Wow this is getting tough, what did I get myself into when I came up with this section of the story, I wonder if I might be losing my touch, well anyway enjoy and leave a review if you like, i does not have to be fancy but really, every little comment helps.

Naruto CH47: Demon

The Forest was usually a quiet place, often filled with the steady sound of chirping birds, roaming deer, scuttering foxes and buzzing insects at worst. Today though not even those noises could be heard as every living creature in the forest either fled or is now hiding from the beast that was now rushing through these woodlands.

Garra bounced off another of the endless road of branches stretching out before him, his victim held aloft in his huge clawed hand. He turned to look at her, her head inclined and moving limply about with every bound Garra made, blood drying on her chin. Soon he would squeeze the life from her, but right now didn't feel right, he wanted her to be awake when he did that, he wanted her to realize how little her own life was compared to the existence of his own before he did the deed.

"Hey! Garra! Stop!" Garra turned to the voice and found Temari chasing after him.

He growled at the sight of her "Temari, what do you want?" Garra stopped on a branch a few meters away, the wood briefly bending and groaning under his new weight.

"I want you to stop! This is going against the plan!" she yelled, a disapproving frown on her face "leave the girl and let's get back to the Leaf Village!" she said, gesturing back the way they came.

Garra scowled at this, either side of his face human or beastly was nasty to hold a stare with. "No, I don't care about the plan, so leave me alone, now, Temari". Garra turned away from Temair ready to leave.

"Garra!" shouted Temair rebukingly "you can't just go off the plan like this!" her hand reached behind her, placing it on the battle fan hanging on her back. The look in her eyes was promising "Garra I can't let you leave, now come back willing or else".

Garra looked over his shoulder with his Shukaku side "Temari, was that a threat?" he turned around to her, grinning "you know you can't defeat me with your strength, are you really ready to die for that Village? Temari?".

Temari smirked with trepidation "you betcha". She took a ready stance as her grip on her fan tightened.

Garra growled, his anger swelling as he spoke "very well then!" in a moment Garra's form convulsed and the sand on his body extended over his chest and onto his other arm now turning that into a claw that reflected the other. He pounced from his position towards Temari, his new claw drawn back just like Sakura's head in his other hand. Garra yelled with total rage "very well then die for the Village like you so wish!".

Temari smirked and took her hand away from her fan and brought them both together into a strange seal. Her shadow darkened, she stepped aside just as Garra was coming to smash her down, he landed his shadow formed. He spun around his huge sandy appendage coming for a body shattering blow before her shadow shot out and stab into his, bringing the arm to a dead stop an inch from her side.

Garra couldn't understand what was happening, confusion all over his half man, half demon face "w-what is this!?".

"Shadow possession complete" said his 'sister'.

Garra scowled death "you aren't Temari!" the fake smirked "I should've known, she wouldn't be foolish enough to challenge me like this". Temari melted away to reveal Shikamaru. Garra sneered "if you think this will hold me you're dead wrong!" Garra began to struggle, using all his strength and that of his mothers now flowing through him.

Shikamaru grunted at the feeling of Garra fighting to break out of his shadow possession, sweat instantly beginning to break out all over his skin "I-I don't need to hold you forever, I just n-need to hold you long enough".

"What?" was all Garra said until he noticed his arm holding Sakura being forced out and away. Shikamaru yelled 'now!' with clear command and from outside Garra's vision came a jet of water that washed over his fleshy sand arm, soaking it deep as it continued to pour over but then, a white cold mist began to run up the stream. Garra watched in confusion as ice began to form rapidly beneath the stream until there was thick ice coating his arm and he began to struggle harder.

"Now Lee!" yelled Shikamaru his voice already straining as he fought to hold Garra still for a little longer.

Garra's head snapped up and out from the canopy came the mini green beast himself, his leg weights in hand to which he started spinning head over heels with his weights overhead. With one final spin Lee threw his weights right down, straight onto the iced-over arm and like a brick through glass, the frozen limb shattered into shards of sand.

But these weights belonged to Rock Lee, Given to him by Might Guy who was nothing but extreme, add to that, that instead of being simply dropped they were hurled down with all of Lee's might.

So when the leg weights were done with shattering Garra's sand formed arm they continued on, through the branch as if it were hollow, cutting the bulk of it from its support, then into the forest floor striking the ground with the force of a pair of small meteorites.

Everything shook as the branch began to fall, Shikamaru was quick to bail.

Sakura, still wrapped up in the severed claw of Shukaku like a caccoon, was caught by Lee before she could fall.

Garra, vexed like nothing else at being so easily fooled and now missing an arm (though not his real arm) sent out his other claw and grabbed an up high branch to save himself from falling and reeled himself up.

Haku jumped out from his hiding spot and landed beside Lee who was trying to remove the clinging sand from Sakura but was showing to be a slow process. "It will not let go of her!" pointed out Lee as he threw aside another hand full of that weird doughy sand that was currently incasing Garra.

"I won't let you take my prey!" roared Garra from up high, his severed arm beginning to reform.

"Lee get her out of her!" ordered Shikamaru to which Lee instantly followed and lifted Sakura up, cacoon and all.

"Oh no you don't" said Garra, deathly quiet and lifted out a hand and waved it to the side. Like a puppet Sakura was also swung to the side, Lee screamed as he was pulled with Sakura, his arms sinking into the sand Caccon as he was dragged with Sakura. The former sand arm slapped against the trunk of a tree like putty and stuck, Sakura head fell forward, everything that had just transpired seeming to not even stir her the slightest bit awake.

Lee grunted as he fought to remove his hands from the sands tight grip, sunken in like they were encased in sticky cement. "Dammit!" cursed Lee as he perched his legs onto the tree's trunk and pulled harder, so hard his feet began to press into the bark and the tree could be heard groaning under the strain of Lee's effort.

Garra dipped and then jumped, hard enough that the branch he was on wobbled violently. Lee stared wide-eyed as Garra came diving down at him, yes those wide eyes indeed held fear, but that was less for himself and more for the one he wanted to defend. So in the next instant those eyes morphed into something vicious. Garra was briefly taken by the sheer lack of fear at the sight of him.

Garra grinned and swung "DIE!" there was a loud cracking noise as Garra's arm impacted something hard and solid. The sand boy's eyes widened as he noticed that right behind Lee was a thick sheet of ice hovering there, shielding him from his claw. In the next moment Garra found Lee's foot buried up in his chin, causing his face to erupt sand as he was sent skyward.

'Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet'

Garra hadn't even been granted the time to gather himself before a body of water in the shape of a snarling dragon sailed passed him, it turned in the air above him and growled down at him before it launched itself at him, coming down on him like a great waterfall.


He could hear the noise, fast loud sounds of combat coming from outside the plain white walls of the medical room. He was doing as he was told, unable to put up much defiance while under the weight of this sudden revelation. His eyes traced down, gazing at the piece of paper held between his calloused fingers. He looked up at the bed adjacent to his, the occupant tucked in completely, still apart from the rise and fall of her chest.

Neji felt sick. He did that to her and all she was trying to do was help him, trying to open his eyes, trying to make him see that his life was not dictated by fate.

Neji's belief that one's life was always on a set course came from seeing how his father's life turned out. Hizashi Hyuga, the younger identical twin brother of the clan's current head Hiashi Hyuga. All because Neji's father was born a few seconds too late before his uncle he was branded with the curse seal and made a member of the branch family, it was completely unfair that his father had to suffer such a fate from the start of his life all because he was born a few seconds later to his brother.

For most of Neji's father's life, he tolerated his life of servitude, the unjust life he was given all because of a few seconds distance between him and his brother. Neji only ever saw his father display a sliver of the true anger he must have felt once, it was also on that day that Neji became fully aware of the cage he was trapped in, a prison his younger self naively walked right into. The true purpose of the curse seal became crystal clear on that day, the day his father became enraged, it was not just there to protect the bloodline it was there to keep the branch family in check.

Neji will never forget his father curled up on the floor as Hiashi activated the damned seal at sensing his father's growing rage. That day made Neji aware of his prison, what came next made him aware of his fate.

Years ago a peace treaty was being formed between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, such a thing would only mean good for the world and would help prevent any future wars and aid the world towards further stability.

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way at all, the arrival of the representative who would sign the treaty was never here for that purpose but was to instead obtain the Hyuga bloodline. That mission ended in failure, the ninja that broke into the Hyuga compound succeeded in obtaining a prime specimen, Hinata and was making a getaway when the ninja came into a road bloke, Hinata's father Hiashi.

The ninja didn't even have a second to realise how dead he was before he was just that.

Problems arose shortly after when the kidnapper was revealed to be the cloud representative and a very high-ranking ninja within the cloud village so his death couldn't just be ignored. The Cloud Village feigned ignorance to the ninja's true objective and was making threats to Konoha demanding the death and body of the one responsible as restitution. But of course, that was all just an alternative means to obtain the secrets of the Byakugan.

It too ended in failure and tragedy for Neji. Hizashi being an identical twin of Hiashi and a member of the branch familiar branded with the curse seal was a prime substitute. So to avoid the death of the current clan head, Neji's father was murdered, his body then sent far away to the Land of Lightning not even being allowed the right to burial in his own village.

All the years following that fateful affair changed Neji, seeing how his father lived and died made him realise that he had no choices in life. He was a bird locked in a cage of the main families creation and that his life was not even his own, it was the main houses to do with as they pleased, any one of them could just up and decide to have him dead, and with one simple hand seal that could be done.

For years that is how Neji Hyuga viewed his life and many others, that we all live in a cage but that he just lived in a tinier one. But now things have changed, this letter between his fingers has changed everything for him, blown away all he thought he understood about his father.

This letter was left to him by his father, explaining what really happened on the night of his death. For years Neji believed it to have been a simple cowardly act of murder all to save Hiashi's life, but no, Hiashi was against the idea while Neji's father was for it even though it would mean his death.

His father made his choice, chose his fate, it was not decided for him or forced upon him, he was not sacrificed he sacrificed himself for what he believed in. Protecting his brother, preventing a war and for the first time in his life got to choose what to do with it. To some people learning this it might not make them feel that much better but for Neji, this came as something of a relief for him.

He felt a strange freedom now, like the world seemed less narrow and a bit bigger, he felt he could now do more, make choices for himself. But what choices should he make?

The sound of footsteps echoing down the hall became prevalent to Neji's sharp hearing, it'd been five minutes since Hiashi left to join the fight outside, demanding Neji watch over Hinata. His Byakugan bulged into life and the sight of Sound Ninja running down the hallway became clear to Neji. Neji folded up the letter and placed it in his pocket as he hopped down from his bed and turned to the door.

Hiashi, Neji's uncle may have ordered that Neji protect his daughter but it was Neji's choice whether he stuck to that or not. Right now though Neji wanted to protect her, he was done holding his stupid grudge towards her, he wanted to see if she really did have what it takes to change their clan. Hinata already began unshackling him from the moment she beat him, she humbled him and proved to him that people can change, change their fates as well as themselves and he was not gonna let a Hyuga with such a potential for change die on his watch.

She could lead their fridge, stagnant clan to a new dawn. If she could change the clan she needed to live.

So the moment that door burst open Neji threw himself at the invading ninja.


Kakashi and Guy were in hot pursuit of Kabuto, his dark cloak billowing out behind him and his pure grey hair trailing behind him like a tail. Guy had managed to buy Kakashi a moment from Tobirama's relentless attacks to figure out where the traitor was, then with a mixture of Earth Style Ninjutsu and Guy's keenly honed Taijutus they were able to land a solid attack on the Second. Guy having laid in a neck-twisting kick and Kakashi having then pulled the body beneath the ground.

They weren't sure how long they had before he returned.

The Traitor and the Konoha Jonin burst out of the woods, the speed of their run ripping leafs from the bushes on passing and the entirety of Konoha came into view.

Kakashi could see smoke rising from the village, the sound of battle and destruction, flickers of ninja jumping from rooftops to rooftops. Off in the distance, multiple huge three-headed snakes could be seen on the edges of the village, sections of Konoha's mighty wall in ruin with huge glaring breaches in them.

For a moment it almost felt impossible to believe that there was any summons out there strong enough to muscle their way through Konoha's surrounding wall.

Kakashi forced those concerns aside to focus on his target, the Jonin glared when Kabuto, sailing through the air glanced over his shoulder at him and Guy with that insufferable smirk. "Guy!" shouted Kakashi as he held out his arm to his bowl cut comrade in mid-flight, Guy understood and grabbed his arm and hefted Kakashi back before hurling him forward through the air.

The Team 7 Sensei fired up his Raikiri as he flew towards Kabuto like an electric arrow, his damp hair insta-drying. Kabuto's smirk dropped for an instant before he pulled out a kunai, Kakashi drove his lightening coated hand forth through space, the Jutsu met little resistant but punched through the wrong target.

Kakashi could only stare wide-eyed as he came face to face with the Second Hokage who appeared out of thin air, Kakashi's crackling hand buried in his right shoulder and exiting out the back.

Kakashi frowned as he felt a bead of sweat crawl down his temple "theirs no doubt about it, theirs only one way he could move like this".

Tobirama grabbed Kakashi's offending arm by the forearm with both hands, his face set like stone "not a bad Jutsu, truly quiet powerful, if I was still alive it certainly could have been crippling for me" complimented the Second as they flew through the air, coming over some buildings. Kakashi tried to retract his arm but the undead wouldn't let go and flipped in the air and only let go to boot Kakashi down.

"Kakashi!" shouted Guy before his rival hit the roof like a rag doll, shattering tiles and left to roll off the slanted roof. Guy didn't waste a breath before rushing to his aid, Guy touched down and jumped down to the adjacent wall and back again to the wall of the first building, he went down in a zigzag and managed to catch his rival an instant before he could suffer another harsh fall.

Guy placed Kakashi down who groaned and shacked his head of the cobwebs. "Thanks, Guy" said Kakashi as he picked himself back up.

Guy shrugged as he too stood back up "no thanks necessary, Kakashi". Guy took a second to realize where they were, they seemed to be in a residential area, already abandoned, seems the invasion protocols were already taking effect and the civilians were already being taken to safety. That was good, if they didn't have to worry about civilians getting in the way they could go all out without worry. They seemed to have landed in a fairly open space also, an open path between two rows of apartment complexes.

'Water Style: Water Dragon Barrage!'

Suddenly the two Jonin's were forced to begin moving as huge bodies of snarling dragon-shaped water began raining down on them, crashing into the ground with explosive splashes that covered the walkway in thick films. The Jonin's were avoiding the water dragon's by a hairsbreadth, Kakashi veered left leaving a dragon to charge through some poor person's house and exit out the back in a violent tide.

Guy became more offensive as he grew tired of evading and decided to test his extremely trained body against the power of the Seconds water Ninjutsu. As a dragon came flying down at him Guy grounded himself, cocked back a fist and put all his might behind it.

If Guy was any everyday ninja trained in Taijutsu all that such an attack would have done was get him killed against the likes of the second's Water Dragon, but the man who threw that punch was Might Guy: Konoha's number one Taijutsu master who trained in nothing else but the physical arts of combat. So when his fist connected with the Water Dragon's nose and briefly sunk into its head, half its body exploded like a stick of dynamite had been hidden inside of it.

Guy grinned as the dragon fell apart into nothing but rain "seems these pesky water dragons can't stand up to my dynamite fist's!". A kunai came flying in from behind the descending curtain of water, Guy was gonna let it pass him when Kakashi suddenly shouted for him to get away from it. Guy pushed off the ground and not a second too late as suddenly Tobirama was there with a huge intense wave streaming out of his mouth, that started rapidly washing away the houses that were just behind Guy by their foundations.

"What in the in blazes!?" shouted Guy to himself as he landed on an untouched roof, Kakashi landed beside him a moment later. Guy turned to his rival "Kakashi what was that? How did he move that fast? It was almost like he just-"

"Appeared out of nowhere" interrupted Kakashi, his single opened eye narrowing. "There's no doubt about it, the Second is using space-time ninjutsu and I think I know what it is".

"Space-time ninjutsu...like the Fourth?" guessed Guy, disbelieve at hearing this.

Space-time ninjutsu was some of the hardest and most valuable Jutsus anyone could learn, it was a complicated area of ninjutsu one that Guy wasn't exactly knowledgeable in, but Kakashi on the other hand probably knew fair a bit about the subject.

Kakashi nodded "yeah exactly like Minato-Sensei, in fact this is exactly his Jutsu!".

Guy gasped with wide eyes "Kakashi are you saying that this is the...?"

Kakashi nodded slowly and firmly "yeah, this is the Flying Thunder God Jutsu".

Guy shot up to his feet, as Tobirama jumped up to the same row of roofs as them. "Kakashi! you've got to be kidding me, I thought that technique was known only by the Fourth!". Tobirama inclined his head slightly at the sudden argument that seemed to be happening, but he did note the mention of the Fourth.

Kakashi shook his head, his Sharingan opening once more to keep an eye on the steadily approaching undead Kage. "No, I remember Minato-Sensei mentioning that when he was researching space-time ninjutsu he came across the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and cracked the formula and then went on the advance it further".

Guy frowned "so that means" he turned to the second "you Lord Second are the original creator of the Flying Thunder God Technique?".

Tobirama paused in his approach at the sudden question, he nodded "indeed, before Konoha was even founded in fact". He folded his arms, his expression though constantly stern showed a minor interest in the subject of his space-time Jutsu "does this have something to do with this Fourth you mentioned?". The second gave himself a moment to look to his left and review the Hokage monument

Kakashi nodded "yes, you see the Fourth Hokage had figured out how to use your Flying Thunder God Jutsu".

There was a brief flicker of surprise on the Second's face "really now? I must say that deeply impresses me, it's not exactly the easiest of Ninjutsu's to master, this Fourth Hokage must be something".

Kakashi's head fell slightly "he was, he died defending the village".

Tobirama didn't waver at the mention of the Fourths death and only nodded "I see, that sounds like a worthy death for any Hokage, any ninja of the Leaf in fact". The Second stiffened, he shook as the order to attack was being sent to him. "I hope the ninja of now are willing to do the same as the Hokage for the village!" shouted Tobirama before his fingers weaved rapidly though signs.

Tobirama didn't call a name for his Jutsu and even if he did the two Jonin's weren't listening as moisture was taken from the air and surroundings, gathering around the former Hokage in a growing swirling storm. Kakashi ran through signs of his own and spat a barrage of white-hot fireballs, each double the size of cannonballs and every single one not proving good enough to breach through the tornado of water surrounding the undead Senju.

Tobirama performed a few more signs and the gathered water swirled fasten, the roof tiles it was washing over quickly eroding away. In the meantime Guy was circling around the undead Hokage, looking for an opening to attack from, he squinted and grinned. Kakashi saw the look and pulled a scroll from his flack jacket, bit his thumb, weaved through seals and pressed it to the roof.

Lines of sealing Jutsu spread out before the roof began to split in multiple places as something dug it's way forward across the roof. Tobirama silently gasped and stepped back a step within the space amongst his gathering water tornado, just in time avoid having his leg snapped on by a dog that erupted from the ground, he pulled back again and avoided a second but as he did a third jumped him from behind, this one colossal. It locked it's huge stubby maw on his armoured shoulder, digging into the blue plates and gripped his arms with the claws of its paws.

After that the rest did the same, the two ankle biters that missed him didn't hesitate for a still target, one bit into his right forearm and another into his left, a little one viciously dug its teeth into his right thigh and another into his the back of his knee.

Despite all that his undead body didn't feel a thing that could be acknowledged as pain or even injury, there was damage but it could be compared to when a statue chips or cracks. So even amongst all this, the Hokage lost no real focus on his Jutsu, he was sure if this was living flesh the pain he would have felt from all these bites would have surely made him trip up.

Tobirama sensed something above, he turned his head up and saw Might Guy coming down, blocking the sun as he dived into the eye of this artificial water tornado winding up for one of his famous axe kicks. The dogs snarled, Guy was only a few meters above and Tobirama hit his final seal.

The water Jutsu was giving the impression that it was arming to attack in a widespread wave, which it did and Kakashi even with all his speed was too close to avoid and was swept up and carried away. The Hatake crashed through the wall of an apartment complex, the water following and sending him through the next wall and out into the hallway of the block of apartments. Kakashi groaned as he laid there groggy, soaked to the bone once again, back against the cratered plain white wall he crashed into, water flowing into the hall like a river.

While most of the Jutsu was used in a wide wave Guy and Kakashi's dogs did not go untouched. Tobirama being an Edo Tensei didn't have to fear such things as injury or pain and his mission was to defeat his casters enemies, so in an unexpected move that Guy and Kakashi's hounds weren't anticipating the water Jutsu simultaneously had collapsed inwards, bringing down a good swimming pool of chakra dense water right on top of them all.

The roof was not nearly resilient enough the handle the force of all this and collapsed, leaving a huge gap of destroyed roof amongst the row of apartments. The apartment windows shattered and small waterfalls came flowing out briefly. Inside the apartment was nothing but ruin, a room filled to the edges of the windows with water, shattered support beams, broken roof tiles, plaster chunks and whatever was in the place to begin with.

Amongst all this floated Guy, on his back, soaked, blood dripping thinly from cuts on his face and a splinter in his leg that bled foggily into the water. Furthermore so did Kakashi's dogs, in varying states, the little ones having suffered the worst with broken ribs or legs, numerous cuts and punctures from splinters. So with little strength to remain, they all dispelled.

Tobirama also floated in the room unmoving, face first in the water, eyes void and black. There were varying new cracks on his form, his right arm twisted at an unnatural angle as was his left leg, he had a particularly big chunk of splintered wood sticking right through his neck. All these injuries would be the kind of thing that would take most men out of any sort of fight, but Tobirama was no longer a man he was an Edo Tensei.

His broken arm and leg twitched and moved before they began to audible mend with the sound of things putting themselves back together, his blank empty eyes regained their red irises and in a few short seconds he was rising out of the water and standing on it like it was a solid surface. He reached up and removed the invading splinter from his neck, leaving a dark grey hole running through his neck before it was filled shut.

The ancient Senju turned, spotting the form of the unconscious Guy floating and noticing the absence of the dog summons. He walked up to the Jonin, looming over him, the undead ninja brandished a kunai in a reverse grip and kneeled down. The knife gleamed from the light pouring in from the destroyed roof. "What a shame" said Tobirama before stabbing down.

He faintly gasped after realizing that all that came down was a stump, his keen eyes noticed a large cut running right through the wall in front of him, like a saw blade had flown straight through it with zero resistance. Next Tobirama found himself being ambushed by tree branches growing out of the water and a second letter he was being constricted to a fully grown tree. For a second the Senju wondered if his brother had shown up to stop him, but soon felt that was not the case as he registered the foreign chakra flowing inside him.

A moment later Tobirama broke out of the Genjutsu and looked up to acknowledge the two new arrivals.

"I thought your Genjutsu would have held him longer than that" said Asuma as he placed Guy down on the roof.

"It...should have" said Kurenai slowly as she got over her shock at how her Genjutsu just got simply torn through like a wet paper bag. She squinted at the man for a moment, trying to look passed everything strange about him, his dull cracked skin, black sclera and his regenerating arm, all before realizing who it was before her. She gasped, wide-eyed "it can't be! Y-you are...!" she couldn't actually say it, it was too insane to actually be true.

Kurenai noticed the looked on Asuma's face as he looked at Tobirama, seems he too also recognized him. "You gotta be kidding me" was all he could say about seeing the undead Hokage. He inclined his head, scratched his beard and took a drag of his cig "you are...just a guy who heavily resembles the Second Hokage right?".

Tobirama shook his head "no, I am Tobirama Senju, reanimated using a forbidden Jutsu of my own creation".

Asuma stared frozen for a second as smoke flowed out from his mouth "wow" he said, sounding lost for words "that's gotta be irony if I've ever heard it".

Tobirama let out a sigh that spoke volumes about how heavily aware he was of that fact. Tobirama grunted as his form began readying to attack again "listen, I am your enemy! I can't control myself! And the only way to stop me is by stopping the caster of the Jutsu. Is that understood!" shouted the undead Hokage as he barely held himself back.

Asuma and Kurenai looked bewildered but nodded.

"Good, now prepare yourselves!" was all Tobirama said before his control of his reanimated body was taken completely away.


Tiles burst open and gave way to the violently emerging thick wooden branches, they chased after Hirofumi relentlessly as he moved to avoid being snagged or pieced through by them, to which they could do either. He jumped, backflipping in the air avoiding being run through by another sharp branch, the wood turned with him and speared after him but he jumped away again the moment he touched ground.

The ghost landed on a higher branch, his base Sharingan scanned for Hashirama but he couldn't see him "move boy!" Hiro jumped up at the sound of Hiruzen's voice. Five wooden-beam like tentacles wrapped around thin air, coming from the fingers of the First who was growing out of the branch that Hiro was previously standing on.

Still soaring up through the air Hirofumi looked over to Hiruzen battling with Madara, the old Uchiha had his Susanoo partly formed, ribs, skeletal arm and a hand that he was using to block and bat away each strike from the Hokage's Bo staff. Hirofumi rolled in the air and stuck himself to the trunk of the tree, he watched Hashirama re-fuse with the tree, Hiro jumped off and over to another branch.

He needed to keep Hashirama from getting the jump on him, this ability to fuse himself with his trees and get around unseen was proofing a pain. Hiro's mind went through his arsenal of Jutsu's until it found the one that could help deal with this problem "right" he said and began weaving signs as he jumped higher. He noticed a brief distortion in the branch he was previously standing on that indicated Hashirama's intent to have jumped him there.

The spirit hit the last seal, passing by the branch he intends to land, his cheek puffed out and from his mouth came forth a stream of cement. Hiro craned his head this way and that as he then ran through a new set of seals, trying to cover as much of the tree as possible in a thick layer of cement. Once done he then spat out a stream of fire, instantly drying and hardening the cement all before he landed. He landed on the coated branch, small visible wisps of steam coming off of it.

He managed to coat this branch and a good section of the trunk so Hahsirama wouldn't be able to simply quietly pop up without him knowing. The ghost closed his eyes and stood motionless and listened carefully.

He heard the ringing of Hiruzen's metal staff colliding with Madara's Susanoo.

The slight ruffle of leafs.

The pulse of energy running through the barrier keeping this battle contained.

The countless battles happening outside this box.

And the sound of hardened cement cracking.

Hiro's eyes snapped furiously open and burned with the power of his evolved Sharingan, silver (nearly white) chakra poured forth from his being creating a protective rib cage and a skeletal arm that then, in a further burst of energy, grew a straight pure white blade half the size of its arm. Not an instant after Hirofumi willed his Susanoo to plunge that blade into where he felt the crack was coming from, the blade ran through, stabbing through the cement, causing cracks to form and exploding out the bottom of the branch.

This commotion caught Madara's attention who from his angle was able to witness the form of Hashirama falling, half his torso and face missing in a gore-less display. The Uchiha smirked at the sight, wishing that was his doing. Madara realized that he had allowed himself to be distracted far longer than he should've and turned back, his field of vision beyond his Susanoo became filled with the end of Hiruzens staff as it slammed into his ethereal armour.

Next all he heard was "EXTEND!".

Madara was taken off his feet and sent hurling down via extending monkey staff, his impact with the roof was ground shaking and the sound was like shattering glass as more tiles were ultimately destroyed. The ghostly ribs around him cracked and shattered from back to front, before the staff could actually get to him the skeletal arm he made battered it off to the side, sending it crashing through the lip of the crater and into a giant protruding tree root.

The Uchiha rose back up as his cold blue protective armour fell apart around him and steadily, almost causally started stepping out of the crater he formed. Madara didn't mind the newly exposed barrier floor burning at his feet as he brushed his red shoulder plates off before attending to his front. It was this mocking sight that greeted Hiruzen and Hiro as Madara stepped out of the crater, feet alight with purple-fire that was steadily fading and still cleaning dust off of his armour.

He stared up at them with disinterested eyes, dull red but still radiating intense power. Madara's lips parted "is that it?"

Hiro's eyes squinted and the ground behind Madara broke open and a pair blue dressed arms and gloved hands wrapped around his armoured waist. Madara looked over his shoulder and saw another Hiro had him, the white-haired man grinned and lifted Madara back, performing a suplex that landed Madara face first right back into the exposed barrier floor setting his head ablaze with violet fire.

Hiro rolled out from under the Edo Tensei as it's head and now shoulders were getting eaten away by the purple fire, doing his best to avoid contact with the barrier but sadly catching his right sleeve. He did away with that quickly, now missing most of the sleeve of his forearm as he jumped out of the crater. He willed his shadow clone up above to dispel, he couldn't risk it being popped and taking a considerable chunk of his chakra with it.

Hiro saw Hashirama beginning to rise up from a pile of wood and concrete, his face and missing torso beginning to repair. Hiruzen landed before the first, his weathered face solemn and remorseful "I promise I will protect the village you worked so hard to create Sensei". Hashirama, his single remaining dull and glazed over eye met Hiruzens, the look told the oldest living Hokage that he completely understood.

"EXTEND!"

The battle pole crashed into Hashirama with unnatural speed, like a pillar shot out of a piston and Hashirama was sent hurling into the forest, being forced back all the way by the staff pressed into his chest like the foot of an elephant. The first Hokage was seen crashing through multiples of his own wooden creations root and trunks until he was out of sight, the whole place shook with the announcement that he finally hit a solid impassible road bloke: probably one of the barriers walls.

Hiruzen turned to Hiro "I'm going to see if I can do anything about Lord First, you deal with Madara if you can, but if you see Orochimaru" The third was interrupted as Hiro spoke up.

"If I see Orochimaru I'll make sure to end him" promised the spirit. Hiruzen said nothing, nodding heavily before he ran off after his former Sensei. Hirofumi now stood alone with Madara still roasting in a crater, unmoving. He breathed a heavy sigh, his Magatama eyes falling low with a heaviness.

The spirit stared down at the violet burning form of Madara "I failed, I let my guard down and people I care about got hurt because of that weakness, caused by my own false certainty". The sun crossed paths with one of the artificial formed trees, bathing Hiro's surroundings in shadows now being lit up purple by Madara's burning body.

His lips parted "I will not-"

The ground behind him ripped open and Orochimaru came striking out like a snake from the grass in Hiro's shadow, Kusanagi thrust forward.

"ever-" Hiro's form glowed and his Susanoo quickly formed a massive arm that reached behind him and snatched Orochimaru up in a shocking instant, knocking the sword from the Sannin's hand sending it to embed itself in a tree root as the snake was wrapped up in a massive transparent hand. The ethereal arm lifted the Sannin up, high enough that the ghost had to crane his head to address him "let my guard down like that again".

Orochimaru gritted his teeth as he tried to struggle his way out of the Susanoo's grip, the hand so big it was like a cocoon that covered him from shoulders to feet. He felt that this thing could crush him at any instant and that the only thing stopping it was the casters willingness not to. The Sannin smirked down at his captor "interesting that you say that you let your guard down last time we fought, given that you weren't even there, right?".

Hirofumi's Sharingan squinted.

Orochimaru gagged and coughed as the air was squeezed out of him by the tightening hold, he felt and heard some of the bones in his body break, ribs, one of his shins, some of the fingers in his hands and his right forearm and shoulder. Furthermore, he was pretty confident that he now had internal bleeding after that little squeeze. The hold on him became slightly lighter once again.

The criminal coughed up blood and sucked in air as he recomposed himself slightly, his dark yellow eyes half open. "Incredible" he wheezed out "the power of this Susanoo, such strength, defensive endurance, and versatility, with this you're near impossible to get close to". The snake-like eyes of Orochimaru dared meet the glowing pair of Magatama eyes of Hiro "the eyes of the Uchiha are truly a wondrous power".

"Why do you desire the Sharingan so much?"

"W-why?" repeated Orochimaru wryly, with a bloody smile "The an-answer is simple, I want to know every ninjutsu this world has to offer, the power to learn new Jutsu in an instant, even while in the heat of combat would aid me greatly in my pursuit of new Jutsu"

"That would take a long time, even with the Sharingan and besides the effects, it has the body of a none Uchiha would be quiet a hindrance"

A sickening smile wormed its way onto the Sannin's bloodstained lips "oh I've already overcome such a hindrance as you say, hence why I didn't just rip the eyes right out from dear Sasuke's sockets". Orochimaru chuckled "and after today I have seen there is an even greater power dormant within the eyes of the Uchiha, I want that power unhindered!"

Hiro was confused on the meaning of those words, his mind quickly began pacing through possibilities until it all came together to the most likely and displeasing idea. "You deranged bastard" whispered Hiro as the arm of his Susanoo began to change, tendrils beginning to wrap around the transparent bones, all tightly lining up until they formed bulging muscles.

The giant chakra construct began crushing the very life out of Orochimaru, who was still smiling tauntingly even as his bones were audibly crushed, his organs ruptured with wet pops and he was reduced to a dead limp doll in the giant's hand. Orochimaru's head rolled back with a broken noise and not an instant later a second huge silvery skeletal hand came smashing down on it at Hiro's will, there was an explosion of red and a horrid squelch that was overshadowed by the thunder of such an impact.

But it seems it he had been too slow as he observed the dark shape that had slithered out of the Sannin's craned head and off into the man-made forest. He tssk at the sight and ran off after him, leaving the protection of his guardian that instantly began decaying away. He would not just simply let him go back into hiding while his Edo Tenseis were left to tire them out for him.

Orochimaru was slithering and jumping between trees at rapid blurring speeds, his long straight black hair blown completely back. It was on his next leap to a higher branch that the spirit came flying out from the shadows of the forest in a scissor kick, Orochimaru craned back, the assaulting Sharingan wielder crossing overhead with him and he kicked out, spinning and landing a blow in the lumbar of his back.

Hiro was sent hurtling through the air and crashing into the harsh bark of one of Hashirama's trees, his exploded on impact, leaving only a shattered piece of wood to fall to the ground. Orochimaru sneered at the substitution "smooth" he said before his senses told him to move, he threw out a pale palm that blocked a kunai from stabbing him in the neck. Orochimaru didn't seem to so much as register the fact that he had just had his hand stabbed through, the tip of Hiro's kunai poking out the back of his hand like a blackthorn.

Orochimaru grinned and punted out. Hiro lifted up a knee blocking the foot, the kick pushing them apart, his still firm grip on the kunai making it come out of the Sannins hand in a quick wet noise. Orochimaru flipped and stuck himself to the underside of a thick branch while Hiro simply dropped and landed on a branch of his own.

The ghost craned his head up, his expression fixed with unflinching sternness "I can see it now, your body isn't right, it seems unfitting for you".

The sannin tilted his head, his taunting smile never faltering "oh, so those eyes can even see something like that"

"Of course they can!" interrupted the imposing voice of Madara as he came fall from the treetops, landing on a branch between his summoner and fellow Sharingan wielder. The ancient Uchiha folded his arms and craned his head back to stare up at his summoner "it's like you've got a transformation on, it's kind of hard to ignore when it looks like it was crafted with such extreme attention to detail".

"Oh Lord Madara are you saying I tried too hard?" asked the Sannin wryly, only getting a slight squint from the undead ninja. Orochimaru lifted a hand up to his face but paused when the forest to everyone's left lit up with an intense fire that was then followed by half a dozen overly large kunai, each with a burning Hashirama impaled at the ends of them.

Hiro took a step back to avoid the same fate as Hashirama as one of the huge kunai came at him. Madara effortlessly called forth the skeletal arm of his Susanoo and simply batted the one coming at him away, leaving it to fly off somewhere into the boxed-in forest. The rest of the giant ninja Weapons either sailed passed by or embedded themselves into the thick trunks of the trees.

Hiruzen landed on a branch high above his former student, undead Madara and the Ghost. Orochimaru craned his head, he grinned at his former teacher and swung himself upright on the branch. The bark beside Orochimaru bulged and warped, it steadily began to take form and colour until Hashirama was standing beside him motionless.

Orochimaru locked his gaze with his former master, the Hokage met his gaze with trepidation. His pale fingers pulled at his skin and it began to give way like thin latex "Sensei, I wish to know all the Jutsu this world has to offer, Jutsu is what truly makes a ninja and I have spent my years in the shadows in order obtain just that".

A bead of sweat rolled down Hiruzens cheek as he listened to his fallen student go on, he felt like his chest was hollowing out and his throat was tightening, making breath feel like a challenge. But none of this ever made it passed his firm expression "Orochimaru what have you done?".

"A lifetime was not nearly enough to attain all the Jutsu in the world, so I sort to rectify that issue" he pulled harder on the skin and it began to visible tear. "I found a suitable Jutsu and worked hard on it for many years and now" he pulled and the flesh gave away to reveal what was behind.

The shock Hiruzen felt could not be hidden as he gasped with wide eyes.

Madara's visible eye widened as he processed what he was seeing.

Hashirama, still under careful control visible squinted at his summoner and even mumbled something that sounded like "horrible".

Hiro's expression of anger only deepened, his eyes glowing like crimson lanterns "you monster".

A girl, that is what the torn away flesh revealed, a young girl with pale skin, a round face, a small button nose and red lips showed herself. But her eyes showed that this girl was not herself anymore, whatever her eyes formerly might have been was unknown as they were now Orochimaru's, murky yellow eyes with their slitted pupils.

Orochimaru turned his eyes back up to Hiruzen and twisted the girl's mouth into his smirk and gestured to himself "isn't this amazing Sensei?".

Hiruzen's head fell as he looked ready to weep "you did it, you completed that Jutsu" he shook, trembling as he stood tall on his branch. When he lifted his head it did not show sadness or tears just pure honest fury "you are not even human anymore!" the Sannin's smile only seemed to grow "you're a demon!".

Orochimaru giggled in the girl's voice before it fell into a completely deranged cackle, he held his ribs as he continued to laugh up at his furious and heartbroken teacher.

Hiruzen's look fell to a more solemn one as he watched the vessel Orochimaru was possessing continue to laugh "I didn't think you could fall any further Orochimaru, you truly have gone insane".

Orochimaru waved his hand over the girls face, after it's passing Orochimaru's was back in place smirking cockily.

"So" interrupting unexpectedly was Madara, still staring over his shoulder up at Orochimaru "you mastered an immortality ninjutsu, clearly it works by allowing you to transfer your soul into another vessel". Madara tsked and turned away "Edo Tensei, soul transfusion such Jutsu's wouldn't exist if the afterlife was not proven to be fact"

Orochimaru turned to Madara with intrigue "ohh? The afterlife was proven to be real? As in its existence was hunted for?". Madara was silent to his questions, the Sannin grunted in mild irritation before smirking "come on, tell me".

Madara grunted in annoyance, he could just not say anything, remain quiet and get on with fighting. But he decided not to, he could tell an old story if he wanted to and not have to worry about being caught off guard, after all it's not like he'd die. If his summoner was dumb enough to get killed listening to him well that's his fault then. The ancient Uchiha turned to Hashirama "well if Hashirama hadn't Married Mito Uzumaki, Tobirama might not have ever have been able to create this Jutsu in the first place".

"Really?" muttered Orochimaru.

"Indeed" said Madara "the Uzumaki clan was very famous for their sealing Jutsu and physical resilience, but there is one thing about them that is not so widely known" a smirk formed on the Uchiha's lips. "They discovered the afterlife, well one particular member did over 400 years ago, she became recognized as one of the Uzumaki clans greatest ever sealing masters"

Hirofumi did not move as Madara went on, unable to as old memories began to swirl around inside his head.

"Her name was Kuvira Uzumaki, know for creating a Jutsu that could seal just about anything: the Reaper Death Seal, a hybrid Jutsu of sorts, that summons the Shinigami itself" finished Madara. "With Kuvira's research and the countless other investigations into her discovery and with the findings that came from those efforts, Tobirama's creation of the Edo Tensei became very possible, not to mention the way we view chakra to this very day had also changed, that our chakra and soul are in a lot of ways one in the same".

Orochimaru hummed in fascination "I never knew of this" his eyes turned to his former teacher and ally, one looking for an angle of attack while the other looked to be coming out of a daydream. The Sannin turned back to the old Uchiha "I would love to hear more so..." he turned to Hashirama "keep them busy while I and Madara discuss a few things will you".

Hashirama stiffened and was straight back into attack mode and melded back into the tree. Madara sighed as his body jumped up to Orochimaru against his desire, something that Orochimaru was made perfectly aware by the less than pleased look in his eyes. "oh come now" said the Sannin cheeky "if you wanted to keep playing you should have never peaked my interest in the first place".

"I'll keep that in mind"

The snake nodded "now tell me what you know, tell me about this Kuvira woman".

"Very well. But on one condition"

"Oh? And whats that?"

"That we make this quick, I don't want Hashirama wearing them out or killing them before I have any fun".

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly "and how do we make this quick then?"

Madara's Dojutsu glowed "look into my eyes" the Uchiha read the subtle weariness that came over the body snatcher and he smirked. "Don't worry I have no intention of putting a harmful Genjutsu on you and in a few short seconds you'll have everything you could possibly want to know about her, only limited by my knowledge".

Orochimaru scowled at the deal, at the fact that to get his hands on this new knowledge he now so deeply wanted he would have to willing go under the Sharingan's Genjutsu. Not just any either, this would be cast on him by the known history's most infamous Uchiha. There was no telling what he could do to his mind if he just let him put him under an illusion so freely.

The Sannin made up his mind and sighed "very well then".

Madara nodded and his Sharingan glowed.

"But!" interrupted Orochimaru, making Madara cease his Genjutsu "I will only let you put me under your Genjutsu if you tell me something else I want to know".

Madara frowned, his patients visible thinning the longer he was being kept out of the warmth of battle "what?".

Orochimaru grinned "tell me about the Mongekyou Sharingan".

The undead soldier seemed to have to think about that until he looked over and saw multiple Hashiramas being cut to wooden pieces by the white-haired man, brandishing two kunai coated thickly in clear to see wind chakra. He frowned and grunted and turned back to the Sannin and his Dojutsu glowed "very well then!".

Orochimaru smiled, pleased by the old Uchiha's disgruntled response to his wish. He lusted to know the secrets behind this new Sharingan, he shivered internally as he willing gazed into those very same unknown Dojutsu. "What secrets do those eyes hold I wonder"

Madara took slow steps forward, his evolved eyes glowing dark red as he begun casting the Genjutsu "come then you snake, let me show you the truth of the Uzumaki and the Uchiha's eyes".

Orochimaru smiled at this, a slight blissfulness over coming him "show me".

End of Chapter