Naruto: A Red Eye Hidden by Shadow

by Tatanka4Life

On the fateful night of the Uchiha Massacre, a girl of Uchiha and Nara blood is spared and left with no memories of her past. Now she must walk on the path left by her family to help her build a new future for herself. Her path will be hard, full of struggles and pain, but as long as she has her friends and family at her side she will keep forging ahead, even if it was a drag.

141. Chapter 140: Mito Uzumaki's Return!

Chapter 140

Fate: Mito Uzumaki's Return!

The battlefield outside of Orochimaru's abandoned secret lab was unpleasantly still and quiet after Mizuki's crazed declaration. In fact, it was wholly unnatural in its stillness and near silence.

Despite the living—and undead—shinobi occupying the field of battle, despite the clear signs of life in their expanding and contracting chests, the tightening of hands around hilts and clenching fists, they stood as though posed in a delicate and elaborate watercolor painting, captured by an artist before the violence unfurled.

The blood and ash colored sky loomed heavily overhead. The cold, crisp air froze, afraid to thread its invisible fingers through their hair, to disturb their clothes and remind the shinobi of its presence. The denizens of the forest had already fled to the surrounding hills, far from the churning storm of violence set to unleash with the speed and suddenness of a bolt of lightning.

No Leaf shinobi made any considerable movement. No signs to advance recklessly were shown, neither did they show signs of retreating with proverbial tails tucked between their legs.

Likewise, despite his tiger-like transformation emanating power that was more oppressive than a humid swamp at the height of summer, Mizuki made no immediate move either.

He was too overjoyed by the vigorous power stimulating him like a narcotic. He was too fascinated by himself and their palpable fear, grinning fiendishly at the scene he brought to life.

Mito Uzumaki held her ground, standing with her arms crossed gently over her belly, hands hidden inside the sleeves of her loose-fitted kimono; her dignified air remained even in resurrection. She stared at the two children, those she would soon be ordered to attack, lamenting Tobirama's despicable jutsu and the world that did not seem to change.

The cat-masked Anbu agent, who stood closest to the cave entrance and Mizuki with his shattered sword in hand, watched on with wide but calculating eyes. He was uncertain how Mizuki had come into possession of such a powerful Forbidden Jutsu, though Orochimaru was the prime and obvious suspect given his Reanimation of the First and Second Hokage during the Invasion.

The uncertainty did not distract him, however. There wasn't a single moment where he lost sight of his mission. His duty.

How did he protect all of his comrades? How did he stop Mizuki and Mito before they could harm the others?

What was the best option?

Opposite of the Anbu agent, kneeling behind his former students beside Tsubaki's bleeding body, Iruka was less focused. Everything seemed to be falling apart, collapsing the foundations beneath their feet while Mizuki watched on cruelly from above.

His expression was the academic definition of abject horror personified. He could scarcely believe what he was witnessing, how Mizuki's body had mutated and transformed into that of a hybrid of animal and something meant to resemble a human being, how he proudly and arrogantly desecrated the departed soul of the First Hokage's wife.

Yet his face was also contorted in a painful grimace, from the wound carved through his flak jacket into the flesh of his back, for the fear of Tsubaki's condition and for what would come next.

Tsubaki held her arm over her bleeding abdomen, tears in her eyes. Too weak to heal herself, too weak to stop her fiancé from stepping over a line from which there was no returning.

Standing in front of them, Naruto struggled against mass confusion and anxiousness. The old lady seemed to recognize him and Amari by their chakra, or recognized who they were related to, anyway. He wasn't sure.

Mito Uzumaki. The wife of the First Hokage and the first jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, that was what Mizuki had called her.

He had so many questions, about their shared Clan name, about the woman named Kushina. He wanted to know why the Nine-Tails was thrashing about, growling and roaring like someone had stepped on all nine of his tails.

But he struggled to find his voice. The old lady was giving him goosebumps. Actually, he was certain his goosebumps had goosebumps. Mizuki's sudden transformation didn't even really register to him anymore.

It was a feeling Amari shared. Gooseflesh tickled her skin, her hairs stood on end as though lightning was about to strike. Her chest felt tight, and knew it wasn't caused by killing intent or the oppressive darkness of a Curse Mark. It was simply power. Magnificent, unrelenting and overwhelming power flowing off Mito Uzumaki.

The tension in the air was a taut rope on the verge of snapping. Already the fibers were tearing apart, twisting, breaking thread by thread.

She tightened her hand around her tantō, horrified and nervous by the presence of a woman who was certainly dead, yet stood before them seemingly alive and well. The cracks in her flesh and black sclera proved otherwise.

On her shoulder, Osamu stared in awe at the resurrected kunoichi he'd only heard stories of. Dignified tales, of course. And, at times, amusing when involving the well-known Uzumaki temper turned towards, as always, foolish men.

Men, in this case, consisting of Hashirama, Tobirama and Madara.

Better days, Lady Atsuko's predecessor called them. Before the tragic murder of Yua and descent of Madara.

I've got goosebumps all over. Amari felt the corner of her lip tug upwards in a nervous smirk. We're in big trouble. Two wounded shinobi, me and Naruto far below full strength, and Mizuki has transformed into a literal monster. Despite all of that, it's not him I'm afraid of. It's her. Mito Uzumaki.

The woman who on chakra alone sensed she was the ancestor of Madara and Yua Uchiha.

No one made a move. Not the Leaf shinobi. Not Mizuki. Not Mito Uzumaki.

The battlefield was unpleasantly and unnaturally still and silent. No birds chirped. No critters or forest denizens dashed along the forest floor; they were already far, very far, away from the battlefield. Even the wind seemed to cease all motion.

The smudge of smoke from a massive explosion and fire stained the evening sky, its orange and pink streaks discolored into an ominous shade of blood and ash.

Daylight hours were quickly burning up. Soon the sun would fall behind the horizon. Soon the battlefield would, like Mizuki, be submerged in darkness.

Amari wondered if that was apart of Mizuki's plan, too.

"Iruka-sensei, can you move?" she asked quietly but with steel in her voice, hoping to not provoke the resurrected kunoichi or Mizuki, or reveal anymore of the staggering fear she felt than necessary.

"Yes."

"Good. I need you to get that woman out of here."

Her hand was almost white-knuckled on her tantō. Iruka and Naruto both could see it; she saw them observing her body language in her Byakugan, as if checking to see if she was feeling the same as they were.

She was.

"It's too dangerous to tend to her wounds here," she continued calmly in spite of the fear. "You need to get her far enough away that Mizuki and Lady Mito can't hurt her further. It's the only way she'll have a chance at surviving."

Despite her quiet voice, she sensed that Mizuki and Mito could hear her clearly. It was in Mizuki's vile grin, and Mito's intelligent dark eyes which watched her like a hawk. The elderly kunoichi seemed to be evaluating her. Whether for good or ill, the Uchiha couldn't say.

Besides, it was far too quiet for any whisper to go unnoticed. She knew that despite the attempt.

Mito, like Mizuki, refused to meet her gaze directly.

If you knew Naruto's mother, if you knew my great-great grandparents, you've seen more than of this world, of my Clan, of Lord First and Second, than anyone alive right now.

She loosened then tightened her hold on her tantō, playing with it almost, to stretch her cramping fingers.

Dammit. We're standing before a Kage-level enemy. I've got chills. My knees are quaking. But I have to distract her at the very least until Iruka-sensei gets that woman out of here. What then? What's the play?

The tension in the air was so tight. She could feel it strangling her throat.

"Amari, wait—"

"There isn't time to wait, Iruka-sensei," Naruto was the one to reply, stepping up to stand beside the Uchiha. "I know you can feel it, too. Any second now this old lady is gonna attack. You've got to take care of Tsubaki."

"We'll cover you," Amari agreed.

"This Forbidden Jutsu isn't something either of you are prepared for!" Iruka argued passionately and truthfully. "Even I do not know the full extent of its power, I only thought it was rumors and hearsay. I never imagined…"

"Rumors and hearsay are often founded from a single grain of truth," said Osamu, his voice and cadence to the point. "This is but one jutsu the Scroll of Seals hides within its pages. A Forbidden Technique created and used by Tobirama Senju where one revives a soul which has departed the mortal realm for the beyond that awaits us all.

"However, it is not Forbidden simply for its desecration of the dead. It requires a living sacrifice to bind the soul to."

"You're joking," Naruto gasped.

"A living soul… Aoi!" Amari realized, red and lavender eyes wide.

"Indeed, Lady Amari." Osamu's feathered expression darkened. "Aoi's role is clear now. He was but another tool to Mizuki. A living sacrifice to revive the soul of Lady Mito."

"Oh god." Her stomach turned.

"This is all so messed up," Naruto said. "So, what, now we have to kill her?"

"No," Osamu shook his head. "You cannot kill Lady Mito anymore than you can stop the sun from rising or the wind from blowing. The Reanimated soul is bound to the sacrifice and will persist in occupying this plane until the Reanimation Jutsu is undone."

"Which means we can't kill Mizuki, either," Amari inferred.

"Correct. Kill Mizuki and all is lost. However, Mizuki is the least of our concerns, presently. Under the influence of the Reanimation Jutsu, Lady Mito possesses unlimited chakra, and any harm we cause her will regenerate in time. She will fight and die and fight again."

"All while we grow weary."

"That's why you two have to come with me," Iruka argued again. "This is beyond your abilities."

"It is. But we don't have a choice," Amari replied. "I could ask Osamu to Reverse Summon the four of us, but then we'd be leaving Mr. Anbu alone to fight Mizuki and Lady Mito." She shook her head. "They won't let him retreat. Lady Mito can't, and Mizuki simply won't.

"Even if all of us escaped our problems wouldn't be over. We'd leave Mizuki here, free to turn his sights to the Leaf where he could unleash her power onto civilians. Or to leave our Nation and incite the Stone into war."

Damned if we do, damned if we don't, thought the kunoichi. No matter what we choose, we'll end up in a troublesome situation. The best we can do is choose the option that protects and preserves the most life.

Inhaling a short breath, Amari tapped the toe of her sandal against the grass out of nervousness.

"The only way to protect the most lives and prevent the Stone from launching an offensive soon is to stop them both here. Right now," she declared. "Anything less is a temporary victory. We retreat or fall here and the Leaf will suffer. Right now, in this moment, we're the last bulwark standing between Mizuki and freedom. And our bulwark is already severely weakened. It's a drag, but that's our situation."

Amari tapped her sandal against the grass and flexed her cramping fingers. She exhaled a long breath.

"The truth is, you're right, Iruka-sensei. We're outclassed and out of our depth. We're facing an opponent who possesses limitless power. This battle may very well be impossible," she admitted.

Placing her foot down flat, she gripped her tantō firmly and locked her fears away.

"That's fine. I say let's roll the dice then. I'll take my chances against impossibility."

"Yeah," Naruto grinned. "Impossible odds are our speciality! So don't you worry, Iruka-sensei, me and Amari we'll figure out someway to pull through. We always do. You just focus on taking care of Tsubaki."

The fluctuation of chakra within the Reanimated kunoichi was visible to the Sharingan and Byakugan, setting loose another layer of gooseflesh over Amari's skin. She shivered unconsciously but didn't let it douse her fire.

We'll find a way forward. I'll carve my own path and blaze a trail straight through impossibility to the future. It's the only way I'll ever reach them.

"She's about to attack," warned Amari.

"Please move," Mito pleaded.

Two chains hued in gold materialized out of her belly like two eels slowly emerging from a crevice, phasing through her kimono without damaging her outfit.

Chakra—powerful chakra—radiated off the metal. Their golden hue was richer than a treasure chest overflowing with gold and silver, thrumming, pulsing.

"Careful, children," Osamu spoke quickly. "Those chains are constructed entirely from chakra. They are capable of piercing anything."

No sooner did the words leave his mouth did the chains lunge ahead, rattling across the battlefield, bending and snaking through the air on the hunt for the two young shinobi. The suddenness of it all jerked them all to highest alert.

"Scatter!" Amari ordered.

Despite the command, Naruto didn't move. Amari didn't budge an inch either. His cerulean eyes and her crimson and hardened lavender gazed at the rushing chains in determination and trepidation, watching them swiftly close the distance in less than a handful of seconds.

Their hearts raced into their throats and pulsed wildly, their jaws tightened, and they felt beads of warm sweat—and blood in Naruto's case—drip down their foreheads, along the bridge of their noses and cheeks.

But they held their ground, waiting for Iruka to pick up Tsubaki and retreat.

He did so, but not without reluctance to leave his students. Not without conflicted emotions, which he was forced to settle in a matter of seconds.

He wanted to argue the decision, for though Amari was a Chūnin like him, he still held seniority in age and experience. He wanted to scold them for their reckless abandon and the arrogance their narrow survivals and victories on previous difficult missions lent them.

But, in his heart, Iruka knew they were right. There was no time for debates or arguments or lectures, nor could they retreat without endangering the Leaf.

Mizuki trapped them on a tightrope where one end led to a hungry tiger guarding the sprinkler system, and the other led back to the fire swallowing the circus tent. They had to choose one or the other: Fight the tiger or be swallowed by the flames of war.

There was only one choice to his former students. To their eyes, all they could do was fight against the impossible and hope it ended in their favor. And that was exactly what Amari and Naruto planned to do, to defend each other, to defend their home, and to defend him.

Impossible odds were their specialty, after all.

The internal conflict lasted less than a moment. Then, without another wasted moment, Iruka swept up the injured form of Tsubaki and leaped aside, retreating further away from his students, Mizuki and the battle.

As soon as he was clear, Amari and Naruto pushed off their right and left foot, respectively. The chains and their bladed ends hissed by them, so close she could have reached out and touched it, so close she could feel the power thrumming off of them, feel the rush of air pass her side.

The chakra chains bent and snaked around elegantly, without the stiffness of metal and links that would have normally prevented such fluid motion, chasing the pair, hounding their every evasive step.

The kunoichi spun and hopped into a graceful pirouette and sheathed her tantō; the chains would doubtlessly shatter the blade.

Hissing and rattling metal narrowly zipped by her armpit, and were it not for her spin they would have severing the threads of her long sleeve. And flesh.

Naruto slid in a low crouch, ducking beneath then hopping away from the spearing chain.

With all the ease of a hot knife through butter the bladed end pierced through the earth, and vanished underground. It moved beneath them effortlessly, and though Naruto couldn't see it, the Byakugan granted Amari perfect sight of the chain.

She hopped quickly back, then left, flinging forward through a handspring and then Body Flickering a half-circle in an attempt to force the chain to tangle itself. It did not tangle. It snaked around, chased her, never losing its fluidity or its strength.

Another fluctuation of chakra drew the Uchiha's eyes to the Reanimated kunoichi, still standing in the same position as before, hands hidden beneath her sleeves and arms crossed. Still scrutinizing them both while bearing a dignified air and a sympathetic expression.

More chains emerged out of her torso, eight total including the initial two. They plunged into the earth.

"Naruto, more of those chains incoming! They're coming up through the earth! Behind you!" Amari called.

"Kushina's son, do not let these chains touch you," Mito warned. "They will bind your chakra and the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra."

"Yeah, he's roaring pretty angrily about that! No offense, Granny, but the Nine-Tailed Fox really hates you!" Naruto replied, pivoting and then hopping back. Three chains erupted out of the earth, one after another, rising and then chasing the boy.

"Ancestor of Madara and Yua, I do not know how you came into possession of the Byakugan, but maintain sight on all of my chains. If they bind your chakra you cannot break free. Even the Susanoo will be out of your reach."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you can sense that. Definitely since you can sense our ancestry on chakra alone," muttered Amari.

She evaded back with a hop, chakra chain plunging through the ground, then pivoted quickly and hopped back again as it rattled out of the earth. Another chain emerged behind her, thrusting straight for her spine. Making another quick turn, she evaded.

The movement was too quick. Her legs were already fatigued by training and the trek here, her feet were heavy and sore, and collided with each other. Gracelessly, she stumbled, tripping and falling onto her butt.

There wasn't a moment to process what was certainly going to be a bruise. The chains converged on her position with all the hunger of a pack of hyenas attacking a wounded lion.

Instantly her body dispersed into a flock of Crows. The birds beat their wings, swooping up and threading the needle as they evaded the chains.

Their trajectory changed, evasion no longer desired by its collective. The Crows barreled at the Reanimated kunoichi in a tight formation, picking up speed for their attack within seconds. They plunged headlong at the center of her chest.

Ash, like long-sitting dust blown off an old book, exploded out Mito's back alongside the ominous black birds. Her eyes went wide and dulled. Her chains halted before slowly beginning to retract towards the gaping hole torn through her torso.

The flock of Crows circled low along the ground and regrouped at Naruto's side, wheeling about as they reformed into Amari and Osamu.

"She stopped attacking," Naruto noted.

"It's only temporary, I'm afraid," Osamu informed gravely. "Fatal wounds can halt a Reanimated shinobi's attacks, forcing their bodies to regenerate. Once enough has regenerated, however, Lady Mito will once more resume her assault upon us."

"Which means striking her down over and over again, while offering temporary relief, will only tire us all out," Amari deduced. "We'll waste what little chakra and strength we have left cutting her down, drilling holes through her, or blasting her away with powerful ninjutsu until, eventually, we won't have enough energy to move or evade her attacks."

"Indeed," Osamu dipped his beak in agreement. "Our focus must be directed to evading her attacks and distracting her. This will keep her attention diverted from your Anbu guard, who can defeat and then force Mizuki to undo the Reanimation Jutsu."

"So, it's like a survival exercise," Naruto found a way to make it sound doable. "Like Kakashi-sensei's bell test or the Forest of Death."

"Correct."

The hole slowly began to reform. They were running out of time already. In fact, their hourglasses were all but empty.

We can't evade and distract her for long, Amari thought. The only way we walk out of this alive is…

"Osamu, I'm about to ask you to do something you will vehemently disagree with."

"Then I hope what you ask bears a miraculous importance that supersedes my duty to protect you. I will not leave your side otherwise."

"I need you to report our situation to Uncle Shikaku and Atsuko." She glanced quickly at the darkening sky, then back to Mito. "Night is almost upon us. Naruto and I are both far below full strength. We're tired and sore. We have two injured allies and we have no idea the limits of Mizuki's new power.

"We do know, however, that Lady Mito has limitless chakra and can bind our chakra if she catches us with those chains. And that is only one of her techniques. We don't know what else she is capable of, only that she can do it all without ever exhausting herself.

"We'll have to retreat at some point," she said. Then she shook her head. "I hate saying it, but at this point, it's the only way I see us surviving. For now, though, we can hold her here. While we do that I need you to inform Uncle Shikaku of the power Mizuki has obtained. He can come up with a strategy for Mr. Anbu. Or prepare the next squad so they have a chance at stopping Mizuki before he escapes our border."

"Mm. You're right," said Osamu. "I do vehemently disagree with your request. For all of those same reasons, truth be told. I will not abandon you to fight an enemy which threatens your life to the same degree, if not more, than the Nomu we battled together."

"Osamu…"

"Nevertheless," he sighed in resignation, "though I loathe the mere thought of leaving you and Naruto to fight Lady Mito alone, I must. I must for the reasons you asked of me."

"We'll be okay. I promise. Trust in us, Osamu. We'll be the picture of health when you get back."

"I will return, Lady Amari," Osamu swore an oath. "As soon as I finish, I will be once more at your side. I will not abandon you two to fight this battle alone."

"I know," she smiled. "We'll see you soon, Osamu."

"I'll keep her safe, Osamu. Don't worry."

"Hm," Osamu hummed a short laugh. "Lady Amari, I leave Naruto's reckless impulses in your capable hands. Do see that you minimize them."

"Heyyyy, that's—"

Osamu vanished from her shoulder.

Amari stifled a giggle but not her smile. Naruto squinted harmlessly at her, pouting.

"I was trying to be nice. Trying to be reassuring. And that's the response I get?" he whined.

"Osamu was reassured." She smirked at her best friend. "I guess that means I have to keep you safe, huh? Try not to be troublesome, Naruto."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," he groused with a grin on his face. "Remind me again which one of us has spent all this time on bed rest? Sounds to me like you're the one who needs to stop being troublesome."

"Heh, I can't argue with that." The hole was almost regenerated entirely. Amari dispensed with her smile. "She's about recovered. You ready, Naruto?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Hard to believe we have to fight Granny Tsunade's Granny, you know?"

"I'm surprised that's the part you're stuck on."

"It isn't. It's just easier to say," he admitted quietly. "I mean, she knew my mother. She's from my Clan. She even knew your ancestors and contained the Nine-Tails before me. How crazy is that? Not to mention she was the First Hokage's wife and she's been revived from the dead basically." Naruto shook his head. "This is all so crazy. Feels like some weird sort of dream. I don't even know where to start."

"Yeah. I don't know either."

"Amari? There's something serious we need to talk about after this. About you and the Nine-Tails. Oh, shut up, you stinkin' fox," he added beneath his breath. "What are you gonna do? Growl at me? Flood me with chakra? Good luck. I'm not losing control again. You won't lay a paw on her, either. I don't care how tired I am. And you're doing plenty of growling already, you big jerk. Maybe if you actually offered to help without strings attached I'd listen."

Amari glanced at her best friend, at how his eyes were less focused. His hand was resting over his belly. For a moment she swore she saw the Nine-Tails in his red-orange chakra, snarling and growling at her. When she blinked it was gone.

"Naruto."

"Huh?"

"We'll talk later," she promised, nodding her head once. "First we get through this little survival exercise we've found ourselves in."

"Right."

Ash and dirt assembled together, regenerating the destroyed pieces from nothing.

Steadily, the gaping hole filled, at first appearing akin to tiny puzzle pieces of randomized, irregular ashen-colored shapes glued together like shattered pieces of glass, then fusing together into a solid mass with no flaws. Finally it transformed into the undamaged kimono and body of Mito Uzumaki.

Her dull, dead, wide eyes slid shut. The chains paused in retracting. Amari felt her muscles tense in anticipation. Naruto clenched his fists and jaw.

At that moment, as though a tempest dropped right on top of them, the wind shifted and burst past their backs, howling like demonic creatures of the night.

It stumbled the pair a single step. Amari's hair whipped over her shoulders, against her face, strands bending and swishing wildly. Naruto's broken jacket rippled and billowed, flapping viciously at the whims of the rushing air.

The wind halted suddenly, without reason or cause. The calmness which followed was unnatural and filled with trepidation.

"What the heck was—"

The bellowing roar of a tiger shuddered across the battlefield, cutting Naruto off while providing an answer.

Simultaneously, Amari and Naruto snapped their heads in the direction of Mizuki's roar, startled by its suddenness. All of their attention had been directed to the chakra chains and the overwhelming presence of Mito Uzumaki, so much so they'd forgotten he existed entirely.

Despite all of his new power, his mere existence was dwarfed and minimized by the presence of a long dead old woman. He would've hated knowing that.

They saw the new gale, unleashed by Mizuki in a terribly tremendous bullet of wind that flattened the blades of grass, tore them from the earth and knocked aside Mr. Anbu, who'd been on its outskirts. He was thrown off his feet, sent skipping once, then a second time before his body simply began to slide and grate back first against the ground.

The gale was barreling towards them. Even at a distance it changed the direction of the wind, pushing Amari's hair back over her shoulders, causing Naruto's jacket to billow and flap uncontrollably.

Mito's eyes opened, no longer dull. There was a glint of life, or a mimicry of one.

Chakra chains, hued in gold, speared through the earth, tunneling beneath with swiftness and speed the fastest of serpents couldn't hope to match.

Amari tracked them and the gale, mind racing in search of an escape strategy.

As quick as they burrowed into the earth, the chains emerged again, snaking across the evening sky, intersecting above and below one another to form columns and rows of squares, then diving like birds of prey back into the earth to form eight separate points along a circle.

Amari flicked her eyes around. They were entirely surrounded, standing in the center of the circle. Mito, too. The chains hung overhead, glowing golden, but a new, weaker blue hue was beginning to emanate in the shape of a dome.

A blue hue which, to her eyes, was made of chakra.

The gale did not stop. It barreled on its path for the two young shinobi.

Then crashed against the blue dome, who's vibrancy suddenly matched the afternoon sky.

The concentrated blast of wind unfurled with a powerful roar, which then transformed into a shrieking howl as the dispersed currents tore a path up and around the bulbous dome.

But it did not break through. There was to be no shuddering weakness, no sudden crack in the defensive barrier caused by Mizuki's attack, or any other for that matter.

The dome brushed aside the Wind Nature jutsu how a shinobi brushes aside an Academy student's simple punches. It stood in defiance of Mizuki, as if saying, "Try as you might, you will get nowhere."

Inside, Amari examined every inch of the barrier with her dōjutsu. Naruto stared openly, chin pointed to the sky, eyes scanning the top of the dome as though stargazing.

"What incredible chakra," Amari whispered to herself.

"Whoa," he awed. "What kind of Barrier Ninjutsu is this, anyway?"

"An extraordinarily powerful one," she answered. "If the strength of a Barrier is reflective of its user, then Lady Mito is without a doubt Kage level. Large Barriers like this usually require a handful of shinobi to perform and maintain. She's doing it all on her own. This is all created from her chakra. And I don't see a single weak point in it."

"She's one tough lady."

"Explains a lot, actually. Who else could keep the the Nine-Tails and the First Hokage under lock and key?"

The corners of Mito's lips quirked up in a faint smile.

Outside of the barrier, Mizuki narrowed his razor sharp eyes. Even at a distance, without dōjutsu, the shift of his tight, tiger-striped jaw was noticeable. He clenched his orange and white furry fists. Then the corner of his lips lifted in a snide smirk.

"Ah, I see," he said. "It isn't that you broke my control. You were simply picking up from where you left off, trapping those little brats inside an inescapable prison to complete your orders. You may try to aid them with your words, but in the end every action you take is in adherence to my orders. This barrier, too. Now I can focus on one target at a time."

He didn't see Mito old, dead eyes squint in annoyance. She said nothing.

"I don't know about that," Naruto muttered. "Seems to me like she was protecting us."

"It isn't one or the other. It's both," replied Amari confidently. "Despite being Reanimated and controlled by Mizuki, Lady Mito's mind, her personality, her soul is still her own. She thinks as she would think. She speaks as she would speak. She possesses all of the traits, knowledge and techniques she wielded while alive. She is Mito Uzumaki in nearly every sense of the word.

"I don't know much of anything about the Reanimation Jutsu beyond what we've seen and what Osamu told us. However, it stands to reason that maintaining the personality of a Reanimated shinobi is useful in two key ways. First, it acts as psychological warfare.

"Imagine a battlefield where dozens upon dozens of shinobi fight and die in the middle of a war. It ends in a stalemate, or the retreat of one side. You lost friends or comrades you served beside for days, weeks, months or years. Maybe even someone you grew up with.

"Then, in the next battle, suddenly that shinobi is Reanimated and set against you. Your friend, your comrade, is suddenly the weapon of the enemy. Bad enough you have to see their body desecrated and sent into war again. Worse would be hearing them speak to you, pleading for you to move and strike them down again. They can't control themselves. They can only watch, prisoners in their own bodies, striking down those they held precious."

"That's awful."

"That's one reason it's Forbidden, I'd bet," she said, monitoring Mito's every move. "Immoral and unethical barely scratch the surface of this jutsu. But that leads me to my second point. The summoner of the jutsu wants the personality intact beyond psychological warfare. By keeping the soul intact, the Reanimated shinobi can use the knowledge and power it gained in life against those its set against.

"The way she is now, Mizuki doesn't have to micromanage every move she makes. He can leave Lady Mito to fight on her own. Because she doesn't want to fight she uses what little freedom she has to warn us. All while her body and mind, enslaved by the Reanimation Jutsu, pick and choose how best to utilize her abilities."

Amari shook her head. "Mizuki couldn't do that. He wouldn't know how best to use her abilities against us. It's better to leave that to her discretion.

"In a way, it's like a Commander telling a shinobi to capture this point, or eliminate this target, or acquire this Intel but leaving the means of completing the mission open-ended. Like pointing and saying, 'Do that, I don't care how. Just do it.'

"In that last act, Lady Mito exercised what little freedom she has to protect us by essentially finding a loophole in her orders. She used this Barrier Ninjutsu to shield us and separate us from Mizuki, allowing us to focus on her alone, and Mr. Anbu on Mizuki alone.

"But to do that she had to trap us as well. Either way, we're lucky," Amari said. "We're incredibly lucky the shinobi Mizuki Reanimated doesn't hate the Leaf, the Uchiha or us personally. If she did, she wouldn't help us at all. She would follow her orders with such fervor we'd be lucky to survive."

"You possess Madara's and Yua's keen insight, child," said Mito.

"Amaririsu or Amari is fine, Lady Mito."

"Yeah, and you can just call me Naruto, Granny Mito."

"Granny?" Mito chuckled. "Not even my grandchildren called me that."

"Not even Granny Tsunade?"

"Hohoho!" Mito let out a hearty belly laugh. "Careful, child. Tsuna has quite the temper. Were she to hear you call her that, you would certainly pay the price. Although, seeing as you wear my husband's necklace, I suspect she is fond of you."

"Actually, I won this in a bet."

Dark clouds all but appeared over Mito. For the first time her pristine posture broke, shoulders slouching.

"I see. So, my husband's bad influence lingers on in poor Tsuna."

"Wait, that's who taught her to gamble?!" Naruto squawked.

"I'm afraid so."

Amari didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.

Who knew gambling was going to be the First Hokage's flaw, too.

"How is Tsuna, if I may ask?"

"She was elected as the Fifth Hokage," Amari answered.

Somehow Mito's shoulders slumped further.

"Oh dear. And the Village? Is it…safe? She hasn't sunk it in debt, has she?"

"No. Wait, yes. I mean," Naruto shook his head, "the Village is safe, mostly. But she hasn't sunk us in debt or anything. She's been working really hard to help rebuild it after the recent invasion."

"The potential war you mentioned, yes?"

"Sort of. It's kinda a long story."

"Lady Mito, I know you probably have questions," Amari interceded, speaking quickly. She could sense the Reanimated kunoichi's chakra beginning to fluctuate again. "We'll try to answer as much as we can as we try to survive your attacks. But is there anything you can teach us about the Reanimation Jutsu that will help us…I don't know. Do more than simply evade, I guess. Someway we might utilize another flaw or something that will stop you. "

"For now, you must focus on evading my attacks," responded Mito, straightening her posture. "Do not engage me in close-quarters combat. I may not possess the agility I once did, but should I lay a hand on you, I may place a Seal upon you that will be irremovable."

More wrinkles creased her cracked flesh, face scrunching in visible strain.

"My apologies. I have resisted attacking for as long as I could. Prepare yourselves." Chains slowly began to emerge from her torso. "Do whatever you must to survive, children. I died long ago. Long before either of you were born. This body is a mimicry of who I once was. Another cage for my spirit forced upon me by Tobirama."

"Another cage?" Naruto wondered aloud, brow furrowing as he readied himself.

Amari watched the chains unfurl. "I'm sorry your peace was disturbed, Lady Mito. We'll do what we can to restore it."

"Do not hesitate to strike me down. I will exploit the flaws of this jutsu where I can. Now," she winced, "please move!"

The chains launched ahead at the pair.

And the survival exercise resumed at full intensity.

---

Lady Tsunade's hypothesis was accurate, thought Tenzō, cautiously rising to one knee. The potion has transformed Mizuki inside and out. Hard to believe he survived it at all, given how small the chance of success was. But the effects are what we expected. His strength and speed have been enhanced beyond his natural limits. And the intensity of his ninjutsu is staggering.

Gently, he ran the tips his fingers along the rough gouge in his flak jacket, taking stock of the damage he had sustained. Four fingers separated it from his unarmored hip. From there it cut a sharp diagonal up to his ribcage, deep as half of the first digit of his pointer finger.

A minor cut, half the length of his pinky, was bleeding down his left shoulder. It didn't ache, it stung, reminding him of a severe paper cut. The injury could've been worse; his metal arm guards were marred by thin and shallow scratches, giving off the impression a cat with metal claws had used them as a scratching post.

He was lucky. The fringes of the gale were considerably weaker than what struck the barrier. Had he been caught in that…

Lowering his hand, slowly bringing it closer to his ninja tool box, Tenzō assessed Mizuki's enthusiastic fascination over Amaririsu and Naruto as they dashed, hopped and otherwise evaded Mito Uzumaki's Adamantine Sealing Chains.

The hybrid man-beast didn't look at him. He didn't even bother to glance, enthralled by his wild obsession and vengeful yearning to see the two fatigued children skewered. Wanting to see the chains pierce and eviscerate flesh, muscles and tissues, to watch as their were organs torn out and hung from the golden hued chains like a fresh dumplings on a stick.

He wanted to hear their bones pulverized, their screams of agony, their cries for help or mercy or helpless screams as one of them was slain.

And then he wanted to watch them die.

Mizuki opened and closed his hands. He snarled while grinning, or perhaps he was purring. Tenzō didn't need a medical license to diagnose him as a psychopath.

Violent obsession visibly consumed him, intensified by the side effects of the Curse Mark. He appeared no different than a beast fixated on an approaching trespasser, snarling and growling as it prowled back and forth, ready to charge and attack at the drop of a dime to defeat or kill the invader.

Based on what knowledge he possessed of Orochimaru's Curse Marks, Tenzō wondered if his present state was the result of severe mental degradation caused by the rapid metamorphosis's he survived. Or if Mizuki was already mentally unstable to begin with.

Could Mizuki even tell where his desires began and where Orochimaru's ended at this point?

Tenzō felt the cold metal of the rings at the ends of his kunais brush against the pads of his fingers, and found an answer to his question.

It didn't matter. Any pleas for sanity or righteousness would be met with mocking laughter, and perhaps rightfully so.

Mizuki had drank from a poisoned well willingly. He took Orochimaru's poison into himself and sought to spread it as far as his mutated hands could reach. Once he ingested the poison his path into darkness became a one-way road. There was no turning back now, Mizuki wouldn't take the option even if it was gift-wrapped and offered by Lady Tsunade herself.

What was sanity or righteousness to a maniac and a turncoat? Nothing. Nothing but a hilarious joke he could turn his nose up at and laugh until his sides ached.

Tenzō made the call. Whether Mizuki was tricked, manipulated or simply another cruel man in a cruel world no longer mattered. He had a duty to fulfill. He would protect his comrades from this madman and reverse the Reanimation Jutsu.

He slipped his fingers into the rings at the ends of two kunais and lightly pulled them free; their edges grated softly against the holster.

Mizuki, he noticed, twitched imperceptibly. His wild eyes flicked over, the first glance used to simply acknowledge the existence of the Anbu agent. He turned his head to take in his kneeling form in its entirety, gazing at him as though he were a scraggly dog missing two paws.

Mizuki puffed out a condescending chuckle.

"You Leaf shinobi are so stubborn," he mocked.

In addition to changing his appearance, Tenzō scrutinized, the potion has granted him new abilities entirely, specifically mirroring those of a tiger. An enhanced sense of smell compared to the human nose and enhanced hearing for certain. I'd wager his eyesight will be better in total darkness, but I'm not eager to find out.

Mizuki sighed dramatically, spreading his large hands out and shrugging as if it couldn't be helped.

"I know an Anbu guard has to complete his mission even if it costs them their life. But surely you can see that you and I are one and the same. It's because we have the guts to do what needs to be done that idealists can preach about their Will of Fire. We walk in the darkness and spill blood so they can keep their hands clean."

Tenzō sniffed. "Don't flatter yourself. We are nothing alike," he replied firmly. "The Anbu operates in the shadows, but each of us carries the Will of Fire wherever we go. We protect the Leaf and it's light from those who threaten our comrades and our people.

"You simply hide your true self behind a superiority complex veiled very carefully in cynicism, hoping to sound experienced and wise when you possess too little of the former to ever be considered the latter. What you seek is darkness absent of a single ember of the Will of Fire. And you crave violence. You enjoy it."

"Well, well, I can't deny that, now can I?"

"You're no different from a common thug. Someone like you," Tenzō curled his fingers tighter around the kunai rings, "should've been weeded out of our ranks long ago."

"A common thug? Weed me out? You're so harsh," sneered Mizuki. A violent cat-like grin appeared on his face. "Maybe it's time someone weeded you out."

"Take your best shot."

As expected, the provocation worked.

Enhanced by the Curse Mark, Mizuki flickered away like a vanishing dust devil.

Tenzō was ready. He shifted the heel of his planted foot to a mild diagonal and pushed off it, springing to the side and rotating his body simultaneously to evade the powerful fist, swung from high to low. In the same motion he made an imperceptible motion with his weapon hand.

Wind pulsed off Mizuki's failed strike, the air shuddering and hissing at the mercy of his power. The blades of grass bent and rippled viciously.

Mizuki's wild eyes were quick to lock onto him. Tenzō was quicker. His emotionless eyes watched as one of his kunais, thrown mid-evasion, sliced the man-beast's wounded armpit ineffectively. At the same time he whipped his second kunai for the wide, fur-covered torso.

"I possess the Ultimate Body," Mizuki declared, swatting the blade out of the air effortlessly. "Your simple attacks are useless!"

Clasping his palms together, Tenzō replied,

"You talk too much."

Tree roots sprouted rapidly from the earth beneath Mizuki. They coiled around his legs, captured his arms and bound his neck, forcing him to bend forward at the waist. Still he towered over the Anbu agent.

Eyes wide, he looked at the ground as though he stood on the edge of a cliff and the stone beneath his feet cracked.

"This… This is impossible. No, it must be a genjutsu!"

In futility he bit his own lip. When the Wood Style did not fade he bit it again. And again.

Tenzō separated his palms and unsheathed his broken sword. He said nothing as he approached, watching with dark, emotionless eyes as Mizuki mutilated his own lip, so certain the Wood Style capturing him was no more real than a mythical dragon.

"Why won't the genjutsu release?" Mizuki thrashed.

"Maybe you're not as special as you thought," Tenzō mocked coldly. "Now, you will—"

"How?" demanded the rogue. "How do you possess the First Hokage's kekkei genkai?!"

"You will release the Reanimation Jutsu," Tenzō commanded.

"Or what? You'll kill me? Ha! Go ahead and try!" Mizuki grinned madly. "That puny sword can't hurt me. These binds can't hold me. Besides, if you kill me, then she'll never go back in her coffin."

"You're right. I can't kill you."

Tenzō stepped to the side, moving closer to Mizuki's right hand. The rogue watched him move, head turned at an awkward angle, mad grin plastered on his face. He struggled against the wooden restraints; the creaking was nothing to be concerned with. Yet.

The Anbu agent brought the broken tip of his katana to Mizuki's middle fingernail. He turned his head and stared coldly at the rogue. The grin faltered.

"However, there are worse fates than death. I'm not like Ibiki. I don't torment your mind. My methods are more…draconian, some would say."

The broken edge grated against the nail, the noise similar to a metal nail scratching against chalkboard. It carved a shallow ridge, yet still drew blood.

Mizuki winced. Then snarled viciously. He thrashed harder against his restraints.

"Would you look at that," Tenzō said icily. "Seems this puny sword can hurt you. Now, should I start removing fingernails one by one until you reverse the Reanimation? Or will you cooperate?"

"I will kill you," snarled Mizuki.

Tenzō stared deep into his wild eyes. With a quick movement he pierced the broken edge beneath his middle finger's nail. Mizuki's eyes went wide in agony.

"Undo the Reanimation Jutsu," he commanded again.

"Never!"

Another quick movement left Mizuki howling and roaring like the beast he appeared as. Tears glistened in his eyes even as he thrashed.

The creaking of the wood was bothersome, but still nothing to be concerned by.

Seeing that his mouth wide open, Tenzō, with deftness only years of experience could grant, shoved the broken end of his katana into Mizuki's mouth, burying it between his front teeth. The action also severed his upper lip.

Trails of blood streamed down the steel sword. Mizuki howled and wailed, and a few tears escaped his eyes, much to his humiliation.

"Ready to cooperate?"

"Go to hell," he seemed to say. It was hard to tell with his mouth full. Judging by his clenched fists and harsh and vindictive glare, Tenzō felt it was a safe guess.

"I don't have time for your defiance."

Mizuki howled again as he yanked his sword free. And a tooth for good measure.

Pressing the tip of his broken katana against Mizuki's crotch, Tenzō watched his eyes go wide and fill with fear and hate. Streams of crimson poured out of his mouth, dripping down his chin and onto the blades of grass.

"Is this what I need to remove next? Will this make you cooperate?" he asked coldly. "Release the Reanimation Jutsu, Mizuki."

"You wouldn't dare."

The extra pressure against his crotch begged to differ.

"Those children are under my protection. It is my duty to defend them." Tenzō glared right back at the rogue. "Do not test my commitment. You're already missing a fingernail and a tooth. Keep refusing and your 'Ultimate Body' will be missing something very important."

Mizuki grit his bloody teeth together. He thrashed again.

"I don't know," he lied.

The blade pressed even harder, poking through his pants to draw blood. Mizuki grimaced.

"We saw you summon her. We know you used Aoi as your sacrifice, which means somewhere between killing him and drinking the potion you released the jutsu. One last chance. Cooperate or—"

"Rrraagghhhhhh!"

Suddenly, in an explosion of splinters, Mizuki's left arm broke free of the roots restraining him. So suddenly Tenzō barely registered the larger, clawed hand gripping his sword hand.

The metal plates of his gauntlets began to bend and crunch around his forearm. And then something in his wrist popped audibly.

That's not good, was the thought that occurred to him before the pain set in.

Grimacing behind his mask as his arm, and subsequently his katana, was forcibly removed from Mizuki's crotch, Tenzō saw cracks form in the root holding down Mizuki's other arm. Then, just as suddenly as the first, it shattered and showered splinters through the air, echoed by the man-beast's wild roar.

This time he was ready. He ducked swiftly beneath the punch swinging with enough force to knock his head clean off, then heard more cracking of wood.

He wasn't ready for Mizuki's leg to fly forward or for it to catch him in the abdomen; his armor didn't do much to soften the blow, either.

With an airless gasp he was thrown off his feet, flying quite a distance before crashing onto his back, which somehow seemed to knock the air back into his lungs.

The final root imprisoning Mizuki shattered and was joined in chorus by another feral roar. The hybrid man-beast, amid showering splinters, clenched is fists at his sides, flinging his head back as he bellowed out a cry that shook the ground and vibrated on the air.

Aches attacked Tenzō's abdomen. All the same he rose onto his feet as quickly as he could, sheathing his broken katana again to prepare his next attack.

Several explosions resounded from inside the Barrier Ninjutsu. Instantly his eyes darted over, where he then saw smoke covering and concealing Mito Uzumaki. Chakra chains protruding out of the earth and suspended in the air had their pointed edges within arms reach of Naruto and Amaririsu.

The chains began to retract slowly. The blue dome, like the light of the descending sun, began to dim and fade.

The kunoichi lowered her throwing arm while hopping out of range of the chains; she knew the reprieve was momentary. The jinchūriki hopped to his feet and mirrored her actions, regrouping closer to his teammate and expressing his gratitude for the quick attack.

They were breathing heavily. Sweat was visibly soaking their hair and dripping off their faces.

He had to move faster. He had to—

"Bastard!" Mizuki bellowed. "Threatening me like that, mocking me! I'll kill you! I'll make your last moments a living hell!"

Tenzō grunted. Hang in there, you two. No matter what, I will force him to release the Reanimation Jutsu.

Somehow…

---

"Catch your breath while you can," Amari advised, panting heavily. She wiped the tip of her cold nose and cheek over her sleeve. "She's regenerating beneath the smokescreen of my paper bombs. Dammit. My lungs and legs are killing me," she blew air out of her mouth roughly.

Her quadriceps were quaking. Her tight hamstrings felt on the verge of spontaneously tearing apart if any more pressure were exerted on them. Her shins hurt, her calves bordered somewhere between a persistent spasm and the ghost of a sharp, immobilizing contraction. Her right ankle was aching.

"It's one thing to fight a guy like Zabuza or Haku or even Gaara," Naruto was in a similar breathless condition. "But at least we could try to fight. This is getting ridiculous."

At a short glance, her dōjutsu perceived the light tremble in Naruto's legs, the heavy and at times uneven expansion and contraction of his chest as he tried to regain control of his breaths.

Despite that he was in better fighting condition than she was, and he'd fought in recent battles in addition their training before this entire incident unfolded.

Conditioning, stamina, flexibility, agility, nimbleness, strength, they've all eroded since my fight against Kasai, Amari thought. She unconsciously clenched her left hand into a fist. This is just frustrating. I understand it, but it doesn't change how I feel. I can't keep hitting setbacks like this. I don't have time for it.

She wiped the sweat off her face again. By feel alone she could tell her bandana was a dark shade of violet, soaked by sweat and feeling of similar weight to her forehead protector.

I'm almost at my absolute limit. My legs will buckle if we don't end this soon, and then I'll be a sitting duck. And that'll frustrate me even more.

"This is all such a drag," she groaned.

Naruto chuckled. "I hear you, Sis."

Beneath the dense grey veil of smoke, ash and dust gathered together, swirling in a majestic sway of motion like butterflies dancing together on the spring breeze. They bonded together to form cracked, pale clumps mimicking flesh—half an abdomen, the shape of a head, the silhouette of an arm.

"Hey Amari," Naruto began, "I know its probably stupid to ask, but how come you haven't tried your Sharingan genjutsu on Granny Mito? Maybe it could stop her for a bit, or you could make her believe she's following her orders by attacking Mizuki instead."

"It isn't stupid. I've considered it, but there are two problems I keep running into. First, I don't know if genjutsu will effect a Reanimated shinobi, or if my genjutsu prowess is strong enough to supersede the commands Mizuki has given her. Maybe with the Mangekyō…"

"Well, if that's the only way then don't worry about it," replied Naruto firmly. "We don't want to damage your eyes for something that may not even work."

"I'd take the chance if I believed it would work," she admitted. "Deteriorating vision doesn't bother me—"

"Yeah, well, it bothers me."

"—if it means protecting my precious people," Amari finished. "I appreciate how you feel; trust me, I don't want to lose my vision. What the Mangekyō does is similar to sitting beside a ringing gong. One or two rings may damage the hearing unnoticeably, but repeated abuse will make the damage worse until eventually you go deaf."

"Yeah, except we don't know how fast those special techniques of yours will damage your eyes. It could happen super fast for all we know. I can't ask you not to use it, but… I don't want you to go blind. You have to keep your vision, all right?"

"As long as I minimize how much I use it, as long as I keep my promise to Shisui, I won't lose my vision entirely," she reassured.

However, she thought to herself, with the war and all the other troubles ahead of us, I may be forced to use it more than I hope. It's not something any of us want. The thought of losing the ability to see you all, to see your smiling faces, to see the stars in the night sky, the sun rise and set, the trees and flowers grow…

To be unable to see all of my friends grow up, or the photos on my desk, how the light shimmers in Haku's flower, still as perfect as it was when he gifted it to me, or the picture of Yukiko and I, frozen in time, in a place far out of reach and bound together by our love…

There's still more I want to see. Of this world of ours. Of the future. Like any child Mom and Asuma may have. I want to see my little sibling when they're born, as I cradle them in my arms and play with them as they grow older. I want to see the person I fall in love with, their happiness, their smile, their joy, their pain, their love. My children…

She shut her eyes. But if it's the difference between watching my friends and comrades die or protecting all I hold dear at the cost of my vision, I will always choose to the latter. That's the price I'm willing to pay.

There are many ways to experience this world of ours. Eyesight is just one means.

Right, Hikari?

"All the same," Amari continued aloud, opening her eyes, "even if I knew with one hundred percent certainty the Mangekyō Sharingan or my regular Sharingan could effect Miss Mito, the second hurdle may as well be an impassable wall."

"What do you mean?"

Mito's head, arm and chest were almost entirely reformed as the pale, cracked mimicry of the long dead kunoichi. The veil of smoke thinned, drifting off so even Naruto could see her.

"We're up against a kunoichi who was married to Hashirama Senju, friend and rival of Madara Uchiha," replied Amari, eyeing the chains. "She knew my great-great grandmother by name as well. Maybe even considered her a friend."

They would stop any moment. The shape of her eye, the other half of her nose and lips, in addition to her fingers were all nearly formed again.

"Beyond that, she lived at a time when the Uchiha Clan were hardened by war, wielding power and experience those of us who have grown up in an era of peace don't understand. Back then the possibility of fighting a wielder of the Sharingan wasn't down to random chance of running into one of four teenagers.

"Given the size of the Clan, the necessity of warriors in the Warring States Period, and the emotions war causes—loss and pain specifically—the Sharingan would've been abundant.

"For that reason, if anyone presently occupying this planet knows exactly how to counter my Sharingan, it's Lady Mito. The fact she can sense I wield the Mangekyō Sharingan is unnerving enough. That she knows the Susanoo by name proves she possesses intimate knowledge of the Sharingan.

"I could try to strap her in a genjutsu, but I bet she'll counter it within an instant. In fact, she's using the simplest of counters—she avoids eye contact or closes her eyes outright. Probably on instinct."

"Oh well," Naruto didn't seem the least bit disheartened by the news. "I guess we'll just have to find another way then."

"Looks that way. It's going to be such a pain."

The chains halted. The kimono reformed, and pigmentation of Mito's skin shifted from pale to its mimicry of living, fair flesh.

Mito stared at an insignificant spot on the grass. Her somber expression was that of a woman staring at her own rotten and rancid corpse, dug up and desecrated by grave robbers, preventing her from crossing to the next life.

"The unrest and dissatisfaction of the Uchiha Clan finally reached its breaking point," Mito said mostly to herself, digesting the news of the massacre.

They'd done their best to catch Mito up on current events while evading; it was difficult, to say the least.

It was Amari who broke the news when asked about the state of her Clan. Learning they were down to a total of four—she hadn't mentioned the Masked Man or his potential identity—had stunned Mito nearly as much as the concussion and pseudo-death of the paper bombs.

"I cannot say I am surprised," she said after a short pause. The Chakra Chains forming the barrier began to rise again. "Hashirama made the effort to build and maintain a connection with the Uchiha after Madara's defection and their final battle. They were willing. They sought peace and understanding as we did.

"Tobirama thought differently, and it seems his distrust and hatred for the Uchiha Clan was passed on to his subordinates. All except Kagami, of course. How unfortunate it was not he who rose to the seat of Hokage."

"Kagami?" Naruto repeated the strange name. "Who's that?"

"Kagami… I know that name," Amari muttered.

In her mind's eye, the image of the Masked Man standing upon the stream at the Valley of the End flashed.

"Their prejudice and fear refused to be abated, even when wise and powerful men such as your father and Kagami Uchiha inherited the Will of Fire."

Next, Shisui and Itachi appeared, the latter sitting in the grass after an intense spar.

"I've been raised by one of the strongest and wisest Uchiha our Clan has ever known. One of my ancestors is none other than Kagami Uchiha, and he is one among other ancestors of prestige and strength I share a lineage with."

"That's right," she realized. "Shisui, my cousin, he said Kagami was an ancestor of his. Of ours, I suppose. Did he possess a strong Will of Fire?"

"One of the strongest, truly," Mito replied, dipping her chin once. She shut her eyes. "Kagami was a good man. He cherished the Village and all its people. Much like Madara.

"Hmhm," she laughed at what seemed to be a bittersweet memory. "Madara wielded such an imposing presence, he often frightened people on accident. Yet were a child to fall and scratch their knee, or an elder need aid, he was first at their side. Ready to tend to them. You wouldn't believe it from a man who had spent his childhood in war, but few were as gentle as he was. Few were as kind and loving. Too few."

Mito opened her eyes and lifted her gaze to the sky, smiling widely. "Yua told me Madara wept in joy when he learned she was with child. He scarcely left her side for the whole duration. Once," she chuckled, "he carried her straight to the hospital, shielded by the ribs of his Susanoo, when their baby first kicked her belly."

All around them the blue hue of the dome formed.

"Of course when Hashirama sensed it he dropped everything to join Madara, also believing a disaster was stirring. That's when Yua summoned her Susanoo. Ha ha ha!" she laughed heartily.

Amari smiled faintly. Hearing someone speak so fondly of her ancestors, it made her wish she could've known them.

"Sometimes it was difficult to tell who the real brothers were—Hashirama and Tobirama or Madara and Hashirama," she said after a moment, smiling fondly. "But that was Hashirama's way. Madara compared him to a fungus often. And then my husband would become depressed and pout. He did that often."

Amari tried to imagine the prestigious First Hokage pouting in depression. When her stifled giggle was joined by Naruto's snickering, she knew she wasn't alone.

"Kagami was less abrasive than Madara, but they were each a product of their eras. Hashirama would have seen his potential to lead the Village. For Tobirama to trust him is significant on its own."

Mito exhaled a bitter chuckle. "However, Tobirama would never allow an Uchiha to rise beyond the cage he made for them. To him they were tools, useful in their designated role, but dangerous if left unattended. Much like a jinchūriki."

"Like you, you mean?" Amari deduced. "Inside the cage he placed you in."

"Mm. Yes. The Uchiha Clan weren't the only one's effected by his strict policies." Mito looked at Naruto. "That you are here on this battlefield inspires hope in me that, perhaps, Hiruzen listened to my final request. It makes me hopeful that you and Kushina have not known the same fate."

"What fate?" Naruto asked.

"That of a caged bird."

---

"These will be your quarters from now on."

The words were not the kind suggestion or gentle request of a concerned brother-in-law. They were the command of a Hokage. Tobirama's strict tone left no room for debate or compromise.

On that summer afternoon the rays of light added vibrancy to majestic red hair of Mito Uzumaki even when contained into two buns. The breeze, unlike Tobirama, was gentle in its interactions with the jinchūriki, catching on the two Sealing Tags hung by a string from her hair buns, spinning them like noiseless wind chimes beside her ears.

Mito examined the expansive residence with a neutral expression. "Quarters' was an accurate, if not misleading definition. Quarters by shinobi standards were small, compact, militaristic in its commodities and comforts. They did boast a garden, a yard, and a multi-roomed house, all which were thoroughly enclosed inside of sturdy walls.

It was a small compound, to her eyes. Not quite quarters, but close enough to the truth to not be a complete falsehood.

It would only be a lie if he had called it a home. That honor went to the abode built by her husband, among the citizens of the Leaf. Her home had its own garden, one full of memories of Hashirama helping her plant new flowers and vegetables, of their child and their grandchildren mesmerized by the colorful blooms. Her home had its own yard, where her husband often meditated before his face was carved into the neighboring mountain. Before his death.

This compound was merely a structure, a place for Tobirama to forcibly transfer her to in some misguided sense of protection.

She sensed the shinobi guarding the compound, hidden from the naked eye. She sensed the servants who would live beside her already hard at work inside.

"This is my cage, you mean," she said emotionlessly.

Tobirama did not flinch. He stood straight as a board, hands held behind his back. His dark attire matched the stern expression perpetually on his face.

"It is no cage. This is your home," he said, less strict but still uncompromising.

Now it was a lie.

Mito didn't bother to address it. There was no point.

"I have assigned guards I can trust to watch over you," Tobirama continued. "The servants will perform daily chores and buy all your necessities. You will be safe. You will want for nothing."

"Will I be able to go on walks?"

"Under supervision."

"Among our people?"

"Under the right circumstances."

"Mm. What of my grandchildren?"

"They may visit. Infrequently. They are not a security risk, of course, but those who may seek to harm the Leaf could see them as a means to gain access to you."

"It seems you have prepared everything."

"This is for your safety and the Leaf's, Mito."

"You can craft the walls in ivory." She turned to face her brother-in-law. "But an ivory cage is still a cage, Tobirama."

"We are at war," replied Tobirama, meeting her gaze. His stern red eyes were as cold as ever. "My elder brother is dead. You are all that stands between the Nine-Tailed Fox unleashing its hatred and destruction upon the Leaf. Were you to lose control—"

"I will not," Mito stated firmly.

"I cannot risk your life or the lives of the Villagers on your word alone. When you gave birth, the Seal almost broke entirely."

"And I will never be in a position to give birth again," she replied. "The Seal is strong. It will hold the Nine-Tails until my time has come. I do not ask to join you on the battlefield, Tobirama. I simply ask to be treated as my husband—your brother—treated me."

"You are a jinchūriki, Mito."

"I am still human. I am still a person."

"I know," he sighed. "But as a jinchūriki you bear a greater responsibility than you would were you only my sister-in-law. Your life is no longer just your own. It is similar to that of a Hokage. We must put the Village before ourselves. Before our personal feelings."

"Why must I live in isolation, then? Can I not devote myself to the Leaf and achieving my husband's dream of peace while living normally? I am not asking to fight in the war, Tobirama."

"Nor will I allow you to," he responded resolutely. "I will not put you in harms way or allow our enemies an opportunity to steal the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Here you will be safe."

"Safe from who?" she demanded despite knowing the answer. "Safer from spies who's dark emotions I can sense far keener than you? Safer from enemy shinobi who would fall at our walls long before they found me? Or is it the enemy you cannot erase from your mind? The 'enemy' who lives within our walls, who seek peace, who try earnestly to acclimatize to this new life as one Village instead of one Clan?"

Tobirama looked away. "They have had time."

"You are too impatient with them, Tobirama."

"And you are too forgiving," he snapped back. "Have you forgotten what Madara caused? He is the reason this war began! By attacking the Stone in a fit of rage and selfishness—"

"What of your rage, Tobirama?" she cut him off, patient and calm. "I can sense your dark emotions. Your rage, your hatred. For all that you despise Madara, you have come to emulate his final days of ruthlessness more than you seem to consciously realize."

Tobirama glared at the compound but ultimately said nothing.

"The Uchiha are not our enemy. Their love is stronger than even that of the Senju."

"I know. That's exactly the problem."

Turning away, the Second Hokage dismissed himself after one final statement.

"You are forbidden from seeing any member of the Uchiha Clan. I will protect you and the Village. That is my duty, as the Hokage and as your brother."

"If all you ever do is expect the worse of them," she said, watching as he walked away, "then every action you take will poison the soil from which they are trying to grow."

"The soil is already poisoned."

Mito turned away, facing the compound, sensing the dark emotions within her brother-in-law.

"By who?" she questioned. "Madara? Or by you, Tobirama?"

Tobirama paused. She sensed well-hidden emotions in his heart.

Mito, dignified and calm, walked towards her cage, clenched fists hidden inside her kimono sleeves.

Yua… Madara…

Hashirama, my beloved husband, you left far too soon.

---

"That was the last time I ever saw Tobirama," Mito told them in a somber voice. "There were times he would approach the compound, but he never entered again. As the war intensified, what little autonomy I had was limited further. Fewer walks. Fewer chances to see the Villagers. Eventually I stopped asking."

"How could he do that? He locked you up and practically threw away the key," said Naruto, hopping back three times.

Three chains attacked him. One rose from the earth, narrowly impaling his foot; the second dove at him from above, his second hop pushing him out of its range; the third swooped in from the side on his third hop, and had he not leaned his chest back it would've slashed him from shoulder to shoulder.

"Everything Tobirama did was to protect the Village. Everything. He loved the Village and Hashirama with all of his heart, no matter how he acted outwardly. No matter how cold and cruel he seemed, his love was indisputable.

"He sought to bring stability to our home despite our Clans once separating us, and together, as one, we would be bound together by our Will of Fire. No longer separated by the meager boundaries we once fought and killed over. As a jinchūriki, I presented a potential threat to stability."

"But you weren't a threat! You were his family!" Naruto declared passionately.

"We were family, true. And for that exact reason he put all his effort into sheltering me from the world. I was all he had left of Hashirama. Unfortunately, those same efforts, and my suspicions, divided us.

"Sentimentality wasn't a trait he felt he could afford. The duty of Hokage, to Tobirama, required a hardened heart. A willingness to do whatever it took to protect the Leaf, even if it meant going against Hashirama's wishes. And mine."

"Thus turning you into a caged bird." Amari exited a Body Flicker, sliding laterally along the grass, hands brushing along the cool blades.

"Meanwhile," she continued, "he blamed my great-great grandfather for the war and used him as an infallible reason to distrust the Uchiha Clan. It's convenient he ignores his role in pushing—no, throwing Great-Great Grandfather over the edge into darkness. Probably made the guilt of murdering an innocent woman easier. Whoa!"

Amari flattened herself against the ground as a chain passed overhead. She quickly rolled like a log then sprang off the ground, chased by a golden hued chain bursting out of the earth with a threatening, metallic rattle.

"Guilt? No," Mito shook her head. "Of all the emotions I sensed in Tobirama, guilt was not among them. Regret, yes. But not guilt."

"Isn't that sort of the same thing?" Naruto asked.

"No. He regretted the 'necessity' of his actions, but he felt no guilt over them."

"Necessity?" he repeated in disgust. "How was killing Amari's Great-Great Granny in any way necessary!"

"For all the love in his heart, Tobirama struggled to see the Uchiha Clan beyond those he witnessed in the war. Those traumatized by death, or brainwashed—as we all were—to believe the enemy were savages we could never share peace with. Those who were corrupted by the Curse of Hatred because of the cruelty of war, and those—like all of us—who believed our Clan was superior to all others.

"Senju and Uchiha were afflicted by the Curse of Hatred. Parents infected them with their cruel and harsh beliefs forged in war and death. They filled the vessels that were their children not with love or empathy, but with hate, suspicion, jealousy and fear. It led to siblings, like Tobirama and Izuna, spying on their own brothers for their fathers."

"What kind of messed up—"

Amari spotted a chain on the verge of shooting out of the earth behind Naruto. In a blink she zipped across the battlefield, snatching Naruto by his wrist, and maintained her speed and momentum, tugging her teammate out of the striking chain.

Likewise, as she hit the brakes and slid across the grass, watching as another chain snaked through the air at her, Naruto clutched his hand around her arm, pivoted and pulled the kunoichi off her feet, swinging her out of the range of the blade.

Yet another Chakra Chain swept in. Swiftly, Naruto pulled Amari into himself and leapt back and away. She was back on her feet a moment later.

"Thanks, Naruto," she panted.

"Right back at you, Sis."

"Such was the nature of war," Mito replied patiently. "We all feared each other. We never shared our Clan names for the reason we may be enemies with a stranger simply by being apart of separate Clans.

"The scars of war left their mark on Tobirama. It does not excuse his actions, but it is the reason for them. Had it not been for their years fighting one another, and losing their beloved siblings, Tobirama and Madara could have found common ground. They may have even trusted one another."

"Everything would be different if they had," Amari muttered.

"That it would, child. That it would."

---

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"

Immense spears of condensed mud and stone, shaped and sharpened in the image of stalactites, standing taller than Mizuki and bearing stout bases, erupted violently from the earth beneath the hybrid man-beast's feet.

They exploded into existence, shattering the ground as though the Fifth Hokage herself had splintered a frail, rotten wooden table with a single punch. Volleys of dirt and shards of stone almost imperceptible to the naked eye struck Mizuki in rapid barrages.

The rogue was not fazed by the onslaught of debris or the Earth Jutsu. He leapt across the shattered slabs of earth swiftly. He darted through the haze of dust, somehow capturing the grace of a tiger despite his otherwise human form.

Spears rose on all sides, at angles, from directly beneath his feet. He evaded by leaping ahead, then at a diagonal, spinning out of a pivot as another spear sought to skewer him through his abdomen.

Tenzō watched the scene with intense eyes. Looking for an opening. Looking for a weakness to exploit.

Mizuki jumped, pressed his hands against the firm and dull face of the Earth Flow Spear and vaulted over it. He landed on all-fours and sprang ahead almost how a tiger would leap after its prey.

His lips were curled in a cruel and hungry grin, a harsh and manic laugh broke from his lips.

Is the change a conscious effort? Or has he not realized it yet? Tenzō wondered not of his appearance or mental stability, but of a new observation he'd begun to notice.

Spears of stone burst from the earth. The first narrowly missed Mizuki's side; he stepped outside of it and kicked the spear just above its middle, shattering it with ease that should've unnerved the Anbu agent.

He was not unnerved. He'd already acclimatized to the rogue's arrogant displays of strength.

The second spear erupted directly beneath Mizuki. He leapt back, onto an unevenly cracked slab of earth. He whirled around and caught the third spear at its dull sides, digging his heels in as it pushed him back.

Tenzō squinted.

The point of the spear was fractions of an inch from actually touching the man-beast's fur-covered chest. It was a joint effort to spare his life; Mizuki was no good to him dead or dying. Too risky when the Reanimation Jutsu still needed to be released. And his enemy, unfortunately, knew it.

Conversely, Mizuki had no use for him alive.

Truthfully, he was no different than a small bird caught by a cat. Mizuki would paw and toy with his fragile body, purposefully or accidentally killing him while he played, only stopping when he grew bored of his still corpse.

In yet another display of physical strength, the rogue unleashed a roar as he snapped the spear in half. He pressed the slab of stone up and onto his shoulder, turned towards Tenzō and charged without any apparent resistance or struggle.

His physical strength has increased to an even greater degree, he continued his previous assessment. But it's come at the cost of his immense speed. Before he had the advantage of both, so it doesn't make sense that it would be a conscious effort.

Why not continue to overwhelm me with both? He gave up an advantage. For what? Physical displays of strength?

No, Tenzō mentally shook his head, erecting further stone spears in an effort to thwart his enemy's charge. Mizuki is arrogant to a fatal fault; that's how he ended up bested by two kids despite neither having seen real combat or a single authorized mission.

However, even with his degrading mental stability, I can't see him not flaunting the speed and strength of his 'Ultimate Body.' Especially against me.

Mizuki made an impressive leap on top of an angular spear, maintaining a firm grip on his new weapon as he sprang even higher into the air, crossing the battlefield in a single bound directly for the Anbu agent.

He pressed the mass of stone over his head, wielding it like a broken spear, bringing his arms and legs back like he was creating a bow with his body.

Flashing through handseals, the Anbu agent molded his chakra in his stomach, compressed it, building its density and power all at once, then expelled from his mouth in a precise stream of water that slipped perfectly through the small slit in his mask.

Water Style: Water Wall!

The jet hit the ground. Then, to the shock of his diving enemy, it surged into a towering wave of water that surrounded the Anbu agent in a half circle. The waves slammed into the man-beast's body, matching the intensity of a tsunami wave.

Is it the whiplash of the Curse Mark?

His assessment never ceased. He watched his enemy through the transparent stream, caught at the crest of the roaring wave, struggling to stay afloat.

At that moment, Mizuki hurled the spear at him with a ferocious roar he heard over the torrent of water.

Tenzō made a quick hop back. The spear pierced into the earth, thudding dully.

Curse Marks aren't limitless power sources. Especially the Second Stage. It's a double-edged sword. You gain an immense boost of strength for a limited time, but once you hit the limit you become vulnerable. Weak. At least until your body recovers.

There's something else, he thought calmly. Something Lady Mito said.

"Whoever you are, beast or man," he recalled her words, "know that the darkness you have summoned will eat you from the inside until nothing but a rotten shell remains."

A powerful Sensory Type like Mito Uzumaki could, theoretically, sense the intense whiplash of the Curse Mark. But was it simply the whiplash causing Mizuki's speed to falter? Was he nearing the limit of its power?

Or was this Curse Mark, brought about by a strange potion which transformed him into a hybrid of man and animal, more volatile than Orochimaru's other Curse Marks?

Was there a steeper price—

"Rrragghhhhh!"

Tenzō saw Mizuki draw his head back before the roar left his lips. He knelt down, clapped his palms together and channeled his chakra into the earth.

Wood sprouted ahead of him, rising and fusing together with dull, wooden thuds as a cone-shaped shield quickly formed.

Simultaneously, as though commanded by the roar, the Water Wall split apart, separated by a gale of wind that tore straight for the Anbu agent. Behind it, before the final pieces of wood could fuse together, he saw Mizuki dashing through the split waves.

As the final pieces of his shield fused together, the gale blasted against the wooden cone, peeling layers of wood off like it was peeling the skin off a potato, making the walls bend and shudder.

The wood creaked and groaned in agony. The wind howled and hissed with all of its hatred.

"Tenzō, do you have a moment?" Shikaku's calm voice entered his mind suddenly.

Splintering and shattering of wood nearly drowned the Nara out as Mizuki slammed feet first through the dome, splitting the earth itself upon landing. Debris flew, pricking and pelting their bodies.

Expecting the attack, or something similar anyway, Tenzō was already hopping out the open back end of his impromptu—and now partially broken—shield, though not without wide eyes.

I'm a little busy at the moment, Commander!

He clapped his palms together again and molded his chakra, sprouting planks of wood in the fashion of rows and columns to blockade Mizuki's exit to, if nothing else, buy him an extra moment. He knew it wouldn't last.

And it didn't.

"In the Leaf we hear about how powerful the First Hokage and his kekkei genkai were," Mizuki laughed mockingly. "About how no one could match his immense power!"

The rogue kicked the quick construction, and it shattered into hundreds of tiny splinters and sawdust.

His grin was absolutely wild and crazed.

"Yet seeing it firsthand, I've got to say, I'm disappointed. Perhaps you aren't on his level. Or maybe the First Hokage isn't as amazing as we're told."

Tenzō ignored the insult. He glanced to the two kids. Their movements were more labored, their sweat soaking into their clothes and darkening the shades visibly.

Where's Osamu, Commander? He imparted the image onto Shikaku and returned his gaze to Mizuki. Amaririsu and Naruto need help, immediately. I can't reach them. The Barrier erected by Lady Mito goes beneath the earth.

"I know. They just need to hold on a little longer. Osamu and Atsuko are gathering the shinobi who can release the Reanimation Jutsu as we speak. The technique I have in mind will require physical contact with Mizuki. To achieve that, we must bind him to single point."

The man-beast launched straight at Tenzō, slower than before, but still quick enough to demand caution.

We'll need something stronger than a regular Paralysis Jutsu. And my Wood Style. I've tried both. His Curse Mark's power has allowed him to escape.

Ducking beneath a slow and wide punch, Tenzō fired off a left and then a right straight to Mizuki's furry face, and winced, hissing out a pained breath; a brick wall would've been more forgiving.

He finished his combo with a side kick, accented by his foot and leg transforming into a piece of wood fashioned after a peg-leg.

The dull end struck. And then Mizuki's hand snatched around the wooden stump, grinning. Suddenly he was weightless, yanked off his feet, flying over Mizuki's head and slamming harshly into the ground on the opposing side.

Likewise, Tenzō didn't give him a chance to break his leg or cause serious damage. He thrusted his right arm at the enemy, gripping it briefly at the shoulder with his other hand.

Wood Style: Great Forest Jutsu!

Chakra molding and transforming the tissues into trees on a cellular level, his arm vanished among rapidly growing branches forking off each other and slamming into the man-beast, not only pushing him away, but binding him in a sea of branches.

"I understand. You and Iruka will need to work together, then; he knows the Seal and Capture Perimeter binding technique. Draw Mizuki into it and not even his Curse Mark will be able to break free. I'll contact Iruka and get this plan in motion. Until then, hold Mizuki at bay by whatever means you must. And be prepared to be bait."

Roger that.

Tenzō detached the branches from his arm. He sensed Mizuki's chakra surge when gooseflesh prickled his skin, heard the crunching and cracking of his Wood Style, and retreated three hops. The branches splintered then exploded.

"My power is incredible!" Mizuki raved. He began to examine himself with fascination. "It's limitless! Every time I think I've reached a new peak, I find more power. You! Leaf shinobi," the rogue whirled to face the Anbu agent, grinning menacingly. "Don't stop now. Attack me with all of your power. I want it all. More. Give me more! Show me what this body can do!"

His mental stability is degenerating rapidly, Tenzō judged. I don't know how long he has possessed this Curse Mark for, or if it is simply the result of the potion, but if it continues at this rate...

"Whoever you are, beast or man," Mito Uzumaki had said, "know that the darkness you have summoned will eat you from the inside until nothing but a rotten shell remains."

"A rotten shell," he murmured. "Interesting."

"Quit your whispering and attack! Better yet, how about I make the first move!"

Mizuki charged him again; he was slower than he was moments ago, running close to what his natural speed would have been prior to the transformation.

Inside the Barrier, within his peripherals, he witnessed Amaririsu unleash a stream of fire that exploded into a powerful, untamed inferno, whipped up by a bullet of wind expelled by Naruto.

The flames engulfed Mito Uzumaki.

I will hold you back until the trap is set. Tenzō clapped his palms together, and sighed. But I really need a day off when this is over.

---

Amari collapsed to her hands and knees in a heap of sweat, heavy breaths and trembling muscles. Her heavy arms and aching legs were quivering spasmodically, the act of her holding herself up when on the verge of falling over was almost too difficult to perform. Her lungs felt on the brink of popping.

Beside her, Naruto fell to a single knee, one eye shut against the stinging sweat to enter it and the other squinting at the kunoichi they had launched a combined assault in a last ditch effort to pause the battle, to just stop moving.

He was breathing just as heavily, trembling with the same ferocity of an earthquake, hair all but flat on his head from the rain of sweat pouring down his face.

"That's…it," Amari sucked in oxygen greedily. "I…can't…move…another inch."

"We…have to." Naruto tried to stand, only to fall to both knees and one hand. "I'm…out of gas," he grunted. Then chuckled in grim humor. "We're…in big…trouble. Huh, Sis?"

I've hit my limit. Amari grunted and winced. I can't hold myself up much longer. It hurts too much. But if…I can just summon Osamu or Atsuko…

She tried to lift her left hand off the ground, and felt her arms buckle.

"Amari!" Naruto gasped when she crashed face first in the dirt.

Gasping and groaning, the kunoichi lay flat on her stomach, seized by the tremors attacking every muscle in her body. She fought against darkening vision, but when she felt herself jolt awake she knew hadn't succeeded entirely.

Ahead, Mito Uzumaki was slowly reforming from the ashes; their jutsu hadn't eliminated nearly as much of her body as Amari had hoped. They were running out of time.

She began to bring her left hand to her mouth. By the time she had the tip of her thumb beneath her teeth, and bit hard enough to draw blood to swipe across her palm, Mito was fully reformed.

"Children, you must move," she implored desperately.

"We…can't," Naruto responded. "We're…at our limits."

"Please."

The chains rose and dove for them. Naruto stiffened and grimaced in preparation of pain. Amari trembled as she brought her hands together to form the first handseal of the Summoning Jutsu.

The blades struck the ground around the duo. Mito wore a pained grimace.

"Please, move. I'm afraid I won't miss next time."

Amari struggled to form the second handseal.

New bladed chains began to fork out from the golden hued links of the chains surrounding them.

The third handseal—Bird—was even harder to create.

Two more to go.

The chains fell upon them. Amari felt a heavy weight crash on top of her back, and then heard Naruto's exhausted grunt. She didn't need to see him to know he'd been pierced by several of the blades, didn't need to see Mito's grimace to know she had barely stopped short of skewering them both.

But she did. She could see the blood already trickling down Naruto's right arm, bracing him in front of her face. She could even see Mito's agony filled grimace from the struggle to stop herself, and from the reality of what she'd done.

"I've got you covered," Naruto grunted. "I'll be fine. Just summon Osamu. Damn… She was right. I can't feel my chakra."

"You knucklehead," she chastised weakly, forming the Monkey handseal. "You're in so much trouble when we get home."

"Heh, guess you couldn't keep all of my reckless impulses in check, huh? Besides, I told Osamu I'd take care of you. And I never go back on my word."

"I know, you troublesome boy. I know."

She formed the Ram handseal and grit her teeth.

I'm sorry I couldn't keep us both safe, Naruto. But I'll get us out of here if its the last thing I do.

"Amaririsu, you must—"

"Summoning…" Amari stretched her hand out.

"—summon them now!"

"Jutsu!"

She pressed her hand onto Naruto's forearm and watched the technique formula spread across his jacket. Chains began to rise through the earth beneath her.

Smoke belched out of the technique formula, enveloping the pair.

Out of the veil of smoke the chains burst into the open sky, joined by a legion of cawing Crows darting out in all directions.

Commanded by the Reanimation Jutsu, Mito Uzumaki's Barrier fell, the chains vanishing beneath the earth rapidly before spearing up around her.

Commanded by duty and wrath, the legion of Crows unleashed a violent combination of Wind and Fire that swirled into a raging fire tornado over the Reanimated kunoichi.

Through the swirling tornado of orange, which illuminated the evening landscape in its wrathful glow, a blue hue could be seen. The Crows knew who inhabited it and of its impenetrable nature, and so ended an attack that would bear no fruit.

Wheeling rapidly over the ground in two separate formations, the Crows reshaped into two new adults, each holding a child beneath their arms while their shoulders were occupied by singular Crows, one with feathers of black and iridescent blue coloring and the other bearing black and silver.

With the last of her energy Amari glanced up at the pair, first seeing Naruto's grimacing and barely conscious body in the hands of a kunoichi attired in the uniform of the Anbu. Her purple hair was long and her face was hidden beneath a cat-motif mask with three red stripes.

As if struck by lightning, the stranger went rigid, then snapped her head towards Amari, staring wide-eyed. The Uchiha didn't know why. She couldn't have guessed the stranger was sensing her chakra and who it resembled.

Since she did not know, Amari glanced up through darkening vision at her personal savior. And sighed in relief.

"Mom…"

Despite signs of previous combat, Kurenai was standing tall and ready to fight, wielding both of Asuma's trench knives in her free hand. Amari could feel them thrumming with Wind Chakra.

"Lady Amari, Naruto, I apologize for the delay. But I come with reinforcements to end this battle once and for all."

"Delay? You're…right on time, Osamu," Naruto grunted.

"Be careful…"

Amari's dōjutsu deactivated, her eyes fell shut and her head went limp.

Peaceful and painless darkness consumed her.