Chapter Eight
'If they could see you now. They would be so proud of you Naruto, even if you're not a ninja, they'd still love you like the good parents they wanted to be.'
'Kami only knows how hard it is to look at you sometimes without picturing both Minato and Kushina. But damn those Uzumaki genes are strong.'
'Naming you after a character in my first book was the greatest honour I've ever had bestowed to me. That father of yours knew he was one of my weaknesses. Loved that kid as a son, who cares if we didn't share blood. He made me promise to look out for you so that's what I'm doing. I'm going to train you to survive the coming storm, get through that, I'll tell you who your parents are and you can choose where your life goes from there.'
"Jiraiya! Jiraiya!"
"Yes brat what is it?" Sure it was a clone he was travelling with but he wouldn't have it any other how. The original gets the memories at the end of the day when another clone is made then dispelled.
"I called your name several times but you didn't answer. Where were you just now?"
"Just remembering people who were dear to me." He said as he looked fondly at the boy before him.
"O-oh okay, sorry to disturb you but I'm hungry, we've been training all day. Making a rasengan at the end of my weapons is coming along well enough."
"For a clone you sure eat a lot." Jiraiya mocked. "Alright pack up, we'll call it a day." Jiraiya said looking at the sky, it was showing signs of rain. "We'll get a room tonight to be on the safe side."
"Fine with me, as much fun as it was camping out, I need a real bed."
"Yeah, yeah it's only been three weeks. Besides you're only a clone, a little rain won't do you anything." Well thank goodness Muso place some seals and runes on you to keep you intact while we travel or else who knows what would happen. Jiraiya thought to himself.
That night as they were sitting in their shared room talking, a small toad popped in and deposited a scroll. Upon reading, Jiraiya first penned a response back to Naruto and then one to his sensei. He then braced himself for Naruto's reaction once he delivered the news.
"Listen brat that was a message from you saying that your friend was hurt in the exams."
"What!...how bad?…who did it?"
"Now calm down, she's in the hospital and they're doing their best. However, it seems some things are beyond them and they're asking us to find my teammate."
"Your teammate?"
"Yes, her name's Tsunade and she's the best medic I know of."
"She'll help Hinata?"
"Not sure to be honest, she's vowed not to ever step foot in the village again but I think that you could get through to her."
"Why me?" He doubted. "She doesn't know me and she sure doesn't owe me anything."
"Well truth is, I believe you will remind her of someone she loved a long time ago."
Naruto looked at him skeptically but decided to trust him. "Okay if you say so. When are we leaving and do you know where she is?"
"First thing in the morning and she's most likely in Tanzaku Quarters. It's a place for gamblers and she has a reputation. I'll tell you more about her tomorrow, so let's get some sleep." With that they turned in.
The streets were far busier than they were in Konoha, the most glaring difference was the gambling economy. At seemingly every corner was a small casino or at least a bar where you could place bets on various races or fights. Naruto really hoped that Tsunade wasn't here for all that. He couldn't stand gambling.
They were about to enter one of the many bars that littered the streets when the door was blown outwards and a man flew straight out of the building and was sent crashing into a cart full of cabbages on the other side of the street.
"My cabbages!" cried the man that had pulled the cart, in despair.
Naruto and Jiraiya looked at each other and decided to ignore the twitching man covered in cabbages and entered the bar. It was instantly obvious who had been the one to blow the stranger through the door.
A women in her late twenties with long straw blonde hair captured in two pigtails stood at the bar, cracking her knuckles. She sneered at Jiraiya with disdain before turning around to order another drink. She is said to be the strongest kunoichi and greatest medic nin of the elemental nations. Yet for all her accomplishments, she's nothing but a drunk and a gambler.
"That her?" Naruto leaned closer to Jiraiya.
"Yeah, it's her, my teammate," Jiraiya replied, "as you can see she has a terrible temper, be careful when speaking with her."
Naruto shrugged. "Fair enough, let me talk to her."
Approaching the woman, Naruto stumbled over a pig that for whatever reason walked through the bar, and crashed right into her, causing Tsunade to spill her drink.
Tsunade was not having a good day. Disregarding the usual pain of her broken heart, she had lost a lot of money today. And it hadn't even been hers to begin with. Then, because avoiding the debt collectors hadn't been aggravating enough, Jiraiya shows up out of nowhere which meant she was being asked to return to the village, which had taken her loved ones from her. To say she was furious was the understatement of the century. And then, because it all hadn't been enough already, some brat just spilled her drink.
That had been the last straw.
"That's it!" Tsunade hollered so loud, the ground seemed to shuddered and the barkeeper dropped a glass. Naruto managed to sway sideways and avoided being blasted into cabbages by a hair. Still, the sheer pressure created by the punch was enough to throw him back into a table, causing the occupants to scatter in the room.
Rubbing his head Naruto lay on the ruined table on the floor. "Isn't she supposed to be a healer?" he grumbled and sat up. The stinging in his hand informed him that he may have crashed into some glass. Lifting his hand to inspect the injury, he found a quite deep cut across his palm. Frowning, he stood up.
"What the hell, lady!" he shouted, "It was just a drink!"
But Tsunade didn't respond. Her eyes were wide with horror as she stared at Naruto's injured hand. The injured boy would have said something had Jiraiya not suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Tsunade fears blood," he told Naruto lowly, "ever since she lost two very precious people." While a woman with short brown hair comforted Tsunade, Jiraiya slapped a bandage over Naruto's bloody hand. "Keep it down. We need to talk to her in private." The man appeared far more serious than Naruto had seen him before, so they went and left the bar while Jiraiya talked to Tsunade.
About an hour later the duo from Konoha and Tsunade with her apprentice called Shizune sat in the small hotel room Naruto and Jiraiya had rented. Along the way the boy was told Tsunade's story and while Naruto understood her reluctance to return to the village, he needed her to heal Hinata. So he had to think of a way to get her to at least visit the hospital.
"Look granny," he said, rubbing his temples, "I don't need you to stay in the damn village. The old pervert does." He jerked a thumb at Jiraiya. "I just want you to heal a... my... a friend of mine. She might... die..." His hesitation confused him slightly but he shook it off. "She needs your help. The imbeciles at the hospital can't fully heal her, only you can."
Tsunade, still a bit sick from having seen blood, just sniffed in annoyance. "I told you, brat, I won't set a foot into that village." Deeming that enough, she crossed her arms below her oversized chest and turned her head to look out of the window.
Naruto's brow twitched violently but he decided to try another route to get to her. "Listen here, you have debts, right?"
His question caused Tsunade to look at him out of the corner of her eye so Naruto continued. "Should you return to the village and help heal my injured friend, I will repay you generously, I'm the forge master's apprentice but I have made good money with my own creations."
Tsunade's hands twitched as she kept herself from responding. Shizune, sitting beside her, looked very hopeful at the offer. She was seriously annoyed by all the debt collectors they had to outrun, even though she would never say so out loud. Finally letting her arms down, Tsunade turned to face the two opposite of her with an angry sneer.
"I don't care about one of your pathetic ninjas!" she barked. Naruto bit back an angry shout. "If she was too weak to defend herself, it's her fault for getting hurt! I'm not-!"
"SHUT UP YOU BITCH!"
Before Tsunade even knew what was happening, something hit her left shoulder hard enough to push her up off the bed and into the next wall, which cracked audibly as her back collided with the stone. Naruto stood in front of the now empty space Tsunade had occupied not a second ago, a red haze visible around him, eyes blood red and a spear held steady in both hands. The tip dripped of Tsunade's blood and was still pointed at her shocked form sitting up against the wall.
"I freaking dare you! I dare you, you bloody bitch! Say another word and I'll impale you with every damn spear I have!" he snarled at her. When she moved to stand up, Naruto threw the spear. It hit the wall just above her shoulder, only an inch from her face. "You damn coward have no right to speak about her like that! She didn't run away, she didn't cower behind an illusion and didn't drown herself in booze! She stood and fought for her dreams! She is strong!" Unsealing a spear from kami knows where on his body, he pointed it at the stunned Tsunade. Her shoulder had already healed by itself but she was just too shocked to react. "And if I have to drag you by your hair into the village, you will heal her! I don't give a rat's arse what you do afterwards! But you will heal her!"
As the adrenaline declined, the red haze dissipated from around Naruto and rationality returned to him. What the hell had just happened? For a moment there, he had completely lost it. Ignoring the burning seal on his stomach for now, he resumed to talk.
"If you come willingly, I will see to it that your debts are null and void. Besides, the Hokage has a lot to be sorry about, he will pay if it means having you back. Even for a short time." Re-sealing his spear into the seal tattooed onto his forearm, he sat down, breathing heavily from the Adrenalin still pumping through his system.
Shizune was careful not to show any reaction but she had observed the red hue of chakra surrounding Naruto, the change in the boy's demeanor and felt how dark it was. The speed Naruto had moved at was beyond human, beyond what should have been possible without forcing chakra through your muscles. Something Naruto shouldn't be able to do.
Jiraiya was also carefully masking his reaction. He was ashamed that he hadn't been able to react, but maybe that would cause Tsunade to come with them. It did worry him, however, that Naruto had just released as much chakra as he himself had. And the Kyuubi's no less. If he was the original, he would be worried. Was the seal weakening? Couldn't be, not possible. It must have been the anger that cause the residual fox chakra to react.
Down on the ground, eyes fixed at the shaft of the spear that was lodged deep into the wall right beside her head, Tsunade was out of it. Jiraiya had told her that the kid wasn't a ninja. And yet he had moved to fast for her to see. Too fast for her! She was one of the most powerful ninja to go around and yet she couldn't even flinch before the weapon he had unsealed faster than she could describe. The kid wasn't normal, that's for sure. But aside from that, his determination to help this girl overwhelmed her. He stood against her, even attacked her, only so she would heal this one girl, and didn't seem to care too much about Konoha. The hurt she could see in his eyes reminded her of the same eyes she saw whenever she looked into the mirror. He was different, but not by much. She knew it- could feel it- that he too was running from something. His unwavering determination reminded her of both of them. Of Nawaki and Dan. They may not have been as angry as Naruto, but were no less determined in their goals. If only the damn war hadn't been! If only she could have healed him! If only the village of Konoha hadn't sent them into their graves! But now there was another ninja wounded, a girl that was obviously very important to Naruto. A life she could save, unlike Dan's, who bleed to death in her arms.
Tsunade didn't care about the debts anymore. She had been running for too long, hiding for too long. Dan would have frowned upon her, shirking her duties and not saving lives only she could save. Becoming Hokage? That had been both their dreams. Maybe it was time to embrace their dream, and step forth from the sorrow and the pain. The kid was right. She had no right to speak ill of someone who was fighting for her believes. No, she wouldn't shame the legacy of her two most loved people anymore.
It was time to go back and do what she should have done years ago.
The journey back went by fast in the awkward silence that Naruto's outburst had created. Even Jiraiya refrained from any pervert comments.
They were about half a day from Konoha when a plume of smoke erupted on Jiraiya's shoulder. A monkey as big as the Sannin's head vomited a scroll into Jiraiya's outstretched hand before disappearing less than five seconds after he had appeared. Ignoring Naruto's somewhat disgusted expression, the Toad Sage unfurled the scroll and read the message.
"Snake attacked, swift and soundly. Require aid in cleaning house. The Fire wanes."
Jiraiya's eyes widened and he incinerated the scroll with a burst of chakra. He turned to his companions and bellowed "Move! The village is under attack!"
Immediately an icy fear gripped Naruto's gut. Hinata was still unable to fight. He needed to hurry! Without waiting for any kind of response, Naruto took off as fast as he could, never noticing the red in his eyes. He left behind three stunned ninja. Was he really not a ninja? Shizune and Tsunade wondered.
They didn't linger for long, hurrying themselves and soon catching up to the slightly red glowing form of Naruto. It took them about an hour before they saw the enormous snakes attacking the village walls. Telling them to head for the Hokage tower, Jiraiya broke away from the group and towards the giant snakes. Twenty seconds later an equally giant toad was slicing up the reptiles.
The village was a mess. Ninja's were fighting everywhere and civilians were still fleeing towards the emergency bunkers in the Hokage Mountain. Those foolish enough to get into the way of the group were either simply run over by Naruto, massaged into the ground by Tsunade, or perforated by Shizune. Amidst the chaos Naruto broke away from the group and sprinted towards the forge master but was halted as a toad landed in front of him with none other than Naruto atop its head. "Hey me, where you headed?
"Hey boss, I was thinking of finding Hinata."
"Don't worry she's safe at home with her family. Let's help protect the village. Why not head to the hospital and lend a hand."
"Will do boss, see you later."
"He was relieved to see a unit of chunin in a defensive position around the hospital and instantly he tripped over his own feet as the red aura around him vanished. He hit the ground face first and slid several meters before stopping short at the feet of one of the chunin. This chunin just happened to be Iruka.
"Naruto?!" he exclaimed in shock, bending down to pull the boy up.
"Dammit... what the hell is up with my legs...?" he grumbled as he wiped the dirt out of his face. Looking around he faced Iruka and scowled. "Oh right, you're still here."
The momentary confusion vanished from Naruto and he immediately spun around to face the large number of sound and sand ninja dropping onto the street and roof before the defensive line the Konoha ninja had formed. They intended to attack the hospital. But not as long as he could draw breath. Pulling a scroll from the seal on his forearm that gleamed in a silvery blue, Naruto unsealed a bow. A long, pitch black bow that was seemingly covered in thorns. Considering that the bow was nearly as big as Naruto and the fact that basically all of the ninja knew just who the blonde boy was, they jumped in surprise. Some of the enemy ninja raised an eyebrow at the headband less civilian with the huge ass bow, some even wanted to laugh, but mere three seconds later, two sound ninja chocked on steel arrows in their throats.
"You will not pass!" Naruto snarled as his eyes blurred between blue and red, barring his enlarged canines as he drew back another arrow and immediately released it into the head of a ninja with a Suna headband.
Everyone seemed to recover from the initial shock just then and the fighting began...
While clone Naruto continued his defence of the hospital, Naruto himself made his way around offering assistance where needed.
The Hokage tower was ruined. Orochimaru had directly attacked the Third Hokage and had summoned a snake twice as big as the now destroyed building to battle his former teacher. When Tsunade arrived at the remains of the tower gates, she and her apprentice were met by a translucent purple wall of chakra. Inside they could see a fight between monsters. Hiruzen wasn't Hokage for nothing. The amount of explosions and small earthquakes he produced while battling Orochimaru and a figure to fast to identify set him on equal terms with a force of nature. Orochimaru wasn't a slouch himself. With his ambition to master every jutsu there was, the amount of deadly and destructive justu he unleashed was frightening. But what caught Tsunade's eye was the person flashing all around Hiruzen, showering him with shuriken and spirals of condensed chakra. She knew who that was, she knew what that meant, and she knew Orochimaru had to pay. Clenching her fist tightly, she drew back and released a chakra enhanced punch at the barrier hard enough to shake the whole village.
With an infernal screeching sound the barrier wall bent inwards until the strain was too big and it tore apart, shattering like glass. "Shizune!" she called over her shoulder as she shrugged of her jacket, "take Tonton somewhere safe. She'll only be in the way." And without waiting for a response, she charged at her former teammate. Behind her, the purple wall reformed.
Bending at an unnatural angle, the Snake Sannin avoided the air displacing punch and flickered onto a larger piece of debris nearby. "Oh my! Tsunade, I am honored you'd join us!" he exclaimed with a wide grin that stretched far too wide than it should. She was about to snarl a whole lot of insults at him when she had to duck out of the way of a three pronged kunai. Before it even hit the ground, the flashing figure appeared to grab it midflight and threw a kick at her temples. But Tsunade wasn't a Sannin for nothing. She caught the leg just before it hit her face and she pressed down hard.
Ignoring the blonde man she held fast, she glared at Orochimaru. "Resurrection? You sank far lower than I had expected. And my expectations were rock bottom you filth!" With that she threw the man at her former teammate only for her live projectile to disappear in another flash of bright yellow light. Hiruzen landed besides her, already slightly out of breath but otherwise unharmed.
"I see Naruto managed to convince you, Tsunade," the Hokage half-heartedly chuckled.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "So you planned that?"
Hiruzen glanced at her in mild surprise. "I see Jiraiya talked to you about the boy." He whipped his black bo staff through the air to dissipate an incoming fireball and returned it with a near soundless Shadow Shuriken jutsu.
"I've heard enough," Tsunade replied, punching the ground before her, sending a shock wave at Orochimaru who had to flicker farther away in order to avoid being buried alive. "Enough to know that I'll do your job much better than you did."
"That may very well be true," the aged Hokage sighed, "but it is as it is now, I can't go back anymore."
"So... he controls the fourth?" Tsunade asked, flicking her hand through the air in front of her to send a barrage of three pronged kunai off course. Hiruzen only nodded before he rushed to engage his former pupil in close combat.
The fourth Hokage, hero of the Leave Village, appeared besides one of his kunai not too far from Tsunade. The white of his eyes was black, his blue eyes dull and his skin showed cracks akin to cracks in dry concrete.
"Minato," she said, inclining her head slightly, "I never thought I'd meet you like this."
The dull blue eyes seemed to brighten ever so slightly and Minato's jaw began to shudder. His whole body went rigid as he strained against his own movements. At last, he spoke.
"Lady Tsunade," he said, his voice strained and slow. Yet he managed to incline his head. "I am sorry to meet you like this. Defeat me quickly, my control slips faster as time drags on..." His jaw clenched and he took a shuddering step forwards. "Quickly!" he hissed.
Tsunade raised her fists and bent her knees, preparing to crush him in one blow. "You would be proud of your son, he's a strong soul." Her right fist began to glow in a deep blue as she gathered enough chakra to crush a mountain.
Minato smiled weakly. "Of course he is. He's my son after all." As he finished the sentence, his eyes glazed over again and he vanished in a flash.
Cursing, Tsunade began avoiding to be skewered and blocked kicks and punches from all direction nearly simultaneously. This wasn't going to be easy.
In front of the hospital...
Naruto ripped his glaive through the guts of another Suna ninja. He was already covered in blood from head to toe, the innards of yet another man didn't bother him anymore. Seeing a barrage of kunai incoming, he sealed the weapon and unsealed a tower shield at the same time. Crouching behind it, he avoided being a pincushion. A leaf ninja behind him wasn't all that lucky and was hit in the shoulder just as he finished burying a Sound ninja beneath the street in some earth jutsu. Naruto cursed and moved backwards until the shield covered his fallen comrade as well.
"Are you alright?!" he shouted over the fighting around them. Naruto wasn't stupid enough to think he could fight off the dozen enemy ninja by himself. As much as these people loathed him, he needed their help to defend the hospital. The ninja held his arm, the look on his face proofed to Naruto that he was recognized, but the expression quickly became as friendly as it could be in a war zone.
"Thanks, I'm fine," the ninja responded and pushed himself up, still staying in cover behind the shield. "You're a civilian, you shouldn't be here!" the ninja admonished.
Naruto suppressed a growl. "If you want me to put away the shield, sure. But you'll end up studded with sharp metal pieces, so shut up and back away if you can't fight!" he shouted at the man and threw a few of the kunai that lay all around them at their attackers. Suddenly the constant rain of metal ceased and Naruto dared to glance past his shield. Standing before him was Iruka, holding a glowing barrier of chakra in place that stopped all incoming attacks.
"Quick!" he shouted at them, "Fall back towards the entrance! We are being pushed back!" Not waiting for a reply, Iruka pushed forward with the barrier still up before pushing the wall forward, letting it roll into the enemies. Naruto dropped his shield, which vanished into the seal as soon as his hand left the grip, produced his long bow and began firing as he moved backwards. He cursed inwardly at himself for not carrying the artillery with him that he and Muso occasionally produced, a huge ass cannon would be really handy now. Especially if said cannon could spew a thunderstorm. But he had little time to think about that. He only had the weapons he'd sealed when he departed with Jiraiya on their trip.
Were it not for the fact that he was still caught in the strange red haze, Naruto wouldn't have been able to duck under the chakra enhanced swipe of a short sword. Dropping his bow, which vanished just like the shield did, he whipped out a pair of daggers and pushed the blade of the enemy further away with one blade before skewering the man with the other. It was then that Naruto realized that he hadn't retreated as fast as the other Konoha ninja had. He was in the middle of a good dozen of the invaders. Deciding that daggers wouldn't be of much help, he switched to a spear he enhanced with wind chakra and twirled the weapon in a wide arc all around him. The sudden switch in his choice of weapon caught most of his attackers off guard and they fell to his first strike.
Iruka slid into the fight, beheading a Sand ninja that was about to unleash a wind jutsu at Naruto. He wanted to shout something but was forced to dodge spikes of earth that had been hurled at him. The teacher had been worried that Naruto wouldn't make it but he was absolutely astounded by the boy's ability to wield every kind of weapon. Switching seamlessly between his weapons, Naruto danced through punches, kicks, blades, kunai and a few jutsu as he decimated the enemy ninja, all the while covered a haze of blood and red chakra. Many Konoha ninja couldn't comprehend what the boy was even doing here, less so how he could battle trained ninja toe to toe while severely outnumbered. Some knew what he was, seeing him covered in blood, ripping through the enemy in his rampage, made them shiver. But many had seen him protect a wounded leaf ninja, they couldn't deny that without him, they wouldn't last and the hospital would be razed to the ground. With a battle cry and renewed vigor, the Konoha ninja defending the hospital engaged the enemy anew.
Naruto was starting to tire. His chakra was running low and any minute now he would probably dispel. The fight was leaning in favor of the defending forces until a jonin appeared on the battlefield. Naruto didn't even see the punch coming before he could react the man's fist connected. Immediately Naruto received his clone's memories and together with the Konoha ninjas around him charged in the direction of the hospital. Arriving at the hospital Naruto threw himself into the battle, suddenly there were several clones all holding a rasengan and blasting the enemies. Seeing that the reinforcements was far stronger than the rest of the invaders energized the ninjas to press forward. The allied ninja of Sound and Suna fell in the blink of an eye even as the order for retreat was being shouted above the battle. They were losing but would not be allowed to leave alive.
Abandoning the fight, Naruto rushed through the hallways of the hospital as fast as he could. He needed to protect the patients. No one would get inside. Not as long as he could hold a weapon.
Outside of Konoha...
Kurenai wasn't sure she would survive this. A tailed beast, the one tailed Shukaku to be precise, had broken out of its container and was now attempting to attack the village. Orochimaru had orchestrated the whole thing, planning to have Konoha destroyed by using the son of the Kazekage, Gaara, who was the jinchuriki for the one tailed. As far as she knew, this was supposed to happen at the finals of the chunin exams but something must have triggered the invasion earlier. Kurenai suspected that Orochimaru had gotten the information that Jiraiya had left the village and used the opportunity to strike.
Kakashi, Gai and Asuma were currently busy weaving through the tons of sand that were lashing out at them. The beast was roaring furiously at them, standing in a newly created plane that had once been a thick forest, sand everywhere. And Kurenai was keeping Gaara's brother and sister away from the fight. It wasn't really hard, they were just genin, but she didn't want to unnecessarily hurt them. She had just put the girl to sleep and watched Shukaku's arm being blown off by a mighty kick from Gai, only for it to instantly reform and lash out at Kakashi, interrupting his water dragon jutsu.
Kurenai was about to join the fray when she spotted someone she hadn't expected. "Muso?" she shouted from atop a tree branch, "What are you doing out here?!"
The Forge Master halted to look up at her. "Bringing the heavy guns, girl, what else?" he told her and patted the big scroll he had slung over the shoulder. "Help me bring this up on the hill over there and this will be over soon."
It took them five minutes to reach the hilltop. Shukaku had advanced slowly, thanks to the three jonin fighting it off and was still about a kilometer from the village.
"Aye, that's one good spot," Muso said as he placed the scroll on an even patch of grass. With a big explosion of smoke, a huge cannon was unsealed from the scroll. It was pitch black aside from the steel platform it stood on and the singular golden line that ran along the thick barrel that was about 10 feet in diameter and about thrice as long. It was a humongous weapon and loomed ominously over the forest, standing atop the hill.
"Quit staring and stand back!" Muso shouted and Kurnai backed away from the cannon. The Forge Master operated the weapon from a control panel with too many buttons and levers for Kurenai to count at the base of the steel platform the cannon rested on. With an electric crackling, the canon took aim at the one tail beast and the golden line along the barrel began to glow brightly. The muzzle of the cannon began to emit a soft blue glow that grew brighter and brighter with each passing second.
"What exactly will this do?" Kurenai shouted over the charging noise of the cannon. She didn't want Gaara to be hurt, the boy was being used.
Muso finished adjusting the aim and turned to face Kurenai. "Don't worry girl, this baby essentially fires an overpowered chakra seal. It's strong enough to push that beast back into its seal... I hope," he added, frowning at the towering tailed beast in the distance. Suddenly the wind around them started to pick up as if the air was sucked into the weapon. The pull got strong enough for Kurenai to adhere herself to the ground with chakra. Muso's weight prevented him from even budging as he put his hand on the big red lever right in the middle of the console.
Yanking it down hard, he bellowed "FIRE!" and Kurenai's vision disappeared in a flash of white.
Inside the hospital...
The bodies were piling up in the hallways of the hospital, all of them Suna or Sound ninja. The once pristine white walls were stained red with blood, not even the ceiling was untouched by the carnage. Countless swords, spears, knives, arrows and kunai were stuck in walls and the floor, most of them from Naruto. He had run out of chakra inside the seals so now his weapons didn't reseal by themselves and Naruto knew that he was low on weapons in his inventory. His breathing was ragged and came in short, painful bursts into his abused lungs. He was on his last legs and he knew it. His body couldn't take much more, he needed these attacks to stop.
Naruto was about to lean against the door to one of the rooms when a figure dropped into the hallway through a shattered window to his right. His vision was hazy from the blood covering him and he wasn't about to take any chances so he hurled the sword he was holding at the ninja. He managed to see that the ninja avoided the weapon as he stumbled forward. His legs were too weak to support him any longer and gave out. But he didn't hit the bloody floor. The ninja had caught him and was holding him upright. Naruto blinked against the spots in his vision and saw Iruka smile weakly at him. "It's over, Naruto. They're retreating."
The blonde artisan took a deep breath and managed to smile before he gave into his tiredness and just flopped to the floor. Iruka was about to try and get his former pupil out of the bloody mess around them when everything went white. Covering his eyes, Iruka cursed and moved along the wall, stumbling half blind through the hospital. Leaf ninja moved into the hospital, a few shocked at the scene before them, but they secured the hospital quickly enough. Naruto sighed in relief, everyone was safe.
The academy had become an emergency headquarter since the Hokage tower was destroyed and the stadium in ruins. There was also a field hospital to where Iruka was currently heading. While the teacher didn't see it, Naruto's wounds were healing at a visible speed, his blood replenished at an even more frightening pace. Just short of reaching the academy, Naruto jerked awake, causing Iruka to drop him in surprise.
The blonde looked around in surprised before he spotted the looming red barrier down the street which seemed to rise a kilometer into the air where once the Hokage tower stood. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed as he pushed himself to his still week legs.
"Naruto!" Iruka shouted, "We need to get you to the field hospital!"
Hearing the rumbling sound as the tremor shook the ground. Naruto looked back at Iruka. "What's going on over there?"
Iruka hesitated before he answered. "The Hokage is fighting Orochimaru inside that... We can't get inside and the ANBU were needed elsewhere-"
Looking towards the barrier that had been erected Naruto heard no more. Abandoning all else around him, Naruto sprinted down the streets towards the barrier. Then in an effort to avoid the chaos on the ground he rushed over roof tops as fast as he could. He needed to reach the Hokage and lend his assistance if possible. No one could get inside earlier, he wondered who brought it down.
The Ruins of the Hokage tower...
Hiruzen took a hard hit to his left side before he could manage to behead Orochimaru with a giant shuriken. The force of the kick had him cough up blood from his battered left lung and he was thrown into a mountain of debris. The explosion caused by the impacted served to destroy a few of his steel cabinets that contained a mass of documents which rained down upon him, blocking his sight.
"Kami damned paperwork!" he growled and substituted with a log to avoid a hail of venomous snakes.
Hiruzen was about to throw a water dragon at the snake when an explosion with a terrible echo turned everything white for a few seconds.
Orochimaru growled as he could see again. Shukaku was gone, Gaara had been neutralized. He could hear his sensei laugh. "Seems that his weapon worked. Your plan has failed Orochimaru, and now you will be the next to fall!"
"Don't get too cocky, old man!" he snarled back and dislodged his jaw. He heaved once and a blade shot out of his maw, aimed at Hiruzen.
The Hokage made to dodge only to find his legs rooted by some of the snakes Orochimaru had unleashed before. It was only a moment but in the blink of an eye the blade flashed and pierced Hiruzen's chest. The blade was stopped not an inch from stabbing through his heart. Enma, the monkey king and Hiruzen's summon, managed to catch the blade just before it could kill. Hiruzen didn't flinch, didn't make a sound as Orochimaru walked forward, the blade still coming from his mouth and pushing against Enma's hold.
With a self-satisfied grin visible even on the dislodged jaw, Orochimaru came to a halt only an arm's length before his old sensei. "You have become old, Hiruzen. This is the end."
Every word was strangely audible through the open mouth and pushed against Enma's hold and Hiruzen grit his teeth as the blade, Kusanagi, scrapped against his bones. Orochimaru's wide lips stretched even farther into a sickening grin. "Konoha will fall!" he laughed maniacally, the sword vibrating painfully in Hiruzen's chest.
"Not as long as I'm still here...," Hiruzen grunted and began to rapidly make hand seals while Orochimaru was on his laughing high.
"Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal!"
Orochimaru's laughter instantly stopped and his eyes widened as the ghostly figure of the death god appeared behind the Hokage, its white robes billowing all around the skinny, grayish figure.
Tsunade heard the Hokage's roar even over the explosion of Minato's rasengan all around her. The chill that radiated off the death god's presence halted her fight with Minato, whose reanimated body was nearly torn to shreds.
"No!" she breathed before abandoning the fight with Minato, whose body halted, as if frozen in time, when the death god started his work.
The barrier crumbled around them, giving Naruto the chance to sprint inside. His legs burned with an unholy amount of pain but he moved forward anyways, stumbling over debris and gashes in the earth towards the cold that he could feel ahead.
His breath caught in his throat when his eyes fell upon the death god, its ghostly hand plunged through the old Hokage's back and straight into the chest of a man Naruto hadn't ever seen before. Hiruzen was coughing up blood, a blue glowing blade was piercing his chest that sprung from Orochimaru's mouth.
"Old... man?" Naruto froze in place, about 15 meters from them. Hiruzens head turned slowly and painfully in Naruto's direction as the hand of the death god began pulling a blue shape out of the other man's body.
"N... aruto..," the Hokage coughed, "I... am...so... sorry"
Unfathomable dread rose up in Naruto's gut as he watched Orochimaru about to lurch forward, with strength and speed he didn't know he still possessed, Naruto grabbed the Sannin from behind and preventing him from advancing. Hiruzen seeing this spoke again. "I'm almost out of chakra, I won't be able to take him with me." Hearing this a clone suddenly came into existence, it walk over to Hiruzen, placed both hands on him and began to infuse him with its chakra.
Realizing what was happening Orochimaru began to lash out, his snakes coming to his defense started attacking Naruto who had no choice but to release him. But it was all the time Hiruzen needed.
"This is your end, Orochimaru!" Hiruzen shouted. "SEAL!"
The death god's hand curled into a fist, pulling out the entirety of Snake Sannin's soul before leaving Hiruzen's body, letting it drop limply to the ground.
The old man didn't move anymore.
Orochimaru soon followed, collapsing to the floor, dead. Kabuto appeared in a plume of smoke and grabbed onto Orochimaru's empty husk.
"You will pay for this!" the white hair boy screamed before he vanished just in time to avoid being crushed by Tsunade's punch. His fellow Sound ninjas were not so luck and were slain by the ANBU who came in with Naruto.
Naruto knelt besides the Hokage's still form, he remained quiet as if the man were resting and he didn't want to disturb him. Hiruzen's helmet to his armor came off, rolling away slowly, revealing the face of the Hokage entirely. His eyes were closed, as if he were only sleeping. A small trickle of blood was still flowing from his lips, his expression peaceful, serene even.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, God of Shinobi, the Professor and Third Hokage was dead.
