my fists. The plant-like part of the Ten Tails then begins to form a massive dark red chakra ball. Winds pick up dirt in large swirls around the vast area.
"It's getting bigger and bigger..." Mizuki gazes up at the orb in worry as does everyone.
"Will we even be able to handle that without Naruto's chakra?" a shinobi wonders.
"We can't waver after coming this far!" I state aloud. "Naruto is putting everything into doing what has to be done."
"Denizu-sensei is right..." Sakura adds. "Naruto's words just now made it clear!"
"Yeah, he's been going out of his way even to protect shinobi like us..." a ninja says.
"That's not what we're talking about!" Sakura interrupts. "He's told us that he considers all of us his comrades from the bottom of his heart."
Some shinobi look surprised at this and repeat the word "comrades".
"That's right!" I exclaim. "We are all his comrades! Despite being from different villages. And like he has done for us, we will fight and protect him! We will win this war!"
"Yeah! We're comrades!" many shinobi nod with confidence.
"Comrades!" more yell.
We all gaze up at the chakra orb the Ten Tails is charging with determined expressions.
"I'll fully heal Naruto!" Sakura says. "We have to do what we have to do!"
"If we're going to die anyway..." I say as everyone continues to look over. "We might as well go down fighting to the best of our abilities!"
Everyone has a stern and determined gaze. I turn my head slightly to look at Naruto behind me.
"Just focus on healing, Naruto," I say to him. "We got this!"
He looks up at my Sharingan eyes and sees the fierceness in them. He then returns the look and nods.
"Everyone! Listen up!" we hear Shikamaru's voice in our heads. "We're going to use multiple stone walls to slow down the momentum of the Tailed Beast Bomb! Captain Kitsuchi will show Ino how to perform the hand signs and she'll link to all of us to perform it at the same time! Eight Tails will use more Bombs to launch it upward!"
We all nod. In a matter of seconds, Ino links to all of us and we perform the hand signs for a simple stone wall jutsu simultaneously. The Ten Tails then shoots the Tailed Beast Bomb in our direction.
"Earth Style Barrier!" everyone shouts as we crouch and touch the ground.
Stone walls rise from the ground behind one another, and the Tailed Beast Bomb crashes through them. We hold our position as we feel the ground tremble. After some seconds, the last barrier breaks, but Eight Tails appears in front of us and blocks it. Seeing that he's struggling, I break from Ino's link and use my Kamui to absorb some of the Tailed Beast Bomb into another dimension. After a few seconds, the Beast Bomb disappears out of nowhere, catching us by surprise.
'It wasn't from Eight Tails and my Kamui...' I think. 'Did it just...vanish?'
Someone suddenly appears a few feet in front of me to my left, crouching a bit forward while holding a familiar kunai. My eyes widen in surprise as I recognize the cloak the person is wearing; "Fourth Hokage" is spelled in red on the back.
"Am I late?" the man says in a friendly tone.
"Mi–Minato-sensei?!" I'm shocked.
"Nope," Naruto answers him with a smile. "Right on time, Dad!"
"Who?" Sakura is perplexed.
"Denizu..." Minato says. "Thank you for protecting my son."
He turns his head to me and gives me an appreciative smile. I'm surprised to see he's reanimated but return the smile slowly.
"My name is Minato Namikaze," he answers Sakura. "Brace for an impending explosion."
We give him a confused look. An explosion is then heard and felt miles away as we turn to its direction.
"Ah. Of course. Your Teleportation Technique," I turn and glance at Minato's custom Flying Raijin kunai in his hand.
"I sent Ten Tails' attack back toward the sea," Minato explains.
The impact from the explosion then arrives in hard gusts of wind as dirt and rocks fly around us. Shinobi are surprised and cover themselves with their arms, lots of them questioning what this shock wave is. The wave dies down after a few seconds and the air calms.
"Who are you?" Sakura asks Minato after noticing his Reanimation eyes.
"Relax, I'm an ally," Minato turns to her. "Thanks for healing Naruto! Are you...Naruto's girlfriend?"
I feel a slight sweat drop upon hearing his question.
'Always asking straight out, huh?' I think as I gaze at Minato with a smile.
"Huh? Hmmmmm..." Naruto wonders. "Uh-huh, yeah! I suppose you can say that!"
"You keep quiet!" Sakura has a comical annoyed expression and headbutts Naruto on the back. "Don't waste your energy talking!"
Naruto falls forward on the ground, grimacing from the hit. Minato and I stand there, my face with a sweat drop and smile and his with a perplexed look.
"You're supposed to be healing me," Naruto weakly says to Sakura. "But I just suffered more damage..."
"I'll heal the extra damage too!" Sakura says.
"That's pretty normal for them, believe it or not!" I say to Minato.
Minato laughs nervously with a sweat drop as he recalls his wife.
"She reminds me a little of Kushina..." he whispers to me. "Please go easy on my son," he pleads Sakura with a smile, causing her to be surprised.
"So, why did this happen so suddenly?" Sakura asks Naruto as she continues to heal him.
"It seems like you knew," I say to Naruto.
"I sensed his chakra when I was in Nine Tails mode," he replies. "The others should be arriving soon..."
I then sense the presence of immense chakra arriving. Another familiar reanimated man of older age lands next to Minato in black combat armor.
"Minato, you're as fast as ever," the older man says.
"Lord Third?!" I'm surprised.
"Denizu!" he turns to me in surprise. "You're alive!"
"Hm? What do you mean she's alive?" Minato is confused.
"It's really a long and complicated story..." I wave my hand with a smile and sweat drop.
"In any case, it's good to see you alive and well," Hiruzen tells me.
Two other reanimated men land a few feet in front of me to my right. One has maroon battle armor, tanned skin, and long brown hair. The other has blue battle armor with a fluffy white collar, lighter skin with three red stripes on his face, and messy silver hair. I stare at them in shock as I infer who they are.
'The First and Second...' I'm in disbelief.
"Fourth..." the Second says. "You're better at teleporting than I am!"
"Alright, let's do this," the First says.
The Second suddenly turns to me with a curious gaze. I'm surprised as he stares intently with his dark red eyes as he towers a bit over me.
'I swear...this guy can pass as Kakashi's grandpa...' I think to myself.
"Your Sharingan isn't like a typical Uchiha's," he interrupts my thoughts.
"Ah yes. It's your mutated Sharingan," Hiruzen notes. "How did you activate it?"
"The man who killed my parents did it," I reply. "I only just found out the truth about a lot of things recently from that man..."
"Denizu, we're profoundly sorry for not saying anything to you," Minato says.
"It was your parents' wish that you didn't know about the mutation until you were older," Hiruzen adds. "Another reason we didn't tell you is because we feared the mutation was not only a danger to others, but to yourself."
I then recall how my mutated Sharingan began to hurt the first times I used it and note that I haven't felt much pain now.
'Probably hasn't hurt because I'm slowly getting used to it...' I think.
"But please know that we didn't intend to lie to you like this," Hiruzen puts a hand on my shoulder. "After your parents died, we only intended to protect you."
"Just like my parents." I smile at him in comprehension. "I know about Itachi and my clan..."
Hiruzen is surprised and lowers his gaze.
"And just like my parents..." I state. "I will fight to protect my comrades and for the sake of the Leaf!"
The four Hokage stare at me with surprised eyes.
"I sense powerful chakra from you," the Second says. "You're not the average Uchiha kunoichi."
"That's funny coming from you, Tobirama," I say. "You had doubt and suspicion of the Uchiha. I didn't expect your interest in me."
"Wow, calling you out and by your first name," the First teases. "She's fiery!"
"However..." Tobirama ignores him. "I did have hope in a few of your clan. I also sense that you're a descendant of Kagami Uchiha."
He surprises me with this comment.
"Kagami's sense of loyalty to the Leaf was so great, he never fell victim to his clan's Curse of Hatred, something that normally had a high probability of happening after awakening the Sharingan," the Second continues. "For this reason, he was one of the few Uchiha that I believed in, as well as one of the six people I chose to work directly under me. You, too, have that same vibe of Kagami's."
I stare up at him a bit in disbelief as I blink a few times.
"Hm. You've peaked my younger brother's interest," the First walks over to me with a curious look as he examines me. "Had you lived in our lifetime, he probably would've made you his wife!"
The First bursts with a chuckle as Tobirama gives him a stern gaze with his arms crossed. I stare with a perplexed face at them.
"Hm? Odd... He isn't denying it!" the First continues to tease.
"Enough, Hashirama!" Tobirama yells with a comical annoyed expression.
"Uhhhh...are these two really our first two Hokage?" I have a sweat drop.
"See?! Now she doubts our titles as Hokage!" Tobirama scolds his brother.
Hashirama turns away from us as he hunches forward, a gloomy aura surrounding him.
"I apologize, Denizu..." he sulks. "I'll have to restore my image as the First in your eyes."
"It's fine, really..." I have a sweat drop. "But who reanimated you?"
"Orochimaru summoned us," Hiruzen answers.
My body tenses up at his answer. The four Hokage notice the change in my vibe upon hearing that name.
'That's probably why my Curse Seal has been acting up...' I think. 'He's alive...'
"I know you have hostility toward Orochimaru–" Hiruzen says.
"I'll deal with that later," I interrupt him. "That doesn't matter right now. What's important is stopping this war quickly."
He stares at my determined gaze, as do the other Hokage, and nods.
"But... Didn't Orochimaru die?" Sakura asks from ten feet behind us where she's still healing Naruto. "I don't know what's going on anymore..."
"There's still more help coming," Naruto says. "But they're taking a little longer."
Suddenly, Madara lands hard on a higher ground, breaking off pieces of the rocky surface. We turn toward him as he holds his gourd-like fan, grinning evilly.
"I've been waiting for you, Hashirama!" he exclaims.
"I'll deal with you later!" Hashirama points a finger in his direction.
Madara's face changes to a disappointed one at being rejected.
"I have to stop the Ten Tails, first!" Hashirama tells him.
"Heh. He hasn't changed a bit," Madara notes. "We're never on the same page."
"After all..." Hashirama then points at the Ten Tails. "It's charging toward us."
I'm a bit taken aback from how calm he said it.
"You've done well, Naruto," Minato turns to him. "Take a little break. Your friend will be here soon... He's our ally too!"
I stare at Minato trying to figure out what he means, but then get it. A small smile appears on my face.
"My fellow Hokage, let's go!" Hashirama says.
Suddenly, Minato turns into Nine Tails chakra mode, and we stare at him in amazement.
'That's exactly like Naruto's...' I watch my sensei from behind.
"Second and Third stand in front of me," Minato says.
Tobirama and Hiruzen stand in front of Minato, and he places his hands on their backs.
"Have you already placed your markers?" Hiruzen asks Minato.
"Yes," he answers.
"You're quick at striking too," Tobirama commends him.
The three of them suddenly teleport away. They reappear at Minato's markers, surrounding the Ten Tails, and hold up a hand sign, as does Hashirama as he stands some ten feet in front of me.
"Let's go!" he holds up a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Four Crimson Ray Formation!"
A massive chakra box encases the Ten Tails from the corners where the four Hokage stand.
"And... I'll just add on..." Hashirama's eyes are then covered with brown markings. "Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates!"
Ten Tails is then pinned down by large, black gates that plummet from above inside the box formation. All the tails are pinned down and secured.
"What is that red barrier?" Mizuki comes up a few feet behind me.
"It's said to be dozens of times more powerful than the Four Purple Flames Formation," I answer as we gaze up at it in awe. "It's a barrier that requires four Hokage-class shinobi together to create."
"Amazing..." Mizuki mutters.
The Ten Tails wails inside the barrier.
"It won't be able to move so easily now," I add.
Someone lands close to me on my right. I turn my head toward the person and am surprised to see who it is.
"Sasuke..." I say. "How nice to see you again."
"Denizu..." he gazes at me. "We have much to talk about after this war."
"Heh," I give him a smile.
"You sure took your time getting here, Sasuke," Naruto says.
"Sasu...ke?" Sakura says in disbelief.
"Is that you Sakura?" he turns his head slightly to her.
"Sasuke! Why?!" Sakura exclaims.
Another taller man with orange hair lands on Sasuke's right. Ino lands near us to our far right and is surprised to see Sasuke.
"Sasuke!" she runs over to our direction.
"Hey! Ino, stop!" Shikamaru says as he and Choji land in front of her. "He's an enemy!"
"Ino! You better keep your distance!" Choji warns her.
"You're all still as noisy as ever," Sasuke simply says.
Kiba and Akamaru, Shino, and Hinata land some feet to our left.
"Why the hell are you here, bastard?!" Kiba points at Sasuke.
"Why are you here, Sasuke?" Sakura asks.
"A lot of things have happened," Sasuke answers. "I've decided to protect the Leaf Village... And then I'll...become the Hokage."
I'm astonished at hearing this. Everyone gives a comical surprised expression.
"What?!" Sakura yells.
"You can't just come back all of a sudden and crack a lame joke like that, you Rogue Ninja!" Kiba exclaims. "Do you even know what it means to be Hokage?!"
"I don't know what happened to you, but that's not possible," Shikamaru says. "Do you even realize what you're saying?"
"Do you think we can just forget all the things you've done?" Shino adds.
"Yeah, I realize you probably can't," Sasuke replies. "But...It doesn't matter what you think of me. All of the previous Kage created these current circumstances. So I will become Hokage and change the village."
I stare at Sasuke intently upon hearing his words, aware of what he's talking about. Naruto then stands and walks up to Sasuke's right.
"I'm going to be Hokage!" Naruto exclaims.
"I'm glad there's so much interest in becoming Hokage," Hashirama turns his head slightly to us. "But you guys are taking too much time! Start infusing chakra right now! We'll take down the Ten Tails with an all-out attack."
"Thanks for healing me, Sakura," Naruto gives her a smile. "Now it's your turn to get some rest. Let's go, Sasuke!"
Naruto and Sasuke head away on top of a large rock in front of where the Ten Tails is boxed. I then watch as Sakura quickly makes her way up by Sasuke and Naruto.
"So do you see me as some sort of weak woman who can't keep up with you two?" Sakura crouches on Naruto's right. "Do you think Lady Tsunade would be the only one out of the Legendary Sannin to inadequately train her student?"
I watch as Sakura stands upright with a confident air.
"I'm almost there..." she continues. "I'll be at full capacity in a little bit. Then I can output my true power. Just like you, I'm a member of Team 7, and I'm a student of one of the Legendary Sannin!
'Sakura...' I think in awe.
"Denizu-sensei," Naruto calls back to me. "Don't think we're leaving you out of this."
I look up at him in surprise.
"You're also a part of Team 7," Sakura adds. "You've been with us for not too long, but you're still our sensei! You've proven that!"
"You proved that to me years ago with me and my brother," Sasuke adds. "Don't think I've forgotten that."
I stare up at the three of them in awe.
"You're entrusted with these young shinobi," Hashirama turns his head slightly to me. "I have no doubt you'll lead them well."
My surprised gaze at him then turns into a confident one.
"We got your back," Mizuki gives me a reassuring look like the rest of the shinobi.
I nod and quickly head over in front of the rock where Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke are standing, below in a lower level than them. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji land near me on my right. Kiba and Akamaru, Hinata and Shino land near me on my left.
"We're right behind you, Denizu-sensei," Shikamaru gives me a nod.
I close my eyes for a moment in thought for a few seconds. I feel something different in my mutated Sharingan and then open my eyes and gaze at the Ten Tails with a determined expression.
"Alright! Get ready!" I shout.
"Yeah!" Everyone nods.
'I'm in charge of these young ninja...' I think. 'I will fight with the best of my ability, no holding back. I will lead them!'