Devil From The Heavens
Chapter 13: The Crushing
The sandstorm could have worn the skin off a rhino but he powered through without concern. He had no choice but to do so. The cloak he wore did little to protect him from the elements but he suspected it had more to do with intimidation than any real functionality. Madara was similarly unaffected by the weather though for different reasons.
Why he decided to transport them in the middle of this storm was beyond the Saiyan. Every five minutes, the sand seemed to actually get to the man but within seconds it was like nothing happened. Soon enough, or maybe it was hours later, they made it out of the storm and a massive rock formation took up most of the horizon. Upon closer to inspection, there was a gate at the center between two tall cliffs.
"Suna, one of the Great Shinobi Nations. Unconquered since its inception due to its natural defenses and the lethal desert that surrounds it for days of travel."
The Uchiha looked to him, his lone eye unreadable. "We have walked here to give them time to prepare. They have already spotted us so far away."
"Leave no one in the village alive."
His body became light as a feather as it responded on its own to the masked man's command. The stench of his hypocrisy was nauseating and the Saiyan was glad to be away from it. Madara wanted peace yet wiping a settlement of tens of thousands of lives was okay with him? In as far as Broly could tell, this wasn't to progress any plans. It just seemed like some practice for the Uchiha.
Wind like knives crashed against him as he approached the gate. He wasn't any barometer for 'good' or what have you but he was honest in his murder at the minimum. Kunais and shuriken with slick venom on their edges bounced off him and left him stained. He crashed through the gate easily enough. The cliffs that marked the village's entrance collapsed when the mines of ki Broly left in his wake detonated. Now no one could leave.
Civilians immediately screamed and panicked as they always do. In front of him stood a man in a beige vest and metal headband flanked by three children dressed like fools with identical headbands. The man yelled at what Broly assumed was his students to stay back before he lunged at the Saiyan. An arm through the chest later and he was tossed aside like garbage.
One reached out for the dead man, terror etched on his face. "Sensei!"
The other two grabbed him and the eldest screamed. "Come on, we gotta run!"
The squad of would be child soldiers ran as they were replaced by a half dozen fully grown shinobi. He flicked a tiny flick of ki, barely noticeable to even him, and the trio were turned to ashes. To their credit, the ninja stayed focused on him.
More wind tore at him. His ki protected him from any cuts but it could not protect his robe from all damage. Chunks of the dark fabric were torn away as he strode through the invisible blades. An emerald glow oozed out of him before it suddenly expanded into a dome several hundred feet in diameter. Dozens of buildings and hundreds of lives were extinguished in an instant.
He idly wondered what the Sage would think of all this if he ever saw the man again. He was sure the construct had every capability of stopping this. All it would take was to turn off his power or release the Saiyan from Madara's power but his inaction said more than words ever could. As he drew closer to the village center, he noticed attacks were hitting harder and clouds of miasma surrounded him. It burned his lungs and reduced his visibility to only a few feet in front of him. He noticed his body slow.
It was toxin, strong stuff too to affect him at all. Shadows danced in the violet fog around him. A kunai struck out at him but he caved in the shinobi's chest with a quick jab. He parted the blinding clouds with a burst of ki. Fifty shinobi surrounded him. It was clear that they more hardened compared to the resistance he had faced so far.
"Surrender, Akatsuki, or suffer the wrath of Suna!"
Broly waved his hand and a burst of spheres erupted from his palm. Explosions engulfed the shinobi with more ringing out for miles beyond them. He shot more and more orbs of jade ki which leveled entire blocks at a time. Why was he dirtying his hands like this?
This could have been a simple repeat of that earlier village but this destruction was piecemeal. Granted it had only been a minute and nearly half of the village was already in ruins so it wasn't slow going but it could have been far faster. All this did was give them more of a change to beat him as slim as that was. Maybe this is something he wanted subconsciously.
It was better a powerless death than a strengthless life. That's what he thought at the beginning of all this. On some level, his mind must have took that and ran with it. Massive walls of earth cut him off from the rest of the village. He slugged the stone obstruction and his arm went straight through which sent cracks up through to the top of the artificial structure.
His attempt at a breach was interrupted by what looked like a giant slab of metal slamming into the side of his head. He stumbled from the impact and a gust of wind, blunt and powerful, sent him through the rubble of several buildings. That was unexpected. He punched through the stone that buried him and lifted himself out easily enough.
A wooden thing with three eyes and six limbs assaulted him with blades extended from every armor. Broly avoided the initial flurry but when he retaliated it floated up out of the way of his lariat. Another creature, this one with devil's horns and eight arms, swiped at him as well with two of its arms separating from its body to continue its attack.
He parried the blows, his iron-like skin unmarked by the blades, and shoulder-charged the wooden construct only for it to float away as well. Something slammed into his back and the Saiyan was sent sprawling into the street. A brief glance back saw a salamander-like construct was responsible. What the hell were these things? It opened its mouth and a toxic cloud of gas surrounded him instantly.
His eyes teared up and he was blinded by the gas that ate away at his eyes. He coughed as it replaced the oxygen in his lungs and the Saiyan choked. The sharp stench of ammonia tore away his sense of smell. This poison wasn't meant to kill him like the others; it took away what senses it could.
A boulder, or what he assumed to be a boulder, slammed into his chest. The rock shattered upon impact and Broly was on his back again. An orange light cut through the poison smoke an instant before he was seemingly transported to the surface of the sun. Like a fabled dragon, he roared and his breath became fire as everything burned.
Outside the cloud of flame, a blond woman swung her fan and a cyclone of wind turned the blazing inferno into a swirling tornado of white fire that cracked and tore at the very stones that made the foundation of their village. Its terrible light could be seen at the far reaches of their home, a beacon for its formidable warriors, and the smell of ash and soot suffocated that of the countless corpses around them.
The Kazekage swung again as her ANBU fed the flames with their own jutsu. A man in a black body suit and face paint landed beside her with heavy breaths as the heat threatened to choke him. Anymore of this fire and nearby injured would be cooked alive.
"Temari, don't you think that's enough?!"
Her knuckles paled as her grip tightened. "No! These bastards-!"
Kankuro grabbed at Temari's shoulder to stop her from adding to the wildfire. "You'll set the whole place on fire at this rate!" She tore her shoulder away from her sibling and gestured wildly at the burning Akatsuki.
"They need to pay for what happened to Gaara!"
One of the ANBU cried out as they spotted something in the flames. "Lady Temari!"
The siblings looked to where the shinobi was pointing. There was a rising shadow in the wildfire. Glowing green eyes pierced through the blinding white. A single golden boot, now red from heat, cracked the ground when it stepped out of the tornado. Her eyes widened at the sight. The man was unharmed with the only evidence that anything happened was most of his robe had been burned away.
"That's impossible!" Kankuro exclaimed in awe as the fire died out.
The next step Broly took, many deep fissures appeared as the earth itself seemed unable to withstand his presence. Great green geysers of energy erupted from these wounds in the planet and an unfortunately positioned ANBU was erased in a moment.
Temari and her remaining shinobi jumped as the ground beneath collapsed and pillars of stone rose to meet them. The Saiyan rushed forth and impaled one ANBU on a pointed rock before he kicked another's head clean off. He sped towards Temari but she brought her fan between them in time. The impact felt like Shukaku itself decided to try and kill her and not just a man.
The majority of Suna's forces bore down on the Akatsuki as their Kazekage was thrown well out of sight. Kankuro spotted his sister in time and sent Kuroari to catch her before she became a big red splotch on a ruined wall. He landed on a boulder and pulled out a scroll with a kanji that read 'Sasori'. He summoned his newest puppet and brought his other three close to him.
"I appreciate the catch."
"No problem."
She inspected her fan and scowled. Her weapon was bent with the clear impression of a fist in the center. It wasn't enough to render it useless but it wouldn't be as effective. She looked at the war that had erupted in front of her. Massacre was a more appropriate word as the Akatsuki was slaughtering her men as easily as one breathed.
Broly ripped several puppets from their handlers with a great swipe of his arm. One of the puppet-wielder's chakra threads failed to break and she was pulled off her feet. The Saiyan tossed the wooden creations in a random direction and caught the woman with an outstretched hand. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as he put her in the way of several wind jutsu.
She gagged as blood flooded her lungs. Broly slammed his free hand into the shinobi's gut and launched her away with a ki blast which killed another half-dozen ninja in an explosion of gore. A woman stood in front of him with the biggest fan he'd ever seen and the other warriors gave her a wide berth.
Temari bit her thumb and wipe the blood on her fan.
"Let's see how you handle this! Summoning: Blade Dance!"
She swung and a human-sized weasel wielding a scythe appeared in a puff of smoke. It spun and massive blades of wind assaulted the Saiyan. He covered his face with crossed arms. He was slowly pushed back as minute cuts appeared on his body. It was clear to him that she was a notch above everything he'd seen so far.
The weasel appeared behind her and the two attack in unison with their weapons. A single cutting gust, the largest on the battlefield yet, rushed to the Saiyan. Broly raised a barrier but was forced clean off his feet as the gargantuan blade crashed and cracked his shield.
Kankuro took the opportunity and caught the Akatsuki with Kuroari before immediately closing the puppet around the invader. With a slight movement of his fingers, his other puppet, Karasu, separated into eight separate blades.
"Secret Black Move: Iron Maiden!"
Every blade of Karasu flashed forward into open slits in Kuroari's barrel-like body in an instant. Seconds of silence passed. When no further movement was spotted most of the shinobi present let out a collective sigh of relief. The puppet master brought Sasori close and kept his salamander puppet, Sanshouo, near his sister just in case.
Inside the puppet, Broly was steaming as he held his bleeding forearm. That bitch nearly took his arm with that last move. If these people had any power or he was weaker, that alone might have done him in. As it were, the blades that should have impaled him had bent against his body. With an explosive burst of movement, he destroyed the wooden thing that had caught him.
He ripped one of the blades from its remains and launched it at the woman who had harmed him but a puppet with a shock of red hair deflected the projectile with a translucent shield of chakra. A thousand little pinpricks hit his entire body the instant afterwards. He looked down at his arm where countless blue strings had somehow attached themselves to him.
He tried to move but he was stunted. His muscles rippled beneath his skin as he pulled his arm against the strength of a hundred men. The red-haired puppet detached its head and hundreds of pellets shot out from its neck and palms at the Saiyan. He was consumed by the flood of miniature explosives.
It was clear now to him that this village didn't have what it took to beat him, to cut him off from Madara like he wanted, and the Uchiha's commands ran strong through his blood. There was no point in this melee anymore. His ki spiked a towering pillar of green aura incinerated the chakra strings attached to him. He pointed his palm down.
The collective hairs on the back of every ninja's neck rose along with the stones and ash of the ruined village. As his sight turned green, Kankuro's gut told him that this would be the end of Suna. In one smooth motion of his hands, Sanshuou swallowed up his sister. He could hear a stream of curses and demands even as the salamander puppet closed tight.
Sasori moved over alongside Sanshuou and released a chakra shield that fully encompassed his sister's impromptu prison. It was chakra intensive and impractical to make such a large barrier but if he didn't put every ounce of power behind his puppets' defenses, he'd be wasting what little time he had.
The initial boom of the explosion deafened him as it completely destroyed his eardrums. The heat that followed boiled the water in body and his clothes were incinerated instantly. As his body was atomized, the puppet master's final thought was the fleeting hope that his sister survived. Buildings all the way to the village's edge collapsed from the shock wave before their pieces were reduced to less than dust.
In the distance, Madara smiled beneath his mask as Suna disappeared underneath an emerald apocalypse. All in the span of about ten minutes. In the blink of an eye, he stood in the center of it all. Broly floated amongst the rubble like the Shinigami itself. One of the five Great Ninja Nations gone in less than the time it took to cook a proper meal. This was what he wanted from the Sage's monster ever since that fateful day.
"Excellent work, Broly."
Madara transported them away from the village but not before he tore a piece of the Saiyan's robe and left it behind. He wanted the other villages to know who did this. If they were so foolish as to continue to hold their jinchuriki from him in spite of such awe-inspiring destruction, he'd be happy to repeat proceedings.
Peace was something one simply didn't earn through talk. People had to be forced to lay down arms and they all knew it on some level. He was simply the only with the will to do what needed to be done. It was actually a mercy that he left none alive.
No one would suffer what he had all those years ago when he lost Rin.
In the remains of Suna, a bloodied hand pushed aside broken wood and partially melted metal. Temari pulled herself out of the wreckage of her brother's puppets. The left side of her body was burned and her arm was a charred stump. She could hardly feel the lower half of her body. Nothing was left of her village. She weakly gripped the sand beneath her.
It was all gone. Her family. Her home. Why? What did they do? They had already lost Gaara to those monsters; what more could they have wanted? Just their destruction? She pounded the sand with her fist. It didn't matter that searing pain shocked her arm every time she did it. It just- nothing about this made sense.
The sun was low on the horizon. It would be cold soon. She needed to focus on surviving right now. Her brother's lst moments wouldn't have mattered if she just died to exposure. Temari felt out the remaining chakra in her system. It was barely enough.
She went through the hand signs as best she could with her other arm missing and placed her blood-soaked hand onto the sand. She could only hope she desummoned him in time. A large puff of smoke erupted and Kamatari appeared. The weasel was clearly shaken though unharmed. Temari lacked the energy to even speak after the summoning. The chakra exhaustion quickly overtook her and she passed out.
Kamatari slithered underneath her and lifted his master onto his back. He wasn't the largest nor the physically strongest among his clan but he was loyal and she needed help.
With scythe in mouth, the weasel headed to what he knew was the nearest friendly settlement: The Hidden Leaf.
Author's Note
And that's all I wrote. Don't worry about the lack of Naruto in this chapter. We'll see what's going on with him and a few others in the next chapter.
Let me know what you think in a review below!
Ent out.
Review Responses!
Abyss Trinity: I've always interpreted that as Saiyans adapt during combat not just adapting in general but I understand where you're coming from and I had that in mind when I wrote about his being affected by chakra. He healed completely with no side effects in days from what is normally a lethal case of chakra poisoning after all.
The awesome one: I watched that video and I just can't agree with his assessment. Without the Rinnegan, Obito just doesn't seem like he would win against Pain in a normal 1v1 in my opinion. Plus, Konan should have been higher. c_c
divineboss2000: Noice.
MythAnime: Unfortunately, Broly does not have a tail. He wasn't shown to have one in the first movie so that's what I'm going with.
fightingchampion: That'd be fuckin' cool but it won't happen unfortunately. Broly isn't a weapon wielder in this story.
Mordred's Stories: Why thank you! I spent the bulk of my time writing their interactions so I'm glad that you think so!
The next Episodes: Really? Neat.
Guest: I can't kill naruto. Not yet anyways. Haha I'm just kidding. Or am I? I totally am, Naruto will live...maybe.
