AN: Time for the Konoha Crush event then.
This is my second attempt at writing it. The first time was of course in my first fic, The Geniuses of Hard Work. Even though it's my second time doing the same events, I like to think they are both unfolding under tremendously different circumstances. Orochimaru has had to buff up his plans significantly this time to account for the surviving Uchiha characters as well as there being two Jinchuriki in the village.
Of course, this was just my way of making it a little more balanced. Otherwise, victory would look too easy for our heroes and that's just not as interesting.
Obito
Chapter 8 - The Chunin Exam's Conclusion
"Gaara!" The Kazekage called, leaping from his seat to land on the roof of the audience stands just below us.
No one, including myself, had been able to move fast enough to stop him. It was too late to catch him now unless I unveiled the ability of Mangekyo Sharingan. When I weighed the risk of doing that against the danger Sasuke might be put in; facing down a Jinchuriki and a Kage at the same time- There really was no choice. I had already failed so many of the Uchiha clan, I wasn't about to allow harm to come to any more of them if I had the power to stop it.
My Mangekyo Sharingan whirled to life, the world around me distorting and being replaced. The Kazekage skid to a halt, eyes widening as I appeared directly in front of him. "You-" He turned back around to check behind him, glancing up at where I had surely just been only moments before. Only I was no longer there next to the Hokage. I was here- in front of him. This was the undeniable truth, but he couldn't accept it. After all, the only one to be this fast before would have been…
"Now that I think about it, you and Hatake Kakashi were once students under the Leaf's Yellow Flash." He surmised, looking back at me. It would seem he was under the misconception that my Sensei's Flying Thunder God Jutsu and my Kamui were one and the same. A misconception I wasn't about to correct him on. It was more beneficial to me this way. "Move out of my way." He demanded, staring me down but not daring to take a step forward.
"It's you that needs to return to his seat, Kazekage-sama." I responded, planting my feet more firmly in place. "I understand that it is your son who is wounded, but even you must know that I cannot simply allow you to get involved just for that." If anything, it was ridiculous that he would attempt to save his son after all the people he had already killed during the course of these exams. Ridiculous and hypocritical. Not that I believed Sasuke posed any lethal danger to Gaara as it was to begin with.
"You fool!" The Kazekage spat back at me, glowering beneath his ceremonial hat. "If you were the one there that night, then you know why this is a bad thing… to think you would assume a Shinobi of my status would cry out for something as insubstantial as familial bonds." He had me there. I did know why Gaara transforming now of all times was a bad thing. It would appear the jig was up too and he had seen me there that night. Despite all this, I couldn't just allow him to go down there and do as he pleased.
"Family might not mean as much to you, but I'm not about to let you near Sasuke who is like a little brother to me." I might have been exaggerating a little bit, but he was family nonetheless. Although I was taking a huge calculated risk here, standing up to one of the Gokage like this and a supposed ally of ours no less.
"There is no value in Shinobi like you." It looked like the Kazekage was done trading words, slowly raising his hands in preparation for whatever kind of Jutsu it was he had prepared. I tensed my body, preparing my own Jutsu just in case I needed to make a quick dodge.
Before either of us could move, we sensed it; Down below us was the activation of a massive Genjutsu. One large enough to capture the whole spectating audience. The chakra signatures of absolutely everyone went completely erratic, but from above it was impossible to tell what kind of Genjutsu they were being put under.
At that moment I made the mistake of looking down to try and make sense of things somehow through my Sharingan. The second my attention was off him was the moment the Kazekage struck. It was as if he had been aware of the Genjutsu, which in hindsight made sense. If he was in cahoots with whoever the caster was, he had no need to know what was happening, unlike myself who was completely in the dark. Something which he took complete advantage of.
I was left with no choice but to activate the ability of my Mangekyo Sharingan, the Kazekage's golden kunai slipping right through my eye socket where he had just stabbed at me. If he was surprised by my ability to become incorporeal he didn't show it. Instead he used it to his advantage, slipping completely through me and running past as if I wasn't even there. I'd caught up to him once, however, I could do it again. Only I never got the chance.
"Wind Blade!" Baki created a cyclone of wind in the palm of his hand.
"Dance of the Camellia!" Kimimaro pulled a piece of his bone from his shoulder, the white cartilage taking the shape of a long dagger.
"Waterfall-cutting Strike!" Shibuki created a sword of pure water.
All three of them attacked me at once, stabbing at me with their respective blades. If it was just Baki, then I would have understood the Sand Ninja coming to the aid of his leader. But for Ninja from Sound and Waterfall to attack as well? My worst fears were being realized, all three of these villages having teamed up against us.
None of their attacks met their marks. I had yet to deactivate my Jutsu from earlier and so they all just slipped right through me. It didn't stop there, the three of them had come at me in a pincer movement, placing one another in each other's cross-fire. So it came down to a battle of skill and who could react first.
A battle that Shibuki lost. He was cut down immediately by Kimimaro's bone sword and Baki's blade of wind. As Shibuki's flesh was torn apart, I immediately recognized the pattern of the fatal wound. The one who had killed Hayate that night… it had been none other than Baki.
I had no time to make use of this information, nor was I about to let some petty need for revenge drive me to take him down. At the moment I had far bigger things to worry about. Such as the fact that in my haste to get between the Kazekage and Sasuke, I had unintentionally left the Hokage surrounded by enemies unattended.
I hadn't seen when she moved, but Mumei had taken up position behind the Third, kunai positioned to his throat. She jumped for the roof, forcing him to go along with her. I began to activate the teleportation ability of my Mangekyo to go after them, but was a bit too slow.
"Katon: Searing Migraine Jutsu!" Two masks attached by wires popped out from Kakuzu's back. The red mask unleashed a ball of pure fire right at me. If it was just that and at the speed it was travelling I might have been in time to use Kamui. "Futon: Wind Pressure Jutsu!" The second mask unleashed a bullet of wind that enhanced the flames, increasing its speed and widening its reach simultaneously.
There was no time for me to teleport and I was forced to maintain my ability to remain incorporeal. If only I could use these techniques concurrently it wouldn't be a problem, but Kamui only had the ability to use one or the other at a time. As I was engulfed in the flames, I took the opportunity to prepare chakra for a separate Jutsu. Just as the flames went out I unleashed that molded chakra. "Moku Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two clones of wood formed from the flesh of the Zetsu cells on my right arm. The wood bursting out tore through my jacket, shredding the material.
Baki and Kimimaro had managed to jump out of the way in time, but Shibuki, who still might have been able to be saved, was burnt alive by his own leader. When the attack ended, he was nothing more than a burnt hunk of flesh barely recognizable as a former human.
My wood clones jumped forward, one of them going for Baki and the other for Kimimaro. I hadn't molded them with much chakra so I didn't expect they would hold them off for long. A little bit of time was plenty. I needed to get to the Hokage and Mumei, whom Kakuzu was also now chasing after. Likely to offer them cover support.
Before that, however, my eye fell on the representatives of the only village not yet to attack me. Yahiko and Konan had taken up defensive positions back to back of one another. They were alone now on the balcony that had otherwise just served as a gathering of peace between the five villages. Yahiko must have felt my gaze, because no sooner did I look at him did he turn to regard me.
"Is this what you meant earlier when you said you hoped that pain had taught us all the same lesson!?" He called out to me, voice filled with mockery. He didn't appear surprised by these turn of events, yet I don't think they had anything to do with them. My instinct about them had been right; The Hidden Rain was not involved in this attack.
"No, it is not." I shook my head. "And I'm truly sorry you got involved in this attack." I liked to believe I meant those words. The Hokage needed my help, but before that I somehow got the feeling that this was even more important. "I can take the two of you somewhere safe for the time being. You have no need to get involved any further in this conflict between the other villages."
"You think we'll let you!" Baki yelled, cutting down my wood clone with his sword. At the same moment, Kimimaro had just dispatched my other one. Both of them closed in on me from the sides. I had no more time to talk, already activating my Jutsu to dodge their attacks. Only this time there was no need.
"Paper Shuriken Jutsu!" Konan threw a volley of paper shuriken.
"Suiton: Jet-stream Jutsu!" Yahiko inhaled before releasing a beam of water so precise it cleanly cut through the roof tiles as it flew towards us.
For a second I thought I was about to have to start evading their attacks too. Except I was wrong, their Jutsu aimed to intercept the two already attacking me, not myself. Baki and Kimimaro were forced to retreat, unable to close the gap between themselves and me.
I again looked up at Yahiko, this time confused but grateful. He nodded me forward, up towards the rooftop where Kakuzu, Mumei, and the Hokage had disappeared to. "Don't get the wrong idea!" He said. "I simply want to see what kind of answer you're going to give me afterwards. So for now we'll cover you while you go do your job."
"Thank you." I said. That short phrase was all I had time for. Baki and Kimimaro weren't about to just let me leave. Yahiko and Konan jumped down and I raced past them, leaving the now four clashing Shinobi to my rear. I didn't turn around to see what was becoming of the battle. The only thing for me right now was forward.
I jumped up, landing on the balcony I had just been at. Then with one more enhanced kick, I flew up to the roof where the Hokage and our enemies now were. The moment I cleared the edge and four different types of elemental Jutsu flew at me. Lighting, fire, wind, and water all attempting to turn me into mere nothingness. As before, but the power of my Dojutsu made me impervious to all these attacks and I stepped harmlessly past them.
"What kind of power…?" Kakuzu asked me the very thing I was now desiring to ask him. I knew he must have some kind of incredible ability to live as long as he had, but this… it was far beyond expectations. Four monsters composed of the wires I had seen earlier had sprouted from Kakuzu's back. Each one was unique in shape and wore a different type of mask. It had been those things that attacked me just now, unleashing all those different elements at once.
Were they some kind of Jutsu or entirely different beings with their own consciousness? Even my Sharingan couldn't figure it out. From inside those wires something shifted and in the next moment four more bodies broke out from within them. For a second I thought the bodies had split apart further, but I realized that wasn't the case.
Four Sound Ninja had been hidden inside the wires, concealing their presence in Kakuzu's body the whole time. They leapt free in this moment to be around their leader who stood at the pinnacle of the slanted roof, kunai still to the Hokage's throat.
Above me, a squad of Anbu flew over my head. Kakuzu was too slow to react to them, still trying to figure out how I had been dodging his Jutsu up until now. It would seem like even if I didn't move, they would be able to save the Hokage. They outnumbered the enemy now, after all. Although numbers appeared not to matter to the Sound Ninja.
The four of them had taken up positions in a rectangular pattern around Mumei and the Hokage, facing out and not towards any enemy in particular. Their chakra all flared at once, syncing up as they prepared some joint Jutsu. "Four Point Barrier!" They shouted together, planting their hands on the roof tiles. Four violet colored pillars of light shot up from in front of them before those pillars formed horizontal lines that then connected.
In a matter of moments, they had managed to trap Mumei and the Hokage inside a purple barrier of some kind. Too fast for the Anbu to react, they all attempted to just brute force their way through the barrier. Every single one of them bounced off of it, catching fire as they were repelled and burnt alive almost instantly. As it stood, the Hokage wasn't getting out and no one was getting in to help him. Well, almost no one.
I could likely get through it with my Jutsu without any kind of problem. The only issue was with Kakuzu who was in front of me. Dodging past him wouldn't pose a threat, but the problem was what did I do about him after I busted the Hokage out of there? I might just be pulling him out of the frying pan and into the fire for all I knew.
No, before that, wasn't this strange? What could Mumei, some unknown Kunoichi, possibly stand to gain by trapping herself in a barrier with the strongest Ninja of the entire Hidden Leaf Village? It looked like her allies couldn't assist while maintaining the barrier so it wasn't a numbers solution. She had to be insane to think she was a match for him one-on-one. That or she had faith in some really vulgar Jutsu she would no doubt employ.
Thinking about all this stuff and possible consequences would have to come later. For now, I needed to get through Kakuzu and back-up the Third. Fortunately for me, my own back-up arrived just before I could move. "Obito!" Kakashi and Gai landed to either side of me, already posed for combat.
"What happened?" Gai asked, glancing between me and the opponents in front of us, as well as the barrier behind him.
"I messed up." I admitted simply. "I let them get between me and Hokage-sama. The Sound Ninja trapped him in a barrier with their leader and Kakuzu, the Waterfall Village head, is the one blocking our path. I don't know what kind of Jutsu it is he's using but he's capable of at least four types of Elemental Manipulation." Kakashi and Gai both glanced at me out of surprise before redoubling their attention in front of us.
"So what's the plan?" Kakashi asked. "It would seem the Sound, Sand, and Waterfall have all teamed up. They put most of the audience to sleep with Genjutsu." That at least explained to me what happened earlier. "We came to back you up as soon as we saw them take Hokage-sama, but…" He glanced once more at the barrier with his Sharingan eye. "Should we combine powers and use that Jutsu to take the barrier down or…?"
I shook my head. "I don't think it will go down that easily. Even if we use that. No, I'm the only one that can probably get in and out of the barrier. Even the Anbu were repelled by it." I nodded to the still flaming bodies on the other side.
"Got it. So basically…" Gai folded his arms and pressure so powerful it shattered the roof tiles all around him rolled off his body. "We just need to handle this Kakuzu guy while you rescue Hokage-sama?"
"Not that Hokage-sama needs any rescuing, but yeah. Basically that." I agreed to Gai's assessment. There were still too many gaps in my information, but for now I had to put everything going on behind me and below to the others. Kakashi and Gai were no doubt thinking the same thing. We had our first priority already laid out in front of us. The only thing left to do was move.
Kakuzu seemed to be in agreement. He hadn't just been letting us talk out of the kindness of his heart. He was simply being cautious of my Jutsu, no doubt using the time we had given him to try and figure out the properties and limits in which it operated. Without further testing my powers, he wasn't going to figure that out and so the masks all went on the offensive at once. Four more elemental attacks came flying at us.
I chose to ignore them, pushing forward with the knowledge that none of them could hurt me so long as I stayed on the defensive. Kakashi and Gai weren't so lucky, but they didn't have to worry for the moment as Kakuzu focused all the attacks solely on me. This was going to cost him, as he just underestimated the Leaf's infamous Copy-ninja and Majestic Green Beast.
"What!?" Kakuzu didn't have time to even block as Gai flew past me, striking at his real body with a punch so powerful it could obliterate the whole building we were standing on. Kakashi, meanwhile, was already targeting the masks with Jutsu that ran counter to the elements they seemed set to release. I ran straight forward and through all of this, not a single attack from either side grazing me in the slightest.
With Kakuzu now behind me, the only thing left to clear was the barrier. Once again, it really felt like I had taken the long way around to get where I needed to be; in this case next to the Hokage. I always did end up where I was going eventually at least.
As I expected, even the barrier was no hindrance to my Mangekyo Sharingan and I slipped right through it like it hadn't even been there. "How did you-!?" Mumei yelled as soon as she took notice of me, the kunai still held up to the throat of the Hokage. He had yet to attempt to free himself from her grip, although I had no doubt if he wanted it he could have already.
There was no need to make him do that for himself now that I was here. The momentary shock cost Mumei any kind of opportunity to counter-attack. I crossed the remaining distance in the span of a second. "Hokage-sama!" I shouted, jumping in the air and swinging my foot in a kick. He already knew what I was going for, not flinching in the slightest despite the fact that my foot was flying right for his face.
"What are you-" Mumei never finished that exclamation, my foot catching her in the mouth and sending her flying backwards. She hit the tiles of the roof with a loud thump, body temporarily going limp.
There was no way for her to have predicted the attack, as my foot slipped through the Hokage's head like he wasn't even there. The moment my foot had passed, I let go of the ability maintaining my incorporeality, allowing me to strike her.
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama." I dropped to one knee and rested my forearm on the other as I prostrated myself before the one I was supposed to be protecting. "I made an error in judgement. I never should have left your side."
"No, Obito." He shook his head, not once taking his eye from the enemy. Mumei was beginning to stand, not looking like she took any damage from my kick at all. "You did well to make it in here and back me up. It was better that we played to the enemy's hand a little. It allowed me to realize what is really going on."
"Sir?" I asked. Mumei was now on her feet and glaring at the two of us. So I also resumed standing, settling into a more defensive stance. I didn't know what kind of abilities this woman had, but she was confident enough to take on the Hokage by herself. So even if it was hubris, she couldn't just be some weakling. I needed to be ready to get the Hokage out of here at any moment. Although it looked like he had no intention to leave himself.
"That isn't just anyone… It is Orochimaru." He said undoubtably. If anyone was to recognize his former student, no matter what form he had taken, it was going to be him. There was no more time for me to be surprised and if you considered everything up until now, it made a certain amount of sense. Orochimaru was the centerpiece of this invasion and it stood to reason that he would believe himself capable of taking on his former teacher. So if anything, many of the pieces now fell into place with this information.
Mumei- No, Orochimaru, still in the disguise of the person known as Mumei, if that was ever even a real person, began cackling. He reached up, grabbing at the chin and peeling back the feminine flesh to reveal pasty white skin, not much unlike the right side of my torso. The shape of his body contorted, the womanly curves taking the shape of a lanky old man. In mere moments, Orochimaru took the form of the man I remembered him as; back when he tried to kidnap me upon my return to the village in my youth.
"At last you finally realized it was me, Sarutobi-sensei!" Orochimaru hissed ecstatically. "I was so hurt when you didn't even realize who I was back down there. So much so I thought about killing you there instead of following the plan." Despite saying such things, he didn't look wounded at all. Mere sarcasm, completely bereft of any respect he should have for the man who taught him everything he knew. His ignorance lit a furnace in my gut; I lost my Sensei, the former Hokage due to my actions. Was he about to commit the same mistake?
"You've fallen to a new low, Orochimaru." I cursed at him, unable to believe this man used to be a former teammate of my current Master. "It's no longer enough for you to target children like myself back then and Sasuke now, but you've widened your madness to encompass the whole village!"
As Orochimaru turned to regard me, his eyes lacked any of the warmth they held well addressed his teacher. "Silence, Obito. You, one so heavy with sins that have torn apart the village once before, have no right or reason to speak to me in such a manner." His words struck me like an arrow to the heart. My vision swam and I thought for a moment I might collapse back down to my knees. Did he… was he aware of what I had done? That shouldn't be possible. No one but that man and I should have any knowledge of the true events that unfolded that night… and that man was no more, meaning it was only I.
"Furthermore, you insult the Hokage by barging in here and getting in our way." Orochimaru wasn't done with me yet. "You think someone such as yourself can stand in the same arena as us? I, who was once a candidate for Fourth Hokage, along with your Sensei. The level of this battle is out of your league, worm." He was right, of course. I had no business being here. If anything, I would only hold the Third back in a real fight between these two.
Yet despite this, it was the Hokage's turn to chuckle. "Now, now. It would appear that your information gathering skills have dulled, my former student." The Snake Sannin snarled, clearly taking the insult to his knowledge or lack thereof personally.
"You are looking at the man I have been considering for my replacement: The Fifth Hokage."
"What!?" Orochimaru and I exclaimed together. His surprise was a given, considering he knew nothing of my true abilities up until now. I suspected that Jiraiya was to thank for keeping my training so under wraps these last few years and he would know how to prevent his former teammate from discovering more about his own student. As for me… while it was true that it felt like many things were trying to push me back towards the idea of pursuing the position, to know I was already being considered for it was another matter entirely.
"Hmph, is it truly so surprising?" The Hokage gave a satisfied smirk, although which one of us he was talking to I had no idea. "Obito is the student of the Fourth and he carries his ideals. Minato and I spoke about it often, but he also desired for Obito to one day have the position. It's for this reason that Jiraiya has taken on training Obito for the past five years. All so he could return and fulfill that destiny." So then even my Master knew about this? No, rather than 'knew about', it would be more accurate to say he had been preparing me for it.
"It would seem you really have gone senile, you old fool." Orochimaru only appeared to be getting angrier by the minute. While he had at first seemed to be having so much fun before I arrived here, every sentence served to further foul his mood until it looked like now he might burst at any moment. "If you truly think someone like him is worthy of the title, why don't we see how he stacks up against his predecessors!"
There was no way… he couldn't possibly mean to…?
"Summoning: Edo Tensei!" It was exactly as I feared, Orochimaru slamming his hands on the ground as he began the unholy summoning. Two coffins popped out of the ground in front of him. The one on the left marked with 初 and the one on the right marked with a 二 character. There was only one possible thing that could be in these two coffins.
The lids fell open, revealing the preserved corpses of the First and Second Hokage inside. Yet despite being corpses they began to move, their creaking bodies walking them out of the coffins they lied in and making their way ever so slowly towards us.
"It's been a while, Saru!" The First, Senju Hashirama, greeted the Third almost jovially; his tone completely unfit for the situation. As the legends about him suggested, he certainly was a carefree guy. To be chipper even in this circumstance though; It was beyond expectations.
"You've aged quite a bit." The Second, Senju Tobirama, in contrast seemed to be taking stock of the situation. This Jutsu to revive the dead would have been his creation, as such neither one of them seemed too surprised to have been brought back in such a horrific form.
"...I never thought we would meet under such circumstances." The Third said. I could only imagine the kind of pain and suffering seeing his former predecessors in such a state could be doing to him. Yet as expected of the one who held the title of Third Hokage, he didn't let a single one of those expressions show. He knew that despite the fact these were the souls of his predecessors, they weren't themselves. Orochimaru was no doubt suppressing their personalities and powers. If he didn't, there was no way he could control them.
The Second, who created the Jutsu aside, that was just the pure raw power of the First Hokage. It would appear even in this repressed state, their personalities slightly shined through. The coffins behind them toppled over and the two former Hokage turned around, glancing back at the one audacious enough to summon them.
"So this is the one who managed to summon us, using my own Jutsu?" The Second questioned, folding his arms and giving Orochimaru the once over. He didn't look impressed, which spoke volumes for what his own true power could only be.
"I guess that means our opponent is the two of you…" The First looked from the Third, eyes slowly trailing over towards me. "Uchiha?" He asked, glancing directly into my Sharingan eye without fear. If anything, it was the opposite and I was the one that felt the extreme pressure under his gaze.
"That's right and listen to this." Orochimaru took a couple steps towards his puppets, holding up kunai with special red tags attached to them. "Sarutobi-sensei is saying that this Uchiha with cursed blood is to become the next Hokage. Unbelievable, isn't it?" He stuck one of the kunai into the back of the First's neck. "Someone from the same clan as Madara, who was ultimately responsible for your death, Lord First. Doesn't that make your blood boil?"
Next he stuck one of the kunai in the Second's head. "What about you, Lord Second?" He asked. "No one hated the Uchiha more than you did. I bet you just can't stand the thought of one of them becoming Hokage." He cackled as he said those words, but neither of the predecessors responded. It would appear those kunai made them unable to. He was taking complete control of their emotions now and turning them into pure killing machines.
"Obito, get ready for battle." The Third threw away his ceremonial gown and hat, revealing the battle armor underneath. It would appear he had been prepared for this outcome. Maybe not this specifically, but a battle breaking out today hadn't seemed out of the question when it began. Orochimaru formed a seal, molding his chakra to complete his Jutsu.
It was now or never, so I chose now.
"No, Hokage-sama. Get ready to run!" I grabbed onto his shoulder, already activating Kamui before it was too late. The Second was capable of the same Flying Thunder God Jutsu as my teacher was. So if I didn't warp us out of here now, before the Jutsu was complete and he went on the offensive, it would be too slow. This was to say nothing of the First who possessed natural speed and power that would make him able to close this paltry distance in time without the need of any Jutsu.
"Wha-!?" Orochimaru had no idea of my Mangekyo Sharingan's second ability. True, he had seen me use it to get in front of the Kazekage earlier, but there was no way he could have known I could use it in this situation. Otherwise, I would have used it to get in here in the first place. But because I hadn't, he no doubt assumed it meant I couldn't for some reason; Let alone take someone I was in contact with along with me when I warped. An assumption I was about to make him pay for.
The world bent away and a second later I was back in front of Kakuzu, outside of the barrier where we had just been. "Hokage-sama!" Gai and Kakashi disengaged from Kakuzu, jumping back to join us at our side. Kakuzu didn't pursue them, instead staring in shock at the Hokage's sudden appearance. He then spun around, trying to make sense of what was happening in the barrier behind him. All he would see was Orochimaru, alone with his puppets.
"Obito, what have you done?" The Third predictably asked me. "If we're outside the barrier, Orochimaru will turn my predecessors on the rest of the village. Everyone will get caught up in the battle with them."
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama." I inclined my head, but there was no actual apology in my tone. "However, that is exactly the point. Even if you and I can take them by ourselves, and that is a big if, we should rely on the strength of everyone else. They surely would wish for the same. No one desires to see you fight your predecessors. That's too heartbreaking for anyone." Maybe I was speaking above my pay-grade here, but Minato-sensei had always preached teamwork to us. I wasn't about to throw away his lessons now.
"I still do not really understand, but it is exactly as Obito says!" Gai backed me up immediately. "Please allow us to assist you, no matter what it is, Hokage-sama!"
"Actually, let's first figure out what exactly it is we're dealing with." Kakashi wasn't as willing to throw himself into the unknown like Gai or myself. A trait that had saved us many times before. "We need to trade information while we have the chance."
"...Yes, you're right." The Hokage relented, not looking happy about it but he seemed to have accepted our logic. At the very least it was too late to do anything about it. I had already made the choice for him. Which I felt was kind of fair, since he had gone and made that earlier proclamation without me. Now we were even, as far as I was concerned.
"This Kakuzu guy appears to be immortal." Kakashi started. "At least partially so. Gai and I killed him twice each already and yet he's still not going down. Instead, he ripped the hearts out from the burning Anbu outside the barrier. I suspect that's how he is staying alive and moving those creatures. By replenishing the hearts we killed already." It would seem we were dealing with immortals no matter where we turned.
"He's not the only undead guy we're going up against anymore." I nodded to the barrier just as it came down. The four Sound Ninja leapt forward, landing next to Kakuzu to back him up. Orochimaru also approached us, walking slowly with his head down and bang covering his eyes. Coming along with him were his two puppets.
"They're-" It was hard to tell who was more surprised between Kakashi and Gai. Of course, I wasn't exactly over my own shock either and I had seen them get summoned. The First and Second took their place in the line-up of monsters before us.
To make a quick head-count: There was the seemingly immortal, Kakuzu, and the four masks that had split from his body. The four Sound Ninja, Orochimaru's personal henchmen, who had just cast a pretty high level barrier Jutsu before this. The revived First and Second Hokage, turned against the village they helped create. And leading them all was the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru himself.
To say he didn't look happy was probably an understatement. "Uchiha Obito, you bastard!" He hissed at me, slit eyes so venomous I thought he might poison me with his stare alone. "Do you know how satisfying it is to hurt the person you once called master?" He asked, although I don't know how he expected me to be able to respond to such a twisted question. "I prepared these two just for that purpose… but if you would steal that from me then I'll just turn them on the village itself!"
"Tch," I clicked my teeth, not believing him for a second. It was exactly as he said. I had plenty of sins I still needed to atone for. However, this definitely wasn't one of them. "You were going to turn them on the village no matter what. That's just the kind of sick freak you are." I said. Even I wasn't so pessimistic as to believe this could somehow also be my fault.
"Perhaps you're right… but that will be for after you all die!" Orochimaru yelled. In response to that, the surge of chakra in front of us was so great that it washed over us like a Tsunami. All twelve entities in front of us flared their chakra, preparing their jutsu at once. Even if we all prepared a defensive jutsu in time it wouldn't be enough to withstand the attack they were preparing for us.
Nature elements of every kind flew from the mouths of Kakuzu's monsters. The Sound Ninja each unleashed unique Jutsu of their own that got instantly added to the mix and got lost in the shuffle. Orochimaru himself unleashed a large snake that barreled towards us. The First released his famed Mokuton Jutsu and the Second a swift current of water so large it looked like a tidal wave. All of these numerous attacks pooled together, forming a single massive concoction with the sole purpose of wiping us out.
"Susano!" None of those attacks accomplished their task, instead being blocked by the red shield of Itachi's Susano. "It would appear we made it…" He said, letting out a breath of relief. Standing next to him and holding him around the waist was Shisui. No doubt the only reason Itachi had been here in time to use his ultimate shield was because Shisui had used his hyper-speed to race them both here.
"Sasuke?" I asked, knowing we only had a couple seconds before Orochimaru and the others realized what had happened. Itachi had been in the waiting area with the other tournament participants when everything started. Of course, the fact that he was here now could only mean Sasuke was safe. There was no other way he would abandon his brother.
"Izumi is with him." Itachi said coolly, nodding in my general direction. His eyes never left the still continuing attack that battered his Susano. There was no way his shield would fall. His Susano had the Yata no Kagami, after all. Perhaps the strongest defensive Jutsu in the world. "Naruto and the other Leaf Genin are under her protection as well. Just before we left, Nohara Rin had also joined them."
That was good news. If Naruto and Rin were together, there wasn't anything to worry about in regards to the Tailed Beasts. No sooner did I have that damning thought then the worst immediately happened.
The complete forms of the One-Tail and Seven-Tails emerged.
It was the natural continuation of things if you thought about it logically. This must have been why Orochimaru would have sought to team up with the Sand and Waterfall specifically. This was also why Fu and Gaara had been pushed through to the final round. It was also likely the reason he sought Sasuke, but that would appear to not have gone his way. Even without him, the two Tailed Beasts could inflict massive damage in a short amount of time.
Even just being unleashed like this, the two massive monsters crumbled half the standing arena wall. Once they started rampaging, there was no way to know where the catastrophe would end. More than Orochimaru, more than the former Hokage, these two were the biggest single threat to the village right now.
...And there was only one way to stop them.
"Obito! Go to Naruto, now!" The Third ordered, voice leaving no room for question. Like it or not, he was right. I didn't want to leave my allies here fighting against these odds, but if Itachi and Shisui were here now, I could at least go with the confidence that they would see something done.
Only a Tailed Beast was a match for another Tailed Beast. And Jiraiya had given me the key to Naruto's seal just weeks before this. Almost like he knew this was going to happen. I had to get to his side now, along with Rin.
I nodded to Kakashi, silently promising him I would look after his student. Then the world around me bent away as I activated Kamui. Just like that, I left the battle behind. Orochimaru, the previous Hokage, all those other monsters posing as humans. In a split second it was no longer any of my business.
"Nii-san!" Izumi threw her arms around me, wrapping me in a tight hug before I was even able to take in my surroundings. The easiest chakra signature for me to locate was my little sister's. More-so than Naruto's, even more-so than even Rin's, it was Izumi I could always find no matter what. I think it was because of how desperately I hunted for her in order to save her life during the Uchiha Incident. I had never really forgotten her chakra signature after that and without even really trying, I could be by her side in an instant. No matter where in the world I was.
"Izumi." I breathed a sigh of relief, inhaling the scent of her shampoo as I returned the hug. It wasn't something I was aware of, but I don't think I even had a moment to breathe before now. Things kept happening one after the other. That was far from over, but just holding my little sister in my arms allowed some of that tension to dissipate, even if just a little.
"Obito-senpai!" Naruto's voice is what finally brought me back to reality and I took stock of the situation. We were in a hallway. If I had to guess, it would be the one connecting the arena floor to the waiting room above us. A smart place to hole up, as they only had to guard the front and rear, making it easily defensible.
I did a quick head-count. Aside from Izumi in my arms and Naruto who had called out to me; there was Rin who was guarding the far end. Shino, Shikamaru, and Sasuke were all gathered in the middle, next to Naruto who had taken a couple steps towards Izumi and I.
The entire ground trembled and shook, no doubt with every step taken by the Tailed Beasts only just outside. The ceiling above us began to creak and crack, and I was reminded of what had already become of half the walls here.
"We need to get outside. This place might collapse at any moment." I ordered. Putting them out in the open under the threat of possible projectile attack wasn't a great choice, but it was better than possibly getting them all crushed to death. As it was, there weren't many good choices left to us. Just bad or worse.
"Right!" Izumi nodded, finally pulling away from me and turning to the gathered Genin. "You heard him, let's go." With a chorus of agreements from most of them and grumbling complaints from Shikamaru, the four Genin set out towards the entrance to the arena grounds, following behind Izumi who led the way.
As they moved, I reached forward and grabbed Naruto by the sleeve to hold him slightly back. Sasuke also turned when he noticed his teammate lagging behind but I nodded him forward silently. He looked for a moment like he wanted to say something, but Rin rested a hand on his back, gently pushing him towards the others.
"What's up, Obito-senpai?" Naruto asked. For the moment I only shook my head. There would be time to explain it to him later, but I needed to get him out of ear-shot of the others. Naruto's generation didn't necessarily know about the Nine Tailed Demon Fox or the fact that it was sealed inside him. Despite that, they were probably about to find out pretty soon here. All the same, I didn't want them to overhear me telling him about it until we made our move. For now, I just needed him and Rin close to me.
"I'm glad you're okay." Rin said. She must have also realized at least somewhat what was happening outside. Even so, she hadn't been able to abandon Naruto. Or maybe she knew I was coming? She certainly hadn't been surprised by my sudden appearance.
"Likewise." I said to her, reaching forward and grabbing her forearm briefly. Just enough to let her know I meant my words. Anything more intimate than that would have to come for later. We had a mission to do now and couldn't waste time with pleasantries. No matter how nice it would be to do just that right about now.
Izumi had crouched down at the entranceway, holding a hand out behind her as she peeked out and scanned for any immediate threats. Not finding any she waved us forward, directing the Genin over to a piece of collapsed wall to take up a defensive position amongst the rubble. Shikamaru and Shino went first, no attacks coming. The moment Sasuke started to follow them, however, a barrage of kunai came flying from above.
"Sasuke!" Izumi yelled in warning, already throwing a set of her own kunai to deflect the encroaching projectiles. Several loud clangs echoed, every single one of her weapons meeting their mark. Before the discarded blades even hit the ground she was in front of Sasuke, a single kunai held up as she glared at where the attack came from. Sasuke, Shikamaru and Shino all formed a protective circle, their backs all facing one another and forming a perfect defense with no blind spots. I had to admit, even for Genin they knew how to handle themselves and look out for one another.
"I figured it wasn't going to be that easy." An Anbu member wearing a cat mask flew down from above, landing not far from them. No, not a true member of the Anbu. Just someone that had killed one of their members and then stolen their uniform to disguise themselves. "I was wondering where Sasuke was until now. Seriously, you're making my job hard for me." He pulled back his mask, revealing himself.
"Kabuto…" I said. He wasn't someone I knew personally. Kakashi had caught him once already trying to take Sasuke after the events in the Forest of Death and had informed me that he was another subordinate of Orochimaru. Apparently a high ranking one, to be trusted with such a task.
"Leave him to us!" Izumi shouted, nodding at Rin, Naruto, and I. She didn't just say herself, but 'us' was the exact word she used. Apparently even she knew this wasn't an opponent she could fight while having to protect the Genin to her back. They were going to have to contribute and earn their keep. That was just the kind of situation this was. "You have something else to take care of, right?" The Tailed Beasts continued to rampage in the background, getting further away now from the arena and closer to the more metropolitan areas of the village.
She was exactly right. Time was running out for us if we were going to save as many lives as we could. So I nodded to her, sending Kabuto one last glare before I prepared Kamui.
"No need to look at me like that." Kabuto just laughed, pushing up his glasses with one hand and waving farewell to us with the other. "I'm not crazy enough to think I can take two adult members of the Uchiha clan at the same time. Looks like luck is on my side and you have other business to attend to."
"Kick his ass, Izumi." It wasn't I, but Rin that said this line. Apparently it wasn't just me that was rubbed the wrong way by this jerk and his confident, know-it-all smirk.
"Heh, you got it!" Izumi's own smirk was the last thing I saw before I teleported the three of us away. I had no doubt they would all be fine. Kabuto may have thought he was getting lucky because I was leaving, but he was definitely underestimating Sasuke and the others in that case. A hard lesson he was about to learn.
"Whoa!" Naruto yet out a loud yelp, nearly slipping from the top of the tree I had teleported us too. We were in the middle of one of the village's numerous dense forests now, standing at the top of the tallest tree in the surrounding area. The tournament arena and thus rampaging Tailed Beasts were a considerable distance away. At least, they were for humans of our insignificant size. For something much bigger than us, however, it wouldn't be far at all.
"The Hell is that…?" Naruto finally seemed to notice the rampaging Tailed Beasts, having gotten a grip on his footing and being able to take in our surroundings.
"That is our mission." I said glumly, doing my best to grin down at Naruto. It was strained at best, but I succeeded at least a little. "You should be happy. Consider this an S-rank mission you're about to help us with."
"You can't be serious…" Rin gripped my shoulder, pulling my attention to her. I could tell with just a glance how worried she was. Not for herself, but for her adoptive son, who I was about to put in harm's way. Not just against the enemy, but against the thing inside him too. "He's not ready. If you need someone to fight the Tailed Beasts then I can-"
"You plan to take them both by yourself?" I asked her, dead-serious. Even she couldn't respond to that, knowing the truth of how impossible it was. She only had the Three-Tails sealed inside her and even if she was the perfect Jinchuriki that could freely control it, she was no match for the combined might of the One-Tail and Seven-Tails together. "Jiraiya gave me the key to Naruto's seal for this reason. We need to unleash the Nine-Tails if we hope to save as many people as possible."
"Aren't you just going to put more people in danger!?" Rin retorted, shouting out at me. "I've tried to help him reason with Nine-Tails from inside his mind and I'm telling you it can't be done. It's angry… so very angry." She looked down as if in defeat. "You wouldn't possibly understand, but that fox is the very embodiment of human hatred."
"We have to try!" I told her, begging her to see my reason. "Why would my Master have trusted me with this key if not to use it? He must have believed I could do something about Nine-Tails, such as with my Sharingan-"
"And I'm telling you it won't work!" Rin cut me off. "You will be overcome by its hatred if you try to sync to it with your Sharingan. Only someone equally evil could possibly hope to control it." Try as I might, those words just now shook me and I felt the confidence I had been falsely putting forth in a bravado crack and crumble. It was exactly as that man had said, only someone who had cursed humanity could hope to understand the Nine-Tails.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" I bit at my lower lip, trying to think of another way. Maybe I should go back for Kakashi? It was true if we were together we could use that and it might give us some kind of a chance. The problem was how long could we maintain the Jutsu. It was almost definitely not enough to defeat a Tailed Beast.
"It's too early to decide whether or not we can't do it!" Naruto suddenly shouted, surprising us both. "Don't give up before we've even tried! I'm the man who is going to become Hokage… and Obito is my Senpai who is walking the path ahead of me. The three of us together… we can definitely talk to Nine-Tails and make him agree to help us!"
"Naruto…" I whispered in awe. That was an avenue I hadn't even considered. Ask the Nine-Tails willingly for its cooperation? That was so outside the realm of possibility I had been incapable of considering it. Yet Naruto believed it could be done. In the same way he believed he could become Hokage- No, in the same way he believed we could become Hokage.
"Is it worth a shot?" I asked, turning once again to Rin. She was the Jinchruki here. And it had been her up until this point overseeing all matters in regards to Naruto's seal. If anyone knew whether or not it was possible, it was her.
"That's…" Rin started to say and stopped. She closed her eyes as if to think. Only it wasn't like she was thinking at all… but rather communicating. That's right, she was asking the Three-Tails. It wasn't just Rin, it was the two of them that formed the pair that created a perfect Jinchuriki. Such a thing wouldn't be possible if she didn't have some form of trust with the Tailed Beast inside of her.
When she next opened her eyes, she nodded her head. "We can try." She said. It wasn't what I would call confident, but there was at least hope. With her permission, there was only one thing left to do. I nodded to Naruto, looking back down at him and into his blue eyes.
"You ready?" I asked him, activating my Sharingan eye in preparation for entering his mindspace. This would be the first time I had ever used it for such a purpose, but I had a fairly good idea of what it was I had to do. It was just like casting a Genjutsu. Only instead of an illusion, I was going to plant my consciousness inside Naruto's. At least, that was how I understood it to work.
"Let's do it." In contrast to the two of us, Naruto was the picture of confidence. He truly believed we could do it. He was its Jinchuriki, after all. Maybe he knew something about the fox that we didn't? I could only hope so and try to believe in that confidence of his. Because ready or not this was happening.
I was about to meet with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, the Tailed Beast that killed my Sensei and made Naruto an orphan.
