The Rise of a Warrior: Naruto: Shippuden

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Three years have come and gone, and while Tatsu and the ninja of the Hidden Leaf have grown stronger, they'll have a whole new group of enemies to face. The era of Team Dragon has arrived, but can they rise to the challenge? Sequel to the Rise of a Warrior: Naruto, second story in my Naruto trilogy. Please read each chapter until the end and check for notes.

26. Island Ambush, Departure for War

Naruto knelt down in front of Lee "Hey Bushy Brow, you doing okay? Is there anything I can do to help you?" he touched him, causing him to scream in pain 'Oh yeah, the after effects of using the Eight Gates. Just touching him will make him scream. Oh crap Bushy Brow, I'm really sorry about that." he dropped him, earning another scream 'Gentle, right.'

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Motoi finished writing up his report "That guy's Water Prison Jutsu really delayed me from getting the word out about our intel leak."

"For now, we have to assume that the enemy knows about our location." Kazuma told him, then lowered his voice "And that means that we're going to have to somehow move Naruto and the others out of here right now, I have little doubt that the enemy is going to try and make a move soon."

"I understand. However…" Motoi summoned a messenger hawk "We'll move them but not by boat, they'll both remain here on this island."

"What do you mean?"

"Guys." then Tatsu dropped down with Shisui, Killer B and Ino, who now carried Samehada on her back.

"Well guys, how did it go?"

Ino shook her head "None of us were able to track the shark down, even Samehada couldn't sniff it out. Sorry."

"It can't be helped." then Kazuma turned back to Motoi "I don't understand, how are you going to move them without taking them from the island?"

Motoi raised an eyebrow "You were never told?"

"Never told what?"

"You cannot find this place on a map, and even if you do know it exists it's still hard to find. That's because it's actually…"

Kazuma's jaw nearly dropped at what he heard "...What?! Motoi, did you just say what I think you said?"

"That's right, this happens to be a mobile stronghold. This island is a massive turtle that has been reared by the Hidden Cloud since ancient times."

"...So we're standing on-"

"Of course we can assume that the enemy already knows this, but this island is still far safer than any boat for the sake of travelling to the Hidden Mist Village. Besides Naruto thinks that he's here for a top secret ecological survey, if we move him off the island then he's bound to grow suspicious." he winced at Lee's constant screams of pain and agony.

"I see."

"So do you have a plan then?" asked Tatsu.

"...I think I do." Kazuma pulled out a scroll 'I just hope it will work. Naruto, can you come over here?"

Naruto then came over "What's up?"

"We just received a message from Lady Hokage." Kazuma opened a scroll "The Five Great Nations face a critical situation as they prepare for the Fourth Great Ninja War, there's been some concern that the shinobi and samurai so a third military unit made up of the animals here on the island is to be formed. Therefore, it has been decided that a jinchuuriki who is able to communicate with animals and loves them like Naruto Uzumaki will be given the important tasks of assembling and organizing this animal unit. This is a top secret S rank mission, you must work diligently for the fate of the world may depend on it. This is from Lady Hokage herself."

"...This…"

'Did he buy it? Please tell me he bought it.'

Naruto had anime tears of joy running down his face "This is just the kind of intellectual mission that I've been waiting for! It's the kind that Shikamaru always gets where you have to coordinate people!"

"Well coordinate animals to be more exact. Just leave it to Naruto, lucky for us he fell for our plan. Well you know what they say Kazuma, jinchuuriki can be odder than most but in a situation like this that's putting it pretty mildly.'

"Granny Tsunade understands me well, I bet she's just trying to test out my badass leadership skills! Alright, let's get this mission started already!"

"You say that like I'm going with you."

"I need your help on this Kazuma, you've trained here so you must know about all of the animals on this island don't you?"

"Look why don't you just go and talk to King, he's like the Lady Tsunade of all of the animals around here."

"...By that you mean-?"

"Big, hairy and angry, but with good leadership skills."

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In the Mountain's Graveyard, Madara, Kabuto and Black Zetsu all entered a special room where the Gedo Statue rested atop of a large flower, and beneath it was a clone of the body Hashirama Senju.

Further beneath them was an army of 100,000 White Zetsu clones ready to be deployed against the 87,000 of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

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In the Hidden Mist Village, the Five Kage, as well as Mifune and Shibuki, were discussing their strategy since the Akatsuki now knew of Naruto's whereabouts, while Onoki volunteered to head to the island.

And when Onoki's back started acting up, Shibuki decided to go as well.

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Once they were on the way to the island, Kabuto placed the kunai in Deidara's brain, allowing him to come to "Well it looks like you're finally awake, now my jutsu is a little bit different from that of Lord Orochimaru but with this method you won't be completely held back. Are you hearing me Deidara? I must tell you that I know very little about art, and not a lot about you either."

Deidara smirked "Yes of course, my artistic ninjutsu is simply too sublime to be easily understood or appreciated. However I am quite grateful to you, I have already perfected one ultimate art after all but now I can take my art even further."

"Actually speaking of which, that final explosion of yours didn't really create the buzz that you wanted to the extent you wanted did it?"

"...I already told you that my art is not easily understood, it takes time! A long time!"

"There's no need for you to lose your temper, I completely understand!"

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The group was watching Naruto attempt to get the animals put away into a tunnel in the giant turtle shell.

"The Akatsuki might come here." Kazuma noted "That's why we're hiding all of the animals inside the giant turtle shell, just to be on the safe side."

"Unbelievable." Shisui muttered "Naruto is taking this ecological survey cover story a lot more seriously than I thought he would."

"Yeah but there will be hell to pay if he finds out that this whole thing is just to keep him out of the war." Tatsu pointed out "There's no way he's just going to cooperate with the plan, he'll charge onto the battlefield head first like an angry rhino. As much as I hate lying to him, we can't let that happen. This entire war is about us trying to protect him, Killer B and Utakata."

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The small Akatsuki party continued flying towards the island.

"According to the intel Kisame sent, the island should be right around here." Kabuto noted "It looks like they must have already moved."

Then Onoki suddenly appeared and punched Kabuto through the chest, pushing him off the clay bird with his gravity manipulation 'Got him!'

"What a lousy punch. If I recall then this man must be… Ambushed by the Tsuchikage himself?"

"I was only testing you out, and judging from your response you're nothing but a clone. So it really isn't Madara after all. But still… So what's up with Deidara and that hideous bird?"

"Oh I can assure you, it's really him." then Kabuto dissolved into clay.

'Damn, he's trying to trap me!'

"Hey there old man Onoki!" then Deidara came flying towards him, turning into clay in the process "Long time no see!"

"You too huh?" then he got smashed in between them and caught in the ensuing explosion that followed.

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Tatsu let out a sigh as he watched Naruto and Killer Bee arguing over the gender of a feminine armadillo 'How do I always let myself get into these kinds of things?'

Motoi suddenly froze 'What is this? Something is approaching at very high speeds, and whatever it is it isn't human.'

"What is it Motoi, what's the matter?"

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It had actually been Manda II, a genetic clone of the real Manda created by Kabuto, and it killed the giant squid when it tried to stop it.

But that wasn't the only dilemma in this situation.

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Onoki then emerged, as well as Shibuki, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi, having substituted with a Stone Clone before he was killed by the blast "You took me a little bit by surprise Deidara, I had heard that you were already dead after all. I wasn't expecting your clay clones."

Deidara scowled "The Stone Clone of the Tsuchikage, I should've figured as much."

Kurotsuchi grinned "Brother Deidara, I thought you had blown yourself up in some kind of flashy explosion."

"Yeah, does that mean you didn't die after all?" asked Akatsuchi.

"Please Akatsuchi, you shouldn't get so excited." Shibuki told him from where he was holding onto Akatsuchi's back.

"Why not?"

"Take a good look at his eyes, he's been brought back from the dead using the Reanimation Jutsu used by the Second Hokage and Orochimaru. That means that isn't the real one."

"Dammit." Onoki grumbled "You're still causing trouble even in death, a youngster from the Hidden Leaf defeats you and then you have the gall to try and sneak back in amongst us of the living."

"Just shut up old man!" Deidara barked "I killed that damn Sasuke Uchiha, and you'll be next for constantly mocking and insulting my art you old geezer!"

'It seems Deidara doesn't really know anything about that Uchiha brat. That's enough out of you, there's no way you can escape from me let alone the four of us."

Kabuto smirked "You actually believe you're stalling us here don't you? I knew that there was going to be an ambush, did you think I would merely saunter in here without any sort of strategy?"

"And just what do you mean by that?"

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Motoi was visibly shake "It's inconceivable, we've been found out already. That's completely unbelievable!"

"Well how about it Motoi?" asked Tatsu, only to be met by a pained roar.

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Kabuto smirked when he heard the roar of pain 'It looks like he's found them. Sorry, but we really need to hurry and go over there."

"And why is that exactly?" asked Deidara, only to find himself flying Kabuto forward against his own will "What the hell? My body isn't responding to me! What are you doing?!"

"No way, he's already found them?" Onoki flew after them.

"Let's go." Shibuki leapt off of Akatsuchi's back and formed several hand seals "Water Style: Riding Tidal Wave!" he landed on a high wave of water, following after Onoki as fast as the wave would carry him.

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'So they're following? No matter.' Kabuto smirked calmly to himself 'I created a second Manda from the cells of the original after it had an unfortunate… accident… His size, strength and sensory abilities all far surpass those of the first one. The fact that the island is an animal turns out to be it's one fatal flaw.'

Deidara looked down and saw Manda II attacking the island "What is that, some kind of island? I don't get it, what's so special about that place?"

"That's no island, it's actually a giant turtle that's on the move and the Six Tails, Eight Tails and Nine Tails are on it."

"...Firstly, you said that that thing is a turtle? Secondly, the Six, Eight and Nine Tails are all down there?"

"Yes that's right, and this is the perfect opportunity for us to capture all three of them in one fell swoop."

"I see, so that means that that damned Naruto brat is down there is he? Alright I'm game, what's the plan?"

"The first move is to stop that turtle island, give me a big one Deidara."

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"Dammit, he's so fast." Onoki muttered "Hurry up boy."

"I'm hardly worth calling a boy Lord Tsuchikage." Shibuki rose the wave high enough so he was right beside Onoki "And why exactly didn't you bring Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi with you?"

"They're not ready for something like this, and I wanted to see what you were capable of."

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"Alright." Deidara promptly created a clay jellyfish and sent it to swim directly underneath the turtle island.

"Do it now." Kabuto told him.

"Right." Deidara formed a hand seal and detonated the clay jellyfish, the force causing the turtle island to flip completely over.

"Good work."

"I do what I do." then Deidara looked at the turtle island "I flipped it over, it won't be able to move now."

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"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" Yamato quickly unleashed his Deep Forest Emergence to save Naruto and the animals.

"Water Style: Liquid Surface!" Ino formed a floor made of water to save the shinobi from plummeting to their potential deaths.

"Oh man, what in the hell is going on today?" Naruto muttered.

Killer Bee shrugged "I can't believe it but the heavens and earth really did trade places fool ya fool."

"I noticed." then Naruto looked at the feminine armadillo "I knew it!" he started writing down the information he gathered on its… ahem… personal area "I don't give a damn if the entire world is flipping over, a male is still a male."

"Naruto!" Yamato lost his temper "Out of all the times you should be doing an ecological survey, this is not one of them!"

Tatsu smacked him on the back of the head "For crying out loud Yamato don't lose your temper like that, don't forget that this is supposed to be an S rank mission."

"Something is definitely happening out there." Shisui noted "But we still have to maintain our cover story."

"We can't let Naruto and the others go outside, Utakata is pretty sensible about stuff like this but Naruto and Killer B are a whole other story. We'll just have to handle this ourselves. To that end, we shouldn't send any hitters that are too heavy, but we can't send anyone weak as f*ck either, so that rules out me, Kazuma, Shisui and Motoi. Lee's still out of commission, so that would leave Hotaru, Yamato and Ino."

The three in question nodded "Right."

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Deidara dropped Kabuto off on the surface of the island "Kabuto you go ahead and look for the three jinchuuriki, I'll fight the other two of them here seeing how I owe them absolutely nothing less."

"Fine by me, but just be sure not to take too long." Kabuto told him.

"Whatever."

Then a pissed off Onoki showed up, with Shibuki right behind him "Deidara, the time has come for you to feel my wrath!"

"Oh great, it looks like the geezer has finally snapped."

"You do remember this don't you?" Onoki summoned his Particle Style, this time in the form of a cube.

'This just keeps getting worse and worse, don't tell me he's going right to Particle Style!'

'This looks bad.' Kabuto promptly ran off, with Deidara retreating in the other direction.

"You're not getting away!" Onoki prepared to fire off his jutsu.

"Lord Tsuchikage, don't!" Shibuki suddenly appeared in front of him.

"What do you think you're doing boy?"

"You can't unleash your Particle Style Here or you'll end up killing the turtle island."

"What? Oh yes, you're right. Damn what a mess, it's so big that it just looks like a rock."

'Now's my chance!' Deidara sent a small clay bird towards them and detonated it, engulfing both Shibuki and Onoki in the ensuing explosion.

When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Shibuki had manipulated the waves to act as a water shield 'That was close, a little too close.'

'So he manipulated the waves to act as a shield against the blast. How annoying.' he flew forward.

'I have to hurry and get him away from the island.' Onoki promptly flew away from the island, with Deidara following after him.

'So he's trying to lure him away.' Shibuki looked down and noticed that Manda II was choking the turtle island, then looked and saw Kabuto a short distance away 'So he must be the one who's controlling the giant snake.'

Kabuto locked eyes with the snake emerging from his cloak and smirked "I see, so Naruto is actually inside of this turtle. Now then the question is, how do we get inside there?"

'Now!' Shibuki charged in on his giant wave 'Good thing he's so slow! Water Clone Jutsu!" he formed two water clones "Earth Style: Dark Swamp!" he formed a large mud swamp.

Kabuto leapt out of the range 'The young leader of the Hidden Waterfall Village, huh?' then he looked back and smirked 'So they've come as well.'

Ino landed on the stomach of the turtle alongside Yamato and Motoi "From what I sense there should be 4 here, including these two."

'The Yamanaka girl too huh?'

"Thank you for the assistance, but I assure you I can take care of this!" Shibuki called 'Then again, having said that.'

"You're Lord Shibuki of the Hidden Waterfall right?"

Kabuto smirked "Perfect, now all of you can just take me right to where Naruto is."

Yamato froze when he saw the snake "That voice, then that means that you're… Kabuto Yakushi?"

Kabuto removed his hood "And so we meet again Yamato."

"I'll sweep him you're way, be sure to be ready to trap him!" Shibuki quickly blitzed through several hand seals "Water Style: Liquid Trumpet!" the water clone unleashed a jet of water from his mouth, spreading the mud swamp out.

Kabuto saw it coming and leapt over it, then frowned 'I get it.'

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" the original unleashed a strong fire jutsu to quickly dry out the swamp, essentially creating quick drying cement.

"Excellent work, now I'll finish it! Water Style: Raging Waves!" Ino unleashed a stream of water from her mouth and hit the trapped Kabuto dead on with it, encasing his entire body "Just to be on the safe side."

"Good, now you're all ours Kabuto. I'll go an extract his intel."

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Deidara and Onoki dueled in the air, with the former deciding to finish the battle using his C4 bomb.

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Once Yamato had used his Wood Style to create a safe walkway over the swamp, Ino walked over towards Kabuto "It's sad how far you've fallen Kabuto, you're looking more and more like Orochimaru these days."

Kabuto smirked "Never mind about me, you should just worry about not falling."

'He's trying to distract me.'

"Ino, be sure to concentrate." Yamato told her.

"I know what he's trying to do Captain Yamato, I'll be fine so don't worry." then she looked back to Kabuto "Let me remind you that my father is the head of the Intel Unit, I'm going to take a look now and I'll see everything that's happened to you."

"I wouldn't be too worried about that if I were you." Kabuto then proceeded to shed his skin, taking on a much more snake like form.

'He's molting in order to escape! Has he really fallen that far?'

Kabuto pushed Ino off and made a beeline for Yamato and the others.

"Motoi, get back!" Yamato used his Wood Style to push him out of the way.

Kabuto then captured Yamato in his mouth and made a beeline away from the group.

"Captain Yamato!" Ino charged after him and drew Samehada from her back "Come on girl, let's hurry. Shark Scale Cannon!" she fired a barrage of shark scales from Samehada's mouth.

Kabuto manage to swivel around all of them without much difficulty "I must say I'm impressed, not even Kisame was able to use Samehada to that degree." then he slithered into one of Manda II's nostrils, and the snake disappeared.

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Onoki led Deidara high enough so he could hit him with his Particle Style without harming the island turtle, until Deidara suddenly disappeared

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"Dammit!" then Ino gently patted Samehada on the head "It's alright girl, you did good."

"But they still got one of your ninja." Shibuki pointed out, then looked to see Onoki return "Oh Lord Tsuchikage, how did things turn out on your end?"

"Not good, Deidara got away from me." Onoki told him "How did you fair? What happened here?"

"Nothing good. We were all set to interrogate Kabuto, but he escaped and managed to capture Yamato in the process."

"So the assailant didn't go after any of the jinchuuriki? Then it's hard to tell if he was after Yamato or if he was simply after any hostage that he could then interrogate. Either way, we'll have to worry about the intel that your comrade possesses."

"With all due respect sir, I doubt Captain Yamato would be broken so easily." Ino told him.

"That's not the issue here, he's up against Madara Uchiha and his powerful visual jutsu. Once someone is caught under it, there's no escape."

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Having brought Yamato with him back to the Mountain's Graveyard, now planning to use the Wood Style chakra within him to make the White Zetsu Army even more formidable.

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Ino watched as Onoki was using his Earth Style: Super Lightened Boulder Jutsu to carry the entirety of turtle island through the air "This is completely unbelievable, Kage or not no living being should be able to do this." she received a growl from Samehada "I know, to think that one man is carrying an island this big is just insane." another growl "What is it girl?" she looked and saw the Hidden Mist Village in the distance "Looks like we're almost there. And I guess that means the time has almost come. We're really about to go to war with the Akatsuki.' she then tightened her grip on Samehada 'I'll have to give it everything I've got this time, no holding back.'

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Naruto frowned as he stared up at the ceiling "The entire world just flipped over again. I don't get it, just what the hell is up with this crazy island anyway? Captain Yamato and Ino went outside to check out what was going on but Captain Yamato hasn't come back, you don't think something has happened do you?"

"From what I've been told he's still busy investigating the situation." Tatsu lied "It's nothing for you to worry about Naruto."

"But I finished the mission, now I want to hurry and go back home to the Hidden Leaf Village and get ready for the war."

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At the outskirts of the Akatsuki hideout, one of Anko's teammates, a Hyuga, used his Byakugan and discovered the White Zetsu Army.

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Naruto didn't take very kindly what he was now being told "Hey how come I have to stay inside here but the animals all get to go outside?"

Tatsu punched Killer Bee out before he could start rapping "The problem is that you haven't mastered your Kurama Chakra Mode and I haven't perfected my use of my Tenseigan, so we're gonna be training with the jackass and Utakata."

"Is it really that important?"

"Naruto you saw what I did against Zabuza, Gaara and Orochimaru, and that was like four years ago. Imagine what I'd be capable of now, and how you could potentially rival that level of power if you master your new Chakra Mode."

"...Well when you put it like that how the hell could I possible say no?"

'Good, he took the bait.' he sliced up several blocks with the Dragon Blade "Now enter your chakra mode and stack those in a way where they won't fall over, without crushing them."

"Right." Naruto entered his Kurama Chakra Mode "Alright, here I go." he created a chakra arm and grabbed a block, only to accidentally crush it in the process "Woah…"

"And that is exactly what I'm talking about. Still though, the fact that he couldn't even grasp the rock without destroying it.'

"Dammit! Alright, let me give this another shot. Easy, easy…" he grasped the block with his chakra claw, instantly cracking it "Keep it together… gently…" he slowly placed it on top of another rock without breaking either of them "Hell to the yeah!"

"Idiot!" Tatsu smacked him on the head "You're not supposed to be satisfied with just moving one, don't forget that I said to move all of them. This training should buy us plenty of time, even if he is progressing this fast.'

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Tsunade stared out the window as she watched the turtle island come into view 'So it's almost here.'

"The time has come." Gaara noted.

A nodded "Looks like that old Fence Sitter has brought all of them here safely."

"Here's the plan." said Mei "We will hide the turtle island, along with the three remaining jinchuriki, back at the rear of our headquarters. Lady Hokage, do you have any objections to this?"

"No, it's fine." Tsunade told her.

"Very well, then I will go and welcome Lord Tsuchikage when he arrives." and she made her way out.

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Naruto was finally getting the hang of stacking the blocks using his chakra arms "Come on, stay put just like that, don't fall over." then the turtle island hit the water and the blocks all crashed to the ground "No no no no, son of a-"

'He was really close that time.' Tatsu noted 'It wasn't his fault they fell, the turtle island must have moved so that means we must have arrived.'

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Onoki gripped his back in pain as they made their way towards dry land "Oh no, not my back again."

Shibuki knelt down beside him "I offered my help countless times Lord Tsuchikage, if you had just accepted then this wouldn't be an issue."

"Oh pipe down already will you?"

Then Mei came out "I bid you both a hearty welcome Lord Tsuchikage, Lord Shibuki. Please tell me, what is the situation."

"You need not worry Lady Mizukage." Shibuki told her "The jinchuuriki of the Six Tails, Eight Tails and Nine Tails are all safe. However, we were attacked and the Wood Style user guarding over Naruto Uzumaki was captured."

"He was taken? So you're saying that he wasn't killed? Well that means that the enemy will have more intel on us."

"For now we should meet with the others, Lord Tsuchikage and I shall explain more once we're inside."

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Soon enough, the groups were all in a meeting where they were discussing the situation and their plans.

Shikaku pointed to a spot on the map "This X here marks the location of the enemy's hideout, it's in a location known as the Mountain's Graveyard. If we go by land then we'll pass through the Hidden Steam Village and Hidden Frost Village."

"We should advise the nations of both villages to evacuate." Shibuki suggested.

"According to the Infiltration and Recon Unit there are a total of 100,000 enemy forces, when moving such a large regimen only a fraction is likely to come by sea but we'll be in a real bind if they surround us."

"Which means the victor will be decided by whoever makes the first move." Mifune finished for him.

Mei looked at Ao "Convene the main Commando Unit immediately, then have the main battle regimen divided up into multiple battle companies as well and have them run through their formations."

"Right." Ao promptly left.

Tsunade looked over at Shikaku "And make sure that the Logistics and Medical Unit is well supplied with medical ninja tools. Shikaku, go and help the Intel Unit check their chain of communication."

"Roger that." Shikaku left.

"Tsuchikage, Shibuki, these were just completed. Here are yours." Gaara held up two headbands with the kanji for shinobi on them "Take them."

"So they're ready." Shibuki noted "The headbands for the Allied Shinobi Forces. Excellent, very nicely done and quite fitting too."

Mifune nodded "Thank you, I designed the symbol myself. Former enemies who once battled against each other have been combined into one massive shinobi force, and this time we samurai shall ally ourselves with you shinobi as well. Now then, let us all get to work."

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Aside from the main divisions, there were also multiple other units:

The Commando Unit, with Kankuro as the leader.

The Medical Unit, headed by Shizune.

The Intel Unit, headed by Inoichi, was responsible for overseeing all communications.

The Sensory Unit, led by Ao.

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Choji looked around amongst the others "I heard that they were going to split all of us up into five main units but I figured that they were at least going to try and group us together by our villages."

"I wouldn't count on that." Shikamaru told him "Don't forget Choji, this is a war after all."

"He's right." Temari came up alongside him "This is no time for all of us to be competing with other villages."

"Yeah. The main regimens are made up of 5 units, each specializing in different areas of warfare. The First, the mid range battle regimen contains shinobi who excel at mid distance combat, like Ino with her water style and lightning style jutsu, or others like Tenten and Choza seeing how it's mostly those who specialize in weapons. The Second Company, close range battle units, specializes in hand to hand combat specialists, like Neji and Hinata. The shinobi in that unit will be fighting on the front lines. The third company, the intermediate range battle unit, provides support to the close range units. The shinobi there require speed and strength, so they have guys like Lee or Sasuke. We're the fourth company, the long range battle unit. We'll provide the link between the Intel Units and those on the front lines, and in addition we have to support the support units behind the lines. The Fifth Company, the special range battle unit, uses specialized ninjutsu and tactics."

"They have a special unit?" asked Choji.

"Yeah that's right, in war anything can happen so you have to be prepared. Sure we were all organized into units but it's all just wishful thinking to believe that each team will operate without a hitch all the time. Also, some units may find advantageous battlefield positions while others don't. Situations like that are where we rely on shinobi with secret ninjutsu."

"Well I can't say for sure that they've thought of everything." Temari commented "But still, considering that 88,000 shinobi have been organized into units this rapidly it seems that Shikaku Nara has done an amazing job. You know, you better not embarrass your dad."

"So this is really it." Choji muttered "The war is about to begin."

"Captain!" a voice called.

"That's our cue." following everyone else's lead, Shikamaru lined up, with Temari and Choji following his lead, just as the leaders of each company appeared "Captains of the First Company, the right hand man of the Raikage, Darui of the Hidden Cloud. Captain of the Second Company, Kitsuchi of the Hidden Stone. Captain of the Third Company, our very own Kakashi. Captain of the Fifth Company, general Mifune of the Land of Iron. The captain of the Fourth Company, our company, and also the Commander In-Chief of all battle units, is the Kazekage Gaara."

All of the shinobi started cheering. For about 5 minutes. Yeah, after the cheering died down everyone just started arguing amongst each other because of the grudges their different villages held for each other.

This was when Gaara decided to break it all up with his sand, almost immediately getting everyone's attention "In the name of gain and profit for the sake of one's nation and village, shinobi have hated and hurt each other for many years from the First to the Third Great Ninja Wars and the various conflicts in between. All of that hatred dried up for power, and it ended up giving birth to me. In the past I was hatred and power, and a jinchuuriki. I hated this world and all of the people in it, and I thought about destroying both. That's exactly what the Akatsuki is trying to do now. But then a single shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves had stopped me. He cried for me, I was his enemy and yet he still cried for me. And he had called me his friend, even though we had fought to near death. He had saved me, we were on different sides but we were both jinchuuriki. Between those who have experienced the same pain, there can be no feelings of hate. There are no enemies here before me, because each one of us bears the pain of having been hurt by the actions of the Akatsuki. The Hidden Sand, the Hidden Stone, the Hidden Leaf, the Hidden Mist, the Hidden Cloud, and the Hidden Waterfall are no more. Now there is only shinobi, we are all simple ninja, and if you're still unable to forgive the Hidden Sand then you may come back and face me after this war has ended. The friend I spoke of who had saved me from my hatred, from my darkness, is now the target of our enemy, and if he falls into their hands then our world is doomed. I want to protect that friend, and I want to protect this entire world! I am too young and too inexperienced to do that, so I beg of you, of all of you, please lend me your strength for this battle!"

Everyone started cheering, and then they started apologizing for the squabbles.

"All of those who share the feelings I hold in my heart, FOLLOW ME!"

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In the Akatsuki hideout, Kabuto summoned his undead army consisting of former members of the Akatsuki, previous Kage, the jinchuriki who died at the hands of the Akatsuki and a few others, and other famous and powerful ninja.

Now that all of their White Zetsu and reanimated shinobi forces had been assembled, Madara and Kabuto left the hideout, signifying the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War.

A/N:

To reader R: While I understand your reasoning for choosing Shino, I meant I needed someone to give Naruto some more character development, and he and Shino just aren't that close.

Also, as I'm sure that you're now aware, I deleted chapters 28 - 36, which is pretty much everything in the story after this. I started these Naruto fics back in July of 2017 because Naruto always had a special place in my heart, it wasn't my favorite anime but it was the first anime I ever watched, way before even the likes of Dragon Ball. However, after I finished this chapter back in October of 2017, I started to lose my drive for this story. It's still there, but it just comes and goes, and now that I'm in my second semester of college I've found that I don't have the time or the patience to work on it at the moment. But that's not to say that I don't intend to finish my Naruto fics at some point because I do, but I can't right now, which is why I've made a decision: I've cut out every chapter from 28 onward and I'm going to publish them in a new story at a later date, sometime around June or so.