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Chapter 17

Spartan


He stared at the woman standing before him, his heart unable to believe her to be real. For the last ten years, she had been a ghost that had haunted his heart. A whisper in his dreams, a reminder of what he had lost.

She was an S, just like him.

A Spartan.

The only one apart from him who probably survived the massacre nearly ten years ago.

"Kushina?" he whispered in disbelief and faint hope in his shaky voice,

He remembered a young teenage girl, almost the same age as him with a fiery temper. She had never been one of the heavy hitters, but her skill with Fuinjutsu, Sensory ability, and booby traps surpassed his own by many degrees. Her healing prowess had been the best among all Spartans, even better than his own. Most importantly she could completely suppress her chakra making her invisible to any sensor ninjas, even him.

Ghost.

That had been her codename among the Spartans whom the world commonly knew as the S-program ninjas. Only the Uzumaki knew what the full form of that program truly was apart from the ones in it. Not even Konoha knew much about them and only discovered the truth after Hashirama's rescue at the hands of the Spartans.

"99" she replied back with a faint smile, confirming her unique number among the company size former Spartan unit of more than a hundred and twenty ninjas.

"47" he confirmed back his own unique number, earning a faint nod of acknowledgement from her.

He found himself hopping through trees as she did the same before they both met in a fierce embrace in the dark forest bombarded by heavy rains. A lone tear fell from his eye followed by a relieved chuckle as he hugged her more tightly across his chest, a part of him afraid of her vanishing if he let go of her.

Kushina felt the same as she returned his fierce and passionate hug, as memories of their past threatened to overwhelm her emotions. Only her training and years of isolation prevented her from tearing up, but she could not resist leaning back from the hug a few moments later to lower his facemask and kiss him passionately.

She felt his surprise on that gesture and his clear hesitance but he made no move to stop her.

She broke the kiss soon after knowing he was probably overwhelmed. After all, nobody expected him to remain composed if his former partner/girlfriend was revealed to be alive after nearly ten years of that massacre.

"How?" he whispered, still looking surprised.

She gave him a nod of consent making him activate his red eyes once more, the sight of which brought back a lot of memories for her. A moment later, he saw the answer to his question in her memories.


(Flashback: Ten Years Ago)

Kushina groaned in pain as she aimlessly stared at the pitch black sky above her shrouded by dark clouds. The heavy silence around her bore painfully over her heart, as did the sight of the corpses of her fellow Spartans laid around her.

Her only solace was the sight of hundreds of Kumogakure ninja mixed among the dead which was enough proof of the valiant fight the Spartans put up, however in the end it was not ninja that decimated the special ops forces of Uzu.

She gave the most hateful glare to the monstrous two tails raging a few kilometers away from her and the one who sent her comrades to their graves. If not for that beast, this battlefield would have been the grave of of Kumogakure's entire force. The bastards had seen how outmatched they were and the casualties they suffered at the hands of the Spartans forced them to bring their weapons of mass destruction to the frontlines in order to defeat similar weapons launched by Uzu.

Spartans.

She had been barely able to heal the large hole in her stomach courtesy of the rocks that had been launched at them by the tailed beast. Some of her ribs were still broken and would take time to heal, but she would probably survive.

Her comrades weren't so lucky.

She smiled on hearing the tailed beast scream and made herself at peace when she saw a dark/yellow flash attacking the monster.

We leave the rest to you, Captain.

They all had kept the promise they had made to their leader until the very end. Now it was time to rest, they had done their duty.

She lay in the blood soaked ground, but before she could resign herself to the approaching darkness she saw the severed head of Echo just a few feet away from her.

Anger surged through Kushina as she remembered Echo had been one of the youngest of their group.

A boy of twelve.

Now he was just a severed head lacking the rest of his body with his eyes still wide open and looking at her.

Kushina stared into those lifeless eyes and couldn't help but feel they were demanding something from her. She looked around at the corpses of her other comrades and felt the same feeling magnify in her heart.

Justice.

Her comrades were dead, her village had suffered, her clan had went through so much death and pain...

Her gaze landed upon a dead Kumogakure Jounin, more specifically at the headband wrapped around his forehead.

Once again, she had a purpose again as she dragged herself to the cover of the nearby forest where she found more corpses of the enemy left behind by her comrades. Most of the enemy force had used the tailed beast as a diversion and used its power to escape the wrath of the Spartans.

Kushina identified a badly mutilated corpse of a young Kumogakure female kunoichi of chunin rank, they were both of the same age and body-build, even had the same colored hair. She switched her uniform with the dead girl's and with the little sensory power she had left, she located the retreating enemy forces and made her decision.

She looked back at the battlefield to see the tailed beast screaming in agony as Minato butchered it without any shred of mercy in his heart.

For a moment, she hesitated knowing Minato would need her especially now that Nagato was dead.

But then she saw the other Spartans who lay dead on the battlefield and knew she had to avenge them. She doubted the Uzukage would reform their unit ever again, the village had undergone quite a scandal when their unit was formed with many people not comfortable with the brutality the children who survived the program had endured during training and so many others dead in the process.

It was only the resounding military victories that the Spartans brought for the village later in the war that made their people accept their existence and grudgingly acknowledge the Uzukage's decision.

Most of all, Kushina felt that Kumogakure would not be deterred even if they lost this war. They would probably stir up more wars in the future once again. A ninja village was only as strong as the support it received from the feudal lord, the Daimyo. If there was to be any peace in this world, any justice for her dead comrades...she had to make the man responsible for this entire war pay for his crimes in blood.

And she could never achieve all of that if she returned back home.

She looked back at Minato knowing her decision would end the future they could ever have, a future she had dearly desired for a long time. It would haunt her till her last breath...

But she was a Spartan first, just like him.

Family. Duty. Honor.

Those were their clan's words and Kushina believed in them with all her heart. The Spartans had been her family and it was her duty to honor their sacrifice by getting them justice.

Tears fell from her eyes as she turned around and slowly limped in the direction of the retreating enemy forces.

(Flashback End)


Kushina carefully gauged his reaction as he finished witnessing her memories and the choice she had made on that fateful night. Over the years, she had imagined a variety of reactions from him on learning the truth but never had she expected a calm nod, albeit with some sadness in his eyes.

"You did what you thought was right" he whispered sadly,

"You don't resent me for leaving you behind? Nearly going rogue?" she asked carefully, but he shook his head.

"We are not kids anymore, Kushina. You were right, the Spartans were gone after that night. Even with the two of us, our unit would never be resurrected. Although it was dangerous, it was best that you went after the ones responsible for the death of our friends. I doubt the villagers would be kind to you if you had returned with me while all the others perished" he explained with a nod of acknowledgement sent towards her.

She had also shown him memories of her infiltrating Kumo's military and working her way towards the royal court of the Daimyo over the past decade. She had re-established contact with Uzu's Intelligence Command when she was settled, they had been furious but couldn't forgo the benefit of having a highly skilled Spartan among their arch enemy's top ranks.

Their decision to not punish her worked in their favor as she gave them critical intel over the years that helped save many lives, including the one of Tobirama Senju.

She was a part of the Anbu team from Kumo tasked with protecting the Lightning Daimyo and his family, they were privy to a lot of confidential information that the Raikage reported to his feudal lord by examining his letters for security before passing them to the feudal lord or attending their private meetings as part of the Daimyo's security detail as the feudal lord was intimidated by the fearsome Raikage. When she had learned of Tobirama's survival and captivity, she had passed that intel to Uzu, they had been very careful and had actually used Kiri's eagerness for war to make Minato convince them to attack the Land of Lightning. It was for the best as Tobirama was relatively safe, although now a prisoner of Kiri but she had faith that Minato would get the man back to his village somehow.

If it had been Konoha or Uzu forces attacking the city of Osaka, then the Land of Lightning would know for sure that there was a spy hidden in their top ranks. But since it had been Kiri who attacked, it was just brushed off as an unexpected collateral damage.

Even now, she had been the one to reveal the Daimyo's secret hideout but had not expected such a small team to be assigned for the job. She had observed Minato and the other swordsmen from Kiri, while there was no doubt they were powerful but the odds were stacked against them. It was why she stepped in to help, and for the fact that she had to meet the man she had loved all those years ago. Maybe a part of her still did, but she doubted whether he felt the same.

It had been nearly ten years.

"What you did was atleast better than trying to commit suicide like I did" he excused with a miserable laugh,

Kushina was truly saddened on hearing him say that, she had known about what he had been upto all these years. That had been one of her conditions in exchange for vital information to Uzu as apart from her feelings for him, he was also the only Spartan still alive. Both of them were a dying breed, and she wanted to look after one of her own in whatever way she could.

"The village shouldn't have ostracized and blamed you like they did. You did the best you could" said Kushina honestly, earning a surprised look from him.

"You know?" he asked with a shocked stare, making her give a hesitant nod.

"I kept tabs on you. Sorry" she whispered sheepishly, making him sigh.

"You're such a nerd, you know that"

Kushina's eyebrows twitched on hearing that blasted nickname he had given her. He had caught her peeping on him taking a bath once and suddenly she deserved that name.

She was about to respond back with her own retort when she was saw him staring at her happily with a smile.

"I'm glad you are alive, Kushina"

She hugged him once again before both of them settled on one of the tree tops after doing a scan of the area for any intruders, fortunately they found none. Kushina doubted any could get past her sensory abilities, the closest enemy presence was nearly three kilometers away.

Naruto stared at his former comrade and could not help but be relieved. Her survival lifted a great burden off his shoulders for it proved he didn't get all of his men killed. The fact that she was a close friend made him feel a lot better, knowing she was there to help him with this mission even further bolstered his confidence in his ability to get the job done.

"What happened to you, Minato?" she asked gently, knowing he would understand her question was directly related to the reasoning behind his attempt to commit suicide. What had happened to the Spartans was a tragedy of the highest order, the fact that his little brother who was his last family also died on that battlefield was heartbreaking.

But they were Spartans, they were supposed to fight till the end.

But he nearly gave up and she wanted to understand why.

"Watched my friends die, my Nagato die..you think that would be the worst part" he whispered sadly, as tears pooled up in his eyes as memories of that fateful night came rushing back.

Kushina grasped his hand with her own knowing exactly what the Spartans were to him. It was the same with her.

"But you didn't die" realized Kushina sadly, as she understood he had wanted to die alongside his men.

Instead, he was left all alone. She had heard that he had visited the families of each of the Spartans, even those who were orphans. For them, he went to their respective orphanages and talked to anyone who knew or cared about those lost young children.

He would have seen their devastation and pain with his own eyes, experienced their anger and their hate for him to have survived while their loved ones didn't.

Even after everything he had been through in his life, Minato had stood strong but in the end he was also human and that pain was too much for a fourteen year old boy.

"I hope they remember you" said Kushina with a fierce determination in her eyes, for this man had endured so much for their people his entire life and would continue to until his end.

His eyes widened on hearing her words and when he looked in her eyes, he saw nothing but pure respect and admiration for him. As someone who could relate to him better than anyone in this world, her words were his salvation from the past.

"What if we lose again?" he asked in a trembling voice, his worst fears unable to remain hidden from her.

She gave him the most peaceful smile he had ever seen in his entire life.

"Then we'll do that together too"

He leaned in and captured her lips with his own pouring all the gratitude he felt for her. He remembered the days he had spent squabbling with her, getting on her nerves, the days when she visited his parent's graves with him, the night he took her out for their first date and the moment of midnight when he had first kissed her, all their training and missions, him telling her about his dream of having a family of their own someday, the way she had blushed and whispered that she wanted the same thing.

The life they could have had.

Tears fell from Kushina's eyes as she knew how long she had waited for this moment, all the years she had spent blaming herself for leaving him behind and now knowing what he went through, she wanted nothing more than to hold him in her arms and keep him away from all the pain in this world. To fill his heart with happiness, to make him live the peace he deserved. To fulfill his dream of having a family of his own, a dream that she desired as well.

When he finally broke the kiss, she just stared into his blue eyes.

"Till the end?"

He couldn't help but remember the first time he had heard that promise.


(Flashback: Nearly Fifteen Years Ago)

He gingerly opened his eyes only to find himself floating in water. Before panic could overtake him, he realized he was still breathing and there was something stuffed down his mouth down to his chest. It was a tube which was probably giving him oxygen.

He looked around and found himself in a tube full of water with various cables attached to different parts of his naked body. Gazing out further, he saw there were hundreds of such similar tubes all around him.

All full of young children and a handful teenagers, boys and girls as naked as him.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his little brother floating in a tube just beside him. Judging from the rise and fall of his chest meant he was alive but asleep.

Almost everyone else in the tubes was in a similar state which left him alone. He tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep, knowing there was no going back and he was the one that chose this path which made Nagato follow in his footsteps despite his stern opposition, but his brother was anything but stubborn.

He was quite surprised when he heard a faint muffle. He frantically looked around until his gaze found a naked and thin redhead girl floating in one of the tubes near him. Her eyes were looking at him and as both their gazes met, he saw the same resolve that was in his heart prevalent in her eyes as well.

He titled his head in confusion when she extended her small hand outwards in her tube making water swirl until it was vaguely forming something.

Kushina.

A feeling of happiness washed over him as he realized she was telling him what her name was and if that faint grin on her face was any indication, she wanted to be a friend.

He easily twisted the water inside his own tube until it crudely displayed his own name to her.

Minato.

She nodded at him slightly and used her hands to again write something which warmed his heart.

You'll stay with me?

If not for his shinobi training, he would have panicked and died from claustrophobia on seeing where he was trapped currently. It had the makings of a horror tale and any sane person would desire not to be alone in this nightmare. Even he was glad that there was someone awake right now like him, as he didn't want to imagine how he would have felt if everybody else had been asleep and he had been alone.

He bobbed his head a little indicating his consent to her request.

She again used her hands to write a message that struck something deep inside of him.

Till the End?

They all had signed their agreements which saved the village from any responsibility if anything happened to them during this training. They had virtually all signed their own death warrants and that was not something anybody could ever forget, especially young children.

They were all alone out here, cut off from their families, experimented on by people they didn't know, possibly they would even die in these secret labs without ever feeling the sunlight or seeing their village or loved ones again.

It was a somber thought.

He would never let Nagato experience that loneliness as he would be there for his little brother until there was a single breath inside of him. He looked at all the other children and knew they all wanted to protect Uzu just like him, and had risked it all to protect their village.

He would be there for them too, if they ever needed him.

He looked at Kushina and thumped his hand against his chest right over his heart, even as the water twisted to his will forming the words she wanted to hear.

Their promise.

Till the End.

Kushina smiled truly as she mirrored him by thumping her hand over her heart vowing to uphold the same promise.


(Few Days Later)

In a dark room, a young boy screamed.

He thrashed against the straps and metal clamps holding his arms and legs as the tubes attached to his body pumped the dreaded fluids into him.

The pain was...all consuming.

Words couldn't describe how it felt to feel each and every bone inside your body hardening and becoming more stronger with every passing second. The feeling of eyesight suddenly becoming twice as sharp, your ears slowly being able to pickup more subtle sounds previously unheard of. The sensation of each and every chakra pore inside your body activating at the same time and glow like a thousand suns. The horror of watching your body change in height, weight and shape right before your very eyes as two strangers dressed in white lab coats observed you from a safe room in front of you.

If he focused more, he could hear similar screams coming from nearby labs where he knew more children his age were undergoing the same pain.

The thought of his brother being put through this, terrified and alone strapped to a metallic bed.

NO!

"Doctor, this boy..." he heard the male lab coat whisper in awe, even as Minato's struggle against the restraints binding him intensified.

"Remarkable. His sight, sense of hearing, reflexes and strength have increased nearly thrice against an average shinobi. It's as if his body was made to accept these genetic modifications. None of the other subjects have shown so much potential" said the female redhead doctor, as she looked directly at him.

"Maybe it's because of the Uchiha and Senju DNA inside of him. His chakra levels were already more than most chunin even before the surgery. Now he's becoming the super-soldier our village needs" commented the male lab assistant,

"It better. We have already lost nearly 50% of the subjects during the genetic enhancement surgeries" said the female head doctor disappointedly,

Horror engulfed his heart as he heard what these people just said. He remembered being surrounded by nearly 300 young children these past few days. They were undergoing intense physical training, special warfare lessons, mathematics, geography and combat medical procedures.

Each and everyone of them had shown great potential, including Nagato and Kushina who were the closest thing he had to a family. He was on friendly terms with the other kids as well...

Now half of them were dead.

He was no stranger to death but this news was a devastating shock but one which served to make his will to save his brother even more prominent.

He could feel his chakra reserves increasing, his bone strength magnifying as his body underwent drastic changes.

Apparently, this resistance was not something the scientists had not thought about as binding seals were quickly applied across his body sapping off large portions of his energy.

He collapsed to the bed completely exhausted, his breathing heavy as the female doctor finally stepped into the room and appeared beside him.

"Your anger reminds me of the tales of the Nine Tailed Fox's rage. But you did well today, 47" she said calmly, without any guilt or sadness in her voice even if her surgeries killed nearly half of his comrades.

Most of all, these scientists never called any of them by their names but only by the code numbers each of them were given. It was probably their way of distancing themselves from the fact that they were experimenting on and killing children.

"My...brother..." he groaned in pain and desperation,

"Survived. He's also a remarkable specimen and will do wonders in the future. Rest for now, 47 because when you wake up...you will be Fox"

She gave him that name out of her twisted and despicable sense of humor but he didn't care. All that mattered was that his brother had survived, Kushina would have as well.

He felt darkness approaching and swore he would not let the sacrifice of those who died today go in vain.

In the end, it was Kushina's words that he remembered even as darkness took him.

Till the End.


(Few Months Later)

Captain Reika Uzumaki stood alongside her group of elite Jounin and skilled chunin guarding Tsukushima Hill near their village's coastal borders. They had been ordered to defend this hilltop specifically by the Uzukage and had been told to expect an attack from friendly forces.

Apparently, this was to be live fire training exercise with a new unit of their village.

The fact that deadly force had been authorized was enough to make anyone's doubt disappear.

"Captain, we are ready" reported her second in command, Squad Leader Matsuo.

Reika observed the map in her hand, the base of the mountain was a simple grass field a few kilometers inland from the sea. Apart from placing two squads on the sea coast as lookouts, she had established twin trench lines at the base of the hill followed by heavily fortified foxholes at various strategic locations in the hill all the way to the top.

She didn't expect their fellow allies to make this exercise a piece of cake, but she doubted they could win.

"Rumors say we might be going up against the S" whispered Matsuo hesitantly, his voice only audible enough for her to hear unlike the rest of their forces nearby.

Reika pondered over her second's suggestion. Her small company was considered one of the best and most disciplined military units of their village. But they like other shinobi had been aware that the Uzukage had taken a lot of young children for the sake of a special program.

A program with the objective of making super soldiers who could safeguard Uzu's interests under any circumstances and against all odds.

Captain Reika didn't doubt those kids would be undergoing horrific training, experiments even. She had been one of the minority who objected to this program. What good were the shinobi of their village if their little children were forced to become killing machines?

But the higher ups had won and the program had started.

She could only hope something good could come out of this entire disaster.

"Stay alert. Whatever the enemy maybe, S or otherwise it is our job to defend this hill and we will defend it" confirmed Reika in her iron clad voice, making the younger man straighten up and offer a respectful nod.

Just then, one of their runners responsible for maintaining communication active between the patrol squads on the sea coast and the trench lines came running towards them. Reika narrowed her eyes on seeing the panic in the man's eyes.

"Report" she commanded,

"We have lost contact with our patrols near the sea" reported the man hurriedly and with some hesitance,

She immediately took out her magnifying glass from her back pocket and knelt nearby the hilltop. Zooming in, she focused on the twin trench lines at the bottom of the hill and stiffened when a wall of dark smoke began to charge from the lost sea lines towards the trenches.

She frowned when she saw how thick the incoming smoke was and horror gripped her heart.

"TAKE COVER!"

Her booming voice was barely heard by the troops in the trenches before the smoke suddenly ignited sending a crushing shockwave that sent each ninja in the 1st trench line sailing away. The 2nd line had seen the fate of their comrades and were barely able to duck and were starting to get buried under the dust and dirt that flied everywhere.

The fires raged wildly across the open field between the trench lines and the sea.

It was then that she heard a whistling sound and her eyes widened when she saw great fireballs sailing through the sky right towards the last remaining trench line. The fires in the battlefield died down and Reika caught a first glimpse of her enemy.

The first one she saw was a young teenager wearing a dark black full sleeved shirt and same colored pants complimented by similar shade of combat boots. To her surprise, he was wearing a similar colored armor with faint blue lines. His entire face was covered by a full fledged gas mask and his eyes were protected by combat glasses. He looked to be heavily armed with twin swords at his back, several pouches containing explosives, kunai, shuriken, smoke bombs and even medical kits attached across his vest. All of these equipment gave him a lethal edge over her lightly armed company of ninjas. But that also made him more slower, however in the cover of the night he looked absolutely dangerous.

More and more of similarly dressed troops appeared on the horizon until Reika saw they were a full company size. More than one hundred and twenty.

Her gaze immediately caught sight of the only one that looked different in the entire enemy force. He was dressed in similar gear with the only difference being he was wearing a full white sleeved shirt under his black colored armor. Rest of his gear was the same as his comrades.

Reika couldn't help but have a feeling he was the Commander of these invaders.

She flinched when the fireballs that were previously sailing towards the 2nd trench line crashed and made her troops again seek cover, while few tried to deflect the attacks with water style defensive moves.

Her gut feeling was proven correct when she saw the operative wearing a white sleeved shirt make a few unfamiliar hand signs that were keenly watched by his entire company.

Reika cursed when one of the operatives stepped forward surrounded by a platoon sized group. He immediately unleashed that dark smoke from his body that surged towards her fortified foxholes across the hill while his comrades unleashed giant fireballs in the sky that sailed forward and rained dangerously close to the 2nd trench line where those of her troops that were not knocked out of the fight were still trying to hold on.

It was then the enemy commander unleashed his sword and charged forward.

Reika gasped when most of his force followed after him while the smoke releasing ninja and his platoon continued to provide suppressing fire over the trench line with fireballs and obscuring the vision of the troops over the hill with the same smoke, but her source of astonishment was not their advance itself but the sheer speed.

Nobody that heavily armed and armored could move that fast, but if her estimation was any correct then each of those soldiers was charging in at nearly 50 kilometers per hour.

"Sensors, pinpoint their locations. The rest of you stop that advance!" she yelled furiously,

Her trench troops and those across the hill were pinned by enemy tactics, that only left her with those present at the hilltop to counter-attack. They understood the gravity of the situation and quickly got to work. Within seconds, their sensor based ninjas gave the exact co-ordinates of the charging enemy making a small squad of Jounin step forward.

Together, they unleashed a storm of kunai and explosives in the air that rushed towards the charging enemy force.

Ten of them leapt high into the air, higher than any shinobi ever could and unleashed destructive gusts of wind and fireballs that neutralized the attack by Reika's troops completely. In the meantime, the rest of the attacking force had broken through the 1st neutralized trench line and jumped across the 2nd one.

Her disarrayed troops soon came face to face in close quarter combat.

Reika would never forget the sight of watching a full fledged Jounin get sent sailing away by the punch of a mere teenager, another's fist was caught by a female enemy kunoichi and with a flick she made the entire arm twist at painful angles. The enemy commander himself punched two of her Jounin into unconsciousness within three seconds.

Meanwhile the artillery group that had stayed in the rear had now shifted their attack across the positions over the hill while their main force finished neutralizing the Uzu shinobi in the trench lines with ease.

Despite her best efforts, Reika could only watch position after position fall under few minutes until she and her small group of ninjas on the hilltop were all that were left of her force. Her only solace being the fact that none of her ninjas were killed, some were more injured than others but nothing a few days of medical care could not solve.

She didn't want to imagine their fate if these shinobi had been real enemies instead of allies practicing in a planned exercise.

Having seen firsthand how fast, strong and sharp these troops were alongwith their war strategies and their perfect sense of co-ordination, Reika surrendered with her men instead of getting into any more dangerous fights with these troops.

Her decision was accepted with a firm nod from the enemy commander before he planted a black flag having two swords sown against each other in the dark fabric over the hilltop.

The enemy commander then touched one of his troops and whispered much to Reika's surprise in a very young boy's voice.

"Captain Fox to base, Hilltop secured under 15 minutes. How copy?" asked the now identified Captain,

He must have received the response he wanted as he nodded in silence before turning back towards her.

Reika was unable to hide her surprise or her respect for these soldiers. Not even the best Jounin from Uzu could have accomplished what they had in such little time without any single casualty.

"How many such exercises have you been through?" she couldn't help but ask, making the enemy commander look at her.

"Just this one"

Reika could not help but be left speechless and the same feeling was present on the faces of her men as well as they stared at these young kids in a new light.

"You're lying!" accused one of the chunin,

"That is your opinion. We told you the fact that your leader asked for, that's all" finished the enemy captain, leaving little room for further questioning.

He then turned towards Reika only to thump his right hand turned into a firm fist against his chest right over his heart. His troops followed suit and mimicked the action making her realize it was their own version of a salute.

Reika and her men slowly got back on their feet and when she offered a traditional salute in response, her men followed suit.

"Apologies if we were a little rough" said the enemy commander frankly,

Reika chuckled in disbelief at those words looking at the groaning and moaning ninjas around her and those below the hill in the trenches. Rough would be an understatement, but he was right as this force only incapacitated her troops instead of dealing any permanent damage.

"What's the name of your unit, Captain?" she asked with a faint smile,

She watched as the entire enemy force vanished in a perfect shunshin leaving behind their leader who looked back at the Uzu shinobi and Reika had a feeling he was smiling behind that mask.

The single worded answer he gave made her smile and would send shivers down the world in the future.

S

(Flashback End)


He looked into Kushina's eyes and whispered.

"Till the End"