I do not own Naruto that is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.
"I am big" God, biju, summon talking
"I am normal" Human talking
"You can't hear me inside my mind" Inner thoughts of a person
Just a quick note before the story begins. This chapter is replacing the author's note for the summon ideas in my story. If you want to see a description of the available summons you can find it on my profile.
Chapter 5: Incidents
It has been two days since Kushina left her son at the Uchiha compound and she had already completed her mission. Now she stood inside of a small rundown looking art store in a town near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Tea. She is currently wearing a civilian outfit with the scroll she took from her home by her side. Her eyes are scanning the art on the wall as she approached the counter, but if you looked carefully you could see that she always kept the man behind it in sight.
The art on display at the is store is hideous, poor imitations of the great works and the store would usually be lucky to see a customer, much less be one she would enter. However the art is not what this store truly sold, it was just a cover. No, what made this store valuable is the man behind the counter, one Suru, Gizo. Gizo is a man almost completely average in appearance, perhaps slightly below, with black hair, and a thin frame. He is not particularly muscular and lacks any measureable amount of chakra. This unassuming man in his forties would usually be overlooked if not for one thing. Gizo Suru is a forger of extreme skill. The store is a front for his business and the art on display a ruse to throw off the authorities. His skill in forgery is commonly used for the creation of government documents and the occasional piece of art. The documents he forges can even be buried into government records if one had the connections.
This man is the one who forged the documents for her family's new identity, documents that will become official in just one year's time. Gizo had forged for her an entire history of her supposed life in Tea, from her birth records to her business dealings. It is he who she had business with.
"Ahh. Scarlet-san, welcome, welcome, it is good to see you once more. Are you here for the art or something a little more discreet? Maybe you will finally grace me with your true name; after all we are business partners." Gizo speaks upon noticing her entrance.
"I would rather keep this discreet, if you don't mind." Kushina answers.
"One moment." Gizo gets out from behind the old counter and goes to the front of the store, flipping the open sign to closed and lowering the blinds. When he returned, he once more addressed Kushina. "So Scarlet-san, what business do you have for me today. Or is this about your name?"
"No, this is for business. Besides you know my name is Scarlet, Aki, you were the one who put it on my birth certificate." Kushina says with a good natured laugh.
Laughing he replies. "Now we both know that isn't true but for now business is good." His words showing his comfort with someone he had maintained a business relationship with for slightly over two years.
"I need information." Kushina states simply.
"You know that is not what I traffic in Scarlet-san. I am not sure how I can help you." He says simply.
"Oh, but I am sure you can. You see I need information on one of your customers." Kushina quickly responds her voice soft and playful.
"You know my rules. I cannot talk about my other customers." He says his face becoming hard and losing its playful tone.
"I don't care what you did for him, I just need a confirmation. Is it true that you did business with Jiraiya?" She asks, her voice developing a dangerous edge.
"I do not know who that is? Perhaps you should leave. We would not want to sour our friendship with such questions." Gizo answers reaching for a knife under the counter, uncomfortable with how the conversation is turning.
"You sure you don't know him? He's one of the sannin, really tall, has white hair, and weird marks running down his eyes. If that doesn't help, he also writes the icha icha books that seem so popular nowadays." Kushina says her tone now completely predatory.
"No, now I really think you should leave." Gizo states a nervous chill going down his spine, his hand tightening around his knife.
"You absolutely sure you don't know him? He didn't happen to stop by a month ago and make a deal with you? Are you absolutely sure?" Kushina says as she begins to touch the scroll by her side.
"Leave now. Our business is over. I will not hurt you in light of our past business together." Gizo demands drawing his knife and pointing it at her. Secure in the knowledge that he could defeat what he thought was a civilian woman.
"No, I don't think I will. You see, I don't like liars, and I think you have been telling lies. You really shouldn't tell lies." Kushina says as she dashes forward, slapping his knife out of his hand and dragging Gizo over the countertop, before kicking the scared man to the ground.
"It's too bad Gizo-san, I guess you will never know my name." Kushina states, her tone hard as she unrolls the scroll by her side before releasing the content within. Grabbing the item in her hand she reveals it to be a sword.
"You can't do this. People will know. The police will investigate." Gizo whimpers, his voice desperate.
"Don't worry, I won't get caught." Kushina says as she approaches his downed form, sword in hand.
Gizo truly looks at the blade that is to end his life for the first time; it's an old and battered thing that only a thug would use. He knew that if an investigation started the case would remain unsolved, just attributed to some punk kid with a sword and not the well kept woman in front of him.
"Please, I have a family." He says in a last attempt to save his life.
The sword swung, slashing through his belly. Gizo shouts in pain as the life begins to leave his body and his eyes grow heavy.
"And I am protecting mine." Kushina states resolutely. "Sorry Gizo, but I couldn't let you live. When Naruto and I disappear, Jiraiya will come looking for us and with his money and resources you would talk the moment he asked about a red headed woman and her child."
As Gizo drew his last breath, Kushina began to finish her plan. She opened the register and took the money from inside and left. Gizo had been a forger for years and had a reputation for destroying the evidence of his dealings; it was why he had been trusted. It had only been Gizo's relationship with Jiraiya that had caused Kushina to kill him.
Meanwhile in one of Konoha's wooded training grounds, Itachi stands in his ANBU uniform, his tanto on his back, and two kunai holsters strapped to his sides. Currently Itachi is staring at the ANBU mask in his hands, seemingly lost in thought.
"Having doubts?" A voice says from behind the young ANBU.
"No. Will you honor our deal?" Itachi asks, turning to face the voice.
As he turns it reveals a man dressed in black, a swirling orange mask on his face. "I will honor our deal. Konoha will be left alone."
"Good. Madara-sama, if the attack is to work we will need to neutralize the three seal relays in the Uchiha compound. I can take down two of them, my own home and the eastern relay, but I will need you to take out the western relay. Can you do it?" Itachi asks.
"Remember who you are talking to. I have yet to encounter a seal that the power of my eyes could not overcome." The orange masked man rebukes.
"Then the attack will begin at 2200. During the attack my brother is not to be harmed." Itachi clarifies.
"Of course." The masked man says, an amused smile hidden behind his mask.
(2200)
Inside the home of the Uchiha clan head; Fugaku watched as his tired wife entered the bedroom. "Are the children asleep?"
"Finally, Sasuke-chan and Naruto-kun have exhausted themselves are finally asleep." Mikoto says with a tired sigh and a small smile on her face.
"Well Kushina-san did say not to give Naruto-kun candy passed eight, and then you had to give some to Sasuke-kun as well. You know Kushina-san is going to tell you 'I told you so'" Fugaku teased.
Mikoto smiled at Fugaku's relaxed demeanor, something that he only showed in the privacy of his home and around her and while she wished he would show it more to their children, it still made her love him all the more. "Not funny. We are not telling…"
Mikoto's words would be silenced when Fugaku tackled her to the floor just before his adjoining office to their bedroom exploded. A sound that was echoed from the east, while a flare shot in the west. The compound had fallen under attack. "Get the children and head to the bunker." Fugaku shouts, ignoring the heat to his back.
On top of the smoking wreckage of the building that housed the eastern seal relay, Itachi stood clad in his ANBU uniform, mask on his face, his hands locked together in a seal. He had just set off the explosive tags he had hidden in his father's office and just now around the eastern relay. He would have placed more but he could not risk the chance of discovery.
However, things were not going to plan. The plan had been for Madara to destroy the western relay and leave the clan blind as to what was going on. They would know they were being attacked but they wouldn't know who was attacking and where they were being attacked from. Madara and Itachi would then use the confusion to pick off the Uchiha one by one. Now the Uchiha would know where they were being attacked, the moment one of his clansmen died, they could organize a counterattack.
For now Itachi would head towards the Naka Shrine the Uchiha's place of worship for the Sage of Six Paths, and the site of many of their secrets, including the bunker. With a mighty leap Itachi left the burning building and began his attack.
As Itachi drew his tanto to cut down a confused Uchiha as the man was leaving his home, Itachi's thoughts turned to Madara. "I wonder what happened. Why did the flare go off?"
Itachi's companion was currently staring at the ground in confusion. He could not understand why his kamui had not worked. He had no idea how a seal could stop him from getting into the compound. Curious he had searched for the seal and found it. It had been a curious thing, seeming to have little chakra in its build. So he had attempted to study it, only for another seal to activate and stop him from reading it, even shooting a flare into the air.
The masked man wasn't happy, he had failed to destroy the western relay and a seal had stopped him from using his kamui to enter the compound. Then when he found the seal another seal had stopped him from studying the first seal. "Okay, I will work on the second seal first, and then I will study the second seal. The Uchiha clan can wait; a seal that can work against my kamui could cause trouble when I begin to collect the jinchuriki."
Reaching out the masked man began to unravel the second seal. The man worked carefully, ignoring the screams coming from the compound as the seal began to unravel.
"Careful, careful, there could be traps. Almost there."
The seal had begun to unravel spreading across the ground. It seemed that the masked man would unlock its secrets before the seal began to glow, and the writing began to disperse into little flames. Quickly the man stepped back, wary of the flames, and not confident in whether his kamui would protect him so soon after its initial failure.
"I hate seals." He said simply as he watched the seals burn away and a second flare shoot into the air.
He watched as a barrier surrounding the Uchiha compound flashed into view before shattering, his tampering having managed to destroy the wall that separated him from the Uchiha clan.
"This isn't good. That and two flares will be noticed and ANBU will be on their way. Itachi's mission wasn't exactly public knowledge. I can't afford to be found this early in the game."
With that thought the masked man used his sensor ability to locate Itachi while idly taking note of several ANBU squads moving into the compound, before disappearing in his kamui. The masked man had to protect his investment.
Inside Sasuke's room two boys were awoken to the sounds of an explosion. Their eyes filled with fear as Mikoto burst into the room telling them that they had to go. She reached out her hands and grabbed both Naruto and Sasuke, rushing them through the house. By the entrance of the house, Fugaku would stand with a drawn sword in his hand and a stern expression on his face.
Naruto would watch as they moved towards the eastern side of the compound, towards the Naka Shrine, he would hear the screams of those he thought of as a second family, his mind filled with panic as he watched Uchiha children hurried down the street. All around him children were crying while those who were ninjas rushed by his tiny body, armed, if a little underdressed at times, heading towards the sounds of the screams.
Turning his head, Naruto would watch as a second flare shot into the air behind his extended family and as the air around the Uchiha clan glowed, forming a dome around the area, before shattering, chunks of energy falling from the sky, burning up in midair before reaching the ground.
As they turned the corner Naruto watched as a half dressed shinobi drew his kunai and stepped in front of a group of children, blocking a wave of shuriken, only for several to be disguised by an unnoticed genjutsu. The shuriken would slam into his throat and several of the children behind him.
A squad of dressed Uchiha would take his place, likely guards of the compound. "Fugaku-dono, get your family to safety. We shall hold off the enemy. Go now!" Shouts an Uchiha wearing a captain's uniform of the Konoha Military Police.
"Thank you." Fugaku says before turning to his family and Naruto. "Come we have to go."
The squad of Uchiha would stay behind as Fugaku led his wife and the children to safety. Content in the fact that if they should die, that they had saved their leader and the innocent.
"Be careful. They used a genjutsu to hide their weapons, be vigilant. Don't let your guard down." The Uchiha captain states as his sharingan scanned the area.
A single kunai would be launched towards the group and explode in a flash of light. Once the Uchiha were blinded Itachi dropped upon them, slicing through two members of the squad before their eyesight started to clear.
The captain would be the first to notice him; his vision still blurry, he would draw a kunai and engage Itachi in combat. "Shiteru-san go warn the others, it's the ANBU. The Hokage is attacking." The captain would shout out, not recognizing Itachi with his effected vision; he had ordered his squad mate, Shiteru Uchiha, to leave and warn the rest of the Uchiha clan.
"Hai." Shiteru Uchiha said before turning and running towards the nearest Uchiha squads to spread the word. "We may lose but we will make the Hokage pay for every life he takes" He thought as he retreated.
"I can't allow him to get away." Itachi thought as charged forward, intending to intercept the fleeing Uchiha. The traitorous Uchiha would abandon this idea as the captain of the Uchiha squad intercepted him.
Once the captain had reached Itachi he had swung his kunai only for the traitor to dodge, leaping backwards before the captain's kunai could slice through him.
"It's not going to be that easy." The captain stated pressing the attack. "I can't let this ANBU create any distance. If he has been skilled enough to get this deep into the Uchiha compound on his own, who knows what ninjutsu he knows; I can't let him form any hand signs."
Itachi responded to these attacks, blocking them, reading them, learning his attacker's pattern before preparing his counterattack. The captain, swinging his blade once more was unprepared for the parry that met him, knocking the arm that held his kunai to the side and leaving him open to the thrust of Itachi's tanto.
It is only thanks to his sharingan that the captain dodged the strike, his eyes predicting the attack, and allowing him to step to the side to dodge. With the attack dodged, the captain stepped forward getting close to the traitorous Uchiha and brought down his left arm, his weaponless arm, down and over Itachi's sword arm, trapping the arm to his side as he brought his kunai around once more.
"I've got him. He can't form hand signs and he won't break my hold in time… wait, what!?" The Uchiha captain thought as his kunai was less than a second from burying itself in Itachi's chest, only to be caught off guard when the ANBU he held turned his head to the Uchiha and met his eyes.
"He's an Uchiha!" This would be the last sane thought of the captain as he noticed his captive's eyes for the first time. The three tomoed eyes of the traitorous Uchiha began to morph, taking on a new design, racing against the approaching kunai.
"Tsukuyomi." Itachi whispers once his eyes finished their change, a little shuriken like design replacing their original three tomoes.
The captain was trapped, frozen in place, his kunai nearly touching the skin of Itachi's chest. With the captain frozen in place, his mind broken from the technique, Itachi extracted himself from his hold.
"You fought well." Itachi said before thrusting his blade into the now collapsed Uchiha's chest.
Taking a deep breath, Itachi considered his next action. He could go after Shiteru and stop him from informing the rest of his clansmen of his attack, but the man was already gone, his message probably spread. Or he could continue to head to the bunker and catch his parents before they get there, the children likely having slowed them down.
"My parents have to die, without them the Uchiha clan will not have the leadership needed for the coup. If they survive then all of this has been for nothing." Ignoring the strain in his eye and the depletion of his chakra, Itachi brought his hands together into the sign needed for the shunshin no jutsu.
Once Itachi had gathered the appropriate chakra, he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Itachi was heading straight to the Naka Shrine and his parents.
On the western side of the compound, three ANBU squads had entered the Uchiha compound and had begun to advance towards the center of the compound.
"Taicho, it's deserted. Where is everyone?"
"I don't know. Be on the look… Take cover!" The ANBU captain shouted.
From the rooftops Uchiha clan shinobi cast the katon: phoenix flower jutsu, spraying a rain of tiny balls upon the ANBU squads in the street. While others cast the doton: earth wall jutsu on the ends of the street trapping the ANBU in the streets below.
The ANBU screamed as the fire from the ambush rained down upon them, killing most of their number. While the Uchiha watched as the fire consumed the ANBU and spread to the surrounding buildings.
From these flames the captain that shouted the order emerged with two others behind them, leaping to the rooftops. In the captain's hand he held a flare, an ANBU issue flare. He would aim the flare into the sky and shoot it into the air, unleashing its content into the sky where it would explode into a shower of sparks, informing all shinobi squads that they were under attack.
"You won't get away with this." He shouts as he engages the closest Uchiha in combat, idly taking note of the clothing he wore, or rather the lack there of. The Uchiha is only wearing a pair of pajama pants and hastily put on, mismatched sandals.
The ANBU takes advantage of his exposed state, engaging him in close combat, confident in that his armor would protect him from the Uchiha's blows, while the unarmored Uchiha would quickly fall to his. It works, the unarmed Uchiha is defenseless, his strikes striking metal, bruising his own hands, while the ANBU quickly tears apart his unprotected body, before tossing the Uchiha to the flames below.
As the body falls into the flames, an Uchiha female shouts, "No. Inabi!"
Quickly forming hand signs she poured her chakra into a large katon: great fireball jutsu. From her mouth would come a large fireball that would crash into the building, engulfing the building and the ANBU captain in flames.
All across Konoha people would awaken as the alarm was sounded, telling the people that their village was under attack. ANBU, jonin, and chunin would rush to the spot where the flare had gone off. While other chunin and genin would attempt to calm the civilian populace.
In the Hokage Tower, one Sarutobi, Hiruzen would be disturbed from his late night at work. He would look to the Uchiha compound and see the flare; cursing under his breath; he would open his window and join the swarming shinobi.
In another section of the Uchiha compound we once more see Shiteru Uchiha. He had managed to inform several members of the Uchiha clan of the ANBU attack, who had in turn spread the message. Now he stands in command of small group of Uchiha shinobi near the eastern end of the compound.
"Shiteru-san, there is a large group of shinobi heading this way, perhaps thirty, no forty of them. What are your orders?" A female Uchiha questions, her sensor abilities picking up on the approaching enemies.
"There are only eight of us and not all of us are jonin, some of us are chunin. Against those numbers we would be crushed, and the Hokage won't be sending weaklings. No we can expect our enemies to be ANBU or jonin. But we can't let them get by us. We are the last things standing between them and the Naka Shrine, we have to hold." Shiteru thought as examined the situation.
"Set fire to the buildings." Shiteru ordered.
"Sir?" One of the shinobi under his command questioned.
"We must neutralize their numbers. Buildings can be rebuilt, but the lives of the Uchiha clan cannot be untaken. Burn the buildings; force them to take this road." Shiteru spoke. "I cannot retreat not after the captain. I don't care if it was an order or the right thing to do; I still left him to die. I will not allow these Sage-damned bastards to reach our children. We shall hold this road till our last breath."
"Hai, Shiteru-san." The surrounding shinobi responded.
"Good. Now, how long until the enemy reaches this location?" He questions, pointing to the sensor kunoichi under his command.
Taking a moment to concentrate, she quickly locates them. "Not even three minutes."
"Keep tracking them and stay with me, I want to know exactly where they are. Now, of the five jonin here, excluding myself and her, how many of you know the katon: fire dragon jutsu?" Shiteru asks.
Two of the shinobi raise their hands. "Good then this is the plan. You two will move to the rear of the group, you are to gather your chakra and when I give the order you are to unleash the largest katon: fire dragon jutsu of your lives on our enemies. Everyone else except our sensor here will cast small fire jutsu on the buildings. Chunin be careful with your chakra, I can't have you exhausted before the battle. Now go." Shiteru orders.
Across the entire roadway buildings were set aflame as small scale jutsu like the phoenix fire jutsu and the great fireball jutsu were unleashed. Soon only the road was clear of the flames, the only safe path through the area.
"One minute!" The sensor shouts.
"Alright, hide quickly, if you must, use the smoke to hide your presence. Once the fire dragons are unleashed, use the confusion to your advantage, cut them down." Shiteru orders before turning to the sensor he had hidden near. "By the way I never got your name."
"Is now really the time?" The sensor replies.
"Can't think of a better time." Shiteru responds.
The sensor hesitates for only a second, "Setsuna."
Shiteru smiles before turning his attention to the road, already he can see the silhouettes of the approaching shinobi. He tenses and grabs his kunai, waiting for the right moment. The moment came quickly as the shinobi sprinted past his position heading towards the end of the road, where the two hidden jonin were waiting.
"Now!" Shiteru shouts.
From the end of the road two massive katon: fire dragon jutsus were unleashed, catching the encroaching shinobi off guard and incinerating half their number. From all around the surviving shinobi a barrage of kunai, shuriken rained down upon them as the hidden Uchiha endeavored to take advantage of the confusion.
"Kunai kage bunshin justu" Shiteru intoned launching the kunai from his hand and watching as multiple copies appeared in the air before crashing into the confused shinobi. He was glad he had accidently copied this jutsu when he was a genin serving under the current Hokage during the Second World War.
"Charge." Shiteru gives the final order, his sharingan flashing into his eyes as the men and women under his command rushed the survivors of their attack.
The battle wasn't long; the few survivors of their initial barrage were easily overwhelmed by the Uchiha forces. However, two of the Uchiha had perished; one jonin and one chunin.
"Shiteru-san, more hostiles incoming!" Setsuna warned.
"Quick, check the bodies for explosive tags. We will mine the road. I know some of you are tired, but we are fighting for our families, for children, we cannot falter. Make the forces of the Hokage pay for every life he has taken this day. For the Uchiha clan!" Shiteru shouts, lifting the spirits of the Uchiha once more.
All across the Uchiha compound battles were taking place and the death toll began to rise as more and more Uchiha, and Konoha shinobi began to die. It was not long till the entire compound began to burn, as ninjutsu ravaged the area and the fires spread unchecked. The Uchiha compound had become a battlefield.
At the Naka Shrine Fugaku had already guided the children inside of the bunker when he felt a shunshin incoming. Grabbing his wife he threw her into the bunker and slammed the door.
"What, Fugaku-kun, what are you doing?" Mikoto cried out.
"Live. You must live, not just for our children but for all of the children of our clan. Please, stay in there." Fugaku said as he turned his back on her, a couple of tears falling from his eyes.
"Fugaku-kun." Mumbled Mikoto as she pressed her tear stained face to the small window of the bunker.
Feeling the shunshin end he watched as Itachi appeared, his ANBU uniform stained with the blood of his clan.
"Hello tou-san." States Itachi, his voice slightly strained from the loss of chakra he had recently suffered from his actions.
"Itachi. I see that you followed the Hokage in this affair. You know I can't allow you in that bunker." Fugaku said, sadness seeping into his voice at his own son's betrayal.
"Your actions would have led to war; the clan had to be sacrificed. I will not apologize for my actions." Itachi says, a sliver of emotion leaking into his voice.
"I believe we are passed the point of apologies." Fugaku said as he went through the hand signs for the katon: great fireball jutsu and shooting it towards his son's feet.
Itachi dodged but the resulting smokescreen caused by the fire's contact with the ground allowed his father to slip into his guard, his sword swinging. With little time to dodge, Itachi attempted to block with the metal arm guards of his uniform. Succeeding but still suffering as the resounding impact hit with bruising force, and knocked his arm down, leaving him open for the quick slice across his chest, ruining the armor of his uniform.
"That was close; if I wasn't wearing armor I would be dead. I can't afford another mistake." Itachi thought as he brought his tanto to bear and his eyes shifted to the mangekyo sharingan.
"You are foolish son. You are tired and your chakra is low. You may be the better shinobi but in your condition, you can't beat me." With that Fugaku charged forward, his sharingan blazing.
However, before Fugaku could swing his sword, Itachi cast a quick genjutsu, altering his father's perception of where Itachi was standing, causing Fugaku's sword to swing to early and knocking the man off balance. Fugaku's eyes were already working to dispel the illusion but the damage was done. Itachi stepped forward and brought his tanto down, slicing his father from his left shoulder to his pelvis, and removing the hand holding his sword.
This is what made Itachi such a great shinobi and why he is considered such a powerful shinobi despite his young age; genjutsu. While Itachi is quite skilled in ninjutsu and taijutsu, even kenjutsu, it is his talent in genjutsu that allowed him to be great. Itachi knew that in a shinobi battle, long drawn out conflicts are the rarity and not the rule, that the first mistake is usually the only mistake. It's why he used genjutsu; it allowed him to determine when the mistake would be made. Even if his opponents had something that made genjutsu ineffective there would still be that second before the technique was dispelled that he could take advantage of. This is why genjutsu is Itachi's favorite and preferred shinobi art.
As Fugaku was cut down, inside of the bunker, Mikoto bit her tongue, holding in a scream and turned away. Her husband had been killed by her eldest son; she could not bear to watch anymore. She instead turned to the children in the bunker and started to give comfort where she could. They would be traumatized. Naruto and Sasuke had both seen other children cut down before their eyes, seen the twisted bodies of the dead, and the flames of war. She would give them the comfort where she could, just as she would take comfort from them.
Outside of the bunker, Itachi examined the door, looking for a weakness in its defenses, before a voice came from behind him. "Don't bother. I created that bunker during the early days of Konoha, in case this Senju controlled village should turn on the Uchiha clan. Even if you could break it open, the bunker holds the clan's summoning scroll to the cats; they could simply be reversed summoned to safety. Now come, the night is over." The masked man posing himself as Madara says, reaching his hand out to the traitorous Uchiha.
"Very well, but Madara-sama, where were you?" Itachi asks with a tired sigh. He could hear quite well that his mission had failed, as the sounds of war filled the air.
"I came across an interesting seal. Now come, the Hokage approaches." Madara says with an air of superiority.
Nodding Itachi accepted the masked man's hand and together they disappeared into the man's kamui.
With the Hokage's arrival the fighting quickly began to end as he sounded a general order for a ceasefire. With the order given, the Uchiha fell back to the Naka Shrine and waited until Sarutobi appeared once more, a force of jonin and ANBU at his back.
"This is not how it was so supposed to happen. This is a nightmare." Sarutobi thought as he approached the bunker.
Standing in front of it was Mikoto Uchiha, who had come out of the bunker to represent her clan. Behind her the surviving Uchiha clan shinobi stood prepared to fight if the violence should continue.
"We need to talk." Sarutobi says plainly. His eyes locked onto the Uchiha matriarch's, staring into them without fear.
Ignoring the tingle in her eyes, Mikoto looks around the ruined district and the battle weary shinobi from both sides, before locking her eyes once more with the third Hokage. "Yes. I believe we do."
Meanwhile during the battles at the Uchiha compound, Kushina was on a road in Tea Country. Rather than camp out she had decided to follow the road to the next town with an inn not an hour away.
It is as she was walking that she heard a sizzling sound come from under her feet. Alarmed she leapt away as the ground exploded. Focusing on her sensor ability she discovered the ground had been mined with generic explosive tags and that they were being activated.
Unable to get out of the area in time as the ground started to erupt around her she activated her chakra chain ability and wrapped herself in her chains. It would protect from the heat and shrapnel of the explosion but not the concussive force. The force of the explosion would disorient her and she would begin to feel the development of bruises all over her body.
Reaching into her pouch she removed her two explosive tags and attached them to a kunai each before spinning her chains around to give her space. Catching one of the ninja near her chain cocoon by surprise and ripping their chest open.
As she emerged from her cocoon she observed the remaining four shinobi. "Kiri hunter nin. What do they want with me? Shouldn't they be fighting a war or something?"
Already she can feel as other squads pinged on her sensor. There were another four five-man squads, one in each direction. They had trapped her. "Okay, can't stay and fight. That's suicide. I have to escape."
Priming her two explosive tags she launched them at the squad in front of her, activating their tags before they could reach the already in motion targets, separating them from each other and causing a smoke screen.
Using her sensor she determined the right side to be the safer path and moved through the smoke, a kunai already in her hand, and gets behind the assailant that went right before covering the ninja's mouth and dragging her kunai across his throat.
Ignoring the blood spray she continued on, moving towards the nearby trees. She was familiar with trees, she trained in Konoha; she would have an advantage there. She could use them to escape.
Sadly her attempt for freedom didn't go unnoticed as one of the shinobi drew a tip less tanto and sliced at her back, cutting her backpack open. With her opponent so close and the commonness of projectile weapons she had to face them, she couldn't keep her back turned.
Sliding her right arm from her backpack, she turned to face her opponents. In one smooth motion she tossed her torn backpack with her left arm, sending her food and camping supplies flying as the backpack spilled its contents into the air. While they were distracted she grabbed five shuriken and enhanced them with the cutting element of wind and threw them, catching two of her pursuers.
She did not know if they were dead or just injured, but they were down, and that was what mattered. Already the squad from the left side had appeared in the clearing and the one to her back would not be far behind. Continuing to the trees she was once more intercepted, this time by the squad coming from the right. They unleashed a hail of weaponry on her position.
Going through hand signs as quickly as she could, she casts the futon: great breakthrough sending the weapons into the trees themselves rather than back at the squad in her haste. Leaping into the trees she came across two more of these hunter nin, their tip less tantos ready and dripping a purple liquid.
Unarmed, she attempted to dodge her enemies before leaping to another branch, one of the enemies following her. Dodging around a thrust the ninja's tanto, she palmed the top of his forehead before shooting a chain through the man's skull. Dispersing the chain, she winces as she felt the poison in her system from where the sword had grazed her arm, her Shinigami given gifts already working to cure the affliction.
Sensing the other shinobi with the poisoned tanto leaping towards her branch she grabbed five of her remaining shuriken and launched them at his airborne body. He blocked, but she is already in motion, sending another three shuriken at the shinobi just before he lands on the branch. In the distraction caused by him blocking her attack she slips into his guard and buries a kunai directly into his heart.
"Too long. The other squads are in the trees now. I can't afford to fight and I think they have a sensor with them."
Hearing the sound of water she turns away from Fire Country and heads further into the Land of Tea. While she may have an affinity for the water element she did not want to get into a ninjutsu fight with a bunch of Kiri shinobi at a water source. She would continue to use her chains, weapons, and futon jutsu to facilitate her escape.
This would turn out to be a bad decision as the trees in this direction revealed their treachery. Attached to their bark, were multiple generic exploding tags, the tell tale sizzle from activation filling the air. Unable to react in time she threw her arms up, protecting her face from the explosion.
The concussive force would slam her back into a tree and the bark would shoot out like miniature projectiles, burying into her arms.
"Whoever wants me dead, is well connected and has deep pockets. Explosive tags are not cheap, even the generic type. But how did they know where I would be? They had to know about my mission, it's the only way that they could have set this up."
Struggling to her feet, Kushina struggled to bring her hands together, before silently casting the kage bunshin no jutsu. In a poof of smoke, three equally injured clones appeared by her side.
Without a word Kushina and her clones took off into the destroyed woods, splitting into different directions. "Ha, even if they have a sensor they will have no choice but to split up and follow my clones. We have the same chakra signature."
As Kushina ran she resisted the urge to cry out from pain, the concussive blasts from two explosions had damaged her legs. She was sure that the bones in her legs were at least cracked, and that her healing was working overtime just to stop them from breaking every time she applied pressure to them.
Crossing the destroyed trees she focused on her sensor once more. Her ploy had not worked. "Blast them to the Void. How are they still following me? They're almost on top of me now."
Kushina ran her injured hand through her hair in frustration, only for her hand to encounter something odd. Pulling the object from her hair she found it to be an insect. "A beetle. No I have seen this before, this is a Kikaichu. But those belong to…Konoha!" Kushina thinks in alarm.
"Shadow possession jutsu, complete." Kushina heard from her left, as the 'Kiri' hunter nin emerged.
Kushina struggled to break free but it was too late. She saw as a ninja moved forward and stabbed her through the chest. "Naruto" Would be Kushina's last thought as her soul left her body and traveled to a certain seal that the Shinigami had placed many years ago.
"Mission complete." One of the shinobi spoke.
"No, it isn't. Squad four, go, kill Lord Ichiro and his family, he is the noble that Kushina delivered the scroll to. Make sure the people can clearly see your Kiri uniforms. Our orders are to make sure that Kiri takes the blame for the attack and Tea Country will seek protection from our own. Kushina-dono's valiant attempt to intercept us will be seen as Konoha protecting its neighbors." Spoke another of the Kiri clad shinobi. The commander of the assembled shinobi.
"Hai, taicho." Before one of the five man squads disappeared to murder the civilian noble and his family.
"You lot, secure her body, she died a hero, and Konoha likes to bury their heroes." The commander ordered.
This mission would be off books, just as they were ordered.
So a lot happens in this chapter. We have both Sasuke and Naruto in the middle of a battlefield watching as people die, Kushina's death and subsequent arrival in the Shinigami's second seal, the introduction of Obito, and our first morally ambiguous scene done by a main character.
Also, before anyone flames me, I foreshadowed Kushina's death way back in Chapter 1 with the soul catcher seal. I would also like to point out that it shows something very important to the story, even a kage level ninja can die to the right trap. In this case Kushina was outnumbered, undersupplied, and operating with incorrect information, and she still kills four of them, and the fate of two unknown. With her starting the battle injured and disoriented, I think she did rather well.
As for the Uchiha Massacre that wasn't I hope you enjoyed the fight scenes and my hopefully unique take on this piece of history in the Naruto story. The incident also took place earlier in the story, so Sasuke was not out training during it; no he was in bed and woke to the world in flames.
As usual a shout out to all who read this story and have followed me into the fifth chapter, you all help make this possible. Also please review, this is my first fight scenes so tell me if you liked them or not.
As a personal request, can someone PM a website where I can find a list of jutsu for the story, I would appreciate it.
Finally, the vote stands with the nevermore and nix tied for first place and the shade and wraith tied in last place.