"No, now the tables will turn. The lotus of Konoha blooms twice!"
Might Guy
Madara shared a glance with Mikito, red eyes burning.
It was unspoken between them, they gazed into the other's eyes, so deeply, Madara's Mangekyo slowly stopped its furious rotations, and he gazed deeper into her eyes.
"Madara."
Madara nodded.
Mikito stared at the still bodies of foreigners, Inuzuka, Akimichi, and the damiyo's soldiers. Their faces were twisted in a mix of anger and agony. There was definitely hatred in those lifeless dull gray eyes-had been hatred. Had been rage. Had been fury. But, no there was nothing there. She turned away from the lifeless husks, eyes on Madara who observed everything sharply for a long moment before turning his own gaze onto her's.
It was done.
The long and fierce battle was over.
They both exited the ship. Only their footfalls sounding in their ears, not a scream, not a whimper, not a single shout could be heard. It was eerie. Haunting. Just before there had been the chorus and raucous screams and cries, the incessant and deafening pounding of steel on steel chipping away at the walls and at one's very sanity. There was the thunder of cannons and firearms pounding through the air, defiant and brazen.
They both stayed silent as they turned towards the staircase beginning their final ascent.
Everything was destroyed. Rooms completely devastated some ravaged to the point it couldn't even be considered a room anymore. The walls were gashed and torn from blades and bodies, blood stained and smeared everything. The wooden pillars were shadows of their former selves just chunks and segments of the once powerful pillar, the powerful strikes and collisions tore them in half.
Pitiful arms and legs littered every stepping point, bodies hung off from railing and segments of the wreckage, pieces of skin containing facial hair decorated just about every place, the bits of bone and tendons were scattered on the floor. The floors were torn to shreds after Inuzuka popped up from under them, the foreigners firing their weapons from a floor below.
Puddles of blood were forming in clusters of bodies, filling the air with a heavy and putrid scent. But, the most notable thing was the gaping hole that started from the outside at the top of the ship going all the way to the lowest floor. All around the landscape he could see bodies of those fell in combat. Torsos were separated from arms and legs, some were reduced to pieces, and others were just meat pulp.
He spotted a ribcage, part of the lung still inside. There was nothing left of it. No skin. No head. No legs. Discarded swords, kunai, and shuriken decorated the floors and landscape, around the front of the buildings, there were bodies, some without heads or limbs lying against, while some remained whole only with a stab wound in the chest or throat area showing a swift and near painless death.
The fifth, sixth, and seventh ships had seen the beginnings of the battle as it spilled out traveling to the surrounding landscape from that point on. There was no specific point or location where most of the damage took place, though there was destruction on the three first ships-the first two floors were completely gone, shredded from kunai.
The lower floors of the ships were all completely demolished. The rooms were completely devastated, battered and withered, some ravaged beyond the point it couldn't even be considered a room anymore just a little opening. Some places it looked like an explosive tag went off, and it wasn't too far out of the question to say one did, or by some freak chance, went off in sync with a cannon. The walls were gashed from the blades and impacts that carried through them. Ripped from cannonballs, that had resounded with bangs of thunder.
Blood stained and smeared the floor, the once powerful wooden pillars that hoisted sails up were shadows of their former selves just mere chunks and segments, the powerful strikes and collisions tearing them in half and bashing them apart. Some had been ripped off, taking more than half of the ship with them into the surrounding waters. Pitiful arms, fingers, heads, wrists and legs littered every stepping point with the continuing pools of blood spreading. Several bodies hung off from railing and segments of the wreckage, just staying balanced by a fraction.
The air was filled with the heavy and metallic scent that overwhelmed everything else.
Blood.
"Looks like we killed everyone here, still..." Mikito said, nodding to a few Uchiha and Namikaze men who quickly flanked her. "Kill any of those still dying or hiding, if they are."
"No need to keep them alive at this point." Madara nodded slightly.
He could tell just from where he was currently standing that the bottoms floors of the ships were going to be the worse when it came to actually clearing everything out, there were bodies grouped together, wedged with debris and practically blocking off a few openings. Some places bodies were stacked like walls, and even the faintest vibration or drop of snow sent them toppling over. What used to be pristine chambers, tables, and seating areas were nothing more than torn and ravaged points in the overall destruction.
The leaders of the foreigners had tried to take shelter in these chambers, but it only served as a focal point for battle. It went from open range, to close quarters, where everyone was trying to grab and stab.
"Madara, you're sickle is useless." Mikito noticed the severe warp the blade had to it and the mile long crack on the dull part. The pointed tip was also gone, not even half of the blade remained.
"I'll take care of it, eventually." Madara said, descending the staircase and making his way outside; his sandals mashing into the streaks of blood running down the length of the stairs.
"You need a new one." Mikito remarked, tone dry.
"Probably."
First thing he needed to to was get to where Izuna and the others were, then he could worry about his sickle. He stepped over any bodies that got in his path not at all bothered by some missing arms and heads, he had taken off a great deal of heads while he was fighting. He had whacked bodies into segments
"How are things over here?" He questioned, eyes zoning towards Shinpachi who sat on a set the ground both elbows resting on his knees, his broken sword lying next to him. Shin was close by with Aito and Misaka inspecting bodies, Mitsuki sat a few feet from everyone inspecting her chipped blade with narrow eyes of scrutiny. Harada was off to the side, leaning against his spear, searching the area with sharp eyes.
"We lost four people in battle total. There are some severely injured others have nothing more than a couple of scratches. How about you two?" Shinpachi asked.
"We finished off everyone in the boat we just exited." Mikito supplied, stepping towards Hayami who was speaking with a few Uchiha and Haruno, she spotted her coming and waved the men and women around her off to do whatever task she requested.
"Are any of them still alive on your end?"
"There's not a single survivor on my end." Hayami answered. "However, some of us managed to detain a few hundred. They look to be more than grunts."
"That's good." Madara spoke up. "We can interrogate them for information."
"Yes, and I'm skipping right to brutal methods." Mikito said, tone low.
"Some of them seem to be small fries." Bunji commented, coming into view. "Think we'll get anything out of them worth anything?
"We will." Mikito assured. "They will be most inclined to speak."
"If they want to be stubborn we can always use the Sharingan." Madara seconded. "Aito, report!"
"None of them are alive over here," Aito called at Madara and Mikito, standing up from his post a few meters away.
"None over here either!" Mitsuki called standing up and finally wiping the beads of sweat from his brow sighing in relief.
"None on this end either!" Misaka announced.
"I ran all 'em bastards through!" Harada exclaimed, nodding his head quickly. "I left none alive."
They were thorough.
"What of the damiyo and his soldiers?" Madara waited for someone to answer.
"I got his men." Akari said, appearing out of the shadows. She strode forward, face stoic. "However, the damiyo got away."
"I'm not sensing his minuscule chakra." Madara noted, eyes narrowed.
"Maybe an Inuzuka had their way with him." Akari ventured, shrugging. "I didn't cut him down in any case.
Madara grunted, eyes hard as stone. "What about Gentarou and Chouboyou?"
"Mimori and Chie reported that both of them are dead. Mimori finished Gentarou, Chie finished Chouboyou." Daishiro stated bluntly, striding towards them.
Madara couldn't help but smirk.
"What about Atsushi?"
"Ahiko reported that they were carrying the wounded back to the compound with hast. All of them suffered major injuries." Akari supplied.
"How are things on your end, Daishiro?" Mikito asked, stopping in front of the older man with a hard expression.
"Taken care of. We got foreigners, Inuzuka, and Akimichi to question. We also have some of the damiyo's soldiers." Daishiro told her. "Did you spare Hiroji or Hitoshi?"
There was a good chance Hiroji wouldn't speak a single word, and when that time came they'd need to put him through severe pain to make him remember his place. Hitoshi wouldn't be inclined to talk until he seen his comrades dying, or being killed for being as stubborn as he was. It could turn into a giant waste of time, but he had his methods that made even Senju talk.
Mikito pointed to her cheek-bloody and mangled. "Hiroji bit me, and I ended him."
"And, Hitoshi?"
"I beat his skull into mush."
Daishiro grunted, nodding. "You could have left one of those fools alive, preferably Hitoshi."
"They got what they deserved." Mikito replied. "I think I was too merciful."
"Things are taken care of my end." Yumi said suddenly, jumping down from a branch close by, landing silently.
Everyone nodded.
"You cleared up a path in the north with the others?" Madara turned his focus onto Yumi.
"Yes, we certainly did..." She trailed off, surveying the destruction and carnage of their battle. So many bodies and limbs, there was blood staining just about everything and there were shuriken and kunai embedded in the ground, trees, walls, floors and swords protruding from any place imaginable. "Keisuke and Yamanami eliminated anyone who got in the way. Hiyori and Saito flanked them."
"Where are those two now?" Mikito asked softly.
"Keisuke and Yamanami?" Yumi ventured.
Mikito shook her head. She didn't need to worry about those two, but on the other hand...
Saito and Hiyori were a different story.
"Saito and Hiyori."
"They went back to the compound when they were done killing everyone that they could. They said nothing when they departed."
"We don't need to worry about them." Madara added, pressing ahead. "Where are Ahiko and Mimori?"
"The battle with Atsushi left many in horrible shape and the area in ruin. Everyone is being hauled back to the compound-their injuries are all severe."
"I see." Madara gave a soft nod. "We should kill Atsushi before he becomes a thorn in our side."
"With all due respect, Atsushi and the Akimichi will always be pains in the ass." Daishiro said, tone blunt.
"All the more reason to kill that big son of a bitch now." Madara retorted.
"For the second in command to take his place and continue on as Atsushi did? His time will come, he's just a small fry anyways in the grand scheme of things." Mikito said-eyes flinty.
"Did Hiroji or Hitoshi say something to you?" Madara prodded.
"Nothing worth noting."
"Are you sure?" Madara asked carefully.
He had witnessed Mikito bashing Hitoshi's already crushed skull more and more. Her fist had been saturated in blood and gore. Bits of his skull had pierced her knuckles, and brain matter had splattered across her form with each punch. Something must have set her off-Mikito was swift and brutal in her methods, she wouldn't hammer away on someone, normally, until they were just meat pulp.
Hitoshi must have said something.
The only thing...
The only person that could drive Mikito to that point was one person.
Hashirama.
But, Madara knew Hashirama wasn't present-not for hundreds of miles.
"I got it." Madara nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. He'd just discuss it with her later. "What is the status with the slaves and their transportation?"
This was the main task they set out to accomplish. If those slaves wanted to gripe and shout, he couldn't care less. They only had two choices in the long run. Join them or die by the hands of shinobi. They were supposed to be sealed in a sealing scroll to avoid any trouble, but some, had managed to escape that. Others tried to fight them, as foolish as it was, and stupid, Madara sort of understood.
"Better than before. We got them all in our sealing scrolls and are making headway." Daishiro replied.
Madara stared at the older man. "Did you manage to get anyone worthwhile, or did they all rush to their demise?"
"Hn." Akari grunted, closing her eyes. "We got some generals of the damiyo's army, but they're going to be quick to commit suicide when they get the chance."
Of course...
Madara frowned. "Tie them up, in that case. Make sure they're upside down."
Madara ventured towards Bunji and Aito.
He had seen the two of them split up once the fighting erupted, both going in different directions, Bunji carved a trail through the battle while Aito took a much more swift approach, and lunged over some of his foes. More often than not the two men would work together for collaboration jutsus that involved the fire nature.
"Bunji. Aito."
Aito turned to look, while Bunji met his gaze for a moment.
"Any wounds?"
"I'm fine, just a few scratches." Bunji said, flexing his muscles for emphasis.
"I was too careless." Aito admitted, hand covered with crimson as he moved it away from his left shoulder. The cut was shallow, but the way it was placed on his shoulder would cause complications especially with healing. "I should have anticipated them using such tactics like using their own as shields. Damn that Inuzuka."
If those men hadn't pulled that one shinobi in front of him at the moment they would have been on the end of his sword, as it stood they got away by a fraction, and managed to wound him. He finished them off in short but they still drew blood. The Inuzuka had managed to jar him, bad. He killed the feral man in short, but the damage had been done.
"Can you walk?" Madara narrowed his eyes.
Aito nodded, rubbing at his legs. He was able to walk, but his legs felt like jello. Oddly enough, they felt as heavy as lead, yet light as a feather. Exhaustion set in, and the adrenaline was wearing off finally. There were no severe wounds to his lower extremities, so he'd be able to walk.
"Our medics will mend this in a few seconds once you return." Mikito said confidently, striding towards him with observant eyes. "The cut isn't deep enough where muscle tissue was damaged, so that's a plus."
"We managed to spare some people, though." Aito said, smirking for a second. "The Inuzuka weren't compliant with that, but everyone else was."
"Can any information be gained from grunts?" Mikito asked.
"We can piece it together." Madara said.
Bunji scratched at the back of his head. "I'm more inclined to agree with Mikito on the grunts part."
Madara turned his eyes up onto Hikaku. The man was steadily approaching him, Mitsuki at his side. Both looked serious. There were many behind them leaning against the broken trees or standing, swords resting on their shoulders as they checked over everyone.
"Hikaku, report."
His crimson eyes locked with Madara's and the two stared at each other for a long moment before Hikaku closed his eyes and swiftly sheathed his blade. His crimson eyes faded to obsidian, and he took a deep breath. "There's no casualties on our side, though there are a few injuries none of them are too severe that they're life threatening."
He stopped walking when he was about a foot away from Madara.
"Our medics can mend these injuries." Mikito said, confident and firm, crossing her arms over her chest. "Even the life threatening and severe."
"Are any of our foes still alive?" Madara questioned, searching the landscape.
He couldn't spot anything, but that didn't mean there wasn't a straggler somewhere. He couldn't count the times he or his father thought all of their foes were finished, just for one on the tether of death to spring one last attack They were screaming, eyes so red it put the Sharingan to shame and even shook him to his core. Bloodshot and fading-it was like the person was possessed in those last moments.
"I'll sweep around and check. Those outside of us have already taken care of the stragglers and are heading back to the compound. We managed to contain them around this area, as we planned." Hikaku said, nodding to a few men and women who flanked him.
"Bunji, go with him. Burn stragglers if you see them. Take these men and women with you, be thorough." Mikito said.
She waved at roughly sixty men and women.
They followed after Hikaku and Bunji.
"You miss any of your foes, Mitsuki?" Mikito asked.
"No. Everyone I encountered I made sure to kill, we've found several dozen around our perimeter..." Mitsuki replied with the same impassive expression as her husband.
"Good work. We're not going to take our chances. " Madara said.
Mitsuki bowed just slightly.
"Where's Izuna?" Madara asked, eyes darting in every direction.
"Yuko!"
"I told you to leave me alone!"
Madara and Mikito bristled at the sudden exclamation.
Yuko and Izuna came into view, striding swiftly, their eyes were locked on each other. Yuko stayed ahead of him, but that's only because she was taking ten steps for every three of Izuna's steps. If Madara didn't know any better-he'd say the two of them were fighting at the moment. Izuna didn't normally raise his voice, and Yuko, for as long as he knew her, never yelled.
The woman was bathed in red-like his wife, and just like Mikito, everyone gave Yuko a path-even himself.
"How are things on your end?" Mikito got right to the point, staring at Yuko unflinchingly.
"I killed them all." Yuko said, tone low. "I didn't let any of them escape or live."
Izuna scoffed. "We could have used them for information."
"Too late now." Yuko said, impassive.
Izuna growled, clenching his fists. "What happened to your face, Mikito?"
"Hiroji bit her." Daishiro supplied, he looked at Yuko-eyes narrowing.
This woman seemed to be full of surprises.
Izuna took the answer in kind, before turning his focus back onto Yuko.
Madara fixed his brother with a deadly glare. He knew what it meant when Izuna would shift his focus so rapidly. Shift his focus so rapidly back to the person who either caught his ire or attention. The only time he seen Izuna do that is when he was facing off against Tobirama-so it had been a long while since he seen Izuna get into this state of mind.
"Is there a problem, Izuna?"
Izuna tensed, looking at Yuko-the hardness in his eyes had yet to ebb. Yuko didn't return his gaze-she kept her focus pointed ahead. He wanted to say she lost her mind-her sanity was gone, but that wasn't the case. Yuko had been in full control when she was going on a tear. She was in full control now, as well. He had seen deranged shinobi, and Yuko didn't fit that bill.
"No." Izuna said, eyes shifting back to onyx.
Madara grunted, eyes narrowing. "Are we all certain that no slaves are on those ships?"
"I don't sense any." Akari said.
"Nor do I." Daishiro added. "My wife is precise with this sort of thing."
"We still need to check ten times over." Mikito affirmed.
Izuna nodded. "I did a triple over before I got here-all of the slaves are out. But, their family members and friends that died on those boats, on the other hand..."
"That doesn't matter."
Everyone gathered, including Madara-turned their focus onto Yuko. Never before had the young woman spoken such cold words. Spoken such cold words and mean them. Madara was more than surprised-he was almost stricken with something. If Hikaku, Mitsuki, or anyone else had said it-he wouldn't feel this way. But, since it was coming fro Yuko, a part of him couldn't help but be...
Pained.
"Yuko-" Izuna started.
"They are but mere corpses now." Daishiro agreed with a nod, looking Yuko in the eye. "Mourning them is useless at this point. We never mourned those who fall in combat or die of natural means. They move on from this, and we remain here. Wanting to see them again is useless. They are just corpses. A husk of flesh with no life."
Izuna found himself clenching his teeth. He tried to stay composed. He really tried. But, he could feel his face starting to give it away. Any Uchiha man would have been proud of his woman accomplishing what Yuko did during this mission. They would fall madly in love. However, he couldn't help but feel despair and angst. He always loved Yuko-loved the light that shined in her eyes, and to see that dull...
It made him angry and sad.
"That doesn't mean they won't want to see them one last time." Izuna defended.
Akari didn't look amused. She crossed her arms over her chest, exhaling briskly. "What good is that when they're dead? Many of them were fighting us when we tried to free them, others tried to run away. The way I see it, indulging in this nonsense won't help us any. Getting them under control and reasonable might take weeks-some of them are out for blood."
"I agree with Akari. Three of us will stay here and set the ships out into the sea and burn them along with everyone dead. The rest of you will gather every single villager and take them back to the compound. Take the animals, their livestock, every single living thing must come with us." Mikito said.
"I'm staying behind." Yuko said, tone breaking no argument.
"That leaves Madara and I staying behind. The rest of you, make sure this is achieved without complications." Mikito finished.
"Izuna, I need you to take care of things on your end." Madara remarked.
He had been watching Izuna closely. His brother didn't want to let something go, and he got the feeling it was going to explode into an argument between himself and Yuko. Yuko didn't want to touch on it-Izuna did, and thus came the rift between them. Izuna didn't want to leave-he didn't want to follow the order, but as his younger brother, his only surviving brother, Izuna would perform his duty to perfection.
That didn't mean Izuna was going to let go whatever was happening between him and Yuko. Unlike himself, Izuna wouldn't let go of anything and would fixate on it until he took care of it. He had enough wit to not pursue Mikito if she didn't want to speak on something. That didn't mean he'd let her hide whatever it was that troubled her from him, but he wouldn't press like Izuna did.
Like he was.
"Izuna." Madara repeated, tone more firm.
"What do you need me to do?" Izuna questioned.
Madara began to shift, crossing his arms over his chest. Izuna didn't question him like this. Izuna would always nod and go about the duty he had requested of him. It's not say Izuna wasn't rebellious or couldn't be, but he thought Izuna had outgrown that phase. Evidently, Izuna didn't outgrow it. Now he had to specify what he wanted Izuna to do, even though he already knew what he wanted him to do.
"For starters, directing the medical team would be a good start. I imagine it's chaos." Madara said.
Daishiro looked at the two brothers. Eyes darting back and forth. He could see there was some disagreement occurring between them. Either one wasn't budging on the issue, or both weren't. In any case that meant they were having a silent clash. He really couldn't care less what it was about, but if it began to interfere with the efficiency of the healing team, and how they'd recover from this mission-he would care.
He'd care a lot.
"You don't need to worry brother of mine." Izuna wasn't looking at Madara as he spoke-his sole focus was Yuko. "I'll take care of it."
Madara remained silent, watching the rest of his comrades vanish. It took a while, but eventually the only people around him were Mikito and Yuko. A silence fell over them, mutual, not quite tense, not quite awkward, but it wasn't a comfortable or pleasant silence. It could be compared to stillness, rather than silence. The wind howled like it had the entire time, snow fell, the air remained frigid, but there was something...Different.
Mikito formed the ram seal, and twenty clones of her stretched out from the ground.
Yuko followed suit, forming the bird seal.
"Take all of the dead bodies and put them in the ships." Mikito instructed.
"Help in any way that you can." Yuko added.
Their clones nodded, filing out to complete the task.
Madara found a seat on a rock a few feet away. He set his gunbai and sickle down in front of him, crossing his legs. It had been a long time since his sickle was so damaged from battle.
"You both want to tell me what is going on?"
Mikito and Yuko didn't seem to hear him.
"Mikito. Yuko."
"I completed my mission. Those men were evil and I killed them. I kill every last one of them." Yuko replied.
"That doesn't explain why my brother was behaving that way."
Yuko almost scoffed, but instead-let out a brisk breath. This was Madara-a powerful man, he commanded respect. "He got in my way. The whole thing would have never happened if he didn't do that. That's all I'm going to say."
Madara wasn't sure how to take that. Izuna never got in the way in battle, that he could recall. Izuna was often a mile ahead of him-hacking his foes to pieces or paralyzing them with genjutsu. His brother had no fear, no doubts, and no hesitation when it came to battle. He didn't thrive of it like he did, but Izuna flourished in the chaos of battle.
Yuko being his wife-that could have skewed his judgment. Yuko wasn't him by any stretch. He and Izuna spent days and nights on war zones-at times only they could watch each other's backs. Their father was off battling leaders and keeping hordes from stampeding right over them. It was a simple process of elimination. He didn't spend such time with Yuko-they battled together, but there was a difference.
Yuko was his wife.
It appeared this was a problem that Izuna and Yuko would need to sort out. As much as he wanted to, and didn't want to get involved, this wasn't his problem. Izuna would get upset if he interfered, and no doubt, Yuko would lash out if anyone thought of getting involved.
"What about you, Mikito?" Madara focused on her, eyes shifting to crimson. "Who got under your skin?"
Unlike Yuko-he wasn't going to back down. Mikito would take a swing at him and knock his head off. She would lash out with a kick. But, he was prepared for that. He was prepared to fend off a frenzied and ferocious assault from his wife. She'd only do this if he pushed and pushed, without giving her any time to think or breathe while under his piercing eyes.
For that reason, he took a step back, and thought it through. Hiroji wouldn't have said anything that'd get under his wife's skin. He'd call her a bitch, among other things, but Mikito was used to that. She may be furious, but it wouldn't have got to the point where she was beating his caved in skull, to the point there was no skull and it was a just a flat piece of flesh being pushed into the torso.
That means Hitoshi said something to her.
And, he would find out what was said.
"Mikito."
"It wasn't what Hiroji said to me, it was something...Hitoshi said."
Madara looked her in the eye-silently biding her to continue.
"Hitoshi..." Mikito trailed off-the all consuming rage and fury she felt before came back like a storm, and she could barely contain it. "Said something about Konoha."
"Ko...Noha?" Yuko asked, tone soft.
Madara found himself glaring, his teeth clenched, and his heart hammered in his chest. "Are you certain that was said?"
Mikito nodded grimly. "Hitoshi was a supporter for joining it, but Atsushi or the second in command of the Akimichi won't have it. Even after this battle, but who is to say they'll think that?"
"What is Konoha?" Yuko asked, taking a seat.
Madara wasn't sure if he should tell her about the friendship he had with Hashirama once upon a time. Mikito had pieced it together, easily enough. It wouldn't be the best idea to divulge that. He also wasn't sure how he should explain, or how he could. On the surface-Konoha was a shinobi village, founded by shinobi, for shinobi, but...The damiyo owned and controlled it. He rationed out funds, land, and missions. The shinobi were going from being independent contractors for lack of a better term, to serving a noble.
The misled idea of them serving the village would only further the paradox. It'd only increase Hashirama's hold on the shinobi world. Like a Samurai being a retainer and getting a stipend. Like a Samurai having vassals to sacrifice themselves in battle. A samurai wanting to become a damiyo-being so full of arrogance he wanted to rise above his station.
"Konoha is one of the villages that will set half of the world we know on fire." Mikito answered, shortly.
Yuko's eyes were wide-surprise and anger were perfectly clear in them. "What makes this village so different from any other village now?"
"It is a shinobi village...A shinobi village founded by Senju Hashirama." Madara said, voice growing dark. "We were anticipating this, Mikito."
Yuko turned to Mikito and took note the woman was shaking with anger. She was looking off into the great distance, her brows were drawn together, and her eyes were completely cold. There wasn't anything in them. Judging from her reaction-Madara was right. This was something the two discussed at length in private, likely to put counter measures into place should it ever happen.
But, there was something about how the two were behaving, that didn't add up. The Mikito and Madara that she knew wouldn't worry about this-they wouldn't have put a focus on it like they had. They would steamroll the place, kill everyone in sight, and leave the place in ruin. Only the two of them would go to do the deed as well. But, that's not how they were acting at this moment.
There was resignation wafting off of them.
"Mikito..." Yuko broke the eerie silence. "What do you mean half of the world we know will burn."
"Right now...There are hundreds of shinobi clans. There are kings and queens. Princes and princesses. Damiyos. province lords. Providence lords. lesser lords. Feudal lords."
Yuko nodded, looking at Madara. "Yes."
"Hashirama made a pact with the Fire damiyo. The clans that don't want to join his village won't be attacked. Hashirama will tax them like crazy, he won't trade with them, he'll block their trading routes. Things like that. The point here is that in time, these shinobi clans will go extinct. The damiyos will want all of the control. The fire damiyo for instance will use Konoha as a weapon. If the province lords don't give up their land, or whatever demands the damiyo throws at them-they'll face Konoha."
Yuko felt her blood boil. "I get it. Hashirama wants to take control of the Elemental Nations. He hates losing. Clans now can compete with and kill the Senju, even though they are powerful. Without a proper progeny, there won't be a genepool for certain clans to thrive. They'll go extinct within thirty years, maybe a little more."
Madara nodded. "Basically."
"We should kill him." Yuko said strongly. "We should kill Tobirama too while we're at it. They're too dangerous. The Senju under them are too dangerous."
Madara arched a brow, and Mikito hummed quietly.
But, Madara asked the question. "Are you suggesting genocide, Yuko?"
Yuko had considered the idea, it hovered, and she didn't quite dismiss it. "No...We'll take the children and infants, even if they want to kick and scream. Kill the women, men, and teenagers."
Mikito shared a look with Madara. "There are Senju elders at the compound and Satoshi. All of the Senju with us are wary of Hashirama."
"I'll worry about Konoha when it gets like Kumo." Madara said, not saying anything about the Senju. "It's only a matter of time before the Water damiyo attacks."
"We may...Need to rethink that."
Madara looked at Mikito, surprised.
"I get the feeling...Sasuke and the Sarutobi are going to join and the Hyuga...Just might..."
"Impossible!" Madara snapped, yelling.
"The Subatsu and Mo laid waste to the Hyuga and their compound. The Subatsu, Mo, and Hagoromo laid waste to the Sarutobi."
Madara blinked, surprised. Izuna certainly knew all of this, but he was always into politics and world events. In comparison to Izuna, all he cared about was fighting and getting stronger. Politics were too ridiculous for him to tolerate in the first place. He left that to Izuna, but when moments like this occurred, sometimes he'd be out of the loop. Like now.
Still, the clones disappearing drew his attention, and he looked towards the docks. All of the boats were basically crushed in on each other, the bodies were all inside, along with all of the remains. There'd be no traces of battle or that anyone was even here in the first place. The docks would be clear for fishers, everyone would think it was normal, until day came...And nothing or no one was here.
But, thanks to their genjutsu-no one would ever know, anyways.
They'd only have suspicions and ideas. Nothing more and nothing less.
"Let's just set these on fire and push them out into the open waters." Madara said, striding away from Mikito.
Mikito followed after him, about thirty seconds later-Yuko flanked her.
"Are you sure about all of that, Mikito?" Yuko ventured after a second, eyes hard. "These villages, and..."
"Daiki, four division leaders, and thousands of Hyuga are dead. Their old compound is no more. Many of the main family were cut down, ironically enough. Sasuke, Genzo, and many Sarutobi tried to set fire to the Fire country's capital, and their plot was squashed by who I mentioned. Konoha. Kumo. Now there are three more that must come to pass, and then smaller villages..."
"Mikito..."
"I'm afraid so..." Mikito looked at her for a brief second.
"Is there anything we can do to stop it?" Yuko questioned, keeping her voice down. "Anything at all? What if we kill Hashirama and Tobirama?"
Mikito looked ahead, and her eyes tightened. "No, we can't stop it. Even if they die, another will come to take their place."
"Then..."
Mikito smiled. "Once Hashirama becomes leader he won't be meeting at first bloom for our showdown. He will be leading his village against the Water damiyo and those clans. Kumo will also be battling both of them. Once the Water damiyo and those clans get on the mainland and trail through."
"The other villages will be founded...The Water damiyo and those clans will...Only accelerate that."
"That's why we're going fight. No retreat. No surrender."
Yuko said the words in her head over and over, repeating them aloud. "No retreat. No surrender."
Cinders burned through the air. Gray and high. The smoke mixed in with the clouds. The snow became ash. It fell. Melting snow. Scorching blood. Madara watched the fire grow and grow. It was flaring without any reprieve in the near distance. Black and fog coat of smoke almost obscured it. The burning flesh made the air pungent, and even the snow seemed to be parting away from the growing trail of fire.
Burning one's dead wasn't exactly a custom. In dire cases, someone or people were burned in order to preserve secrets. Like Uchiha, in certain circumstances, would be burned when they died. It was to ensure the Sharingan never fell into outside hands. In this case it wasn't a ceremony at all, like some people would see it. This was necessity. No evidence could be left behind, and so...
More importantly their ashes would disperse into the sea, fading away forever. Nothing of them would remain. They passed on. Their families wouldn't move on of course, but that was a different problem, for another time.
How many people had died in this battle? How many people had died on those boats? There were men, women, teenagers, children, and...There were those younger than children. There was nothing he could do. Bringing back the dead was impossible. Resurrecting another person was impossible. Who these people were-the essence that gave the body life, the light that shined in their eyes-it was all gone.
As harsh at it was to think, they were just corpses. They had long since passed. Many of them passed on while they were coming here in those ships. There was no way around that.
But, seeing the flames, and the snow, and the frigid wind that chilled him to his marrow...It gave him a sense of peace.
Acceptance, perhaps.
Death was the only certainty in life, when it came down to it. It took everyone. Rikudo. His brother. Indra. Ashura. Every human, no matter how powerful, no matter how gifted, no matter what they achieved-they all died. There was nothing anyone could do to avoid it. Nothing anyone could to negate it. The only thing people could do is prepare for that moment, to be ready for it.
Humans were shameful, though. He seen some shinobi grovel. Some spoke of hell. Some spoke of nirvana. Others feared the prospect of death. It seemed, that there was curse-a burden placed on humans. Animals never feared death, and accepted it, but...Humans, they were shameful. Was it the prospect of a pit of fire or eternal bliss? Being turned into a cricket or cockroach? The uncertainty?
At this point in his life, Madara just wished for a death in battle. Preferably against Hashirama and Syrus. He killed too many, seen too much, and did too much where there was no chance for anything else. He was prepared for death. He anticipated it. He welcomed it. If one could take his head, beat him in battle, beat him down to an inch of his life, by all means-they'd take his head.
He welcomed it.
Madara shifted, breathing in. The fire began to dim, though it remained furious in its lashing. The winds were too bitter, too cold, and too relentless. Eventually, the flames would be snuffed out. The ashes would blow away, and there'd be nothing left. There may be some remains of the ships, but they'd be far under the water-outside of anyone's reach.
Something about the way the flames move, brought him back to reality.
He turned towards Mikito and Yuko, and he noted, they both shared a similar look as him. They were wrestling with their own thoughts, coming to terms with what had to be done, what couldn't be changed, and what they could change. He doubted their thoughts were centered around death like his own were. He wasn't even thinking about Hashirama. The man must have been the center of their thoughts.
Hashirama wasn't the center of his.
"If we can't stop this from happening..." Yuko spoke into the silence, eyes in the distance. "What is the point in fighting?"
Madara turned towards her-Yuko's eyes were set on the ball of fire. She didn't blink, she didn't flinch, and she didn't turn to face him. He didn't have a good answer for that. He didn't even have an answer. Fighting was the only thing they knew. Fighting was how conflicts were resolved. How alliances were ended. How alliances began. Battle was all they knew-it was the only thing they were taught. Brute force will bring peace-only obliteration will bring peace
But, this was more than just about fighting and dying on war zones. This was about more than what they were taught. This was about moving beyond what they were taught, and doing what needed to be done. To preserve. The time would come when they had to battle all of these villages, and then some, but that time wasn't now. What they had to do now was recruit all of the clans they could-just not from the Fire country, just not from the Earth country, but the entire world.
The threat of villages could be used as a bargaining tool with them, should they be stubborn.
"We can't stop it from happening, however..." Madara trailed off.
"We can make a point?" Yuko ventured.
"Of course. Cross us and death will take you. But, people already know this." Mikito finished.
"Then..."
Madara and Mikito shared a look, and they nodded. Mikito just enough where it could be considered that she tilted her head. This was why completing this mission to perfection was so crucial. It was simple enough steamrolling through foes, mowing them down by the boatloads was simple enough, but getting a stable alliance...A mutual understanding, that wasn't so easy.
But, now they had mutual enemies.
Konoha.
Kumo.
So forth and so forth.
"We're working on forming and building alliances with clans that feel threatened or will be threatened. That'll be our focus, but we can't ignore the threat the Water damiyo and these villages pose, that's why we'll be focusing on building stable alliances. Preservation." Madara said, looking Yuko in the eye.
"I..." Yuko blinked, nodding once. "I understand."
"Speaking of alliances and clans..."
This time, Madara and Yuko both whirled on Mikito. The woman always kept stuff in reserve. Chakra, techniques, and jutsu in battle. Information whenever it was privy or proved to be beneficial. She could be secretive and reticent. Both Madara and Yuko knew this, yet seeing the smug smirk on Mikito's face-made it clear whatever this bit of information was, it was important.
"Did something happen?" Madara ventured, feeling anticipation take a hold of him.
Mikito set a hand to her cheek-it glowed with chakra, and steam billowed from under her hand. "Kumogakure has already crossed that line, and attempted to corner a shinobi clan. Takeo has escorted them to our compound, while this battle was taking place."
"Clan?" Yuko looked confused. "I thought the only clan in the Lightning country was the Yotsuki?"
"That's what I recall as well." Madara stared at the ground, in deep thought. He snapped his eyes onto Mikito, feeling them widen as he spoke. "You mean!?"
Mikito nodded, and her smirk grew. She held up her pointer finger. "There was one another clan that resided there besides the Yotsuki."
"The Chinoike clan..." Madara's eyes were narrowed. "Mikito, are you..."
"Now, we can call this..." Mikito turned away from the dimming fireball in the water, and she felt a little lighter, finally.
Their ashes were washed away in the water, gone.
Now, she too could move on.
"Checkmate." Madara finished, almost slack jawed.
He wouldn't believe it, and he didn't want to, but...
This was a strange time to live. If Hashirama was founding his village, than certainly what Mikito said was true.
Without a doubt.
Now, he'd have to round it out with the Yuki clan joining them.
Terumi.
Chinoike.
And, the Yuki.
Checkmate.
He was looking forward to it-for once he'd play politics.
Let the games begin!