CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Fall of Iwagakure!
XXX
Naruto, Hinata, and Fuu rushed into the war room on the castle's top floor. Han and his girlfriend, Taeko, were busy playing with their three-year-old toddler, Kagami, when the trio came rushing through the door. They were two of the few non-Uzumaki who'd personally gotten the message about the rebuild of Uzushio. Although Han didn't feel like he was ready to be a father yet, lots of convincing from Yugito and Fuu meant he couldn't run from his responsibilities for much longer. He was glad he'd called them back though; Han wouldn't have been able to live with himself if something happened in Iwagakure and Kagami and Taeko were caught up in this stupid war.
"What's all the fuss about?" the large man, dressed in his plain white Uzukage robes, asked.
"Naruto's got word from the Kage," Fuu exclaimed. Yugito, Hotaru, and Gaara entered the room soon after, followed by Karin, who'd been ripped away from an engaging conversation with Hiroshi's mother.
"Word from the Kage? What did they say?" Han asked, sitting up. "Uh… Taeko, could you give us a minute?"
She picked up her baby, "I understand. Official Uzukage business and all that. See you at dinner," she kissed her boyfriend's cheek before leaving the room.
Naruto created a shadow clone to listen in on the conversation. "They said, they'll need our services, but they're currently in a stalemate when it comes to negotiations. So far, the only thing they can agree on is that if we join their side in the war, they'll recognise Uzushio as its own village, with its own Kage."
"Is that it?" Han asked to which Naruto nodded. The large man burst out laughing, "I don't know if I should laugh or be offended? Tell them they can suck it. We're the second coming of the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools, we don't need their recognition to know that."
"You said that they are at stalemate. Do you have any idea what the different suggestions are from the different Kage?" Gaara wondered.
"The Third Tsuchikage said that he didn't need us. According to him, he trusts that the Allied Shinobi Forces will be able to win this war without the aid of the jinchuuriki."
"That Onoki… as stubborn as always," Han chuckled to himself.
"The Fourth Raikage, after some convincing, was the one who said that if we join, he'd recognise us as a legitimate village," Naruto continued, "The other three Kage were far more lenient. Tsunade, Temari, and Mei, were all ready to offer up trade deals, resources, and further protection, but they need a unanimous vote in order to have anything passed. The Raikage's suggestion was the only compromise that they were able to come to."
.
.
.
Everyone stood there in silence.
So, what now? They hadn't planned this far ahead. Naruto thought he could just tell them no until he got what he wanted, but what did he want? He wanted to end the Akatsuki, but he also wanted to do so with the future of Uzushio secured. Why didn't they just send back a simple, 'anything you want, we can do'. Why did it have to be so complicated. How would Uzushio's legitimacy have any impact on how they lived their lives?
Han cleared his throat. "Actually no, don't tell them to suck it. Instead, tell them not to take us for a joke. At first, we just wanted security, now we want to take over. Tell them no jinchuuriki will fight in this war until the Five Kage Summit becomes the Six Kage Summit. If they want to recognise us as a village, they'll have to recognise us as a major village."
Everyone turned to Han.
"What?" they asked in unison.
"You heard me. We gave them weeks to think of a compromise. Now we're not compromising. If they won't secure Uzushio's future, we'll do it for them," Han said.
Naruto shrugged. That sounded like a plan to him. His clone dispelled.
The demands were set.
XXX
The next day, two Naruto clones finally arrived in Iwagakure. Naruto hadn't been here in three years. As he approached, he wondered what Iwa would look like now. Would it still have those cloud-piercing buildings of rock? Would it still be as loud and as vibrant as it was all those years ago? Maybe, if he had time, he could visit that love hotel. That love hotel that sheltered the group when they were just kids.
What a night that was. Naruto, Gaara, Hinata, and Fuu, four wide-eyed kids from the Leaf, Sand, and Waterfall, who didn't know what they're next course of action was, or what lay ahead of them. As they slept in that bed, cuddled together for warmth, with the sound of pitter-patter on the windows and walls, nothing else mattered, but the heat of the person sleeping next to them. Naruto wished he could go back. Back to before it was about Uzushio and the Akatsuki. Before the ideas of war were thrown out and muttered. Back to when he was just a kid, sandwiched between Hinata and Fuu as he drifted off to sleep.
Naruto approached the village gates.
His heart sank into his stomach when he was greeted by a familiar sight. Two border guards, dressed in Iwa flak jackets, sleeping on either side of the village's entrance.
The guards.
Were sleeping.
During a war.
"What the fuck is this?" he said aloud. These men were at war. What were they doing sleeping on the job? The Uzumaki clones made their way into the village. If he was an enemy combatant, he would've just officially infiltrated the Hidden Stone. Technically, he wasn't an ally though, so as far as the records show, two Naruto clones had just successfully invaded Iwa without so much as a fuss.
Each Naruto clone looked around the village. There was nothing. No defences. No alarms. No evacuation plans. People were living their lives.
What was this feeling?
Everything felt tense.
The village was empty of shinobi.
The children were running around playing.
The elderly sat on their porches, rocking in their chairs, looking up at the sun as it sat dead centre in the hot Iwa sky.
The few shinobi who'd been left behind were sleeping, drinking, smoking, or gambling, as if this was a regular Tuesday.
Something was coming.
"Everyone! Get up! What are you doing? You're at war! Get up and get ready to fight, dattebayo!"
"Shut up!" a voice yelled. Naruto looked over his shoulder.
One of the border guards lifted his hat to stare at the Uzumaki. "What's with all the noise, kid?"
"Why are you so relaxed, dattebayo? Don't you understand that at any moment now, the enemy could infiltrate the village?"
The man yawned. "What enemy? The war's taking place around the Land of Iron, Sound and Hot Water. Those are the villages you should be worried about. There's no need for us to worry," he said, lowering his hat. "Plus, your screaming is futile. There are no shinobi in the village. No genin, no chuunin, no jounin. Only academy students and the wounded, like myself."
"Well, then gather your academy students and wounded because this is where the war will begin, dattebayo!"
The man raised his hat one more time, "For fuck's sake. Kid, you're overreacting. Now sit down and grab a beer or something. There's no war here."
"But…" one clone grabbed the other's arm, shutting him up.
"The boss wouldn't want us to intervene."
"The boss wouldn't want to have thousands of people die at his hands, dattebayo."
"There's nothing we can do. You heard the man, 'there's no war here', and for as long as there's no immediate danger, there's nothing we can-."
"Katsu!"
The whole village shook. Both clones were knocked off their feet as a gust of wind swept through the village. The clones rolled for a few metres and were lucky to not have been dispelled. They looked up to see a section of Iwa's rocky mountainous protection come tumbling down. The natural barrier that had afforded the village so much protection in the past became the village's biggest threat as burning balls of rock flew past them. A hole in the defence had been opened up.
"What on earth was that?" the man lifted his hat.
"That is the war… kid," a Naruto clone informed him.
It was at this moment that Naruto got his first glimpse of the White Zetsu army as it came pouring into the village through the hole that'd been made by the explosion. They all looked the same, as if they'd been produced via a conveyor belt. They were all white with spiky green hair and piercing yellow eyes.
He got into a defensive position.
Shinobi from all sectors of the village arrived to stop the Zetsu at the source. Or at least that's what Naruto thought as people came running past him. The lazy man was right. There was no one in the village but the academy students and the injured. The only people coming to the village's rescue were children and people who looked worse for wear. It was quick and bloody. The Zetsu were weak, but the students were just kids and the injured had one foot in the grave already.
He couldn't stand there and play the pacifist anymore.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto created thousands of clones. "It's time for a 2k Barrage!" he demanded, rushing the Zetsu clones. It came down to close-quarters combat.
One punch from a Naruto clone would knock down a Zetsu clone, but they had the Six-Tails' chakra, meaning they could get up and punch back, and one punch from a Zetsu clone would dispel a Naruto clone. Naruto's own strategy was being used against him.
It felt so futile.
Naruto managed to stop a few but it felt like there were thousands of them, and he didn't have the chakra to keep producing clones that'd be punched out of existence instantly. The Zetsu clones entered homes, entered shops, and entered hotels. Before Naruto even knew what was going on, the village was on fire. Naruto looked around. People were just standing there, either watching the clone-on-clone action or fearing for their lives. "What's the meaning of this? Put out the fires!" Naruto demanded. A young man came running out a building, the flames consuming him. He fell to the floor and began to roll but it was too late.
Naruto stood there, frozen.
A White Zetsu punched him out of existence.
The Uzumaki had to donate a portion of his shadow clones to putting out the fires.
The Zetsu clones that had snuck past the skirmish returned with weapons that they'd found after raiding the Iwagakure Armoury.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" finally, a few shinobi came together to box the majority of the White Zetsu behind walls of earth.
"That's good! Now, focus on the ones that got… WATCH OUT!"
A white bird barrelled through everyone and crashed into the mud walls. It exploded. Destroying the walls. The explosion was intense. The destruction sent the clones flying back. Most dispelled. As long as one clone remained, Naruto would be able to make more though.
He stood back up, panting from exhaustion. One by one, the clones exploded around him.
"Oi! Aren't you the jinchuuriki kid, un? My name's Deidara, but I'm sure you already knew that." Naruto looked up. He was met by a blonde man in a black trench coat standing on top of a white bird. "Tobi told me all about you. About how you promised to wipe us off the fact of the planet, un. I know you can create shadow clones though, so my best bet is that you're one as well, un. So, tell me, jinchuuriki, what is your plan of action for when I destroy all your shadow clones?"
Naruto slowly got back up to his feet. He didn't even process what Deidara had just said. As soon as he saw those stylised red clouds on a sea of darkness, he knew he had to clip that bird's wings. Naruto created two more shadow clones. "An Akatsuki member, huh? I let your friend live to send a message, dattebayo! I won't offer you the same mercy!" Deidara's eye widened. His white clay bird started to rear. He began to float higher to avoid the technique. Naruto formed the Rasengan. He wasn't done though. Chakra gathered around the three clones as he added wind chakra to the technique until it resembled a large, spinning shuriken. "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"
"What is that?"
Both clones grabbed the centremost clone. "This is your fate!" They both threw him.
Deidara leapt up and away. "Katsu!"
The Naruto clone was consumed by the explosion. The explosion doubled in intensity as the Rasenshuriken went off. Everything went white.
A shadow flew past Deidara.
He looked up over his shoulder.
Naruto was shadowing him.
They clashed kunai knives repeatedly before landing.
The Rasenshuriken continued to expand.
It touched down.
Naruto and Deidara leapt away to avoid the blast. One of the Naruto's clones was caught in the explosion, but they managed to create two more clones before disappearing. It ate away at some of the Zetsu clones who managed to get caught in its blast too.
Deidara was blinded by the mass of chakra, but he still had the spatial awareness to fling a ball of clay at Naruto. The ball exploded, covering the scene in dust.
The Rasenshuriken was still expanding. Deidara had never seen such a powerful technique. It continued to eat away at earth and glass and wood like it was nothing. So much intensity.
Naruto kicked through the dust and planted his foot before swinging again. He drilled his foot into a clay humanoid. The humanoid gripped his foot. Naruto noticed the trail of clay leading back to Deidara's hands.
"Katsu!"
He dispelled, leaving just two clones.
The Rasenshuriken finally stopped expanding. It dissipated.
Deidara looked back over his shoulder at the last two clones. "I understand that you're a jinchuuriki, so you must have tremendous chakra, un… but how many clones do you figure you have left before the real you collapses from chakra loss?"
Naruto didn't say anything. As long as his hands were free, he'd have enough chakra to make more clones.
"HAHAHA!" one of the clones were impaled by a large scythe through the back. He grabbed the blades as they protruded from his midsection.
The clone dispelled.
The last clone froze as a fair-skinned man with slicked back grey hair turned to him and licked his lips. "I can't wait until I get my hands on the real you."
"Gotcha!" Deidara slashed through the last clone, dispelling him before he could make any more doppelgangers.
Iwagakure probably could've held their own against an army of 1 000 or so White Zetsu, but an army of White Zetsu, plus Deidara, plus Hidan, against a village made up of mainly civilians, kids, and the injured stood no chance.
XXX
To give as much credit to the Iwa shinobi as possible, they managed to hold out for another week before running out of food, water, and hope. They'd actually driven the Zetsu clones out of their village after the first day of fighting, but Deidara's constant bombing from above, levelled a large portion of the village, killing hundreds. They gave up, surrendering themselves and their weaponry to the White Zetsu army.
The actual surrendering didn't mean much, after all, if the Allied Shinobi Forces gathered a thousand of their strongest shinobi, they could take the village back in weeks. The problem was the weaponry. The White Zetsu clones left with two chakra cannons. Tailed Beast killers. Machines given to Iwa to protect them in case the jinchuuriki joined the Akatsuki, as stupid as that sounds. Two shots took down Shukaku, if they managed to use those things against the Allied Shinobi Force, hundreds could die in one blast.
Iwagakure had fallen.
Sunagakure surrendered soon after.
By the time Iwa surrendered, most of the village had been burned to a crisp and its villagers weren't in much better shape. Suna didn't feel like suffering the same fate, so the moment Sasori, Tobi, and his legion of White Zetsu were at their gates, they laid down their arms and admitted defeat.
Two more chakra cannons were in the hands of the Akatsuki.
The Fourth Great Shinobi World War was only two weeks old and the Akatsuki had already managed to capture two villages. They'd used a shinobi's greatest weapon against the Allies. Deception. They'd split up their armies. 80 000 White Zetsu were on the border of the Land of Iron and the Land of Sound, making it seem like that was where they were going to make their stand, but they had snuck a thousand White Zetsu out to Iwa behind enemy lines and another thousand out to Suna.
Worst of all… Orochimaru and his army of 18 000 White Zetsu were marching through the forest of the Land of Fire.
Their goal.
Konohagakure.
Konoha had a direct supply line through the Land of Frost to the Land of Lighting. It was the Allied Shinobi Force's main supplier. While Konoha stood, the Allies stood a chance. If Konoha fell, the world would fall.