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Chapter 26

The Dark Prince


Tobirama found himself camouflaged inside a thick forest of trees that surrounded the Pirate Base. From his current position, he and the Kiri ninja around him could easily see the entire base, recording every movement of the enemy.

Their platoon leader, Haku stood still as a rock.

But the young girl's unflinching gaze showed a resolve to see her mission through. When both of them spotted faint silhouettes of Naruto's Scout team flying towards the center of the base under the cover of the night, they knew it was time.

"Get Ready"

Those that were here alongwith the others members of their platoon spread across the entire island formed a secured perimeter quickly by slapping Silencing Seals on the designated checkpoints.

Tobirama watched Haku perform her own set of hand seals before slamming it against the seal she had placed on her own tree. It glowed brightly for one mini-second followed by similar fading sparks occurring across the entire island in a circular perimeter that was setup.

That was when the first of the bombs were dropped.

Tobirama could only watch in silent admiration and slight fear as the Scout team dropped their poison bombs one after another across the barracks and the docks unleashing a wave of terror and chaos across the entire enemy camp.

The Hokage watched dozens upon dozens of men melting before his eyes at the docks as the poison seared through their skin and blood.

The barracks were much less of a cruel scene, as most of its occupants were asleep at this late hour and were dead before they even realized what had happened. A handful stronger ones or those that were not asleep yet managed to storm outside in a hurry only to be pinned against the walls of their barracks with a kunai lodged in their head courtesy of the Scout Team that was ready to mop up any such lucky survivors from the sky.

While he could not see what was happening in the harbor, Tobirama could feel several chakra signatures active in that zone indicating the three Kiri platoons had also launched their attack from that direction led by their respective swordsmen.

Just when the enemy thought they had grasped the worst of their situation, the eastern and western gates were breached.

Masked commandos led by Mangetsu and Kisame stormed in from each respective direction putting down every standing body in their path. It didn't matter whether the person was a man or woman, old or young, heavily or lightly armed.

Almost everyone of them received two deadly kunai shots in the chest followed by one in the head within seconds.

Naturally, quite a few of the pirates realized the futility of resistance watching as every second more and more of their comrades were dropping dead. A few had tried charging at the enemy only to be riddled with kunai by the commandos without even getting close.

The handful that could use chakra were more successful in getting closer to the enemies but only met a gruesome end at the hands of Mangetsu and Kisame who shred those brave fools in half or worse.

With the enemy in the open nearly wiped out, the commandos started for their next target.

Swiftly they stacked up against the tavern where quite a few of the pirates had taken shelter and were preparing to mount a counter-offensive. The 501st commandos threw several smoke bombs through the window before breaking through the door.

"High Right"

"Neutralized"

"Behind the Bar"

"One in the head"

"Clear Left"

"Clear Right"

Tobirama could only listen to the swift communication between the commandos that were carrying out their mission quite impressively. Granted, they were not fighting against ninjas but their efficiency and style of execution was near flawless.

Then the Northern gate was reduced to shreds courtesy of a powerful force of wind which sent dozens of its defenders sailing away in various directions.

Tobirama could only gawk at the dramatic entrance of his son, he was definitely going in for the terror as nobody walked into an enemy camp by exploding the front door and strolling in with dark wings on their back. To the terrified defenders, he must have looked like a demon from hell with his red eyes and dark wings alongwith that haunting killing intent.

The entire camp was collapsing from every direction with the survivors having no choice but to run for their lives.

One such group found itself running exactly towards Tobirama's direction. He raised his kunai but was beaten to the punch when a volley of kunai and senbon were fired by Haku and her platoon which instantly decimated the enemy deserters.

Even when their bodies hit the ground, a second volley was fired over them putting down the chance of any miraculous survivors.

"Textbook kills" praised Haku coldly, earning respectful nods from her commandos at the praise.

Similar scenes were taking place all over the island as the rest of her platoon prevented any such deserters from escaping the "Kill Zone", ensuring the objective of not leaving behind any enemy combatants alive was met.

Everything was going just as planned yet Tobirama's sensory powers tickled for a moment which made him frown, something that didn't go unnoticed by the beautiful but deadly swordsmen beside him.

"What is it?" asked Haku,

"We may have a perimeter breach from the outside" said Tobirama hesitantly, as he was still not sure of what he had felt just a moment ago.

"Impossible. We secured the entire island before moving in, don't you think any of our sentries would have updated us by now? Still, where did you feel this breach happening?" asked Haku cautiously, unwilling to brush aside the concerns of a formidable warrior like the Hokage.

She was a sensor herself and had not felt what Tobirama had experienced, yet Tobirama's narrowed gaze made her nervous and more on edge.

"The sea"

Haku swiftly turned towards the unending ocean that lay beyond the harbor, three of her men had been stationed there to prevent anyone from escaping via the ocean in case Zabuza and the others missed any such enemies.

"Bird, Falcon, Turtle: Status Report!" commanded Haku, using the codenames assigned to each operative.

Tobirama was further alarmed when they received no response on the communication channel from either of those three commandos, Haku tried a few more times but only met with dead silence.

The Hokage swiftly expanded his sensory powers to its full extent and felt Haku doing the same alongwith the other commandos in their unit holding similar skill.

"Ask the nearest team to investigate that sector" advised Tobirama,

"Crow and Beast, go check on Bird and his group. Be careful and expect hostile contact" ordered Haku,

"Acknowledged"

From the other side of the island, Tobirama felt the chakra signatures of the two respective commandos moving in the ordered direction to investigate until they suddenly vanished from his senses completely.

Haku must have felt the same as her face lost all color, but before she could react any further the girl found herself tackled swiftly towards the ground courtesy of Tobirama. As they fell, she witnessed seven of her own men falling alongside them.

Each with a kunai lodged in his head.

She and the Hokage barely had time to take up defensive positions on the ground when more of her men fell to the ground with every one of them having a kunai lodged in the head or neck.

Tobirama didn't wait for his protectors and instead threw his special kunai in the direction where the attack was coming from. Before Haku could even utter a word of protest, the Hokage vanished.


Naruto snapped the neck of the fool that thought charging at him head on was a good idea. To be honest, these pirates were not even worthy fighters or maybe he was being unjust towards them considering most of them couldn't even use chakra, had no formal military training, were taken completely by surprise in the middle of the night and were simply no match for the 501st commandos that were better trained personally by the blonde.

He was pleased when he watched the efficiency and co-ordination with which his men moved.

Granted this mission was not even a proper test of their abilities, but it gave them actual battlefield experience where they worked together as a unit. It was an essential learning lesson before they faced rival special ops from other villages like the Kinkaku from Kumo, Demolitions Unit from Iwa or the upcoming Anbu factions from Suna, Konoha or Uzu in the future if the latest intel reports were correct.

Even if this war led to a lasting peace, he doubted the war in the shadows would ever be over.

It had existed long before he was born and would probably continue long after he was gone.

Still, it was a long way to go before they were fully capable of facing any threat under any circumstances.

The honor of being truly worthy of facing any enemy under the most difficult circumstances could only be attributed to those men that perished nearly a decade ago under his command.

He could only imagine how strong they would have became today had they survived, they already were one of the most dangerous unit all those years ago.

"We're under attack!"

He raised a surprised eyebrow on hearing Haku's alarmed voice over his channel making him activate his own line towards the young girl.

"How many?" he asked calmly, curious as to why a bunch of pirates were actually giving her any trouble.

"Unknown. I've lost ten men already, watch out!" cried Haku fiercely,

Naruto heard the explosions over the channel alongwith a small plume of smoke rising in the sky from the forest where Haku was protecting Tobirama. It was supposed to be the most safest position!

"Commander, we're pinned inside the harbor. Heavy suppressive fire!" reported Zabuza bitterly over a new channel,

"Suppressive fire? Elaborate!" ordered Naruto swiftly, a bad feeling now forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Seems the enemy may have managed to acquire some of our weapons and flanked us!" answered Zabuza furiously,

"Winter, what the hell happened to your men tasked with defending our perimeter and protecting the backs of our CQC teams?" demanded Naruto furiously, and heard Haku suck in a terrified breath knowing heads were going to roll if this was a mistake made by anyone in any manner, especially under her command.

"They're dead"

Naruto felt his heart skip several beats as he contemplated the possibility of an ambush being sprung on his forces. No pirates were strong enough for such a bold move, was it Madara and his forces? If so, then how the hell did they came to know about this mission despite all the precaution and diversions they had undertaken to keep it a secret? Was there a traitor in his own ranks?

So many questions and possibilities, but there was only one course of action that he could take right now.

"COUNTERATTACK!"

The order resonated across each and every Commando from the 501st and their respective leaders. The sheer ferocity in the Commander's voice instilled some much needed boost in the shaken morale of the troops.

"Platoon 5, reinforce Platoons 2, 3, and 4 pinned in the harbor and take the fight back to the enemy!" ordered Naruto,

"Right away, Commander" replied Mangetsu confidently,

"Platoon 6, have your men secure the base and prevent any new fronts from opening up. Take care of the wounded and any possible innocents inside this base. I can sense two fronts, one in Platoon 1's direction and the other towards the harbor. Once the base is secure, I want half of your men to begin flanking maneuver in both directions while the rest hold this position. Understood?" explained Naruto seriously,

"Very well" said Kisame calmly,

With that taken care of, Naruto looked at the sky and was proud to see his Scout team of 10 commandos was waiting for him. His dark wings opened fully across his back as he took to the skies making them follow after him.

"Commander, we lost sight of the VIP. The man charged in the direction the attack is coming from" reported Haku hesitantly, knowing it was her main responsibility to keep the hokage safe.

She expected a severe rebuke for such a dangerous mistake and was left surprised on hearing something entirely different.

"I'll take care of him. Focus on the enemy now and minimize your casualties. Counter-charge their position in Delta formation!" ordered Naruto calmly, knowing there was no stopping a man like Tobirama if he was determined to do something.

Considering he knew the Hirashin had made him a huge liability and an asset at the same time. They couldn't honestly control his movements if he decided to be difficult since he could teleport, but an experienced shinobi like him should know how idiotic his actions were looking right now.

Or was there a more grave reason which forced the former Hokage to take such a risky move?

It was not the place or time to ponder any further on these questions which only made him speed up his approach towards the direction where he felt the Hokage's chakra appear.


Catching his kunai, the Senju clan head appeared over a small ridge overlooking the forest through a slope. The elevated angle gave a perfect line of sight on his and Haku's last position. The sight of two 501st commandos pinned against a rock with their bodies shredded with kunai made him understand why no warning ever came from the men posted to guard their rear and flanks across the island.

It was also the moment when Tobirama caught sight of their enemy for the first time.

It couldn't be!

A trio of explosive kunai were instantly released from his hands in a swift manner which headed straight towards the large group of ninjas currently laying heavy fire over Haku's position. Two of them sensed the incoming danger and turned upwards spotting the Hokage, or more accurately his attack and quickly fired a hail of kunai from their own kunai launchers destroying the incoming projectiles in mid air.

Smoke and dust spread in the air from the resulting explosions and from the ashes emerged a furious Tobirama that descended upon the enemy forces only to watch them calmly scatter in various directions thereby avoiding him completely.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, four pillars of dark chakra emerged from each direction across the slope which soon turned into a raging inferno that was rapidly closing towards the now trapped former Hokage.

Tobirama tried to teleport to the nearest marking he had left while on his approach towards this position.

To his shock and disbelief, he found himself unable to teleport.

His sensory powers quickly focused him in the direction of the four flaming pillars currently closing in on him. Within fifteen seconds, he would be fried to a crisp.

Anti-teleportation seals were supposed to be a concept still existing in theory only, even Tobirama himself was yet to crack the secrets behind that jutsu even after so many years.

Yet he couldn't see any seals planted nearby nor could he even feel their presence.

It was then he looked at the approaching wall of flames from all directions and realized the truth.

It's this chakra that is preventing me from making contact with my other teleportation seals. There are no seals acting as the barrier, instead this foul chakra itself is one.

His worried gaze tried to think of a way out and was quite relieved when he felt another set of presence enter the area.

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

A tidal wave washed over Tobirama's position drenching the Hokage alongwith the pillars of flames threatening to burn him alive. However, it also created a thick wall of steam resulting from the heat.


Naruto and his Scout team appeared beside the Hokage and adopted a defensive formation around him. The blonde Commander considered himself lucky to be able to execute such a powerful attack from nearly a kilometer away, it was only thanks to his men joining their power against his own which made the wave strong enough to reach its target in required time and thereby saving his life.

What only made his worries even worse was the alarmed look on his father's face. It was as if the man had seen a ghost.

He had not been able to get a clear glimpse of the enemy unlike the Senju leader beside him, but fortunately he saw movement in the mist ahead of them followed by faint shadows appearing on the horizon.

The 501st commandos were quite shocked when their Commander took an uncertain step back, the look on his face consisted of nothing but disbelief and fear which only served to alarm them further.

They looked ahead and saw a large number of enemies appearing on the other side of the mist slowly.

They were wearing dark black full sleeved t-shirts and similar colored pants, and complimented by matching colored combat boots. Their chest were covered in dark colored armor with faint blue lines, their faces covered by a gasmask with two breathing holes extended down the chin. Each of them had twin swords on their backs and their body covered in pouches holding shuriken, smoke bombs, med-kits, and entire magazines of kunai for the launcher weapon in their hands, the same that the Kiri commandos were also sporting at present.

Their bone chilling killing intent and steady combat positions only served to unnerve the Kiri forces further.

"You're supposed to be dead" whispered Naruto in disbelief,

Tobirama watched in stunned silence as the long deceased Spartan Blackops commandos remained unmoved despite their former Commander's words. It wasn't just a setup or an illusion, as they had the same chakra signatures that Tobirama remembered from their fading corpses on that battlefield all those years ago. The power he felt from them was nothing to underestimate. He could take them on individually with ease but against a group as large as this, he needed backup.

It had taken 20 Kinkaku ninjas to capture him just a few months ago...

Spartans.

Barely 120 of them had done the impossible in their final mission. They went behind enemy lines on a suicidal mission to rescue Hashirama without any backup from their nation or its allies, managed to free him from the custody of the Kinkaku, escaped from the prison back towards friendly lines only to be surrounded by thousands of Kumo shinobi alongside the Kinkaku and the Two Tailed beast.

Denied any rescue aid or support, they were left to die behind enemy lines.

Even after being betrayed by their motherland, they stuck to their mission.

They chose to make a last stand while allowing Naruto to escape with Hashirama to safety.

Each and everyone of those 120 souls had perished that night except for their broken Commander, but their valiant final stand led to the deaths of hundreds of Kumo shinobi, half the Kinkaku force and the brutal murder of their tailed beast.

It effectively crushed any further involvement from Kumogakure in the ongoing war in a few short weeks.

Even after such a sacrifice, their deeds were lost in history courtesy of their respective nations unwilling to admit to the guilt of sending these shinobi to their deaths and not helping them in their final hour.

Now, even after death their souls were not allowed peace and were now being defiled in the vilest form.

Tobirama was now able to discern the technique at play here, it was one he had created himself as a last resort in order to turn the tide in a losing war in order to avoid what had happened to the Spartans. Instead of risking young shinobi like that, he would be sending undead warriors to do the same job.

Killing machines that were unstoppable, uncontrollable except by their master, had no hesitation and an unlimited power to fight for eternity.

Edo Tensei.

He may have developed this dark kinjutsu but was yet to implement the same in practice himself. The fact that it was being used by someone else was proof that the enemy had managed to infiltrate his clan's personal library inside Konoha and steal the scroll holding the information about the jutsu or at the very least make a copy.

The fact that they were actually able to perform it at such a magnitude spoke volumes about their skill.

There could only be one man behind this ambush and Tobirama dreaded the possibility of facing him in battle if he emerged from the shadows from where he must be controlling these reanimated former Uzu shinobi.

He hesitantly glanced at his son and was pained to see the heartbroken look on his face. One look in his eye was enough to prove he still felt responsible for the deaths of each and every Spartan standing before him. He may have forgiven himself but he could never forget.

Yet that same shinobi surprised the Hokage again when he closed his eyes and heaved a resigned sigh.

"This is real, isn't it?" asked the boy,

"This is a jutsu I developed that summons the dead back to life through the sacrifice of a living soul. Edo Tensei, is what I call it, they cannot be killed since they are already dead. Physical or mental pain means nothing to do those bodies, any damage can be healed. Their chakra is near infinite, the only way to stop them is to either force the caster to do it as killing him won't stop this dark jutsu either. Or we can seal them" advised Tobirama seriously,

"Can they see me?"

Naruto's whisper barely reached Tobirama's ears but the longing wish in the boy's eyes said it all.

"They are being completely controlled by the looks of it. They don't even remember they are being controlled so don't hesitate to defend yourself as they will go for the kill" warned the Hokage,

Tobirama's eyes widened when he felt a monstrous killing intent being unleashed by his son that brought many 501st commandos to their knees. The Spartan force remained unmoved against their former Commander's power spike.

"Naruto..."

"Stay back, Hokage. This isn't your fight"

The Senju clan head narrowed his gaze and frowned heavily at that cold warning. As if understanding his will, the 501st commandos appeared beside the Hokage and adopted a defensive formation around him.

Before he could object, another stark presence entered the area that made him take a step back in alarm.

He wasn't the only one that felt the shift as the commandos near him shook nervously as a feeling of absolute despair and suffering fell upon them. Unlike Naruto's power that was burning like an inferno of primal rage, this one radiated an aura of a cold wind that threatened to seep into each shinobi's soul and suck the life out of them all.

To their continued horror, many of the trees around them started to wither before their eyes and they all felt that suffocating power descending upon them.

Naruto's counter flare of dark energy destroyed that threatening presence much to the relief of his Commandos.

Except Tobirama's sensory reflexes were screaming at him in alarm. He had clearly felt the power behind Naruto's energy, it was enough to block the incoming offensive energy but not strong enough to deflect it which only meant its caster had pulled back himself, out of caution or amusement was something the Hokage couldn't figure out.

As the dying trees were fully reduced to dust, Tobirama gulped as he realized the same would have been their fate had Naruto not stopped that energy he had felt from descending upon them.

"What was that?" he whispered, instantly hating how unnerved his own voice appeared.

"It's him" answered Naruto bitterly, as he clenched his fists drawing blood.

The blonde bit his own lip before glancing back the veteran Kage beside him reluctantly.

"I'm afraid, I'll need your help after all although I never expected this day to come" said Naruto, his request being directed solely on Tobirama's own communication channel alone.

"Is that got something to do with this presence I am feeling?" whispered Tobirama, drawing curious glances from the Commandos around him who wanted to know what the two were discussing but were torn between paying attention to that chatter or the dangerous threat right in front of them ready to pounce at anytime.

"Yes, keep the rest of the Spartans busy with the 501st's help. I'll take care of him"

"You still haven't answered my question? Is it..."

His question was cut off as thunder rumbled across the sky monstrously and shards of lightning strikes rained down upon the island mercilessly. In that flash of light, Tobirama found himself glancing at a stationery figure floating in the sky.

"The Strongest Spartan" whispered Naruto sadly, anger and pride both mixed in his fleeting confession.

"I thought you were-" whispered the Hokage over their private channel, only for the Namikaze to shake his head.

"I was the fastest"

One of the commandos glanced at the sky and was alarmed when he saw the once dark sky erupt into flames instantly. The explosion rendered each and every shinobi blind and the following shockwave sent all the commandos sailing away like flies. Tobirama was forced to his knees and he watched Naruto gaze at that burning sky as his dark wings prevented him from flying away like the others by the shockwave.

The Hokage's senses were further alarmed when he saw the Spartans take up aggressive stances.

The sky was still on fire and from amidst the flames came a figure that descended towards them at a relaxed pace.

Unlike the other Spartans, he was not wearing a mask but only the uniform. He was pale skinned and had dark red hair with one long banging blocking one of his eyes. Uzumaki.

On closer observation, Tobirama was quite surprised to find the young boy having his own pair of dark wings across his back courtesy of the dark chakra floating all around him. The same one that was also flowing within Naruto's own body.

The redhead landed in front of them gracefully making Naruto avert his gaze.

"Elder Brother.."