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Chapter 39

Battle of the Raging Seas


Madara watched an astral projection of a fleet of ships sailing forth from the shores of the Land of Water. Unlike any other voyage, their sailing speed was unbelievable thanks to the Fourth Mizukage standing at the head of this navy and making the very ocean drive his rapid advance thanks to his mastery over water style. Something his shinobi could only dream to achieve.

A fourteen thousand strong army with another two thousand acting as its logistical and medical support.

Four legions made up of four thousand personnel each.

It was the strongest army ever mustered by Kirigakure that had set off for a lengthy and brutal world war in such a grand fashion.

If it fell, then so would their nation as the reserve force left behind by their Kage would not be able to protect its lands against a full blown counter-invasion launched by its enemies should their main armies be destroyed or routed.

"He's going all in" commented Zetsu disappointedly,

"This was all he could muster considering he sent off 7,000 of his men to Osaka to act as a diversion. Even so, Kumogakure still has more men than him. Did the Raikage take the bait?" asked the Uchiha,

"Not completely. He has pulled his son A alongside his regiment and the Kinkaku Blackops from the frontlines near Konoha's borders even ceding critical territory they had won for he realized how grave this threat is. It has freed critical war resources for the Land of Fire to launch a counter invasion against the Land of Wind now that the strongest military in the world is off their back" answered Zetsu seriously,

"Just as Naruto planned"

"A's forces and the Kinkaku are nearly 10,000 strong. The diversionary force led by General Abe is only 7,000 strong. They'll most probably be cut to pieces or be broken into desperate fighting groups" warned the creature,

"Not our concern, even the bait knows its fate. What about Kumogakure and its feudal capital's defenses?" asked Madara seriously,

"The Third Raikage controls his village with a 10,000 strong force. The new puppet Daimyo you installed forced him to part with another 5,000 of his reserves to join the royal army in the capital's defenses. That's nearly 25,000 men guarding the two locations in total against Naruto's army of 16,000. I'm not sure how he can win this despite his military brilliance, the odds are simply too great" said Zetsu frankly,

"Just as the Raikage, the boy himself is capable of facing an entire army given how strong he has become. But you're right, he's severely outnumbered. One mistake on his part and it can end in disaster. It's where we come in" advised Madara seriously,

If not for their stubborn ideology and shortsightedness, Madara would have chosen the Land of Lightning to create his new world. But the fools would never understand the greater picture which was why they had to be broken.

"Why do you like him so much, Madara?" asked Zetsu curiously, making the Uchiha glance at the young Kage leading his fleet.

"He reminds me of myself from long ago, also like Hashirama to an extent. Unlike the arm chair Kages of today who prefer to command their armies from the safety of the rear or secure command zones, he's always out there in the field. Right beside his men, leading through example. Sharing every hardship and pain he asks his troops to endure, his predecessors lacked this zeal" commented Madara with a smile,

"Some would call it foolish. If the Kage falls in battle, an entire nation gets put in jeopardy even causing his armies to collapse" countered Zetsu,

"True. Most Kage's think along those strategic lines. But from his birth, he was taught to lead from the front even if it means facing death every time. For people like him, there is only Victory or Death" answered Madara,

Zetsu sighed but didn't push any further as he completed a set of hand seals making dozens upon dozens of coffins arise in the vast underground center they were situated in.

He looked at the warriors that had been summoned once again from the afterlife.

The Spartans.

While very young in nature, they had fought an unsung battle that Kumogakure remembered till this day even if they never talked about it. These children had paid the ultimate price for their nation's future only to be thrown aside by the very same system they died to protect. It was fitting and personal for them to take part in the war to bring down the nation they died fighting against.

One of them stepped forward and now looked at him before his eyes shifted towards the Astral Projection upon which he saw his brother leading an entire navy.

"That's the Fourth Mizukage and his army marching to destroy the Land of Lightning completely" said Madara simply, making the young redhead's eyes widen in shock before a proud and immensely satisfied smile arrived upon his face.

"Mizukage, huh? Elder Brother truly is something else" whispered Nagato happily,

Madara tried to control the brief pain that emerged in his heart upon seeing the love the boy had for his older brother, even if they were half siblings. It reminded him of his own brothers and especially Izuna whom he lost to this cruel world.

Soon, Brother. I shall create a true world where you can live again peace!

In that way, both him and Naruto were alike. They both wanted to destroy the current corrupt system and bring peace in order to let humanity and their lost families regain eternal happiness.

It was why he could not allow the boy to be defeated by someone else's brilliance or his own mistake, no matter the cost.

He explained everything that had happened since the Namikaze brothers had last met each other including the fact that Naruto had now joined their quest to usher in a new dawn for humanity.

"I never wanted him to experience such pain. He has endured enough of that his entire life" whispered Nagato sadly, as Madara informed him of the demise of Ino Yamanaka and the child of his elder brother.

"Will you still fight? You could end up in a fate worse than death" asked Madara seriously, and was pleased to see the sheer rage in the redhead's eyes.

"I will" promised Nagato fearlessly,

"And your men? I haven't given their conscious free reign like yours, will they willingly fight this war?" questioned Zetsu skeptically,

Nagato looked at the creature making Madara give a nod. Soon enough, Zetsu stopped the absolute control he had held over the other Spartans. They had been conscious for everything that had happened so far just not free to speak their own thoughts until now.

The redhead Spartan watched as his old comrades and fellow Spartan leaders-Hayate and Kasumi stepped forward after exchanging silent looks with the rest of their comrades.

"Ready to destroy the Lightning bitches?" challenged Nagato,

Both Spartan leaders looked at him for a moment before glancing at their former Captain now Mizukage and their fellow comrade Kushina standing side by side on the astral projection.

Kasumi merely gave a smirk as Hayate echoed the feeling in every Spartan's hearts.

"Are you kidding? We're right behind you"

Madara watched Nagato smile and clasped each of his hands with his old comrades as the rest of the Spartans came forward to voice their own consent to get the justice they didn't receive in life.

Their camaraderie clear for anyone to see which made him smile.

He was one step closer towards his true dream.


Naruto had a heavy frown upon his face as he watched the unending thunder that had raged across the skies for the past several hours. Heavy rains had battered them mercilessly and the violent seas would have already consumed a few ships already if not for his and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's best efforts to control the water around their naval vessels.

He remembered several regiments of civilian fighters sent by the Daimyo to rescue the previous Seven Ninja Swordsmen had never reached Iwagakure and had instead perished in this very sea.

Judging by how violent it was becoming with each passing moment, he could understand why.

If his shinobi were struggling to keep themselves from sinking, then civilian fighters never stood a chance against such dangerous waters.

"Lord Fourth! Look at that"

He gazed far on the eastern flank and found a wave of mist approaching towards them spanning across several dozen kilometres. They were still a thousand miles away from the shores of the Land of Lightning and no natural mist could occur under such a violent storm.

"Kaori! Link up with the Sensor Division! I want a report on any enemy presence on the eastern flank!" he ordered, referring his childhood friend by her new codename they had decided themselves.

Kushina nodded and bravely jumped off his flagship to land upon a nearby vessel and hop on to the next ones as a few highly skilled sensors joined her in running towards their farthest ships on the eastern flank.

"She's good. Even for a mercenary" commented Mei with faint admiration,

"It's what we pay her for" replied Naruto, as he glanced at the female Jinchuuriki and possibly his future wife who had volunteered to accompany him in this conquest. Her reasoning for staying by his side was the fact that she wanted their men to witness her loyally fight for their Kage in order to gain support for her own political elevation in the future.

Besides, if her Biju went out of control then the Fourth Mizukage was the only one strong enough to control it.

Not that she needed to as the beast had been quite curious upon getting a brief signal from the Three tails, a simple message to comply with the new Kage's war for the time being.

Mei was drenched completely as were everyone of her comrades, the weather was cold, the rains merciless and the seas violent. She saw the worry in their Kage's eyes which made her take a step closer.

"What is it?" she asked him,

"Something feels off. I can feel it" he whispered, only loud enough for her to hear. There was no need to make the men panic considering they were already fighting nature itself.

As if his words had been prophetic, they saw a red flare immediately being fired up from a ship on the eastern flank, the one where Kushina and few of the sensors had gone to.

Before Mei could turn back and ask another question as to what the woman could have found, Naruto had already vanished from their ship.

He was quite fast.


The Fourth Mizukage appeared on the ship earning firm salutes from every ninja and civilian onboard except for Kushina who stayed true to her persona of a mercenary.

"Report" ordered Naruto,

"There is a disturbing energy in the mist, Lord Fourth! It's not natural" answered Kushina seriously, earning firm nods from the other sensors in her unit.

"I knew it" thought Naruto frustratedly,

With winter approaching, the sea shouldn't have been this violent. He would know and as would Kushina, since as Spartans they were trained to fight on land, air and sea. And while they had not fought any major naval battles or skirmishes in their service, they had performed combat patrols and training operations in this ocean.

The mist was rapidly approaching towards his fleet and once it settled in, his fleet could very well be torn to shreds with each ship fighting for itself in these violent seas.

"Can you erect a protective barrier around our fleet?" asked Naruto seriously,

"Not if they follow such a large formation. Reorganize the ships into a spindle formation in tight knit groups, that should be enough for me to form a passable barrier. We'll still need to keep the ships together as much as possible" she advised him, earning an understanding nod in return.

"Get back to the flagship and adopt a spindle formation. Use your chakra chains to link up every ship" he ordered,

"That'll drain my chakra reserves very rapidly" she warned him,

"Have the ninjas share their chakra with you. Those are my orders!" he commanded, gesturing to one of the Sensor ninja to ensure the men aboard the flagship didn't raise any hurdles in supporting the mercenary.

As Kushina went off to carry out her orders, Naruto turned towards one of the other sensors swiftly.

"Summon the Seven Ninja Swordsmen"

The shinobi saluted before vanishing with a quick shunshin as the last Namikaze glared at the approaching mist. With such a turbulent ocean and violent weather, his own sensory powers found it difficult to understand what exactly was going on and why he felt very uneasy deep in his heart.

He watched as his fleet started adopting a spindle formation slowly as a series of chakra chains spread from the flagship and latched on to each and every vessel in a few minutes.

By that time, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had arrived at his side and looked at him for further orders.

"What is that?" asked Kisame with a frown, before his Kage could even say a word.

At first none of his comrades saw anything amongst the raging seas prompting the Mizukage to activate his red eyes fully and what he saw made his heart stop.

"Kaori, bring up the barrier now!" he roared fiercely and used chakra to make his voice echo across the entire fleet despite the raging storm thundering over them all.

But it was already a little too late.

Mangetsu blanched when he clearly saw a land mass full of spikes emerge from the deep ocean and instantly launch an entire barrage of those deadly spikes clearly through the skies which were now heading straight for their clustered fleet.

"With me!" commanded Naruto swiftly, thankful to have his aerial gear always strapped across his back. A practice drilled into him brutally from his Spartan days. He had instilled the same discipline in his men in return.

To their credit, not one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen hesitated or flinched in fear as a literal rain of spikes sailed towards their fleet. Instead of seeking cover, they took to the skies and headed straight towards the hail of projectiles under the lead of their fearless Kage.

"Haku, Mangetsu, Zabuza, Jinpachi-protect the fleet! Buy time for Kaori to set up the barrier!" commanded Naruto fearlessly,

The three swordsmen nodded fiercely before dispersing into three different sections to protect the front, center and rear of their fleet respectively.

"Ameyuri, Kisame! Follow my lead!"

The remaining swordsmen unleashed their holy swords and followed after the Mizukage as he raced towards the newly discovered foe.


The Kiri army watched from their ships as three of the Seven Ninja swordsmen took up defensive positions around the front, center and rear of their fleet.

Haku quickly performed a set of hand seals before forming nearly hundreds of ice mirrors across the entire eastern flank in a defensive wall.

It came into existence just in time for the first of the humongous spikes to come crashing down upon the fleet. The Yuki clan heir roared a fearsome warcry pouring massive amount of chakra to her defense.

Ice mirrors after ice mirrors were shattered under the fearsome rain of monstrous spikes only to be reinforced by hundreds more as Haku valiantly led the defense of their entire fleet single handedly.

But even a novice could see the sheer amount of strain it was putting upon the young heiress and she was only relieved when Jinpachi joined the frey.

He brought forth his deadly blade-Shibuki and unleashed a volley of explosive tags that tore apart a good part of the spike rain. Relentlessly, he continued his attack as Haku fought desperately to protect him and the ice mirrors shield that was protecting their fleet.

Mangetsu and Zabuza joined next with fearless warcries of their own as they created dozens of water dragons from the raging ocean, the beast's demonic eyes gleamed in the fiery storm as they launched a deadly volley of water missiles that joined their's comrade's simultaneous attacks in crushing the deadly spikes.

But even as they fought valiantly and prevented even one projectile from reaching any of their ships, they knew it was only a matter of time and a single slip to deal a devastating blow. The loss of a single ship meant losing hundreds of men and that was something they couldn't afford even before they reached their enemies shores.

It was why they were quite surprised when a shockwave raced forward and obliterated the next volley of spikes about to rain down on them.

Looking back, Mangetsu saw Mei Terumi joining the battle with five tails clearly swirling from her back.

As the Jinchuuriki charged bravely to the aid of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, she was quite surprised when ferocious cheer erupted from one of the ships as she passed by them to join the frontline. Soon enough more and more ships joined in until it turned into an unending roar.

Words couldn't describe the content and pride she felt in her heart as this was the first time her fellow countrymen were openly cheering for her when her entire life she had only been looked upon as a monster.

It made her charge forward to join the frontline and launch more deadly air shockwaves that immensely helped their fledgling defense as the silhouettes of a deep red colored barrier started emerging in all directions of their fleet with Kaori having gotten crucial time to bring up her own defense which made her be grateful for Naruto's insight of hiring this Uzumaki mercenary.

"We hold for the barrier!" she commanded loudly,

The four Seven Ninja Swordsmen nodded as together they intensified their counterattack against the enemy's offense.


Naruto sailed through the skies to now what he could clearly see was a floating mass of spikes, larger than even every known tailed beast in size.

"What the fuck is that?" cursed Ameyuri,

"I didn't think it would be true. There were rumors that Kumogakure had an island which they used for their Jinchuuriki and special blackops training. But this thing is not an island but a fucking massive ninja turtle!" exclaimed Kisame in awe,

"It dies"

Both swordsmen agreed with their Kage's command considering the sheer amount of spikes the now identified enemy turtle was launching from its back and straight towards the Kiri fleet. Their comrades fighting a losing battle against time to save their vessels against the deadly onslaught.

"Twin pronged attack. Ameyuri and I will strike its upper body, Kisame go and scout for a weakness on its lower half submerged in the water" commanded the Fourth Mizuakge,

The shark like swordsmen nodded before diving fearlessly into the ocean all the while performing a unique set of hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

In the blink of an eye, Kisame was joined by an entire squadron of hunter sharks as they all now joined forces in accomplishing the Mizukage's command.

"Lord Fourth, the Mist!" warned Ameyuri in alarm,

Naruto saw the mist circling around the island turtle was now rapidly approaching towards him and Ameyuri which made him execute a counterattack instantly.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"

Channeling a substantial amount of chakra into the attack, he unleashed a powerful air wave that dispersed the approaching wall of Mist into smaller fragments into multiple directions.

Ameyuri used that opening to charge forth raising her twin blades Kiba straight towards the skies that rumbled with storms of lightning now gathering over the monstrous island turtle.

"Thunder God!" yelled Ameyuri furiously,

Naruto was frankly amazed as the holy swords launched a powerful wave of lightning directly into the skies which crashed against the storming clouds. In the blink of an eye, a humongous lightning spear crashed from the skies as if unleashed by the gods themselves.

Mercilessly it struck the island turtle's back creating a monstrous explosion and temporarily halting the spears it was launching from its back as hundreds of them were simply blown away in the blast, however it didn't stop the beast's advance towards their fleet.

In retrospect it only made the turtle pick up his pace if such a thing was possible for a monster of his size, shrugging of an attack that would have killed hundreds of shinobi in an instant.

He saw Kisame emerge from the water swiftly with his sharks missing and the look of alarm on the swordsmen's face made the Mizukage even more tense.

"It's as strong beneath the water as it is above! We couldn't even get close as it launched multiple whirlpools, it's too strong Lord Fourth!" yelled the swordsmen swiftly,

Naruto cursed and tried to think of his options. He barely had two minutes before the beast reached his fleet and once it was inside his formation, it was all over. Even Kushina's barrier would not be able to stop him.

The only thing he could find in his own arsenal of ninjutsu was the humanoid monster he had created during his last battle by joining the Yin and Yang chakra inside his body. But doing so even once had reduced his live by several years, taking that risk again might just prove fatal.

However doing nothing would see his army annihilated even before it reached the enemy, he would go down in history as the most laughable Kage of all time.

"How can I ask my men to die for me and my dream if I can't even do the same for them when needed most?" he chastised himself,

In that moment he made his choice but before he could call upon that divine power, he saw something with his red eyes that gave him another equally risky idea. He appeared beside Ameyuri with a quick Hirashin, swiped his thumb with her twin holy swords marking some of his chakra and blood upon the blades.

"What?" asked the female swordsmen in surprise,

"Can you do your technique once more?" he asked her seriously,

"Yes but-"

"Your blades can now trace my chakra, right?" asked the Kage quickly,

"Yes"

"Then launch your attack on my signal! he commanded without hesitation,

"You'll die if you're in the radius, Naruto! You can't be faster than lightning even with your teleportation! You're not a god!" she tried to warn him,

Ameyuri was surprised to only receive a warm yet cocky smile in return before the Fourth Mizukage charged towards the beast in act of bravery or sheer madness the likes of which she had not seen in any man.

"Naruto!" she yelled out for him, but he kept on charging forward.

She cursed and quickly asked Kisame to get out of the water as she started gathering chakra for her devastating attack, hoping whatever gods that existed in the universe prevented her hands from becoming the ones that killed their insanely brave but dear leader.


The warriors of Kirigakure stood on the edge of their ships and watched mesmerized as their Kage made a suicidal charge that not even the most bravest or craziest among them would have dared attempted against a monster of that size.

The heavens roared once again as Ameyuri brought forth the power of the Thunder God back to life.

Nor the sheer roar of the lightning gathering in the skies or the water missiles that emerged from the ocean rapidly broke the Mizukage's fearless charge as he kept on nearing towards the massive island. The beast must have sensed the approaching danger which made it launch nearly a thousand spikes from his back straight towards the charging Kage.

In return, Naruto launched several dozen three pronged kunai and what followed next was something that his men would remember forever.

Flash after flash happened without pause with even the most acute sensor only able to see a black blur dodge each and every spear sailing past him harmlessly. It was the giant turtle's turn next as the Black flash suddenly appeared right above his barely exposed face.

"NOW!"

Lightning roared upon the Mizukage's warcry as he threw one of his three pronged kunai laced with his chakra straight towards the turtle's head which was rapidly descending back into its hardened shell.

The explosion that followed an instant later blinded each and every human while rocking the entire Kirigakure navy and the very ocean itself.


Ameyuri and Kisame had gone extremely pale as they tried to search for their Kage amidst the humongous amount of vapor that was now shrouding the entire area since the lightning attack had struck beast and ocean without discrimination.

The remnants of several dozen fishes floated lifelessly upon the ocean's surface, their charred corpses presenting a grotesque sight.

Both swordsmen joined forces together to launch a respectable wind attack that slowly started to disperse the vapor spread across the entire area.

As their vision started to clear, both of them advanced forward and were surprised as well as relieved at the same time to find their Kage floating over a now unconscious island turtle, half of the beast's face was badly burned thanks to the monstrous lightning attack which had struck him without mercy before it could retreat back into its well protected shell.

"Ash Release: Particle Annihilation!"

Dark ash like chakra was launched from the Mizukage's body which gathered around the exposed head and neck of the monstrous turtle before igniting in a thunderous explosion, by its end the beast was missing nearly half of its upper body as the explosion had even penetrated deep into its hardened shell and obliterated everything in its path.

Every human watched in awe and relief as the monstrous island started to sink into the ocean but not before the Fourth Mizukage procured their nation's flag from a scroll in his pouch and slammed it hard into the highest visible spike on the turtle's back.

Absolute Victory.

The first of many in their grand conquest.

Naruto, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Mei turned back when a wave of cheerful roars emerged from their fleet making them launch a quick return back to their men.

Each of them clearly saw the respect and gratitude they had earned from their warriors and supporters when one by one the shinobi and feudal warriors gave them a respectful salute until the entire fleet joined the action.

It was a sight that neither the Seven Ninja Swordsmen or Mei Terumi would forget for the rest of their lives, a feeling Naruto was now quite familiar with after having seen the same kind of unity and support from their people upon his coronation.

"The Black Flash!"

As he flew back towards his flagship with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Mei upon his heels, somebody from the fleet gave a ferocious roar of approval by calling him that name.

"The Black Flash!"

"The Black Flash!"

"The Black Flash!"

He stopped upon reaching his flagship as the entire fleet and every warrior standing upon it thumped their chests repeatedly and in unison as a sign of respect while giving him a name which he had once thought was only a product of Madara's fantasy.

It made him climb upon the mast of the flagship so he could be visible to his entire fleet as he raised his sword high in the air.

"To our great conquest!" he roared fearlessly,

Kushina smiled upon seeing the fiery response the entire fleet gave upon their Kage's proclamation, it only strengthened her hope of avenging her lost comrades by destroying the nation that had killed them in the last war.

"Come, my warriors! Kumogakure and the shinobi world awaits us!"

History would remember the Battle of the Raging Seas as one of the most important events of the Second Great Ninja War.

It was not only one of the rare instances where mankind had prevailed upon forces of nature across the ocean but also marked the demise of the beast responsible for protecting Kumogakure's waters from its enemies.

What followed afterwards was a tale of hardship, pain and change that shook humanity itself with history immortalizing it in its pages forever as...

The Great March


(Kumogakure)

The Third Raikage had been gazing at his village when he heard one of his men immediately march inside the room. Judging from Dodai's worried expression, the news weren't good.

"Genbu is gone, my lord"

Usually he appreciated the man's habit of stating the point directly, but not today.

"Come again? He usually disappears from time to time, you know that" reprimanded the dark skinned Kage,

"His name vanished from the contract scroll. We had kept him on patrol duty in the ocean to spot and intercept any Invasion fleet that could launch from Kirigakure towards us or our allies. He had successfully foiled an earlier attempt few months ago by sinking the Water Daimyo's fleet headed towards Iwagakure to rescue their previous Seven Ninja Swordsmen commanded attack force" pointed Dodai worriedly,

The Third Raikage frowned as the only reason the beast's name would disappear from the holy contract scroll would be if he no longer existed in this world.

He marched down to his desk and took a seat making Dodai follow after him.

"Then it's just as we feared. Kirigakure has launched a full scale invasion upon us. The fact that they took out Genbu is proof they have strong warriors among their ranks and this army is strong unlike the earlier one. What reports are our spies giving us?" asked the Raikage seriously,

"Only that soon reinforcements will be landing in Osaka to launch a deeper incursion into our lands. I have asked Lord A and the Kinkaku Blackops alongside our frontier army to stop that from happening" explained Dodai honestly,

"That may not be the enemy's real strategy. Fortify the feudal capital and our village's defenses, I want our main army fully mobilized alongside our Jinchuuriki's. The enemy's main targets will be these two locations, if they take it- this nation falls. Demand 10,000 reinforcements from Iwagakure!" commanded the Raikage,

"Iwa would never agree to such a huge number" warned Dodai,

"Then tell that fucked up mummy Mu that if Kumogakure falls then his flank is wide open. If he doesn't want Kiri's barbarians plundering his lands and lose his title of Tsuchikage then he will do well to send us as many reinforcements as possible to stop the enemy just like we have helped him in the past" snarled the Raikage furiously,

"And if he refuses?"

"He won't"

Dodai chose not to further question his Kage considering he looked far from pleased and their situation was deteriorating rapidly.

"What about Konoha?" asked the muscular Kage,

"They haven't launched a counter-invasion when your son made a tactical retreat back into our lands to stop what's happening in Osaka. They seem content to sit in their borders, probably exhausted to launch a fresh offensive just yet" suggested Dodai,

"No, they won't waste such a chance. Ask Sungakure to be on guard, the Land of Fire may not have the resources to invade us fully after the losses they have taken so far...but the Sand is an easy target. Considering how the Tsuchikage would be too reluctant to support them considering their past rivalry, it is imperative the Kazekage shores up his defenses!" warned the Raikage,

"I'll relay the message, Lord Raikage" promised Dodai dutifully,

"I'll also march alongside our army"

Dodai was quite shocked to hear that and was about to protest against such a risky decision but his leader had already raised his hand to stop him from raising those very protests.

"We may have the higher numbers, knowledge of our homeland, possible allies and even our Jinchuuriki's but morale is also an important part of every battle, as is leadership. Unlike our enemies or allies or even the previous Mizukage's who always preferred to direct their forces from the safety of their villages or established command centers...The Fourth Mizukage fights alongside his army" pointed the Raikage seriously,

"A stupid move, if he falls then his army could very well crumble in the debacle" rebuked Dodai,

"True but on the otherhand he shares every hardship and pain that he asks his men to endure. He takes the same or even greater risks to protect their lives...you'd be surprised how far shinobi would go for such a man. First Osaka, then our previous Daimyo, the Civil War in his nation, and now maybe Genbu as well. He doesn't seem like his predecessors who were content to order their armies to attack other nations while they remained safe in their home village. A Kage who fights his own battles, a rare breed indeed" praised the Raikage truthfully,

"What are you saying, Lord Raikage?" questioned Dodai in disbelief,

"An army of lions led by a sheep is less dangerous than an army of sheep led by a lion" whispered the Raikage prophetically, as he glanced at the picture of the new Mizukage in a bingo book on his desk.

"You seem awfully sure that the Mizukage is leading the Invasion. I dare say, you even admire him" replied Dodai hesitantly, earning a smile from the older dark skinned man.

"I admire his bravery and leadership. As a fellow Kage, it is only right that I meet him in battle with my own army. More importantly, you have heard tales about his teleportation technique. In that case, I am the only one in this village who can actually have a chance of defeating him" answered the Third Raikage with determination,

Dodai knew he could not convince his leader to change his mind when he was this determined and knew only time would tell the fate that awaited them all including those of the enemies marching towards them.


Author's Notes: End of chapter.

Hope you guys liked it.

I don't know how many of you remember but in the 2nd chapter, I had described how a Kiri fleet was destroyed at sea. Now you know it wasn't just a freak accident of nature but our dear turtle island did it...for those of you who don't know, in cannon it's the place where Bee and Naruto trained.

Always thought Kumogakure would have more use for the creature than just a large ass training zone, that turtle was freaking as big as the Ten tails!

Lots of interesting things coming up soon although I am bit bummed since I have provided faster updates and longer chapters with more events happening but the reviews have been extremely less. For those who continuously do review, you have my eternal thanks since it's you guys who make me believe I am not writing here only for myself. This has kind off killed my enthusiasm to provide faster updates so I'll be focusing upon my other stories (Shadows and A New Path) for sometime to have a change of scenery.

Until Next Time,

Blackwolf501