Author's Note: And here we reach the end of the third day of battles. Enjoy:
Chapter 109:
The Light After the Storm
or
Night whispers
Turtle Island, Evening
Despite Killer B having a pretty big house on the island, he didn't allow anybody inside, claiming that nobody was to invade the privacy of his sanctuary. While Naruto and Fu wondered what did he have to hide, they weren't going to pry and earn the ire of their jinchuriki teacher. And since the Kumo garrison on the island didn't have enough space to house all the Konoha ninjas, they had to spend the night in the open.
Not that they minded, as all of the Konoha visitors were seasoned ninjas that were used to sleep under the stars during missions, even the younger ones. Thankfully, they didn't have to hunt or find their own food, as the Kumo ninjas had that part provided. Though there were a few mutters regarding Choza and how long the food supply would last with him around.
"Hey Naruto," Fu asked, as she took a bite from a roasted boar rib. "Wanna come with me into the jungle to see what kind of animals show up at night?"
"I doubt we can do that. We need to get to bed early so we can be up just at sunrise and continue with our training," Naruto replied.
Fu snorted, as she placed her chin under her hand in a lazy way. "Why? Is not that we're making that much progress anyway. We could try to do something fun just once."
"I also want to sleep," Naruto said, suppresing a yawn. "Trying to master Kurama's chakra is like nothing I've tried before, and I'm exhausted. I'm surprised that you still have that much energy for adventure."
"Maybe we need to relax a little from training, you know? I was always told that focusing too much on a problem might not be good to solve it. Sometimes, it's better to take a step back and let your mind wander for a bit."
"Who told you that? Shino?"
Fu smiled brightly, and nodded. "He's a treasure cove of wisdom, isn't he? He doesn't speak much, but when he does, every word he says is worth listening to."
"Tell Shino his wisdom won't work on me," Naruto said, as he stretched his arms. "I think I'm going to sleep. I'm sure that, if I keep with the training, in the end I'll be able to do it. This isn't the first time that I struggle with a jutsu or a new power."
Fu's face scrunched into an unamused scowl. "I don't think I want you as my little brother. You're way too boring."
"Little? I'm older than you!" Naruto protested.
Fu then stood up to her full height, hands on her hips. "But I'm bigger than you. So much bigger than you," Fu was trying to sound threatening, but her repressed giggles ruined the intended effect. She playfully flicked Naruto's nose. "So, no talking back to your big sister, mister!"
"Now that you mention it," Naruto began, as she looked at the girl toweing over him. "What did you do to have such a hell of a growth spurt? We were the same height when I first met you."
Fu placed a finger under her lower lip, as she recalled the previous years." Well, you can say that I always had a lot of energy," Fu began, shrugging casually. "Shibuki said that I needed to burn all these pent up energy I had in my body, so he devised this super tough training regime to expend my excess energy on it. It was hard at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly. Then he increased the training, but I got used to it again. He continued like that for a year, before he gave up, though I decided to continue the training on my own because it wasn't that bad."
Naruto shot her a blank stare. "I refuse to believe that you got like that just by mere training. I train a lot too!"
Fu gave him a condescending smile. "Not as much as I do, that's for sure," and for added emphasis, she flexed her biceps.
"You're right in doubting her claim," both Naruto and Fu heard Kurama joining their conversation. "Let's say your tenant has something to do with it."
"Hey! Do not downplay my hard work, you furball!" Fu said, angrily poking at Naruto's stomach.
"I'm just stating the truth, human girl. It's not my fault that you're too mentally weak to accept it," Kurama replied in a somewhat taunting tone. "Those wings you can generate isn't the only way Chomei influences your body. You can thank her for your endless stamina and strength."
"That can't be true!" Fu angrily protested.
"It is!" this time, it was Chomei herself who chimed in. "Beetles are among the strongest animals on the planet! They can lift several hundred times their own weight! And naturally, I'm the strongest of them all! So of course, you got a portion of that strength as my chakra mingled with yours."
"Awww..." Fu said, discouraged, as she slumped down. "And here I thought it was all me..."
"Hey, don't get so down, girl! If it's any consolation, you're the most badass jinchruiki I ever had, and you aren't even an adult yet! Imagine what you're going to do before you stop growing!" Chomei tried to reassure.
"Wait... she's going to grow even more!?" Naruto asked in both shock and horror.
"Not if she doesn't keep a healthy sleeping schedule!" Chomei replied. "Naruto is right, time to go to bed! You still need to work hard to master my power!"
Fu crossed her arms, and pouted childishly. "None of you guys are any fun."
…
Moon
Despite the fact that the sun illuminating the hollow inside of the Moon was artificial, they found that over time, it would increase or decrease its brightness in order to simulate day and night cycles. Something they appreciated, given that it was hard to sleep when your brain was tricked to believe that it was still daylight.
During night, it would not only lower its brightness, it would also mimic the actual Moon. Like a moon inside the Moon.
"Heh," Hinata couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the thought, as her eyes continued to stare at their goal, hanging on the sky.
Right now, they were resting in another small ghost town they found, this one without anything of note. The others were asleep, and Hinata was doing the first guard. The Hyuga Clan Head was sitting on the roof of the town's tallest building, in order to have a better vantage point. She was sure no enemy would attack them now, but one could never be so sure. After all, their enemy didn't sleep.
According to the pictures and other hints they studied from the many temples, they found that there is a huge castle inside that sun, where the Main Otsutsuki family use to live, and presumably, Toneri's base of operations and where he has his weapon stored. Hinata tried many times to use her Tenseigan to see beyond the sun, but found herself unable too.
It seemed that Toneri didn't bring every puppet to the Earth to fight for Akatsuki, and left a sizeable force to defend his home turf. Many days they could see puppets riding flying mechanical beasts, patroling the area in search for enemies. It was advised to avoid them as not to alert Toneri of their presence. However, by carefully watching them, Hinata realized that they came and went from inside the sun, somehow. That meant that either it wasn't dangerous to fly near the sun, or had a way to safely cross it.
"Hinata-san?" a voice snapped Hinata from her trance. Turning around, she saw it was Sai, Ino's not-quite-boyfriend. "Hello. I came to relieve you from night watch duty."
Hinata smiled, as she let out a yawn. "Good. I was starting to get a bit sleepy."
"In that case, I recommend you to rest. The success of this mission rests on your power, and it wouldn't do us no good if you weren't at your best," Sai explained, keeping a neutral face.
"Um, yeah, sure," Hinata said, as she jumped off of the roof, and floated back to the ground.
She entered one of the empty houses were Nori and another female Moon Acolyte were sleeping, alongside an empty sleeping bag. She got inside the bag, carefully not to awake her companions, and after a couple minutes, she fell asleep.
"Yes, it worked!" a new voice said. A voice Hinata wasn't expecting to hear right now.
The Hyuga Clan Head opened her eyes, and found she was no longer on the Moon.
…
Land of Frost, later that night
Just like the previous two battles, the Ninja Alliance once again stood victorious against the Akatsuki onslaught, whose forces were driven away from the Land of Frost much to the joy of their inhabitants. And while many Zetsu and reanimations managed to escape to fight another day, just as many lost their lives in the battleground. Now, it was their turn for a well deserved rest.
Unlike the other divisions, Mifune's Fifth Division didn't have to erect a base camp in the middle of a forest in order to spend the night. Fortunately, not far away from the battelground, there was a town that they could use as improvised base of operations.
The town's citizens were ambivalent of the ninjas. On one side, they didn't want such a huge army of mostly foreign ninjas –they were okay with those from Kumo– invading their home, but on the other hand, some said that the ninjas would protect them against the Akatsuki forces still roaming there. Fortunately, the Kumo and Shimo ninjas managed to convince them to let them stay.
Of course, that didn't change the fact that most ninjas had to continue sleeping on tents and sleeping bags, since the town didn't have the capacity to house such a numerous army. Soon, the town was surrounded by a mass of tents from every direction.
And right now, in the special tent habilitated for communications, Mifune was in front of a ninja of the Yamanaka clan, the latter connected to a special device that amplified his mind powers in order to create a link with HQ, so the Shogun of the Land of Iron could deliver his report to the Supreme Commander.
"You lead your divison to a great victory, Mifune-dono," Jiraiya praised the old samurai. "However, some elements of your report are a little unsettling. If Orochimaru has revived Kakuzu, there might be the chance that other Akatsuki members have been revived as well."
"What other Akatsuki members?" Mifune asked.
"For once, my grandson. The very first Akatsuki who fell," It was Chiyo's voice who answered. "Though admittedly, Sasori won't be much of a threat without his best puppets."
"Is there a chance that Sasori might have a secret stash of puppets that he can use to replenish those he lost the first time he died?" Mifune asked.
"I find that unlikely," Chiyo replied.
"There's also Kisame, who was finally put down by Mizukage-sama and Zabuza-sama not long ago," Ao intervened. "But his sword and main source of strength, Samehada, was recovered and is currently in our possession. Even if Kisame is revived, he won't be as much of a threat as when he was still alive."
"Which leaves us to the most dangerous of the bunch: Nagato," Jiraiya stated, his voice dripping with worry. "There's no way Orochimaru didn't try to revive a Rinnegan bearer."
"If that was the case, why didn't he send it against us already?" Mifune asked.
"I'm afraid I can't tell. Trying to understand the mind of my former teammate isn't something that many people can do," Jiraiya admitted.
"We did observe a pattern regarding the Reanimations," Shikaku interceded. "During the first days, the zombies our forces fought weren't that powerful nor great in numbers. Yet their power and numbers have been increasing with each battle. I think Orochimaru wants to assess the extent of our power before he decides to break out the heavy hitters."
"It does make sense," Onoki intervened. "The reports of the Invasion of Konoha stated that Orochimaru revived their previous Hokages. If Orochimaru's mastery of this aberrant jutsu has increased to the point of being able to summon and control undead in large quantities, I bet he also revived several Kages of all the Great Villages."
"If Hanzo's presence was anything to go by, it is something he might do. Hanzo might not be a Kage in the official sense of the title, but had the power to match against one," Mifune stated.
"What about the Air Force? How did it perform against Akatsuki's flying minions?" Jiraiya asked.
"Their presence was a huge relief for the ground forces. Not only did they keep Akatsuki's aerial mooks from attacking us from above, but they managed to bring us much needed support," Mifune stated. "Especially the members of Iwa's Kamizuru clan. Their help was invaluable in taking down many reanimations in a quick manner."
"They better pull their share of the weight, given how long those brats spent out of the village on that wild goose chase," Onoki snorted.
"Excellent, now we have a good way to prevent Akatsuki from conquering the skies," Jiraiya said, ignroing Onoki's snide comment. "Though I wouldn't put past them to bring up something to regain aerial superiority."
"I find that unlikely, flight isn't an ability that common," Onoki stated.
"Even then, it would be wiser to err on the side of caution, and not underestimate the enemy," Mifune advised.
"Something I can agree with," Jiraiya replied. "I believe there's nothing more to discuss. You did an excellent job today, Mifune-dono. Expect the supply caravan to reach your position soon. In the meantime, you and your troops earned a rest."
"Thank you, Supreme Commander."
Mifune could feel the link between his mind and those in HQ vanish as the Yamanaka ended the connection. Repressing a sigh of exhaustion, the old samurai exited the communications tent –guarded by two samurai, who straightened when their leader passed them–, and looked around the campsite: there were many bonfires with ninjas and samurai sitting around them, using them to heat their food. Others returned from the town, carrying food they probably bought from restaurants and inns, as well as some bottles. He could imagine that it was sake.
"I better keep an eye on the troops. They might want to enjoy some alcohol after such a battle, but I'm not going to tolerate drunken antics among my men," Mifune said to himself, shaking his head. He would ban drinking altogether as long as the war continued, but he didn't want to risk low morale, or worse, a revolt.
He saw a group of samurai, wearing their armor but not their helmets, sitting in front of a bonfire, eating some meat and drinking what appeared to be tea. As expected, they immediately straightened upon seeing their leader.
"Mifune-sama," all the samurai said.
"Yoshiteru," Mifune addressed as the man with the higher rank, a broad shouldered man in his late thirties with a buzzcut and a goatee. "It seems some ninja decided to bring some alcohol from the town," this earned some snorts of contempt from the samurai, and he swore he heard one of them muttering something about lack of discipline. "For the time being, I'm going to let them enjoy themselves a little, but I want you and the rest of the samurai to make sure things don't go overboard."
"Understood, Mifune-sama," Yoshiteru said, bowing quickly, before putting back his helmet, one with horns in order to show his superior rank, The rest of the samurai present did the same. "Leave it to us, and we'll make sure no one brings shame to this division."
Mifune nodded, as he watched the samurai leave, presumably to transmit his orders to their companions.
"I guess I should follow the Supreme Commander's advice and get some rest myself. One never knows when Akatsuki is going to strike," Mifune said to himself once again.
He was heading towards his private tent when something caught his attention: a certain blue haired woman sitting on the roof of one of the houses at the edge of the town, her amber eyes fixed onto the setting sun. The Shogun of the Land of Iron decided that rest could come later, and with a mighty leap, he landed behind Konan, who didn't react in any way to his presence.
"Hello again," Mifune greeted the former Akatsuki. "Do you mind if we talk a little?"
"You're my superior officer. If I did mind, it would be of little consequence," Konan replied.
"This has nothing to do with official matters of the Ninja Alliance," Mifune said, trying to sound friendly. "I witnessed your fight against Hanzo. While I was worried at first, said worries were quickly swept away when I saw the masterful way in which you dealt with him. You're a very skilled ninja, girl. We are fortunate Akatsuki lost somebody like you."
"Thank you," Konan dryly accepted the compliment, but didn't say anything else. They fell into a silence until Mifune decided to break it again.
"I did hear some of what you said during the battle," Mifune continued. "You had some kind of history with Hanzo, didn't you?"
"Yes," Konan replied. "Is it of any interest to you?"
"You could say it is," Mifune said. "You know, I also clashed with Hanzo in past conflicts, when I was much younger. Though I don't think I made much of an impression on him to make him remember me."
"Hanzo was a warmonger. I'm sure a good chunk of the ninjas present here have some kind of history with Hanzo," Konan stated, displeasure evident in her tone. "If not them, then their parents or some family memebers."
"True. Though few would be the same kind of close and personal history like you and me. Especially you," Mifune pointed.
"I guess you have a point," Konan admitted. "So, you want to hear about my first encounter with that man?"
"If it's not much trouble, yes, I would like to," Mifune admitted.
Konan gave Mifune an bridged version of how her early life was for context, before recounting the horrible experience that claimed the life of the man she loved, and most importantly, the man that would bring true peace to the Land of Rain. She then told him about how they reformed Akatsuki into what it is today, and finally, how Pain put an end to Hanzo's reign, and seized Amegakure for Akatsuki.
"To think that a single man was able to defeat a foe like Hanzo..." Mifune said, trying to keep his awe in check. "The Rinnegan is truly something."
"True. Though as you could see today, the Rinnegan isn't necessary to beat Hanzo," Konan pointed out. "Though I have the feeling that the Hanzo Nagato killed, and the one I defeated today isn't the same Hanzo that served the Sannin their most known defeat. Fighting Hanzo, he felt like he was... off. Sloppy. Like he hadn't had a real fight in years," Konan explained. "Though given how long has been since Hanzo was seen in a battlefield, it might have been the case."
"I haven't been in a battlefield for more than two decades, yet that didn't stop me from keeping my skills honed," Mifune pointed out. "You think Hanzo would fall prey to such indulgence?"
"Given his standing, probably. Very few people wanted to fight him directly, so it's not that unlikely that he took advantage of his fearsome reputation."
Mifune shook his head. "It's always a pity when a warrior of such caliber lets himself spoil like that."
For the first time, Konan stopped looking at the sunset, and gazed at Mifune, one of her eyebrows raising. "Your words carry a lot of reverence for a man as despicable as him."
Mifune chuckled a little. "I can't help it, Konan-san. I will always respect the skill of a powerful warrior, be ninja or samurai, friend or foe."
"You do realize that it's thanks to Hanzo that Akatsuki exists," Konan reminded him.
Mifune, however, shook his head. "In that, you're wrong. Akatsuki, at least in spirit, existed longer before that. If Obito didn't convince you to join him, he would have used another method. Included killing your friend Nagato in his sleep and taking the Rinnegan back. Hanzo was, at best, somebody who fostered a fortuitous situation Obito took advantage of."
Konan weighed the words of the commander of the Fifth Division, nodded in agreement, and let out a weary sigh.
"We're truly insignificant, aren't we?" Konan asked. "If other people can use us as pawns so easily."
"Less insignificant than you think, Konan-san," Mifune reassured her. "And we're only pawns if we allow ourselves to be. And you stopped being one the moment you walked out of that criminal organization."
…
"And the score is: Animal Squad two, Kakuzu zero! Wohoooo!" Kiba howled, with Akamaru happily barking for added emphasis.
"Yeah, we beat that guy once, why did Akatsuki think that sending him a second time would be different?" Tamaki agreed.
Kiba looked at Tamaki, eyerbow corked. "Whoa, you're agreeing with me? Did somebody smacked your head really hard or something?"
"Har har," Tamaki replied, rolling her eyes. "Despite what you might think, I don't disagree with you on principle, only when you're wrong."
"You disagree with me most of the time," Kiba said, frowning a little, as he crossed his arms.
"Because you're wrong most of the time," Tamaki said with a mocking grin as he leaned towards him a little. "Just not this time. So enjoy this fleeting moment of being right and me agreeing with you."
Kakashi's Animal Squad was sitting around a bonfire, enjoying their dinner and something to drink while celebrating victory. Both Kiba and Tamaki were in a high mood and amicably talked with each other, while Shino and Kakashi were silent. While it was par the course for Shino, the silver haired Jonin looked a little spiritless.
"While I hate to interrupt the only moment in which your insufferable bickering doesn't spoil the mood," Shino interceded, pushing his glasses. "I must point out that the credit for our victory over Kakuzu shouldn't entirely go to us. We did have outside help from an Iwa ninja in his capture."
"Ah, yeah, that girl with the scary giant bee," Kiba said, as he recalled the memory of the battle. He then shrugged. "Eh, we would have beaten him one way or the other. She only accelerated the only possible outcome."
"You certainly don't lack confidence in your abilities," Shino pointed out.
"Of course I dont'! I mean, it's not that I think I'm invincible or something like that, but I can tell how much I've improved over the past years!" the Inuzuka boasted. "Plus, Kakuzu isn't the only reanimation we fought and defeated. Did you hear about how Tamaki and I crushed Takigakure's previous leader, Hisen?"
"Maybe not as strong as Kakashi-sensei, but close!" Tamaki continued. "And Kiba, Shibuki-san and I totally kicked his butt! Ask Shibuki-san if you don't believe us!"
"You two certainly seem to be in a festive mood," Shino pointed out, supressing a sigh.
"Why wouldn't be? Today we scored a huge victory!" Tamaki cheered, though truth be told, she wasn't sure if their victory was that decisive or not. Still, a victory was a victory.
"And you should be as well," Kiba said in a mildly chastising tone. "You should be celebrating with us, yet instead you are so dour it looks like you ate a lemon raw!"
Taking some offense to this, Shino crossed his arms and shifted in his seat to give his back to his two teammates. "I don't know what you're talking about. Just because I'm not hollering like you two doesn't mean that I'm not happy for our victory."
There was a moment of silence, until a realization dawned upon Tamaki. She smiled widely and narrowed her eyes at Shino in a mocking manner.
"Ohhhhhhh, I think I know why you're so moddy, Shino," Tamaki said in a teasing manner. "You're mad because that girl with the giant bee wasn't some normal Iwa ninja. I did hear about her clan, they were some rivals or enemies of your clan, weren't it?"
"You can't be right, Tamaki," Kiba interceded, first sounding like he was going to defend his teammate, but soon joined Tamaki in the mockery. "Shino is so obviously above such petty things, he woulnd't let him bother him that much, would he?"
"I think I prefered you two when you were constantly bickering," Shino replied.
"Aw, come on Shino, don't be like that. We're only teasing you," Tamaki said, lightly slapping his shoulder. "Cheer on! Who cares if a member of an ancestral enemy saved your skin? We're here, we're alive, and we won, that's what matters!"
"Well said! Don't you agree with us, Kakashi-sensei?" Kiba asked the silver haired Jonin, but got no answer. "Kakashi-sensei?"
"Huh?" Kakashi asked all of sudden, sounding dazed and disoriented, like he was suddenly snapped from a deep slumber. "I'm sorry Kiba, I wasn't listening to you. You were saying?"
"Aw, not you too!" the Inuzuka protested, throwing his hands in the air. Akamaru whined a little.
"Me too what?" the confused Copy Ninja asked.
"Come on Kiba, be a little more sensitive," Tamaki told the Inuzuka. "Kakashi-sensei was forced to fight his own dad. That must have been quite the crushing experience."
"It was," Kakashi said, letting out a sigh. "And I'd lie if I said that it didn't affect me. But I'm better now. I appreciate your concern, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm better now, promise."
"You know that you can talk to us about any problem you have, right?" Tamaki insisted. "Bottling your emotions can't be good. Especially during times like this."
"Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?" Kakashi asked, as he scratched his temple.
"You know, Rin told us about her time with you when you were our age, and how you used to be back then," Kiba pointed out.
"And how Obito's supposed death affected you," Tamaki continued.
Kakashi let out a sigh that he didn't know was holding. "That girl... always poking her nose on other people's business... if somebody gives her a reason to worry, she won't drop the issue until it's solved. Guess I should be glad she didn't change that much. There's no escape from this one, isn't it?"
Both Tamaki and Kiba wordlessly shook their heads. Shino merely crossed his arms before adjusting his glasses, which reflected the light of the bonfire in an admittedly unsettling way.
"If Rin told you about how I used to be when... when we formed part of Team Minato," Kakashi began, the uneasiness of the memory becoming evident. "Then you know that my ideas of what it meant to be a ninja were markedly different, which were influenced by my father's decision and how he ended up taking away his life.
"Even if thanks to Obito I managed to understand why my father choose his comrades over completing the mission, there was something else I was unable to forgive him for: killing himself, and leaving me alone to fend for myself. I might have been a prodigious ninja, but that didn't change the fact that my age was still in the single digits, with all of what it entailed."
"So even if you gained a better understanding of your father's decision-making, you still resented him for taking his life," Shino summarized.
"Yeah. At first, I tried to make anything to separate myself from him, and I think that taking an opposite worldview was part of that. After Obito made me reconsider... well, then it became even harder. Before I hated my father, and then I had this weird mix of love, respect and resentment, and quite frankly, I didn't know how to deal with it. And thought that the best thing to do was simply not deal with it."
"But why?" Kiba asked.
"He was dead. Nothing was going to change that," Kakashi said with a shrug. "I thought that the best thing I could do was not to dwell on that and move on. Plus, I was still dealing with my whole goddamn team dying one after the other."
"Though in the end two of them weren't dead," Tamaki chimed in, hoping to cheer Kakashi a bit with hat fact.
"You have no idea how weird it feels to see somebody alive after accepting that they were dead," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "And then, of course, Orochimaru not only had to revive my father, but he then throws him against me in particular."
"I think it's been long established that that man is quite sick," Kiba said in disgust.
"So all the feelings I bottled for so many years came rushing like a torrent breaking through a damn made of toothpicks," Kakashi said, letting out a mirthless chuckle. "Which I wasn't able to hide, and my dad, clever bastard that he was, picks on them and wanted to help me solve them."
"While you two were battling," Tamaki said, thought it was more a question.
"While the two of us were battling," the Copy Ninja confirmed with a nod.
"And were you able to make peace with him?" Shino asked.
"As unbelievable as it was, we did. He said he understood how I feel, and regretted taking his life. Apparently, he also regretted saving his comrades over completing the mission, but I convinced him he did the right thing. That seemed to bring him some relief," Kakashi said. "Eventually, I mustered the strength to forgive him, because I knew I would never have such a good chance. And do you guys remember how Hokage-sama defeated the zombies of Minato-sensei and Kushina?"
"I believe that, if a zombie reaches a form of closure, the soul will return to the afterlife and the reanimation will be undone," Shino recalled.
"So that's what happened with your father?" Tamaki asked, easily connecting the dots.
"Yes. It was quite... cathartic to watch," Kakashi said, raising his gaze to the night sky above him. "For the first time in my life, I felt like I was finally ready to move on from the past."
"Funny thing, you weren't the only one who had to fight their father returned as a zombie. Kiba and I helped Shibuki-san deal with his dad," Tamaki said once again. "And it seems that Shibuki also had some stuff he really needed to discuss with him."
"Though unlike your dad, Hisen didn't disappear on his own, and we had to seal him," Kiba added.
"It's kind of crazy how many people ended up fighting their dead relatives," Tamaki observed.
"Not as crazy as you may think," Shino intervened. "A man as intelligent as Orochimaru surely took the emotional factor into the equation when he raised his army of the undead. Fighting a strong ninja with unlimited chakra that can't be killed by conventional means is hard on itself, but if we add the distress of said undead enemy being a person close to you, the fight becomes even worse."
"Like I said, that man is sick," Kiba spat, with Akamaru barking in agreement.
"More like diabolical," Tamaki added.
"Indeed. But as we proved him today, that strategy isn't going to work," Kakashi said, smiling under his mask. His students returned the gesture. "Come on, let's enjoy the night, we deserve a little celebration after such victory."
…
"Today's been a good day for the Kamizuru Clan."
To say that Suzumebachi was happy would be an understatement. Sure, there was a lot of joy going around given the Alliance's string of victories, this one being the most recent, but the Iwa kunoichi was indeed ecstatic.
Like most other ninjas, she and her two brothers were sitting around a bonfire while enjoying their dinner, while they discussed the battle that took place that day, as well as making predictions of how the conflict would progress. They made sure to sit along other Iwa ninjas, given their lack of trust in other villages, especially Konoha.
"Yes. It's been a while since we've been in a real battle," an older looking man with tanned skin, a black beard with a moustache added. This man was Kurobachi, Suzumebachi's older brother. Though, despite his seniority, he wasn't the leader of what was left of their clan, given his little sister's superior talent in their clan secret jutsu.
"But with the jutsu we learned from the secret scrolls of the First Tsuchikage, the enemy never stood a chance," a glasses-wearing man with long blond hair that accentuated his overall feminine appearance added confidently. This man was Jibachi, the youngest of the Kamizuru siblings.
The Kamizuru siblings left Iwa in order to search for the First Tsuchikage's secret scrolls, that contained the Kamizuru Clan's most powerful jutsu. They searched in every place they knew their grandfather had been in or was of some significance, to no avail. After almost eight years of search, they were ready to give up.
That's it, until by pure coincidence, they heard of the Bikochu beetle, an incredibly rare insect with an extremely keen sense of smell, which was valuable for trackers for that very reason. After another long and arduous search, they found a specimen of Bikochu ready to lay eggs, and managed to make a newborn Bikochu to smell a piece of cloth that belonged to their grandfather. Eventually, the Bikochu led them to a hidden ninja fortress were the scrolls were stored.
The irony that they managed to complete their mission thanks to a beetle that was previously used by the Aburame clan wasn't lost on them, but they didn't want to dwell on it.
"The best part was probably the face those Aburames made when they witnessed our new powers," Suzumebachi said, letting out a cackle of satisfaction. "Oh, if we only had that scroll during the last war... things would have been MUCH different!"
"You're talking about that Aburame you saved from that one reanimation, don't you?" Jibachi asked, smiling a little.
Kurobachi, however, sneered as he crossed his arms. "Disgraceful. You should have let that kid die. We're fighting this war for Iwa, not for any of the other villages, much less Konoha. If the other nations end up crippled by this conflict, the better for us."
Rather than agree with him, Suzumebachi shot her elder brother a chastising stare. "You should do well to remember, brother, that we're at war with an enemy of a scale unseen before. Maybe Konoha and the Aburame clan were our enemies in the past. And they may be in the future, once this war is won and forgotten. But for the time being, they're allies, and they'll be treated as such."
"You can't be talking seriously!" Kurobachi angrily protested.
"And this, my dear brother, is why I am the one in charge," Suzumebachi said. "Our clan is on thin ice, being the three of us its last remaining members. If we want to come out of this war alive, we will need to be both careful and pragmatic. I'm not asking you to like the Aburames –Kami knows what do I think of them–, but like I said before, they're our allies now."
"I agree with Suzumebachi, brother. There might be a time where we might be on a perilous situation and may need assitance from ninjas from other villages, Konoha included," Jibachi interceded. "And I'd hate that they'd let me die because we were shown unwilling to do the same for them."
"But we won't be in a situation that would require such help! We're not just Kamizuru, but the strongest Kamizuru since the First Tsuchikage, for Kami's sake! Don't you have any pride?" Kurobachi angrily shouted.
"Pride is what caused our clan to fall from grace like it did. I do take pride in my strength and abilities, but not to the point of letting me blind me to reason," Suzumebachi said.
Kurobachi shook his head, and scoffed. "You always had quite the big head, sis. And you only got worse when you caught the eye of Onoki's brat of a granddaughter."
"Tsuchikage-sama may be young and a little naïve, but only a fool wouldn't respect her strength. And most importantly, she has Iwa's interest at heart. That should be enough for you," Suzumebachi replied.
"You know she isn't here. You don't have to butter her up. I know you're working your way into being the next Tsuchikage, but everything has a limit," Jibachi said, snickering a little.
"If you sparred against her like I did, you wouldn't underestimate her like that," Suzumebachi angrily retorted. "Kurotsuchi is strong, and if I play my cards right, part of that strength is going to be mine. Or better said, for the Kamizuru clan."
Kurobachi raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Two of Iwa's most powerful jutsu, The Light Boulder Jutsu, created by our grandfather, and the Dust Release, created by his direct successor, are secret jutsu privy only to the Tsuchikages. Kurotsuchi-sama was already a formidable kunoichi in no small part thanks to her Lava Release Bloodline Limit, but adding flight and Dust Release to the mix, she became truly deadly," Suzumebachi explained. "Meaning that, if I manage to convince her that I'm a suitable sucessor, those secrets will be mine as well."
Despite her admittedly opportunistic thoughts and goal, Suzumebachi liked to think of herself as a loyal Iwa ninja and somebody the Tsuchikage trusted.
"But they will be yours alone only, not part of the clan," Kurobachi pointed out. "They won't allow you to share them with us."
"Maybe not, but I have other ways to increase our clan's power. And that's where you two enter," Suzumebachi said. "I suggested Kurotsuchi-sama the possibility of an arranged marriage between members of the Kinryu clan and the three of us. That way, the next generation of Kamizuru clan members will also have Lava Release on top of our clan jutsu. So far, she seems to be receptive to the idea, and promised me that there would be talks with the head and elders of the Kinryu clan once the war is over."
"You certainly thought this very thoroughly," Kurobachi noted. "And you're confident your plan will succeed."
"I have to be. I've been planning this for more than a decade to let that much work go to waste," Suzumebachi said, gritting her teeth. She stood up, and shot her brothers a deadly glare. "That's why we can't screw this up, understood? We need to show Kurotsuchi-sama that we're among the best, if not the best ninjas of Iwa. Even if that means working side by side with Aburame clan. Understood?"
"Clear as water," Jibachi said.
"Whatever, you better know what you're doing," Kurobachi huffed, rolling his eyes.
…
Hanabi was sitting cross legged on the roof of a building of the town their campsite was built around. She required silence to do what she was trying, and even if she could still hear her fellow Allied ninjas partying and celebrating their victory below, she was far away enough as for their voices to be low and muffled enough to break her concentration.
Unlike Hinata, Hanabi has never been one for meditation. She never really saw the point of it. Hinata always said that Hanabi was too impatient and impulsive. The younger sister would agree, but she wouldn't consider it something that detracted from ther ninja skills. At least not until now.
"Come on..." Hanabi said, letting out a long breath, while focusing her chakra.
Little by little, the muffled voices she could hear from below became more and more faint, until silence reigned uncontested. Hanabi took a couple minutes to realize this, and in order to test if her experiment worked, she opened her eyes.
Much to her delight, she was no longer on that town, but on the weird palace where she met Hamura Otsutsuki the time she awoke the Tenseigan. But instead of Hamura, it was her sister Hinata who was standing in front of her, her eyes looking into the distance, as if her mind was off.
"Yes, it worked!" Hanabi cheered.
"Huh?" Hinata asked, blinking a couple times, as if she had been snapped from a dream. She looked around, confused. "Uh? Where am I...? Hanabi-chan?"
"Hey, sis," Hanabi casually asked. "Before you ask, no, you are not dreaming. This is really me. I'm contacting you from the Earth."
"From the Earth...?" Hinata repeated, as if weighting her words. "How?"
"Remember how Hamura said he's bound to the chakra of those that possess the Tensiegan?" Hanabi asked. Hinata nodded. "Well, that means that the two of us are linked through Hamura's chakra. And I thought, since we're linked by our chakra, then maybe I can use it to contact you, just like Hamura talked to us. Plus, the fact that we're sisters should make the connection even stronger."
"That... was rather ingenious, Hanabi-chan," Hinata praised. Hanabi smiled proudly. "So, how are things going down there?"
"So, far, we're winning. Most of the reanimations avoid me, for good reason, so I'm mostly filling the role of air support. Then they have me permanently destroy the sealed reanimations with the Truth Seeking Balls," Hanabi explained. "I did hear some talks that Orochimaru is waiting to send their most powerful zombies for later, when our numbers are lower and we're more tired. What about you? Did you find that mysterious weapon?"
"We have a good idea of where it might be, but reaching there might become a bit of a problem," Hinata said.
"I see. Well, I was mostly checking on you to see how you were doing," Hanabi said a bit sheepishly. "And for you to see that I'm fine."
Hinata smiled. "It's certainly a reassuring thought. Say, do you know something about Naruto-kun?"
Hanabi shook her head. "As far as I know, he's still training on that super secret island. Man, if the two of you were here, this war would go much more smoothly."
"I'll do my best to complete my mission here so we can go back to Earth and help you there, I promise," Hinata told Hanabi.
…
Mountain Graveyard
Orochimaru was sitting alone in the cave entrance of Obito's lair. The Uchiha had left after a White Zetsu announced their defeat, the third one in a row. The first two battles Obito kept his cool, but now the Sannin could tell the Uchiha's patience was starting to run dry. Even if the Snake Sannin didn't fear the new Akatsuki leader, Rinnegan or not, he didn't want to risk their alliance.
Still, Orochimaru wouldn't consider the battle a complete lost, as he made a discovery regarding Impure World Resurrection. While he was monitoring all the fights his puppet zombies took part in, he could sense his control over Sakumo Hatake slowly slipping. His attention was drawn to the White Fang, mostly to see what the enemy was doing that could break his control over them. It already happened in Konoha, and the fact that he still didn't found what they did unnerved him.
It was then when he found out what it was: personal closure. When Kakashi and Sakumo made amends, Orochimaru could feel his control over the reanimation weaken more and more until it was completely undone, and the reanimation crumbled.
"To think that Impure World Resurrection has such a glaring weakness," the Sannin said in disgust, shaking his head. "Almost sounds like something out of a story for children."
Still, now that he knew this, he could take precautions. Whenever he felt that a reanimation would reach closure, Orochimaru would take direct control of them, overriding their personality with his own.
"Fortunately, this discovery didn't come too late, since I still have my best reanimations in reserve," Orochimaru said, rubbing his hands together. "Alright, the kids' gloves are off. I think I already tested the enemy's strength enough. Time to show the world the true power of this jutsu."
Author's Note: Yeah, mark Orochimaru's words, because they mean business. Let's say that these first three battles were more like a warm up. You probably noticed how nobody of note died so far, right? Yeah, from now onwards, that's going to change. It's not like I'm going to go full Game of Thrones, but expect named characters to die from the next battle onwards.
The part I liked to write the most about this chapter was Konan. Really, I love writing a post-Akatsuki Konan, she's so interesting and there are so many things about her to explore... while Kishimoto wasted a lot of the awesome characters he created, Konan definitely sits at the Top 5. And rest assured, this isn't the last you'll be seeing of her ;)
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
Again, if you liked this chapter, don't forget to leave a review. It doesn't matter if it's long or small, every review means a lot to me, and they make me really, really, really happy!