THE BATTLE FOR THE EARTH – CLYDE'S TRUE POWER
Hashirama and Grace's Starting Point
The Colonels have retreated. At least for now, the shinobi of the hidden leaf have defeated the Colonels. That will change though, they have fled in Naruto's direction, it is only natural that Hashirama and Mirai will give chase, however, they take a moment to collect themselves before doing so.
Of course, there are four others who have been fighting in this battle. Four people who have nothing more to give. Kakashi who has followed Naruto's prediction and become their ultimate trump card in this battle. Tobirama who was beaten by the strongest Colonel but still continued to fight. Boruto who changed his direction to go back and help Sarada, despite barely grasping his own powers. And lastly, Sarada, who had battle two on one for so long before winning with Boruto's aid, only to come here and fight once again.
Boruto begins to set himself down gently before deciding he doesn't have the energy. Like a child trying to show off, he flops onto his back, looking up into the sky above.
Sarada smiles as she limps over to join Boruto. "A little tired, are you?" she questions as she sits down beside him.
"Exhausted" he breathes in reply, "I'm sorry that I'm letting the team down like this. But I have nothing left…".
"Boruto, not so long ago you were worried that you would lose in the 6th round". Hashirama knows this better than anyone, he is the one who alleviated Boruto of his fears. It was as a result of this that Boruto took Hashirama on as a master. "If you hadn't unleashed your anger and contributed so heavily, we wouldn't have even made it this far".
"Thank you, Lord 1st".
Tobirama smiles, while he doesn't agree with his brother's new philosophy, it is good to see that he is still a good man at heart. Then, much like Boruto, Tobirama begins to fall onto his back. His is not a deliberate fall, nor one made he had any influence over, it is his legs that have given out on him.
Kakashi catches Tobirama as the 2nd Hokage coughs from deep within his chest. "Thanks, Kakashi".
"Don't mention it" the 6th Hokage replies with what Tobirama assumes to be a smile.
Tobirama notices that his friend is still lowering him though, something Kakashi quickly explains. "Now, I have a few seconds to lay you down" he begins as he places Tobirama's head on the ground, "Before I collapse myself".
THUD!
Kakashi falls down next to Tobirama.
Tobirama's first instinct is to help Kakashi but he is too tired to do anything himself. What he wishes for right now is to go to sleep. Everyone feels much the same way, as if they could sleep for a thousand years. The feeling is more extreme in Tobirama though, he came into this contest, not just with the expectations of all the villagers, but also the dying will of Mito on his shoulders.
"What a cute couple you make" Mirai teases them.
Normally, one of them would reprimand her for such childish behaviour. Not now though. They just lay there, taking deep breaths, hoping to recovery what strength they can, should it be required in the upcoming fight. If nothing else the most difficult obstacle is still before them.
Clyde is still OK.
"Mirai, Hashirama" Sarada calls to the duo, the only other shinobi amongst them who has not collapsed, "The other two colonels fled in Naruto's direction, you have to go help him".
To Mirai this is an order from her Hokage. One that she is only too happy to comply with. To chase a Colonel, with a genuine hope of stopping them. This gives her a feeling she hasn't felt since before the war, a battle she can enter with confidence.
"I won't let you down Lord 9th".
"Let's go".
Hashirama and Mirai pursue Peterson and Sheer. Contrary to all the running that the shinobi have done in this match so far, this is fast. Hashirama's sprint is enhanced by the power of sage mode which he uses to amplify the power of his legs, this speed is something you would expect from the Raikage or a similar speed expert, but to him it is not even a technique. He is just that strong. To keep up with him, Mirai stretches her hands back, using her ability to create explosions to propel herself forward. At this speed, they will only get closer and closer to the Colonels.
Hashirama looks towards Naruto's chakra.
'This chakra of Naruto's' he smiles, 'I thought I had come a long way but he is an absolute monster. Mito, hold on, they will dead before long'.
'I can feel his anger, the kill intent pouring from Lord 1st'. A bead of sweat rolls down Mirai's head as she looks sideways towards the original holder of the Hokage position. 'He's not the same man Sarada summoned to the future. Is this, is this the cycle of hatred we were warned about?'.
Tobirama's energy slowly returns to normal. He stretches his hands out to his side, forcefully pulling himself up using his abdominal muscles.
"You can't force your energy to return any faster" a gentle voice comes from next to him.
"Kakashi…".
"Just relax for a second" the masked shinobi rests his head back against the cold floor. "Your brother and Mirai can win this".
"It's not that I don't believe they can win" Tobirama explains as he rests his head in his hand, "I'm just concerned that my brother will go too far and lose himself".
People who have lost themselves as a result of the cycle of hatred, they are far too numerous. Madara. Danzo. Orochimaru. Obito. Sasuke. Still, despite this illustrious list of names, many considered it impossible for the likes of Senju Hashirama to join this list. However, even if he does, there exists in this world an expert at removing names from this list.
"Naruto definitely won't let Hashirama go".
"No, I suppose not, thank you Kakashi". Tobirama looks to his side, truly Kakashi has been a constant source of support for him since coming to the future. As Hokage he considers that the two of them are very alike. "I've always had the impression that you would follow a similar path. A path of believing in absolute power rather than the will of fire".
"I started out on that path long ago. Then someone saved me".
"Uzumaki Naruto?".
"Well. I say someone saved me. There were many people. My team stopped me from going insane when my father died. My sensei stopped me from losing myself when my team died. Hiruzen stopped me from going into the darkness as part of the Anbu. And Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, they brought me into the light and kept me there. But…".
"But?".
"If I had to attribute it all to one person. It would be Uchiha Obito" Kakashi sighs.
"Listen, Tobirama. Nobody, not even the Uchiha, are fixed on their path. Anybody can embrace the will of fire. It's a path your brother was born to walk, he will definitely return to it".
Tobirama takes in a drawn-out breath. "You're right of course. He is a Hokage after all".
Boruto glances sideways at Sarada, looking away again just as her head is about to turn in his direction. For some reason, he doesn't understand he is acting like he's never spoken to her before. Despite having been running non-stop recently, his heart rate is increasing not decreasing. Still, regardless of what it is doing to him, he has something which he must say.
"… Sarada, I have something I have to speak to you about".
"What is it?".
"When we decided that you would head towards Lord 2nd by yourself, I was really worried" he explains, closing his eyes as he does so, "I didn't quite know what had come over me but I really didn't want you to get hurt in that moment".
Sarada smiles, a moment of happiness for her as she hears of Boruto's concern for her. For too long it has seemed like Boruto may be taking the wrong path, that the damage he is doing to his own mind may be irreversible, but, to feel concern for a friend, that truly is a sign that he is still himself.
"I know what you mean. When I met up with Lord 2nd, the two Colonels had left him and were heading elsewhere" she recounts the details of her meeting with Tobirama. How he had brought up her illogical concerns for Boruto. "I was terrified that they might be heading towards you".
"It's illogical isn't it" Boruto's voice raises, "Neither of us are fragile, we've teamed together for so long but I've never been so worried before".
"No, neither have I… neither have I".
"I thought I knew what it was" Boruto begins, "This war has continuously driven me into a corner. As the shadow Hokage I have had to make sacrifice after sacrifice. It's a lonely job and it has driven me further and further down the path of darkness".
"Boruto I…".
Ignoring her, he continues, "I tried to sacrifice my own grandfather. I used rage to unlock this Tenseigan. It's completely against all the things that my father and my master taught me to do".
"So, why did you do it?".
"Because I was their reflection in you and me. I thought you had become just like my father and I had become just like yours".
It is a comparison people often make. Naruto and Sasuke had been light and dark, the Hokage and the Shadow Hokage. To that end, Sarada and Boruto shared the same relationship. One was light, the other was dark. One protected the village at home, one protected it beyond the borders. One was the Hokage, the other the shadow Hokage.
"I thought that even if I lost myself to the darkness, that it would be fine because you would be there to save me".
"And that's why you were worried about me dying huh…" Sarada mutters, in what almost sounds like disappointment.
"That's what I thought, but I was wrong".
Sarada is stunned, her head flicking towards Boruto in surprise.
"This fight, this war has been going on for so long now that I haven't dared to look in the mirror and ask myself what I'm thinking. I've not even assessed what my feelings are, what emotions I am experiencing".
He continues, "Then Lord 6th forced me to think about happiness and I came to a realisation".
"I hadn't been happy until my mom and dad came to the future" he explains. "Except…".
"Except?" Sarada repeats, urging him to continue.
"Except when I was around you".
"Boruto I…".
Sarada begins to speak but she is interrupted by Boruto's sudden groan of agony. Previously unmoving, the shadow Hokage starts to roll on the floor, clutching at his stomach as his groan raises to a shout, before raising even further to a scream.
"Hey, Boruto" Sarada shouts, scrambling over to look closely at her friend, "What's wrong? What's going on?".
Before he can say another word, a wispy grey substance leaks from Boruto's body.
The grey substance that only he and Naruto know about. It moves around, dancing in the air for a few seconds as Sarada looks at it with her rinnegan. It is as if it doesn't exist, she can see it through basic human vision but she cannot see it with the most powerful eyes in this world.
The substance spirals in the air, it's path widening and widening until it hits something.
It hits Sarada.
The 9th Hokage screams herself as the grey substance passes through her body. As the pain begins to pass for Boruto, he understands a new type of agony. Not the incomparable physical pain the substance has caused him but the mental anguish of not being able to do anything as it attacks Sarada.
As her body drops down. Completely unmoving.
Tobirama and Kakashi both look on wide eyed. 'What!'
"SARADA!" Boruto shouts as he crawls over to her.
The Hidden Leaf Hill
"What was that" Hinata asks as she points at her son on the screen, looking around to the others. Answered with silence, she panics even more, "What is going on, what just happened to my son?".
"I don't know" Shikamaru answers under his breath.
"I don't understand this at all" Minato adds.
"Who cares what it was" Tsunade shouts, the first to snap from the phase of stupor, "Sarada is down, "We have to do something".
"What can we do" Hiruzen asks, "If we interfere now, we will forfeit the match. We are so close, we can't give in here".
The 3rd Hokage is right. His wisdom shines through as always. To get so close to winning their freedom from the invaders, not so long ago that was a distant dream for the people of the hidden leaf village. Yet, through the hard work of so many people, they managed to get seven mighty warriors ready for this tournament. They survived an impossible operation, poison attacks, the deaths of loved ones, an assault by Uchiha Sasuke just to get here. Who would give up all that hard work just to save one person, even if that person were Uchiha Sarada.
"She will die" Tsunade shouts as she points at the screen.
"It's a sacrifice we have to make" a quiet voice declares. This voice surprises everyone, it's the last person anyone would think would say such a thing. It's Mitsuki.
"Mitsuki…" Tsunade growly.
"Sarada, Boruto, the future Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, it's a sacrifice they would all approve of" he suggests.
Hinata snaps hearing this, lashing out in a rare moment of anger. "Naruto would never approve of this".
She feels a hand on her shoulder. Minato. Her father-in-law. "I know it's hard but… self-sacrifice is the way of the Hokage. A shinobi is not defined by the way he lives but the way he dies?".
"Are you happy for her to die here, all of you?".
"Of course, not!" Mitsuki thrusts his face right up to Hinata's as he screams at her. "Dammit, she's my teammate. The last family I have. But, if could speak right now, she would beg for you not to interfere".
"I won't let a single one of you interfere, I will fight you if I have to".
"So will we" Shikadai declares as he steps out ahead of the latest generation of shinobi.
They know how much Sarada has suffered through to reach this point. She had long since resolved to sacrifice herself if that was required. To bring the Hokage into the present, she knew they would lose morale after being separated from loved ones. Due to this, she almost forfeited her own life to bring them forward together, to get the Hokage at 100%. Dying in this situation, it's a more meaningful death than she could have hoped for.
"We are seeing this through to the end".
Naruto and Clyde's Starting Point
Naruto looks in the direction of his son. He cannot describe what he is feeling but it's a familiar sensation. It is not a pleasant feeling, far from it, it feels as if his world has just fallen apart in a single moment. It feels as if a bomb has been lit under the whole match and its name is Boruto.
Clyde is looking in that same direction. 'Is he unlocking his power? Now of all times, this is not good'. He switches his attention back to Naruto, 'He saved that man the other day, just as Peterson was about to kill him. Could it be that he knows about his power, is that why he protected him?'.
Clyde refutes himself internally, feeling this to be a naïve assumption. 'Don't be stupid, of course he doesn't know, he's only a local, there is no way he could understand it. Still, either way, I can't afford to waste any more time'.
'I have to finish this now'.
Naruto's eyes haven't moved from Boruto's direction this entire time. Another ominous feeling is coming to him, this time not about his son but about his pupil, 'Sarada's chakra is weakening'.
Something quickly snaps Naruto's head back towards Clyde though.
A golden substance seems to materialise on the General's skin before slowly peeling off.
And the ground, it begins to shake, an earthquake.
If this can be described as an earthquake, it is more like the planet itself is falling apart. Surely such a phenomenon could be observed from the moon, that is how dramatic the shaking is. As Naruto loses his balance he has to question himself, 'What the hell is this?'.
The Hidden Leaf Hill
Hiruzen grits his teeth, moving to protect others as the ground around them shifts dangerously. "Even here, the ground is shaking even here".
'This is it This is the power that all Generals possess, the power that puts them above Colonels'. Shikamaru scrunches his eyes shut, regret racking his entire being, 'He was holding back Naruto. I'm sorry, I should have prepared you for this'.
Naruto and Clyde's Starting Point
Naruto doesn't know how he should be reacting to this. Even if he did, he wouldn't be able to break himself away from his default reaction. Awe. Unretractable awe, this sort of power, this ability to shake the whole planet, it is something that he had only guessed that Kaguya possessed, but that was never proven. This man, this General. Had he truly reached Kaguya's level?
The golden substance continues to peel off Clyde's body. First it appears as if he is shedding a skin. Then that golden skin evaporates into a powdery substance. His darkness elemental cloak is like a magnet for the golden powder, taking it up and absorbing it into his very aura. The ground begins to stop shaking as a smile comes onto Clyde's face. His dark aura, formerly it was black beyond words. Now it is a mixture, a mixture of black and gold.
Naruto tries to focus his eyes on his opponent.
'What is going on, the ground is not shaking anymore is it' he asks himself as he struggles to fix his eyes on Clyde's. Then, he realises the truth, 'No, it's not the ground. It's me. I'm shaking, I'm afraid of this man'.
"You didn't think an elemental cloak was the limit of my power, did you?" Clyde asks rhetorically, watching Naruto's ever-changing expression for amusement. "All Generals are capable of augmenting themselves further. You can call it a golden darkness cloak".
Naruto knows that he has to move but he cannot. He has not been paralysed by any special move or unique skill. He has been paralysed by fear, stood shaking on the spot, he learns the true meaning of fear.
At least he had thought he had.
Then he learns it all over again, he learns a new level of terror.
He learns terror, as Clyde takes his first step towards him.
'Himawari, I'm sorry' Naruto sobs in his mind, 'I really wanted to come to your birthday party but…'.
'What the hell do I do now?'.
Author Note:
Hi Everyone.
Well aren't you lucky, today you got two chapters instead of the usual one.
I had intended to upload the first of these at the weekend but for some reason I couldn't, the site gave me a funny sounding error.
Anyway, all is sorted now.
Hopefully chapter 52 will have gone some way towards redeeming me for making Hashirama seem weak previously. He certainly isn't weak anymore.
As always, thanks for all of your support. It really makes it worthwhile writing this.
Thanks for Reading,
Cbehrills