Author's Note: After quite some time, Son of the Sannin's Spinoff "The Two Twiested Timelines", by Shinobi420 and Animephilosopher1, has been updated. So you should go and read it once you're done reading this new chapter. Now, enjoy the beginning of the Akatsuki invasion:
Chapter 83:
The Akatsuki Invasion, Part I
or
Konoha Under Attack! ...again
Senju Residence
"I'm home!" Tsunade announced, as she entered in the house.
"Hey there, mom," Naruto's voice replied.
When Tsunade entered her house, she found that Naruto was sitting in the living couch, reading a book. While the blond wasn't averse to such activity, he often preferred to spend his spare time doing something to burn his constant overflow of energy, rather than such a quiet and calm activity.
"Hello, Naruto," Tsunade greeted him as she entered the living room. "Your dad and sister aren't here yet?"
"Nope. Dad's still at the office, and Kaida must be training," Naruto told the blonde Sannin. "In fact, I wasn't expecting you to be home so early."
"There was a slow day at the hospital, and for once, I managed to end all my daily work with some time in advance," Tsunade said, as she sat besides Naruto. "I was hoping to spend some quality time with the whole family, but guess that you'll have to do for the time being. So, how's the Sage Training going?"
"We're progressing. I think," Naruto told Tsunade. "I mean, I'm new to this teaching thing, so I don't really know. But they're getting the hang of nature energy and the like."
"Senjutsu isn't something anybody can attempt to master," Tsunade said. "Even if one fits the requirements, it is possible that you're not fit to master it after all. There's a reason as for there are only a couple Sages every few generations."
"Well, we've been only training for two days. I needed more than a week to master it," Naruto pointed out. "Maybe in a few weeks, the others will be able to master it as well."
"Having multiple Sages would give Konoha a huge edge not only against other villages, but against Akatsuki as well," Tsunade mentioned.
"Yeah," Naruto sadly agreed. "Maybe with more Sages, we could have saved more jinchuriki."
Tsunade bit her lip, instantly regretting bringing that topic. Looking around the room, she tried to find something to change the topic, until she found it on Naruto's hands. "Say, what are you reading?" Tsunade asked, as she took a peek at Naruto's book. "That doesn't look like something your father wrote."
"Because it isn't," Naruto replied, as he handed the book to her. "It's old man Roshi's."
"The jinchuriki?" Tsunade asked, as she took a look at the pages.
Naruto nodded. "He kept several journals of his journeys. He visited multiple countries and villages, and wrote about his experiences there. Did you know that he's been on Konoha twice?"
"Really? How is that we never noticed him?" Tsunade asked.
"Well, both times were before I was even born and both you and dad returned for good," Naruto explained. "Let's say, Roshi was really good at keeping a low profile."
"I see," Tsunade replied. "He sounded like an interesting man."
"You can bet he was. Now, thanks to Akatsuki, all of us missed a chance to meet somebody great," Naruto said, shaking his head. "He was planning to publish his books once he felt he had finished his journey, so he could share his experiences with the others, as well as what it feels to be a jinchuriki."
"Well... maybe you can publish those books yourself?" Tsunade suggested.
Naruto looked at her with his eyes wide open. "It's... it's that okay? I mean, I didn't write those books."
"So? It's not that you want to appropriate them, right? You can still say those are Roshi's journeys," Tsunade continued. "That way, Roshi's memories will be alive even long after his death."
"Hmmm... I think you may have a point," Naruto replied. "Problem is, the books doesn't have an end, given what happened with-"
Suddenly, mother and son heard a chain of explosions, followed by the house lightly trembling. A feeling of dread washed upon them.
"What... what the hell was that!?" Naruto asked.
"Nothing good, that's what is," Tsunade said, as she bolted from the couch. "Naruto, go and gather your teammates! I need to go to the hospital and see if Hagane is okay!"
Naruto nodded, and the two blondes quickly left their home.
…
Skies above Konoha, a few minutes earlier
Deidara and Toneri were flying above the village, at an altitude high enough to be mistaken for actual birds, and not be detected by the sensors or the ninjas managing the barrier. Thankfully, the time for stealth would soon come to an end.
"I'll be getting down here," Ponytail Pain told Deidara. "Delay your bombardment so it splits Konoha's forces."
Without further ado, Pain jumped from the bird, allowing himself to fall into the village. Deidara wondered how did he plan to survive such a fall, but his leader had shown that he had way more tricks under his sleeve that it appeared at first glance. Deidara just shrugged, and decided that Pain knew what he was doing. Smiling wickedly, he grabbed a handful of explosive clay, and feed it to the mouths inside his hands.
"Not every day I have the chance to show my art to a village, so I'll make sure to use my very best, hn!" Deidara said, as several clay figurines appeared on his hands. "Down you go!"
A chain of powerful explosions rocked Konoha, drawing everybody's attention to the point of origin. That momentary distraction was all what Pain needed.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
After a burst of smoke, Ponytail Pain was surrounded by the other five paths, as well as Konan.
"Scatter!" the Main Pain ordered. "Create as much chaos and destruction as possible! That will draw the jinchuriki to us!"
Wordlessly, all of them leaped in different directions, while most Konoha ninja were heading towards the explosions Deidara had caused.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Animal Pain used his only jutsu once again, this time summoning a large, multi-headed dog that went on a mad rampage the instant it was summoned. Not far away from there, puppet Pain deployed his whole arsenal, raining missiles on ninja, civilians and buildings alike, attacking nearby people with his flamethrower and chakra beam cannon. Meanwhile, the main Pain, assisted by the chakra-absorbing one as well as Konan, engaged the few ninjas left that were still in the area.
…
Hokage Tower, that very moment
Even if Deidara's explosions didn't happen in a place close to the Hokage's tower, the explosions were loud and visible enough to be seen and heard from there. Jiraiya, who was working as usual, was startled by the explosions, and quickly opened his window to see what was going on. Not only it was followed by even more explosions, but several gigantic animals were wrecking the village.
Undeterred, Jiraiya bit his thumb, and made five hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Fukasaku and Shima appeared from a burst of smoke, looking around, noticing where they were.
"Jiraiya-chan? Why did you summon us here?" Fukasaku asked, noticing the Sannin's distress.
"Yeah, it better be important! We were about to have lunch!" Shima protested.
"I don't know. Would you call Akatsuki invading the village important?" Jiraiya sarcastically asked.
"WHAT!?" the two elder toads asked in unison, both equally shocked.
As if to answer their question, another chain of explosions made the tower tremble. These ones happened much closer.
"The day I've been fearing so much is finally here. That means that Akatsuki have captured the other seven jinchuriki. They only need Naruto and Fu for their plan to succeed," Jiraiya explained. More explosions rocked the tower. "And with their targets in a single village, guess they decided to toss subtlety out of the window and launch an invasion on the village."
"You can count on us, Jiraiya-chan!" Shima, whose attitude had gone a complete twist, energically offered. "What do you need us to do?"
"Ma, I need you with me for Sage Mode," Jiraiya said. The female toad nodded, and jumped into his shoulder. "Pa, look for Naruto and Fu, and protect them with everything you have."
The male toad nodded as well.
"Those kids won't fall into Akatsuki's grasp as long as I breathe!" Fukasaku declared, as he leaped out of the window.
Jiraiya then walked towards the right wll of the office, and started to felt it until he found what he was looking for: a hidden switch he had installed a couple years ago. Pressing the switch, a rectangular section of the wall opened with a clicking sound as if it was a door. Jiraiya pushed the door, and entered the room.
"Jiraiya-chan, what are you doing?" Shima protested. "We should head outside to the battle!"
"I know!" Jiraiya replied, as he walked towards the wall in front of the door. On said wall there was a complex sealing pattern. He placed his hand in the center of the pattern, and sent a pulse of chakra. "But I need to do this first."
The seals started to glow with a blue light, and more seals started to spread, first across the room, then the office, and beyond that.
"What is this seal, Jiraiya-chan?" Shima asked.
"A little defense mechanism we implemented after our war against Yagura," Jiraiya said, with a confident smirk. "This will increase our chances of victory even further!"
…
Gates of Konoha
With all the chaos that was going in the village, it didn't take much effort for Kisame to break into the village through the main gates. That's not to say that he didn't find any resistance, though said resistance was hardly an obstacle for him. By summoning a gigantic tsunami, he crushed the gates of Konoha, as well as the ninjas manning it. Naturally, many more Konoha ninjas arrived to see what was going on.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
A Konoha ninja exhaled a stream of fire from his mouth at Kisame. The shark ninja, however, merely laughed and blocked the attack with Samehada. His trusty sword quickly absorbed the jutsu.
"I thought I was famous enough to know that you aren't supposed to use ninjutsu against me," Kisame chuckled, as he shook his head. "Oh well, guess I'll have to work harder."
"No... no ninjutsu?" the Konoha ninja stammered, as he struggled to pull a couple of kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
"Sorry, it's too late for you to learn that lesson!" Kisame shouted.
The shark ninja dashed forward and delivered a horizontal swing, separating the man's upper half of his body from his lower half, killing him instantly. More Konoha ninja landed besides him.
"That's Kisame Hoshigake!" the most veteran of the newcomers said. "Beware of that sword! It can absorb ninjutsu!"
"Oh, so somebody in this disgrace of a village knows who I am after all," Kisame laughed, as he stabbed his sword into the ground, as he started to make hand seals. "Then again, you're about to find that there's much more to me than Samehada. Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Much to the Konoha ninja's shock, Kisame expelled a massive amount of water from his mouth, quickly drowning the Konoha ninjas, and completely flooding that section of the village. Kisame, standing atop of the colossal mass of water, watched as his victims tried to swim to the surface. His smirk widened, as he bit his thumb.
"Dinner's served, my pets!" Kisame said, as he made five hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Slamming his palm into the surface of the water, a fourthsome of sharks were summoned. The sharks quickly swam towards the hapless Konoha ninjas, and teared them to shreds, dying the water mass dark red.
"Ah, there's nothing like a taste of foreign cuisine to broaden your experience," Kisame laughed, mostly to himself.
"DOUBLE KONOHA WHIRLWIND!"
Kisame had barely any time to react before two green blurs dashed at him from different directions. By stopping the release of chakra through his feet, the Akatsuki sank into the water, barely avoiding the double flying kick. The duo landed in opposite directions, revealing to be a man and a young teen, both clad in green with ridiculous bowl haircuts and extremely thick eyebrows.
"Tenten! Now!" the younger one said.
Still underwater, Kisame's eyes drifted towards a girl with brown hair styled in a pair of buns, who dashed towards the water. He didn't know what she wanted to do, but there was no way she could harm him.
"Gate of Opening, Open! Gate of Healing, Open!" Tenten shouted, as chakra burst from her body in the form of a green aura. She then pulled out a small sealing scroll from under her clothes, and unsealed a kusarigama. "Okay, time to fish some Akatsuki!"
Tenten channeled her boosted chakra into the kusarigama, which started to glow with a blue light. She then threw the weighted chain of the weapon at Kisame, who watched in shock how the water failed to sap it of any momentum.
"What the hell?" the Shark ninja thought, as the chain wrapped around his body.
"Neji, get ready!" Tenten said.
Displaying her enhanced strength, Tenten violently pulled Kisame out of the water construct, and threw it at an Hyuga, placed a few meters behind her.
"Heavenly Spin!"
Neji turned into a spinning dome of chakra just seconds before Kisame was slammed against him. The spinning force was great enough to knock Kisame back as soon as he touched the chakra dome, before crashing against a nearby building.
"Did that get him?" Tenten asked, as Gai and Lee landed besides her.
Kisame, however, not only managed to pull himself back, but he looked completely unharmed.
"Now... that was sure something," Kisame said, laughing a little, as he rested his sword onto his shoulder. "You made me feel pain! Heh, it seems that I found myself some worthy adversaries!"
"He... he doesn't have any wounds!" the black haired teen said in shock.
"He does, but they're healing," the adult said, as he noticed how a couple cuts on Kisame's face closed and disappeared.
"It's that sword," Neji pointed out. "That sword it's alive and has chakra. It's supplying the Akatsuki with chakra, which also heals him. I believe this man is Kisame Hoshigake. Karin's team fought against him not long ago. Beware that sword, it can also absorb ninjutsu."
"It can absorb ninjutsu, you say? Ha!" the adult roared. "Then it's such a luck that all of us are mostly taijutsu specialists! Neji, Lee, Tenten, we must take this Akatsuki down, for we're the best suited to fight him!"
"You think you lot are the first taijutsu specialists I face? Pitiful," Kisame said, shaking his head. "Maybe you aren't as worthy as I thought."
"Let us prove you wrong then, for you're now against Maito Gai, Konoha's Noble Blue Beast, and his three youthful students!" Gai said in an overly theatrical matter.
"Maito Gai...?" Kisame asked, narrowing a single eye at the green clad Jonin. "Oh, I think I know who you are! A ninja named Maito Dai made a number on the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist during the latest war! If you're related to him, then you must be pretty strong! Very well then, you managed to draw my interest!"
Both Team Gai and Kisame rushed towards each other, ready to fight without holding back.
…
Unfortunately for Konoha, the Akatsuki members weren't the only ones who were attacking it. A multitude of Zetsu clones climbed the walls and poured into the village, attacking every human they saw, either be ninja or civilian, children or adults, like a voracious locust swarm devouring a crop.
And joining them were Toneri's puppets. Even if fewer in number, they proved to be far more deathly than the Zetsu thanks to their resilence combined with their ability to mold and use chakra, which they used in the form of deadly golden blasts. And the threat wasn't tied to the ground: multiple puppets, riding huge winged mechanical constructs covered in tattered clothes –which gave the illusion of looking like birds– bombarded the village from above.
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
Asuma exhaled a huge cloud of dusty gunpowder at the incoming White Zetsu, before igniting it with the sparks produced by quickly hitting his trench knives against each other, resulting in a chain of explosions that obliterated the clones. However, from the resulting cloud of smoke, three puppets emerged, their hands cupped around a spehere of golden chakra that they launched at Asuma.
"Shit!" the Jonin cursed, as he did his best in order to avoid the attacks.
As Asuma fought against the incoming invaders, his students escorted a large group of civilians towards the underground bunkers, task which was no easy given the Zetsus' penchant for attacking them.
"Don't stray from the main group!" Shikamaru shouted. "We can protect you better if you stay together!"
"Shikamaru, watch out!" Ino warned, as she made several hand seals. "Water Release: Water Gun!"
Ino expelled a stream of water from her mouth that sailed just above Shikamaru's head, hitting in the chest a leaping Zetsu, whose intentions were rather predictable.
"Guys, I need some help over here!" Choji cried.
Shikamaru and Ino turned around, and saw that their teammate was pretty much buried under a pile of White Zetsu clones.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of them!" Ino replied, as she formed a rectangle with her thumb and index fingers. "Multiple Mind Disturbance Jutsu!"
The Yamanaka heiress took control of three of the White Zetsu that were suffocating Choji, not only relieving him of their weight, but also attacking the other White Zetsu, forcing them to drop from the Akimichi, who quickly rejoined his teammates.
"Thank you, Ino," the breathless Akimichi said.
"Don't thank me yet, more of those things are coming!" Ino shouted, pointing to a nearby street, which was crowded with more Zetsus.
"Damn, where is everybody else? We can't protect the civilians ourselves!" Shikamaru protested.
That moment, several circular sealing patterns suddenly appeared in the ground. Not just in that street, but across all of Konoha as well. Many Konoha ninjas knew the meaning behind those seals.
"Shikamaru, are those seals...?" Ino asked.
"I think so," Shikamaru said, his distress disappearing, as a confident smirk formed in his face. "It seems that Hokage-sama knew that something like this could happen, and planned accordingly."
"What do you mean?" Choji asked.
Ino smiled at her rotund teammate.
"That means that we're about to get reinforcements really soon," Ino told him.
The seals then burst into small explosions of smoke, and from those clouds of smoke, emerged a Chakra Golem each. Unlike the red golems used by Yagura or the black golems used by Root, these golems had a green body, blue arms and legs, a red spiral on their back, and were even wearing actual forehead protectors around their small heads, to the point that they looked like they were wearing Konoha's standard uniform.
With several metallic hums, the golems became operative as the sealing patterns around their bodies started to glow with the same blue light. The mechanical constructs quickly identified the White Zetsu clones and the puppets as the invaders, and immediately went to face them. Their armored exterior rendered them almost impervious to the White Zetsus' physical attacks, while the chakra-abosrbing seals made them immune to the puppets' golden blasts. Soon, the battle began to not quite turn in Konoha's favor, but give the defenders a much better chance to breathe and fight back.
"Oh yes, after fighting these things so many times, it feels so good to finally have them on our side!" Ino gushed.
"Come on guys, don't get distracted! Don't drop your guard just because those fancy machines are helping us now!" Asuma called out, as he engaged a couple of puppets.
"Yes, sir!" the three of them chorused, as they rejoined the battle with renewed strength.
…
Aburame Estate
After the initial surprise attack, the Aburame Clan found its home besieged by a horde of White Zetsu Clones supported by a few of Toneri's puppets, who fiercely tried to get inside the place. It was obvious what they were looking for: thanks to Toneri's Tenseigan, they had realized that was were Fu was staying for the time being.
"Aburame Secret Art: Insect Tornado!"
With a giant gesture, Shino commanded his swarm to attack a group of incoming Zetsu. The insects started to fly in circles around them, trapping the artificial creatures inside a tornado. The insects then proceeded to eat them as fast as they could.
However, as Shino did this, he was too late to notice two more White Zetsu emerging from below, the closest one delivering a swipe with his sharp fingers, slashing Shino's arms, and making him tumble backwards, while the other lunged at him.
"Aburame Secret Art: Swarm Armor!"
A second swarm appeared before Shino and the White Zetsu, compressing itself into a thick wall of carapace, sucessfully repelling the White Zetsu's attck. Taking advantage of this, Shino pulled a kunai, lunged forward, and stabbed it into the now defenseless Zetsu's throat, while his savior also dispatched the other assailant with a powerful kick to the head.
"Thank you, father. That was a close one," Shino said, sounding as calm as ever despite the ongoing situation.
"Stay close. These things are pretty dangerous," the Aburame Jonin told his son, as more Aburame clansmen started to gather. "Where is Fu-san?"
Shino pointed out into Fu's direction, and Shibi saw how the green haired jinchuriki was using a White Zetsu clone as a weapon to maul his brethren to death.
"Fu-san!" Shibi called. "Return here at once!"
Fu nodded before launching the White Zetsu in her grasp into the sky.
"These things won't stop coming," Fu observed, as more White Zetsu broke into the compound. "Any ideas?"
"First, we need to leave the compound and go into the village," Shibi told them. "And find a larger group so we can form an unified front in order to repel the invaders."
"Such thing won't be hard to accomplish. The sound of multiple battles happening around us can be heard from pretty much any direction," Shino stated.
"Though some of us will need to create a distraction in order to allow Fu-san a safe escape route," Shibi stated. "Shino, I trust her safety to-"
"Whoa there, time out!" Fu cut the Aburame patriarch. "I'm not going anywhere!"
"Fu-san, these Akatsuki are here for you. Each second you stay in the village is a second you are in danger of being captured," Shibi calmly told her.
"I know how you feel, but my father is right," Shino added. "We will be able to fight against the enemy better if we know you're safe."
"Absolutely not!" Fu loudly protested. "I already lost my home village to these monsters! I won't lose my adoptive home as well!"
"Please, be reasonable," Shibi insisted. "With your ability to fly, escaping won't be-"
"Father, Fu, watch out!" Shino called.
The arguing duo saw too late one of Toneri's puppets throwing a particularly large golden sphere of chakra at them, resulting in a huge explosion that send Fu and the Aburames alongside her flying in different directions.
"Ugh..." Fu groaned, as she tried to get back on her feet. She blinked a few times, trying to locate her boyfriend. "Shino? Are you okay? Shino...?"
However, there was no trace of Shino. Fu's field of vision was quickly filled with white and green, as more White Zetsu clones rushed to her.
"You have nowhere to go, jinchuriki!" one of the White Zetsu cried, as he and some of his brethren charged at her.
"Fire Release: Blistering Firecat!"
However, the Zetsu's charge was interrupted by an incoming giant cat made of fire, resulting in an explosion that engulfed them in a mass of flames, bruning them down to ashes almost instantly. The remaining White Zetsu stopped on their tracks, trying to look for the new enemy, but this moment of hesitation was all what the newcomers needed.
"Fang Passing Fang!"
"Cat Claw Dash!"
Almost appearing out of nowhere, two living tornadoes skewered the group of White Zetsu, followed by a green and brown blur that slashed to pieces those who avoided the initial attack. Kiba, Akamaru and Tamaki landed besides the green haired jinchuriki.
"Guys, you came!" Fu squealed in joy. "Your timing couldn't have been better!"
"Yeah, we were pretty quick. Nobody surpasses the Animal Squad when it comes to speed," Kiba boasted, with Akamaru barking in agreement.
"Are you okay, Fu?" Tamaki asked. "Where is Shino?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Fu said, before she bit her lip. "As for Shino..."
"I'm alright as well," Shino's voice said, as the Aburame joined his teammates. "While I suffered some injuries, there's nothing my medical ninjutsu can't heal. While I appreciate your presence, why did you decide to come here?"
"Well, obviously those Akatsuki are here for both Fu and Naruto, so it was a no brainer that they would attack the place she lives in," Kiba explained. "And we were right-"
This time, it was Akamaru who interrupted his master, when he tensed up and started to bark loudly. Kiba immediately realized what this meant.
"Guys, watch out! More enemies incoming!" Kiba pointed out to the direction from which three puppets came from.
The puppets were ready to fire their golden chakra orbs at the Konoha ninja and Taki jinchuriki, but before they could multiple wooden roots emerged from underground, wrapping themselves around the mechanical humanoids, immobilizing them completely.
"Lightning Blade!"
The Chunin of the Animal Squad saw Kakashi appearing pretty much out of nowhere and cutting down all three puppets in less than a second with his signature ability. Once done, Rin landed besides him.
"Look at that, it seems that just for once, I wasn't late," Kakashi nonchalantly said. "Is everybody okay?"
Kakashi got several affirmative responses in return, much to the Jonin's relief
"Alright, we now have two priorities: we need to drive Akatsuki out of the village, while at the same time stopping them from getting their hands on Fu and Naruto," Kakashi explained. Such thing should been obvious, but he wasn't going to leave anything to chance.
"We know. We suggested Fu that she should evacuate the village while we keep the enemy busy, but she refused," Shibi explained.
"I told you I'm not going anywhere!" Fu fired back, stomping her foot. She then looked into the sky, and pointed upwards. "Besides, it's not that I can escape as easily this time around. It seems that Akatsuki learned from what happened in Taki, and they brought an air force to make sure I won't leave."
Looking into the sky, the rest of the group could tell Fu was right. The moment Fu left the ground, those flying puppets would be drawn to her like moths to a candle.
"Those things are going to be a problem," Kakashi said, as he studied the flying puppets. "But without an air force of our own, we won't be able to deal them in an effective manner."
"I'm afraid you're right," Shibi conceded. "That means we will have to smuggle Fu out of the village through other means."
"Ugh, you're impossible, you know that!?" Fu shouted, as her wings appeared from her exposed back. "I have your air force right here!"
Before anybody could stop her, the green haired kunoichi shot into the sky like a rocket, and, as expected, a group flying puppets was immediately drawn to her. Not that Fu cared, since she was also flying towards them.
"Shino," Shibi called his son. "Go and make sure she's safe."
Shino wordlessly nodded, before biting his thumb, and making five specific hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Shino slammed his palm into the ground, and after the initial burst of smoke dispelled, he found himself at the top of a gigantic rhinoceros bettle.
"You called me, Aburame-san, and I responded," the bettle said in a low, guttural voice. "Your command?"
"I need you to take me into the sky, and help me defeat the enemies on it, Mushikoehi-sama," Shino asked the giant bettle. "I also need you to help me protect a special someone."
"Understood," the beetle laconically replied, before its carapace opened up, revealing a pair of translucent wings, which started to flap, rising several gusts of wind, before finally taking off. "You can count on me, Aburame-san. After all, not every day I have the pleasure to meet Nanabi-sama."
The rest of Shino's teammates and the Aburame clan watched how Shino joined his girlfriend in the fight against the flying puppets.
"It all rests on Shino now," Kakashi said with a bit of resignation. "We can't afford to stay idle! Tamaki, Kiba, Akamaru, the village is under attack! Let's track the nearest Akatsuki member and dispose of them!"
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!" Kiba and Tamaki said in unison, with Akamaru barking energically.
…
Konoha Hospital
It took very little for the village's hospital to get flooded by a constant income of injured people, both ninjas and civilians, and in no time, there was no more room inside, and had to put the newcomers in the reception and the halls due the lack of space. Those with less grave injuries were placed outside, not just to avoid filling more space, but so they could return to the battle once they were healed.
And, as if it wasn't bad enough, the enemy considered the hospital a point of interest to take out, so the White Zetsu clones and the puppets were relentlessly attacking it, regardless if the jinchuriki weren't there. So far, the ninjas that were defending the hospital managed to keep the attackers at bay, but couldn't help but wonder how long could they resist.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"
Sasuke's blade crackled with electricity, and as the Uchiha dashed towards a group of incoming White Zetsu clones, delivered a swift motion with his blade, instantly splitting them in half, ending their lifes.
"Sasuke, don't move!" Shisui shouted, as he tossed several shuriken in his direction.
Sasuke's Sharigan told him that, given their trajectory, none of the steel stars would hit him. And indeed, the weapons flew past him, before embedding into the heads of more White Zetsu.
"Thanks," Sasuke muttered, before his eyes located the next enemy. "Above us!"
Looking into the sky, they saw a trio of puppets riding those bird-shaped mechanical constructs, ready to bombard the hospital with their golden chakra blast.
"Everybody, don't let them attack! Force them to retreat!" Shisui ordered, as his hands flew through hand seals. "Sasuke, let's use wide range attacks! Use the same jutsu I'm going to cast!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Sasuke replied, already doing those same hand seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
Sasuke and Shisui breathed a volley of fireballs upwards, which, alongside other elemental jutsu fired by the rest of the Konoha and ANBU guarding the hospital, managed to take down one of the aerial raiders, while forcing the other two into retreat.
"That was close," Sasuke said, panting a little. "You okay, cousin?"
Shisui merely smiled and gave him a thumbs up, before turning to a group of medic-nin, his wife among them, treating wounded ninjas. "Shizune-chan! How is it going there?"
"We're working as fast as we can, but the injured come faster than we can treat them!" the black haired woman protested, while trying to heal a dislocated arm from a Konoha Chunin.
"Mom and I are even letting them bite us so we can heal them faster!" Karin added.
"Sadly, there's nothing much we can do," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "Continue with your job, and we'll try to keep you safe as much as possible."
The sky started to darken as clouds turned black. Lightning bolts started to jump from one cloud to another, while mseveral distant thunders could be heard.
Sakura's eyes suddenly grew wide while her iris shrunk, and her face turned several shades paler. "Uh, Sasuke-kun... do you think you can protect us from THAT?"
Sasuke and Shisui turned around, and much to their shock, they saw a gigantic ox charging at them, demolishing any building that it came in contact with, and trampling White Zetsu and Konoha ninja alike in its mad charge.
"Shit, we can't allow that thing to get to the hospital!" Shisui exclaimed, as he rushed forward. "Sasuke, we need to divert its attention to us!"
"On it!" Sasuke agreed, as his hands flew through hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke breathed a massive fireball, aiming directly at the ox's head. The ox plowed through the fireball as it was a ball of haystack, though it left several burn marks in its head. Letting out a bellow of pain, the giant summon focused its Rinnegan eyes on Sasuke, before charging at him.
"Good one, Sasuke!" Shisui praised, as his hands continued to fly through hand seals. "I'll stop it on its tracks with a genjutsu! Demonic Illusion: Cold Hands of Winter!"
Suddenly, the giant ox stopped in its tracks before it could trample Sasuke. In its mind, a blizzard started to blow, quickly covering it in snow and frost. The ox tried to break free, but was unable to, and was soon encased inside a mountain of ice. In the real world, the ox merely dropped on its belly.
"Let's hope this guy won't give us anymore trouble," Shisui said, as he walked towards the downed animal. "There has to be a way to undo the summon-"
That moment, the ox quickly got back on its hooves, and slammed Shisui with a hit of its snout, sending him flying against a nearby building.
"SHISUI!" Shizune screamed in horror. The young woman dropped what she was doing, and rushed towards her husband.
"Shizune-sensei, wait!" Sakura called out. "Watch out!"
In her distress, Shizune didn't realize that the giant ox was charging towards her. The medic-nin turned at the incoming animal in horror, now regretting being so rash and wondering what she could do to avoid being trampled to death.
Fortunately, just seconds before the giant ox could stomp on Shizune, a dragon-shaped lightning bolt fell from the skies into the ox, like the divine punishment of a wrathful god. The lightning attack carried so much power, the Ox was instantly unsummoned. The ox dealt with, Sasuke landed besides his sensei.
"Thank goodness I had prepared that Kirin a moment ago," Sasuke mentioned. "Are you okay, Shizune-sensei?"
"I could be worse if it wasn't for you," Shizune thanked the Uchiha. "Now come on, we need to get Shisui some help."
Suddenly, there was a huge tremor, and a building near them collapsed just as a massive red and black centipede emerged under it, sending several pieces of debris falling at the medic-nin and the Uchiha, forcing them to jump in different directions. Taking advantage of their predicament, the centipede lunged at Sasuke, who struggled to get back on his feet.
"SASUKE-KUN!" Shizune shouted.
But just like how Sasuke had saved Shizune at the last possible moment, Karma repaid Sasuke in full when Tsunade, leaping out of nowhere, landed on the centipede's head with a powerful kick, sinking the giant arthropod into the ground, before it was finally dispelled.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune cried, as she ran towards her master. "Oh, thank goodness that you're here!"
Tsunade nodded, and after helping Sasuke on his feet, both she and Shizune went to retrieve the wounded Shisui.
"How is the situation here?" Tsunade asked.
"Catastrophic," Shizune told her, sounding exhausted. "Not only are the wounded pretty much piling up, but we will quickly run out of medicines, bandages and other essentials if the flow of injured continues like this."
"Not to mention the constant attacks on the hospital," Sasuke added. "We repelled this wave, but I'm sure another one will be coming in less than five minutes."
Tsunade nodded once again, and wordlessly, she bit her thumb, before making five hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Tsunade slammed her palm into the ground, summoning Katsuyu the giant slug. Said slug looked around, as if assessing the situation.
"Tsunade-sama, what can I do for you?" Katsuyu asked. "It seems that Konoha is under another invasion."
"That's correct, old friend," Tsunade sadly confirmed. "I need you to split and heal as many Konoha ninjas as possible. I'll transfer you as much chakra as possible."
"Consider it done, Tsunade-sama!" Katsuyu said, before splitting in multiple, much smaller clones of herself, one of them small enough to ride on Tsunade's shoulder.
"This should alleviate some of our forces," Tsunade said, before her eyes rested on Shizune again. "Shizune, continue treating the wounded while the other ninjas protect the hospital. I need to go to the hospital to check something."
"Very well, Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied with a nod. "You can count on us!"
Tsunade nodded, and she rushed towards the hospital. People there greeted her warmly, praising how that, now that she was here, their jobs would be much easier, but Tsunade ignored them, for there was only one thing in her mind. She climbed the stairs as fast as she could, until she reached the floor she wa slooking for.
Once there, not going any slower, moved towards a certain door, before opening it. She gasped in horror to see the room empty.
"NO!" she screamed.
Her son was nowhere to be found.
…
"Ice Release: Certain Kill Ice Spears!"
Frost and snowflakes started to gather in a whirlwind around Haku, before condensing for a single moment, and exploding into a mass of large ice spikes. A group of charging White Zetsu clones were unlucky enough to be skewered by said spikes, ending their lives in an instant.
"Haku, watch out!" the Ice Ninja heard Kurenai warning him. Turning around, he saw even more Zetsus chargning at him. Fortunately for Haku, his sensei was already making the next move.
"Earth Release: Earth Dome Jutsu!"
Sand, peebles and dirt started to gather around Haku, forming a whirlwind not unlike his previous attack, before condensing and compressing into a dome around the Land of Water native. The White Zetsu clones slammed their faces against the sudden barrier.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Arrow!"
Using her chakra bow, Hinata fired several arrows made of pure lightning at the momentarily dazed White Zetsus with utmost accuracy, piercing spots the Hyuga Clan Head had correctly guessed were vital, guesses that were proven correct when the Zetsu clones dropped dead.
The earth dome quickly dissolved into sand and dirt that was quickly blown away by an incoming breeze.
"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei, Hinata-san," the Ice Ninja said, as he pulled out his own chakra bow as well. "This is insane. Not even Orochimaru's invasion was this brutal."
"It seems that Akatsuki is throwing everything they have at us," Kurenai replied, as she looked at the destruction that was happening around them, and frowned. "They won't stop at anything until they get their hands on the remaining jinchuriki."
"Speaking of which, Hinata-san, where is Naruto-kun?" Haku asked the Hyuga.
"I... I don't know," Hinata said, shaking her head. "When the Akatsuki attacked I met a clone of him, he said that the real one needed to go to his house to do something, but I didn't see him since then."
"We can't take any risks. Check his house and see if he's still there," Kurenai ordered the Hyuga. "We need both to keep Naruto safe, and his power as well if we want to repel this invasion."
Hinata nodded, and directed her expanded sight towards the Senju Residence. But much to Hinata's shock, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.
"He isn't there!" Hinata panicked. She then started to scan the rest of the village, but with all the fights going on, it was going to be quite the task to find her boyfriend. "I... I can't find him!"
"There's no way Akatsuki had captured him already," Haku firmly stated.
"No. they're clearly looking for him, or else they would be focusing all their efforts on Fu," Kurenai pointed out. "And there's no way Naruto decided to leave the village. He has to be somewhere."
"Speaking of Fu, is she alright? The Akatsuki didn't capture her already, did they?" Haku asked.
Pausing her search for Naruto, Hinata quickly found Fu, fighting in the sky above the village against the airborne puppets. However, that wasn't going to be the only enemy she was going to face.
"I see her," Hinata said, before her eyes grew wide. "And I see Toneri too! She's going after her! There's no way Fu can defeat that man on her own! Not after unlocking so much power of the Tenseigan!"
"Go and help her, Hinata," Kurenai told the Hyuga. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, leave Naruto to Haku and I. I promise you we'll find him and keep him safe."
A bit hesitantly, Hinata nodded, before flying into the sky, ready to fight Toneri one more time.
…
If there was one good thing that Fu's rash decision of shooting into the sky in order to fight the airborne puppets, was that she managed to draw their attention, and thus they were no longer bombarding the village from above. On top of that, Fu made sure to fly above them so their chakra blasts wouldn't hit the village below.
"Come on, you plastic-brained idiots! Let's see if you can catch me!" Fu taunted, as she flew around them as fast as she could.
The taunt's reply came in the form of a barrage of golden chakra bolts aimed at her. Still, none of them found their mark, as Fu made an astounding display of agility, moving from side to side at an almost imperceptible speed, expertly dodging the incoming projectiles, while she got close to them.
"Drop dead!" Fu yelled, as he smashed both the puppet and the mechanical bird he was riding with a single, devastating punch.
Following this, Fu would move to the next flying puppet, which she would smash to bits in one punch again, then to the next, and the next, and the next.
"Fu, watch out, from both above and below!" Shino warned her, as the Aburame flew close to her atop his beetle summon.
Quickly looking up and down, Fu realized the flying puppets were trying to surround them. She would have fell prey to an ambush if she didn't got a heads up from her boyfriend.
"Very well then, I'll create an opening," Fu said, as she made a hand seal. "I'll deal with the guys above, you get the guys below!"
"Understood," Shino agreed, as he maneuvered the bettle down.
Fu then clapped her hands together, as she opened her mouth as wide as possible.
"Hiding In Scale Powder Jutsu!"
Fu exhaled from her mouth a huge cloud of glittering powder, and after a few seconds, produced such a bright flash of light that it blinded pretty much all of those caught between them. Besides Fu, who was immune to her own jutsu, the only one unaffected was Shino, thanks to the shades he was wearing –and Mushikoehi, whose eyes were closed as instructed by Shino–, leaving them an open field to attack.
"Let's end them in one single blow," Shino said, as he spread his arms, and a cloud of beetles emerged from under his sleeves, quickly covering the blinded puppets. Shino then made a hand seal. "Aburame Secret Art: Giant Beetle Growth!"
The desginated beetles for the jutsu quickly grew to the size of a large dog. And since said beetles had been placed inside the puppets, the sudden growth destroyed the mechanical construct from the inside out almost immediately, while leaving Shino now with a squad of gigantic insects.
The flying puppets above didn't fare much better against Fu. It seemed the jinchuriki was bored of tearing them apart with her bare hands, so she resorted to ninjutsu in order to accelerate things. She flew towards one of the puppets as tornadoes started to form around her arms.
"Hurricane Punch!"
The wind-enhanced punch destroyed the puppet even faster than her normal punches, reducing it to even smaller shards of scrap. The punch also produced an air shockwave that shattered the other puppets flying close to him.
"Good, soon there won't be any of these guys bothering us anymore," Fu said, as she proceeded to trash the last remaning airborne puppets.
It was that moment that she saw a golden light from the corner of her eyes. Her instincts pretty much screamed at her to move aside, and thankfully she did.
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
Fu moved just in time before a golden beam of chakra coming from below could hit her. The Taki kunoichi could feel the heat and sheer power that radiated from the beam of chakra. Had it hit her, she wasn't sure she could have survived that.
"You have keen senses, jinchuriki, " a new voice said.
Fu turned around, and saw a pale skinned man with white hair, and the same eyes as Hinata and Hanabi, wearing an Akatsuki robe, floating in front of her.
"Arent you supposed to capture me alive?" Fu asked, a bit indignant.
"I am. I'm positive you would have survived that blast," the man replied. "I'm usually very good at gauging my opponent's strength and choosing how much power should I use to end the fight."
"You are Toneri, aren't you?" Shino said, as he and his giant bettle appeared besides Fu. "Naruto told us about you. The Otsutsuki Clan member who wanted to abduct Hinata."
"I'm sure that truant said nothing but lies about me. Oh, who cares," Toneri said, shaking his head. "Soon he will be out of the picture, and no one shall stop me from claiming Hinata as my wife. Unfortunately, Akatsuki also wants you as well. Nothing personal, girl, we just do what needs to be done."
"Toneri!" a female voice shouted.
"Ah, Hinata," Toneri said in delight, without turning at her. Hinata could sense his Tenseigan focusing on her. "Such impeccable timing. Fear not, I'll be with you once I'm done with the jinchuriki."
"Just for once, I agree with you," Hinata replied, as she scowled at the Otsutsuki. "It was good that I arrived before you could hurt Fu-san or Shino-kun!."
"You plan to fight against me, Hinata?" Toneri asked, almost in a mocking tone. "I'm afraid it won't do you any good. I'm sure your sister must have told you how much my powers have grown since our last meeting."
Hinata gritted her teeth, as she was forced to admit that he was right. Hanabi had told her how Toneri had evolved the Tenseigan Chakra Cloak to the next level, giving him and his abilities a considerable boost. Chief among them being doubling the number of Truth Seeking Balls he could summon.
"She won't fight you alone!" a third voice said.
Hinata's eyes opened in shock as Hanabi appeared besides her.
"Hanabi-chan! What are you doing here?" an alarmed Hinata asked. "This man is dangerous!"
"I know. But you won't be able to beat him alone," Hanabi replied. "If we join forces, our powers might be able to match his."
"Your naivete is adorable, Hanabi," Toneri chuckled, shaking his head. "You know, I've been thinking what I could do with you. Given that you also have a Tenseigan as well, it would be a waste to kill you. Then it hit me... there's nothing that stops me from marrying you as well! Between the three of us, we could produce the greatest dynasty that shall rule the Earth once Akatsuki purifies this decadent world."
"If you think I'm going to let you touch any of them," Fu hissed, her fists clenching, as red chakra started to form around her body. "Then you're way dumber than you think."
"Fu..." Shino said.
"Shino, things are going to get really ugly, and I have the feeling this guy is on a completely different level," Fu said, without turning her head to look at him. "I can't fight and protect you at the same time."
Shino wanted nothing but protest, to say that he didn't need protecting, and that the two of them would fight together. But alas, logic has always been a huge part of the Aburame psyche, so Shino didn't say any of that.
"I understand," was what he said. "Please be careful."
"I will," Fu replied, her body now covered in Tailed Beast chakra, looking how Shino returned to the village. Her eyes then landed on Hinata and Hanabi. "Hey, sky sisters, ready to give this idiot the beating of his life?"
"I'm more than ready," Hinata replied.
"You're going to pay for what you did to Hagane," Hanabi hissed at him.
Toneri merely smiled, and chuckled in a condescending manner.
"Very well then! Come at me with all you have!" Toneri said in a taunting fashion. "I want to see what my future wives are capable of!"
…
Meanwhile, in another part of Konoha, a gigantic rhino with Rinnegan eyes plowed through the streets, trampling both ninja, civilians and White Zetsu alike, while also taking down any building that so much graced it with its skin. Fortunately, there was somebody who was about to stop that beast.
"Alright brats, that's our target!" Anko said, pointing out at the chraging Rhino.
"You want us to fight that thing!?" a shocked and justifiable terrified Zaku asked.
Anko shook her head. "No, I know you wouldn't be able to do a thing about that. Leave that to me, just make sure the civilians are okay and that no white naked guys gets in the way."
"Yes, ma'am!" her three students said, as they went to fight the nearby White Zetsu clones.
Anko, meanwhile, bit her thumb, while making five hand seals.
"Summoning jutsu!"
Anko slammed her hand into the ground, producing a huge burst of smoke, and from said cloud of smoke, a gigantic snake with dark blue skin appeared.
"Anko-sama, your orders?" the giant snake asked.
"See that rhino over there, Aoda?" Anko asked, pointing at the charging animal. "I need you to help me send it where it came from."
"Understood," Aoda laconically replied. "Hold on."
The giant snake swiftly lunged at the incoming rhino. The rhino, in return, tried to skewer Aoda, but the snake was much limber and managed to dodge the attack. Anko decided to use that moment to make her attack, and jumped from the snake's head, while making several hand seals.
"Fire Release: Blazing Snake!"
Anko fired a stream of fire that, like the name implied, took the shape of a snake. The fire snake zigzagged its way towards the rhino, before blasting against one of its eyes, making the summoned animal to bellow in pain.
"Now the other one!" Anko said, while landing on the animal's forehead, just between the eyes. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Multiple snakes shot from under Anko's sleeve, aiming for the other, still unhurt eye. The rhino was forced to close its other eye before the snakes could damage it, but even then it could still feel the pain as dozens of venomous fangs dig into its eyelid. Blinded and in pain, the giant rhino started to trash wildly.
"Aoda, now!" Anko commaned.
Swiftly slithering towards the rhino, Aoda wrapped his body against the Rinnegan-wielding animal, immobilizing it completely.
"Good job, Aoda! Squeeze it until it dies or the summon it's undone, whatever comes first!" Anko cheered the giant snake.
"I shall do as you say," the snake said, as he tried to increase the pressure as much as he could. Something then caught his eye. "Anko-sama, we might be in trouble now."
Looking at the direction from which Aoda was looking, Anko saw a colossal bird with a massive, drill-shaped beak diving towards them, probably trying to release its partner.
"Oh shit!" Anko cursed, before jumping to a nearby roof. "I'll try to keep it away from you, Aoda!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Suddenly, a colossal toad appeared just above the giant bird, falling down and taking the giant flyer under its weight. The bird cawed in pain before the damage the sheer weight of the toad was causing was too much to sustain, and was promptly unsummoned. A few seconds later, the giant rhino also succumbed to Aoda's hold, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke as well.
"Hn. Never thought I'd see the day in which a toad would help me," Aoda commented in a neutral tone.
"I'm not exactly happy helping your kind either, so show some gratitude!" the giant toad fired back.
"Gamabunta, enough!" the man atop the toad's head, Jiraiya spoke. "We're all on the same side here. Please put aside your antagonism for snakes."
"Yes, don't make me go down there, boy!" Shima said in a tone of a mother chastising her misbehaving son.
"Hmph!" Gamabunta grunted, as he crossed his arms.
"Hokage-sama!" Anko shouted, as she rushed towards him.
Jiraiya jumped from Gamabunta's head, and went to meet the Special Jonin.
"Anko, what's the situation here?" Jiraiya asked.
"Those things are making a number on the village," Anko began. "Even if we win, the collateral damage is going to leave the village looking like shit."
"The fastest way to deal with these summoned animals is to find and defeat the summoner," Jiraya told Anko. "That way, we can deal with all of them in one go."
"Easier said than done. Any idea of who he is?" Anko asked.
"Yes. But finding him won't be easy, with all the chaos-"
"Then let me save you the trouble, Jiraiya-sensei," a deep, male voice said, drawing the attention of both Jiraiya and Anko.
Turning around, Hokage and Special Jonin saw Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki. Or better said, all six bodies that composed his being, with Konan joining them shortly after.
"You know why I'm here, sensei," the main Pain said in his cold and emotionless voice. "Hand me the two jinchuriki immediately, or by the end of the day, your village will be nothing more than a smoking ruin."
Jiraiya's eyes were wide open in shock upon seeing Yahiko and Konan, two of his beloved students, looking at him with cold, dead eyes. The Hokage thought that he was mentally prepared for this moment, but that wasn't true.
"I didn't want to believe it was true but now..." Jiraiya mumbled. "Yahiko... Konan... I'm sorry... I failed you..."
"We don't want your apologies, sensei," Konan harshly interceded. "The jinchuriki. Now."
There was a moment of silence, in which Jiraiya's face adopted a contemplative, almost meditative expression, as if he was pondering their demands, much to Anko's shock.
"Hokage-sama, you won't be thinking in-" Anko began.
"Yes, I failed you. The fact that you're part of Akatsuki is the proof," Jiraiya sadly admitted. Then, his expression changed to one of determination. "However, I can't let my past failures to keep making new ones! Konoha is my home, and eveybody who live on it, jinchuriki or not, are under my protection! So if you want to take Naruto and Fu, you'll have to kill me first!"
Pain, however, looked undeterred.
"So be it then... sensei," was all what Pain said.
Author's Note: And thus, Konoha's greatest challenge begins!
Konoha using the Chakra Golems is something I've been dying to write since I introduced them all the way back during the Kirigakure Civil War. Guess that, after fighting against them for so long, it was about time to use them themselves. Especially since Konoha is the village that houses the remnant of the Uzumaki clan.
I hope that those who asked more of Team Gai are satisfied. I know that Team Gai fighting Kisame already happened in canon, but frankly, I was unable to think in anybody better suited to deal with him. Though unlike canon, I wanted to put more emphasis on Neji, Lee and Tenten rather than Gai. And don't worry, Team Gai will have more chances to shine in the arcs to come.
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
The Invasion of Konoha begins! Who will live, who will die? Will Akatsuki claim at least one jinchuriki, or will Konoha finally break their streak of victories? Tell me your thoughts on this chapter with a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!