Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Warning: this chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence
CHAPTER 40
Hiruzen sighed with appreciation as he settled down to his lunch when the rattling wail of the Village Alarm suddenly blared into the cold autumn sky. The cup of tea in his hand froze midair as his mind shifted out of his lazy late morning musings and jarred with the harsh realization that The Moment had arrived.
Konoha was under attack.
Calmly setting the cup back onto the table, he stood and approached the ornately decorated closet in the back corner of his room. The hinges creaked loudly as the door swung open, just like the joints of his old body as he reached up and grasped the armor that he always kept polished and battle ready. He had known this day was coming, been privy to many details of Tsunade's preparations, faithfully acted out his part of the ruse of normalcy during council meetings, and even so his heart sank that this moment had actually come to fruition. The masquerade of peace and harmony within Konoha was going to be ripped off today, and he would fight against this revolution no more.
The plates of traditional styled armor, the same as his sensei had worn, and the Shodaime as well, settled heavily upon his stooped shoulders, and he twisted beneath them in loathing at their all too familiar burden. The last piece was his staff, his partner, his greatest weapon, and Sarutobi couldn't help but pause and slide his knobby knuckled hand over the smooth black wood. He stared at the back of his hand, spotted with age and criss-crossed with veins to the point where it seemed almost foreign. In all honesty, he had never seen hands as old as his own. All of his mentors were long dead before they ever reached his age. He had far outlived his place on this earth.
The guilt that tinged that realization made him feel slightly ashamed. Yes his age was a sign of peace and an end to the wars of his youth, but at what cost had that peace been bought? Was it truly worth the price? Had he really ended the evil, or just covered it up better than any of the other Hokages? His brow furrowed in displeasure as he looked at himself in the reflection of the mirror on the inside of the closet door. He would hide the evil no more.
Gripping the staff in determination, Hiruzen channeled chakra into his feet and leapt out the window, taking off at an unbelievable pace for a man of his age across the rooftops toward the Hokage Tower. Yes, he was old, but he was also still a shinobi, and the Will of Fire burned within him with each beat of his heart. He had no reservations left, no items left unchecked on his list of life goals. Everything had either been accomplished or completely failed. Kami, he had so many failures. Regret surrounded him with greater aggression than the piles of papers that had filled his office for decades. Looming and growing day by day.
No more.
His feet landed solidly upon the roof of the Hokage Tower, and he neatly twirled his staff through the air with a flourish of confidence as he made his way to the staircase, jabbing the stick upon the ground with each stride. Today he would finally be able to pay his recompense, to put a final stamp on his legacy and hope its presentation would be favorable in Kami's eyes. Today, he fully intended to die.
The door to the council chamber slid open, and to his surprise it was deserted save for two of the few shinobi to ever see as many sunrises as himself. Homura and Koharu appraised his battle regalia with indifference, each of them sitting comfortably at the empty council table.
"Honestly Hiruzen," Koharu sniffed as she raised her cup of tea to her wrinkled lips, "you are so dramatic sometimes. The revolt will be over before anyone will need us to lift a finger."
The Sandaime blinked in surprise at her careless mention of Danzō's plot, he had not so much as breathed a word of the suspected coup to his former Elder Advisors. Tsunade had zero respect for their opinions, so he felt certain that it was not from her that they had learned of the attack. But they certainly seemed to have anticipated its occurrence, for their postures were relaxed and satisfaction radiated from them like heat from a fire. The only other person who held them in any sort of confidence was…
"You knew of Danzō's plans?" Hiruzen growled, his hand going white on the solid bō staff.
Homura's smirk was poorly hidden as he pushed his glasses up his long nose. "Of course. No coup could ever be successful without the assistance of at least a few high ranking officials."
The enormous implications of that statement made the blood of the Hokage blessed with Fire run cold. His mind struggled to encompass the massive depths of their betrayal, the years that went into hardening their hearts to such a degree, the complete disregard for everything Tobirama Sensei had taught them.
"What have you done?" Anger drowned out the small amount of dismay in Hiruzen's voice as he began to knead his chakra. It seemed his final stand would begin here in this quiet room and not out on a bloody field. The years of simmering frustration at the underhanded tactics that these two had orchestrated, playing himself and Danzō against each other to push their own agendas forward, boiled up within his chest as chakra flowed into his staff.
Homura missed the encompassing intention of his old friend's question, and answered it as though it was a simple inquisition on the weather. "Not much really, mostly just preparations. We slaughtered all the messenger birds. Tripped the alarm for a Code Nine. And gassed the Barrier Corps. Danzō will handle the rest. Should all be over by nightfall."
"A Code Nine?!" Hiruzen froze, he had assumed it was the signal from Tsunade. Listening to the pattern of the wailing siren, its specific cadence finally registered and caused his heart rate to double. He had been anticipating the attack for so long that he had not paused to actually listen to the message of the alarm. To his horror, he realized that it was not a general Village evacuation, but one that he had instituted himself after the massacre of the Nine Tails' Attack, a signal to all active shinobi that the Kyūbi had escaped and Konoha was in danger. The intrinsic order of this particular alarm made The Sandaime's stomach sink. Naruto was officially 'kill on sight'.
"Quite ingenious, yes?" Koharu preened. "It was my idea. Anyone who lays eyes on the Demon Container, shinobi or civilian, will attack him or run screaming in the other direction. He'll be useless to help anyone, unless he decides to get rough, which will only play into our plans."
Homura was nodding sagely at her proud description of their plotting. "With him at least severely handicapped, Tsunade probably drunk as usual, Jiraiya out of the Village, and Danzō's Root instigating military order, The Leaf will be under better leadership and control by the morning than it has been since Sensei wore The Hat. No offense, Hiruzen, but you were a rather soft Hokage, and Danzō will lead The Leaf back to—"
His words were cut off in a choking gurgle as Hiruzen slammed Homura's body into the wall, his bō staff pinning the Advisor across the throat as the Sandaime leaned his weight into it with both hands. He didn't flinch as Koharu's tea cup shattered upon the floor, instead drilling his foolish "friend" with hatred burning in his eyes.
"How. Dare. You." He seethed into Homura's purpling face. "That boy is the Chosen Child of Kami herself, you have to be blind not to see it! The Will of Fire flows in his veins with more ferocity than the demon locked securely within his gut. You have not saved Konoha! You have doomed us all!"
"Let him go, Hiruzen!" Koharu screeched behind him, pulling senbon from her hair and slinging them at his trembling body with the same deadly accuracy that she had shown all those years ago on the battlefield. Except this time she was literally stabbing him in the back. "We have waited long enough! It is our turn to lead The Leaf into glory!"
Hiruzen's arms instantly went limp as the senbon sank into the bundles of nerves along his spine, and Homura collapsed upon the floor wheezing. Reaching up to wipe the saliva that ran down his chin, the Advisor glared first at the bō staff where it had rolled to Hiruzen's feet, and then up at the man's resigned expression, and for the first time a thread of fear tainted his certainty of their success.
"Fools," Hiruzen whispered, his head bowed as his purpose became clear. He was just an old man. He had made so many mistakes. He had missed so many chances to protect the future by hesitating to take a hard stance against the evil that lurked within his own village.
No more.
"We are not the future," he growled as his eyes skittered across the portraits of the Hokages that hung along the chamber walls. "Our time has come and gone. We had our chance, and wasted it. Now is the time for the newer generation to step up and redeem us, to restore Konoha and raise her up as the beacon of peace and posterity that we could never achieve. Our greatest act as leaders is knowing when to step down." Hiruzen smiled sadistically at the matching expressions of shock on his former teammate's faces as they endured the suffocating amount of Killer Intent that poured from his hunched body.
Koharu was the first to rally, lightning chakra crackling around her fingers as she grit her teeth and stood. Homura's blood shot eyes narrowed as he raised his fists and they hardened into the stony substance of his doton chakra element. Sarutobi Hiruzen smirked, not even needing his hands to form signs as he kneaded the fire chakra of his clan within his belly, stoking it to a never before seen level with his righteous fury. His voice roared as heat radiated out of his mouth with each blazing syllable stoking the fires of hell to devour the wickedness he would wipe from the earth.
"I will allow you to inhibit the Will of Fire…NO MORE."
Homura and Koharu frantically flew through hand signs, thunderstruck with fear as they saw the savage rage that split Hiruzen's grinning face as he shouted out his final verdict, his ultimate jutsu.
"Kinjutsu: Damnation of the God's Hellfire!"
The Chunin guard atop the village wall jumped as a massive ball of fire exploded out of the Hokage Tower, emanating a blast of heat that could be felt even from his position at the West Tower of the Wall. He gaped in fear at the enormous black mushroom cloud slowly rising in the sky. He had grown up hearing the whispered stories of the Kyūbi Attack from his parents, and this was like witnessing all those bedtime tales come to life.
"Is-is that it? Is that the-the Demon?" he stuttered out. His nerves were already fried from the blaring siren and now the unbelievable sight of the demolished West end of the Hokage Tower. "Are we all going to die?" The last words were whispered to himself, but apparently his partner had heard his fearful muttering for he answered in that oddly bland tone in which he always spoke.
"That is the plan."
The chunin barely processed the words before he was cut down, a confused look frozen on his paling features. The Root agent calmly wiped the bloody kunai on the exsanguinating man's green vest with one hand and straightened up, touching the finger of his other hand to his ear.
"West Tower all clear," he spoke into his earpiece.
"East Tower all clear."
"North Tower all clear."
"South Tower all clear."
The electronic voices cracked in sequence across the communication network of Danzō's Foundation Army. From his position deep within the fortified bowels of his Underground, the Leader of Root waited as his two bodyguards reported the news from the surprise attack above ground.
"All towers are cleared," Torune confirmed as he knelt in front of his Commander.
"And the Police Headquarters?" Danzō demanded, his words curt and sharp.
The kneeling bodyguard placed another finger to his ear, and after a brief pause, nodded once. "All Uniforms have been neutralized."
"Any communications from the Hyuga?"
Torune shook his head, his expression unreadable behind his blank mask. "No comms from her since she entered The Council Chambers, but none of the Hyuga have left the Compound since the siren began."
"I see. And the Barrier Corps?"
This time the Yamanaka answered. "The Barrier is down, it seems Homura and Koharu have successfully deployed the poisonous gas into their chamber."
"Perfect, commence with Plan B. Round up the civilians on the list of Essential Occupational Roles and take them to the bunkers. Everyone else is to be executed. Be sure to instruct all capable agents to use the transformation jutsu to imitate Namikaze Naruto, the more feral the better. The boy will not be able to use a single clone for months without people screaming at the sight of him." If he even lives that long, Danzō thought in grim delight as he swept out of his office and headed for his first destination. He was under no delusion that his Root was strong enough to overwhelm the ridiculously powerful Kyūbi Container, but hopefully they could distract him with all the mayhem long enough for the bigger guns of the Akatsuki to arrive. In the meantime the chaos would hopefully buy Danzō enough time to begin purging the most polluted sectors of his Village.
His fingers twitched in excitement as he stalked out of his bunker and down the long narrow tunnels of his Underground. All around him the place was alive like a beehive buzzing with agents running around to their places, a perfect synchrony of deadly execution. A feeling of pride swelled up within Danzō as he nodded at the various reports filtering in through Torune's comms while he made his way through the busy center hub and then down an older path that was musty and cobwebbed from abandonment.
So far his plan was working. An initial wave of Naruto's shadow clones had immediately poured out onto the street of Konoha, attempting to usher the panicking populace to the safety of the Village bunkers. However as the nature of the particular siren reverberated through the streets, civilians and shinobi alike had immediately turned on the blond kage bunshin, many screaming the obscenities that they had harbored all these years. The hatred that simmered under Konoha's fake veneer of harmony had cracked as quickly as Danzō had predicted, and with the help of some astonishingly accurate imitations of the Namikaze by his own Root, the Jōnin was quickly earning the reputation as a feral murderer of barely restrained demonic hatred.
His agents ran amok through the streets, building up the atmosphere of panic and chaos until mayhem reigned and the few shinobi who were attempting to maintain order were overwhelmed by the stampede of bodies. Some civilians were chased by Naruto imposters to dead ends and trapped like caged animals. Others were assassinating shinobi throughout the village, tossing kunai tied with explosive tags into Clan Compounds, homes, and businesses. People were being trampled underfoot or crushed at chokepoints in the road created by Root agents strategically collapsing buildings.
The old, the young, the sick, were left behind or lost as pandemonium swept through The Leaf. The idiots were helping Danzō's aspirations easily come to fruition, only the fittest would survive the journey to the bunkers. It was a chaotic plan unlike any he usually utilized, being the strict military planner that he was, but in the wake of the recent losses of his numbers, and Tsunade idiotically spreading her forces out to the borders, Danzō opted for superior strategy over supreme order. After the dust had settled, he would resurrect Konoha in his image, and then the perfection of his plans would be revealed.
They reached the end of the tunnel, and Danzō waited impatiently as his bodyguards struggled to open the hatch. The hinges that had once been silent as an empty grave now groaned rustily with age, opened for the first time since the night that Itachi had passed through this forbidden doorway. Danzō could still remember the hollow look on the boy's face as he swore to commit an atrocity that impressed even his own darkened heart. Danzō's freshly bandaged face had hidden the recently stolen eye of Itachi's cousin as he scrutinized the threatening glow of the former Uchiha heir's Mangekyo Sharingan. Danzō had waited patiently at this very door for the slaughter to finish, utilizing the precious minutes before the ANBU arrived to reap his precious treasures from the fallen Uchiha's bodies. They didn't need those eyes anymore, and he had a higher purpose for them.
With a final thrust the door gave way, and déjà vu swept over Danzō as he climbed the short ladder up and out to the hidden corner of the Uchiha Compound. There were still some forgotten treasures here waiting to be uncovered, and the eyes embedded in his arm rolled as though they could sense the call of their shrine. He shivered slightly despite himself, but blamed it on the chill of the wind that blew through the ghost town of dwellings, a stark contrast to the distant echo of screams and crashes that could just barely be heard on the breeze.
He opened his senses and darted through the narrow lanes of tall buildings. Clotheslines with disintegrated garments still hanging where they were strung between homes danced in the disturbed air of his rapid passing. Kitchen gardens overgrown with dead weeds that spilled into the dirt road crunched under his softly clacking steps. Away from the scrutiny of the rest of the Village, Danzō stretched his muscles, testing the modified body parts that he had allowed Orochimaru to apply to him. He had never heard of a 'Zetsu' before, but the genius Sannin had brushed off his suspicions by saying it was simply a biological sample of an entity he had come across during his time in the Akatsuki. Think of it as a Stem Cell Transplant, a neutral base to aid in the implantation of the Eyes, Orochimaru had told him with a gleam in his own yellow orbs. The begrudging trust Danzō had placed in The Snake was not fruitless. Even now, years after Orochimaru's death, Danzō's aging body was in better shape than he had been twenty years ago.
Tracing his way through the dusty streets with his men close behind, Danzō's steps faltered slightly with the sudden arrival of a disruptive chakra that flickered upon the edges of his senses. It centered upon the throbbing pulse of the shrine where the last secrets of the Uchiha were locked away from all who did not possess the Sharingan. The Root Leader frowned, signaling to his two bodyguards to be on alert as they rounded the final corner. But instead of the pair of answering "hai's" that he expected, the sound of bodies hitting the earth reached his ears.
Whipping around, Danzō's feet skid across the dirt as he braced for a jutsu from the unseen attacker. His single eye blinked in shock to see both of his highly trained bodyguards face down and unmoving behind him, blood pooling out of the eye holes of their white masks. Who could have killed them both so swiftly without them detecting anything?
"You broke your word."
Ice ran down Danzō's spine as the identity of the chakra was revealed with the cold voice of its owner. Slowly looking over his shoulder, disbelief filled Danzō's eye as he saw those same glowing Mangekyo from years ago staring back at him, but with so much more raw hatred burning behind their crimson hue than he had ever felt before.
Not turning around, Danzō swallowed thickly and looked down at his wrapped arm. He shook off his surprise, it was a weakness, a good shinobi was prepared for anything. Reaching up with his free hand he started unlatching the locks on his sealed forearm.
"You are supposed to be dead," he growled, annoyed at the way his hands shook.
Itachi ignored the obvious statement, his eyes narrowed upon the movements of Danzō's back and shoulders as he fiddled with something against his chest. The Uchiha kept his distance as he slowly began to walk in a circle, having learned from years of careful reconnaissance that his opponent favored dirty tricks as opposed to open fighting with jutsu based attacks.
"You always were obsessed with my family, Danzō. That is how I knew I would find you here, attempting to steal the last of our secrets, just like you tried to steal my brother, like you are trying to steal the title of Hokage. Once again, I am here to make sure you will not succeed." Itachi heard a metallic clank as something heavy hit the ground at Danzō's feet, and he pulled his katana from the sheath behind his back.
Danzō returned the favor and also ignored the rambling accusations of this surprise hitch in his plans. His fingers tugged at the tightly wrapped bindings around his right arm as he pretended to calmly portray a demeanor of confidence and instead rattle his enemy with sinister words of his own.
"Are you coughing up blood yet, Itachi?" he asked cryptically. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man's movements cease, and Danzō smirked. "It is one of the last symptoms before death." The shushing of his fabric bandages as they unraveled from his skin was louder than the breath that was exhaled from Itachi's frozen frame. "The Akatsuki must have access to an incredible healer. From what I remember of Kabuto's projections, you should have been dead at least a year before your little brother tried, and apparently failed, to kill you."
The flesh of his revealed arm was soft, moist, and puckered with scar tissue from his shoulder down to his fingertips. The gentle breeze was nearly overstimulating to the extremely sensitive appendage, and Danzō was impressed to see goosebumps ripple over the foreign skin. "It appears he underestimated you," he continued as he studied his deathly pale arm. "A rare mistake from such a talented medic-nin." Now fully revealed to the light of day, Danzō smugly flexed his biological enigma to the gaping stare of his enemy.
"When did you…" Itachi's question died away, his mind quickly piecing together the insinuation of Danzō's words to complete a puzzle that had haunted him since he first started to feel ill years ago.
"I pulled some strings with Orochimaru and had him infect you when you first joined the Akatsuki. I never trusted you to stop meddling in my plans, and once again I was right." It had been pitifully easy to barter with The Snake and his demented assistant. The chance to test out a biological weapon upon a young and virile subject was almost a reward in itself. How Itachi had survived was a mystery better solved at a later time. For now Danzō focused on pushing his opponent to the edge of a mental cliff that would make it easier for him to shove him over his limits once the jutsu began to fly.
"If you had just left Sasuke alone he never would have left the Village, and I would not have to finish what he started," Danzō chided the man who stood still as stone, watching with sharp eyes as the flesh on the Root Leader's right arm began to twitch.
"That was Orochimaru's influence," Itachi immediately snapped back. He had wrestled with the guilt of his brother's path in life even before he struck down the first Clan member that fateful night. He wasn't sure he would ever feel at peace with what he had done, but he refused to give this monster any say in his morality. "I only meant for him to avenge our Clan, not turn on Konoha. The Curse Mark that Snake left on him poisoned his mind with hatred beyond any of my intentions."
"You, Orochimaru, what does it matter," Danzō dismissed tauntingly as he tightly fisted his hand, causing the grotesque veins that criss crossed over his arm to throb. "The reality is, he is gone, and soon you will be as well." The tingling sensations that heralded a whole new level of evil sent a thrill through Danzō's chest, and he couldn't restrain the menacing grin that slowly stretched across his scarred face. "Let's see how much fight is left in that wasted body of yours, Itachi."
With a pulse of chakra the scars on his arm rippled and snapped open revealing a series of rolling red Sharingan eyes that bulged and blinked frantically as they spun with the tomoe of the Uchiha's dōjutsu. Disgust immediately surged within Itachi's gut, the sight of his family's eyes was like a sickening gut punch that made his throat burn with bile. He clenched his teeth to fight against the urge to vomit, channeling his wrath into his core where it could strengthen him with its righteousness. "Monster," he hissed, "I will make you pay for every single eye!"
Brandishing his sword with a lightning quick flick of his wrist, Itachi braced for the battle he had craved since the day he watched Shisui tumble into the river. "You are right about one thing, Danzō," he spat out the man's name with as much disrespect as a word could contain. "I have an amazing healer."
As ashes began to fall around them like tainted snowflakes, on an unspoken signal, the two enemies surged forward.
The second he had recovered from the 'unsettling' memory of Tsunade and Jiraiya, Naruto had spilled hundreds of clones into the streets of Konoha. But zealous desire to save his people had quickly turned to dumbstruck dismay as the Code Nine Alarm had pierced the air. Now, Naruto growled from the top of a tree in his compound where he stood perched like a brooding hawk, perfectly balanced despite the way the limb dipped in the fall breeze. His red-slitted eyes twitched at receiving the memory of a clone attempting to aid a civilian only to be stabbed in the back by the damn butcher of all people. Bastard had never liked him. He had been chased down the market street by that asshole's cleaver more than once as a child.
He was used to hatred from people like that guy. Carefully buried under a shallow shell of grudging respect as the years went by and Naruto rose in status after his role in the Invasion of Konoha, the revelation of his true surname, and even more so with his engagement to the Hime of the Hyuga. But the fragility of that false respect had quickly revealed itself as it shattered at the first opportunity to unleash their pent up need for revenge.
More civilians had quickly revealed their true nature than Naruto wanted to believe, but was forced to acknowledge as one clone after another sent back murderous memories of all the ways his countrymen could kill him. He had poured years of blood, sweat, and tears into Konoha, asking for nothing more than honest respect in return. This shallow betrayal stung his pride, but it was the confused fear on the faces of the younger generations, as they watched their elders and even some shinobi viciously dispel one clone after another, that had Naruto clenching his teeth and the whiskermarks on his face thickening with mounting frustration.
The diabolical plot of Danzō's Root agents was tearing apart one of the few things he held most precious: his reputation. The bark under his hand cracked as his clawed fingers dug deeply into the tree while he relived the secondhand memories of seeing disguised Root agents purposefully demolish buildings with people still locked inside. His kage bunshin had ferociously attacked the agent, barely preventing him from setting off a string of explosive tags upon the pile of rubble. The resulting death match between the two doppelgängers had left the rest of the bystanders fleeing in fear, not knowing what was happening nor whom they could trust.
Naruto's clone had slammed the Root with such a violent punch that it had pulverized the man's chest, spraying the clone's face red. As it had turned to try and save as many of the survivors as he could, it had found itself facing an academy student who was dutifully escorting a civilian family to the bunker. All of them were trembling in horror at his brutal, dripping appearance, skittering away when he had tried to step forward. The clone was so overwhelmed by the dread in their eyes, he had run out of sight, transforming into a common looking chunin in order to complete his tasks before his chakra bank was exhausted.
Naruto's body was shaking as one memory after another of death and betrayal bombarded his mind. His fangs were lengthening and just as he was about to leap down and flood the village with enough faceless clones to personally carry every villager to the bunker body by body, chakra reserves be damned, his father appeared before him in a yellow flash and gripped his shoulders tightly.
"Stay, Son. Your anger is not useful at this moment," Minato fisted the black sleeves on Naruto's shirt as the young man thrashed away.
"How can you tell me to not do anything?" he snapped, shoving his father's hands and nearly pushing the man off the treetop. Bellowing into Minato's face, Naruto thumped his chest in aggravation. "They're dying down there! And they think I AM KILLING THEM!"
"And raging like a Demon is exactly what Danzō wants you to do," Minato retaliated just as passionately, bumping his son in the chest and not backing down an inch. "You are not the only hero in Konoha. There are many who still believe in you, you have to believe in them as well."
As if to punctuate Minato's point, a new memory jarred his mind as Naruto hissed panting breaths through clenched fangs. Gai sensei and Lee saluted him with broad smiles as they smashed through piles of rubble to free trapped victims and clear paths to safety. Ten Ten single handedly was holding off three Root 'Narutos' with her never ending supply of weapons.
Yet another memory, of the Ino-Shika-Cho trios of both generations flexing their teamwork, utilizing the maps of the Underground to destroy swarms of agents still within the nest of tunnels. Manipulating the Root agents to unlock the fūinjutsu sealed doors and then smashing through the network like bulls in a china shop. Turning to his clone with smug expressions as they shooed him away.
Another clone caught a glimpse of Jiji, garbed in full battle regalia and leaping over the rooftops towards the Hokage Tower with a look of such determination on his wrinkled face that he had not even noticed the kage bunshin gaping up at him before it was dispelled by an embittered civilian.
He saw Sakura and Shizune managing the wounded and the other medics like generals leading an army. They were the picture of poise under pressure as they juggled defensive maneuvers to protect their hospital while handing out commands without missing a beat. His own clone was dispelled with a sharp jab from a senbon as Sakura demanded he get out of the way, but her green eyes had twinkled with encouragement despite her scolding.
There was Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino, cornering one of Naruto's snarling kage bunshin that was at its mental tipping point. It boiled with red chakra while vehemently insisting that it was the real deal and trying to get past them.
"We know," Shino said calmly as he pushed his glasses up his nose and beetles began to pour out of the seams of his coat. "Why? Because we are the best sensors in Konoha."
"Yeah, and you smell," Kiba smirked as Akamaru barked in agreement. "So take a chill pill and let us do the rest." Then with a laugh the Inuzuka had pulled back and punched his clone hard enough to dispel it.
Memory after memory washed over his steaming mind, of his peers standing by his side, carrying out the carefully laid plans flawlessly, and shouting the same words of encouragement. The flood of their support was dousing the flames of his fury with every promise they gave him.
"Leave the Village to us Naruto! We leave the rest to you!"
Naruto's throat constricted with emotion as the red hue faded from his eyes, and his father sighed in relief. "Konoha is full of talented shinobi who carry the will of Fire just as loyally as you, son. Let them handle Root, our plans were not in vain. A bigger enemy is coming, and that is where we will fight for them as fervently as they fight for us. Save your chakra. Nobody is truly bottomless and the Akatsuki are beyond Kage-level."
Brushing an arm over his wet eyes, Naruto nodded and took a deep breath, letting it out shakily through his pursed lips. "Hai, Tou-san. Thanks."
Minato slapped his son gently on the back, understanding reflecting on his features. "It's good to be impassioned, but we still have to be smart. Let's go find Tsunade-sama, she should be at the Hokage Tower by no—"
A fiery explosion made the tree beneath the two Namikaze shudder, and filled the air with a churning mushroom cloud of black smoke, cutting off Minato's words. Naruto immediately dispelled a clone he had left channeling Natural Energy at his compound, and his eyes became ringed with orange as they snapped toward the location of the billowing smoke.
"Is it the Godaime?" Minato demanded, staring first at what he thought was the location of the Hokage Tower and then at his son's horrified expression.
"Jiji…" Naruto whispered, and in a flash he was gone.
Blinking in shock alone on the tree limb, Minato swore fiercely.
His hiraishin marker was gone. It must have been blown away in the fire that now sizzled out under the water jutsu of several shinobi. Naruto had sprinted like a crazed man across the rooftops from his next closest seal, despairingly clinging to the hope that his Sage Mode was wrong while fumbling to put on his Fox Mask to hide his identity. His feet skidded across the dirt road in front of the Hokage Tower, now full of mud and charred debris, and his frantic eyes fell on the soot covered forms of Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Ero-sennin saw him first, and even as his mouth worked to try and find words, Naruto knew by the look of utter grief in his eyes that the Third Hokage was gone. Gulping painful heaving breaths, he shuffled over to them, his shoulders sagging as his orange eyes scanned the wreckage of the West side of The Tower. He listened dumbly as the ANBU, he recognized Genma's mask and vaguely wondered when he had come back from the border, reported that the Code Nine alarm had finally been silenced and no others were present in the West Wing of The Tower at the time of the explosion, other than the Sandaime and the Elders Koharu and Homura.
Tsunade grit her teeth as she nodded curtly, shouting an order at Yamato to brace the side of the building to prevent any further collapse. She turned and nearly face planted in Naruto's chest, his mask now securely in place to prevent being attacked, and he saw her lip tremble before she clamped it down sharply between her teeth as she looked up at him.
"I'm sorry Gaki," she whispered in a harsh tone that struggled to contain the emotion boiling behind it. "I tried to get to him. But it was already too late." Her clothes and hair were smeared with soot and ash, aging her ever youthful appearance and giving her a look of ancient mourning that felt appropriate, but yet out of place in the battle zone.
"You don't need to apologize to me," Naruto answered in a raspy voice, forcing himself to follow her lead and compartmentalize the grief for later. Now was not the time to fall apart. "I'm sure Jiji knew what he was doing."
"Hell yeah he did," Jiraiya chuckled raggedly, wiping away tears that could be from the smoke, or not, out of his eyes. "He took out those two traitors once and for all."
Naruto's chest ached with pride as he nodded and choked back a sob. His resolve hardened along with his fist as he pounded it against his chest. "We also will do our part today. Today is a day of reckoning."
A shadow passed overhead, barely discernible in the opaque smoke that filled the area, and Sai suddenly appeared next to the Hokage as he leapt down from his bird. He dropped to a knee and bowed respectfully. "Hokage-sama," he addressed Tsunade, but when his head lifted he looked at Naruto, and the smile in his voice was unmistakable.
"The Hyuga are free."
Naruto landed with a soft thud at Hinata's side on the raised porch of a building beside the Hyuga training grounds, where she stood under the roof of the engawa and took deep breaths as she recovered from her jutsu. Swiftly lifting his mask off his face and tucking it out of sight, Naruto's eyes widened at the outlandish spectacle of the entire Hyuga Clan crammed into the wide open space, filling the air with shouts of joy and amazement as families embraced one another. His heart swelled at the sight of genuine relief and disbelief reflected on each face, aching with the knowledge that Jiji would never see this incredible sight.
Blinking back tears Naruto looked down at Hime to see her own face tear stained as well, and he couldn't hold back a husky chuckle at their mutually pathetic state. He brushed her bangs away from her forehead, again thanking Kami for its perfectly unmarked skin and the blessing she was able to pass on to her Clan because of it.
"Hanabi?" he asked softly. The ink message Sai had sent him what felt like hours ago had been brief, including only the barest of details, and Naruto had no desire to linger in the shadow of the crippled Hokage Tower in order to hear the rest of the story. Hinata's head dropped at his gentle question, her hands finding his and squeezing tightly as she shook her head in silent answer. His deep exhale fanned the hair across the crown of her head as he pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips to the silky strands without care for who was looking, just wanting to give her comfort and take some for himself as well.
"The explosion?" Hinata murmured into his shoulder, trying to force herself to focus on the important issues at hand. Naruto's arms stiffened and she lifted her head to see his eyes had hardened and his mouth was pressed into a thin line that still trembled at the corners.
"Jiji is…gone." Naruto choked out after a deep breath through his nose. This had Neji and Hizashi turning sharply in their direction as Hinata leaned back and gasped. "He took out the Elders with him, as well as the West side of the Hokage Tower."
Hizashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, not needing words to convey his sympathy as he met the young man's blue eyes with his steely gaze. "Then let us honor him by continuing the fight. Tell us about what else has happened."
"Right," Naruto nodded and cleared his throat harshly as he straightened up, fighting once more to function through the burden of Konoha's current demolition upon his soul. "Actually that's why I came. I need the Hyuga's help."
"Then you'll have it," Neji said without hesitation, ignoring the way the blond tried to disguise a sniffle into the elbow of his sleeve. Naruto offered up a half hearted smile at the confident promise from his childhood friend, but couldn't disguise the wariness in his eyes as he scanned the collective of bodies below. He remembered the looks of annoyance or distrust he had received from some of the older Hyuga throughout the years, and with the state of the village being what it was…
Seeing the furrow of his brow Hinata squeezed his hand to get him to focus on her, and let him see the faith in her unguarded gaze. "I was honest with all of them from the moment we started applying the fūinjutsu. They know you were the one who spent years working to fabricate the new key to unlock the Caged Bird Seal. The success of our combined efforts is what has brought them such joy. They do not see a Demon Child, they see you. You have our respect, our gratitude, and so much more, Naruto-kun."
Naruto was already shaking his head, his mouth opening to refute the weight of his role in this revolutionary moment, when Neji cut him off.
"We owe The Namikaze Clan a life debt for what you have done to make this day possible," Neji added, a small smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth as his gaze slid to his sister before he added, "both current and future members."
Hinata squeaked and hid her red face behind Naruto's broad back as he grinned crookedly at his future brother-in-law, before turning to raise his arms and voice to the crowd of people. The burdens of the day still sat heavily upon his shoulders, but beneath his feet he could feel the bonds of those who still looked up to him, still believed in him, raising him higher and giving him strength.
"Hyuga!" He boomed across the yard, causing faces to whip around and the murmuring to die down as they saw the unmistakable bright yellow hair and blazing blue eyes of the man whose name was forever embedded in their history. "Konoha is under attack! Not from the Kyūbi, but from a traitor within our walls. Shimura Danzō has declared war upon the Will of Fire." Heads dipped and bobbed as the shinobi amongst the Clan could be seen retying their hitae-ate over their clean foreheads. People parted for them, making way for the warriors as they strode forward with tall backs and straight shoulders to proudly fulfill their duty with honor and loyalty.
"He has stolen the children from our Village for generations and forced them to serve his Foundation. He conspired with the Traitor Orochimaru to usurp the Sandaime. He manipulated Itachi to eliminate the Uchiha and tried to do the same to you, by orchestrating the Caged Bird Seal attacks." Naruto felt his own adrenaline start to thrum in his veins as he met the gazes of the gathering shinobi one by one. Fury gleamed in their mercurial eyes, and the Hyuga beyond them began to cry out in anger. Children were being hoisted up onto taller shoulders, faces beaming with awe and excitement as they strained to see the heroes of the Hyuga answer the call to war.
Naruto licked his lips, rocking up onto his toes as he poured his passion into each syllable that echoed from his mouth. "And today, he has made his ultimate attack upon Konoha herself. Our people are being murdered in the streets, and he is spreading terror by deceiving The Leaf to believe that the Kyūbi, that I, Namikaze Naruto, am murdering my own people."
The Hyuga's building rally cry for justice was the drum beat to the war song of Naruto's pounding heart, and made goosebumps run down his arms. Unable to resist the zealous atmosphere his Bijū Mode began to glow, flicking up in vivid yellow flames from his feet to his head, It engulfed him in a heavenly aura that shone with the pure virtue of his intentions, an unmistakable righteousness emanating from his bright chakra. "The Hokage has called upon the Hyūga to fight these imposters as only you can. With your all seeing Byakugan, we can work together to reveal and eliminate these traitors, these wolves in sheepskin, before they destroy our flock."
Bringing his hands together in his classic hand sign, Naruto was suddenly surrounded by twenty other blazing clones, all smirking with battle anticipation. Pumping a fist into the sky Naruto cried out into the crisp air, determination and elation carrying his voice across the press of shinobi now gathered directly in front of him and into the masses of Hyuga beyond. "Today we fight for our freedom, for the future, for the Will of Fire! Who will stand beside me?"
The chorus of voices rang out through the compound and into the heavens above, Neji and Hinata on his left and right stepping up and leading the cry of battle. The discarded bandages that once covered the shame of the Hyuga's Cage Bird Seal were now waving like banners in the wind as an entire clan rallied to defend the precious existence they had waited so long to enjoy. The walls of the Compound rattled with the force of their roar as two clones threw open the gates. Hizashi leapt upon the tallest post, his hair whipping around him as he raised his arm and thrust it toward the center of the Village where the distant rumbling of falling buildings shook the trees.
"Hyuga!" He roared from his height. "Ikuzo!"
Tsunade ascended the final step of the ladder that Yamato had created before she sent him and Sai to find Kakashi and update him on the current state of The Plan. It was one of many, many beams that was barely holding the Hokage Tower together. Jiraiya was right behind her, joining her at the charred railing as she looked out over the pillars of smoke that dotted her Village. Her hands fisted at her side and her breaths were closer to snarls as she surveyed the results of the urban warfare taking place below. The cries of the wounded filled her ears and she felt that familiar feeling of overwhelming helplessness start to roil in her belly, knowing that people were dying, and that she could not save them all.
Or could she?
It would be a borderline lethal drain on her chakra, an expenditure of effort never before done. A nearly godlike outpouring of chakra that danced the line of forbidden jutsu, with the intent to fight the laws of existence and wrestle one life at a time out of the greedy grasp of the Shinigami.
But she could do it. Once.
The battle plans were well laid out, the commanders well trained and implicitly trusted. The Godaime could afford to leave the fighting to them and focus on this task which only she herself could perform. Tsunade glanced around her. The ANBU were bustling in perfect coordination. The glow of several of Naruto's Clones in full Bijū Mode, and some of Minato's as well, were darting around the streets. The bursts of the Hyuga's kaiten were lighting up in flashes across the village. The gigantic forms of the Akamichi were stomping through the not-so-hidden tunnels of Danzō's Underground. And suddenly, the fire orange body of a chakra skeleton erupted into the air across the Village, its waist embedded into the center of the Uchiha Compound, and a small man grasped within its articulated fist. She smirked at the impressive sight. Itachi's Susano'o, eh? I see.
Yes, Konoha was in good hands. She would do it.
Resolve flowed through her body along with her chakra as Tsunade brought her hand up to her smiling mouth and bit her thumb. Jiraiya lifted an eyebrow at her diabolical grin as she flew through the hand signs and slammed her hand into the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"
The atmosphere of the entire village shimmered as the massive form of Katsuyu appeared behind the Hokage Tower, shaking the mountain of faces behind it with her never before seen size. Jiraiya gaped up at the massive slug, knowing that the amount of chakra needed to summon such a large portion of the healing slug was a nearly lethal dose. He quickly reached out and grabbed Tsunade as she wavered on her feet, her red painted nails digging into his arms as she steadied herself and lifted her face to address her partner.
"Katsuyu, The Leaf is in danger and villagers as well as shinobi are being slaughtered by Danzō's Root Foundation. Disperse through the village and attach onto the wounded and dying, even the dead. Revive them. Save them. Heal them. Do whatever you need to do, just save my people."
The slender antennae of the enormous white creature twitched in anxiety. "B-But Tsunade-sama, the chakra needed to maintain the summoning for such a task, you will…you'll be…"
"Just do it."
Jiraiya swore under his breath as the slimy summons nodded obediently and shattered into thousands upon thousands of various sized bodies, and threw themselves across Konoha in search of anyone who needed even a modicum of assistance. "Hime," he rasped in Tsunade's ear as she clung to him and scrunched up her face in an effort to remain conscious and maintain the flow of her chakra.
"Shut up," she snarled back at him before he could even say what she knew he was thinking. "This is the right thing to do. All those years of training, the jutsu's, everything, was for such a time as this. Do not stop me, Jiraiya."
His hand tightened around her waist as he hoisted her upright, and pressed a fervent kiss upon her panting mouth. "I would never stand in your way, Hime. I see you, I see your Will of Fire, your purpose, your intentions. I am here. I will not leave your side. Let me help you."
Tsunade gasped as his chakra flowed through her body, like a shot of epinephrine coursing through her veins, revitalizing her and making her throbbing heart surge and bound with a power unlike she had ever felt. She bent under his kiss and arched into his embrace, desperately drinking in his love, his support, his chakra, his everything that he was pouring into her. She felt the tsunami of her jutsu crescendo under their combined chakra, and could nearly tangibly sense the change in the tide of war below.
They broke apart as a flock of crows nearly blacked out the sky, screaming overhead in a screeching cloud of chaos as they headed toward the Uchiha Compound. Tsunade blinked up at Jiraiya's red streaked face, his eyes glistening with emotion as he smiled gently at her amazed expression.
"I won't stop," she warned him. "Not until every last life is saved."
"Neither will I," he assured her, taking up a solid stance behind her. His hands rested securely upon her shoulders as he gazed out over her head to the battle below, and she closed her eyes as their chakras synced into a balance more perfect than she had ever achieved alone.
The purple seal upon Tsunade's brow throbbed and sparkled as black lines danced across her face, falling down her cheeks like a chakra trail of tears shed in the urgent behest for Kami to hear her prayer and bless her ambitious endeavor, accept their sacrifice, an offering of a lifetime, all of it. Jiraiya grunted, his hands tightening upon her skin as the blending of their chakras reverberated through his network as well, triggering elements of his own Sage Mode and drawing in Natural Energy, further invigorating the fantastic jutsu that they were weaving together. With the expansion of his morphing vision, Jiraiya's jaw dropped at the unbelievable sight that spread before him.
The chakra they were creating danced out from them like tendrils of fine mist, carried upon a golden wind that streamed down from the heavens. The three identities braided together as they picked up speed, cascading across the city and raining down into the chaos of the battle like stars falling from the sky. He watched as second by second, minute by minute the heavenly breeze amplified their chakras and bestowed the blessed renewal to all who carried the Will of Fire within their hearts. The Hand of Kami was delivering redemption on this day, honoring the sincerity of their sacrifice, the culmination of their life's efforts. Their true destinies were fulfilled through the unification of this sacred bond. Yin and Yang in flawless communion.
A peace of perfect understanding settled around Jiraiya, his wandering soul had finally found its purpose. The vibrations of his chakra attuned to his sudden enlightenment, and Tsunade's eyes widened as she felt the timbre of her own harmonize with his otherworldly melody. A smile spread across her face as she felt the fear that had haunted her for decades, the consuming paranoia that she would fail, that she would lose another person, that someone would be left to grieve because of her inability to be perfect…completely fade away.
The chakra streaks that fell down Tsunade's and Jiraiya's faces and over their bodies began to shift into a glowing red cord which wound around them both, binding them together beneath Kami's banner and strengthening them as they walked into eternity.
Tsunade leaned back into his arms, and he bowed his head to hers as she whispered into the celestial winds.
"Arigato, Jiraiya."