"Naruto," Kurama spoke up, getting the attention of his blonde Jinchuriki, "use my chakra, there's not much left for you to pull on with this cage still in place but without my hate clouding it you should get the ability to sense the mindsets of the bunshin and differentiate them from your allies." he explained.
Naruto was startled by that, "What? That's useful!" he said in a surprised tone that annoyed Kurama, who wondered why the boy would be surprised by his chakra being useful. The young blonde started drawing out what was left of the chakra of the Kyubi, coating his real body with the white chakra.
Naruto still wasn't sure why the chakra was white, but had other things to worry about. Namely that an injured shinobi was being dragged towards Karin by a crying Kumo shinobi who despite saying his friend was dying both were filled with hostile intent, it was masked well enough but Kurama had not been bluffing about his ability.
The young Hokage directed his six armed Moku Bunshin to trap the two with Mokuton, the wood rising up from the paneled floor and growing leaves as the treated wood came to life. The two shinobi dropped their disguises to reveal a pair of white Zetsu as their chakra was drained.
"How did you know?" Karin asked, confused since even her own mind eye ability was fooled by the Zetsu who were infiltrating the hospital.
"I can sense emotions now, no time to explain!" Naruto quickly excused, from what Kurama said he was on time constraints with using the chakra that let him do this so he didn't dare try spreading it among his Rikudo. Instead he sent Pachi and the three Moku Bunshin to scour the hospital while he looked through their eyes for any conflicts.
Karin was confused but noticed her relative seemed focused and let him be. Kin on the other hand was even more confused, "How-?" the dark haired kunoichi began to ask but was cut off by the blonde Kage disappearing with Hiraishin.
"Naruto-kun has gotten really strong." Isaribi commented, glad she hadn't been forced to fight herself and admiring the boy in question for coming to the rescue of everyone else in the hospital too.
"How does sensing emotions even work?" Kin wondered, voicing the question she hadn't been able to ask in time.
Karin didn't say anything, she agreed with Isaribi and could actually sense how much chakra Naruto had compared to others but she had not idea how to respond to Kin because she had no idea how such an ability might work.
Naruto rushed through the hospital dealing with the Zetsu infiltrators, but true to Kurama's word the Biju's chakra was hard to pull from the seal and the flow was stemmed, "Kurama is there a way to pull more chakra through the Fuin?" he asked, knowing it would likely be better to ask a master like Jiraiya but not wanting to spend the time to go to the older Sennin.
"You could try ripping this paper off the gate." Kurama suggested, gesturing to the symbolic representation of the Fuinjutsu that seemed to be acting as a lock. Naruto nodded and swiftly reached for it, but as soon as he went to pull at it another hand halted him
Naruto stared in surprise at the face of Minato, his father, "Tousan? What are you doing here?" the young Sennin asked, confused since Orochimaru couldn't be back already. Further confusing was that he wasn't aware anyone else could even be inside the Fuin.
"I'm a fail safe in case you ever tried to open this cage without the key," Minato answered, looking confused himself, "but what happened to your eyes?" he asked, explaining why he was confused.
"Oh right, uh, long story but I have Rinnegan now." Naruto answered before what his father said caught up to him, "Wait key? Damn it I need more of Kurama's chakra!" he complained, "Do you have the key?" he asked desperately.
"Kurama? Naruto slow down why do you need the Kyubi's chakra so much?" Minato asked, concerned about what had happened. The man hadn't expected to see his son until he was at least a little older.
"Konoha is under attack, Kurama is the Kyubi's name and his chakra lets me sense emotions if I use it without his will!" Naruto explained quickly, "They have an infiltration jutsu that can fool the Byakugan!" he added.
Kurama huffed, "Your son and I have an accord." he confirmed, glaring down at the taller of the two blonde ninja on the other side of the gate.
Minato was stunned, "You should probably let the Hokage deal with this-" he began to try reasoning with his son, unaware that he was only cementing the idealized vision Naruto had of how a Hokage should be.
"I am the Hokage!" Naruto snapped, interrupting his father, "Do you have the key or not?" he asked, while he was happy to see his father he was focused on protecting the village.
Minato stared at the boy in shock, "You're Hokage? Naruto how old are you?" he asked, wondering if his son was simply short for his age.
"I turn fourteen in a few months." Naruto answered, suddenly self conscious about his age despite himself, "But I'm not a kid! I'm a shinobi! I've fought, killed, and I've even tasted sake!" he insisted loudly, "So please, if you have the key let me-" he began to request.
"Alright, I didn't think this would ever happen." Minato confessed, "I'm proud of you, but I never expected to see you so young or that I'd be opening the cage for you." he explained, tearing off the paper tag and twisting open an oddly shaped spiral lock, "It'll be nice to be able to have a quick family reunion before I go." he said happily, trusting his son wasn't being fooled since there was no genjutsu going on.
Kurama stared in surprise as Kushina came up out of the water behind Naruto and Minato, "Hm, this fuin really is impressive." he grumbled, glaring at his former Jinchuriki before he was tied down with chains.
"What?" Naruto asked, confusion obvious on his face, "What are these chains?" he questioned, able to see they were made of chakra and tracing them back to a red haired woman behind him.
"Well this is a surprise." Kushina muttered, "Naruto, do you know who I am?" she asked, worried about that.
"Kaachan?" Naruto asked, "Ah, wait let Kurama go I need his chakra!" he requested quickly, remembering the crisis situation.
"Kurama?" Kushina didn't recognize the name, "Naruto I'm here to help you separate his will from his chakra." she explained, trying to calm down her hysterical son.
"No need for that, the brat is a better Jinchuriki then you ever were, woman." Kurama growled angrily, "He bears the Rikudo no Me and we have a deal." the Kyubi explained as he glared at the red haired woman.
Kushina stared at her son in surprise, having wondered what was going on with his eyes. She glanced at Minato who nodded confirmation and she released the chains, "Well then, these are Kongo Fusa," she began, naming the chains as she hesitantly pulled them from the Kyubi, "they're a Hijutsu of the Uzumaki clan, even if you don't need them for restraining Kyubi they could be useful for you to develop if you can." she explained, "Before we go I want to apologize for leaving you alone, I wish I could have been there to see you grow up."
"I didn't get as much chakra so I'm fading already." Minato began, startling Naruto, "Just in case our frantic son forgets to mention, he's already Hokage." he said with a grin, "So before I go, I'm proud of you son." he finished as his form began to fade, "Oh and apparently he already had sake." he added with a smirk.
Kushina smiled sadly, "Already Hokage, huh." she mused before the final words sank in, "It was Jiraiya wasn't it?" she asked dangerously.
"How did you-?" Naruto began before shaking his head, "I mean, sort of, but if anything one of my classmates from the academy bought it for me as a present to congratulate me on making chunin! I don't even drink it that much!" he insisted, defending his sensei, "Ero-Sennin can be a pain, but he's done a good job training me I think. Tsunade was there too!" he added, hoping that adding the motherly woman to the blame would calm his actual mother.
Kushina sighed, "Those two, huh?" she wondered just what had happened, "Well I don't have long either, but I had enough to help you with Kyubi, so why don't you tell me how you've been? Were your grades okay? Have you been eating well? Bathing daily? Any girls?" she stopped on the last one, wondering if he might be too young for that yet.
Naruto blushed at the attention from his mother, wondering if she'd have been as doting if she'd seen him grow up, "Uh, well to start with my grades weren't great, I was bottom of the class actually." he confessed bashfully, "Also I guess for a bit I ate nothing but ramen," he added to the increasing disappointment of Kushina, "but after becoming a ninja under Kakashi-sensei I started to improve I think. Things really kicked off after our first C rank." he continued.
"Ah, first C rank curse, how bad was it?" Kushina asked, remembering her own first C rank with a suppressed shudder.
"It turned A rank, I fought Zabuza, the Kirigakure no Kijin, and his apprentice." Naruto said to his mothers shock, "I almost died, and it's hard to explain, but Zabuza's apprentice came to live with me in Konoha." he continued, "Haku-chan helped me get better at ninjutsu, shurikenjutsu too. After that I started getting better really fast, and we went to the hot springs a lot so I've been bathing daily for sure, and also started eating better with Haku-chan cooking for me." he explained.
Kushina was surprised, wondering how their relationship had gotten to that point so quickly, "So a cute kunoichi helped turn you around for the better huh?" she decided to tease.
"Oh," Naruto said, realizing he hadn't mentioned that, "Haku-chan is a boy, but other than that yeah." he said with a grin, "I was confused at first, but he's really pretty and always helped me. That's part of why I need Kurama's power, I can't let anything happen to Haku-chan." he added as his look turned determined, "Same goes for Kin-chan, a vassal of mine, and Karin-nee, an Uzumaki girl I adopted but she's the same age as me, oh and Isaribi-nee came to live with us too!" he finished, wanting to tell his mother as much as possible and sad his father had faded away already.
Kushina was even more surprised that her son was into another boy like that, and was further stunned by the inclusion of vassals and her son adopting people into his home. She was proud of him, but sad that he seemed to have grown up so fast, she'd hoped for a happy childhood for her son but it seemed he'd become a fine ninja either way. A much larger family than she'd imagined even before she knew he'd grow up without her.
The red haired chakra apparition hugged her son, "I hoped for a better childhood for you," she began, "but I'm glad you seem happy and I hope you do a better job protecting your family than I did." she said as she started to fade.
Naruto smiled, leaning into the hug, "Don't worry, I'll protect everyone." he promised, "After all, I'm Hokage y'know." he added with a wide grin.
Naruto opened his eyes and pulled on Kurama's chakra again, reigniting the white chakra cloak and going back to routing out the Zetsu attempting to infiltrate his home. Soon enough the hospital was secure, both A and Zabuza had caught up with him during the confusion.
"What are you doing on the frontlines?" A asked, clearly agitated by one of the Jinchuriki being in the combat.
"Oh stow it, Raikage-dono," Zabuza snapped, saying the title with more than a hint of sarcasm, "he was able to differentiate those bastards from our own men. Without him we'd still be trying to figure out who we could trust." he pointed out, annoyed by the older Kage.
Their argument was interrupted by a loud explosion from the Iwagakure camp, "Now what?" A wondered, getting to a window to look in the direction of the blast, seeing smoke rising. Zabuza didn't have an answer but was concerned about how relentless Akatsuki seemed to be in their attacks.
Naruto stopped drawing on Kurama's chakra and started gathering natural energy as he sent his Moku Bunshin to double check the hospital entrance and be prepared in case he needed to scan any new injured shinobi, "Tsunade-baachan is on her way now." he said, having explained the situation through Kisame's mouth. Jiraiya, Kakashi, Sakura, and Haku were following as well but he focused on gathering natural energy so he could use more Senjutsu.
Zabuza looked at the young Hokage in surprise, that being the first he heard the young blonde refer to the legendary iryonin with such an honorific. A was similarly surprised since his intelligence suggested the woman was generally violent towards those who referenced her true age.
Through one of his bunshin Naruto's Rinnegan saw one of Deidara's clay creations flying towards Konoha from the explosion in the Iwa camp, "Deidara escaped," the blonde informed the two fellow Kage, "seems like Obito helped him, which could be a problem." he added, knowing by now that Obito could transport Pein with Kamui.
"Damn, those bastards are relentless." Zabuza grumbled, opening a window, "I'll help shore up Iwa's defenses, A you have more shinobi with Raiton so I'll leave the bomber to your forces." he said as he leaped from the window, not wanting to fight indoors any further since it limited his range of motion with his massive sword.
The Raikage frowned, not enjoying being told what to do by those younger than him but agreeing with the assessment. They both knew the Kiri forces were at a disadvantage against the Zetsu army due to their chakra affinities but even weakened the Kirigakure shinobi were proud swordsmen, the Kiba blades Naruto had returned to them would be instrumental but against Deidara they weren't as useful as the long range Raiton no Jutsu of Kumo nin.
"Send word for Darui to assist in dealing with Deidara!" A ordered one of his subordinates, the kunoichi nodded and disappeared with shunshin to relay the order. The Raikage glanced towards the young Hokage, still frowning as he watched the boy stand still and gather natural energy. He knew of Senjutsu, but the number of Sennin in the world was minuscule which was part of Jiraiya's fame.
Naruto knew he didn't have much time, so he directed his Chikushodo Moku Bunshin to the roof of the hospital in case he needed to get there quickly and sent the Moku Bunshin that didn't bear any Rikudo to escort Haku and the others in case Akatsuki tried to attack them. He had Kisame close his eyes since there was nothing happening at the tower and the corpse was too damaged for combat, it would be useful to have the corpse restored by an iryonin but he prioritized the living who needed healing.
Gakido Naruto leaped onto a rooftop with Pachi's corpse and performed Suiten Hofutsu, prepared to use the water to defend his village. The six armed bunshin remained still and started gathering natural energy to restore his own reserves, Pachi's corpse standing at his back to defend with Samehada if need be.
However instead of clay bombs falling from Deidara's mount a surge of chakra burst down over the village, blasting through the defensive Suiton no Jutsu and demolishing the top floors of most buildings. Naruto winced, knowing that only the Senjutsu within his Suiten Hofutsu had halted the massive Shinra Tensei from completely leveling his home to the ground.
Naruto flashed to Haku with Hiraishin, frowning as he noticed the older teen was injured, having been on the rooftops when the blast hit. The blonde glared up at the clay dragon flying down to them, standing protectively over Haku and Sakura as Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi pulled themselves to their feet.
Gakido Naruto was slowly recovering, as was Chikushodo Naruto, due to the Senjutsu within their Moku Bunshin bodies but Pachi's corpse would be slowed down by the damage dealt. Tsunade healed herself quickly and moved to heal Jiraiya as Tendo Pein met Naruto's glare with an impassive stare.
Deidara was grinning, "Damn Oyabun no Danna, that blast may not have been quite as artistic as my own explosions, but it was a bang yeah!" he praised Pein with a laugh. Pein didn't look like he cared for the praise but did not bother scolding Deidara for his words.
Obito had obtained a new mask, a white one this time, and was holding an Uchiwa battle fan in his right hand and a scythe in his left. Kakashi lifted his headband and popped a hyorogan, knowing he'd need it to be of any assistance against his former teammate.
"I think this has gone on long enough," Pein declared, "relinquish the Jinchuriki now or suffer the wrath of god." he demanded. Jiraiya knew he couldn't waste any more time being healed and bit into the flesh of his right thumb, swiftly running through hand seals instead of answering.
With a wave of his hand Pein pulled Jiraiya in with Bansho Ten'in, Obito released Shurado Pein from Kamui and the thick necked corpse puppet thrust his segmented bladed tail at the white haired man. Kakashi used Kamui in turn to send Shurado Pein away as Naruto pulled Kurama's chakra and leaped at the clay bird the three Akatsuki were riding.
"Kuchiyose!" Chikushodo Pein declared as he was released from the Kamui next, launching the drill beaked bird at Jiraiya. Naruto was hesitant to use Rasengan with Kyubi's chakra after the last time exploded and instead slammed a fist into the head of the bird to knock it off course, although it still slammed bodily into his sensei.
Jiraiya recovered and leaped from the bird, running through hand seals again as Tsunade jumped up to deliver a right uppercut that launched the drill beaked bird high into the air, the white haired Sannin called Fukasaku and Shima with Kuchiyose as Tsunade bit her own thumb before weaving the same hand seals. Kakashi knew his own canine companions wouldn't be as useful in a fight and focused his attention on Obito, ready to counter his former teammate.
The masked Uchiha glared at the jonin who had once been his teammate, annoyed with the constant blockades against the plan. Naruto occupied his attention by forming his own metal bladed tail with the power of Shurado, although his resembled the tail Sasori had used more than the one utilized by Shurado Pein.
Shurado Pein was again released from Kamui to counter the Biju empowered Hokage, Kakashi dashed to the side and palmed two handfuls of shuriken before flowing Raiton chakra into them to toss at Deidara's clay dragon in an attempt to disable it. Obito flowed Futon chakra into his Uchiwa and swung it at the shuriken to knock them off course as Shurado Pein clashed with Naruto in a mid air taijutsu exchange, twelve arms and two bladed tails impacting against each other.
Deidara directed his mount to fly up as he prepared his clay, throwing a pair of pigeons at Tsunade and Jiraiya before reaching for more. Pein noticed more coming to the battle and used Kuchiyose to call his Gakido Rikudo to absorb the Jinton of the Tsuchikage before it could hit the clay mount the Akatsuki was using to force an aerial advantage.
Tsunade jumped back to avoid the falling bomb before using her own Kuchiyose to summon a massive slug as Jiraiya tossed a pair of shuriken flowing with Raiton chakra to disable the pigeons, Shima and Fukasaku leaping to his shoulders as he began to gather natural energy, "Split up and heal the injured, Katsuyu!" Tsunade ordered quickly and the massive slug divided into smaller slugs, disappearing into the village as a few remained behind to latch onto the present Kage, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Haku, and Sakura.
Naruto and Shurado Pein leaped back from each other as they hit the ground, the elder Rinnegan bearer noticed the Raikage and Mizukage making their way to the conflict through his Gakido's eyes and called all of his Rikudo with a Kuchiyose from his Chikushodo, "Obito, retrieve your left eye and make it quick." he ordered, still slightly annoyed with the Uchiha for lying about his identity.
"Senpo: Goemon!" Jiraiya declared as he spat oil from his mouth, Fukasaku propelling it towards Shurado Pein with a Futon no Jutsu as Shima ignited it with a Katon no Jutsu. The torrent of burning oil created an inferno on the rooftops as it tore through the air towards the thick necked Rikudo.
Gakido Pein jumped down from the clay dragon to absorb the jutsu and Jiraiya leaped up at the clay dragon, forming a Rasengan and lifting it up for Shima to breath flame on for him. It was an incomplete Katon: Rasengan and it burned the hand of the Sennin holding it, but he grit his teeth and endured it as he intended to force Tendo Pein to use Shinra Tensei and make an opening.
To the surprise of Jiraiya one of the long haired Rikudo weaved hand seals and intercepted the Rasengan with a Suidan, snuffing the flame and destabilizing the swirling orb of chakra, halting the momentum of the white haired man. Deidara threw a cluster of clay birds at the airborne Sannin who swiftly palmed shuriken to flow Raiton chakra into them before throwing them into the explosives only for a small swarm of clay insects to fly at him from behind the birds.
Haku and Sakura pulled themselves to their feet, able to stand thanks to Tsunade healing them through the fragments of Katsuyu now resting on their shoulders. The pink haired girl struggled to think of a way she could be useful in the situation as Haku popped a hyorogan into his mouth and made a single hand seal, the rain around the battlefield freezing into nearly invisible mirrors.
Obito leaped at Kakashi, intent on dealing with his former teammate quickly so he could hurry up and capture Naruto. Kakashi threw a kunai at the masked Uchiha and watched as it phased through the man as if he wasn't there, but Obito was surprised as a kunai embedded itself in the left side of his chest despite the one Kakashi threw going right through him.
"I know how your Kamui works, Sasuke explained everything." Kakashi said impassively, having tossed a second kunai in the shadow of the first and sent it away to the pocket dimension within the Mangekyo Sharingan he shared with his teammate. When Obito attempted to dodge the first kunai by phasing through it the hidden kunai had struck true as both Obito and the second kunai were both within the Kamui.
Naruto rushed at Gakido and Shurado Pein as Jiraiya covered his face with his arms and was knocked back by the small cluster of explosions from the clay insects. Pachi appeared in a flash of Hiraishin and swung Samehada at Gakido before Naruto used shunshin to leap up into the air at Deidara and the rest of Pein's Rikudo, Shurado Pein moved to block the shaving sword with his metal tail and the legendary chakra devouring weapon shaved through the metal appendage but was slowed enough for both Gakido and Shurado to leap back from the weapon.
Chikushodo Pein used Kuchiyose to drop an ox on Naruto and the young blonde grabbed it with his own segmented metal tail and pierced it's skull before tossing it aside and weaving hand seals, noticing the other long haired Pein making seals of his own, "Futon: Toppa!" the blonde declared as he released a breath of chakra infused wind.
"Katon: Endan." Pein intoned in return, the flaming bullet only growing in size as it bore down on Naruto who braced himself for the blast of fire. Haku leaped through his mirrors and grabbed the young blonde, pulling him out of the way of the attack that ignited the barely existing roof of a house.
Thankfully the rain kept the flames from spreading. Haku and Naruto stood on a platform of ice the older teen had formed, "Bansho Ten'in." Tendo Pein intoned and the blonde prepared to use Kuchiyose on his lover only for Jiraiya to be pulled towards the clay dragon. Gakido Pein was returned to the clay dragon in time to absorb the efforts of Fukasaku and Shima as was Shurado Pein, the latter leaping at the airborne Sannin to skewer him.
Obito knew that as a full blooded Uchiha he could definitely beat Kakashi in a battle of endurance with Kamui, but couldn't risk forcing such a battle in the situation they were in. The masked Uchiha charged at Kakashi, the jonin took a defensive stance but was surprised as his former ally took both of them into the pocket dimension they shared access to through Kamui.
Naruto had Pachi leap to intercept but the corpse was still damaged and only barely made it in time for Shurado Pein to grab the forearms of the Iwa-nin corpse with his right puppet hands and slam his real elbow into Pachi's chest, following up with a backhand and twisting in the air to allow Jiraiya to fly past as he skewered Pachi's spine with his regrown metal tail going through the neck. Corpse puppet or not Pachi could not move with a gap in his spine and was tossed aside as the long haired Pein who performed ninjutsu created a Kuroikui and thrust it at Jiraiya's chest.
The second the Kuroikui pierced the left side of Jiraiya's chest the Sennin tensed up, slamming his palms into the chakra receiving spike to snap it in two and halt it from piercing his heart. Despite his efforts he could tell it had pierced his lung and knew he would have to rely on Tsunade to survive.
Onoki frowned down at the battle, feeling like there should be more he could do but with his age his ninjutsu was the best he could do and the Rinnegan allowed Pein to completely absorb ninjutsu. Zabuza and A arrived, the Mizukage weaving hand seals as the Raikage charged at Shurado Pein wreathed in Raiton chakra.
"Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Zabuza shouted, using the falling rain to form a massive torrent of water to try taking the clay dragon out of the air only for Gakido Pein to absorb the ninjutsu. The Mizukage scowled at the clay dragon carrying Akatsuki, trying to figure out a way to bring it down with Pein protecting it.
Deidara seemed concerned to be getting increasingly surrounded by all but one of the Gokage, and Pein kept an eye on each opponent through his Rikudo's eyes, "Futon: Shinkudama." the long haired Rikudo intoned, releasing bullets of air at Jiraiya as he fell. The white haired man made to defend himself but the spike of chakra receiving material in his chest released chakra into his system, forcing him to pull it out before he could do anything and halting his defenses long enough to be struck by Pein's ninjutsu.
Naruto quickly weaved hand seals, "Suiten Hofutsu!" he shouted, the rain becoming a cushion to catch the bleeding Jiraiya as the rain halted under his command. Deidara flew higher, throwing a pair of clay pigeons at Onoki as he did to keep the old man busy. The Tsuchikage evaded them and disabled the explosives chasing him with shuriken flowing with Raiton chakra.
Shurado Pein dodged and evaded A's assault to the best of his ability but the Raikage was a master of his nintaijutsu, the thick necked Rikudo had to be pulled away from the dark skinned man with Kuchiyose as his puppet arms were crippled by the Raiton chakra flowing through every blocked strike.
"Damn it, this is getting crowded up here!" Deidara complained, not enjoying having six passengers, "I'll make another one, it's about time this dragon blew yeah!" he declared, starting to mix clay in the mouths in his hands. Pein wished his ally wouldn't announce his ideas so loudly and prepared to defend their perch from desperate attacks.
Sakura got beneath the clay dragon, hoping she was obscured from the vision of the Rinnegan as she pulled a small scroll out of one of the pockets of her flak vest. The pink haired kunoichi pulled a crossbow out of the storage scroll and really hoped her idea would work, she flowed Raiton chakra into the loaded metal bolt with her left hand as she aimed the weapon straight up before squeezing the trigger and hoping it hit.
Deidara and Pein were both surprised as the dragon of clay started sinking out of the sky, "What in the-?" the blonde nukenin questioned, confused as to what had hit them. Pein looked down and saw Sakura running away with a crossbow, he lifted the left hand of his Tendo Rikudo at the girl and pulled her in to punish her with death for attacking his perch.
The water of the Suiten Hofutsu slowed Sakura and Naruto made a seal of confrontation as soon as his teammate touched his chakra within the water, sending her away to Kisame with Hiraishin and a smirk on his face. He made sure to praise her through Kisame for thinking of that.
"Hey wait that was Sakura-chan." Deidara said with a frown, "Aw man, I thought she got my art yeah." he added with a disappointed tone and a pout. Pein decided not to acknowledge his compatriots complaints as he met Naruto's eyes with a glare from all six pairs of Rinnegan from his Rikudo, the blonde Sennin stuck his tongue out at Pein childishly.
"You're surrounded! Give it up Akatsuki!" A called out as he leaped up at the falling clay dragon, then the dragon split open and a cluster of clay spiders fell out of it, "It was full of spiders!?" the Raikage announced, shocked by that. Deidara smirked and tossed out a clay whale with wings for he and Pein to leap to as it grew to be large enough to carry them and hovered.
Naruto gathered water between A and the spiders, shielding the Raikage from most of the explosion, "I'm not S class for nothing, yeah!" Deidara laughed as Onoki glared at him and the explosions from the mass of clay spiders sent A hurtling to a broken rooftop despite the protection of the Suiten Hofutsu. The Tsuchikage considered the battle so far and realized that despite their numbers and the fact that four of the Gokage were fighting the Akatsuki had them at a standstill.
Jiraiya groaned, recovering thanks to a mix of Senjutsu and Tsunade's healing him through Katsuyu but still injured from the Futon no Jutsu used by Pein on him. The white haired man really hoped Hanzo wasn't on Akatsuki's side but was curious as to where the man was, according to the intel he had Amegakure no Sato should be in a civil war. He worried that the man who had labelled his team as the Densetsu no Sannin was just waiting for Akatsuki and the Shinobi Rengogun to weaken each other so he could finish off whoever won considering how powerful Pein was.
Kakashi had never actually entered the dimension Kamui granted access to, the Mangekyo Sharingan was even more draining to his chakra than the Sharingan and he had only recently gotten it to the point he could use it in actual combat. He knew he had to be careful not to drain himself too much or Obito could leave him here to return to the battle between the Gokage and Pein, the former Hokage refused to let something like that happen.
The two former teammates engaged in a brief genjutsu battle, neither one gaining the upper hand due to the Sharingan they shared but Kakashi could tell already that if it became an endurance match then Obito would win.
"You really are Obito." Kakashi said eventually, not having wanted to say it out loud, "So why?" he asked.
Obito was silent and still for a moment, "You're thinking it's because you killed Rin, right?" he asked and the silver haired shinobi winced at the accusation, "Well you're wrong, although that day opened my eyes to the fact that this world is hell." he began to explain, "My friend Kakashi would have protected Rin and the Rin I know would not have died, so I'm certain you aren't Kakashi and you never killed Rin. I will make that certainty a reality as soon as I have the Biju."
Kakashi frowned under his mask, confused by the explanation as it sounded like the ramblings of a broken mad man, "No, I failed that day. It's fine if you hate me, but don't punish Naruto for it. The son of our sensei deserves better." he argued, resolute on that much at least.
"None of this matters and this hellish world is not worth protecting." Obito responded, "If you're so set on letting him be Hokage then he can be Hokage in the new world I create." he added, confusing Kakashi since taking the Kyubi from Naruto would spell the death of the young Jinchuriki.
Kakashi wasn't even sure how to argue further and knew even with the combat drug he wouldn't have the stamina to risk making use of Raikiri against his former teammate. Even if he did have the stamina he actually wasn't sure if he could, and he hoped that if he did fail that his students would be capable of stopping Obito.
The former Godaime Hokage knew he shouldn't think like that if he wanted to win but he couldn't help himself, the stress of his brief stint as Hokage combined with the guilt of his past failures had gotten to him and his opponent being the teammate he'd first lost was only making it worse. The confusion about what Obito truly seemed to want didn't help Kakashi's mental state any, but he resolved to at least hold Obito off from assisting Pein against Naruto.
Kakashi focused on not failing his current team, he knew he wasn't the best sensei but he passed on what he could. His only regret in regards to his Nidaime Sannin was that he hadn't helped Sakura more, Sasuke and Naruto had both become forces to be reckoned with in their own right and their teamwork had been better than he'd ever hoped when he first met them.
Obito threw his scythe, the farming tool spinning through the air dangerously as he performed one handed seals. Kakashi caught the scythe thanks to the Sharingan and leaped back to avoid the Gokakyu no Jutsu his former teammate fired at him before the masked Uchiha swung his Uchiwa and redirected the ball of fire into a blast of flame that chased the silver haired man.
Kakashi held his breath and flowed Suiton chakra through his whole body, covering his face to avoid the brunt of the blast. Before the flames cleared he charged at Obito, surprising his former friend with the blatant disregard for his own safety enough to score a glancing hit with the caught scythe against the left forearm.
The silver haired jonin panted, his clothes and hair singed from withstanding the Futon enhanced Katon no Jutsu, but kept on the offensive by chasing Obito with the scythe. The masked Uchiha dodged and weaved around the scythe swings, the inward facing blade making it easier to stay out of it's reach although Kakashi proved his ability by keeping his opponent on the defensive with a weapon he had little practice with.
Obito was grudgingly impressed, he'd expected Kakashi to completely give up in the face of his guilt. Regardless he had a plan to enact, so he flicked his Gunbai Uchiwa to his left hand to block a scythe swing with the shaft and extended his right hand at Kakashi, growing a sharp pointed branch out from his sleeve to pierce the chest of the silver haired man.
The former Hokage ducked back, his flak vest blunting the blow enough to avoid major damage as he was forced to retreat. He spun the scythe to carve away the chasing branch of sharp wood and flipped to avoid a blast of wind from the Uchiwa, taking a moment to catch his breath as Obito halted his Mokuton assault and flicked his Gunbai back to his right hand to begin one handed seals.
"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Obito declared, breathing out a volley of fire bolts before swinging his Gunbai to enhance them with a blast of Futon chakra. Kakashi didn't have the mastery of Suiton required to create water out of thin air like the Nidaime Hokage nor the chakra reserves to just power through it and do it anyway like Kisame or Naruto, and there was no earth within the Kamui dimension to create a wall to protect himself so he was forced to dodge the blasts with his increasingly injured and exhausting body.
An enhanced bolt of flame glanced Kakashi's left side and a fuma shuriken hidden within left a deep groove in his flak vest, the jonin winced in pain as Obito leaped at him and swung a swiftly palmed kunai at his face. Kakashi leaned back to evade and caught the thrust Obito redirected at his throat on the metal backing the glove of his left hand only to be struck in his injured side by a swing of the Gunbai into the freshly burned cut.
Obito followed up by slipping his leg behind Kakashi's and shoving into his guard, forcing the silver haired man to flip between the Uchiwa and kunai. The two masked shinobi scored glancing cuts against each other, the scythe striking against Obito's chest and the kunai carving into Kakashi's right forearm.
The former Hokage attempted to back off from his former teammate but was caught off balance by a blast of wind before the Uchiha dropped his Uchiwa and thrust his right hand at the man who had his left eye, wooden branches bursting forth to score multiple cuts against Kakashi's hastily raised guard. A branch grabbed the jonin by the leg and halted his movement so Obito could lunge, plunging his kunai at the throat of his former friend.
"Raikiri." Kakashi intoned, surprising Obito as the hand seals had been concealed by the Mokuton. The blade of Raiton chakra carved the left arm from the Uchiha as the scythe hit the ground and the silver haired man plunged his right hand through the left side of Obito's chest.
Guilt and exhaustion were obvious in Kakashi's eyes, but this swiftly became shock as the branches around him suddenly closed in and pierced through his flak vest, pinning him in place as Obito raised his right hand towards his left Sharingan.
"Not bad," Obito praised, "however I no longer have need for something like a heart." he said cryptically, confusing the wounded jonin as he gripped his left eye and tore it out, flicking off his mask and inserting the eye into his empty left socket.
"How?" Kakashi managed to ask, he could tell his own injuries were non-lethal but would become mortal without treatment once the Mokuton was removed from his body.
"Hashirama Senju's cells have quite the miraculous properties, especially combined with Uchiha power." Obito answered calmly, "Stop feeling guilty about Rin as you die, I know about the circumstances, I know why she killed herself through you. The blame doesn't fall on you, Kakashi, it falls on this rotten world. In the new world I create we can be friends once again." he assured as he withdrew the branches and let his former teammate fall to the ground, pulling out a new mask, white with a design reminiscent of Rinnegan with tomoe and two eyeholes instead of the usual one.
Kakashi struggled to move, wanting to stop Obito, knowing that retrieving his left eye would make him more dangerous than ever for the others to deal with and realizing that Obito was even more dangerous than he previously thought. He wasted no thoughts as to how Obito intended for them to be friends or what he meant by a new world and spent the last of his energy performing hand seals as the Uchiha disappeared from the Kamui dimension.
Haku disappeared into the mirrors to evade Deidara's explosives as Naruto used them as platforms to leap between the attacks, a hail of senbon and shuriken from the two forcing Deidara and Pein on the defensive. Shurado Pein leaped at Naruto who matched him in mid air taijutsu with a combination of Kurama's chakra and his own Shurado puppet arms.
Suddenly Onoki fell from the sky trailing blood from a forehead cut, "Damn! The Uchiha is back!" the Tsuchikage warned, causing the blood of the Konoha nin present to run cold as they wondered what had happened to Kakashi. Obito appearing on the flying clay whale with both of his Sharingan and a new mask cemented their fear into dread.
Naruto's face shifted from determination to a blank expression as he stared at the twin eyes of the masked Uchiha, Kurama was glad he wasn't needed to break the boy out of the attempt at genjutsu due to the Rinnegan his host possessed but worried about the sudden lack of activity from the blonde.
"Are you finally comprehending true pain?" Tendo Pein asked as he noticed the blank expression on the blonde young Hokage, his tone containing just enough of a mocking tone to give away how little he thought of such a thing. Surprisingly Naruto did not explode at him and Kurama's chakra withdrew, surprising the Kyubi since he still had enough to give.
Jiraiya frowned and prepared to leap to the defence of his student, hoping the boy wasn't catatonic from the loss of Kakashi but the fact the rain was still hovering instead of falling gave him hope that the younger Sennin was simply preparing a different tactic. Tsunade wasn't sure if she should mention that Kakashi still lived or not, she had no idea what his condition was only that he was alive and needed healing so she focused most of her healing efforts on him as the only one who could get to the jonin was currently their enemy.
"Seems Kakashi Hatake put quite the hole in your chest." A commented, less emotionally invested than the others, "I'm not sure how you live, but if you're immortal I'll just seperate your head from your body and let Onoki disintegrate you." he threatened despite his own healing injuries.
"Do you fools still think you stand a chance against us?" Obito began to taunt only to be silenced by a bolt of lightning that struck the clay whale.
"What the fu-?" Deidara began to shout, wondering how a jutsu had gotten past Pein at such a speed. All of Rikudo Pein scattered suddenly to evade a hail of shuriken as Shurado Pein was suddenly covered with water and frozen in place.
Haku was surprised as he hadn't performed that particular Hyoton and glanced at Naruto to see the icy expression the blonde held, he wondered if his young lover had been the source of the lightning bolt too only to see a blade of Raiton chakra carve into the Chikushodo Pein. The dark haired young ninja was confused since Sasuke was apparently moving with Hiraishin until he realized Naruto was moving him through the Suiten Hofutsu like he'd done with Sakura.
The young Uchiha thrust a Chidori coated left hand at Obito, unconcerned as the man phased through it as he followed the momentum through to disappear in another flash, "Chidori Shiso!" Sasuke shouted as he appeared behind Deidara with Naruto's Hiraishin, stabbing the bomber through the back of the neck and paralyzing him.
Obito winced, wondering how Kakashi had the strength to strike his intangible body within the Kamui and wondering if he should return and finish him off but when he began to disappear into his eye Naruto appeared with a Rasengan and plunged it at him, forcing him to go intangible and recieve another body jarring blow to the torso, coughing in pain despite avoiding the Rasengan.
"What is the meaning of this?" Tendo Pein asked, wondering what was harming Obito since it hadn't occured to him the Uchiha would let Kakashi live.
"A mistake on my part." Obito answered through grit teeth as he and the remaining Rikudo Pein attempted to disengage, Gakido Pein failing to evade A even if he halted the nintaijutsu his neck was still broken by the lariat from the Raikage.
Naruto lifted his left hand at Tendo Pein, Rasengan swirling in his right as his puppet arms stabilized it and added Futon chakra, "What did you call this?" he asked, "Bansho Ten'in?" at those words from the blonde Tendo Pein flew towards him, a surprised expression on his face.
"Impressive." Pein acknowledge, "Too late for a turn around though," he added as he closed in on the blonde, "Shinra Tensei!" the orange haired corpse puppet declared, halting the pull and twisting to counter Jiraiya who had leaped to hinder him. Due to the shared vision of the remaining Rikudo he was able to duck under the Rasengan from Jiraiya without looking, the Shinra Tensei having blasted the Suiten Hofutsu away from him, and the Kuroikui he formed sinking into the left side of Jiraiya's chest.
Fukasaku and Shima were unable to halt the chakra receiving spike from hitting the white haired Sannin's heart this time, but they resolved to strike the Tendo Pein with a combination of Katon and Futon no Jutsu, "Jiraiya!" Tsunade cried out in shock, pain evident in her voice and on her face as the two shinobi fell. The two toads on the Gama Sennin's shoulders dispelled by the death of the man they were bonded to even if they had managed to halt the movements of Tendo Pein.
Naruto stopped, the apparent loss of two sensei in such a short period shocking his system since he was currently unaware of Kakashi's continued survival. Onoki attempted to destroy the remaining Rikudo with his Jinton no Jutsu as the three corpse puppets abandoned Deidara and pulled back to evade Sasuke and A but couldn't muster the focus as he was still recovering from the head wound that Tsunade had stopped healing.
The remaining Sannin began to hyperventilate and Obito took the opportunity to charge her, knowing that removing the iryonin from the equation would be to the benefit of his plan. Zabuza leaped to intercept and was more annoyed than surprised by Kubikiribocho going through the Uchiha with no resistance.
Karin leaped to tackle Tsunade to protect the panicking woman from Obito and both disappeared in a flash, Naruto appearing in their place to stare down Obito as a wooden stake from the Uchiha sank into his chest, "Enough." the Uzumaki decided in a voice of restrained rage, slamming a puppet fist into the mask of the formerly one eyed Uchiha.
Obito stumbled back, surprised by the counterattack too much to defend himself from the sudden kick to the spine as Naruto flashed behind him before his head was kicked into the broken rooftop by a vicious axe kick from the blonde Sennin. His Rinnegan were still purple, no hint of Biju or Senjutsu chakra given away by the livid orbs.
"I don't care how much you've suffered," Naruto said coldly, "that doesn't give you the right to make others suffer." he said as he weaved hand seals. Obito sank through the roof to escape the wrath of the young Hokage as A and Sasuke tore into the final two Pein, although the Raikage was noticibly displeased that the young Uchiha was keeping up with his nintaijutsu.
"Did we get them all?" Zabuza asked tentatively, looking between the corpses and his gaze lingering on the frozen six armed Rikudo. A was still on edge despite the sudden lull and Onoki could feel that Tsunade had recovered enough to heal them from wherever she'd been sent as his head cleared from Katsuyu flowing the blonde Sannin's chakra to him.
"Obito Uchiha escaped." Sasuke noted, checking to make sure Deidara was still down and surprised by the tenacity of the Iwa nukenin that the man still lived. He attempted to knock him out with a genjutsu but was surprised when the man actually resisted the Sharingan genjutsu before he noticed the build up of Bakuton chakra in his chest, "Shit, take cover!" he shouted, palming a kunai and flowing Raiton chakra into it as quickly as he could before tossing it at the location of the build up only to have his aim thrown off by the ice containing Shurado Pein exploding.
Haku swiftly retreated as Onoki erected a Doryuheki and A dove behind that. Sasuke's kunai hit just below the build up and Deidara smirked as his body disappeared before the blast.
The resulting explosion took out the entire residential block the battle had been taking place in and the edge of the markets nearby, Haku winced as even though he'd evaded the worst of the blast the resulting shockwave had slammed him bodily into a brick wall. He felt dazed and knew he was concussed, worse was that he couldn't stand and he was grateful that Katsuyu was still on him so he was confident he wasn't in danger of dying since his legs were still attached.
The Raikage and Tsuchikage had fared much worse, A's left leg having been ripped to gruesome shreds by the blast and Onoki unconscious and breathing raggedly. Sasuke had shielded himself and Naruto with Susanoo but fell to his knees from the exersion after the fact, breathing heavily and sweat pouring down his face as his tired eyes reverted to their natural black hue.
Zabuza looked to have fared almost as well as Haku besides the fact he'd been thrown through glass and had a long shard of it sticking out of his back, although the Mizukage was the first to his feet besides the blonde Hokage but no one was expected to recover as fast as an Uzumaki.
In a flash Naruto was at Haku's side and the rain started falling again, although physically Naruto was the least injured the tears falling from his blank Rinnegan told the dark haired youth that his blonde lover was more hurt than anyone there.
"We've pushed them back, but we need to convene." A spoke up callously, recalling that the Pein they'd defeated wasn't even the real one. He felt cruel but knew that with Obito still alive they couldn't afford to stand around like they currently were even if his left leg wasn't working.
Onoki's breathing slowly steadied and A's leg stopped bleeding before Naruto responded, "I'm dealing with Pein." he said with a calm that caused Haku distress, "I've had enough of him destroying my village and killing my ninja." he continued as he approached one of the corpses and ripped a chakra receiver out of their body, "I'm going to end this." he said, plunging the chakra receiver into his palm.
Nothing happened for a moment before Naruto frowned and checked the corpses, noticing they'd all lost the Rinnegan and that Pein had stopped sending chakra through the Kuroikui. Sasuke noticed the confusion on his teammates face and pulled himself to his feet, "I'll deal with Obito." the young Uchiha declared, intent on helping with the man who had once given his sensei Sharingan and had apparently taken it back recently.
"Don't be selfish!" A scolded angrily, "The world is at stake here! I didn't want to work together to begin with and it chaffes me something fierce to take orders from a brat like you to begin with!" he yelled at Naruto who turned his impassive gaze on the oldest conscious Kage, "Despite my misgivings however we need to combine our forces if we want to deal with Pein!" he reasoned, logical despite his obvious passion.
"No one else can deal with Pein." Naruto said calmly, "That much has become obvious." he stated bluntly as his Rinnegan turned gold and the orange pigmentation around his eyes appeared. A scowled, wanting to argue the point further but was interrupted by the ground shaking.
"Now what?" Sasuke groaned, looking at the massive plume of smoke in the distance. Even Haku could see it from where he was, the scale of the explosion terrified him since it was even larger than the blast Deidara had performed, although from the smoke it was probably less potent.
Naruto frowned, "That's where Akatsuki was hiding out, the whole base was disguised as a giant tree and rigged with millions of Kibaku Fuda." he explained, wondering why Akatsuki would blow it up. He considered the remaining members, the only ones left should be Zetsu, Obito, Pein, and Konan. Now that he thought about it Naruto realized he still hadn't actually seen Konan or Zetsu yet.
He remembered Jiraiya mentioning that she would be a blue haired kunoichi with a penchant for origami, then the thought of his white haired sensei reminded him the man's body had just been destroyed by the blast and had him wanting to throw up. Haku struggled to at least a seating position so he wasn't lying down and the blonde Hokage mechanically crouched down to assist, the vassal ninja was grateful but worried about his lover.
"Hey! Do you have a medic over there!" A voice called out that got their attention, Jugo carrying an unconscious Kimimaro and Tayuya. The orange haired young man was missing a chunk of flesh from his forehead over his left eye, the skull visible and blood pouring from the wound and his right arm completely gone, "I shielded them as best I could but they aren't responding!" he cried out, clearly more concerned about them than his own injuries.
Naruto appeared in a flash and took Katsuyu from his shoulder, looking frantically between his likely second most loyal vassal and his foul mouthed family member. Katsuyu saved him from the difficult decision by splitting into three and moving over all three former servants of Orochimaru.
"You're too indecicive!" A commented angrily, "This is why you shouldn't go alone-" he began to argue again.
"This is why I have to go alone!" Naruto shouted in response, "If Pein wants to act like a god then-" he continued only to be similarly interrupted.
"It's natural for lesser men to be lost to the power of these eyes." The newest voice declared, startling everyone to see what looked to be an Uchiha in red armor dated for the Daiichiji Ninkai Taisen, or perhaps even the Sengoku Jidai. Obito stood next to the man, who appeared to have the Rinnegan as well, albeit only in his right eye, and handed him his Gunbai Uchiwa.
Onoki felt pain the moment consciousness returned to him and groaned, "My back..." quietly as his eyes opened and adjusted to his surroundings. At the sight of the new shinobi he thought his heart might have stopped if not for Tsunade healing him at a distance, "Madara Uchiha." he gasped, terrified for his life for the first time in a while.
"Oh for fuck sake!" Sasuke exclaimed in exasperation, annoyed that the threat was now two Uchiha he had to kill and that Madara had the Rinnegan too, "Does anyone else want to unlock the Rinnegan before I do!?" he asked with more than a bit of what Madara considered childish petulance. The Raikage decided not to answer that it would be pretty useful to have.
"I unlocked these long ago, child." Madara answered, "The one you called Pein was merely borrowing them until the right moment." he explained, "Now he has given his life to return me." he finished with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Konan-san didn't take kindly to that, do you think Zetsu is fine?" Obito asked nonchalantly, the masked man having somehow replaced his missing arm with a solid white one.
"Zetsu is beyond your comprehension, Obito, now hand me one of your eyes and go deal with that woman. I'll need both of my eyes to contain the Jubi." Madara answered, holding out his left hand expectantly. Naruto weaved hand seals quickly and electricity sparked in Sasuke's hands, they didn't fully understand what the two Uchiha were implying but they could tell Madara was their newest threat.
AN: Sorry for the wait and sorry to end this chapter on a cliffhanger, had a bit of writers block lately and procrastinated finishing this chapter. Hopefully the next chapter shouldn't take as long. I don't really do these author notes very often but I'd like to say I'm glad so many people are enjoying the story, I didn't expect it to be as popular as it has been.