Authors Note: Going to be honest, this chapter did not come nearly as easily as the first 2 did. Part of that is because now we are getting into the somewhat awkward transition phase that makes up the immediate aftermath leading into journey west. Additionally this chapter was going to be much longer than the first 2 before I decided to split it into 3 parts. Lots of plot and a heck of a lot of planning has been going into these next few chapters which means that future updates will be a bit infrequent. In any event I hope you all enjoy!

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Chapter 3: Fire

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Not a living thing moved in the court room. Silence overtook all who were present as Danzo's head slid off his neck and cracked against the floor as his body slumped in a most undignified manner. Blood poured freely from the neck and stained the wooden floor into which it was being slowly absorbed.

Sakura could scarcely believe what she had just done. The axe had been an impulse purchase. She bought it shortly before the third stage of the chunin exams from Tenten who was seeking to reduce some of her less utilized inventory. Now she had used it to kill one of the most powerful and second most influential ninja in the village. Hair stood up on the back of her neck. Something irreversible had occurred and she was about to take the brunt of its retribution.

Air parted and made a harsh whistling sound as something behind her moved with incredible speed. Sakura found she was totally calm in the face of death. Naruto was her teammate, but more importantly, he was her friend. She would do anything for him just as she knew he would do anything for her. He had already demonstrated it after all, and her only regret was that she couldn't do more.

Klang! The sound of screeching metal echoed behind Sakura. The court promptly exploded.

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Kakashi's visible eye widened in absolute shock when Sakura killed Danzo. Time slowed to a crawl as he began to process what had just happened.

Naruto was to effectively be executed by extraction of the demon inside him when his group of friends stormed up the stairs furiously and assumed combat positions. A host of ANBU in blank porcelain masks formed a tight circle around them ready to kill them if they made a move, but by then, Sakura had made her way up to the prosecutors. Her blank, almost dead look in her eyes was honestly the more frightening thing than the death of the old man.

One of the ROOT ANBU leaped at Sakura. Kakashi snapped back to reality and beat them to her. Kunai in hand, he blocked the tanto that would have removed his student's head as his Sharingan blazed with fury at the gall of this cretin. He forced the tanto wide with his kunai and plunged a wickedly fast chidori into the ROOT ANBU's chest. The corpse slid off his arm with a dull thud.

The Sandaime Hokage's teammate Koharu Utatane exploded out of her seat and made to engage Kakashi. His kunai clashed with hers, but she was an old ninja and never particularly powerful. As a result he overpowered her quickly and made several quick stabs when she pulled out of the attack. A chair was the only thing he hit due to her substitution jutsu, but he had planned on this as he quickly pivoted and slammed the blade into her throat as she attempted a surprise attack. She bled out on the floor in seconds futilely clutching at her neck in an attempt to live.

Homura Mitokado, the other of Hiruzen Sarutobi's teammates did nothing. Rather, he calmly disarmed himself by placing his pouches of kunai and shuriken on the table at which he sat before leaning back in his chair and calmly placing his hands behind his head.

Sakura seemed to come out of whatever trance she was in after killing Danzo. Axe in hand she put her back to Kakashi as they became surrounded by several new ROOT ANBU who appeared seemingly out of thin air.

Below, the battle burst into life as Danzo's goons made to attack the cluster of genin. Tsunade blasted forth and slammed her clenched fist into one of the attackers. The man exploded into a pile of meat as a cloud of blood lightly drifted to the floor. Jiraiya proved that he was the powerful ninja of his generation as he snapped off a lightning fast Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld which dragged the ROOT ANBU into the floor struggling to get free. The threat in the court room was effectively neutralized as he, Kakashi, and Tsunade executed all but two of the enemies.

Nobody noticed as Tojo quietly escaped the room the moment hostilities began. This would prove to be the biggest mistake of the day and the catalyst of terrible change for Konoha. The fight had only just begun.

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Tojo sprinted down the stairs and rounded the corner to reach the buildings central stairwell. He needed to get out of there and warn his allies. Danzo was dead. This meant war.

Tojo sweated like a hog. It came down his face as a torrent. His eyes stung, but the man did not falter. Bursting out of the rather unassuming building into the darkened streets of the cloudy afternoon, he continued his flight to the place he knew would be able to fight Tsunade and her treasonous allies. It was Konoha's only hope to get out of this situation alive.

People practically leapt out of the way as Tojo came barreling down the roads of the village. His eyes were filled with fear as he expected at any moment to be struck down by one of the Hokage's goons. His teeth ground together as he pushed his body harder than he ever done in his life. Breaths came out harsh and haggard, but Tojo pushed on keeping his momentum.

An elderly man was shoved to the ground out of the way as Tojo continued forward. He cried out in pain as his hip broke from the fall, but the prosecutor was long gone around yet another corner. Tojo had been running for over five minutes before finally reaching his destination.

The clusters of structures before Tojo were very modest. A small waist high fence surrounded the compound that did its best to not advertise it didn't belong to a ninja family. The gate he reached had a pair of unassuming men near it, but those with any familiarity with the area knew they were the gate guards.

Misashi Shimura recognized the figure who came at them like a man possessed. The chunin briskly made his way to the gate where the civilian looked ready to collapse.

"Mister Tojo, what is wrong?" Misashi asked. Tojo's eyes were wide and bloodshot, his chest heaved with effort trying to get oxygen into his system, and his face was pale like a man who had not seen the sun in a great many years.

"Get… Get me Natsami… Treason!" Tojo barely managed to croak out. His voice was hoarse, and huge gulps of air interrupted his speech.

Misashi picked the man up and rushed into one of the building at the center of the not compound. Tojo closed his eyes and attempted to regain control of his breathing. It was only mildly successful, but it was far better than the miserable attempt he made at the gate. All that Tojo knew right now was that he was safe.

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Natsami Shimura was a woman in her early forties. She was the eldest child of Danzo and heir to the Shimura clan once her father passed. She didn't know that day would be this day.

A man knocked on the door of her study, but didn't wait for her to grant them entrance. The door opened to reveal one of her young cousins Misashi and one very tired looking Tojo.

Natsami cocked an eyebrow as Tojo breathed heavily looked into her eyes. Her eyes were black like her hair. A strong jawline was flanked by shoulder length hair that seemingly would spike out at random intervals. Creases along her cheeks indicated she did not smile frequently, and lines coming from the corners of her eyes further added to her dour appearance. A light scar starting on her right ear traveled down to her chin added battle hardened to the list.

Tojo's heavy breaths slowed as he regained some semblance of self-control. He forced air through his nose and began to speak.

"Lady Natsami, the Hokage has interfered in Konoha justice. Your father has been murdered as he oversaw a trial for treason."

Natsami said nothing, instead looking down with bangs covering her eyes from view. The woman sighed and a small number of tears dripped onto the desk. Her long sleeve wiped at her eyes as she collected herself. Her next words were that of iron.

"We fight."

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Teuchi Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame had the day off for once. Their apartment in one of Konoha's newer high-rises offered a lovely view of the Hokage Monument to the east. The attack by Oto and Suna had luckily not touched their neighborhood. For that the father-daughter pair were extremely thankful.

It was about an hour past noon. Storm clouds gathered overhead creating a distinctly late day feel with the lighting. Ayame heard the toilet flush as her father tended to his business in the restroom. She reminded herself that enjoyment of the simple things in life was one of the best ways to live. In pursuit of this goal, Ayame relaxed in the recliner in the living room casually slurping away at a smoothie as she looked onto the monument. Teuchi entered all too relaxed before finding his own seat and smoothie.

"Fancy a movie?" Teuchi asked his daughter.

"Sure," Ayame said, "How about Montipaison?" she then suggested.

He laughed as he mocked having big sharp pointy teeth with his hands and proceeded to grab the box out of a drawer next to the TV to insert the disk.

Truly, nothing could ruin this day.

In the corner of here eye, there was a flash of light. Odd she thought to herself as she swiveled her head east. Wait a moment, was that a fire?

"That's near the power plant isn't it?" her father asked startling her with his sudden presence.

"I-I-I think so," Ayame stammered pathetically.

A pillar of bright orange flame extended to the sky in the rough shape of an oval. Even more odd is that there existed yet another pillar of light, this one a brilliant blue against the dark grey and black of the clouds. The smoke from the fire was black as death.

Bam!

Teuchi and Ayame both were launched onto their backs as a tremendous shockwave shattered the window covering them both with unwelcome shards of glass.

"Haargh!" Ayame screamed in terror. A massive chunk of glass was resting flat on her chest. In any other orientation it would have skewered her like a boar.

"Ayame, don't move," Teuchi ordered. She stayed quiet nodding in affirmation as though he could feel her intentions.

Glass cracked as the ramen chef moved carefully through the debris. He had some thick work boots on for which Ayame was thankful. Who wants to see their dad hurt?

The man was at her side now. Only a minor cut on his cheek marred his appearance as he surveyed how to best extract his daughter from the metaphorical minefield. Nodding to himself, Teuchi took a blanket off the back of a chair and used it to sweep up the glass close to her.

Crinkling and crackling, the glass was all Ayame could think about as her father worked around her carefully. Strong arms embraced her as she sat up while sirens sounded unheard in the background. Smoke rose into the clouds. Konoha was already a dead village.

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Inari felt furious. His home had only just been liberated and now it had been invaded again. Could they really not catch a break?

They attacked at dawn, ninja loyal to the Yondaime Mizukage. The Land of Waves was to be annexed for its natural resources. Rubber, steel, aluminum, and a modest supply of oil could all be found there. It's what attracted Gato after all.

His grandfather Tazuna had been elected mayor of the town in the absence of any Daimiyo to report to. The ninja was sloppy in his attempt to kill the leader of perceived resistance that had yet to actually form. A nasty gash on the left arm and a severed pinky was the response Tazuna received when he asked what the Kiri ninja were doing here.

The citizens of the town did not take kindly to this and immediately began fighting back. It was clear these ninja were not the cream of the crop, instead being glorified two bit thugs who bullied their way to victory.

Not that it mattered, they were still ninja and the townsfolk made a fighting retreat across the Great Naruto Bridge.

Inari launched a crossbow bolt at one of the invaders. It hit a log as expected when the ninja did that substitution thing he so loathed. Get them while they are distracted he told himself sternly. He groaned and reloaded the weapon taking aim at a man who was bleeding from his leg. The bolt was straight and true as it impaled the man in the neck tearing through his throat like a savage beast. A clump of meat plopped to the side as the ninja fell backwards dead nearly headless.

Small victories, the boy thought to himself. Time to move though he was reminded as several ninja looked for where the incoming fire was coming from.

Inari could only watch as several townsfolk bore the retribution of his successful attack. He sprinted to behind an overturned cart where his mother also held a crossbow. Tazuna was further back getting bandaged up by an orphan under command of the local doctor.

Inari took aim again and loosed another bolt. Wind from the east pushed it away from his intended target and into the chest of a brutish looking woman with a nastily sharp looking sword who was running an orphan through. She dropped the sword and the child with it like a sack of potatoes. Grasping at the shaft of the bolt she pulled, hard. Inari smirked.

The tips of his bolts were intended for light harpoon fishing. They were barbed and serrated to prevent escape of their target. In this case however, the woman just ripped away at her insides even more as she pulled it out. Screaming bloody murder, the woman dropped to the concrete clutching at her sucking chest wound. She drowned in her own blood.

It didn't matter. The ninja were slightly more competent than Gato's goons and soon had run the townsfolk onto the final stretch of bridge. Inari wanted to cry. The people of the Land of Waves had already sacrificed so much and now it looked like they would once again live under the thumb of tyrants.

Tazuna gazed with a look that could kill at the invaders. Inari watched as his face changed from fury to contemplation, and then malicious joy. He was beckoned over by his grandfather curious as to what it could be.

"I think that in an ironic twist of fate, we will be thanking dear old Zabuza in a moment," Tazuna chortled.

"How so?" Inari asked.

Tazuna jogged over to a small concrete box that held equipment for regular maintenance of the bridge. The door was flung open hard as Tazuna motioned for Inari to come inside.

"See this?" he asked Inari.

It was a small grey cylinder attached to a wire that led into a circuit breaker.

"Yeah. Why? Did Zabuza leave that here?"

"It's a detonator. Before he fought the Konoha ninja, he rigged the bridge to blow up. It's why he knocked out all of the workers that day, so they wouldn't know where he placed his explosives. To my current delight, it's been incredibly difficult to disarm the bombs. I assume you understand the rest of my dastardly scheme from there."

"No explosions past this storage area I take it?"

"Yep."

"Sorry Naruto, but we need to desecrate your monument here in a bit," Inari grinned evilly.

Tazuna called all of the townsfolk to the last defensive position as Inari waited for his signal. Once gathered, the people were informed of the plan and that in retaliation, it was very likely the Mizukage would have the town burned to cinders. They would need to abandon their home, but in doing so they would end the lives of these miserable invaders. The townsfolk of the Land of Waves were strong. They had survived Gato, they could survive relocation too.

The Kiri ninja were gathering themselves for one last push to rid themselves of the local population. They never got the chance. Explosions ripped through the bridge turning men and women into meat for the fish. Fire engulfed several ninja as they burned alive before plummeting into the unforgiving sea below. Massive chunks of concrete and rebar crushed several more and trapping others to drown.

The sea was silent, but red waters said all that was needed.

Tazuna was still mayor, and he had people to look after, "I need volunteers to return to the town with boats and gather food, water, anything useful for a long trek. We will be seeking asylum in Konoha."

Inari smiled. It would be nice to see Naruto again. He wondered idly if he was Hokage yet, after all how could they not make such a hero the leader of their village?

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"Oh we are so fucked," were the eloquent words of Kongou Akimichi.

Simultaneous detonations in all ten of the reactors at the Tobirama Senju Memorial Nuclear Power Plant had sent them all into a meltdown.

Naturally this was the work of the Shimura's and their loyalists. They were hardheaded military people, not scientists like he was. In one action where he assumed they intended to just bring down the power, they had effectively doomed the village they so claimed to love.

Kongou could only stare at the graphite on the ground outside the shattered window. The cores were exposed. Ten clouds of black smoke billowed into the storm clouds above carrying with them poison unlike any seen before in the world. The village and its people were dead if nothing happened to avert this disaster.

"It's only a fire fat ass. Surely you and your staff can deal with that can't you?"

Natsami Shimura was a cruel woman who accepted no compromise much like her father. It spoke greatly of her hardheadedness that she knew nothing of affairs unrelated to being a ninja, such as nuclear science.

Kongou turned around growling like a beast, "You have no idea what you have done you miserable cunt!"

The leader of the resistance looked genuinely befuddled at the hostility of the man. It was just a couple fires. Surely nothing that couldn't be fixed right?

The Akimichi leapt down to the courtyard below enraged and terrified like nothing before. He even doubted that a legend like Madara Uchiha could instill such terror in his living soul like this death that loomed as a beacon in the sky.

Natsami followed now seeking to kill him thinking he was off to warn the Hokage's people of where she was.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!" she bellowed hoping the speed of the attack would catch the fat man off guard.

Kongou with a speed that wouldn't be out of place for Kakashi dashed to the side as he looked at his attacker incredulously. A deep bellowing laugh escaped his diaphragm.

"Why not then? We are both of us dead already!" He boomed.

Kongou "The Inferno" clasped at a three meter long piece of graphite and channeled some Earth chakra into it before slamming it into the ground. Cracks formed along the smooth black mineral as it shed excess materials along its entire length turning into a sword. Fire engulfed the blade as he poured Fire chakra into it, igniting a nuclear fire that Natsami could now only stare into with horror for reasons she did not know.

"I'm ready! How about you!" Kongou swung.

Natsami's face was red even before she flipped into the air and launched her own assault on the director of the power plant.

"I will only perish from the land willingly when Konoha stands atop the world!"

"Your ignorance is already the death of hundreds. With this, its many thousands more! Stand and face judgment traitor!" Kongou boomed again.

The three meter graphite blade impacted the soil where Natsami had been standing before. Fire burned at the site. For some reason it seemed like she could taste metal.

"Ninja Art: Shuriken Kage Bunshin!" Hundreds of spinning throwing stars hurtled at Kongou.

Again with astonishing speed for a man so large, he jumped out of the way and proceeded to slam into the earth creating a small shockwave. Fire again followed the impact site burning white threatening to catch Natsami flat footed.

Kongou growled. He needed to slow her down so he could end this and get the fires smothered by sand and boron. An idea came to him.

Slamming the blade into the earth again, Kongou launched hundreds of pieces of glass, concrete, and graphite at the woman. It was in effect a shotgun.

Natsami couldn't use anything to substitute with, so she was forced to tank and deflect the hit. Drawing a sword from her back, she sliced away at anything she could. Burning rock split cleanly on either side of her in great heaps. Glass was reduced to powder and all seemed to go the woman's way. The attack ended as she launched herself forward and thrusted her blade. It was caught by the graphite monstrosity of a sword still burning like a weapon from the depths of hell.

The first indication something was wrong was when her sword heated up instantly. Natsami's hands burned but she couldn't let go now or she would die. That was until she saw her sword was melting where it came into contact with the graphite.

With a lazy crack, the sword broke in two a mere ten centimeters from the hilt. Thinking quickly Natsami plunged it forward into Kongou's stomach while his momentum prevented him from doing anything else.

He didn't notice or care it seemed. The graphite sword pierced her leg and went clean through her bone. Natsami screamed. A scientist had just kicked her around like she was a genin. What would happen now? Whatever it was, it didn't bode well given the crazed look in Kongou Akimichi's eyes.

Satisfied, the man cut off the rest of the leg before crushing the other with the pommel of the sword. Natsami only grunted in pain this time. The arms went next. Ruptured tissue and bones rendered powder meant she was now totally defenseless. Only now did he grasp at the sword in his gullet and remove it. Blood poured freely from the wound, but he just brought the flaming graphite to it and painfully cauterized it.

Kongou dropped the sword and his flow of chakra through it, but it still burned bright in the dark afternoon. He grabbed Natsami's hair and began dragging her away. Up the wall of reactor building 10 and onto the observation deck was the apparent destination.

Natsami's face was forcibly shoved downward so she could look at the fire in the core. Thin strands of a smooth black substance were contrasted by the yellow white flames in a space that was roughly 20 meters across.

"Do you see that cunt?" Kongou whispered into her ear.

"Yes," she responded emotionless.

"That down there, and in the other nine buildings are the entrances to hell."

She could see why he might think that. There was something about this fire that filled her with a dread that was not present when she had been at ground level.

"While you're down there, give your old man a big fond fuck you from me."

"What?" Natsami asked suddenly very timid.

Her answer was Kongou, the seventy something year old scientist throwing her into the nuclear fire. The world was very hot for a moment, but then there was nothing. Natsami Shimura was among the lucky few.

60 minutes had passed since Sakura Haruno executed Danzo Shimura. 48 minutes had passed since the reactors were sabotaged. And now, it started to rain. Open wide, o' earth, for the poison of humanity is ready to swallow Konoha whole.

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Author's Note: Ok, so this chapter is not as long as it was going to be simply because I opted late into the writing process to split it into several parts, probably three. Also I watched Chernobyl again. It was the inspiration for the disaster I needed to displace the Konoha population far away permanently. Anyway, I hope you lovely people enjoyed it.