Devil From The Heavens
Chapter 39: Immolation
The man lifted a fist and there was a slight glow to his eyes. Sasuke subconsciously took a step back. He thought he was prepared but this feeling he got- it was like what was in front of him was an infinitesimally small piece of a horror of cosmic proportions he could not see. The Hybrids were nothing compared to him and Sasuke was oh so little compared to them.
There was a flash of movement, too fast for even his Sharingan to see, and Sasuke was thrown through the cliff and he was left airborne. There was a ringing in his ears and he smelled blood. The Susanoo's cracked armor flickered as concentration wavered. What the hell was this? Whatever momentum he had was stopped as the arm of his perfect defense was grabbed.
"This thing is tougher than I thought." Broly said. There was no real frustration there as one would expect; instead, he was more in wonder that the Susanoo hadn't instantly shattered. "Good, I was holding back a lot but that might've killed you anyways. Let's try this again."
Sasuke was tossed aside and he floated for but a moment until another immense impact hit his back. He shot like a missile back into the remains of the bridge where he fought the Hokage and burrowed into the stone. The shell of the Susanoo shattered on impact.
The Uchiha wheezed as he tried to move. Quite a few things were broken, he was too out of it to know what exactly, and his face was soaked in blood.
"This shouldn't be happening." He muttered helplessly as he gripped the the floor to drag himself. Why didn't his other arm move?! "I had her. She was mine! Revenge was mine!" He practically shouted at the injustice of it all. These monsters in human clothing were going to get away with the murder of his family and the disposal of his brother and it was all because of this freak!
Broly grabbed his collar and lifted the teenager off his feet. He refused to meet his eyes. Instead, he lifted a hand to his face.
"Now for these."
Sasuke screamed as the Saiyan dug into his right eye and tore it from his socket. Broly inspected the eye even as the Uchiha kicked him and tore his shirt to get away. The boy could hardly crawl. His cries quickly turned to whimpers.
The red of the Sharingan dulled in his grasp. He scowled as he crushed it in his palm. No more of these. After all this was done, he would hunt down every single one of these cursed eyes and destroy them.
"And that's my cue."
Broly snapped to Sasuke as the boy seemingly generated white pustules on his body. They quickly grew until it encompassed most of his injuries and the head of a Zetsu appeared from the Uchiha's shoulder and smiled. He then twisted to where the voice came from.
Another Zetsu but this one divided equally between black and white. Next to it was a third one of all white which grasped an unconscious Tsunade around the neck.
"A trade. The boy's life for hers." The dual-toned plant man said.
Of course, even when not giving them any quarter, Madara and his pets find a way to interrupt their slaughter.
"I'd kill you all before you could escape." Broly replied. "It'd be easy."
"True but not before she dies." The two-tone Zetsu replied in a deeper voice. "That would put a serious damper on this little alliance you're trying to build."
Broly clicked his tongue. He was right. The Saiyan couldn't be sure that he'd reach the Hokage before they kill her. Sasuke slowly made his way back up onto his feet as the Zetsu restored his energy. The boy's face and chest were colored red like his remaining eye. The Uchiha stayed quiet as he limped back. Two more Zetsu grew out of the ground around him, picked him up despite his protests, and they jumped over to main Zetsu.
"What makes you think I won't hunt you down right after you hand her over?" Broly threatened as he crossed his arms. He knew they couldn't travel fast enough to escape him.
"You won't chase us. You'd miss Madara's meeting with the Kages!" Zetsu smiled. "You don't want to miss it."
Konan struggled to respond. This had to be a bluff. He's only destroyed villages with Broly. But he had the Hybrids now. Two had made short work of a room of Kages and Jonin. It wouldn't take that many to do what he claimed. Her mouth was dry.
The village. She had to go check the village. Everything she did was for them. Too have it gone is- Konan absentmindedly gripped at her chest as the agony hit her. Her wounds suddenly felt much deeper and the world colder.
"I know the pain of having what you hold dear ripped from you so unexpectedly." Madara said with uncharacteristic sympathy to his voice. She didn't believe him capable but the warmth swiftly vanished. "But I do what I must to break this cycle of hate and violence that we're stuck in."
"And, how, pray tell, do you plan on doing such a thing?" Mei asked indignantly. The samurai would be openly hostile to them after this if not declaring open war and, with two Kages dead, the shinobi of their villages wouldn't be open to peace. Madara had done nothing but ensure the cycle would continue unabated. "Countless shinobi before you have tried."
He stood quiet for a moment before he chuckled. "Are you aware that the Tailed Beasts were united as one long ago?"
There was a rush of disbelief through the room. Mei looked to the other Kunoichi and they shared the same confusion. Konan remained still. Madara reveled in it, his showmanship from his younger years shining through, and continued.
"The Ten-Tails was a creature of near infinite chakra that ravaged the lands long before even the first shinobi existed. It was defeated and its chakra sealed away by the Sage of Six Paths who became its jinchuriki. Its body was sealed as well and hurled into the sky." His eyes passed over them. Onoki's granddaughter flinched beneath his gaze. She'd keep Iwa out of things; the fear was too much.
"With the Tailed beasts collected, the Ten Tails will live once more. I will use it to strengthen my Sharingan and cast an Infinite Tsukoyomi on the moon. All people living on this earth will be placed under its genjutsu." They looked at him more defiantly with each passing word. They weren't just skeptical of his idea; they were openly hostile to its messenger. If their own allies came up with this plan, would they be so against it?
It didn't matter. He'll drag them into this perfect future kicking and screaming.
"Imagine it. A world without hatred or war. Everything will become one with me, everyone will be united. All your dreams will be reality. All your suffering will be but a distant memory."
"Bull...shit." Temari hissed out. "You'll...enslave us. Power for...you!"
"Call it what you will." He shrugged it off. They would all find out soon enough. "Only the Nine Tails remains. I would suggest having him ready to be handed over very soon. For your sake."
A rush of wind followed his words. The Kunoichi looked passed him and a terror filled their eyes. A killing intent weighed on his chest like an anvil. Temari collapsed as the strain was too much though the others weren't faring much better. Madara himself struggled under the pressure. Even Konan could not bare to witness whatever it was.
"Madara."
It was a word borne out of the malice of a thousand broken worlds. A hate that killed Gods and men with equal measure. This was the thing that crushed the sky in its grasp and swept the stars away so long ago. A man shaped hole through which rage was poured onto existence like water from a vase.
"Ah, Broly, thank you for joining us. I had hoped you would make it." However he managed it, Madara stayed standing in front of the wrathful Saiyan when his attention was fully focused. That's when he noticed Tsunade. "Ah, I see Sasuke failed to get his revenge."
Broly's bloodstained fist shook as he touched the ground. He was a snake coiled to strike but Madara had chosen where he stood carefully. He could not be attacked without risking injury or life to the people behind him.
"Your dogs are the only reason he still has one of his eyes." The Saiyan held up the hand he used. It glistened in the light. "I should've splattered the little bastard."
Madara chuckled. "Flying monkeys seemed more apt a term but, ah, you wouldn't understand that one, would you?"
His fury overpowered his rationality and the formerly enslaved warrior was fractions of an inch away from the Uchiha. Tsunade was forgotten behind him.
His boot cracked the floor as he stamped it down and twisted. Madara could see the power behind the fist make its way up the Saiyan's body as his hip turned and his torso followed. He was putting everything into this one. Madara smiled as he stepped back, and through, Konan. She couldn't realize the danger; the Saiyan had moved too quick!
Broly panicked as he realized his mistake. He stopped his body's momentum and pulled his fist away from her at the last possible moment. The Angel of Ame could only stare in open terror as his arm passed beside her head. The room behind her was annihilated by the force behind his blow and bodies went flying. It was sheer, blind luck that the other ninja weren't directly in the way.
Broly's chest was heaving with hard, fast breaths as the adrenaline rush of the near disaster pumped through his system. Konan's frozen stare seemed to bore through him and a pit opened in his stomach. She was scared of him. He stepped back as his own horror welled up.
Konan finally met his eyes. Her mask had been shattered and that fear that had been stoked in the ruins of the Leaf was fully ignited.
'I saw billions die! Planets like ours!'
It was so distant when that kunoichi had told them. A second hand account from memories made centuries before. It was easy to set aside that terror. That the man in front of her and whoever did that were different people. But she witnessed the face of Death. This couldn't be put away; it was seared into her mind's eye. Even as her fright was reflected in his eyes and his gaze softened, she could see the echo of that horrid devil.
"I'm afraid our reunion will have to be cut short. I have some finishing touches to put on my final stroke." The Uchiha said as he stepped forward and phased through the two. They hardly seemed to notice him. "I hope you all come to your senses soon enough. I'd hate for more blood to be shed."
The masked man chuckled as the groans of the other shinobi reached his ears. They were still alive. Good.
"The rest of you, keep what I said in mind." With that, Madara disappeared in a Kamui.
Her own wings burst from her back in a disordered mess. Broly reached out. "Wait-!" Konan went skyward without a moment's hesitation. Amegakure. She had to go to her village. Her refuge. She had to make sure it was safe and- and- What would she do?
What could anyone do?
"Hold up there, honey!"
Broly had ignited to chase after Konan but he stopped himself. "What do you want?!" He practically screamed at the disheveled Mizukage. Why did he even hesitate? She wasn't important; Konan was but he remained rooted.
Mei pulled Darui from a pile of rubble. "Don't chase after her; that's the worst thing you can do right now. Help me get everybody together."
He looked between Mei and the sky, torn between what to do. "What?!"
"Madara just told her he destroyed her village and then she nearly dies right after." She set the Raikage down. His bandages had held together well enough but the man was bleeding from his head now. "That'd rattle the most hardened of us. She needs time."
"Ame's gone?" Broly said in disbelief. He knew how much that place mattered to her. "She's probably on her way back then. Madara could be laying a trap for her!"
"I'm under the distinct impression you're faster than her regardless. You could beat her there with time to spare but if we leave everybody as is, the samurai will overrun and arrest us. That will leave everybody vulnerable to Madara's plans."
He looked to the sky again. The woman had a point. This whole thing was about getting in Madara's way, delaying him, so that he could have the time to have Jiraiya take this stupid seal off so they could be done with this. But it was also about Amegakure being recognized as worthy of respect. That's what Konan wanted. With it gone, there was nothing for her.
"Fuck!" He swore as he looked around for any bodies. There was probably a nearby settlement that he could get them all to. He should be fast enough to get ahead.
If he stayed like how he was, Madara would win. They all needed the Leaf's cooperation. So if he stayed, it'd be for all of their sake. If he left, it'd be for his.
Something had to be salvaged from this.
Tsunade came out of her unconsciousness and noticed that she was in a bed staring at a distinctly undamaged ceiling. With a groan, the Hokage pushed herself up into a sitting position. the last thing she remembered was...Sasuke catching her with a surprise jutsu. She also recalled a skeleton of purple and- her eyes fell to the stump of her right leg.
"Damn it." She muttered as she fell back fatigued by the simple movement. "Where am I?"
"Just gonna ignore little ol' me like that? I've got the answers for you."
Tsunade turned her head. The Mizaukage sat in the corner of the room covered in her fair share of bandages and with dark circles around her eyes.
"Mei?" She asked with some surprise, manners forgotten for now. "How- what-?"
"We're in a small town right inside the Land of Fire's borders. You missed out on a lot."
The Mizukage gave her a quick rundown. Madara's appearance and his claim of Ame's destruction. Broly's rescue of her and subsequently them. How he transported them to safety. She left out his brief outburst of extreme violence for now. She'd extend that small olive branch given he could have left them.
"Luckily, the people here are hospitable after I took care of a bandit lord that had recently setup shop." Taking care of small fry like that was normally a menial task but it had left her somber. These bandits had been free to terrorize local settlements after most of the Leaf's forces had been wiped out yet she killed them with hardly any effort.
It was a shocking reminder of what power could allow you to do. The bandits couldn't resist one bit. They might've been trouble for a squad of fresh Chunin but that was nothing. It was the other side of the coin from what she experienced in the Land of Iron. Madara had those things, for they could not be people, and they would have all been dead were it not for a man they had not known existed before today.
She woke up at the top of the heap and the day ended with her realizing the heap was little more than an ant hill at the base of a mountain. They were all at the mercy of powers beyond comprehension now.
"Where's everyone else?"
"Darui is awake in the next room and so is Temari but she's in a coma. Poor girl barely survived the massacre."
Tsunade cursed. The true extent of Madara's danger was now known but nothing came out of the summit otherwise. She could only pray and hope that Darui agreed to help. Wait. There was a name missing there.
"What about Kurotsuchi?" She asked. "You didn't mention her."
"She booked it as soon as she could." Mei said with a scowl. "I couldn't get a word out of her. She was terrified. I don't know if we can count on Iwagakure for help."
The Hokage stayed quiet for a moment, nervous to voice her question. "Can we count on you?"
Mei nodded. "Of course. I'm not going to stand by and watch some terrorist take over the world like that."
"Good." That took some of the load off. It wasn't ideal but one ally was better than none.
"That does beg the question: how are we going to fight back against Madara?" Mei question as she swept hair from her face. "We were soundly defeated in minutes despite a room full of Kages and elite Jonin. We won't stand a change against him in a direct open confrontation."
Tsunade had thought about that on the way to the Summit. There was no guarantee they would get any cooperation after all.
"We don't. We're ninja after all. Our best bet is to locate the son of a bitch and strike preemptively."
Mei smirked at that. "I like the sound of that. With all our resources pooled together, our information gathering will be unparalleled."
"Assuming Darui and Iwa agree." Tsunade finished cynically. "Despite Konoha's destruction, we still have very capable ANBU and Jonin that will bolster our efforts."
"We're talking around an elephant in the room. Broly." There was a slight change to her expression. Less jovial, more ambitious. "This...we'll call him a man I suppose, this man comes out of the blue with a grudge against our mutual enemy and he is strong. Impossibly so. A perfect solution to our problem. Seems too good to be true."
The Hokage's fatigue was forgotten and she sat up. Her tone wasn't accusatory but the suspicion was clear.
"There's no need to be vague."
"I can tell you're hiding something from us. I'm putting my people at risk here because Madara is an existential threat but I want to know we're not unleashing Pandora's Box here." The Mizukage leaned back and her face was obscured in the shadows. "With the Jinchuriki, they're still people. If one were to go rogue, a simple kunai or a strong poison in their dish takes care of them. Does any such recourse exist for him?"
Tsunade slowly shook her head. She'd thought about it. Saiyan physiology was similar enough to a human's that a toxin catered to it was well within her skillset. Frankly, she was more adept at it than some specialists given her work in the previous ninja war against the Sand's Chiyo. They could possibly make something that would drop him dead faster than he could blink.
"I could have created one but I fear the consequences of its failure too much." She admitted. "His physiology is unique and I'm not confident I could make something that acted fast enough. Imagine administering it and he's still alive for hours. The horrors he could cause in the mean time..."
Mei made a thoughtful sound before she stood. "I'll leave you to it then; you need your rest."
As the Mizukage was about to pass through the doors, she made one final statement.
"I'm nicer than the others, Tsunade. They won't accept something like him floating over their heads long term."
Author's Notes
Happy holidays, everybody! Here's some despair and turmoil as a gift.
It's weird that we're this far in this story. The next chapter is number 40. The end is coming faster and faster D:
We'll be getting an update on the Leaf Village in the next chapter for anyone wondering. I can't wait to see your reactions to that one.
Also, this fic is literally at 499 reviews when I publish this.
I crave 500 so leave a review!
Ent out.
Review Responses!
SilverJoJo: That tells me I'm doing a good with Obito lol. You were close with that prediction!
Abyss Emperor: No happiness to be had here. n.n Except for Madara I suppose.
DTLA1992: Iwa won't react well to the Summit. As for the fight, you're dead on the money there. With Tsunade still not a hundred percent from the siege and with Sasuke's arsenal, she was dead without Broly's intervention.
fightingchampion: Oh, yeah. Trauma and shit is no excuse for this level of shittery. And Broly would have succeeded if it weren't for ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶d̶d̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶k̶i̶d̶s̶ Zetsu!
Dontus -not Donut- Powerus: I'll admit, it might be my current sleep deprivation, but I don't fully understand this review ._.
M: Your hope was half granted here!
Isaiah Navarro: The thing is they could have intervened with plenty of threats before Buu but they didn't. I mean, Frieza ruled a whole galaxy and destroyed plenty of worlds but they didn't do anything about that. This won't register for them. Galactic Patrol might be a different story but, if I do anything with them, it'd be like an epilogue thing.
Uraharaisgod: Ah, now that would be telling!
