AN: WARNING THIS CHAPTER, AND ALL CHAPTERS REMAINING IN THIS STORY TELL THE TALE OF A WAR. THERE WILL BE CHARACTER DEATH, BETRAYAL, COMBAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND MORE. THIS STORY WILL UTILIZE THE M-RATING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. READER DESCRESSION IS ADVISED.
REPUBLIC DIRECTIVE 743
BURIAL
All Troopers will ensure the following objectives to the best of their ability. The securing of their fellow trooper's corpses, or their complete destruction to ensure no enemy interference with the production of further troopers. The securing and reporting of any Jedi that are found dead or incapacitated on the battlefield. All troopers are to treat the dead with respect behooving their station. Your brothers have passed yes, but that is because they love you and the Republic.
As repeated Four Million Eight Hundred Seventy-six times to incubated Clone Batch 00131.
The red lightsaber hissed angrily as it met the stoic purple blade that Naruto wielded. His opponent was an amateur with the tool, and it was obvious in his stances, transitions and even in how he held the saber. Yet, he was not to be underestimated. With a flick, Naruto forced the blade away and jumped backward as his opponent threw a small explosive from a glove he slipped on before they started to fight in earnest. A black glove with six compartments that mixed small amounts of chemicals to create a highly unstable, high yield explosive, normally used by construction crews in the Outer Rim. A most unorthodox weapon, but one that was highly innovative as the heat from it being removed would likely result in an explosion large enough to level this portion of the palace.
His opponent smiled, showing shining teeth that at first glance were not as pointed as they were in reality. His smile slipped from his face as he cocked his head. Naruto recognized the face; the youngest padawans had it as they received a precognition moment from the Force. With a jerk, the would-be assassin darted backward just as Naruto blurred forward and slashed with his saber, just missing grazing his chest by a few millimeters. A snap of the assassin's fingers and another small explosive was levitated and flung towards the knight. Naruto swiped the explosive out of the air with is lightsaber, shielding himself from the explosion with the Force.
In a flash the red blade was back at its attack, taking advantage of his momentary concentration to save himself from being turned into paste. Several clashes happened in a second, before finally Naruto sighed and clicked his second saber to life. With a swift slash, the assassin's arm was removed and flung over the balcony with a judicious application of the force. As it exploded over the lawns, the assassin laughed through the agony of losing an arm.
"She was right about you. You are a monster." Throwing his lightsaber away, the assassin then slapped himself on the chest, and Naruto started to sprint. The assassin continued to laugh even as the ominous beeping from his chest slowly rose in crescendo. In moments the Assassin's chest armor, layered with over a dozen wired thermal detonation charges, exploded.
Anakin was in his element. His master and Naruto had both stated that when it comes to combat, he was always too happy to engage. But when it came to Dark Siders, he held nothing back. He fully embraced that side of him. The side that Naruto spoke about when he found him sneaking out to go to Tatooine. The side that Naruto said that every warrior had, and that true masters of themselves had to conquer. Naruto did not stop him from leaving that night; merely told him when he returned that he was expected at training in the morning. Anakin slid slightly to the left, using a trick he learned in that training session to do so. A slight application of the Force allowed him to use his toes to move tightly around while still augmenting his movements with the Force. A blurring exchange cut off any uncombative thought as he parried several forceful slashes and drove the sith backwards with some precise bladework.
It was the explosion that cost Anakin. He was easily able to counter the yellow-eyed sith with his saber. His force abilities were lacking; seeming limited to pushes and crushing attacks. Just as he was preparing his finishing strike, the palace shook, and the attack that would have removed the sith's head only removed his arm. A mistake.
A mistake would always be what cost him in the end. It was a mistake to disregard Naruto's advice. It was a mistake that would cost him this. His master's words flashed in his head as the red blade fell towards his left arm. In combat, a single mistake is often the turning of the tide. He knew instantly that he had lost, even if he had took the sith's arm. He braced himself for the pain, even as he twisted to look at Padme. That glance, as she looked in shock.
He glanced back at the red blade, that was halted nearly three inches from his flesh by another red blade.
The Chiss woman hissed, "Lord Dooku wants him whole Dalos." Anakin didn't hesitate, his blade flashed upwards, around and through as he forced himself into a jumping spin to avoid the swing he knew was coming as he removed Dalos' head. He felt the heat of the woman's lightsaber as it missed him by inches. He landed lightly, and that was his mistake.
The floor was still unstable from the massive explosion that shifted it in the first place. He should have known that as his feat shifted slightly, but that slight shift was all that was needed for Severance to throw her non-bionic arm forward and blue lightning to erupt from her fingertips.
Anakin stood no chance against the Force Lightning onslaught as she advanced and blocked the blaster bolts form Padme the entire way. Finally, Anakin lost consciousness, and Severance let up on the attack. Flicking her fingers at Padme, she slammed her against the wall, cracking her skull against the hard surface. Instantly, Padme was also unconscious. Grabbing them both and throwing them over each of her shoulders, Severance started to walk to the nearest window. Tapping her com link in her left ear, she spoke.
"I have the targets. Extraction needed, west wing." Within moments, a ship blasted its way through the wall, and Severance took one step towards it when a voice called through the ruined palace hallway.
Leaning heavily against the doorway, Naruto stood. The left side of his robes were in ruins and his entire left side was a stitch of blackened burned flesh and angry red flesh. Yet before her very eyes the blackened flesh flaked away and hissed as it healed, and the red flesh slowly was regaining its color. In his right hand, his purple lightsaber was lit and his face was set in determination.
"You… What do you want with the Senator and Anakin?" He took one step forward, his saber hissing as it cut through the floor when the action caused him to sway.
Severance did not speak, her mind locked in the memories of the agony this jedi scum brought her. She raised her right arm, and without speaking poured that hatred into the Force, smiling as the lightning blasted forward. Blue lightning clashed against the purple saber as it appeared in a blur in its path. More and more, Severance poured her hate for this particular individual into the attack, forcing him deeper into the palace he fought to keep himself upright. With a final grunt of effort, Naruto forced the lightning to one side. When he looked up, Severance had pulled a detonator from a pocket and pressed the button as she raced towards the shuttle.
Naruto's eyes widened as the palace was engulfed in explosions and started to collapse. With a sigh, he thrust his palm forward, and blasted Severance with a force push, throwing her, along with her two hostages free of the collapsing palace and into the shuttle with enough force to move the shuttle several feet back. He smiled grimly as he started to sprint towards the opening.
He nearly made it, when the floor fell out from under him, and he dove into his mind.
KYUUBI!
Severance grunted as she threw the two hostages to the two droids in the shuttle, even as she picked herself up. Even weakened, that jedi was not to be underestimated. A flash in her mind, she looked back at the collapsing palace; literal tons of rubble falling on top of him. "Get us away. Now." The ship, already priming its engines blasted off planet, quickly leaving the atmosphere and headed straight to Geonosis.
She knew in her heart that a collapsing building would not kill that Jedi, even if mentally she knew that no jedi could survive that. It was why she hit the com link in her ear once more. "All available ships on Naboo. I want you to fire upon the ruins."
She smiled viciously as the acknowledgements came through. The smile only widened as the thought of what was going to happen flooded her mind.
Naruto found himself in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The beast looked at him with utter hatred, a look that Naruto smiled at in its familiarity. "You know… She looked at me like that too."
"Foolish human… what do you want? At this moment we are falling to your death, and if by some miracle you survive the fall, the rubble will crush you. Are you here because you are about to die?" The beast huffed, shaking the room as he lowered himself to lay in front of the Jedi.
Naruto shook his head and looked at the Fox. "I want you to watch. Watch what is about to happen… I have a feeling that war comes… and I want your advice during it. I understand that you don't want anything to do with me. I do, but I figured this would be a good time to ask and to show you exactly what I can do. I am going to prove I am a big player in the game fox."
The fox blinked. And then it laughed. Its booming laughter shook the room and forced Naruto from his mind. With a sigh, Naruto dove into the force, and then he started to move with a grace that would make some of the nimblest in the galaxy jealous. He hopped from stone to stone, as they fell through the air, using the Force to anchor himself to each piece and blast off. Soon he had made it to the ground floor, and slid down to the ruined stones. Sinking into a horse-stance, Naruto anchored himself once more.
Whenever he embraced the Force, it was not like how his master described his forays into the Force. His master spoke of it like a storm, that you were both apart of and separate from. It wasn't as the Grandmaster spoke of either; a flow of life and energy that was vast and limitless in scope. When Naruto embraced the Force, it felt as if he was hugged, held, and supported by a lover, a friend, a companion. For Naruto, the Force was as much his partner as he was its Knight. His inner power, his chakra sang when he dove into the Force, his body felt as light as a feather and responded to his commands before he even thought them, the world slowed down and his mind raced to comprehend information even as the world slowed.
When Jedi applied the Force in their actions, they were embracing that aspect of the force that they recognized; they moved the storm, shifted the stream. Yet Naruto just asked his friend.
The commander of the ship battalion that circled the Naboolian palace frowned at the readings that his sensors were picking up. Originally, there were 23 different lifeforms in the palace when Lady Severance blew the building. Yet now there was only one, in the middle of the still unstable ruin. A single life form, and if his orders were correct, the only reason they were going to dump their entire payload on an already destroyed target. He pressed the button to activate the coms to all his ships.
"Open fire."
As the first volley rained down, the ships shuddered as gravity seemingly increased, yet their ships readings didn't change. The blasts slammed into the rubble, and it started to rise. Even as more volleys slammed into the rubble, more pieces rose; their speed increasing.
"CEASE FIRE, CEASE FIRE!" The commander screamed as the rubble rose higher, and his heart stopped as his mind supplied the impossible answer.
Something was raising the rubble of the palace back up.
Naruto's arms shook as he slowly raised them. His body shined with blue fire as his chakra reacted to his body's strain. The ground beneath his feet cracked, as more and more pressure built. When his hands reached level with his shoulders, all the rubble that was once the Palace of Naboo floated at least a foot off the ground. He took a deep breath, his body shuddering under the weight before he flung his arms out, roared as his chakra erupted, and he pushed.
The commander was about to call the retreat when his ships were blasted away by an unseen force. Each piece of rubble became a highspeed missile, slamming into a ship or the empty palace grounds even as it itself was pushed away and cratered. As a boulder slammed into the commander's ship, destroying it completely, the only thing the commander could compare it to was when he watched a meteor hit a moon on the holonet.
Naruto wobbled on his feet as his arms fell to his side and he let his connection to the Force slide away. With heavy thuds, the final boulders fell, shaking the ground as he started to pick his way from the newly formed crater, swaying with exhaustion.
His last thought as he climbed out was that he really needed to get a read on that tracker he placed in Anakin's hair when they arrived on the planet. He fell forward as several Naboolian military officers raced forward.
Dooku frowned as he thought of the plans he had formed over the last decade. Originally, he was leaving the Jedi Order due to his disenfranchisement with the shackles the Senate placed on the Order. How was it to help, to keep the peace, when the very organization that leashed it was the cause of all the unrest? How was he, a Jedi Master, supposed to teach younglings to protect something that he did not believe deserved protection? The Republic was a republic in only name, its concept closer to an oligarchy than a republic by any means. The rich, useful, and powerful planets spoke the loudest, and were the only voices in the galaxy that the Senate heard.
It was his last mission as a jedi that caused him to leave. Though he never shared the full story with the Order, he knew that the Jedi would do nothing. After all, who cares if a farming family on an outer rim planet is gunned down by Galactic Peacekeepers after a Jedi Master orders them to leave the planet entirely? Who would care, when the Senate proclaimed his mission a success because he escorted a rich man to the capital? What he saw, another example of the cruelty of the system that they resided.
Originally, he sought to be separate from it, to create something separate and greater than the republic. Naively, he thought that he would be able to do so without war, without bloodshed. It wasn't until the first double cross in the Banking clans that he personally witnessed that he had to harden his heart. It was horrid, to see the bodies of the family he was staying with, and to know that they were killed because they disagreed about money.
Money. The scourge of the Galaxy. The Republic, the rising Hutts, the Trade Federation, every single entity in the Galaxy swallowed their pride and danced to the tune of the credit. Even he… in his quest to build this nation that was slowly coming together, had to compromise due to money.
He remembered his anger as he came from negotiations between the groups and found him in his quarters. Going through his documents casually, his dark hood hiding his face. He remembered the honeyed words, the promises of success if only he would allow himself to be taught by the hooded man; to say only a single word and the galaxy would be his with diligence.
He knew he was being manipulated that day. He knew that his plans had spiraled into something he could not control. He knew it, even as he took a knee in front of what he knew to be the Sith. But he tried as a Jedi. He tried as the diplomat. He tried the routes of kindness, empathy and sympathy. It was time to try something new. Something else. The Galaxy has been shaped only by fire in the past, and it was time to do so again.
With his one word, in this very back room on Geonosis three years previous, Dooku became Darth Tyranus. He became what he was raised to hate, and he did not care anymore, because in the last three years he had accomplished what took seven previously. The methodology of his master spoke to his success. He was previously blinded by the amount that must be done to successfully create a system to rival the Republic. He worried too much on the particulars, on the extra stressors such as Mandalore, the Shinobi, and the Order's response. He was too cautious. It wasn't necessary simply due to who he was conversing with. People who wanted more would never let that chance slip away by speaking to the system that took from them in the first place.
And now, his final pieces for his first overture has been fulfilled. He grabbed his cloak from his bed side and pulled it over his shoulders as he walked towards where his guests were kept. It would be terrible to be a bad host to such important people after all.
As Dooku entered the room, his hood was up, and mind shielded from the Force. Holding one Jedi Master was dangerous even in this room, but holding his padawan and a senator in the same room? That was perilous even for he, yet it was his only option. Even stripped of weapons and chained to the ceiling, the two Jedi held a bond that few could comprehend entirely as Dooku knew. Obi-wan's eyes only left his padawan who hung limp in his cage of light as Dooku lowered his hood.
"Dooku. Let them go." The rough voice of the Jedi Master twanged a slight sympathy in the Sith's heart. He knew the pain of watching your Padawan struggle.
"You know I cannot old friend. I so wish I could, but alas, my hands are tied in this matter." His voice was soft, and sad. He wasn't lying; a Master of Kenobi's ability would detect a lie immediately. He truly did not wish for them to be in this position. "There are forces in this Galaxy my friend, that despise Jedi. In order for there to be a new dawn, there must be proof. Proof that I am not they, that the Jedi are not my allies, just to appease my new friends." He looked at the senator, who glared at him from her prison opposite the padawan. Her eyes were fire, and her mouth a hard line. He allowed her to memorize his face, knowing that she needed a demon to pursue in the afterlife, if something like that existed. Naboolian religion was a fickle thing he felt, but he would do her this curtesy. He strolled to her cage, ignoring Kenobi's pleas to let Anakin go, to not do what he must.
"I regret that the Jedi must die here today Senator. But you… you who embrace this corrupted system. You who play into the continued oppression of the millions of non-mid or inner rim planets sickens me. You are a hypocrite Senator. You claim to fight for the equity of worlds, yet you allow inequality free reign." His words were whispered as the charges of the Padawan's light cage sparked, and shocked Anakin with several dozen volts of highly compressed electrical power. Dooku hid his wince as Kenobi screamed from the pain that recoiled on the bond he shared. "It is fitting that you will die here, on a cesspool of a planet, watching the savagery that you are the ultimate cause of, as the people you oppress cheer." Dooku bowed mockingly to the senator before turning swiftly away.
"This is goodbye my friends. I am sorry that your lives must be paid to secure a better future for the Galaxy. Truly I am. Your names will be remembered." He swept from room, and ordered the knockout gas to be pumped in. It was time for the show, but first he must speak to the bounty hunter. There were plans to be modified since he now knew that the Bounty Hunter knew the weaknesses of the Jedi. He hardened his heart as he heard the last pleas of Obi-wan Kenobi to let them go even as the gas took them from consciousness.
Anakin, Padme and Obi-wan awoke chained to three pillars. Anakin's muscles were twitching, and his body felt as if it were electrocuted repeatedly. He looked to either side of him to see the two pillars that his master and Padme were chained against, and frowned.
"Well, it seems we are in a predicament Master." He spoke as he looked around, noting the cheering crowds of Geonosians in what appeared to be a stadium around their pillars. His master visually eased his posture at his voice, even though Anakin could not see his face.
"Yes Anakin, it appears as such. I do recall a similar situation we found ourselves on Zern, when you flirt-" Obi-wan mentioned as he too scanned the surroundings.
"Master, we agreed to not mention that in light of the conversation you had with that Mandolorian woma-" Anakin was shut up by his master yelling at him that was a private affair and this was not the time to mention it.
Padme sighed as the two Jedi fell into bickering and snipping at one another about previous experiences tangentially tied to this one, as she noticed coming from the opening opposite their pillars was a trio of beasts. One was a giant centipede creature that had three metal sets of legs near its head, with mandibles the size of small speeder thrusters. On its back were the iconic three fins that pronounced its species as the Sand Caesar Centipede. Normally native to planets similar to Tattooine, having one on Geonosis was not a good thing. It would be angrier. Beside it, on either side were two chariots ran by six legged feline like creatures that Padme had no name for, however looked every bit as dangerous as the Sand Caesar. In the chariots, two Geonosians stood, each holding a spear and a shield, which they each raised in the air as they entered the arena.
"Look sharp boys! We have company." Padme called out over their bickering, which finally ceased as they took notice of the three methods that they would likely be murdered by.
"I call the ugly one." Obi-wan joked as he attempted to wiggle his chains free.
"And which one is that master?" Anakin joked as he too attempted to get free.
Padme joined in with a single joke, as she pulled herself up to stand on the pillar. "Which ever one I don't touch boys. You know that."
Anakin chuckled as he used the force to slowly ease his shackles from the pillar. "She isn't wrong master. She is the best looking one here."
Obi-wan, sensing what his padawan was doing, swiftly copied him. "Now Anakin, what have I told you about flirting in dangerous situations?" His voice was teasing as his shackles too became more and more loose.
Padme gave a firm yank, ignoring the pain in her wrists from the metal and smiled as her chains popped free, the iron bar that anchored them in the stone easily releasing from its housing due to the different angle. Once her hands were free, she reached into her left boot, and pulled the kunai that Naruto had gifted her from a special sheath he made to hid it from nearly anyone. Spinning the blade so it eased into the key hole, she swiftly picked the rudimentary lock, popping the cuffs off her wrists just as the Jedi both fell to the ground, their chains finally free.
"Really? How am I free before you two?" She said as she threw her chains at the Sand Caesar who was just freed from its bindings between the two chariots and was rushing towards the easy meal. With a clank, the chains hit one of the eyes of the beast, causing it to screech in pain and change direction.
Moving swiftly, Obi-wan sprang towards the nearest chariot, wrapping his chained arms around the throat of the Geonosian rider. With a twist, the rider lost his life, and the jedi took control of the chariot, driving it directly towards the Sand Caesar.
Anakin was not idle, having chased after Padme, knowing she could free his locks. Bounding up the pillar, he crouched beside her and waited patiently as she picked his locks with her kunai knife. Once he was free, he nodded in thanks. "Stay here a moment. I have to greet the Chariot rider." With a leap and a twist, he too was behind the chariot driving Geonosian. With a pop of his hips, the rider was flung from the chariot with an expertly given suplex like throw and Anakin had taken control. He did wince, when he looked back and saw the Sand Caesar grab the geonosian and snap him up as it passed by in its fleeing from Obi-wan's chariot. Anakin pulled the Chariot to a rest beside Padme's pillar.
"A ride my lady?" Anakin called up smiling. Padme easily jumped in behind him and gently held his waist in the smaller than usual chariot.
"Of course good sir." She whispered as she looked around. Taking a more serious tone, she spoke softly. "We need to get out of here. Those Geonosians are not happy we aren't dying, and I don't fancy our odds against a few hundred thousand of them."
"Agreed." Anakin drove the chariot after Obi-wan, who allowed them to catch up as he funneled the Sand Caesar back towards the entrance.
"We need to leave Master." Anakin called over the rapidly raising boos of the crowd. Obi-wan nodded as he glanced at the box opposite the entrance they were guiding the Sand Caesar towards. Dooku stood there, his face stoic as he watched.
"Agreed! We must report to the Council what is going on here. And to do that we need to get away from Dooku."
It was then that Obi-wan's eyes widened as he felt something he had only ever witnessed in the sparing rooms deep in the Temple. He was invited there as a curtesy, when Mace Windu had wished to test someone. It was the feeling of the Force moving and being shaped, into a singular entity.
"Lord Jiraiya is here."
Dooku felt a single moment of the force screaming to move. Flinging his arms out he blasted each of the other members of the Separatist council from the box and dove over the edge into the area below. As soon as his feet were clear of the box, a blast of white hot fire burst through, incinerating everything that wasn't stone instantly. Dooku looked up as Lord Jiraiya stepped into the light of the box, two toads perched on his shoulders. He sported a slightly more bulbous nose, his facial paint was longer, splitting his cheeks, and his eyes were golden brown with a horizontal pupil.
In moments, all around the stadium, dozens of ships dropped hundreds of Jedi into the stands and stadium, each easily cutting their way into the space, ignorant of the bodies they left behind. Within a minute, Dooku stood isolated as over a two hundred Jedi stood around the stadium their sabers lit.
He sighed. "I had hoped this would not be necessary." He whistled once, sharply. The first shot came from behind him, and he never saw if it hit, but he knew what was happening as he locked eyes with Jiraiya. Behind him, from dozens of hidden doors, over a million droids were being deployed. Even the Jedi, in all their power, could not compete with a million droids. It was now time to handle the one who has chased him all over the galaxy.
"Come my Friend. Let us duel once more." With a hiss his red saber lit up just as Jiraiya slammed into its blade with a blue ball of chakra. They ground against each other until finally Jiraiya flicked his wrist and forced Dooku's blade aside. It was only from the decades of training that Dooku dodged the follow up attack, and the blue ball skimmed his cloak, easily sheering through it as if it were nonexistent. One of the toads on his shoulders spat a stream of water at him that Dooku deflected with the Force and countered by attempting a spinning slice as he lit his second saber.
Each strike Dooku made was met with a blue ball of chakra or empty air. Jiraiya was surprisingly agile for his age, and his constant complaints about it. Easily moving around the whirls of death that Dooku was creating with his sabers, or meeting them with those orbs of grinding energy, it was a sensation that Dooku was both familiar and unfamiliar with. When he was in the order, there were few that could match him with a lightsaber; he was a master of Form two, an holding a saber by him was an artform of itself. Yet this previously unknown from a backwater planet was matching him. Fighting him. Pushing him. He was Count Dooku. He was Darth Tyran-
He staggered as Jiriaya flicked his head, moving his hair around like a whip, and launched pieces of hair at him. Each piece was rigid and the Force screamed at him to not be hit by one. It took more concentration than he'd admit later, to hit all of them as he backed off slightly to give himself the space necessary. He regretted the retreat nearly instantly as Jiraiya made several hand signs and the very earth underneath him shifted into mud and started to flow, forcing him further away. Jiraiya did not hesitate with the space he was given. Going through more handsigns he took a deep breath.
"Sage Art: Geomon."
Every Force user in the arena proper felt the Force tell them to flee. Every single one of them obeyed without question, with Anakin grabbing Padme as he jumped upwards towards the stands. He was lucky that the jedi each brought spare lightsabers for him and his master, and that Padme had stolen the blaster from a droid he had cut down. Otherwise they would have been fairly useless in this fight. He glanced down, noticing the dozens of Jedi dead on the arena floor surrounded by the hundreds of droids that they had defeated at that point. Droids that were still streaming from the their hiding holes; each opening randomly. It was only that glance that made Anakin for the rest of his life, fear the words Sage Art.
Jiraiya exhaled and from this mouth spewed white hot fire. From his left shoulder, Fukasaku spat oil and from his right shoulder, Fukasaku's wife Shima blasted forth fanning winds. Combined, oil and fire could create a fire storm that could level forests of his homeland. Add in the wind, and that power was multiplied by a hundred fold. A wave of blazing oil rose and rushed towards Dooku, the heat alone setting fire to anything that was wooden in the arena. Acting similar to napalm, the oil erupted in fire upon contact with the ground, and Dooku jumped as high as he could to escape the wave of fiery death that raced for his flesh. He landed on a pillar just as Jiraiya's breath finally ended, and the technique cut off.
Dooku looked around stunned at the area of effect the technique had. Anything on the arena floor was incinerated to the barest of bones, including the droids. Each was still on fire, even as they collapsed under the flames. The walls were still on fire, the flames still burning on the oil that ended up soaking everything. The heat was making waves and as he stood on the pillar he felt it start to give way. With a twist, he jumped free of it as it collapsed itself, landing on his feet lightly back in front of Jiraiya.
"You are a terrifying strong enemy to have Lord Jiraiya. I knew that as you hunted me across the galaxy. Does the order know you have killed over three hundred in your search for me?" Dooku spoke lightly, as if the fact was little more than trivial when most of the Jedi present looked at the Shinobi in revulsion even as they continued to cut through several droids and were forced back into the arena. Slowly the droids were winning, even as Dooku spoke several were gunned down by blaster bolts they were too exhausted to deflect.
"I killed slavers, scum and drug dealers selling to children. I killed them yes, but I am not the enabler that you are Dooku. You who ordered them to continue as long as they targeted who you wanted!" Jiraiya spat as a larger than usual blue ball formed in his left hand. Dooku watched as it slowly shifted from blue to orange and seemed to flicker in fire. Dooku dismissed it, looking back at Jiraiya's face and noticed his eyes, now brown.
The feeling of the Force, embodying him, coursing through him, it had eased for a millisecond, but that was all Dooku needed. He pushed his revulsion at the system of the Republic, pushed his hatred and fear of his Master, pushed all his negative emotions into the Force, and pointed his fingers at Jiraiya.
Lightning erupted and slammed into the sage, blasting him backwards into the wall. Jiraiya screamed as his sage mode left him, forced from him by the sheer hatred of the Sith lightning, and forced his summoned companions to leave. He slumped down the wall, and glanced to this left.
Miraculously, the flame rasengan he created wasn't destroyed. It still shown brightly in his left arm, which he idly noticed, was away from his torso. He didn't know when Dooku had cut it off, but he knew it had to been mere moments ago for the technique to still exist. He looked at the Count, and smiled through bloodied teeth.
"Dodge this one."
The fire-rasengan erupted in an inferno of rushing flames with such force, it blew a portion of the stadium away.
Naruto was late. His ship wasn't as fast as his jedi starfighter was, and it was evident as he entered Geonosis' atmosphere. He could already feel the battle beginning, and if he was right, Jiraiya was there as well. Luckily, he entered only a click or so away from the stadium, and was upon it in moments. As he exited the cockpit, he looked up and smiled.
Master Yoda had arrived with an army. He could feel them as they slowly entered the atmosphere themselves. He looked down and jumped. He sliced through the air like a rocket. He steadied himself in the force, knowing that he would easily survive this impact, so long as he hit the earth. With that in mind, he flicked a lightsaber to life and flung it down, guiding it with his powers to clear the way for him.
When a purple blur fell from the sky, sliced through a dozen droids around him, and then flicked upwards, Jedi Knight Luminara Unduli looked up. She screamed out, "INCOMING!" as she darted from the impact zone. As she rolled to her feet out of what she hoped was the impact zone, she braced for impact.
Naruto flipped in the air as his lightsaber came back to his hand and the beautiful Mirialan Jedi knight moved out of the way. He raced through handsigns and channeled his chakra precisely. As soon as his feet hit the earth he called out his technique.
"Earth Style: Impact Spire!" A technique taught to him by Jiraiya over two years ago now, it was commonly used by the Explosion Corps of Iwagukare on his home planet. One of the only groups of shinobi to have any methods of flight, the Corps members would blast themselves into the air using their unique techniques, and use this technique to completely turn the tide of many battles.
As soon as his chakra, an inch from his feet, touched the ground, all his downward momentum was transferred into energy, shaping the very earth under his feet. As soon as his soles touched, every Jedi watched in shock as a spire of razor sharp rock erupted through the nearest droids, leaving circles of safety around each of them. Naruto raced through three more handsigns, and slammed his palms to the earth.
"Earth Style: Gaping Maw." In moments the spires slide back into the earth, as if they were never there, leaving nothing but the wreckage of a few hundred droids. As the spires fell though, Naruto watched in horror as Dooku blasted his godfather with lightning, and cut his left arm off.
Naruto's world slowed as Jiraiya spoke something through his bloody teeth to Dooku, and looked over his shoulder. He locked eyes with his mentor and his body froze as the smile Jiraiya had widened even more. He mouthed three words and then the world erupted in fire.
Naruto reacted on instinct, even as his mind reeled. He released the water in his wrists while screaming his technique. "Water Style: WATER WALL!" As the water formed a dome, Jiraiya's arm bounced in his mind's eye. He shook his head, making the wall shake slightly with his movement. It wasn't real. Dooku had to have been playing a trick. The flames continued, turning the first layer of his wall into steam, that Naruto quickly replaced, acting largely on his training. He forced more chakra out, thickening the wall, so that even the blaster bolts of the droids were ineffective. Jiraiya's words rang in his head, Panic later kid. Work now.
Mace Windu was not a religious man. He believed that the Force was the end and the beginning as any good Jedi does. That was not to say he did not sympathize with anyone who was faced with death, for he understood those emotions. He of all Jedi understood the power of emotions. It was why he allowed his newest knight to have a different oath, why he allowed his newest knight to fight as he does. He knew in his heart, that Naruto Uzumaki would be great. That in the years to come, his name would be spoke of with the same tone as any other legend of their order. As he watched Naruto enter the battlefield, single-handily grant them breathing room to regroup, watch his mentor be killed, and create this miracle, he knew he was right. The force would look after them again. He smiled as the dome of water surrounded his Jedi, safely encircling them as it boiled from the heat of whatever Master Jiraiya did. He took the moment to order his Jedi to circle up.
As soon as they did so, dragging their dead comrades behind their circle, the wall fell. And the battle continued.
Naruto was the only one looking, as the rest of the jedi were forced to handle the continued blaster fire of the droids. There were only thirty or forty of them remaining, and Master Windu ordered them to circle up, protect each other. Yet Naruto stood, shaking, looking at Master Jiraiya.
His entire left side was a patchwork of black and red, the burns from his own attack not nearly as bad as his opponents, but still easily life-threatening when compounded with his other injuries. His smile remained as he looked at his opponent.
Dooku knew he would be scarred. Whatever that attack was, it sheered through his Force Field in under two minutes. Luckily that he was fast enough for him to only suffer second degree burns to the left side of his face before throwing up another Force Field. He glared at Jiraiya, hate oozing from his very pours. He took three strides, lit his saber, and struck.
Jiraiya's head flew threw the air, and landed in front of Naruto. His heartbeat could be heard in his ears, his eyes wide as he stared at the head of his mentor. His godfather. His teacher. Blood pounded in his ears, and his world narrowed so that it only saw his mentor's severed head.
He didn't notice the arrival of the clones that accompanied Master Yoda. He didn't hear the orders from Master Windu. He finally looked away from Jiraiya's head and into the eyes of Count Dooku as he mounted a speeder bike.
The Count's eyes were clouded with rage, and under that a layer of hate and vitriol that Naruto knew from the eyes of Severance. Yet as they looked at each other, that hatred was replaced with pity. Dooku pitied him. DOOKU PITIED HIM.
Without thinking, Naruto flung a hand forward, and blasted Dooku off the bike with as strong of a force push as he could. Dooku slammed into a still standing part of the wall of the arena that collapsed under his bodyweight slamming into it.
As he stood he snapped to the droids that were just standing around waiting for orders. "Kill him!" Dooku straightened his robes and strode back to the Speeder bike as the droids opened fire on Uzumaki. He rapidly got on the bike and started to speed away. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Naruto grab the spare bike from one of his bodyguards after cutting through it and then chasing after him. He leaned further forward to gain some speed and let the throttle go.
Anakin and Obi-wan locked eyes as the clone troopers pointed to the mountain side that Dooku was headed, with Naruto on his tail. They also saw the small ship that was racing towards the mountain and easily landing on the cliff before Dooku arrived. They were going to get there before Naruto, largely due to Dooku's guards peeling off and harassing him. They pulled closer to the mountain and Severance looked at them. The two jedi jumped from the ship, lightly landing ready for combat. The Chiss woman shook her head.
"I am not interested in fighting you two. Go on in. Lord Dooku awaits."
Anakin frowned, and took a single step towards her. "Why don't you want us to stop? When we defeat Dooku-" Severance laughed cruelly.
"You defeat him? Boy you are decades too young, and your master is no threat either. Together? Maybe you have a chance. But My orders were clear. 'stop Uzumaki', and thus, you may pass." Severance crossed her arms and looked at the speeder that raced towards them. Anakin looked back at Obi-wan, who shook his head.
"We have more important issues. Come, we must apprehend Dooku. We shall trust that Naruto will handle this one." Obi-wan gestured for them to ease around the woman, as she smirked. In moments, as they reached the entrance of the cavern that Dooku had entered, Naruto arrived.
He jumped off the speeder, and took in the scene. Anakin and Obi-wan had slipped by Severance who did not seem to mind, likely to apprehend Dooku. Looking at Severance who had slipped her lightsaber into her bionic hand and was tensing her body for a fight, he growled.
"Get out of the way."
Severance showed her teeth in what could be graciously described as a smile. "We have business Jedi. I will kill you here, and then present your head to Lord Dooku."
With a snap and a hiss, Naruto's purple lightsaber erupted, and he darted forward. Severance parried the blow and countered with a slash of her own. Naruto blocked the attack, ignoring the glare as he let his rage flow out of him. This wasn't Dooku, and it was never a good idea to fight enraged. Jiraiya taught him that. He pivoted on his left foot, his lightsaber lifting from the blade lock as he spun around the surprised Chiss woman. His arm fell, only to be knocked slightly to the side as she too spun, mirroring his action and forcing his wrist to one side with a forearm. He ducked her swinging blade, his carving through the air to meet her midsection. In an acrobatic twist, she jumped, dodging the blade that would have split her in two, using the momentum to slid away slightly to gain some distance.
He met her eyes with a cold look, even as she smiled in excitement.
Dooku sighed as he locked blades with Obi-wan. Kenobi was an amazing talent, of that he could not deny. His abilities were of the highest degree, yet comparatively… Dooku realized then, how much he had grown past the Jedi Order, as the blade of blue met with his red, and he found the other lacking. It was pitiful, how even a master of the Jedi Order gave him less pause than his former friend Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's head flying through the air as he cut it off in his rage flashed in his mind, his blade faltering for a moment. A moment that Kenobi capitalized on. He hissed as Obi-wan's blade grazed his left arm. Looking down at the cut, he felt the rage build again. If he had not swayed at the last moment, he would be without an arm, an artist without his canvas, a builder without their tools, an invalid.
The raged built, and swiftly erupted as his blade flicked up and blocked another attack, easily blocking a second, and a third. With a growl, Dooku shifted his wrist, using the design of his curved hilt to force the over head strike to the left, and with the precision of a cobra, stabbed Kenobi in the left thigh. He repeated the motion swiftly, and stabbed the right arm of the master, forcing him to drop his lightsaber in pain. With a simple flick he blasted Kenobi away to turn and block an attack from Anakin.
"Your master told you not to interfere boy. You would have done well to have listened." His tone was as if he were speaking to a child, and Anakin reacted as he suspected. Switching from his more fluid form of Ataru, into a bastardized form of Djem So, the padawan attacked. As the padawan's attacks were easily blocked by the Sith, Dooku noticed slight irregularities.
"Your footwork is unusual for the form, padawan. It seems your master is incapabl-" Dooku was forced to stop speaking as Anakin used the momentum of a block to summon Kenobi's saber to himself and attempt to behead him with the blue blade. Suddenly, the footwork made more sense as Anakin moved around Dooku's defense, battering him constantly with two blades.
"For a padawan, this is rather impressive!" Dooku praised mockingly as he redirected each attack, ignoring the openings he created. He blocked and redirected until finally he grew bored with the repetition. As he redirected the final attack of the huffing padawan, he twisted, his blade lashed out, and Anakin screamed as his hand was removed. A brief blast of the Force sent him flying backwards, tripping him over his unconscious master.
He looked at the two unconscious Jedi, his saber lit by his side and cocked his head. He heard in his mind what his Master would want. Kill them. Kill his former friend and his padawan. He shook slightly as Jiraiya's head flew through the air again. He sighed as he shut off his lightsaber, and started towards his ship. He only made it ten steps before he heard the tap tap tap of wood on stone, and he shut his eyes.
He had not wished to see him today. He turned and looked in the eyes of the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. His former master. The eyes, widows to the heart they are. His words spoken over six decades again now were not any less true. He looked into the large brown eyes of his former master and saw all the emotions the Jedi would not allow himself to embrace. Sadness, anger, pity, hurt, pride and even fear were in those eyes, and he knew that his held similar feelings.
"Grown you have, from the boy I saw on Serreno." The unspoken words hung in the air as Yoda looked sadly at his fallen Jedi, and let his walking cane fall.
"My former master, I have grown beyond your wildest dreams." Dooku prepared himself, lowering his center of body and embracing the Force.
"My nightmares, perhaps. Fall short of my dreams you do." Yoda's green saber snapped to life, and in a blur, his former master attacked.
Naruto and Severance clashed, each of their blades a blur. Severance grimaced in pain as Naruto pressed harder into their current blade lock. Her bionics had been designed to increase her physical abilities beyond her former limits, yet still this knight was not only matching her but overpowering her. A kick slammed into her stomach, forcing the air from her lungs as she barely moved out of the way from a slash that would have removed her bionic arm.
Naruto looked at her coldly. He slowly increased the amount of chakra in his limbs, as he focused on the force, and the world grew crisper, sharper as the details grew even more detailed. It was something that he and Plo Koon had always considered. The first time they attempted it, Naruto shredded the muscles in his thighs, covering the distance between master and padawan in under a second; faster than any jedi had ever considered moving without assistance. The second time, Naruto had overpowered his own master, swinging his saber hard enough to force the Jedi Master into a wall from the block alone, and popping his own shoulder from its socket.
It was only recently that he believed himself capable of this. He had drilled control of his chakra all of his life. With a chakra pool that would make any shinobi back home jealous, he had what Jiraiya called "Big Chakra Problems". Control would always be his crutch. A decade of control, of training, had led to this moment. He flicked his saber in a circle, knowing its speed such that most couldn't even see it move.
His eyes never left Severance, knowing that the woman had another trick up her sleeve. Thus far, she had not utilized her lightning. Seemingly reading his mind, Severance raised her arm and pointed at him with her blue fingers. Lightning flashed, and Naruto pulsed his chakra. The world slowed to an infinite crawl. He could feel his heartbeat and see the branching arms of the lightning as it flew towards him.
He moved, and ducked the lightning, his chest hitching as he slammed his saber into Severance's chest, her still outreached arm blasting lightning over his left shoulder.
Severance looked on in shock, as Uzumaki blurred around the lightning and even the with the Force screaming at her to move, she couldn't. Not fast enough to stop the lightsaber from embedding itself in her chest. She looked at his face as blood started to gush from his mouth in a hacking cough. Her vision darkened as he shifted his grip, and her consciousness started to fade away.
She only managed two words, whispered in the knight's ear. "Good fight."
Severance collapsed backwards as Naruto turned off his saber, the life in her eyes gone. Naruto stumbled slightly, his vision blurring. He shook his head, and started towards the cavern opening. He made it two steps before he heard the Grandmaster's cane tapping against the floor. In moments, Yoda appeared, Anakin and Obi-wan floating behind him. Naruto's eyes flicked towards the obvious wounds on the two before looking at the grandmaster.
"Escaped he did. And Injured you are. Come. The battle, won it has been." Naruto nodded grabbing his chest as more blood bubbled up his throat. It seemed he did not have the control needed after all. He boarded the ship that appeared at Yoda's command, looking at Anakin and Obi-wan as they were securely strapped to stretchers. As the ship took off, and he finally allowed himself to rest, his last thought was maybe he never would.
Deep in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, in one of the old meditation rooms, a gigantic pool of water sat. The room was humid due to its presence and vegetation grew all around it, healthy and in full bloom. Usually, only the oldest of water loving jedi came to the room and enjoyed the pool and its ambient nature. However, unusually, there were more than just a single jedi in the room. The room was actually full, with over two dozen jedi present, their robes in the freshest of white. Dispersed in the crowd, were toads. Toads of sizes that varied, several with a seal on their bodies to ensure that their size was shrunk so that they could attend.
Floating, tethered by two long ropes to the shore, a coffin sat easily on the water, surrounded by white lilies. Directly in front of it, two people stood. Naruto Uzumaki, his white suit crisp and white, and the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, Yoda, his face etched in sadness.
"A great friend, he was. A great friend to me, to the order. An honor, it is to have him with us forever." Yoda spoke softly, yet his words came through the whole room. Naruto shut his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Lord Jiraiya. On Shin'o, there are clans. Clans that exist as your family and your support. You were born an orphan, born without a clan. There are few disadvantages such as that. Yet you rose. Rose from poverty to become the best. You, who were called the fool, the failure, became one of the strongest men I have ever met. You taught me everything I know of my heritage. While the Jedi shaped me into the jedi I am, you made me the man. You taught me why the Jedi exist, and what good looks like. You… you gave me what you made for yourself. When you were my age, you fashioned yourself a clan. You made yourself a family. Even though they look nothing like you, the toad clan became your family. And you never allowed it to stop growing. When my dad came, you accepted him in too. When it became time to go off planet, and be the first shinobi of a Galactic age, you took the opportunity to add to your family." Naruto swallowed; his eyes filled with tears. Behind him Jedi shuffled, and toads cried, their skin blistering from the salty tears. "It is with an honor I cannot ever express, that I say goodbye. That we honor you, as a friend of the Jedi Order, an amazing shinobi, and a better godfather. It is with these feelings… that I cut your final tethers." With a hiss, Naruto's lightsabers flashed, slicing through the ropes holding the coffin from floating away. With a gentle push of the Force, Yoda sent the coffin floating to the middle of the pool.
The toads in the audience eased closer until they were near the water, their tears turning brown and black as they crouched by the pool. In moments, the normally clear blue water had a sheen of oil on it, and Naruto spoke again.
"Their tears guide the flames, for the force of your love guides us into a new tomorrow. With the flames, be one with the Force. With the flames… may you rest in peace. Fire Style: Toad's Farewell!" A single handsign, the only fire technique ever taught by the toads erupted from Naruto's lips, as a single white fireball hit the oiled water. In a rush of heat, the pool burned, and the coffin, specially made by the toads, erupted in a pillar of fire. The oil burned off quickly, and the coffin was soon the only burning thing in the pool.
Slowly, the jedi started to leave, some of them giving words of encouragement to Naruto or Plo Koon, as the two and the Grandmaster stood vigilant. A small green toad joined them as the last of the jedi left, standing beside the grandmaster.
"Rename this room we shall." Yoda spoke to Fukasaku before he could open his mouth. Yoda nodded as a single tear fell from his eye. "The Toad's pool sounds fitting yes?" He bowed to first the coffin, and then each of the remaining three occupants before he too took his leave. He had much to mourn this day.
The three remained, Toad, Knight and Master, and didn't leave until the final ember fell to the bottom of the pool.
AN: There are a few things I need to say here. First, POV. In this story, when I switch points of view, I also try to show the world through that point of view and not just slap a new name to it. This is really shown in this chapter as Dooku's POV is radically different to Naruto's. When Dooku is dueling Anakin, the term bastardized is used in relation to Anakin's form of Djem So. While Anakin did add little patches of footwork from Naruto's unique style of Djem So to his, he did not by any means add anything else. Dooku is a master of lightsaber combat, and equates it in many iterations of canon to an artform. Dooku, seeing a padawan use a form he is not fully familiar with, at least in his mind, is a bastardized version of that artform. In reality, Anakin is not as fluid with form V as he is with Form IV because he hasn't practiced as much with it. He switches to it because Djem So is a more rounded form, compared to Ataryu.
Second, we should discuss jutsu. I have decided, after discussing with my Co-Author, that it would be wise to modify how jutsu are said off of Shin'o. Naruto utilizes Galactic Basic as his primary language, and while he is fluent in Shinobi, he uses galactic basic most. It makes a lot of sense for him to speak in basic even when discussing his techniques. Some techniques will use his shinobi names, such as Shunshin and Rasengan. That is due to them making sense in basic. Further on jutsu, there is a different between Arts and Styles. Essentially all jutsu that combine two aspects, either in the form of Senjutsu (literally the combination of Nature chakra with your personal chakra) or possibly later chakra and the Force itself, will be labeled Arts. This is so that the reader is aware of what is occurring, and so I don't get messed up with my notes.
Finally, we have some housekeeping. As my AN at the beginning said, this story is telling the story of Naruto within the Clone Wars and possibly beyond. When I say war, I mean it. No characters are safe. In canon, the Clone Wars are considered one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of the Modern Galaxy, with the possibility of literally trillions of dead instead of the millions that happen. I will not state if that will be the case, I will also not state if that is the plan. I will say that in war, there are endless possibilities. Speaking of death, I shall say this. If I say a character is dead, they are dead. They may have joined the Force, or whatever and they maybe felt in that manner again, but they are dead. There is no Edo Tensei/Reanimation that will bring them back, there is none of that.
What did you think of the chapter? What of the funeral of Jiraiya? Thank you for reading.
-Zero
