This God disgusted him.
The Otsotsuki from Hamura's line were given one objective; if humans were misusing the gift of chakra, it was up to them to keep them in check. Hagoromo had decided to trust the humans while Hamura vehemently disagreed, making a veiled threat to take back all the chakra if they felt it was necessary as he left for the moon.
When the casualties from the Third Shinobi World War reached levels never seen before, Isshin had decided enough was enough. However, his dear friend Asura had convinced him to give them a chance; they were suffering now to one day realize the power of Ninshu. Asura touted the concept as the solution to world peace, and Isshin could not help but be taken by the fantastical idea – that chakra was not a curse, instead it was the answer. Before he knew it, he had started hope for a better, kinder future, and he began to doubt the ruthless pragmatism that guided his decisions.
However, both he and Asura paid the price for this naivety, reminded of how cruel reality truly was.
Was that the future Asura had seen?
When he returned back to the earth a couple of years ago, he made his decision; Humanity would be stripped of their chakra.
He had come to the stark conclusion that humanity would eradicate each other long before they understood Ninshu and the true potential of chakra. Isshin believed that the best thing for them is to be stripped of the power that allowed them to cause large scale destruction; certain Jutsu were capable of destroying an entire village in an instant, after all. If they wished to fight over petty squabbles, they could do so without the gift of the Chakra Fruit.
He was just trying to mitigate casualties, to curb deaths, to slow down the self-destruction of humanity.
Pein represented everything that was wrong in the world to Isshin; a man way too drunk on his own power, which was not even his to claim, to the point where he was now worshipped as a God. This man was not an Asura reincarnation – he should still be a young boy at this point in time – and he was clearly not an Uchiha either. Isshin had never seen a misuse of chakra so gratuitous, and once he learned of this God of Ame, he wanted to see it for himself.
How far the depths of human depravity reach in the face of chakra.
"Why are you here?" Nagato asked. "You have the same eyes as I do, so you must understand the power we possess. It is our right, no, our duty, to correct the world."
"All I see in front of me is a man with delusions of grandeur." Isshin snarled. "You're no God; you're no better than them."
"Yet, you are?"
"No, but that's the difference between you and me." Isshin's voice became softer. "I understand my role in the grand scheme of things; I'm not special."
"Then, you are foolish." Pein concluded. "The world will know Pain, and through that, it will understand peace."
"A wise man once told me that World Peace cannot be coerced into existence through sheer might, and I'm inclined to agree."
"The world will destroy itself long before it can reach peace through understanding one another." Nagato shook his head.
"True." Isshin relented. "That's why I won't let it."
With that, Isshin charged.
"Shinra Tensei." (Almighty Push)
Nagato merely extended his hand, shooting a blast of gravity at the incoming man, who simply braced for impact as he stood his ground, making his gravitational field too heavy to be knocked back. So, that's how Pein's Deva Path worked – it allowed him to attract and repulse things – while Isshin's Deva Path allowed him to make things lighter or heavier by increasing its gravity.
Confused, Nagato tried to pull him inwards with one hand while a metal chakra rod slid out of his other palm.
"Bansho Ten'in."
Isshin merely allowed himself to become lighter, zooming towards Nagato as bone protruded from his palm.
"Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu." (All-Killing Ash Bones)
Nagato clashed his rod with Isshin's bone, both of them breaking their respective poles off from their palms to utilize it in combat more effectively. An elaborate dance followed, both of them trying to pierce each other while they dodged.
Nagato sidestepped a swipe, and Isshin followed it up by extending a bone from his left palm, which Nagato ducked under. He swiveled on his feet to skewer Isshin with his own metal rod, but Isshin decreased his gravity and zoomed up and over Nagato's swipe, effortlessly doing a front flip without any jumping force.
Nagato was prepared for that, however, as two arms shot out from his back with metal rods jutting out of them as well, utilizing the power of his Asura path. Isshin increased the gravity on his arms at the last second, bringing down each forearm to break the rods in half, and Nagato rotated on his heel to lash out with an elbow strike. At the same time, Isshin extended his leg in a roundhouse, increasing the gravity of his leg for good measure.
Isshin took the hit right on his stomach while Pein took it on the chin, sending him flying back.
As he was doing so, Pein's mechanical arms transformed into a mechanized launcher, shooting a volley of missiles at him. Isshin manipulated his gravity and took to the air, flying circles around the missiles as he was simply too fast to be hit. The missiles impacted the walls of the room, causing the ceiling to cave in as both men hastily rushed out to the open streets.
Curiously, Nagato noted the rain was simply falling to the sides of Isshin.
"That was the power of your Asura path, I presume." Isshin spoke from his position in the air, clenching his fist. "Let me you show you mine."
Instead of mechanizing his body, Isshin's Asura path allowed him to control aspects of his body at will; he could alter the carbon in his body to form a tough black steel over his skin for defense. It also had the added benefit of transcending the limits of the regular human body. His muscle fibers became stronger, his bones hardened, and even his organs toughened up as Isshin's vitality shot through the roof. A black sheen overtook his skin, as he closed his eyes and focused.
"Keimon: Kai!" (Gate of View: Release!)
The sixth gate, located in the stomach, burst open as Isshin relished in the power that washed over him; usually, this would cause the user immense pain and tear through one's muscle fibers. As a result, a regular person could not sustain this form for too long, but for Isshin, he could open the gates all the way up to the Seventh with only slight discomfort. Isshin's skin and features did not even turn an angry red as was the norm, instead, he looked cool, calm, and collected while a white aura danced around him.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Nagato summoned two creatures using his Animal Path, a multi-headed dog and a snake-tailed chameleon. Isshin simply blurred out of sight, appearing behind the two animals as he plunged the All-Killing Ash Bones into them, destroying them at the molecular level. The creatures slowly turned to ash, crumbling away in front of Pein's eyes as he slowly felt a sense of foreboding rise up in his gut. Nagato could very well lose this fight.
This man was terrifying.
Isshin zipped towards where Pein was standing, who futilely tried to shoot another barrage of missiles at the flying target. Isshin simply smirked as he bobbed and weaved through the hellfire, each of the missiles impacting one of the buildings of Ame as people began to panic all around them. Realizing this was going nowhere, Pein halted his attack and summoned all four of his mech arms, waiting for the Otsotsuki to reach him.
Isshin was a blur of movement as Pein had to desperately make us of all six of his arms to keep up with the insane pace he was moving at. A jab followed a kick followed a jab and so on and so forth as Pein slowly began to sweat from the sheer heat generated from Isshin's punches. Finally, he broke through Pein's defenses and landed a solid punch to his stomach, denting his body inward as Pein coughed out blood.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Caught unaware, Isshin was sent flying back a few paces before he regained control, cancelling out the gravitational force by increasing his weight and kicking back on his flight trajectory. Isshin grinned as he floated in the air and watched Nagato regain his bearings, panting heavily and wiping the blood trailing down his chin.
"What's wrong, God of Ame?" He taunted. "I thought I was simply a mortal?"
"You will understand Pain!" Nagato shouted with crazed aggression. "Chibaku Tensei!" (Planetary Devastation)
A menacing black orb formed in Nagato's palm, as he gritted his teeth to focus absurd amounts of power into the black hole. He raised it into the air, and the orb slowly started to suck everything in while Isshin had to increase his gravity ten-fold to keep him from being pulled. This was the ultimate expression of Nagato's Deva Path's power, and it started to rip off parts off buildings and people all around them while Isshin could only watch with a snarl.
The cacophony of screams and wails of the innocent people around them only grew louder with each passing second.
When push comes to shove, this God did not truly care about his people, no matter how much he conveyed otherwise. The desperate need to survive outweighed all, and that was precisely the reason Isshin felt it necessary to strip the chakra away from humans. They were flawed creatures, just like him, but the difference was that humans do not appreciate the dangers of chakra.
He was brought out of his musings as the ground beneath his feet began to give in, slowly being sucked upwards as Isshin increased his gravity again. If it wanted to suck in matter, he would give it exactly that. Isshin stuck out his hand, where a white orb was slowly coalescing in front of his palm.
"Wakusei no Tsuiho." (Planetary Expulsion)
The white hole wobbled in his grasp for a moment before shooting out a beam of pure energy and mass, hitting the black hole dead on. The black orb quivered as insane amounts of matter began to be poured into it, and Nagato strained himself to keep it going. However, his power had a limit, and once Isshin fed it enough mass comparable to that of a small meteor, the orb shattered and crumbled away. Once that was taken care of, Isshin pointed the beam of mass and energy towards Nagato.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato expelled a massive gravitational wave, straining to hold the beam against the force field around him. Eventually, Isshin curbed his technique, allowing the white orb to fade away into nothing as he regarded his spent opponent.
"You…" Nagato whispered. "What are you?"
"I… am a direct descendant of Otsotsuki Hamura." Isshin replied, his eyes glazing over. "I am One with the Tree. I am the last of the Moon Walkers. I am your judgment."
"Kyōmon: Kai." (Gate of Wonder: Release)
Isshin blurred forwards and reached Nagato in an instant, who raised one his arms to block the incoming punch. His robotic arm was broken clean off the elbow, shattering into multiple pieces as Isshin continued his onslaught. Nagato managed to duck under the roundhouse, but Isshin jumped up and increased his gravity, coming down with a vicious axe kick. Nagato had to sacrifice two of his arms to block the attack, and Nagato extended his original right hand.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Isshin was ready this time, however, as he increased his gravity to absurd levels, refusing to be pushed back as the Almighty Push was slowly pressing him back. With a roar, Isshin extended one of his All-Killing Ash Bones and strained against the force, slowly pushing the bone towards Nagato. Nagato could only increase the power of his technique, but it was not enough. With the power the Seventh Gate bestowed upon him, Isshin pushed through the gravitational expulsion and plunged it into Pein's chest.
Nagato sputtered as disbelieving eyes looked at the bone rod embedded into his chest.
"No…" Nagato whispered. "What have you done?"
Pein crumbled to ash and whisked away into the wind.
The people of Ame watched as their God disappeared in front of their eyes.
"Ah, we're here, Shikamaru-san."
"Lead the way, Saiko-san."
Shikamaru was escorting one of their clients throughout the town; all of them were carrying priceless artifacts and wanted shinobi protection, after all. Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru had all split up and gone with each of the three businessmen, and the merchant Shikamaru accompanied led them to a seedy bar. He raised a questioning eyebrow at the man, urging him to explain himself; this was not where he expected his client to be making a sale.
"You see, after Gato died, a new tycoon, Saitama, overtook the shipping industry around these parts." Saiko explained. "This ain't exactly legal, but it's good money."
"I see," Shikamaru nodded – it was not his job to stop petty crimes, after all.
Soon enough, a well-dressed man in a blue suit approached them at the table they were sitting at, and he was accompanied by two burly looking men. Shikamaru's eyes caught the unique face scar on one of the men, running down his left cheek to his jawline. The men were wearing nondescript loose clothing, a sleeveless top with black pants, and they turned a menacing eye towards Shikamaru, especially after noticing his headband.
"What're you doing with Konoha shinobi, Saiko?"
"At ease, mercenary." The man in the suit calmed him down. "Well, Saiko-san, what do you have for me?"
"I acquired a bunch of rare artifacts – exactly what Saitama-sama likes." He opened his bag to let them take a good look. "Top of the line stuff."
"Very nice." The man in the suit took out a golden monkey from the sack, inspecting it. "Saitama-sama would indeed be very pleased with these. I'll take your whole bag, name your price."
"40,000 Ryo."
"We'll do 35,000."
"Deal."
All the while, however, there was something nagging Shikamaru; his danger senses were going haywire from the way these men looked at him. Sure, Konoha shinobi would probably put a lot of people on edge, but this was still Fire Country. These mercenaries, on the other hand, seemed to hate his guts. Again, also understandable, mercenaries and shinobi do not exactly get along.
So, why was he so unnerved by their presence?
"Hey, you think you can get back on your own?" Shikamaru muttered once the sale was complete. "You're not carrying priceless items anymore."
"Sure!" Saiko chirped. "Although I must warn you, Shikamaru-san, you should just leave those men alone."
Something about the tone in his voice made him wary.
"What do you mean?" Shikamaru squinted. "Do you know something?"
"Only that those men shouldn't be trifled with. Saitama-sama only hires the best of the best; an entire bandit camp once attacked Saitama-sama and his envoy while they were travelling. Outnumbered fifty to ten – Saitama's mercenaries still came out on top."
That should not be possible.
Unless they had chakra and were in fact shinobi posing as mercenaries?
The aftermath of the invasion had shifted the balance in the world; Sand had immediately surrendered and agreed to whatever reparations Konoha had demanded. They were building a shaky alliance all the while, trying to appeal to Konoha's good graces, but Mist was a different story all together. They refused any contact and ignored all of the summons Tsunade had sent to ask for a meeting – the birds would never return again. As a result, there was this shaky atmosphere present, where it felt like war was imminent.
Mist was surrounded on all side by bodies of water, so invading them head on was an insurmountable task.
All Konoha could officially do was wait, and this was why Shikamaru was so wary. They were in the border town that resided beside the body of water that eventually led to Mizugakure, and Shikamaru had an inkling that something fishy was going on here.
"I'm going to follow them." Shikamaru informed. "Tell Naruto and Sasuke to come here and follow my trail – I'll leave a way for them to find my path."
Shikamaru followed the men as sneakily as he could, nicking marks onto the walls with his Kunai in a specific cross shaped pattern so that Naruto and Sasuke could retrace his steps. The men walked in a leisurely pace, which made it relatively simply to follow them without being seen. They were just about to enter a heavily fortified base, that had four towers at each corner of the square – a lookout man posted in each one.
He stopped and took cover behind the wall of building when one of them almost spotted him.
However, his heart rate sped up as he suddenly noticed movement converging on his position, wondering just how they had figured out he was here. Before he could even make a run for it, however, about fifteen men surrounded him, sticking to buildings at odd angles. He warily entered a defensive stance and wondered what his chances of survival were in this situation.
They were shinobi.
"A Konoha shinobi." A man spoke up, seemingly the leader. "Capture him."
Shikamaru mentally ran through all the simulations and concluded there was not a single one where he would come out alive if he resisted. However, they had just let that crucial piece of information slip; they did not want to kill him right now. He just had to bide his time until Naruto and Sasuke found him, and then he could unleash an escape plan. With a heavy sigh, Shikamaru raised his hands in surrender as the shinobi surrounded him and bound his arms.
He could only wonder what they would do to him if they wanted him alive.
"How did you find me?" Shikamaru could not help but ask.
"We knew you were following us from the start. Stealth really isn't your strong suit, kid." The man leaned in close. "And now you're going to tell me who your teammates are so we can kill them."
They could not allow Konoha to find out what they were doing.
Not yet.
"Go to hell." Shikamaru spat in his face, while the man only grinned.
"Oh, we are going to have so much fun."
"Is this the place?" Naruto asked, his tone was much more serious than usual.
The merchant simply nodded gravely, trying to avoid the boy's gaze. It had been two hours since Shikamaru had left to investigate those mysterious mercenaries, and he still not had returned. It seemed extremely unlikely that Shikamaru would be captured or killed by regular mercenaries. Thus, Sasuke and Naruto soon came to the same conclusion; Shikamaru must have been captured by enemy shinobi.
This seemed to be corroborated by the merchant's information on the mercenaries, and Naruto could only assume the worst. Time was now of the essence; every moment they waste was practically a nail in the shadow wielder's coffin. The blonde and the Uchiha simply shared a look as they began to scour the street, looking for any clues. The merchant had mentioned Shikmaru had left a trail, and Sasuke's Sharingan wasted no time picking it up.
"Naruto, over here!" Sasuke called out, watching impatiently as the blonde hastily made his way over. They inspected the mark left on the wall, and there was no doubt about it; this was clearly left by their teammate. The Chuunin sped through the city, retracing Shikamaru's steps by following the markers until they reached the compound.
"The trail ends here," Naruto spoke, realizing they might have gotten themselves into a situation that they might not walk away from. If the merchant's intel could be trusted, there was more than 15 Shinobi waiting for them inside the compound, and they might have to go through all of them to get to their friend. Only then could they reverse summon and escape, which would be hard enough to do with a platoon of Shinobi trying to stop you.
However, waiting for back up simply was not an option. If they had not killed Shikamaru already, they were most likely interrogating him. Naruto tried not to think about the kinds of things his friend had most likely been subjected to at this point. By the time help would arrive, there would not be much of Shikamaru left.
They had no choice but to make a stand right here and now.
Sasuke seemed to be on the same page. Although Shikamaru and him were not best friends by any means, the Uchiha had changed quite a bit. The events at Wave and Kiba's death during the invasion had left an impact on the raven-haired Chuunin, and sitting idly by as his friend gets tortured or killed was something he refused to do, no matter the risks. In fact, most of the Rookie 9 were on the same wavelength when it came to protecting each other; losing any more comrades was unacceptable.
Fortunately, it already started to get dark, and their best bet was to infiltrate the area, taking out as many Shinobi as possible by being as stealthy as they can. They just had to get to Shikamaru; if they were lucky, they would only have to fight a small fraction of the mercenaries. However, things rarely go as planned.
"How do you wanna' do this, Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, as he peered over the wall in an attempt to scout out the best point to breach their security.
"Stealth is the only way we survive this." Sasuke replied. "Can you summon one of your small toads to take out the guy at the northeast tower?"
"On it." Naruto ran through some seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
He relayed the plan to the toad who nodded and hopped away.
"Okay, we wait for their lookout to be incapacitated and breach." Sasuke informed. "Take out as many as we can – one by one – and try to find out where Shikamaru is."
"We need to be faster than that." Naruto grunted in frustration. "They're probably torturing him as we speak."
"No, if we rush this, we all die." Sasuke whispered harshly. "Shikamaru just has to survive for a while on his own."
Naruto discarded his orange jacket, leaving him clad in his black mesh shirt while Sasuke just prepared himself mentally. The odds have never been stacked against them like this, and they could only wonder if all the training had done enough. As soon as the lookout was dispatched of with a swift knife to his throat – he never saw it coming – Naruto and Sasuke sprang into action.
They had to save him.
The two teens barely made a sound as they vaulted the wall and landed beside a building, taking cover immediately as a group of three were walking in the street in front of them. They nodded towards each other, already knowing what the other was planning on doing. Sasuke threw two precise kunai into the back of the heads of two of them while Naruto Shunpo'd to stab his kunai right into the last man's liver.
Naruto quickly made three shadow clones who hid the bodies as the Uchiha and Uzumaki pressed on. Suddenly, Naruto made a motion for them to stop, peering over a wall as they listened to the conversation of some men who were awake; they were sitting on their porch and drinking away. Naruto could smell the alcohol in the air.
"You think boss had his fun with the Leaf scum yet?" He motioned to one of the buildings near the center, which Naruto and Sasuke both noted.
"We know there's two more of 'em."
"Shouldn't we be more alert, then?" This voice sounded frail, a bit scared.
"Chill out, newbie. Two kids are not going to strong arm an entire base of fifty shinobi."
Suddenly, Sasuke emerged from the ground underneath them with his Hiding in the Mole Technique, throwing kunai into two men's necks. Two Naruto's leaped down from above, snapping the necks of the other two men. Obviously impaired from the alcohol, these men could barely scream as they were dispatched of within seconds.
Naruto and Sasuke shook their heads at the bloodshed, trying to look away and focus on what was important.
They made a beeline for where Shikamaru was being held, making sure to stick to the shadows and taking cover as they went. Once again, they were faced with a group of three who were on patrol. Naruto utilized a Shunpo while Sasuke followed him up, but one of the shinobi noticed the sudden influx of chakra, blocking Naruto's kunai with his own. Sasuke managed to kill one of them, but the other dodged his kunai.
"Intruders!" The man shouted. "You, sound the alarm!"
The last man made a break for it, while Sasuke gave chase as Naruto was locked in a fierce exchange with the man he attempted to attack. By the time Sasuke reached him, however, he had blown his whistle – a sharp, high pitched whine – and woken up everybody around them, and Naruto finally cornered his target with three shadow clones and shoved a Rasengan into his stomach.
Within seconds, fifteen shinobi surrounded them while a select few went to wake up the rest.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Instantly, two hundred shadow clones joined the fray as an all-out brawl broke out.
"Oh shit."
Naruto met someone's punch with a Rasengan, forming it in an instant as the shinobi could only widen his eyes at his fate. He screamed as the Rasengan began to grind into his fist, and Naruto used his other hand to shove a Rasengan into his stomach, sending him flying towards his comrades who had to catch him. Sasuke followed him up with a Chidori Senbon, the hail fire of lightning needles digging into the three men charging them.
Naruto's clones thrived in the chaos, throwing their bodies down as they rushed the shinobi. Each shinobi could take down twenty or so clones before an errant attack would hit them, slowly winding down their forces.
Naruto and Sasuke were a blur of movement, working perfectly in tandem as they rushed the shinobi with their signature Jutsu. It was quite the fearsome sight; the blonde charging with two Rasengan in his palms while Sasuke's Chidori was chirping away in his left hand.
Naruto had just Shunpo'd to one of the men, swinging his Dual Rasengan in a controlled frenzy while the enemy tried to dodge to the best of his ability. Two other shinobi attempted to flank Naruto, but Sasuke threw a couple of shuriken laced with hidden wires, swirling around their bodies and holding them in place as Naruto's clones took care of them. Naruto dispatched of his opponent, but alarm bells started ringing in their heads when they noticed the battlefield was suddenly too quiet.
Instead of charging them, about half a dozen shinobi lined up and were running through hand seals.
"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Water Bullets)
Sasuke swore as he hastily tried to counter.
"Doton: Doryuheki!" (Earth Release: Mud Wall)
The multitude of bullets eventually broke through the lone earth wall, sending Sasuke and Naruto careening back from the force, cracking some of their ribs. The shinobi wasted no time in pouncing on the opportunity as they instantly threw a hail of kunai and closed in on them, and Sasuke screamed as three kunai dug into his leg and arms. Naruto was not faring much better, also sporting multiple stab wounds from the onslaught, but they did not have time to inspect their wounds as the mercenaries closed the distance. Sasuke shot Naruto a desperate look; things were not looking good.
Were they really going to die here?
Despite their past, both of them found people that mattered to them; they were finally starting to rebuild. Their dreams and ambitions could not end here in some no name town on the border of Fire Country. They were just getting started, but it was starting to seem as though they had bitten off more than they could chew.
Naruto could not help but think of Fu and Gaara, while images of the Uchiha clan flashed before Sasuke's eyes. They refused to let the promises they made to themselves and to others amount to nothing. They could not die, not until their vision was manifested in the world. Groaning as they shifted in the dirt and their own blood, they began to rise to their feet, each movement a struggle.
However, they were unable to gather their bearings as the onslaught continued.
Sasuke was too slow to block a swipe that would've slit his throat – still reeling from the previous attack, but Naruto thrust his palm, shooting an air blast to knock it off course. However, he received a fierce haymaker for his troubles, followed up by a kick to his stomach. Naruto spat out some blood from the impact as two more shinobi were flanking them, and Sasuke hastily conjured his Chidori.
"Chidori Nagashi!"
The electric current traveled through the ground and shocked multiple of them, causing them to seize in place while Naruto and his clones Shunpo'd to each of them and shoved Rasengan into them, hitting various lethal points of their bodies. Naruto was just grinding his Rasengan into a mercenary's face when one of them snuck up from behind him, a kunai poised for Naruto's neck.
Sasuke emerged from the ground to block the attack, his Sharingan whirling and trying to keep track of the chaos. The Uchiha panicked when he noticed another shinobi flank his side, realizing he was defenseless, but Naruto thrust his palm and blew the attacker away with a concussive air blast.
Sasuke ducked under a sword swipe while Naruto jumped over it, thrusting a kunai into the man's back, and Sasuke finished him off with a Chidori Spear. They were being flanked from all sides as Naruto formed four shadow clones to defend them, and Naruto hastily called out to Sasuke. Backup had arrived; fifteen more men were converging on their location.
Naruto and Sasuke stood back to back as they faced their opponents, steady eyes searching for even the slightest sign of attack. They had fought together side by side on countless missions at this point, and they had sparred more times than they could count; no one knew each other better. Their fighting styles were polar opposites, yet they were able to blend them together seamlessly to come out on top in even the most unlikely scenarios. It would not be farfetched to say they were the best two-man cell in Konoha, at least when it came to straight up teamwork. Naruto could not help but smile even in the face of this hopeless situation, panting as he slowly brought his hand towards Sasuke.
"Ready, teme?"
"Someone's gotta' save your ass, dobe."
"Here, you can thank me later," Naruto thrust his palm into Sasuke's back and into his chest, powering up both of them and covering them with a light blue-green sheen of chakra.
"Woah." Sasuke had never felt so invigorated in his life, even with the blood trailing down his wounds. "We need to start moving forward! We're going to die if we just stay here and try to beat them all!"
"Gotcha'." Naruto whispered. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Two hundred more clones joined the fray, but this time, the army charged forward as meat shields as Naruto and Sasuke broke through the circle of shinobi that was surrounding them. The people behind them and to their sides also had to go through the clones, which bought them some time.
Naruto slid on his knees under a sword strike as Sasuke finished the attacker off with his Chidori Spear, which was still going strong. Sasuke dodged a flurry of strikes from another shinobi and jumped into the air as Naruto appeared from behind his partner, shoving a Rasengan into the man's stomach.
Naruto noticed another come at him from his left, and he thrust his palm behind him. The kickback from his air blast allowed him to dodge the hit but it also put in directly in another enemy's crosshairs. Tanking a devastating kick to the stomach, Naruto spun on his heel to deliver a brutal spinning kick right into the man's face, and a clone appeared behind the man and shoved a Rasengan into his back. Another Ninja lunged onto Naruto's back and started stabbing at his back and shoulder in blind fury, and Naruto let out a deafening roar as he picked the shinobi off his back and slammed him into the ground, producing a massive shockwave.
He was fighting on pure instinct and blood lust at this point.
He then charged at a lone enemy, forming three clones as one of the clones sped up to reach him first. The man pulled up his arm to block the punch, but this Naruto was just a regular Bunshin who phased through him. Caught off guard, he tried to jump away from the approaching Naruto's but the clone Shunpo'd behind him and shoved a kunai into his back. His comrade attempted to avenge his death, lunging forward with a sword, but Naruto substituted with his clone.
The clone dispelled as Naruto found himself facing the two enemies who were charging his clone. He jumped over a kunai swipe, rolling down his opponent's back and sticking an explosive note onto him. His other enemy tried to back up his comrade, stabbing a kunai into Naruto's back as the blonde formed a seal less Kage Bunshin to dispatch of him. He threw the man with the explosive note on his back towards two other shinobi, who paused to catch him, but that was when Naruto ignited the explosive tag, taking his friends with him.
Sasuke was slowly getting cornered when Naruto Shunpo'd to him, forming four shadow clones for support. Sasuke utilized his Chidori Spear to take out two of them, predicting the way they would try to block or dodge and preemptively reacting to it. Naruto dodged a punch and used the adhesive property of chakra to hold him in place, as a seal less shadow clone appeared behind his opponent and shoved a kunai into his throat.
Sasuke let a sword lunge past him, grabbing onto his opponent's sword to block another slash, kicking his captive away and plunging it into the other's gut. Naruto met the man Sasuke kicked away with Rasengan to his back, but Sasuke was caught unaware by a brutal kick to the back of his head, knocking him down while Naruto swiftly disposed of him with two of his clones, unleashing a vicious one-two combo that ended with a knife in between the man's eyes.
Naruto and Sasuke resumed their bloody dance, but now Naruto was utilizing his Shunpo and substituting with his clones, leaving afterimages in his wake due to his speed. Sasuke simply followed him up with his Chidori Spear, slicing through his enemies and running a Chidori Nagashi through the ground every now and then to catch people off guard and create openings for Naruto and his clones. They had just taken down five shinobi before they were interrupted by a massive buildup of chakra.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"
The water dragon was aimed right at the two teens, but they were prepared. Sasuke instantly ran through his own hand seals, the Yang Energy bolstering his reserves to absurd levels as he pumped an enormous amount of chakra into his attack.
"Doton: Doryūdan no Jutsu!" (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet)
The two draconian beats of the elements met head on, but Earth trumps Water. As a result, Sasuke's dragon won the battle and charged into the group of shinobi, who could only scream in abject horror as the Earth Dragon devoured them or crushed their bodies with its gargantuan weight.
Naruto had taken full advantage of the momentary lull in battle, as he formed a shadow clone to pump the Ichibi's sand into his Rasengan. He focused, taking a deep breath, as he poured a ludicrous amount of chakra into the attack as the Rasengan tripled its size, black spikes jutting out while sand swirled around it.
"Rasen-Chigiriki!" (Spiraling Morning Star)
The orb of death was hurled towards Naruto's enemies, piercing clean through a couple of them before embedding into the ground, where an enormous explosion engulfed five shinobi. Naruto and Sasuke wasted no time in charging forward as the mercenaries watched, horrified, as their comrades were decimated from this obscene destructive technique.
They had finally made it to the building where Shikamaru was being held.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Naruto panted, exhausted – he was actually running low on chakra – as another two hundred clones appeared to guard the entrance while they entered the building. His clones just needed to buy them a little bit of time, and they frantically rushed through the corridors in search of their friend. Finally, they heard Shikamaru's distinct voice, only it was a lot calmer than if he was being tortured brutally. Wasting no time, they opened the door and stepped inside.
Shikamaru had his captor under the Kagemane no Jutsu, straining to hold him in place. Shikamaru's rope bindings were at the floor beneath his chair; he had managed to somehow worm his way out. Four of his nails were peeled clean off, blood freely pouring down his fingertips, and there were even multiple slices carved into his stomach and chest. Still, Shikamaru held on and shot his teammates a weak grin, hiding a wince at the sight of his them.
Naruto and Sasuke were caked in blood, panting profusely as numerous stab wounds leaked blood all over their bodies. Most of the blood was not even theirs to begin with, shaping odd, red patterns into their clothing and skin. What Shikamaru really focused on, however, was the dead look in their eyes.
"This is the leader." Shikamaru bit out. "I've been holding him for you guys."
He was probably the strongest shinobi in this stronghold, and Shikamaru had done just enough to make it easier for them. Sasuke swiftly ended the man's life with his Chidori Spear while Naruto ran through some hand seals.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
A ten feet tall toad appeared from the smoke, directing a questioning glance to Naruto.
"Swallow us and reverse summon us out of here!" Naruto urged, hearing the commotion of shinobi slowly make their way to them. "Now!"
The Toad quickly did as he was told, and the shinobi entered the room to find their leader dead, the Konoha shinobi nowhere in sight, and wisps of smoke drifting into the air.
"Fuck."
It was called the Massacre of Karakura Town.
Apparently, Mist had brokered an off the books deal with Saitama, the shipping tycoon, so that they could have a foothold of position in Fire Country. They offered protection under the guise of Saitama's mercenaries, and these Mist shinobi could then send intel and warn them if Konoha was ever thinking of invading them. Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru had managed to snuff out this stratagem through blind luck – being at right place, which was an illegal trade at a seedy bar, at the right time.
When all was said and done, the final body count was twenty-eight people dead and six injured for life. Two lone children had broken into a base that had fifteen Chuunin, thirty Genin, and one lone Jounin as the commander of the unit. Ballads were already being sung by bards worldwide, and the two had made quite a name for themselves.
Too bad that did nothing to stop the crippling, disgusting welt in their stomachs.
Naruto and Sasuke had never murdered on that scale before. They could remember each life they took as clear as day, haunting them in their sleep and dominating their thoughts during the day. The two boys had retreated into their homes and did not come out for two weeks, and Sakura and Ino desperately tried to break through to them to help. Even Tsunade had understood and given them the time and space they needed.
Shikamaru had vehemently urged them both to leave them alone.
When they finally opened up their doors, Ino and Sakura were horrified at the blank stares on their faces. They refused to ever talk about it; any mention of that night or a whisper of the Name would cause them to clam up, instantly walking away from them.
People on the streets took notice as well.
Naruto had noticed the negative emotions that were shot at him these days mostly comprised of fear. The villagers had heard of the massacre and Naruto's involvement, and they had naturally assumed a Jinchuuriki had done what he did best. The trust he was building up from saving them from Gaara's clutches was a distant memory now, and Naruto bitterly chuckled as everything was going back to normal again.
Did he really think he could change their opinion of him?
Foolish.
"Naruto, Sasuke." Tsunade regarded both of them. "What happened in Karakura town was simply tragic. I will be putting you both on mandatory counseling to ensure you are coping with that as healthily as possible."
The two teens merely nodded, not speaking a word, but they glanced at the ANBU member flanking Tsunade's left. He had the mask of a dragon, and he did not make a sound as he was leaning back into the wall, arms crossed.
"Furthermore, the skills you two have showcased would be invaluable to a certain branch of the shinobi forces, and with the display you two put on, I was urged to reconsider your positions as mere Chuunin."
"What do you mean, Tsunade?" Naruto questioned while Sasuke tilted his head.
"I would like to offer both of you an official position in the ANBU corps."
Naruto and Sasuke were shocked, neither of them knew what to say.
"Don't worry about giving me an answer right now." Tsunade continued. "Take a day or two to think about it. Any questions?"
"No, Tsunade-sama." Sasuke responded as Naruto shook his head.
"Dismissed."
A/N: First off, I want to say 'Thank you' to all the people who reviewed last chapter! I think that was the most Reviews we've ever gotten in a single day, so I want to encourage more of that behavior! I also want to let you guys know that we take your feedback seriously, even if it's an opinion about who you think is best girl or which pairing you like the most!
Reviews like Rein Sennin's in particular are great stuff; I was blown away by the amount of well thought out constructive criticism he left in his review. I would love to hear the deeper thoughts you guys have on our story; especially since we are finally content creating new stuff.
Even if it's not anything deeper, I also appreciate the Reviews who just let us know how much they enjoyed our writing! (Shoutout Gamelover, Yamajiji, Primarx, and all you other beautiful people)
And trust me, we have a doozy of an Arc planned out for you guys. We're very hyped to finally write the ANBU arc; it's something we've been planning for a while.
Now, with regards to Isshin and Pein – Rein Sennin opened my eyes to how this OC looks to people, especially after I nipped the Kaguya plotline in the bud. See, my main issue with Kaguya wasn't that she was an Otsotsuki or anything, it was that she literally came out of nowhere. I just ask that you give us some time to lay down the groundwork to Isshin's character, because we have a realistic progression of his character arc.
We initially wanted this chapter just to have the fight, but we realized you guys need some backstory about Isshin. So, hopefully the monologue in the beginning gives you guys a rough idea as to what type of person he is. Don't worry, we'll build on his character with a lot more scenes, and y'all will be privy to his entire past.
Finally, with regards to Pein's death, it was a necessary one for a lot of the plot lines moving forward. You'll see the fruits of this moment very soon, probably in a couple of chapters.
Anyways, leave us some more of those juicy Reviews!
~Ja ne