The war, part 1.
Written by: Kin-Ryu Chikara
I don't own anything from the manga/anime Naruto. It is Masashi Kishimoto that owns Naruto. This is a fan fiction based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga and anime: Naruto. It really doesn't have much to do with the story, other than some events. Warning, does involve spoilers to things that happens in the anime and manga.
"Ordinary conversation"
'thought'
Scene change and story perspective. Example: Tsunade's POV (Point Of View): Tsunade is telling the story. Hinata's POV: Hinata is telling the story.
Golden dragon speech
Authors note: a comment from me about the story.
-- paragraph
Wordlist: Konoha one of the ninja villages, Suna another ninja village, Hokage leader of Konoha, Kazekage leader of Suna, Sandaime Third, Yondaime Forth, Godaime Fifth, kage shadow, bunshin clone, jutsu technique, Hijutsu secret technique, Katon fire element, Suiton water element, Doton earth element, Fuuton wind element, Raiton thunder element, Iton healing element(my creation), kawari replacement, shinobi ninja, Jounin high ninja, Chuunin medium ninja, Genin low ninja, henge transformation, KAI undo/cancel, shuriken throwing star, kunai throwing knife, Hai 1. yes 2. here, Yatta I did it, Honto really, Īie no, sugoi 1. amazing/wonderful 2. awful/terrifying, Nani what, baka idiot, dobe moron, gambatte do your best/try your best, kawai cute, gaki kid/brat, obāsan grand mother, otosan father, okasan mother, onesan Big sister, 1.onosan 2. nii-san big brother/brother, imoto-san little sister, ototo-san little brother, sama/san Mr, Mrs, or Ms (formal), nesan elder sister(familiar form), Ero gaki perverted brat, Ero-sennin perverted hermit(Jiraiya), tenketsu chakra holes, Jyuuken gentle fist, Gouken iron fist, Katon, Goukakyuu no jutsu Fire element, Grand Fireball technique, Katon, Karyuu Endan no jutsu Fire element, Fire Dragon Flame missile technique, Katon, Housenka no jutsu Fire element, Phoenix fire technique, Katon, Ryuuka no jutsu fire element, Dragon Fire technique, Katon, Gamayu Endan Fire element, Frog Oil Fireball (can only be used together with a frog summon), Dai kamaitachi no jutsu great slashing wind technique.
(A/N: I am not going to write down every jutsu name in Japanese. That will be too troublesome. So I'll only write down some of them, the rest I'll use the English translation.)
Ryu-ichizoku the dragon clan, Ryu-kuni the dragon country, Kin-ketto golden lineage, Infomeshon Information, Cymer Chikara's ninja helper, Mujaki Chikara's adoptive daughter, Namida-chan Chikara's pet name for his adoptive daughter, Taiyo-kun Temari's pet name for Chikara.
Chikara's summons(all are dragons): Kaji (fire), Chikyu (earth), Kaze (wind), Mizu (water), Kori (ice), Raimei (thunder), Seibutsu (life), Yugure (darkness). Chikara in his dragon transformation is called: Kin-Ryu.
Continuation from "Retrieving the Uchiha"
Kibo was home in bed, when suddenly her father ran into her room, panting. He stopped before her bed and supported himself on his knees, trying to regain his breath. Kibo propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him.
"Father, what is it?" she asked but he held up a hand to show he would tell her.
Finally he straightened and looked straight into her eyes.
"Whatever Chikara told you to do when the war started, you better do. The war has started!" he panted out and Kibo's eyes widened.
"What? Are you serious?" she asked and he nodded.
"Afraid so. We have to do something!" he said and Kibo jumped out of bed, scrambled over to her closet and pulled out the clothes she always had ready for this day. Getting dressed in a hurry, she asked her father to go get her some food and water.
"Why?" he asked and she looked him straight in the eye.
"Because Kin-Ryu-sama said that I was going to go and get him once the war starts, and now it is starting. I have to go get him, or else all is lost." She said and continued to dress.
The king nodded and left to go find her some supplies.
--
Kibo was standing in front of her parents, both of them looking pale and worried.
"Are you sure you will be alright on your own?" her mother asked and she nodded.
"Yes. Chikara entrusted me with this task, and I am going to make it. I have to, or else he won't know if the war has started or not. I have to go!" she said and her father nodded.
"Alright. Here!" he said and handed her a backpack.
"In there you will find food and drink, and stuff to camp with. Please hurry!" he said and Kibo nodded.
"I will." She said and her mother gave her a hug.
"Be careful. Now off you go, and bring back Chikara!" she said with teary eyes. Kibo nodded and started to run towards the fire country and Konoha.
--
Kibo ran as fast as she could, the only thing on her mind was to get back to Konoha as fast as possible. She ran across fields, trough forests, climbed mountains, jumped across ravines, walked over flimsy rope-bridges and sprinted from wild animals and bandits. She only stopped to take some short rests, before resuming the trip.
Still, even when running at her fastest, it took her five almost six days to get to Konoha.
When she got there, she was stopped by the guards at the gates.
"State who you are and your purpose here in Konoha!" the guard said. Kibo was really impatient, but forced herself to remain calm.
"I am Ryu Kibo, and I am here to talk to my brother, Kin-Ryu Chikara. Here's my ID." She said and held out her identification, where it stood that she was the princess of Ryu-kuni. The guard nodded once and raised a hand. Suddenly three ANBU was around Kibo.
"Escort princess Kibo to Hokage-sama please." The guard said and the ANBU nodded. Kibo was about to object, but thought better of it. Tsunade was after all one of the people closest to Chikara.
"Please hurry!" Kibo said. The ANBU looked at her and nodded again. The gates opened and the four of them entered, and started jumping from rooftop to rooftop towards the Hokage tower.
--
Tsunade was fast asleep and happily drooling on her paperwork when a sharp knock came on the door. She woke up with a start as the knocking increased to pounding.
"Alright, alright. Come in already." She yelled and Kibo opened the door. The three ANBU behind her vanished, while Kibo entered the door and marched tiredly up to the desk. Tsunade noted that Kibo looked like hell. She was dirty, scratched, her clothes were torn, she was sweating and panting, she looked pale and worried and her eyes was filled with fear and concern.
"Kibo, what do I owe the pleasure?" Tsunade asked wearily. Kibo swallowed and straightened.
"The war has begun. We need Chikara now! Do you know where he is Hokage-sama?" she asked. Tsunade's eyes widened.
"What? No…not now!" she said and Kibo looked at her worriedly.
"Huh? What's wrong Hokage-sama?" she asked but Tsunade ignored her and looked out the window.
"I sent Chikara on a mission a week ago. He should have been back last night, so I hope he comes today, but even if he comes today, he will be worn out from the mission. And then, he won't be able to fight as good in the war. Shizune!" Tsunade yelled for Shizune, who rushed into the room.
"What is it Hokage-sama?" she asked worriedly.
"Send ANBU to get me Temari, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Sasuke, Kakashi, Anko, Jiraiya and Hiashi. Hurry!" Tsunade commanded. Shizune nodded and went to execute the order.
"What do you need them for?" Kibo asked.
"I know my little brother, and he would rather fight this war without any of his friends and loved ones to keep them from injury, but I also know that they will want to fight beside him, and probably be a great asset to Ryu-kuni in the war. I also want to help, and until he arrives, I think we should make plans and prepare. Don't you agree?" Tsunade said and Kibo nodded slowly.
"Actually I was hoping you would want to help. That would help immeasurably. But how many do you think will want to help?" Kibo asked and Tsunade started counting on her fingers.
"Well, there is me, Shizune, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Kakashi, Anko, Jiraiya, Hiashi, Gaara, Kankurou, Genma and Aoba. Those I am certain would want to help. And of course Chikara." Tsunade said and Kibo sat down.
"That's amazing. Those are the elite of Konoha and Suna, right?" she asked and Tsunade nodded.
"Yes, we are. Ah, there you are!" Tsunade said when the door opened and Shizune walked in, followed by everyone she had called for, and a tired looking Chikara, with Mujaki on his back.
"Chikara!" both Tsunade and Kibo yelled. Kibo jumped up and rushed over to him. She grabbed his jacket and stared into his eyes, tears falling down her cheeks.
"The war…it's begun. I…I rushed here as fast as I could. We have to get back, so that we can save…save…" she said but Chikara stopped her.
"I know. I know." He said, and Kibo's eyes widened.
"You…you knew?" she asked and her expression turned to anger. Chikara stepped around her and sat down in a chair before Tsunade's desk.
"I knew. This is my test for Ryu-kuni, and my test for you. If you could come here and get me and Ryu-kuni could survive until I get there, then you have passed, and will be able to continue existing. You must understand, the uncharted lands and Ryu-kuni will be fighting with all of their strength. The winner will continue to exist and the looser will be annihilated. Completely. Now the first of the test is complete, and if Ryu-kuni hasn't lost by the time I get there, the uncharted lands will be the looser." Chikara said and Kibo stared at him. The others in the room also stared at Chikara.
"So, you mean that you used this war to determine if Ryu-kuni should be allowed to continue existing?" Tsunade asked and Chikara nodded.
"That is my privilege as Kin-Ryu. But Tsunade-onesan, is there a reason you called all these people here?" Chikara asked and it looked like Tsunade snapped out of a daze.
"Oh, yes. Of course. I know Chikara and Kibo are going to fight in this war, but…" Tsunade began but Temari and Mujaki interrupted her, at the same time no less.
"I'm fighting too!" they said, and looked at each other before they smiled at each other. Chikara looked like he was about to object when Naruto interrupted him.
"I'm also going to fight." He said. Tsunade became angry.
"Shut up! Don't interrupt me. As I was saying, I know Chikara and Kibo are going to fight in this war, but I also know that most, if not all here want to help as well. Am I right?" she asked and everyone in the room said "Yes Hokage-sama!"
Tsunade smiled at that, and looked into Chikara's eyes.
"Little brother, everyone in this room is a friend of yours, and we want to help you. I know you want to protect us, but we want to protect you too. Let us fight beside you in this war." She said. Chikara looked almost scared.
"But…but…it's a war. It's dangerous!" he said and was about to say something else when Mujaki hugged him.
"But I want to make sure you are safe!" she said
"Me too, and don't you think you are leaving without me." Temari warned. Chikara looked around the room. When he saw all the determined faces, he deflated slightly.
"You all want to help?" he asked and received a collective "yes". It looked like he was deep in thought before he nodded.
"Alright, I would be honoured to fight alongside you all." He said and Tsunade grinned from ear to ear.
"I am going to send a message to Suna and hear if Gaara and Kankurou want to help as well. Until we get the response, I think we should prepare for intense combat. This will be a huge fight." Tsunade said and everyone nodded.
"Okay, now get out of here." Tsunade said smilingly. "Make sure to spend some time with your friends and family, because sadly, in war people die and we might not make it back." She said, not so cheerfully anymore.
"Wait." Chikara said and everyone looked at him. He had his head down and no one saw his eyes.
"We have to assign some tasks. For instance Naruto, Hinata and Hiashi are close quarters fighters, and must fight in the front lines, while Temari and Anko are distance fighters and should be behind the front lines. Sasuke, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Kibo, Gaara, Kankurou, Genma and Aoba are both and should be in the front and middle lines. Tsunade-onesan, Sakura and Shizune are medics and are needed in the field hospital. I would feel much better if Namida-chan helped out in the hospital as well." Chikara said.
"But otosan!" Mujaki protested.
"Actually, he is right Namida-chan. A Genin shouldn't be in the front lines. I agree with all what you just said Chikara, but what about you?" Tsunade asked. Chikara smiled slightly.
"I will be in the middle of the enemy lines." He said with a humourless smiled.
"Also, I want all of you to relay a message to any solider of the Ryu-kuni you meet. Tell them that when I give a signal, everyone have to get behind me." Chikara continued.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"Because, when I give the signal, I am ready to unleash a attack that will kill anyone in front of me, friend and foe." Chikara said sternly.
Silence.
"Okay, everyone know where they are assigned? It will take at least two days before we can leave. We'll meet at the gates in two days. Prepare well." Tsunade broke the silence and one after another the people filed out. Chikara stood up and left with Hiashi and Hinata. Before he left, he turned to Tsunade.
"Thanks sis. This really means a lot for me." He said and closed the door.
--
Once outside Tsunade's office, I turned to Hiashi, who smiled at me.
"So, my friend, you are going to lead us into battle. I admire the fact that you keep your cool and perspective even when the people you assign to the front lines mean a lot to you." He said and I smiled back.
"It's not really that difficult. I am confident in my friends and their abilities. You all are good fighters, and four of you I have trained myself. I know your capabilities. But I am worried. War is war. But I can't let personal feelings get in the way. Not when so many lives are at stake. I may have used this war as a test for Ryu-kuni, but I don't have to like it." I said. in truth I felt a little guilty at taking such a risk, but if Ryu-kuni only depended on me, then it would grow weak.
"Ha ha, thanks for your praise. But as always, you are right." Hiashi laughed. I looked at him before laughing myself.
We then separated to go get our stuff.
--
I, Temari and Mujaki went to our favourite ninja store together. There we bought a lot of shuriken, kunai, explosive tags, smoke bombs, solider pills, I bought Mujaki a katana while Temari got her fan reinforced. I also bought war clothes for both Mujaki and Temari. The war clothes were formfitting pants with light but strong armour sewn into the fabric, formfitting pullovers with sewn in armour everywhere except over the joints. Over the joints, pieces of armour were outside the fabric, war boots made up of strong durable leather and strong gloves with metal plates on the back of the hands. Mujaki's outfit was dark blue, while Temari's was dark green. The outfits had two weapon punches on each leg and three equipment bags on the hips.
"Thanks daddy!" Mujaki said after I bought her the outfit and I smiled when I saw her look at all her new equipment with what looked like hunger in her eyes.
'I guess she has that from me.' I thought and she looked at me weirdly.
"I have what from you?" she asked me. I shook my head and grabbed my bag with my purchases.
"Nothing, nothing." I said and walked away.
Temari caught up with me and whispered in my ear: "Thank you, but don't think that I am going to owe you for long. I am paying you back tonight, after Namida-chan is asleep."
I grinned at her when she said that, and she grinned back.
"I'm looking forward to it." I whispered back.
--
That night, Temari and I made a very good dinner, and the two of us, together with Mujaki, Kibo, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata and Sasuke enjoyed eating together.
We were silent for the most part, no one knew what to say exactly. Finally it was Sasuke that broke the silence.
"So, who are we fighting in this war?" he asked. I blinked a few times before I took another bite.
When I had finished chewing, I folded my hands.
"We are fighting the uncharted lands. You have heard of them?" I asked and Sasuke nodded.
"Orochimaru told me about them, and to never go there." He said.
"Yes, he would have. The uncharted lands are strong, and they don't like foreigners. I am going to explain how they look when we travel, so that everyone knows who their enemies are." I said and silence lowered itself again.
--
The next day, I and Temari sat on the Hokage monument. Temari seemed really nervous about something. I couldn't blame her, since we were going to a war the next day.
"Temari-chan, don't worry. Please, try to relax, okay?" I asked and she turned to look at me. A lone tear went down her face.
"Last night I had a terrible nightmare. You died in the war, and I was left behind." She said and I looked at her before pulling her into a hug.
"Don't worry Temari-chan. That was just a nightmare. Just remember that I will always love you, no mater what." I said and kissed the top of her head. She sighed and nodded against my chest, before tightening her grip on me.
"I don't want to lose you, ever!" she said and I smiled at that.
"I don't want to lose you either." I said, lifted her chin up and gave her a deep kiss. She melted into the kiss and started to really relax.
--
Just before dinner was done the night before departure, I snuck out f the apartment and on to the Hokage monument. I stood atop the Yondaime's head and stared out over Konoha.
'I am going to miss this place. I just hope that my friends will be alright, even when I…' I thought but Naruto interrupted my thoughts when he landed behind me.
"Come on sensei, Temari said the food was ready. She said that if you didn't come now, she would find a way to make you pay and she seemed serious." Naruto said and I chuckled.
"Alright Naruto. I'm coming." I said and we vanished.
--
When dinner was eaten, I made several Kage Bunshin and sent them around Konoha to invite all of my friends to my apartment. They obeyed, and about twenty minutes later, people started to come. An hour after I sent my clones to get my friends, a lot of people were in the apartment, or rather the roof, since I decided it was too little space inside. All the people were:
Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba with Akamaru on his head, Shino, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, Genma, Aoba, Anko, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, Kibo, Mujaki, Hanabi, Hiashi, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon and of course Temari.
I looked around at the confused faces and cleared my voice.
"Listen, everyone! I have called you here to give you all something." I said and held up a bag.
"I am playing Santa Claus today. When I call your name, please come forth, okay?" I asked and everyone nodded, looking excited.
"First, Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon." I said. They walked forward and stood in front of me. I reached into the bag and pulled out three pairs of goggles with a golden dragon mark right between the lenses. They started star-eyed at them and thanked me thoroughly before putting them on. I smiled at them when I saw that.
"Genma, Aoba, Anko, Gai, Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi please." I said. They walked forward and I pulled out seven packages. Inside each package there was some kunai, shuriken, training weights, and some other stuff Jounins took on mission. All had the same golden dragon mark.
They thanked me; Anko and Kurenai even hugged me, and walked back to their places.
"Hiashi, Neji, Hinata and Hanabi please!" I said and they walked forward. I reached into my bag and pulled out three pairs of black gloves with metal plates on the back of the hands. on the metal plates, the golden dragon symbol was.
"These gloves will help you when fighting using the Jyuuken." I said. They thanked me, Hiashi and Neji shook my hand while Hinata and Hanabi gave me a hug. They then put on their gloves. I could see they liked them.
"Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee and Tenten please." I said. They walked up to me, in Ino's case more like bounced, while Shikamaru walked as slowly as he could, before Ino went and dragged him over. I smiled at them and pulled out seven form fitting suits, each with a name on them. For Akamaru, I pulled out a collar.
"I talked to your parents, or sensei to get your sizes. These are weighted suits. The fabric itself is weighted and once you get stronger, you push chakra into them, and the weight increases. That will enable you to become faster. And in a fight where you have to drop the weight, pull the chakra from the suit into your body again. And yes Lee, with practise you can do it too." I said. Kiba stared at the suit.
"Where is the dragon?" he asked. I pointed to the left part of the chest on the suit. The golden dragon was right over the hearth, but faint, as to not make a target for enemies, but it was there. Akamaru's collar had the golden dragon on the metal piece where it stood that Kiba was his owner.
Ino looked at the suit before grinning and hugging me.
"Thanks so much." She said. The others copied her, except Tenten was the only one to copy the hug part. Akamaru just barked happily. After that they went back and a lot of them stared at the suits, wanting to begin their training.
"Naruto and Sasuke please." I said and they appeared in front of me, both looking excited at me. I pulled out two pairs of black hand guards with the golden dragon on the wrists.
"These hand guards…" I began but Naruto interrupted me.
"Let me guess, they allow me and Sasuke to become invincible?" he asked hopefully. I laughed at him and Sasuke looked sideways at him and muttered: "Idiot!"
"No, they don't. What they do is allow you two to send short messages to each other in complete silence. No one but you two hears what is sent with these. That should be useful on sneaking missions." I said and laughed at Naruto's semi disappointed look.
"Jiraya please." I said and he walked up to me. I handed him a pen with the golden dragon on the shaft.
"Here! I know you are a writer and writers need something to write with. But I would appreciate it if you don't just write those perverted books. Perhaps writing something based on your life would be a success as well." I suggested.
"Yeah right. Then I wouldn't have any excuse to do my research. But thanks for the pen, I'll make good use of it." he said and walked back to his spot next to Tsunade, who bonked him on his head straight away.
"Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura please." I said and the three of them hurried forward. I pulled out three identical pouches with the golden dragon on the middle. The pouches are intended to be carried on the wearer's hip, along with the weapon pouch.
"These pouches are made for medics. Right now they are stuffed with so much medial stuff, I was worried they would rip." I said. All three opened their pouch, looked inside and grinned at me.
"This is great little brother. Thank you very much." Tsunade said and I smiled.
After the now usual hug from the three medics, I looked into my bag, and smiled.
"Kibo please." I said. She looked uncertain but walked forward anyway. I gave her a big backpack with the golden dragon on the right strap.
"Inside this backpack, you will find things I want you to give the king and queen and all of the remaining people in Ryu-kuni once the war is over. It is medicine to help recover, but I want you to take one when we arrive, and also give one to the king and queen. Okay?" I asked and she nodded.
"Thank you." She said and hugged me. I smiled and hugged back.
"No problem." I said and she went back to her spot. I looked at the two people that remained and smiled.
"Namida-chan please." I said and she practically sprinted towards me. Excitement was glowing in her eyes. I chuckled and handed her a little box. Inside the box was a golden necklace. The chain looked my body in dragon form, and the pendant looked like my head. The chain was surprisingly soft, and moved like any other chains, even when looking solid.
"A necklace formed like a golden dragon! Thank you daddy!" Mujaki said and jumped up to hug me. I chuckled, put her down and helped her put on the necklace. I then gently nudged her to go back to her spot. I then looked at Temari with a huge grin on my face.
"Temari-chan please." I said and she walked forward. She looked equally excited as Mujaki, but hid it better.
"What's the big idea with waiting with me for last huh?" she asked and I shrugged.
"Don't know, but perhaps it was because your gift was the easiest to figure out, but much harder to make." I said. I then held the bag upside down to show it was empty and let go of it. Temari looked disappointed at it, but when she looked up at me, her jaw dropped when she saw I was gone. Everyone looked around madly, but relaxed when I landed in front of them again. On my back was something long and slender wrapped. I took the package and held it out to Temari.
"Sorry, but it wouldn't fit in the bag." I said and she took the gift, unwrapped it and nearly dropped it.
In her hands was a large fan, larger than the one she had on her back. She opened it and gasped. It was made up of a hard metal that didn't seem to reflect light and a light but tough cloth. The cloth was dark green with a huge golden dragon over it. The dragon looked like it was about to lunge upon its prey.
"This fan is very strong. You will be able to do a lot with it but it won't break. Also, if you pump chakra into the dragon and wave the fan with all your might, the chakra takes form of a dragon and flies to attack those you wave it at." I said. Temari looked from the fan to me and back to the fan again before she jumped at me and nearly hugged the breath out of me.
"Thank you, so much!" she said and I laughed while stroking her back.
"No problem. Seeing you happy is thanks enough for me." I said.
Then Tsunade stepped forward.
"Okay little brother. Why all this?" she asked and motioned towards all the people behind her. "Why all the gifts? It isn't Christmas yet." She said and I laughed.
"I know Tsunade-onesan. I know, but…let's just say I feel it was about time." I said and everyone looked puzzled at me. I laughed and everyone relaxed. Then Kibo voiced a question.
"How come all the gifts have a golden dragon on them?" he asked. Others also wanted to know. I smirked mysteriously.
"Oh, you'll see. One day."
When I said that, everyone got even more puzzled. I saw that and decided to defuse the situation.
"Don't worry everyone. I just felt like giving gifts. Don't try to read more into it, okay?" I asked and they nodded.
We stayed on the roof for several hours, everyone wanting to at least look at their gifts, and most tried them out. I smiled when I saw that everyone had touched the dragon at least once.
'Good. Now my true gift is passed over to them all. Now when they follow me after this war, they will be allowed to enter my realm.' I thought happily.
The night was cut short however Mujaki sat down and started to nod of, her hand closed over the dragon pendant.
"I think it is getting late. Good night everyone." I said and everyone left, one after another. But not before thanking me one or two, or in Lee and Gai's cases many times over. Those to were also quite loud. Before Gai left, he whispered at me:
"I heard that my eternal rival Kakashi is going to be helping you in your upcoming battle tomorrow. I wish to help as well." He said. I was shocked, more so about the fact that he whispered than that he wanted to help. When I got over my shock, I smiled at him.
"Sure thing Gai. Someone as strong and fast as you would be a great asset to the war. Is Lee coming as well?" I asked and he nodded.
"Lee burns with the fire of youth, and wants to help in this war. I believe Neji wants to help as well, and I suspect Tenten wants to join as well." He said and I nodded thoughtfully.
"I see. Thank you Gai." I said and he left along with Lee, chanting something about the fire and youth. I looked around and saw that most had left. The only ones behind was Tsunade, Shizune, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Hanabi (fast asleep next to Mujaki), Hiashi, Neji and Kibo.
"Neji, I hear you want to fight as well." I said when I reached them. He nodded.
"That would be an honour Chikara-sama." He said and I shook my head.
"The honour would be mine." I said. Hiashi turned to me seriously, but before he could say anything, I stopped him with a look.
"Well then, it is late, and tomorrow will be a huge day. I think we should all go to bed now." I said. The others nodded, Tsunade and Shizune left towards the Hokage mansion, Temari picked up Mujaki and carried her to bed, Neji picked up Hanabi and he waited for Hiashi, who stood next to me. Naruto and Sakura followed Temari. But Hiashi didn't move but continued to stare at me.
"Okay my friend. Give me the true reason why you gave us these gifts." He said and I sighed. I turned my back to Neji, so he couldn't read my mouth.
"There is no point in hiding it from you is there?" I asked and he shook his head, smiling slightly. I sighed and nodded slightly.
"Alright, as you wish. This war…I…fear I will die in it." I said and I could tell Hiashi was shocked.
"But then…" he began but I interrupted him.
"Those gifts, it is a reason they have a golden dragon on them. I have chosen to give my friends a much greater gift than you know. I won't tell you what, but I can tell you that I am sure you will like it, and that it is nothing bad. The gift will be 'activated' later, when depends on each person. Also this gift stretches from my friends to all those that they care about the most. So my gift will be fore many more people than those that got the golden dragon mark. But please, don't ask anymore about it, since I am not going to tell you." I said and he nodded slowly.
"You really think you will die?" he asked sadly. I lowered my head and nodded.
"Yes, I am afraid so. Of course, when I figured I was going to die in this war, I didn't think I had all your assistance. Now, my chance of survival is many times greater. I am happy because of that. But even if I die, I hope the people I love will live on, and be happy. And safe." I said sadly.
A couple of moments of silence followed before Hiashi placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.
"I have faith in your abilities. And I thank you for your gift." He said and I smiled at him.
"No problem. I guess I will be seeing you tomorrow?" I asked and he nodded. He then walked over to Neji and the two of them left.
--
Temari was waiting for me when I came into our bedroom. She didn't say anything, instead she waited for me to undress before she pulled me to our bed.
We laid down and held around each other, enjoying the closeness. Then Temari asked me a question I guessed she had wanted to ask for a long time.
"What happens if one of us dies in the war?" she asked. I looked at her and saw that she was sad but determined to get an answer.
"Don't worry about that Temari-chan. I don't want to think of what would happen if you died. Please, lets just relax and enjoy ourselves." I said and she nodded before rolling onto her side and placing her head on my chest, listening to my hearth beat.
"I love you, with all my hearth." She said. I kissed the top of her head before responding.
"I love you too. Heh, it really is funny." I said and she looked at me.
"What?" she asked.
"We are like two turtledoves. Soul mates, loving each other with all our hearths." I said and she thought a bit before laying her head down again.
"Two turtledoves, forever in love!" She said happily before falling silent.
--
The next morning, a lot of people were assembled by the Konoha gates. Most of them wore war outfits and had backpacks stuffed to the brim with equipment. They were waiting for a certain copy ninja, who was late…again.
Kakashi appeared next to me and I sighed whiled rubbing my head before I turned to the people assembled there.
"Everyone, listen up. Now that we are all here, I suggest we start moving. We are late as it is, and we have to go by Suna to pick up Gaara and Kankurou." I said. Everyone nodded and I walked out of the gates. I turned and looked at all those that followed me, or would be following me.
Temari, Sasuke, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and Gai followed right away. Kurenai and Asuma had also expressed that they wanted to fight. I didn't object at that.
The entire rookie 9 also wanted to fight, but three of them had to stay behind. Ino, who was now currently hugging Sakura and saying goodbye, was injured and would do more harm than good in the war, Chouji, was now saying goodbye to Shikamaru and Naruto, had eaten too much barbeque and was only let out of the hospital to say goodbye and Shino, who had to go on a mission with his family.
Kiba and Akamaru was saying goodbye to his mother and big sister, while Hinata, Neji and Hiashi were talking to some of the Hyuuga elders. Hanabi also wanted to come, but Hiashi had insisted she stay behind, in case something happened to him and Hinata.
Tsunade, Shizune and Jiraiya were talking to the council. No doubt discussing what the council should do if Tsunade died.
Anko was saying goodbye to Iruka, who had tears in his eyes from when he had told Naruto to be careful.
Genma and Aoba said goodbye to their loved ones and walked over to me.
Mujaki said goodbye to Hanabi, before she ran to me and stood by me and Temari. Then the rest followed and while waving to the people left at the gate, we started walking away.
--
"That scene was really touching. I don't know if I should feel bad about allowing all of you to come. I mean, this is a war." I said but Tsunade interrupted me.
"We chose to come on our own free will. Don't worry, everything will be just fine. More importantly, when are you going to transform?" she asked me. I smiled at her and motioned for everyone to stop.
I walked a little ahead and turned to the group.
"Right now!" I said and stared growing and transforming.
When I was done, I was almost twenty five meters long and ten meters tall. I lay down, and everyone climbed on me. I spread my wings and when I was sure everyone had a good grip, I pumped my wings and took of. The people at the gates saw me soaring to the sky and waved their last goodbye before I was gone towards the Wind country.
--
We arrived in Wind country later the same day. There we meet Gaara and Kankurou, both looking ready for action. Before we left, I gave Gaara a small gourd with the finest sand he had seen. The golden dragon was on the gourd. For Kankurou I had a puppet repair kit with the golden dragon on the lid.
After they thanked me and climbed on, I speed up towards Ryu-kuni. This time I flew so fast, my passengers got teary eyes.
--
We arrived to see a lot of buildings in ruins; the palace looked almost like Swiss cheese. I landed and everyone scrambled of.
I looked around to see a lot of dead people.
"Kibo, come here!" I said, and she ran up to me.
"Take the medicine I gave you, and give one to everyone you find. Place one on the dead ones chest too. Hurry! We will go to the palace, meet us there later." I said. She nodded and hurried towards the nearest bodies. Everyone looked at me, but I didn't explain. Instead I shrunk to two and half meters long. We then walked or ran to the palace. I walked, while my friends ran, since I took much longer steps.
--
When we arrived at the palace, we had found a lot of people waiting. I didn't stop, but went straight into the throne room. There I saw the king, queen and a lot of high ranked officers. They all turned to see me and my friends walking in.
"Chikara!" the king and queen yelled
"Kin-Ryu-sama!" the officers yelled and I nodded.
"Yes, I am here. How is the situation?" I asked. One of the officers took me over to a map. Temari, Tsunade and Shikamaru followed. I turned to the king and pointed to my friends.
"Can you bring them some uniforms? We have to make sure that everyone from Ryu-kuni is identifiable." I said. The king looked puzzled.
"Okay, but why?" he asked.
"They wanted to help in the war, and when the fight starts, I will begin preparations for my ultimate attack. When it is ready, I will give a signal. When that signal goes, everyone from Ryu-kuni has to get behind me. It will be easy to tell if someone isn't behind me when I can look for our colours." I explained and he nodded.
"But we have our own clothes. Why shouldn't we use them?" Naruto asked. I thought for a while.
"Good point. Okay, I have an idea. The uniform is made up of golden cloth with armour in the colours of all the dragons, right?" I asked and the king nodded.
"Bring enough uniforms for my friends, and they can use some of the cloth and armour. Enough so that I can identify them, and not attack them." I said. Two of the officers nodded and hurried away.
"What kind of an attack are you going to unleash?" the queen asked curiously.
"An attack that will completely destroy the uncharted lands' troops." I said and heard collective gasps around the room. I turned to the king.
"Listen, once I make that attack, the war will be won. Even if some of the uncharted lands' troops should survive, they will not dare go to war ever again. After that, what you must do, is go into the uncharted lands and speak with their leaders. Establish a peace treaty if possible, or threat them with possible retaliation from me. Once you have done that, this war will be over." I said and he nodded slowly. I then turned to the map, and the officer showed me where all the battles had taken place before. I thought for a while before turning to Shikamaru.
"If you were to decide, what would you do in this situation?" I asked and he frowned.
"In shougi, you have to protect the king. Once he falls, it is all over. It is the same here. If we want to win, and want your plan to succeed, the king has to live. The best defence is offence. Right now, all of our forces are here." he said and pointed to the main city in Ryu-kuni on the map.
"And all their forces are here!" he said and pointed to the main camp for the uncharted lands.
"If we gather all our troops, and attack that camp, you can unleash your attack with much greater damage. The fight will be worse before you attack, but it will be our best shot." Shikamaru concluded and I nodded. Turning to the king, I nodded. He nodded back and addressed his officers.
"You heard him. Start preparing for the last battle."
--
