WAR NEVER ENDS – FOR THE CHILDREN
The Valley
Dan's eyes are fixed firmly on the skull of this new General. He refuses to so much as blink as his concentration holds at maximum. All around him things are happening, the children are panicking, the wind is howling and Mirai is watching but he hears none of it. The headmaster of the new academy, he has a duty of care for everyone behind him, a duty that has never been harder than in this moment.
Fear isn't all he feels. He certainly is afraid, how could he not be, standing in front of a man like this, only the second bearer of the golden cape to ever step into this world. There is something more though, like adrenaline, a burning need to stop him it all costs. This person isn't just dangerous to the children, to himself, not even to Mirai but to the entire world. If he is to leave this world unharmed, it could spell the death of everyone within it.
Elliot is the opposite. A perfect picture of serenity. He doesn't look threatened in the least, more like he has stumbled across a lost child than a warrior of many battles. He tilts his head to the side and rubs his fingers along his clean-shaven chin as he inspects the man before him.
'There is something strange about this man' Elliot thinks to himself as he looks Dan over. 'I can't quite place my finger on it'.
Elliot has never been to this world before, he has never seen nor has he ever met Kato Dan. He screws his eyes together and rests his head in the palm of his hand for a moment as he thinks, searching through his memories for anyone bearing a slight resemblance to the man before him. After coming up empty, he simply smiles to himself and opens his eyes once again.
'They're just stood there' Mirai notes to herself as her eyes flick back and forth between the invading general and the protective headmaster. 'They're starting at each other, not even moving'.
Mirai watches for another few seconds before grinding her teeth, her eyes cringing. She is not the most patient of shinobi at the best of times, in a situation like this she is incredibly anxious. 'If you won't do something I will'. As she takes a single step towards the gazing duo, the first strike begins.
Dan quickly raises his hand, positioning it horizontally from his shoulder and channelling what power he can along the length of his arm. In his inner world, power flows from the giant stone tablet, chakra is sourced from all over his body and the two combines in a mighty phenomenon that manifests in the real world.
Elliot's eyes widen in shock, 'He can use our power'.
The power surrounding Dan's arm transforms into a bright orange fire, spiralling from his shoulder down to the tips of his fingers before launching towards Elliot at an astonishing rate.
The General's eyes refocus as he calms from his moment of shock. It had been a surprise to him, he had never expected for this 'local' to have understood the same power as they had. Still, it is no disaster, especially not for him. Elliot has met hundreds of colonels and hundreds of thousands of captains, an attack like this is nothing to him.
He stands unmoving, except his golden cape in the breeze as the rush of fire energy tumbles towards him. A glint in his eye is the only reaction as the flames come to within one foot of his body before their path suddenly changes.
They do not reach him. One foot away, is as close as the flames get. They split to his left and to his right, travelling around him as if impaired by an invisible dome.
Dan lowers his hand and thinks. 'I didn't hold back in the least with that attack, I was sure of it. I used both chakra and their power'. The Kato clansmen watches as the smile returns to Elliot's face, after the shock and the defence, the enemy general is left with only amusement. 'This guy, he genuinely took that attack without even moving. Did he use some kind of special method? Exactly what is he?'.
A few steps sound as Mirai dashes to Dan's side. "Dan, this guy is tough".
"Yeah" the headmaster simply replies, his eyes not leaving his opponent. If he were to attack then it could be a disaster for the children behind him.
"If we want to defeat him we are going to have to work together" Mirai declares.
"No". Dan refutes her. "I can't allow you to do that. You must take the students and run away. Go and get help".
Mirai half expected this sort of reaction from the headmaster but she still protests. "There is no way that I am running away while you fight here" she proclaims. "I am stronger than you are, if one of us is going to…".
The military leader of the hidden leaf stops and looks behind her. Even though she is not a parent, it is not a sight she can cope with. The collective faces of terrified children, children who believe they are about to die at any moment. She begins to wonder if this is half the reason Dan didn't turn around. If that he wasn't purely afraid to take his eyes off his opponent but he was also afraid to see this reaction.
"I'm the headmaster of this academy" Dan says with a smile on his face. "There is no way I would lose here, right?".
Mirai shakes her head, struggling to believe that this is really the strategy her friend is proposing. "You know what will happen, right?" she whispers, quietly enough so that neither the kids nor Elliot will hear her, "Do you really think that Tsunade can…".
"Don't worry about Tsunade. It pains me to hurt her but she is strong, she can pull through anything".
"I don't want to test that". It is well known that Tsunade has suffered loss since coming to the future. She, a revered medic had not been able to save Minato, she had to depend on another patient to do it. She had been too weak to fight in the captained six contest, something she blamed herself for. Worst of all, she had experienced the deaths of her grandmother and her student.
"Mirai, look at me" Dan whispers, his face relaxing for the first time since Elliot arrived. "I spoke not too long ago about the resolve that you created in this place. Look at me, feel my resolve and tell me, do you think I am staying here to lose?".
"You…".
"Go" Dan implores her with a smile, "I will be alright".
Mirai once again clenches her fist, this time so hard that they turn white. "Everyone go" she yells at the children.
As the students of the academy start running away as fast as they can, the military leader turns back to the man who is sacrificing himself. "I'll get help".
"Thanks".
With a gust of wind, Mirai runs, helping the children to flee as fast as they can. That leaves only the two of them.
The general and the headmaster.
Dan waits about one minute for the children to be at a safe distance, in that time he doesn't move or even blink for risk of upsetting Elliot. Their safety is his absolute priority. He is ironically grateful to his opponent for allowing him this time, for not attacking when he could have done. When he used the invader's power against them, the interest that generated was enough to save him it seems.
"Who are you?" Dan finally asks.
"That was a brave thing you did" Elliot notes, completely ignoring the question asked of him. "Sacrificing yourself to save those children".
"It was the right thing to do. Now it is your turn to do the right thing".
"You waited until they were at a safe distance before beginning this conversation". Elliot's analysis is spot on. Those who have invaded this world rarely have any tactical knowledge or understanding, they are used to simply trampling their opponents without any resistance. Elliot is different though, he is an intelligent battle-taught leader.
"I can tell that you aren't used to a truly strong opponent" he continues, "So, let me give you a tip, this range is far from safe".
Dan anxiously watches for a moment to see if that wasn't just an empty threat. Despite his anxiety, nothing comes of it, it would appear that Elliot has no interest in harming the children. Not yet at least.
"Why are you here, are you a friend or an enemy?". It is a bit late to be asking this question now but Dan is looking for any way in which he can stall for time.
"Why am I here?" Elliot repeats the question, "I am here to do a job. You may be familiar with a certain name, a name that is famous to those of us in the military. That name is General Clyde".
"Never heard of him" the shinobi bluffs, not that it helps him.
"It is General Clyde's job to eliminate all living beings in this realm. Unfortunately, it seems that he is either negligent or incompetent. I am here to continue what he started".
"How the hell can you say that with a straight face" Dan snaps. His body is shaking he is so angry. While he didn't turn to face them, he is aware that Mirai saw the children's faces, that their terror impacted her. For someone to be able to completely disregard those faces is fundamentally disgusting to him.
"I don't know enough about you to speak of you background but those are children running away from you".
"I was nobody special, a rather talented shinobi with some unique duties but nothing truly exceptional".
"I dreamed of being the Hokage but then I saw what they were capable of and realised that I couldn't do what they do".
"It was too much pressure but then they gave me a new opportunity. They told me to teach these children".
Dan stops to take a few deep breaths, he is beginning to panic, his anger so severe that it is shaking his own soul. Previously, he had been directionless, a mere pawn summoned here to enhance Tsunade's work ethic but he had become more. He is not here because of her anymore, he is because of his own talents, his own skills. He is here to guide the next generation of shinobi, to nurture them so they don't have to endure the same horrors of the generations before.
"Teach these children?" Elliot repeats the phrase back, as if he is scribbling it down on a piece of paper, "So you are teaching our powers to your young now?".
"That is not the point" Dan shouts as he squeezes his head in his hands before throwing them to the floor, "Don't you get it. I had no connection to these children before. I've never been a parent nor anything of the sort".
"But I feel a connection with them. I feel a connection to each and every one of them. I feel a natural instinct kick in around them. I feel that I have to protect them".
"No matter who you are" Dan shouts but then stops before lowering his voice, "No matter who you are, you should feel that instinct too. Don't you feel anything when you speak of killing children?".
Elliot shakes his head as he smiles. "I'm only entertaining this conversation because you are one of the strongest locals I have ever met".
Then his grin changes to a frown, "However, don't you dare speak as if you know anything about the people of my world".
"It's an inherently human instinct to protect the young, no, to protect the weak".
"But that doesn't mean it's stuck to you. That doesn't mean it will last forever. That doesn't mean you can't lose it".
Dan's eyes go wide in disbelief, he looks to the side as if sharing an incredulous conversation with a third party. "Don't you care about what you have become. Don't you care that you have become a monster?".
Elliot pauses, considering this question. Then he finds his answer, "I would rather live as a monster than die as a human".
Another pause, this time interrupted by flames birthing in Dan's hands.
"Turning this into a battle of elements against a general?" Elliot questions rhetorically, "You won't live to regret your mistake".
A Short Distance Away
Mirai quickly does a head count, making sure that she hasn't lost any of the children that came with her. She then reaches for the radio she has kept in her pocket and raises it to the side of her head.
"This is Mirai, we have an emergency here".
"Send Naruto".
"Send Naruto now!".
Perhaps Dan's stalling has not been for nothing.
The Hidden Leaf Village
It's a pleasant village. There is a wonderful feeling of home as people move from place to place, their path illuminated only the by the orange glow of the artificial lights. Quiet murmurs of conversation create a vibrant sensation, even as the darkness descends. Uzumaki Himawari is among those on the streets, looking for something she can't place her finger on. A congratulatory gift, a celebratory item, something to spread the festive mood that her family is in.
"Hey Himawari!" a voice comes from nearby as its owner approaches.
Himawari turns her head to reply. "Hello ChouChou".
"I don't usually see you out at this time of the day" ChouChou explains as she offers a potato chip to Himawari which she politely declines. "Are you here for a special reason?".
"I'm celebrating something" Himawari explains.
"Oh, what's that…".
Their conversation is interrupted. Hundreds of heads all swing in the same direction as an overwhelming chakra covers the hidden leaf in its splendour. Only one person could possibly be responsible for such a thing. Only one shinobi in the entire world has power like this.
One figure leaps into the sky above the village, an orange veil of chakra surrounding his body. He pushes forward and tears through the air at a tremendous rate, leaving only a whistling noise in his wake as his face is bombarded with the air. It shocks everyone who sees it, many have never seen this power before and can't help but be stunned at the display.
Himawari understands immediately. 'That was dad'.
The Valley
Dam swings his hand left and right, allowing a little drizzle of fire to trickle away from it each time, like the leftover water from a tap. Gradually, each little length of flame adds together to create a full ten-meter-long construct. A whip. He raises the whip above his head before swinging it in the direction of the general, wrapping him in its blazing hot clutches.
Elliot doesn't react to this. It's as if he doesn't even feel the heat. He simply sighs, his opponent's struggle is futile.
Dan releases the whip and rushes his opponent, arriving before him in the blink of an eye with arms covered in flames. A combination of shoulder and arm, the flame user tackles his opponent to the ground, singing away a portion of Elliot's short black hair. He once again raises his fist, concentrating all flames on a single point, and slams it down towards Elliot's face.
The general is not willing to take an attack like that head on. Even for him that would not be possible. His arms swing away from his sides and in an amazing feat of strength, he breaks free from the flame whip and catches the incoming hand of his opponent.
Dan is amazed. 'Fast'.
"If you had any other power, facing me you might have been more effective. However, fire is the worst". As Elliot finishes his short speech, a blue-white energy flies from the centre of the invader's chest, hitting his counterpart in the same place.
Dan is knocked a short distance back but manages to steady himself and land on his feet. His worst fears are realised when he refocuses his attention on his opponent. An aura has appeared around Elliot. An aura of gold. 'He has a cloak filled with gold. Just like Clyde did'.
"You look intimidated by the cloak of gold but that isn't what you should be looking at" Elliot explains as he dusts off his immaculately kept uniform. "Instead you should be intimidated by the temperature around you".
Suddenly, Dan realises that his opponent is completely correct. It is cold, unimaginably cold, colder weather than he has experienced in his entire life. Artic isn't enough to describe these conditions, the temperature is so low that Dan is struggling to keep his flames alight.
"Is this… is ice your element?" Dan asks.
"Ice? Would I really be worthy of coming here like this if I could only control ice?". Elliot seems offended by the question. How could his element be compared to ice? "No, my power is not so limited. My power revolves around the founding principles of ice".
"My power, takes its foundations in 'Cold'".
Dan puts on a look of disbelief. "Cold…" he starts before quickly raising his arm and sending a full-force fire attack into his enemy's face. Trickery and sneak attacks are the specialty of a shinobi, to that end, he hopes that the opening he created would be enough.
It isn't.
Elliot emerges from the flames unharmed, not a scratch on his uniform. "Don't you get it? The surroundings of my body, they are cooled. My control over my element is vastly superior to yours, that's why your fire is extinguished just by the sheer drop in temperature".
Dan lowers his head.
"Giving up?" Elliot begins to create a spear out of frozen air, "I guess that's only natural in your position".
"I didn't expect that I would require my full power in this battle" Dan mentions, scolding himself, "How arrogant, this is the sort of thing that prevented me from becoming the Hokage".
"Your full power?".
Elliot starts as he feels a sensation he never expected. Power.
Fire begins to spread from Dan's hands, slowly moving its way up his arms to his shoulders. When it reaches his shoulders, it moves down along his torso and through his legs. It even rises up to cover his head. Upon covering his entire body, it begins to separate from him, as if peeling off his skin. It forms a layer around him, an aura.
An aura of flame.
A cloak.
"Nobody knows that I can do this yet but now is definitely the time to do it".
'His understanding' Elliot now understands why Dan felt unusual to him. 'His understanding is on the Colonel level!'.
"You won't lay a finger on those children. Not before going through me".