Author's note:
Hey everyone and welcome back. So, after starting the war at an awkward point during the actual war, I think I bit off more than I can chew here, but I'm going to push through and make it make enough sense for this story. Just so you know what I have been doing in my spare time, I have been rewatching all the episodes from the war arch to gather as much information and adjust where needed. I have also realized that it had been a long time since I have seen these episodes and have severely fucked up the original outline I created. Therefore, my story is at a point that, I'm not even sure of everything (even the ending) and just kind of winging it as I go. I can't wait to see how things turn out.
Now, don't get me wrong, the ending will still go in the same direction that I want, but there will be a lot of details and shit completely changed from what I originally wrote all those years ago. However, I still plan on trying to finish this story this year 2021. I don't want to keep dragging it out, especially when we are so close to the ending. I am once again asking for your support and patience (lol sorry I had to), as we bring this story to an end in the next 20 something chapters (I might be exaggerating but most likely not).
Stay safe out there and I love you guys!
"Never put stake int words of people who aren't fucking, feeding, or paying you,"
-Badbutt94
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Chapter 72: War Arch: Taming the Tailed Beasts
Normal P.O.V.
With Naruto's help, the Legendary Four Hokages, Orochimaru, former Team Taka, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki finally arrived on the battlefield. As they slowly move away from each other and look around, they notice something interesting.
"Hn? Hey, what's going on here. I thought you said you were taking us to where my granddaughter is?" Hashirama whines.
"She should be around here somewhere. I can't be that off from her," Naruto says as she searches for her.
"Maybe she changed locations after you teleported us," Minato adds.
"Could be, but still. She should be within proximity even if she~ Whoa wait! What's going on?" Naruto yells as the ground begins to shake.
Everyone tries to keep steady as the ground rocks around them. After a little while, the ground finally stops, and a split can be seen in the ground below.
"What was that? An earthquake?" Suigetsu questions.
"I know that split in the ground anywhere! That's was an attack from Granny Tsunade!"
"That was from my precious granddaughter?!"
"Hm, you have truly missed a lot, Lord First. As we have said, your granddaughter has become an incredible woman. Even before I passed onto the next world, I have heard rumors of her terrifying strength. It is said she possesses the strength of 10 gorillas," Hiruzen proudly smiles.
"Well then. Let's head in that direction. I desire nothing more than to see my amazing granddaughter in action,"
"Brother, do you care so little for the enemy. After all, he is an old friend of yours," Tobirama glares.
"Do not confuse my priorities, otōto. I will deal with Madara when we arrive. Now let's go,"
The group travels in the direction Tsunade's attack came from. However, their movements slow once they get closer to the battlefield. Upon seeing the number of bodies littering the ground and his comrades falling one after another, Naruto drops to the ground in disbelief.
"Why… Why did any of this have to happen? What is the point of all this?"
Tears gather and sting the young blond's eyes as he continues to stare off into the distance. Placing a comforting hand on his son's shoulder, Minato kneels beside him and sighs, "Unfortunately, this is war, son. Yes, when you joined the academy and took an oath to become a shinobi, at some point you were going to be subjected to this. That is the life of a child soldier. And, unfortunately, in our society, it is looked down upon for children to not pursue this career. This is our way of life. Rather you fight to gain strength or fight for peace, it is all the price of war,"
"But I want peace. I don't want this. I don't children to have to feel that they are not good enough if they do not become shinobi. I don't want wars between clans, or demons and their Jinchūriki becoming weapons of war and destruction. I don't want anyone to be isolated or tormented for being different. However, I don't want this either,"
"Now you're being selfish," Tobirama says with his arms crossing, "It is as we've said boy, you cannot have peace or love without war. It all goes hand in hand. How do you suppose we got here, eh?"
"You have to understand, youngsters. My brother and I grew up in war-torn lands. This was our lives every day until finally Madara and I founded the Hidden Leaf. In the times before, both sides lost more than battles. We lost homes, mothers, fathers, children, brothers too. There were times where both sides lost everything, and we were fighting to just survive. The Hidden Leaf was founded with both peace and the Will of Fire burning through our veins. Eventually, others will either come to join you or they will try to overthrow you to have things their way. It is both the way of the shinobi and our species. I am sorry that things have continued to be this way, especially after everything I tried to do to change it," Hashirama sighs, letting his wolf ears and tail droop in sorrow.
"Naruto, Sasuke, look at me," Hiruzen calls to the couple, "I have watched the two of you grow into fine shinobi, despite your mistakes. I too have my own regrets about your upbringing, but I cannot change the past. And let's not forget that I am only a reanimated corpse. But standing here and watching my successors grown and blossom into the shinobis that I knew you would be, is a moment I am glad to not miss. Take this opportunity to understand the challenges ahead and work towards the future you desire creating… together,"
"Sensei is right Naruto. No matter what, your mother, Kurama, and I are so proud of you. It fills me with joy knowing that I can fight side by side along with my only son. And, although I will not physically be here to watch over you and the future you both will create, it warms me knowing that you're going to make history today,"
Feeling inspired, Naruto stands tall and wipes his tears away before giving his natural inspiring smile, "You're right! I can't stand here and feel sorry when there's a war to win. Now come on, we have some enemies' asses to kick!"
Throughout the battlefield, the Five Hokage face off against Madara as best as they can while the other shinobi fight off White and Black Zetsu as well as other reanimated enemies. Further away from the rest of the battlefield, Killer B, and the Eight-Tails, Gyūki, are fighting the other Tailed Beasts captured by the Akatsuki within the past year.
"B! Gyūki!" Naruto shouts.
"Is that… another Tailed Beast? I thought you sealed them all away, brother?"
"It seems Madara did not want to take any chances on losing this war,"
"We have to help them, they're my friends!"
"You've become friends with it? How unusual," Tobirama says curiously.
"Not for Naruto. He can make friends with a fence post if you'll let him," Sasuke smirks. "Come on Naruto, let's go help them out. I want you guys to help the other shinobi fighting the regular enemies. Do NOT go near either Obito or Madara, understood?" he commands to his former Taka members.
"Right!"
"We'll help out with Madara. Make sure you both come back in one piece," Minato smiles.
"I'll send a few clones to help out in case you guys need them. They'll protect you guys," Naruto says before summoning his clones and instructing them to follow Taka, "Alright then, we'll meet up with you guys after we handle the Tailed Beasts,"
Everyone nods before they take off in different directions.
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During the fight with B and Gyūki, the battle seems hopeless as the two struggle against their transformed brethren.
"B, we need to withdraw and regroup. We can't win this on our own,"
"You're right. Man, this ain't tight. We're really in a pickle now. This shit is real foul,"
"You can pout later, fool ya fool! We need to get going now!"
Just as they were about to make their retreat, the beasts charge at them. Without time to retreat, Gyūki wraps his tails around himself to shield the attack. However, when they don't feel the attack, Gyūki loosens his tails to see a large orange fox with Sasuke and Naruto standing on its head.
"You better not fall off, brats. I'm not responsible if anything happens to either of you," Kurama snaps as he uses his tails to swipe the other Tailed Beasts away.
"Don't worry about us. Just focus on defeating the enemies in front of us," Sasuke snaps back.
"Kurama?!"
"Hn. It's been a long time, Octopus. Although I am shocked to see you having such a difficult time handling them,"
"You must be out of your mind if you think I can handle all of our brethren alone like this,"
"Hn. It will be no challenge for the likes of me," Kurama boasts while standing tall and regal.
"Hey! Don't measure our strength or weakness by the number of our tails, Kurama!"
"Shut up and just give me the rundown of what we're facing. Why are we being made to battle the others?"
"Be careful otōto, for they are not of their own mind. I have tried communicating with them, but before they can respond, that masked guy over there tries to control them,"
"Hn. It seems they are not under his complete control. We can use this to our advantage. Kurama, get me as close to Obito as you can. I'll deal with him if you and the Eight-Tails can fend the others off. Naruto, you keep working with Kurama, B, and the Eight-Tails with taming the others,"
"Do not bark orders at me, Sasuke. However, I will not disagree with your plan. Just try not to die. I don't need that or a sobbing host on my conscious,"
"I can still hear you guys, ya know!"Naruto grumbles on top of Kurama's head.
"Alright! Now we have a team!" Gyūki and B cheer.
"Do the five of you think that you'll defeat me and my army? Hn. I'd like to see you try,"
Obito commands the Tailed Beasts to charge at them again. Kurama and Gyūki lead the charge for their team as they engage in battle. Kurama and Gyūki hold their own for a while until they start attacking at once. Sasuke fights off some of them while Naruto, now transformed into his Nine-Tails Sage Mode, does the same. Both fight back-to-back until they're ambushed. From behind, one of the beasts uses its Coral Palm attack and lands on Naruto's back. The blond groans as he starts to fall.
"Naruto!" everyone screams.
Kurama uses one of his tails to catch Naruto, but the blond is immobile from the attack. Sasuke jumps down to help, but only phases through Obito before landing on another of Kurama's tails.
"Once I touch you, I win this battle,"
Naruto grunts as he tries to get away, but nothing works. It feels as if time slows to a stop as his gloved hand reaches for Naruto. But right before it touches him, he gets saved by a dramatic entrance,
"Leaf Superhuman Hurricane!"
Above him, a cheetah man in a green jumpsuit phases through Obito while a flash of silver pulls him from Kurama's tail.
"Bushy Brow-sensei?! Kakashi-sensei?!"
"Yo," Kakashi and Guy greet with a smile.
Guy breaks the coral forming on Naruto's back as they continue to talk, "Yo Sasuke! Nice of you two to finally join us,"
"Sorry about being late, we got… sidetracked. But we brought some backup," Naruto nervously laughs.
"Well, you both owe us 50 pushups when this is all over. For now, it's great to have you here," Guy smiles.
"How touching. Do you fools really think that adding two more idiots will help against my visual prowess and the Tailed Beasts,"
"Obito, I know I haven't said much up to this point about you, but it's time to finally end this,"
"You're 1000 years too early to be challenging me, Kakashi,"
"Have you forgotten that I also have the Sharingan?"
"How could I forget? It was the day you took everything from me!"
"Kakashi-sensei, you know this guy?"
"He was someone I knew a long time ago. But now… now he's just a monster hell-bent on getting revenge it seems,"
"Shut up! You have no right to act like I'm the monster here when you were the one who murdered her!"
Before anyone can say anything else, the Five-Tails charges at them. Obito summons chakra chains to his hands to wrap them around its neck, effectively bringing it back under his control.
"Pitiful. How can I allow myself to be controlled by the likes of him,"
"Huh?" Naruto questions, thinking he's hearing things.
Obito jumps away in front of the group to take control back over the Tailed Beasts.
"Did you guys hear that?" Gyūki asks.
"Yes. That was Kokuō, the Five-Tails. It's just as you've said Gyūki, they still have some of their minds left," Kurama says.
"Is there a way we can reach them?" Naruto asks.
"We're not sure. We saw black rods in some of their bodies. Not sure if that has anything to do with it?" Gyūki informs.
"Naruto,"
"Yeah, I know Sasuke. Guys, we've seen something like this before. During our battle with Pain, he used these black rod-like receptors to control other bodies. I bet if we can pull them out, we can break Obito's control over them,"
"But how do we know where they are? Unlike Pain's Six Paths, they're not as visible in this state," Sasuke asks.
"We'll just have to do some trial and error then," Naruto says before charging at them. The two sides face off again, both holding their own while also having slight advantages over the other, "I've got to admit that Obito's visual prowess might be something to admire,"
"Doesn't matter though, he won't defeat us,"
"Is that so, Little Sasuke. Then allow me to show you what my army can really do," Doing just as he says, Obito releases some of his chakras into the Tailed Beasts, making them grow to their full heights, "No go my pets and bring about destruction to the world!"
With the Tailed Beasts to their full heights, it possesses a more difficult challenge for the team of five. Sasuke charges after Obito Kakashi and Guy face off against the One-Tailed, Gyūki and B try to hold their own against some of them while Kurama and Naruto handle the rest. During the fight between Naruto and Kurama verses three of the Tailed Beasts, The Four Tails manages to pin Kurama down as they continue to fight.
"Wake up, Son Gokū! Are you going to let that son of a bitch control you like this?!"
"Anki, it is not my doing. However, I cannot release myself from his grasp. Free me…" Was all that could be said before he was once again under Obito's control.
In one fell swoop, The Four Tails picked Kurama up by his tails and swung him around. In the process, Naruto lost his grip on Kurama's fur and started to fall. As he fell, The Four Tails caught him and tried to swallow him, but Naruto manages to use his strength to keep from completely falling in.
"Naruto!" Everyone screams as he is slowly swallowed inside of the Four Tails.
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"Huh? Where am I? Am I dead?!"
Naruto opens his eyes and looks around. The feeling of where he was felt familiar and foreign at the same time. Now out of his Nine-Tails Sage Mode, he slowly stands up and continues to look around.
"I can't make out where I am. But wherever I am, why am I overwhelmed with sadness,"
"That is because you are inside of me, the young vessel of Kurama,"
Naruto jolts his head up to see The Four Tails bound against the wall with purple chains.
"Four Tails?"
"You are within me and you will show respect by calling me by my first name. I am The Great Monkey King, Son Gokū!"
"I am sorry. I did not mean to offend you, Son Gokū," Naruto says while bowing.
"Hn. You are definitely a strange one. This is the first time anyone has ever apologized to me,"
"From what Kurama has told me and the history I have gathered, none of you deserved the fate bestowed upon you. However, I aim to fix that. Will you help me?"
"Hn. I have lent my power to many vessels and people in my lifetime. Although I was not always mistreated, I have never had anyone speak to me with such respect,"
"Kurama has taught me well. Like you, he was cursed and seen no more as a weapon of hatred. It was not easy, but I was finally able to form a bond with him and earn his trust,"
"Hn. I could tell something was different as we fought. My Aniki has been mistreated the most. Even now, seeing myself and my brethren being treated this way brings great sorrow. Despite what people think, we are not just weapons. We have emotions and experience things like yourselves. However, because of our status and being manipulated, we have been deemed only weapons to be stored, hunted, and used for the user's selfish purpose. In turn, the unfortunate souls who become our vessels are mistreated and we're the ones to blame. It is a fate I would not wish upon anyone,"
"Great Son Gokū, will you help me bring an end to both your suffering and this war. Lend me your strength and alliance and I promise to help change the world sees your kind,"
Son Gokū looks into Naruto's determined eyes and offers a gentle smile, "You are truly a strong alpha to be the Jinchūriki of my Aniki. What is your name, young one?"
"Naruto Uzumaki,"
"Well then, Naruto Uzumaki, I will lend you my power, if you can free me,"
"How do I do that?"
"There is a rod under my beard. Pull it out and the chakra chains will not form. Release me and I will help you free the rest of us,"
"Will do!"
"Your resolve is genuine; refreshing, to say the least. Now, about you getting out of here and quickly. It seems he's locked onto your location already. Technically you're at the base of my stomach since I swallowed you. How do you proposing on escaping my stomach?"
"Simple. Imma make you throw up,"
"Huh?"
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On the outside of Son Gokū, both Kurama and Gyūki have one of their tails each wrapped around Son Gokū's stomach, trying to free Naruto.
"Damnit! Give me back my son, you bastard!"
"Yeah! Open your mouth up already and release Naruto!" Gyūki yells.
"Ah, so you're hiding in there. No matter, I'll just drag both you and the Four Tails into me," Obit says while summoning chakra to his hands and forming chains around Son Gokū's neck.
"Naruto! Get out of there before you're swallowed!" Kurama screams while continuing to struggle.
Almost as soon as he says that Son Gokū's stomach bloats up before he throws up hundreds of Narutos.
"God that was disgusting," Naruto pants as he stands up.
"Man, my main man Naruto sure knows how to think of some smart ideas when his back is against the wall," Gyūki says proudful.
"Are you alright?" Sasuke asks while running over to him.
"I'm fine but I need your help with something," Naruto says before pointing to Son Gokū's beard, "Under there is one of those rod receptors we mentioned earlier. We need to break it and set him free,"
"How do you know he'll help us instead of running wild?"
"Trust me, babe. Son Gokū and I have an understanding. You with me?"
"Lead the way, and don't call me babe,"
Naruto smiles before entering Nine Tails Sage Mode again, "Alright! Let's go!"
The pair takes off towards the beast. They jump and dodge attacks from Son Gokū the whole way. One of the large palms tries to slap them out of the way, but Naruto grips Sasuke's waist and swings them towards the beard. When they're close enough, they use their combined strength to try and pull out the rod.
"It's working! Just a little bit more!" Naruto cheers.
"Those boys are starting to irritate me,"
Suddenly, chakra chains rise and surround them, effectively sucking out their energy.
"Sasuke, I'm losing my strength,"
"Hold on Naruto, I'll get you out of here,"
"But what about Son Gokū? I'm not going to leave until he's free. Help me Sasuke!"
"Not trying to argue with his mate, Sasuke only nods before continuing to try and pull out the rod.
"Naruto, I will lend you some of my strength. Try to find another way to remove that rod," Kurama advises while doing as he offered.
Thinking quickly, Naruto used his Sage Mode abilities to create a clone. He commands the clone to enter Son Gokū's mouth again and slide down his throat until he reaches the rod. With his newfound strength, Clone Naruto pushes the rod through his throat, making it easier to remove from the outside. Once the rod slides out, Naruto and Sasuke begin to fall, but Naruto enters Sin Gokū's mind.
"We did it! You should be free!"
"I'm sorry, young one, but there is still more to be done. That rod only connected me to the Jinchūriki's body,"
"Then I didn't save you?"
"Do not despair, here touch my fist with yours to link my chakra," Naruto does as he is told and bumps fists with Son Gokū's, "Naruto Uzumaki, you have shown me that you are a strong alpha with honorable morals and worthy of my trust. Although I am no longer bonded to Obito, I am still bonded to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Defeat it and you will save all of us if you still wish to do so,"
"Of course, I do. I always keep my promises and I promise to free all of you!'
"Then please do for the others as you have done for me. Find their receptors and break them free of Obit's control. This will make things easier after you defeat the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. To help you accomplish this, I leave you with this parting gift: my chakra,"
"I promise to free you again, Son Gokū. Just wait for me,"
And with that, the link between Naruto and Son Gokū is separated as Naruto wakes up on one of Kurama's tails and Son Gokū is sealed away. With determination in his eyes, Naruto stands tall next to his mate, senseis, and Gyūki.
"Something's changed within you. What did Son Gokū say?" Kurama asks while they're inside his room.
"He thanked me for trying to save all of your siblings and offered his chakra to me,"
"Hn. Quite the accomplishment. Very well, I will lend you more of my chakra and strength. What do we need to do to save the others?"
"Same with Son Gokū. They all have receptors. If we can remove and break them, then we will at least free them from Obito's control," Naruto holds out his fist to Kurama with a determined smirk, "You ready?"
"Always,"
The ground shakes from the power suddenly emitting from Naruto. As he enters his ultimate Nine-Tails Chakra Sage Mode, Kurama's physical body disappears and transforms into a chakra manifestation form, surrounding everyone except B and Gyūki. As Kakashi looks up, the image of Minato appears. He quickly shakes his head free and smiles at Naruto standing before him.
"You would be so proud, sensei, Kushina,"
Kurama appears as a clone of Naruto besides all of them, "Let me handle this. You guys just stand back and watch,"
"Naruto! Kurama! They look like they're in big trouble over there!" Gyūki warns.
"It's alright, just back me up!"
The Five Tailed Beasts open their mouths to release their Tailed Beasts Bombs. Naruto shouts out arms from his form to deflect the balls. Realizing that the attack didn't work, Obito orders the beasts to charge at them. Naruto and Kurama charge forward and fight them off. Using all nine tails, they sweep each beast off their feet while Naruto summons more arms to wrap around their throats. Using this technique, they locate all the receptors. They manage to break free and try to attack.
Gyūki and Naruto are on the defensive and use their strengths to fight them back. The Five gather again to summon a large Tailed Beast Ball. Standing together Gyūki and Naruto summon their own to deflect it again. Once the attack has been stopped, Naruto sends out more hands with clones in them to pull out the receptors.
"I've got them!" he cheers before ordering his clones to pull the receptors out.
Just as the rod was about to be removed, Naruto and Kurama are suddenly pulled into a deeper subconscious.
"Where are we?" Naruto asks.
"We've been waiting for you, Naruto,"
Naruto looks up to see all the Jinchūriki and their Tailed Beasts, except Son Gokū standing before him.
"Welcome to a deeper part of the Tailed Beast Psyche Plane. This can only happen when we are all linked together, it has been a long time since we have been able to meet like this," Kurama explains.
"Yes, we are grateful to you, Naruto Uzumaki. We were summoned here by request of Son Gokū and had to wait until you could effectively link with us," the One Tail says.
"Well, I'm glad you guys are all here and getting along," Naruto smiles.
"Yes, it is all thanks to you, Naruto. Son Gokū, Kurama, and Gyūki have all vouched for you about your mission to save us. It has truly been a long time since anyone has looked out for us. For this, we thank you," the Two Tails agrees, "Now step forward so we may leave you with our parting gifts as well,"
Naruto does as he is told and walks forward while everyone lays their paws, hands, and other appendages on top of each other, "Naruto Uzumaki, as long as your heart and actions remain true and honorable, you will have the service and strength of the Tailed Beasts at your command," the Four Tails announces.
"We expect great things from, you young one. Do not let us down," the Five Tails smirks.
From behind, Kurama watches the exchange with a proud smile on his face. As the six of them continue talking, his mind drifts back to the last conversation they had with their father, it was also the last time they visited this part of their Psyche Plane.
"I do not have long for this world, but I swear to you that one day, you shall be reunited again by another. Do not be sad my children, for he is the one that will this world the peace it deserves. And remember that when we all meet again, even if it is in different forms, that we will never be far apart. I love all of you, my children. Be strong. I pray that all of you will find the meaning of true strength during my absence. I look forward to hearing what your answers are,"
"Aniki? What is the matter?" the Two Tails asks in concern.
Everyone turns around to see tears leaking out of Kurama's eyes. With his paw, Kurama reaches up to wipe them away with a smile, "It's nothing. Just remembering our old man. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was the one he spoke of all those years ago, no?"
"Yes!" all of the Tailed Beasts yell, "We look forward to our next visit, Naruto-sama,"
And with that, they all exit the plane and come back to the real world. As this happens, seeing that Naruto removed and broke all the receptors in his weapons, Obito reseals them into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The activation period for his Sage Mode times out and everyone lands on the ground with a soft thud.
"Well, well, well. It seems you've managed to tame both yours and my beasts. No matter," Obito growls in frustration as he grips his fan on his back to release his weapon, "I will still be the one to bring an end to the world as we know it!"
From opposite sides of the battlefield, each opponent glares the other down. The night is quickly approaching, but it is not the end of the war. No, the end of the war is far from over. Little did our heroes know just what Madara and Obito had in store for them.
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To Be Continued…