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.

36. Ten Tails Revived, the Ties That Bind

(Ten Tails Revived, the Ties That Bind)

Naruto felt a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead, only to evaporate from the powerful chakra being radiated by his Tailed Beast Form "But that guy is…"

"Yeah I know, it's him." Tatsu drew the Dragon Blade off of his back "It's Madara Uchiha and he's even more fucked up looking in person."

Obito shot an "I don't give a fuck" sort of glance over towards Madara "So it looks like you pulled a You and defied the Reanimation Jutsu, you just love to mess with people now don't you?"

Madara gave a simple shrug "What can I say, old habits die hard and Hashirama has an effect on people. But more importantly what the hell is taking you so long?"

"And even more importantly than whatever f*cked up and potentially sexual relationship you guys have, why the hell are you over here?" asked Tatsu "You're supposed to be on the battlefield where the Fourth Division was fighting and you should be fighting Gaara and the rest of the Five Kage- Oh god dammit they're all dead aren't they?"

"We'll get to that in a minute Shadow Clone, just tell us where the original one of you and the other jinchuuriki is."

"I asked you first you Walking Dead reject, did you kill the Five Kage?" this left Naruto just snarling like an angry animal without even getting an answer, but Tatsu remained calm as can be to the point where it seemed almost comical despite the situation "They're all dead now aren't they?"

"Well I don't know if I would go that far, but I think it's safe to say that none of them are doing too well."

"That's what I thought." Tatsu quickly used the dragon wings of his Light Dragon Chakra Mode to remove the black rods that were binding Utakata, with Naruto using his chakra tails to do the same to, and then the former shot forward a barrage of Genryu chakra dragon scales.

'He's moving faster than the Chakra Chains can wrap around, and even then there's no guarantee that he would be affected due to his Tenseigan and Genryu chakra.' Obito unhooked his Uchiha branded Gunbai Uchiwa fan and tossed it over to Madara "You can have that back now, it is yours after all."

"That goes without saying obviously." Madara snatched the Gunbai Uchiwa and used it to summon a massive shield, protecting both him and Obito against Tatsu's assault, and then glanced over at the Gedo Statue "Tell me something Obito, you really launched that plan half baked before you were even able to take the Nine Tails or the other Tailed Beasts in from these other jinchuuriki didn't you? And just like you, you got to be far too hasty, and is that also the reason as to why I was brought back in this form? Well then again knowing how you can get sometimes I'm sure that you must have some sort of half-assed backup plan in mind. What exactly have you been up to until now, where is that brat Nagato? You were supposed to find the right moment and have Nagato bring me back using the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu, that was the deal that we made."

"You can't blame me for that, Nagato betrayed both of us and revived the people of the Hidden Leaf Village."

"I can't count on any of you now can I? Well I suppose there's nothing I can do about it now, it still isn't too late. I'll captured the last of the Tailed Beasts now myself."

"Yeah except here's the thing, dead guys should learn to just f*ck off and leave their business to rest! Choke on this one mother f*cker!" that was when Tatsu burst down towards the ground with a golden colored Rasengan in hand, only for Madara to block it using his Gunbai Uchiha and convert it into pure Wind chakra "Oh crap."

"You say that like you really thought I wouldn't be able to defend against an attack as measly that one."

"I have to try."

"You get points for that but not much else. Oh right, Uchiha Reflection." using the converted Wind chakra, Madara used the Gunbai Uchiha to blow Tatsu away with a massive blast of his own, revealing him to be another Shadow Clone "I'll get the other Tailed Beasts and deal with the Genryu boy, Obito you take out the rest of them." and then he took off without so much as another word.

"You're not getting away!" Lee suddenly bolted after him

Kakashi was left with Guy and Asuma, still dumbstruck and semi horrified over the recent revelation that he had witnessed "Obito… what the hell happened to you? Why would you join him of all people?"

"You don't need to understand my reasons." and yet despite this claim Obito began reflecting on why he did join up with Madara in the first place.

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After his accident in the battle of Kannabi Bridge, Obito found himself being heavily bandaged and stitched together by an elderly figure whom he learned to be Madara, who explains of his physical condition after saving him.

As Madara told him of his goals to unify the world, Obito was left heavily uninterested and attempted to escape, eager to meet his team-mates once again.

The days continued to pass and Obito was tended to by two Zetsu clones, who help in his rehabilitation, while also telling him about Madara's goal and annoying Obito with bowel based humor (eat your hearts out FCC).

Obito soon recovered and began to adjust to to his new artificial body parts, undergoing possible months of training to get used to them, until one day, Zetsu arrived with news of Obito's teammates Rin and Kakashi being in danger, surrounded by shinobi of the Hidden Mist. When Obito failed to break through the rock blocking the exist, Tobi Zetsu (or Spiral Zetsu, Guruguru, whatever you want to call him) offers himself as a sort of armor for Obito, allowing Obito to draw on power from the Gedo Statue to break the rock.

Madara told Obito he will properly thank him in the future, and that Obito will come back to him, only to be ignored.

On his way to the battle site, Obito had a vision of Rin through his empty eye socket but he simply ignored it, but he arrived just in time to realize that Kakashi had run his Chidori through Rin's chest although Rin manages to say Kakashi's name before hitting the ground, dead.

As Kakashi studied Rin's body with tears streaming down his face, both he and Obito unknowingly awaken both their Mangekyō Sharingan as a result of Rin's death.

Kakashi passed out from exhaustion while Obito, enraged and stricken with grief over having witnessed Rin's death, proceeded to massacre the Mist ninjas while managing to avoid their attacks through his first use of his Kamui ability.

Obito first killed some ninja before slaughtering the rest using Wood Style: Cutting Sprigs. Having slaughtered the Mist ninja force in a very brutal fashion (even by Naruto standards), standing in a pool of blood and watching Rin's dead body, Obito concludes he is in hell as he mourns the death of the girl he loved.

Still in disbelief over what has happened, Obito slowly made his way over towards Rin's body, having slaughtered the Hidden Mist ninja while ignoring the unconscious Kakashi.

Obito then cradled Rin's lifeless body in his arms and remembers Madara and White Zetsu's words while vowing to change the world into one where she was still alive, through what he would later know to be Project Tsuki no Me.

After teaching Obito the means to summon the Gedo Statue along with imparting all his skill and knowledge, Madara used a Yin-Yang Style ability on White Zetsu to infuse the clone with his will, completing Zetsu with the birth of Black Zetsu (at least that's what they believed, but we'll get to that later).

After disconnecting himself from the Gedo Statue, Madara died after telling Obito that he will be known as Madara until the day he was to be resurrected by the one he transplanted his eyes into, that being Nagato.

Soon after, now going by the name Madara Uchiha with Zetsu accompanying him, Obito arrived in the Hidden Rain Village where he met Nagato and his friends Yahiko and Konan, the three of them being former students of Jiraiya.

Though Obito was able to tempt Nagato with his knowledge and offer to aid him in achieving peace, Yahiko didn't trust him and manage to get away with Nagato and Konan.

Despite being warned by Yahiko to stay away, Obito told Nagato that he would reappear at the same time and place everyday until he accepts the truth of words.

Soon after saving other orphans like themselves and gaining new member of their growing group, Yahiko decides to name their group the Akatsuki.

The rest, as they say, is history.

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Madara used the Gunbai Uchiha to blow Tatsu away with a massive blast of his own, revealing him to be another Shadow Clone "I'll get the other Tailed Beasts and deal with the Genryu boy, Obito you take out the rest of them." and then he took off without so much as another word.

"You're not getting away!" Lee suddenly bolted after him

Kakashi was left with Guy and Asuma, still dumbstruck and semi horrified over the recent revelation that he had witnessed "Obito… what the hell happened to you? Why would you join him of all people?"

"You don't need to understand my reasons." Obito's glare hardened "All you need to know is that nothing about this world means anything to me anymore."

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"Does it look like I give a damn?"

Madara glanced at the figures standing within the smoke "Well well you're quite the resilient one aren't you?"

"Shut your trap you old fossil." the smoke cleared to reveal Tatsu, Naruto and Lee all standing side by side by side powered up and ready for an all out battle "I'm the Golden Dragon of the Hidden Leaf, we've got the son of the Fourth Hokage and the Green Beast of the Leaf and we're three members of Team Dragon so there's no way that any of us are gonna fall for any of your bullshit."

"Is that so? You know I had been going easy on you because among you is the actual Nine Tails jinchuuriki and not a clone but I should warn you that when I unleash this one I just cannot hold back. This is Hashirama's Wood Style: Wooden Dragon Jutsu, he used it in our previous battle in order to hold down my Nine Tails."

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Still in his Six Tailed Form, Utakata found himself on the ground in pain "Dammit I had no idea that Madara would be so powerful."

"And that's exactly what makes Madara such a worthy opponent." Guy promptly spat out some blood.

"You know your tough guy act does look to be pretty convincing."

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Tatsu flared his Light Dragon Mode chakra cloak, with Naruto and Lee doing the same to their Tailed Beast Mode chakra cloak and Dragon God mode respectively "And don't think that we're gonna hold back against some shriveled up yet surprisingly beefy prune of a corpse that we could probably still grind meat on since you're already dead! As a wise man once said, omae wa mou shindeiru!" and then he charged in as he summoned his full Genryu chakra avatar as it bit down on Madara's wooden dragon.

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Kakashi found himself facing Obito one on one while trying to avoid the massive form of the wooden dragon "I still don't understand Obito, why would you go out of your way to ally yourself with someone like Madara?"

"I don't have anything at all to say to you." Obito's voice was filled with venom "There is only one thing left for me and it is this, the final battle." he used Kamui to fire off a barrage of large shuriken.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Kakashi slammed his hands into the ground and summoned a wall made of earth, stopping the shuriken before they could hit him.

Obito phased through the mud wall, grabbed one of the shuriken and then used it to stab Kakashi in the knee, as well as grabbed Kakashi's arm.

"But… why?"

"How about you just do me a favor and keep your trap shut? You're all talk and you're nothing but scum." and then he warped Kakashi away using his Kamui.

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Kakashi suddenly found himself lying on his back in the dimension of Kamui, his mind drifting back to the time of the Third Great Ninja War 'Obito… back before we finally became friends you said that those who break the rules are scum but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. But now it's like you're a totally different person and yet you're right about me being scum. Obito, despite everything you've always been my hero. So why, why did you turn out like this? Kamui." and then he warped himself back to Earth.

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"F*ck f*ck f*ck!" by this point Tatsu and Naruto were both struggling to deal with the wooden dragon, Naruto's Nine Tails chakra causing trees to sprout into life all over the body of the wooden dragon 'This is bad, he's absorbing Kurama's chakra from Naruto's Tailed Beast mode so that he'll be able to capture him!'

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Kakashi warped himself back onto the battlefield, panting heavily due to the excessive amount of chakra being used for Kamui "Obito…"

"You and I share the same eyes and visual jutsu." Obito noted "I shouldn't be surprised that you were able to make it back here."

"Obito… how could you have ended up like this? Does it have to do with Rin, or was it something else?"

"I owe you no explanation." Obito charged forward and dealt Kakashi a powerful knee to the face, followed by piercing him with the giant shuriken, slugging him in the gut in the same spot, and then summoning a second giant shuriken and slashing him using both of them at once, leaving a gigantic X mark across his vest, bringing Kakashi to his knees "I thought I told you before that scum should keep their mouths shut so why don't you just do me a favor and die already."

"I… I couldn't keep the promise that I made to you… you're right… I am trash but you're a hero of the Hidden Leaf… you don't have to become trash too…"

"...Are you serious right now?" Obito let out a bitter chuckle "This is reality, those who bequeath and those who are bequeathed, all of the shinobi who survive in this cruel world all turn into trash. You and I are both prime examples of that now aren't we Kakashi?"

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Still bound by the wooden dragon along with the others, Naruto glanced over to see the predicament that Kakashi was in 'Kakashi-sensei, dammit I've gotta help him!'

Madara was quick to notice this as well "So it would seem that you're distracted by them as well aren't you? This world is just about to come to an end and so in order to enjoy what little time we may have left I think it would be best if we were to clear out this battle field at least a little bit first!" he summoned his Susanoo to prove his point.

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Obito raised one of his giant shuriken over Kakashi's head "There is no one that is able to escape the cycle that results in the birth of the trash of this world and that is exactly why I intend to remake the world."

"...You know you guys really know how to piss off a Hidden Leaf ninja so how about instead of us calling you out on your bullshit we teach you something about us instead?!" and on that note, both Tatsu and Naruto both dematerialized their massive chakra avatars, instead reverting to their basic but still just as powerful modes, allowing both of them to free themselves from the wooden dragon and allowing Tatsu to stop Madara's Susanoo sword before Utakata could be struck down and Naruto to stop Obito's gigantic shuriken before it could strike Kakashi "None of us are trash and there's no way in hell we're gonna become trash either. All of us are gonna beat the ever loving shit out of you."

Naruto nodded "Yeah Tatsu is right, and we're never gonna let our comrades die no matter what may happen to us!"

"...I'm sorry Naruto, I'm the one who taught you Obito's words and yet I was about to waver once again." Kakashi slowly pulled himself to his feet with a renewed fire in his eyes, ready to continue the battle.

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"HIRUDORA!" with Tatsu pinning Madara's Susanoo down, Lee and Guy both took the chance to attack Madara using the Seventh Gate of Shock technique Hirudora simultaneously, the former using his Dragon God mode to enhance it and the latter still being bound by Madara's Wood Style but it didn't take away from the effect of the jutsu.

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"I'll send you both into the next world!" Obito charged forward with his gigantic shuriken ready to strike them down.

"Lightning Blade!" using his renewed vigor, Kakashi promptly cut through the giant shuriken using his Lightning Blade, with Asuma cutting the other giant shuriken using his Adamantine Nyoi staff "Listen to me Obito, your once strong will is still alive to this day standing right next to me and Asuma in the form of Naruto, and the only thing that the current me and Asuma can do is protect the current Naruto!"

"...You say that you'll protect the current Naruto?"

"That's right." and then Kakashi fall back to his knees from exhaustion 'Dammit this is bad, I'm at my limit right now.'

Naruto glanced over to see Killer B and Utakata breaking free of the wooden dragon "Looks like they managed to weak him."

"Be careful Naruto, the wood paralysis the enemy using is identical to that of the one used by the First Hokage and it's powerful enough to bind Tailed Beast chakra."

"Just like the technique that Captain Yamato used on me before, or maybe that's where he got it from.

Obito glanced down at Kakashi with pure disdain in his eyes and yet at the same time a small sign of respect for him "A Lightning Blade that relies on the Sharingan in order to guide it effectively, looks like you've really honed and mastered that left eye that I gave you and you've even been able to awaken the Mangekyo. However will you be able to return from the other dimension through use of Kamui a second time as you are right now." Obito summoned a strand of wood on his artificial arm to catch Naruto in a chokehold "And now Kakashi you can just return to the trash heap!"

"Not a chance asshole, because Kakashi-sense is just like me!" Naruto dealt Obito a brutal headbutt, sending him hurting backwards.

Despite the brutal headbutt, Obito was able to rebound and land on top of a large boulder in his path.

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Tatsu glanced over to see that the Uchiha Flame Formation surrounding the Ten Tails was beginning to crack "Okay so now we're gonna have to start worrying about the god beast from hell or whatever movie reference there is in relation to that, Naruto and Kakashi should be able to handle Obito and then we'll make our move on that thing. Come on Lee we've gotta go after that thing."

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Naruto shot a cocky smirk at Obito "You know I can see it so clearly all of a sudden." he managed to break the restraints from the wood with ease "I can see all of the pain that's etched into your face."

"You should really save that face for the line next to you you know." Obito shot a distasteful over the direction of Kakashi.

'He's not wrong, one thing for sure is that I've gotta do something about Kakashi-sensei now that he's like this. He pretty much drained himself dry from overusing his Mangekyou Sharingan like that, if he tries to pull that again then he's pretty much screwed.'

"Naruto, switch places with me would you? Just sit back for a minute and enjoy the master's work."

'Alright alright fine.'

"Smartest thing you've done since this fight started." and so Kurama took the chance to take control of Naruto's body "Hey Kakashi you little shit, hurry up and give me your hand already."

Kakashi looked up at Kurama "You're…"

"No time for your bullshit, just stick out your hand." so Kurama grabbed Kakashi by the hand and swung him straight at Obito, forcing him to warp Kakashi away using his Kamui, which also left him dumbstruck.

"...SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! God dammit Kurama what the hell did you just do?!"

"Calm down and use our head for a second, now you don't have any distractions and now I'm leaving the rest to you Naruto."

'Wait what?' Naruto suddenly found himself back in control of his body "Oh, yeah that works for me." he launched a giant chakra fist forward.

"I thought you would've learned by now!" Obito charged at Naruto and phased through the gigantic fist through use of his Kamui, only to suddenly freeze mid step and cough up a little bit of blood "Wh-What the-?"

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As it turns out, with Obito transporting that part of his body into the Kamui dimension, the only other inhabitant of that dimension, that being Kakashi, was able to deal Obito some actual physical damage "Now that I know how your technique works I know what I have to do in order to counter it, and now here's another one!" he dealt Obito another punch to the gut, forcing him to enter the Kamui dimension "Oh yeah you got that one right Naruto, he really does have pain etched onto his face!" and then he slugged Obito across the face, forcing him back into the actual dimension.

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Naruto on the other hand didn't understand anything about what was going on "I don't get it, what the hell is going on?"

"That was the doing of Kakashi over in that other dimension, you see the difference between you and me Naruto is that I can give or take chakra voluntarily at my own will whenever I want to. I could show you how to do that but we'll deal with that later."

'Wait a second but when the hell did you pass it to me?'

"I did it when I grabbed Kakashi by the hand and threw him at the prick with the Rinnegan jammed into his left eye."

'So then that means that-'

"Yep you got it, whenever he wants to he can use that Kamui thing to come back out at his own pace."

'Alright!'

Sure enough, as Kurama said, Kakashi warped his way back into the main dimension and shot a glance at Naruto "Be sure to tell the Nine Tails that I said thanks for that."

"I did in my head, he said to go f*ck yourself."

"That sounds about right."

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Tatsu glanced back behind him to see Utakata and Killer B preparing two simultaneous Tailed Beast Bombs "Oh you assholes are not getting the better of me, I may not have a Tailed Beast Bomb to cram down his throat but I think I've got something even better! Eat your multi tailed heart out Tailed Beast! Genryu Art: DRACONIC BOMBER!" with all of the power that he could pour into this technique, he fired the draconic (dragon) version of the Tailed Beast Bomb at the Gedo Statue, with Utakata and Killer B doing the same with their Tailed Beast Bombs, hitting the Uchiha Flame Formation and engulfing it and the Gedo Statue entirely, resulting in a massive explosion that detonated a nearby mountain range before it eventually subsided after a few moments "I can't sense the chakra from the statue anymore."

"Yes, that means that it's all over, you did it!" Lee raised a hand for a high five, only to be left hanging "Why are you leaving me hanging? It's over, we should be celebrating like it's the night of your jounin promotion all over again."

"First of all that fish came onto me, and second of all I doubt that it's over. Mainly because of that insanely menacing silhouette in the distance."

Sure enough, the smoke cleared to reveal the massive form of the Ten Tails in all of its horrifying glory.

"F*CK!"

"There's no mistake about what that thing is." Utakata let out an outright snarl "That thing is the Ten Tails, the Six Tails is confirming it to me."

"And again I say, F*CK!" this was followed by the Ten Tails suddenly unleashing a massive shockwave.

"That is the creature, this is a sensation that I could never forget. After over one thousand years it's finally returned, the Ten Tails."

"I don't think I've ever heard you sound so nervous before, but all poorly timed playful taunting aside what gives? I thought the chakra of the Gedo Statue had disappeared."

"The Ten Tails doesn't have any of those sorts of emotions or feelings like you do, sensing that creature through those methods is all but impossible. It is the embodiment of natural energy itself, the same as the energy that circulates around this world that you can feel in the soil, the water and even the air. It would be a different story if you were to try it while you were in your Sage Mode."

"So what does that mean then, I should just switch to Sage Mode instead so that I'll be able to check him out?"

"No that won't do any good, if you try to do that then you will simply see how immeasurable the power of the beast is."

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Seizing the chance, Obito and Madara both leapt over the massive shrieking form of the Ten Tails and leapt on top of its head and were promptly linked to it "And that's the good shit right there."

"You know it's rather unusual." Madara commented "I had intended to capture the other Three Tailed Beasts before we had fully revived the Ten Tails but they're surprisingly better than I had expected."

"That doesn't matter, I just want to start the ritual for the Infinite Tsukuyomi now."

"A genjutsu as massive as that requires time in order to summon the moon and they'll interfere with the jutsu so I believe that it will go more smoothly if we use the power of the Ten Tails to get rid of them first, wouldn't you agree Obito?"

"You just want to use this as an excuse to test out the power of the Ten Tails don't you? So then that's why you, you know what you really are just like a child."

"That's where you're wrong Obito, children are impatient and touchy fools and nothing more than that." so with that being said Madara sent the Ten Tails charging forward shrieking with pure rage.

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The group were bracing themselves for the inevitable.

Utakata seemed rather nervous as he followed Killer B and Tatsu over to where Naruto and the others were "Be real with me for a second, do you guys actually believe that we can do this?"

"Don't think you can hide out in some slug mug because you're a gigantic wuss." Tatsu promptly powered up hos full Light Dragon chakra avatar "But first give me Lee, Guy and Asuma and then I can heal them later on. Naruto, Kakashi, you guys be sure to let Kurama work his magic on you guys too."

"Way ahead of you." Naruto promptly formed his full Tailed Beast Mode and dragged Kakashi into the chakra avatar.

"Okay guys listen up, from what Hikari tells me first we've gotta keep our distance and see what kind of moves they'll make. Once we see what it does we'll counter it and hit him with a heavy attack from as close as we can get to the thing!"

"You know it's kind of weird." Asuma commented "I mean just the thought of acting like an old school squad captain."

"You got a problem with that Chain Smoker?"

"Nope, in fact it makes me feel kind of nostalgic. You've come a pretty long way from that little shit that I used to watch Hayate train as a kid."

"...How about this Asuma, save that bullshit for after we've managed to wipe the floor with these sons of mother f*ckers! Alright A-holes, it's showtime!" and Tatsu, along with three Tailed Beasts while carrying the other semi regular shinobi, bolted in the opposite direction only to be nearly caught by the Ten Tails almost immediately 'Son of a bitch that thing is fast, I didn't even have time to see him move let alone evade them! No you know what, f*ck it!' so still in his Light Dragon form, Tatsu charged at the Ten Tails, only to be thrown backwards by a mere sweep of its claw "Now's your chance guys, WRECK HIS SHIT!"

"RIGHT!" Naruto promptly took the chance to fire a Tailed Beast Bomb Barrage at the Ten Tails from the right side, with Killer B and Utakata hitting the Ten Tails from the left side with two simultaneous Tailed Beast Bomb Barrages of equal power.

'Yes, now they don't have any other choice to avoid a direct hit!'

"You know I'm sure that there's no need for us to bother to dodge this but I still think we should preserve the power of the Ten Tails as much as can." so Obito had the Ten Tails fire an absolutely MASSIVE Tailed Beast Bomb at the group of them.

"...Shit. MOVE MOVE MOVE!" so Tatsu and the others had to scramble in order to get out of the way and/ or shield themselves against the blast, and when the smoke cleared it revealed that the blast had managed to clip the tails of the Tailed Beast Modes, with all that remained of the Six Tails being its leg, but Tatsu's Light Dragon mode was pretty much unharmed "Oh yeah that's right, guess who surpassed the Tailed Beasts mother f*ckers?!"

Asuma glanced around to see that Kakashi and Lee had both disappeared "Hang on Tatsu, please don't tell me that-"

"Chill out Chain Smoker, take a look up there." Tatsu glanced up and smirked "Looks like I've got those two in nice and close."

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Obito glanced up to see Lee and Kakashi dropped in from the air above them 'We were focusing too much on the Ten Tails and they took advantage of that.'

"Sorry about that one leg but here we go! Kamui!" Kakashi quickly took the chance to unleash his Kamui and revealed the Six Tailed form of Utakata, alive and well 'To the enemy it looked like one octopus leg had been left behind in the blast. Now's your chance Utakata, take that thing down!"

"As if you had to ask, I'm gonna shove it into his eyeball!" Utakata closed in on the Ten Tails and fired a Tailed Beast Bomb straight at the eye, only for the Ten Tails to literally flick it away and then do the same to Utakata, sending him flying.

Madara glanced upwards and spotted Lee and Kakashi "Looks like we have a couple of flies buzzing above us as well." and so he had the Ten Tails wipe one of its tails at them.

"Dammit, Kakashi-sensei watch out!" Lee quickly shoved Kakashi out of the way right before the tail closed in on them, leaving Lee (actually just a Shadow Clone) to be hit by the tail, causing him to dissipate just as Utakata hit the ground hard

Obito observed this and reflected on the time that he had saved Kakashi only to end up being crushed by rocks himself 'It's rather strange to think that the three of them, Naruto in particular, really are so much like me. No they're just that much younger than me and that's all there is to that.'

"I gotcha sensei!" Naruto quickly caught Kakashi in his Tailed Beast Mode, with Tatsu managing to stop Utakata as he hit the ground, only for Naruto to lose his Tailed Beast Mode almost immediately after 'God dammit Kurama now is not the time for you to burn out so what the f*ck?!'

"Hey give me a break runt, keep in mind that that time we stayed in the form for a full 8 minutes but right now that's the limit. I have to take the time to infuse and build up the chakra that we need, you don't have a choice so deal with it."

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Utakata found himself forced back into his human form as well "God dammit that's gonna hurt later on."

"Sorry about this Utakata, it looks like I'm at my limit as well."

'Don't worry about it Six Tails, you can't help something like that. Bad new guys, it's looking like we're all out of power for now."

Guy wasn't exactly thrilled about this from where he was lying on the ground "So that means… that I can't… get healed yet…?"

"And I'm not much better off than you now." Kakashi muttered "To have to pull in something as big as the Six Tails and then spit it back out sure takes up a lot more chakra than the jutsu usually does, I'm pretty much drained already."

"Which means that we've got two men down." Tatsu noted "Not to mention the fact that our three jinchuuriki are pretty much spent on chakra right now. Hey Lee how are you holding up right now?"

"I can't really go higher than the Third Gate right now and I've already overused my Dragon God mode by this point." Lee told him.

"So that means that right now I'm the only one of us that's still at full power-" Tatsu suddenly found himself forced back into his normal state "I'm still in better shape than the rest of you guys." and to prove his point he prepared to summon some Shadow Clones, with Naruto soon deciding to follow his lead.

Madara looked down on the two of them with disdain "Your favorite Shadow Clone Jutsu may very well be a forbidden high level ninjutsu but even if you up the number of losers it's not going to-"

"Oh my god do you ever shut up? Sure splitting up our chakra even more using Shadow Clones may not do any good other than pointless diversions but that doesn't mean that we're just gonna lie down and die for you."

"What does it matter, all of you are just a motley crew anyway, Light Dragon or no Light Dragon it wouldn't have made any sort of difference."

Naruto blinked "What the hell does motley mean?"

"...And this is the last hope for the world, honestly I'm surprised that you haven't destroyed yourselves already. I'm saying that it's pointless for you to increase the number of heads if all of them are empty."

"Well he's not wrong in one aspect." Tatsu muttered "At least not about the empty head part that is."

"We are all simply powerless shinobi and you, no more like everyone actually, all of you will eventually just end up like me." Obito told him.

"There's no way that any of us are ever gonna end up like you, when is it gonna get through that thick skull of yours? God maybe you and Naruto really are alike, but you know what that doesn't matter anymore. Naruto's dream is to become the Hokage, Lee's is to become the greatest taijutsu master the world has ever seen, and my dream is to become the strongest shinobi this world has ever seen!"

"There's no need for you to worry, I can assure you that everything is going to go the way that has been planned. There is no jutsu of greater power than that of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, I can make your dreams into reality inside of this jutsu so why don't you just disappear along with the rest of the world and make our jobs that much easier!" and then he had the Ten Tails fire a massive Tailed Beast Bomb at the group, only for the trajectory of the blast to suddenly be shifted slightly, causing it to destroy a nearby mountain range with the blast instead, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Okay so not that I'm not happy about still being alive and all but would anyone here care to explain, THE F*CK?!" Tatsu glanced back and noticed something "Okay that makes more sense, not that I'm not grateful but you getting here about 20 minutes ago wouldn't have been so bad either Ino."

Sure enough, Ino dropped to the ground in front of them along with Hinata "Your snark never gets old, but all jokes aside I can't believe he was able to shake off my Mind Transfer Jutsu like that so easily in just a few seconds. So how are you guys holding up so far?"

"Well we're still alive so that's good, plus you managed to shit the aim of that gigantic bastard so yeah I'd give you a thumbs up."

"Spare me the smartass act." that was when Kiba and Shino showed up "You and Naruto don't have to act so tough just because Ino and Hinata are here."

"Those must be the words that you live by, what other reason do you have for acting like such a p*ssy all the time?" this was met with a growl, which was promptly ignored.

"Beetle Jamming Jutsu!" every present member of the Aburame clan unleashed their Beetle Jamming Jutsu on the Ten Tails simultaneously.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" every present Hidden Mist shinobi, as well as Hotaru (you guys thought I forgot about her didn't you, I'm not Toriyama), unleashed the Hidden Mist Jutsu in order to give the Aburame clan the necessary cover, covering the area in a thick layer of chakra infused mist.

"Don't worry you guys, we're here!" that was when Shikamaru and Choji showed up "Okay good, thanks to the mist we won't be detected by the enemy so easily."

Tatsu nodded "Thanks for the backup you guys, now let's get down to business and take it one step at a time. Ino. Kin."

"Yeah I know, we're already on it." Ino and Kin quickly got to work healing Kakashi and Guy of their injuries, as well as restoring their chakra.

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Shikaku was quick to notice a sudden spike in chakra signatures 'The Sensory Water Sphere is refusing to maintain its original shape, we had better… Inoichi, Ao, I want the two of you to confirm the situation."

"Understood." and so Inoichi and Ao were quick to receive reports from every company present on the battlefield "We're receiving reports from the commanders and proxy commanders of each division right now, the First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division, Fifth Division, Medical Unit and Sensory Units are all present on the battlefield."

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The entire present alliance was covered by the Hidden Mist Jutsu.

Madara on the other hand wasn't very impressed "Am I really supposed to believe that this is hiding?" with a simple sweep of his hand he had the Ten Tails use one of its tails to sweep away the cloud of mist with a powerful shockwave that replaced the cloud of mist with a cloud of dust instead.

"Wind Style: Art of the Gust Blade!" Temari and a squad of Hidden Sand shinobi cut through the cloud of dust, wiping it away and revealing the entire remaining Allied Shinobi Force present and ready to fight.

Tatsu, Naruto and Lee were standing at the front of the army, the fires in their spirits renewed and burning brightly "How's this one for motley asshole, we've got our own secret weapon with us called the Allied Shinobi Forces Jutsu! Against a force like this the Infinite Tsukuyomi can suck on my thick hard-"

"Crossing the line." Lee promptly shut him up "Keep in mind that we've gotta keep this whole thing rated T."

"Right sorry."

Madara seemed amused by the name "The Allied Shinobi Forces Jutsu you say? Don't you think that comes off as a little bit of a stretch."

"Hey if this jutsu manages to beat the ever loving shit out of the two of you then I say the name can be as pretentious as it gets."

"That's where you're wrong." Obito told him for the umpteenth time "Why won't all of you just realize that it's completely meaningless for you to even try to stop us here? This jutsu of yours will crumble into dust after the war comes to an end and then someone on your side will eventually attempt what we're doing right now, there will be no victory afforded to you no matter how much you may struggle. Why won't you just get it through your head, there is no such thing as hope in this world!"

"...Yeah you know what, f*ck it. Naruto tag in, my Talk no Jutsu is all burned out for the time being."

"What?"

Sure enough, that was when Naruto stepped forward "You can say as much as you want that there's no hope in this world but I don't care, I'm gonna say that there is such thing as hope in this world."

"...You know what f*ck it." Madara pinched the bridge of his nose "There really isn't any point in arguing whether or not something is real when we've reached the climax of a war, how about we skip the talk and just settle this thing. Light Dragon Kamikaze boy you know what I'm talking about." he received a middle finger from Tatsu in response.

"When there's a difference of opinion you usually go by majority rule don't you? Well do you or not?"

"You know something that's actually not a bad idea, I think we should call it after we've erased the lot of you."

"Yeah I guess I should've expected a response like that but either way it doesn't change what's gonna happen here."

"You've got that right." Tatsu promptly activated his Sage Mode "This world isn't gonna end, not while we're still breathing. Now go forward for the world, for the future!" with this said this prompted almost every single shinobi present to charge into the fray "And now we can enjoy the fireworks."

"Nice work buying us the time that we needed you two."

"Well knowing what you're like Shukaku it didn't take that long to pull something out of your ass."

"...Yeah, anyway thanks to the two of you I'll be able to relay it to everyone. Kakashi told us about the masked man being really Obito Uchiha but we don't have the time to let the shock sink in right now, in order to win this fight we have to take and maintain the upper hand without giving the enemy so much as an inch or any chance for them to counter our maneuvers. From what we learned from our intel, our enemies both bost impressive visual Kekkei Genkai so the first move has to be to impede their movements by destroying their field of vision. We'll leave this up to the Hidden Cloud shinobi."

"Lightning Style! Flash Pillar!" C and his squad of Hidden Cloud shinobi unleashed a massive flash of light, blinding Obito, Madara and the Ten Tails in the process.

"Gale Style: Laser Circus!" under the cover of the Flash Pillar, Darui and his squad of Hidden Cloud shinobi fired a barrage of chakra infused lasers.

Madara was forced to use his Rinnegan powers to absorb the attacks coming at them as he caught on "Now I understand, their true intention is to blind the Ten Tails."

"Through use of the Beetle Jamming Jutsu and the Hidden Mist Jutsu from earlier as well as the large volume of airborne dust justered up by the Wind Style, this is where we leave it up to the Hidden Sand shinobi."

"Wind Style: Air Current Dance!" Temari and a large group of Hidden Sand shinobi unleashed a powerful current of wind.

"With this we'll be able to not just destroy their vision completely but we can prevent them from even sensing us at all and since their sheer bulk prevent them from hiding we'll be able to take full advantage of the situation."

Tatsu gave a smirk "They just revealed their jutsu to you a little while ago and you already incorporated it into the battle strategy, leave it to you Shikaku."

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Obito and Madara were quick to come up with a counter plan "This is going to make it impossible for us to be able to sense them, so I guess that means that we'll just have to mow them down instead using the Ten Tails."

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"Alright Hidden Stone, you're up next."

"Right, we're on it! Earth Style: Vast Mobile Core!" Kitsuchi and a large squad of Hidden Stone shinobi were quick to lower the ground beneath the Ten Tails, trapping it in a large pit and leaving it no chance to escape.

"After we're able to shut down their senses we'll take the chance to immobilize them using the Earth Style jutsu, and then once we drop the Ten Tails the rest of the Hidden Stone shinobi to pour in the quicklime."

"Corrosion Style: Quicklime Congealing Jutsu!" the Hidden Stone shinobi, with Kurotsuchi leading them, unleashed a multi wayed stream of quicklime that engulfed the Ten Tails.

"The Hidden Mist and Hidden Waterfall groups are up next."

"Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!" the Hidden Mist shinobi, as well as Hotaru, along with the Hidden Waterfall shinobi, led by Shibuki, unleashed simultaneous streams of water, filling the pit even further.

"Now we'll add a lot of water into the mix, it'll fill up the pit and rapid stir up the quicklime at the same time and now it's up to the Hidden Leaf shinobi to finish this and dry it using the heat of Fire Style."

"And now we of the Sarutobi clan will finish this! Fire Style: Majestic Flame Jutsu!" all present members of the Sarutobi clan, being led by Asuma, unleashed simultaneous fire style jutsu, drying the water infused quicklime and hardening it into cement.

"After that all we have to do is let it set and then it'll be immobilized."

"I find it completely and utterly unbelievable." Madara commented "Who would've thought that the shinobi from those five villages, not to mention the Hidden Waterfall village as well, would be able to cooperate with each other so well."

"If it wasn't for all of us stopping the Ten Tails then we would never even have a chance to go after Obito and Madara, in their eyes the Ten Tails is just a tool for them to activate their genjutsu, if we take down the ones who will cast that jutsu then the Infinite Tsukuyomi can't be launched. However it's best to assume that the power of the Ten Tails can't be suppressed for very long if at all, only physical attacks can work on Madara so shinobi who specialize in taijutsu skills like Guy and Lee will be sent after him. Obito can phase through all moves and jutsu alike but only for five minutes according to the intel we were given by Konan and Yahiko before, coordinate with the Medical unit and continuously attack for longer than that period of time without letting up for even a second. Naruto, Tatsu, the two of you should know what to do from here."

"Way ahead of you Shikaku, these A-holes are going down!" with his Tenseigan Chakra Mode flaring into life, Tatsu readied a golden colored Rasenshuriken "This is what the Allied Shinobi Forces Jutsu has got up its sleeve mother fucker! Tenseigan Art: Golden Wheel Rebirth Rasenshuriken!" he fired off the golden colored Rasenshuriken, with Naruto firing off his own Sage Mode powered Wind Style: Rasenshuriken at the same time 'It's just like Shikaku said, the two of them are the brains of the Ten Tails so we'll have to take them out first.'

Obito looked on with pure disdain "They're such pitiful creatures, this hope that they cling to so desperately doesn't exist and they don't even realize that, and the same can be said for their lives at this point."

"You say that like it isn't obvious." Madara glanced down at the Ten Tails "It would seem that the Ten Tails is quite ready at this point. So this time they intend to come after me and Obito directly instead of the Ten Tails, well it is basic strategy to take out the brains of the enemy then isn't it? But then again, in order to do that then they would actually have to be able to stop the Ten Tails.' this was followed by the Ten Tails suddenly sprouting a large number of arms and blowing everyone away, and then Madara and Obito rose out of the pit on top of the Ten Tails, revealing that it had taken on some kind of new humanoid form.

Tatsu pulled himself out of the rubble, his arm hanging limp at his side 'So my shoulder is dislocated but on my right arm instead of my left, so all things considered I guess it could be worse. How's everyone holding up?"

"I'm pretty sure my leg isn't supposed to bend like this." Lee pointed out "I'm no expert on human anatomy but is my leg supposed to go behind my head?"

"Nope, we're fucked."

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Shikaku was quick to take note of the situation 'The Sensory Water Sphere is starting to look like a small planet, the only explanation is that we didn't actually immobilize the Ten Tails. It must have merely stopped moving on its own in order to amass its power and transform. We can't target those two so we'll have to figure out another way to stop that thing or else it'll be over for all of us. We have to immobilize the Ten Tails or else we won't be able to go after the brains that are manipulating it, but the question is how? Even with the jutsu of my Nara clan which specializes in immobilizing the enemy the effect would be miniscule in comparison to the amount of chakra

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Kitsuchi was quick to take the chance to try and calm everyone down "There's no need for all of us to just freak out yet, just infuse your chakra and be prepared to move as soon as we get the plan from HQ!"

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After LOTS of planning and wracking his brain, Shikaku finally came up with something and made his way over to Inoichi "Listen to me Inoichi, I need you to link me up with Kakashi right away."

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"Kakashi it's me, listen up."

Kakashi's head snapped up "Is that you Shikaku?"

"Yes it's me as I already told you, I want to confirm some intel about the last battle sequence with you."

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Madara was quick to make use of Hashirama's cells "It's going to begin to get more difficult to control the Ten Tails, use Hashirama's cells within your body to reinforce the bond that you have with it and in the meantime we should use this opportunity to check on the power of the Ten Tails while it's in its current state. First we should…"

Obito nodded "Yes I know, we'll show everyone the true meaning of despair!" and then he had the Ten Tails charge up another massive Tailed Beast Bomb.

Kakashi was quick to notice this "Sorry Shikaku but I've gotta go for now, we've got problems out here."

"What's the matter? Oh no, so that's what they're up to."

"I won't be able to use my Kamui in time, Kitsuchi hurry and displace it upwards using your Earth Style jutsu!"

"Right!" so Kitsuchi was able to use an Earth Style jutsu, adjusting the path taken by the blast, causing it to detonate in the distance away from the alliance.

"It's range can extend to that far away, the other Tailed Beasts are nothing compared to this thing. It's got power unlike anything I've ever seen before."

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"It's shaking from just that one little counter to our attack." Madara noted "It doesn't have the necessary control just yet, but the next one…" he had the Ten Tails fire two more Tailed Beast Bombs, causing it to fall on its ass and hit the ground with a loud thud, one of the blasts detonating harmlessly in the ocean but the other completely eradicating a random village in the distance.

Neji could only look on in horror at the chaos using his Byakugan "Unbelievable, a distant city gone in the blink of an eye just like that." this was followed by the Ten Tails stomping its way forward."

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Ao was able to detect this using his sensory abilities "Something is off, the Ten Tails has been acting weird and it seems to be aiming afar."

Shikaku frowned in thought "So then every city and person within its range of fire. That would mean all of the Feudal Lords and everyone guarding the villages along with the citizens of each targeted nation are at risk right now. The reason for this war is so that our shinobi on the battlefield can protect everyone else but those two are aiming to remove that reason." he glanced over and noticed Ao tense up "What's the matter, what's going on down there?"

"I need you to be sure to listen to me as calmly as you can."

"...They're aiming for us here aren't they?" Shikaku just glanced upwards and let out a remorseful sigh.

"So what do we do now Shikaku?" asked Inoichi.

"There's only one thing that we can do, and that's the thing that we have to do. I have a plan to stop the Ten Tails and that'll be our final act, Inoichi I need you to put me through to everyone on the battlefield."

And so he did, and he relayed his plan to everyone on the battlefield, up until the last seconds before the Tailed Beast Bomb closed in on HQ.

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Shikamaru could only grit his teeth and steel his resolve 'No get it together Shikamaru, we're still in the middle of a war right now so there's no time for tears.'

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Madara was actually quite pleased with himself "Finally we got them, now that we've smashed the brain of the Allied Forces taking them down should be that much easier. It's a simply basic strategy really."

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Ino on the other hand had tears streaming down her face 'Dad…' she didn't even have to look back to know that Tatsu was standing behind her "You don't have to say it Tatsu because I know that already, we're in the middle of a war."

Tatsu gave a simple nod "Alright I gotcha, I won't waste any words on you. All we can do is what we have to do just like what Shikaku told us to do."

"Exactly." Ino promptly pulled Samehada off of her back, letting its chakra flow into her own body

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Naruto was actually left quite out of the loop, which if you think about it isn't that far off from the norm for him "What hold on a second I don't get it, what the hell just happened?"

"Weren't you listening Naruto?" that was when Iruka and Mizuki both dropped down next to him ready to fight "You are the key to the entire plan."

"Wait Iruka-sensei weren't you back on the gigantic turtle island thing? No you know what nevermind that, I'm asking what happened to Shikaku and Inoichi!"

"Naruto… look out!" Iruka grabbed Naruto by the hand and he and Mizuki got him out of the way just as the Ten Tails began sweeping one of it's gigantic hand/ tail things across the battlefield, wiping out numerous shinobi in the process.

"8 Trigrams Palm Rotation!" Neji and Hiashi were able to deflect the gigantic tail using two simultaneous Rotations.

Naruto looked on in awe "Woah man that's awesome."

"There's no time for you to just stand there spacing out Naruto, this is a battlefield and we're in the middle of a war. In a war it's normal for people to die but if we're defeated and we lose this war then EVERYONE is going to die." Neji pointed out.

"...Yeah I already knew that."

"Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka might say that as shinobi they're glad that they died before their children, the same as my father did. Listen to me Naruto, the power you wield is critical to the plan so until we're able to execute it's our duty to protect you at all costs." this was soon followed by Hinata joining them, with Iruka and Mizuki both stepping up to the plate not long after she did behind her and the others

"Hinata… Iruka-sensei… Mizuki-sensei…"

"Just know this Naruto and two chunin instructors that are here for plot devices, the Hyuga clan is the strongest in the Hidden Leaf!"

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Madara just pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh "You know I really was hoping that we would be able to take them out before they started with those heroic speeches, but it is rather difficult to control the Ten Tails to an effective degree, I suppose this will have to do until the next transformation but after that I suspect that only a jinchuuriki will have the necessary ability to control it. But then again, for me to become the jinchuuriki of the Ten Tails I am going to need to be truly and fully brought back to life and not just hosted within a corpse as a mere Reanimation you know."

"The Reanimation is good for big potentially suicidal attacks but the reason you haven't launched the Tailed Beast Bomb of the Ten Tails at them, blowing yourself up as well, is that I would get caught up in that and be killed as well." Obito pointed out "And the reason why that would be a problem is that in order for you to be truly brought back to life and then become a proper jinchuuriki you will still need me to sacrifice myself and then perform the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu on you. To put it simply you're in a very delicate position right now where you're entirely at my mercy, be sure that you don't forget that."

"Well what do you know, it would seem that my little rugrat has turned himself into quite the wily little fox."

"You do realize that I've never really considered you to be a comrade."

"Oh well, so be it I guess. Alright then, if that's the case then why don't you decide our next move instead of me."

"We'll simply continue, they will all come to know and truly understand despair to the same extent that I have. Wood Style: Cutting Sprigs Jutsu!" Obito promptly unleashed a massive barrage of wooden spikes from the tails of the Ten Tails down on the alliance, skewering many shinobi as a result.

Kitsuchi was prepared for this to an extent and began forming hand seals 'My Earth Style: Mountain Jutsu should be able to at least slow it down until the power of the Nine Tails is fully restored but I need time in order to build up enough chakra, please everyone just hold on until then!'

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'There's too many of them, my Rotation can't keep up!' Neji found himself facing issues regarding the number of enemy projectiles and almost ended up getting his headband knocked off.

Or rather it would if Tatsu hadn't arrived on that part of the scene with his dragon Sage Mode activated and he cut off a barrage of wooden spikes with a small Rasenshuriken "I have to thank you guys, thanks to you I was bought enough time to get into Sage Mode."

"And don't think I'm out of this either, there's no way I'm just gonna lie down and leave it to you guys or a bunch of geniuses!" now in his own Sage Mode, Naruto fired off a barrage of wind and fire enhanced Rasenshuriken at the tails of the Ten Tails, only to end up wasting his Sage Mode almost immediately, leaving him wide open for the gigantic tail sweeping towards him and wiping out several shinobi in its way.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Mizuki quickly unleashed a large dragon made of water chakra, pushing the gigantic tail backwards, only for it to fire off another barrage of wooden spikes 'Dammit they're doing a focus, there's too many so some measly Earth Style or Water Style jutsu won't be enough!'

"LOOK OUT!" to the surprise and horror of everyone, Iruka jumped in the way of a bunch of wooden spikes and took the hit for Naruto, causing him to fall to the ground as he began bleeding out, with Kitsuchi taking the chance to trap the Ten Tails using one of his Earth Style jutsu.

'Iruka… no…'

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" more horrified than everyone else, Naruto caught Iruka's slowly dying body before it hit the ground "MEDIC! GET A FUCKING MEDIC OVER HERE ALREADY OR I'LL DRAG THEIR ASS OVER HERE MYSELF!"

"No…" Iruka's voice was soft and hoarse "It's… too late… this is it… for me... my path… is at an end… Naruto… Tatsu and Hinata… everyone here… they're willing to die for you… Don't forget… that you hold… more than one life… in your hands… and I guess… my life was… also meant to be… one of them…"

"But why… why did you… God dammit Iruka-sense you can't die here, you can't just die on me like this! YOU CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS!" Naruto now had tears streaming down his face with no signs of stopping.

"Naruto… do you remember… back when you told me… that you would become Hokage one day…?"

"Yeah… Yeah you just laughed it off…"

"Yeah, I did… I thought… it would be a miracle… if you just became a decent ninja… if a ninja at all…"

"Sensei…"

"But… the next night… when you and Tatsu saved me from Aizen… and stopped him… I saw the fire in your eyes… the flame burning inside of your soul… and I saw the limitless potential that you had… that would drive you to become Hokage one day…"

"But why…"

"Because… Because you and I… we're the same… When I lost my parents… nobody seemed to care… they didn't have time for me… they just forgot that I was there… I became the class clown… just like you were… I just wanted them to see me and to know my name… know who I was… I wasn't a prodigy or anything like that so that couldn't get people's attention… so I did crazy things… and then I had to pay for it… it was hard… it was so hard… I knew that it was how you felt… you felt loneliness like I did… the only difference was that… you had the potential… to be the greatest… and to be the greatest Hokage… of them all… and ever since that night… I haven't doubted it… even for a second…" he slowly reached upwards and put his hand on Naruto's face, and he gave a small smile "Now go and show them… the thing that I've always known… Naruto…" and with that, Iruka Umino took his final breath and fell to the ground.

Naruto couldn't even utter any words, he simply let out a blood curdling scream that could be heard for miles, followed by him sobbing over Iruka's corpse as the Ten Tails freed itself from the Earth Style jutsu.

What didn't help matters was that Obito took the chance to taunt him "What was that you were saying before about not allowing any of your comrades to die Naruto? You said that you would never let your comrades no matter what happened, those were your words. And now just take a good long look around you and try to save all of them once again!"

Naruto slowly lifted his head from Iruka's body and looked around at the numerous skewered corpses across the battlefield.

"I SAID TRY TO SAY THAT TO ME AGAIN! As the bodies of those that you hold dear grow cold and lifeless in your arms, take in their deaths! This cycle will just continue to repeat itself over and over again, and all of your flippant words and ideals will become nothing but meaningless lies! This is the end result of ideals and hope, this is the hopelessness that comes with reality! Tell me Naruto, what is there for you in this reality? Your mother and father are both dead, the Third Hokage and Master Jiraiya as well, and now your dear Iruka, and if you continue to stand against us one by one! This shall become a world where no one who acknowledges you will continue to exist! There is only one thing that awaits you is your worst nightmare which you already know very well, the pain of isolation and solitude."

Madara studied Obito in silence for a moment 'You know something Obito, you've become almost exactly like how I used to be. Naruto will fall shortly and then that will break the will of the Allied Forces.'

"So why do you keep bothering to live in this reality? Now come on and join us Naruto, help us escape from this reality."

However, a fist connected with Naruto's face, sending him crashing to the ground, courtesy of, much to the surprise of Naruto and everyone else, none other than Yahiko himself "Were you not listening to what that man said with his dying breath? He said that in your hands you hold more than just one life, do you have any idea what he meant by that? Naruto you said that you would not let any of your comrades die, those words and the conviction that brings them to life could never be any more true. Iruka lived with those words stored in his heart and lived them out until the very end. This is about more than just you Naruto, this is about every single one of us. Those are words and feelings that we all hold in our hearts and live by. Our lives are bound together by those words and that is what makes us comrades, teammates, and most of all those words are what make us friends. Not just as fellow shinobi or fellow students of Jiraiya-sense like you, me and Konan, but as true, genuine friends. For all of us to just give up on that, to just discard those words and feelings and the meanings behind them, to just lie down and die for people like them then what Iruka-sensei just did for you would've been in vain. Then and only then will your comrades truly be dead, for then you would no longer be comrades. That's what I know in my heart not just as the student of Jiraiya-sensei, not just as a fellow member of Team Jiraiya, but as the founder of the Akatsuki and as a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Rain." he slowly reached down and held out his hand to Naruto "So come on Naruto, stand with the rest of us and follow your own Ninja Way, to never give up and to never go back on your word, just like my Ninja Way is to achieve peace for the world

'Yahiko…'

"The kid with the stupid hair color is right Naruto, don't forget about me either."

'Yeah I know that Kurama, my bonds are serious. No matter what happens I would never abandon my friends, but the truth is that Iruka-sensei…'

"Would you quit your whining and complaining already, god dammit if you don't grow a pair then I'll rip you apart and then take over your body for good this time. Did you seriously forget about how your own mother and father did the same thing that Iruka did literally hours after you were born? They sealed away their worst enemy in the form of me inside of you and left the future to you, and then they died. Your life had already been linked to that of two others right from the time when you were born!"

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Madara studied Obito intently in silence 'Will he just stand back and see how Naruto will respond to this? It would seem that something about the other two with him in the front makes him seem rather uneasy.'

"ENOUGH!" as if to demonstrate Madara's point, Obito was quick to lose his temper and wrap the tails of the Ten Tails around himself, Madara and the Ten Tails itself.

"You have to slow down or else you're going to harm both yourself and the Ten Tails you imbecile!"

"Does it look like I give a damn?! The hide of the Ten Tails is tough!" he prepared to recklessly fire a large Tailed Beast Bomb down at the alliance, when…

"Stand back everyone, I'll take care of this!" that was when Shisui Uchiha himself arrived on the scene in mid air through use of his green full body Susanoo and fired a Yasaka Magatama at the Ten Tails, cancelling out the Tailed Beast Bomb as well as sending Shisui crashing to the ground in a heap "Ow…" and yet his Susanoo gave a thumbs up.

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Naruto slowly accepted Yahiko's hand and allowed himself to be pulled back to his feet 'Yeah that's right and it wasn't just mom and dad either, it was all of those others too. My bonds and connections tie me to so many other people. Thanks for that Yahiko, really that's exactly what I needed to hear. It's thanks to you and the others that are standing by my side and pushing me to go forward. And Iruka-sensei, thank you too." with these words of encouragement his Tailed Beast Mode was restored, flooding some of his chakra into Yahiko, leaving him in a Version 1 sort of chakra cloak "Hey so are you gonna get in on this too Tatsu?"

Sure enough, Tatsu stepped up to the plate in his newly restored Light Dragon Mode "You bet your ass I am now come on, this time around we're gonna be taking charge!"

A/N:

I'm just gonna go on record and say that maybe I watch too much DBZ abridged, and watching both Deadpool movies multiple times probably doesn't help that much either.

Also, I'm sure you guys have noticed this by now but I'm skipping a very large majority of the filler in the series, hence why I just summarized the backstory of how Obito became Tobi in the first place. That is what I usually do with those sorts of things, it gets the story moving along faster.

Let me just be clear that I have nothing against Iruka, as a matter of fact it's why I love him so much that I'm killing him off in place of Neji. I did mention around the time that I was doing chapter 27 of this fic, back in late October of 2017 I think, that I wanted to find someone plausible that I could kill off in place of Neji to die by the hand of the Ten Tails. Eventually I decided to use Iruka in his place, and believe it or not the inspiration for this was actually given to me by the guys at Team Four Star from their Let's Play of Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, part 8 I think it was. It was just some commentary about having Iruka die in place of Neji would've been poignant and how he was the first guy who believed in him the entire way through the series, putting his hand on his face saying something like "Show them what I've always known about you" and how great it would've been, Iruka giving up his life so that people would see Naruto for the hero that he was. The more I thought about it the more I realized that they were right. To have Iruka die so that people would accept Naruto would be far more poetic, and to sum it all up that's why I killed off Iruka in place of Neji. Plus the beautiful speech that Hinata gave Naruto in canon was given to Yahiko because, unlike the other three he hasn't had a story arc dedicated to him (unless you count his role in Adventure At Sea), so I wanted to give him some more character development. Plus keep in mind, they're both fellow students of Jiraiya.

Oh, and just as a heads up to all of you, Iruka will not be the last dramatic good guy death (aside from Obito). There will be one more who dies after him later on, I wonder if you can guess who. It's someone who survived in canon, I can tell you that much.

I had Shisui be the one to intercept the Tailed Beast Bomb at the end instead of Killer B or Utakata to establish that he's still there and that I haven't forgotten about him like certain people. For those who don't get it, that was a jab at Akira Toriyama, the writer of Dragon Ball, for forgetting that certain characters existed in his anime, such as Launch.