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Chapter 19

The Black Flash


(Kirigakure)

Tobirama quietly sat at the dining table of his prison home. If he focused a bit, he could feel the presence of two dozen Anbu and Hunter ninjas scattered in all directions outside the residence, watching his each move and ready to restrain him should he make any unexpected action.

Still, it didn't worry him but the information relayed to him by the man standing before him certainly did.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked sternly,

"Yes, Lord Second. It seems Lord Hiruzen has agreed to quite a few demands related to trade between our nations apart from a ransom for your release. Kirigakure has won the diplomatic battle" reported Sakumo Hatake with a heavy frown,

"I can't believe the Jounin Council, the elders and even the clan heads would be so weak willed. All for the sake of one man!" cursed Tobirama furiously, wondering for the first time whether his decision to choose Hiruzen had been the right one or not.

"You are the head of the Senju clan, brother to the great Hashirama, a war veteran and capable military commander who can lead our nation back from the jaws of defeat it is currently facing against our enemies. The sentiment back home is quite weak, Tobirama-sama. Our losses are horrific, at this rate we will run out of ninjas before our enemy loses theirs. The people are desperate and so is the Fire Lord" explained Sakumo patiently,

"Then they all have lost rationality! Saving one man at the cost of the future might win them this war, but ultimately they would lose nonetheless. Only the enemy they shall lose to will be Kirigakure" said Tobirama bitterly,

"It is exactly why we need you back in Konoha, no matter the cost!"

Tobirama sighed but gave a reluctant nod in agreement with Sakumo's feelings, a part of him was disappointed in his prized student and people but another could understand what they were going through without him there to lead them.

Their options were very limited to begin with.

"When will the transfer happen?" asked Tobirama in a resigned voice,

"Once the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are back. They will escort you back to Konoha and oversee the inking of the treaty between our nations" answered Sakumo hesitantly,

Tobirama blinked in surprise but didn't take long to understand the real reason behind such an unusual move. Usually, clan heads or professional diplomats oversaw the inking of such treaties, not the nation's most lethal soldiers.

"That crafty Mizukage" praised Tobirama reluctantly,

"My lord?" asked Sakumo in confusion,

"He'll send his own son who will represent not just the Hozuki clan but entire Land of Water as an important delegate. I suppose Gengetsu wants to groom both Mangetsu and Naruto to replace him in the future, both are fine warriors but this event shall give them a diplomatic experience as well which is necessary for any future Kage. The presence of the Seven Ninja Swordsman is a stark display of Kiri's power and that it should be feared. All of this...I underestimated that man" admitted Tobirama with a reluctant but respectful nod towards the Mizukage tower in the center of the village.

"My lord, there is another thing that I wanted to bring to your attention" said Sakumo hesitantly,

Tobirama didn't miss how nervous Sakumo looked and his chakra was unbalanced which could only mean the news he wanted to share would be unpleasant.

"Speak"

"Ino Yamanaka is pregnant"

Tobirama grit his teeth in order to restrain his feelings on hearing the news. Instantly, memories of his last conversation with Naruto came flooding back to him just before the boy embarked on his current mission in the Land of Lightning.

"Should I perish, you will take Ino Yamanaka out of Kirigakure"

By now, Tobirama had little uncertainty left in his heart about Naruto being his child. The DNA report, their similar chakra, his powers, his resolve and his familiar looks...the boy was his son.

"I've barely entered my 40's and this boy plans to make me a grandfather"

Sakumo was quite shocked on hearing those words from his leader much less seeing the ever stern man smile if only briefly.

"If things get too dangerous in her current assignment or should Naruto perish in his current mission, pull her out of Kirigakure" ordered Tobirama,

Again, Sakumo was left stunned with the order he just received. Tobirama had seen that confusion in his eyes as he got up from his seat.

"You have a son, don't you?" asked Tobirama, earning a faint smile from the other veteran beside him.

"Yes. He's quite young" whispered Sakumo, his ever dutiful voice unable to hide the longing inside of the man.

"You have not seen him in person, never held him in your arms nor watched him smile or call your name" said Tobirama solemnly, making a wistful smile arrive on Sakumo's face.

"No, never. A ninja's life is all I've had the honor to know"

Tobirama gave a nod of understanding as he sadly stared at the night sky.

"I wanted to be there for my son, but now..."

For the first time, Sakumo watched regret arrive in Tobirama's eyes as the man clenched his fists shut. As a father himself, Sakumo could truly understand what the Senju leader felt in this moment.

"Has there been any news of Naruto and his men?" asked the Second Hokage,

"None so far. The Mizukage has not yet sent out any rescue teams but he is nervous" reported Sakumo, earning a nod from the white haired man beside him.

"I couldn't do anything for Naruto. The fact that I don't even know his true name is a proof of my failure as a Father. Many would say I am not responsible for his suffering and pain since I never knew he existed, but now I do and I won't back away from him. We may have our differences but he's family, a Senju and we look out for own" promised Tobirama fiercely,

"My Lord, Ino is a part of the Special Unit investigating possible traitors in Kiri from different villages. Her presence has so far saved the lives of our operatives. Ino desires to stay and keep on protecting our men despite the danger to her life" said Sakumo with a proud nod,

"She has a strong spirit, no wonder she got through to a man like Naruto" praised Tobirama with a smile,

"I have a feeling Naruto cares about her deeply. Did he ask you to do this?" questioned Sakumo with a hint of curiosity, making Tobirama chuckle as he remembered the boy's exact words to him.

"More like threatened me"

Sakumo was left speechless.

Tobirama on the otherhand knew how important Ino was to Naruto. After the tragic life the boy had lived, she was perhaps his last ray of hope to having the closest thing to a normal life.

Only time would tell whether that wish would someday become a reality.


It was close to midnight with darkness ruling over the Mist village.

Four shadows silently leapt across the rooftops rapidly, moving more and more away from the village center and directly towards one of the eastern sector districts. Three of the group were wearing standard Anbu masks, while the last and only female member of the group was wearing the traditional mask of the Hunter Ninja corps.

Ino calmly observed the ever silent co-investigators running alongside her.

To say they were a strange bunch would be an understatement.

The most experienced of their little squad was a middle aged man with stark white hair. He went by the name Kijima and had a sadistic streak while dealing with his enemies. She could still hear the screams of his victims once they were captured on charges of treason. It was fair to say his methods were barbaric and each victim cracked in the end.

The other was a young boy barely out of his teens but despite his young age, he was faster than lightning with his sword. He was one of the best trackers among the entire Anbu branch and had one of the highest successful ratio of assassination missions in the blackops division. While no one knew his name, fellow operatives always referred to him as "Kaze" after his hyper fast sword-fighting style.

The last member was actually a rather nice man named Hoshi. He was one of the rare few in their investigative branch who preferred a less barbaric approach towards their victims. It was strange considering he was a member of the Kaguya clan who were known to never show any mercy towards their enemies. He had a dangerous power that allowed him to create and weaponize bones of his own body which made Ino quite wary of him.

"So what's our mission tonight? Your summons didn't have any information!" asked Ino, looking directly at Kijima- their squad leader.

The older man glanced back at her and she didn't fail to miss the distrust and spite in his gaze. It was another trait many Kiri shinobi shared of not trusting their own comrades considering how brutal their academic system trained them to be, naturally the mission of their unit only made their squad members and their entire branch as a whole mistrustful of any person. But Kijima took paranoia to a new level and never revealed anything to his subordinates until absolutely necessary, especially with her.

Ino was vexed when the man didn't answer her question and instead lead their squad in silence for another few minutes until they reached an isolated part of the village.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized just where they had arrived.

"This place..." said Hoshi in shock and some hesitation present in his own voice,

Kaze remained silent as ever but his narrowed gaze and tense posture showed he was fully alert of his surroundings.

"Our next target resides here" revealed Kijima in a whisper,

"I can't believe it. One of us...it can't be!" denied Hoshi, for what he was looking at was a highly secretive and well protected area where many of the village's Anbu blackops resided alongwith their families.

"It doesn't matter what you believe. We have our orders, the Anbu Commander is certain this little shit is a traitor. She claimed to have escaped from one of the nearby tiny islands when a plague broke out there few years ago. Considering that it was a time of war and there were so many damn orphans moving around across the entire nation, nobody paid too much attention to another little shit entering Kirgakure as a street urchin. But unlike other rats her age in this village, she had talent and soon was able to enter the academy, going forward to become an Anbu over the years. But recently one of our other teams went to checkout her background story. She claimed that her father, mother and two little brothers perished in the plague and she was the sole survivor. To be thorough, our teams went through the tiny island's death records over the years and found an interesting little fact" said Kijima with a vicious grin,

Ino had a sinking feeling in her gut the more she heard as it matched word by word with the backstory they had created for one of Konoha's youngest operatives working inside the Blood Mist Village.

"You see while the islanders confirmed that the girl lived there, the last they saw her was when she ran out into the sea in grief over her family's death and never returned. Most believed her dead until she showed up in Kirigakure, but I have a feeling there is something fishy here. How could a child barely the age of ten with no knowledge or training of chakra be able to survive at sea for half a day before being rescued by a merchant ship" said Kijima seriously, as he passed on a small notebook to each member of his group.

Ino froze when she saw a familiar face at the first page of the notebook. A picture of their target.

Mikoto Uchiha.

"The evidence is circumstantial at best" argued Hoshi,

Kaze gently shook his head making Hoshi refrain himself from protesting anymore much to Kijima's satisfaction.

"Learn from him. The Anbu Commander wants to bring her in for questioning, says this girl might just lead us to more traitors" said Kijima fiercely, as he clenched his fists.

"What if he's wrong? It could sow further distrust among the Anbu, even spark resentment towards the village and the Commander. They are a close knit group and look out for their own" warned Ino, trying to find a solution to this desperate situation.

"The Commander is prepared for that possibility, so is the Mizukage. Now, we have our orders"

Kijima's words left little to be said after and Ino bit her lip when she saw Kaze calmly fall in line while Hoshi looked conflicted but made no further protests. Reluctantly, she gave her nod of acceptance.

As the squad entered the district, she saw a small puddle of water in a corner of the street.

When she passed by it, a barely visible hand seal made a shadow emerge from that puddle. One bearing her face who looked at her with a knowing gaze and disappeared into the nearby alley in an instant.

She could only hope her Water clone could report what she had discovered to Sakumo as soon as possible.

If Mikoto was captured and interrogated, Kiri could possibly discover how Ino herself had deceived them all by faking the lie detection tests. It could soon enough lead them to Sakumo and every other Konoha operative based in the Land of Water.

Maybe even Naruto.

The thought of watching the man she loved be tortured and brutalized like the other spies she had helped catch from other villages made her nauseous.

"Capturing the target is the mission. Try not to rough her up too much" ordered Kijima,

"She's an Anbu, she'll put up a fight" warned Hoshi,

"That's what we've got Mrs. Namikaze here for. Try and knock some sense into the brat to come with us peacefully, we three will surround the apartment just in case she tries to escape. Think you can handle it?" asked Kijima,

"Of course" replied Ino without hesitation, earning a gruff acknowledgement from the older man.

As they got closer and closer towards their target's location, one question continued to haunt Ino's heart.

Protect Konoha...or a comrade...or the one I love.


(Land of Lightning)

"Fire Style: Hell Fire"

Mei yelped in shock when the ground beneath her feet shook violently. As she fell flat on her ass, she watched nearly every enemy ninja or soldier around her meet the same fate. Whole swaths of the nearby forest were uprooted, trees were turned to ash and it felt as if the whole mountain was coming apart.

She felt a bone crushing weight falling upon her very being that made even breathing nearly impossible.

Looking at Kisame, she was surprised to see a man with as much chakra as him appeared to be in the same condition as her.

The less said about the Kumogakure forces, the better. Judging from the still forms of some of the younger and much older fighters, they had probably died out of shock as their hearts couldn't take this foul energy.

She watched as dozens upon dozens of scorching beams of fire emerged from the very earth. It was as if they were summoned from the depths of hell to wash away the sins of the mortal world in their searing flames.

Volcanic eruptions happened in dozens of places as the huge swath of flames continued to rise upward and upward until they completely disappeared among the clouds in the sky painting them red.

"What is this energy?" asked Kisame with a painful grunt,

"Run, girl. Before it's too late"

Mei had only a second to grasp the words whispered by her Biju as she watched in terror as Kinkaku in his tainted chakra armor started growing in size exponentially. His previously clasped hands that had unleashed this entire inferno of flames started turning into giant claws and soon he started appearing less and less human.

In a matter of thirty seconds, Mei and every human in the area blanched when they came face to face with a being they had only heard stories about. Tales that terrified them, a presence they wished to avoid even in their worst nightmares.

The Nine Tailed Fox.

"That...crazy...bastard...he...is...not...allowed...to...transform...like...that...ever" whispered one of the Kumogakure leaders,

"Why...would...he...go...so...far...and...his...entire...force...has...unleashed...their...full...power...as...well..Look!"

Kisame heard the chatter among the enemy leadership and could not help but feel he was missing something here. The Kinkaku were feared to be the most dangerous black ops unit in the world. For them to unleash their full power and strike with their entire force right from the start was absurd.

Unless...

He looked at Naruto who had stopped his charge and was instead coldly watching the army before him, not to mention the damned fox!

Kisame could sense no fear inside of that man but instead there existed a sense of euphoria in his chakra. It glowed so brightly that it was almost painful.

"Run!"

Mei could not fault nearly dozens of Kumogakure ninja who instantly bolted from the battlefield taking nearly half of their entire force with them in their fear. Few commanders tried to stop them but were instantly overpowered by the fearful ninjas. Only a small population remained, but none seemed interested in fighting anymore.

Instead they all were watching the sight before their eyes.

For it was not often, that man ever got to witness a battle among titans.

Mei saw the volcanic flames that had emerged from the earth were still burning brightly with no signs of stopping. Anything within a 500 meter radius was evaporated from its sheer heat and they were aligned in such a way that it prevented any of the other ninja from either side from stepping inside the battle that was about to begin.

Not that anyone wanted to...

She felt Naruto gathering a vast amount of energy within himself and knew he was more powerful than most shinobi she had ever known. Perhaps one of the strongest in the whole world...

But against these monsters, he was just one man.

She remembered his look of disappointment at the start of this mission and could never forget how much it had hurt her to see him look at her like a nuisance. And now, she finally had a chance to make things right. Then why the hell was she hesitating?

"It's because you'll die, child" whispered the giant slug, but not unkindly.

Mei looked at the monstrous Biju within her, it was impossible to understand how the beast felt because of its lack of expressions, but she had never felt any malicious hate towards her personally from him. Granted, he always tried to take control of her body whenever he got a chance and was never one to speak too much. However, there were times when he had granted her his power to save both their lives in many dangerous situations she had faced in her life.

"So be it, then" she answered him without flinching for a moment,

The mild amusement she had felt from him earlier disappeared and was instead replaced by curiosity as he peered down at her tiny form from the cage he was stuck in.

"You like this man, don't you?" asked the Six Tails curiously,

"Naruto is gazing at a future I can't even see. He is a symbol of hope and pride for my village, my people. Most of all he is a dear friend who tried to be there for me without expecting anything in return and never looked down upon me because I was a Jinchuuriki. He is not perfect and has many flaws, but he is the Commander I chose to follow into this hell. It's only right I follow him till the very end" replied Mei with a fierce conviction,

The Six Tails didn't miss the fear in the girl's heart and couldn't fault her for being afraid of the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra. But there were also very strong feelings inside her heart for that man, she respected him more than anything else and didn't want to let him down even if it meant facing death.

"That's my answer. What about you?" asked Mei with a challenge,

"What about me?" retorted the Six Tails amusedly,

"Do you like losing to the Nine Tails so much?"

Mei knew she had hit a nerve when the calm atmosphere vanished in her mindscape and was replaced by a growing aura of anger and hatred. She watched the Six Tails smash himself against its cage and smiled when she felt the same feelings in his own heart.

An cannibalistic desire to fight and devour.

A true monster.

"Let's have some fun, then!"


A wild whirlwind swept through the entire area washing away a huge chunk of the eternal fire pillars much to the surprise of everyone on the battlefield, save for one.

The same man was smiling as another shadow stepped beside him.

Mei felt unbelievable energy flow across her entire body. It was more stronger than she had ever felt in her life and she clearly understood the reason behind it when she saw the four tails emerging from her back.

Four tails of Biju chakra.

Nearly double the amount of energy she had ever mustered through her own will from the wild beast inside her.

She heard it snort making it clear that it was thanks to his consent that she could harness this much power in the first place.

She looked at the person she had walked into this hell for...

"Why?" he asked curiously,

Mei looked at her clenched fists and only one answer came to mind.

"It's what needs to be done" she answered resolutely with a smile,

"You're a fine shinobi, Mei"

She bowed her head gently in acceptance of his praise before sternly glancing at the enemies in front of them preparing herself for a fight.

Naruto calmly glanced at Kisame who was staring at the duo with a surprised gaze.

"Think you can handle them?" he challenged with a smirk, gesturing towards the rest of the remaining enemy ninjas who glared hatefully as some of their own resolve came back.

The wimps had already fled the battlefield and the weaklings had paid their tribute in blood.

Only the strong, only the ruthless, only the determined...

Only the ninja remained.

Kisame gave a bestial roar as he clasped his hands together making his chest swell monstrously in an instant.

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

Naruto closed his eyes ignoring the panicked and anguished screaming of the shocked Kumogakure ninjas as Kisame began his attack without warning. He felt Mei getting closer to him and could feel the bloodlust inside of her courtesy of the beast.

"What's the plan, Commander? Solo or Co-Ops?" she asked seriously,

He raised a single hand sign which made her smirk in return.

"Very well"

Dark lines emerged underneath his eyes and across his entire face reaching way down below his neck and deeper into his chest. When he opened his gaze, Mei was surprised to see his Reddish-green colored eyes with a slit pattern.

"His chakra is so still. It's so unfazed and constant, it's as if he's attained a sense of enlightenment that others here could not grasp. I can still feel him at my back and yet he is right beside me. Is this the power of Sage chakra? The ability to become one with nature and become the all seeing?" thought Mei in wonder, remembering the few stories she had heard of brave monks and few genius shinobi who mastered this power across human history.

She had never met one in person and had stopped believing in such legends, until she met him.

She could still remember the way in which this power had been used by him to save Mangetsu's life in this very mission itself. She could not stop the sense of curiosity that developed inside of her heart to see what more he could do with this power.

"107, huh? Not bad fight" whispered Naruto, as he raised his burning swords even as dark chakra leaked from his body.

"Let's go with Formation D" she suggested, as the first wave of Kinkaku monsters charged at them.

He nodded making her instantly weave her hands through a complex set of seals at lightning speed.

"HIRUMA!"

Mei unleashed nearly four dozen green colored liquid bullets from her mouth and launched them straight towards the incoming enemy monsters in Biju form.

The Kinkaku troops growled and easily managed to dodge each of the incoming attacks through their own enhanced speed by using their tainted beast chakra inside their bodies.

That was until the one at the front of this charge saw a small black chakra like bullet flying secretly under the shadow of a handful of the green colored acid like bullets unleashed by the newly discovered Jinchuuriki.

"Shadow Shuriken jutsu being used to fuse two ninjutsu techniques in an instant? Shit-"

His thought became reality when the next second he saw a dark flash happen before his eyes. A burning and eternal pain flashed across his neck as he caught a glimpse of a pair of merciless dark reddish-green colored eyes.

He felt himself hit the ground and tumble a few meters away, only to see his body now missing a neck fall limply to the ground and be engulfed by the small fire burning across his severed neck.

His last sight of this hellish world was to witness multiple black flashes happen across the area followed by his entire squad meeting the same fate one after another.


Kisame stabbed his sword clean through the neck of another Jounin and blinked in surprise when he peeked a glance at the other battlefield.

A moment ago, he had seen 14 Kinkaku charge at his comrades...and now there were 14 headless burning corpses turning to ashes a flash later.

What the hell had happened in those five seconds?

"It's him!"

"How...could...this...be?"

"We...need...to...flee"

"Demon..Killer"

Kisame narrowed his eyes on hearing the frightened murmuring among the Kumogakure forces as they stared at Naruto's standing form as if he was the spirit of death itself. He remembered a similar fear and desire to flee from the Kumogakure ninjas in Osaka city, in fact they had fled on the orders of the Kinkaku who sacrificed their lives to allow that escape.

Coincidences never happen twice in the shinobi world.

The ninjas standing against him didn't lack in guts until a few moments ago when they chose to stay even when others didn't, they chose to fight despite facing the risk of becoming collateral damages in the Kinkaku's fight only to now have the fear of Kami itself spread across their hearts on seeing 14 of their nation's and one of the world's most strongest warriors fall in a flash.

It still came as a surprise when Kisame watched all the remaining Kumogakure ninjas before him literally vanish from the battlefield in a frenzy.

He growled in frustration and chased after them, only to continue getting more and more surprised when the fleeing ninjas didn't even look back once or slow down their pace even when they were nearly atleast a kilometer away from the battlefield.

"Water Style: Water Bullets!"

He focused on the closest straggler, a young chunin who yelped in pain as the water bullets tore through various chakra points across his back making him lose balance and fall from one of the giant trees towards the ground.

Kisame cursed when his target violently crashed through several large branches before landing with a crunching thud which was a clear evidence of several broken ribs atleast.

He approached the limp young boy who was occasionally twitching in pain and raised his sword above him.

"Why are your people so afraid of him?" asked Kisame without mercy,

He narrowed his gaze when he saw his enemy rasping something incoherent and cursed his luck on realizing the boy's throat was probably ruptured in the fall judging by the nasty bruises all over his neck and his struggle to breathe was enough to cement Kisame's assumption that everyone of the boy's ribs were broken as well.

He was truly unlucky.

"Biju...killer..."

Kisame blinked in shock on hearing those words spoken barely above a whisper, he instantly knelt beside the young boy and placed his hand over his chest only to share his chakra easing the young shinobi's pain by a fraction.

He looked barely in his teens but in his heart, the boy knew his life was already over judging from his resigned gaze.

In return for the small mercy Kisame was showing or for some other reason, the Kiri ninja saw the dying enemy shinobi struggle to speak.

"Spartan..."

"Village...S...Rank...Secret"

"The...Black...Flash"

The boy collapsed after whispering those words even as his lifeless eyes gazed at the hellish sky above him until Kisame closed those eyes respectfully.

He looked back in the direction of the battlefield and couldn't help the distrustful frown that came across his grim face.

There is something that you are hiding from us all, Naruto.


Kushina was left speechless when her own Anbu comrades turned their blades against her even as she watched the red eyed masked man charge in their direction. She unleashed her own blade and effectively blocked the incoming swords with her own.

"What the hell are you doing!'' she yelled at her squad leader, only to see his lidded gaze.

Genjutsu.

She cursed in silence and wonder on seeing every member of the Daimyo's personal guard unit were in the same condition. Her attempt to dispel them out of their trap proved unsuccessful which made her arrive at only one conclusion.

"To place Anbu Blackops in an unbreakable genjutsu in an instant from such a distance. There's no mistaking it..." she thought worriedly, even as she jumped away from her now hostile former squad as the masked man stepped beside them.

"Oh, a smart and strong one you are. To think you resisted my visual prowess" praised the masked man in a very masculine and powerful voice,

"Sharingan" whispered Kushina, even as she avoided looking into those eyes again by only focusing on the man's feet.

She watched him calmly create a clone of himself who took the unconscious Lightning Daimyo before disappearing in a wave of flames.

"You're in my way"

Kushina took a step back in fear as a killing intent more dangerous than the Biju's washed over her. She was frozen in her tracks on watching a quick flash followed by the severed heads of her former Anbu comrades fly in the sky before crashing gracelessly alongside their bodies in the dirt.

"To think you have enough of a strong will to resist my genjutsu. The tales about you Spartans were true, after all" said the masked man in a surprised and arrogant tone.

A soft wave of wind flowed across the narrow corridor.

"But then again I was not even using a fraction of my power..."

Kushina's blood ran cold when she heard those words from behind her and the next instant...

...her world turned red.


Author's Notes: End of chapter.

Hope you guys liked it.

I know it's been a while, hope 2019 is going well for you guys as well. It's sure a hectic one for me atleast and it took a lot of time and cuts/rewrites while the penning of this chapter leading to a slow update. Will try to bring out the next chapter as soon as possible, maybe in a week if I can squeeze in some more time.

Anyway, for those that liked the chapter and love the story: appreciate if you could leave a review.

For those who didn't: Hope you find what you want to read.

Cheers,

Blackwolf501