WAR NEVER ENDS – HESITATION
The Battlefield
Lara watches from the rear of her force as events unfold around Clyde. He barely even flinches as more captains begin an assault on him, he seems dumfounded, transfixed with what he has just seen. If it weren't for his presence here she would be just the same but right now she is blind to all but him. Nobody would dare to talk her on except him, nobody would even try, that is why she can be so laid back. She can look at him, watch and observe him, learn a few more of his little tendencies and then she can fight.
Clyde dodges the incoming attack of a captain before tripping her and elbowing the back of her neck. His gaze doesn't shift from the duo before him. Mirai has just detonated an explosion that destroyed Elliot's spear. Is something like that even possible for a local, he thought that only Naruto would be capable? Still, he doesn't mind, this is only good news for him. If Mirai is stronger than they have all estimated it is a great relief.
Lara is suddenly struck by something, a sound coming from her side. One more general is confidently floating alongside her, so blasé that she is on the verge of whistling a tune to herself.
"You seem very laid back General Brooks".
"Of course" Brooks answered, placing her hands behind her head as if to prove a point, "This fight is as good as won already. The only place where assistance may be required is against Clyde. That is a privilege I wouldn't want to take from you, I wouldn't dare to interfere".
Brooks realises that Lara let Elliot go into battle with this knowledge. She cared very little about the fate of her deputy and only let him go so that he could add himself to the battle, or die fighting Clyde.
"Do I look as convinced as you?" Lara snorts.
Brooks tilts her head to the side in surprise. It isn't like Lara to be flustered. It's unlike her to even consider the possibility of defeat. It is then she realises that this isn't what is happening, Lara is not afraid, she is having too much fun.
The bald general grabs her child-like counterpart by the collar and with a single mighty swing of her arm, throws into battle.
Brooks hits the ground hard, there will be bruises in the morning. "Wh… why…" she asks as she looks fearfully over her shoulder.
"You need to embrace your killer instinct if you are going to improve Brooks. Go for it, go on, get excited, show me that anticipation. You're going to paint this world in blood together with me".
Brooks recognises the look in Lara's eye, she has seen it in many people before, usually right before they die. That is not to say she forecasts Lara's death, the look usually comes for a different reason. That is the look she sees when people start to lose rational thought and strategic sense, they begin to operate on instinct and grow an intense bloodlust.
Bloodlust. When a solider feels it you should be truly wary of them, you don't know what they might do. Lara's always lusting for blood, she makes it into her own personal currency. In these circumstances when she is so intent on killing Clyde she will be in a heightened state far beyond your average solider. Even for a general, irritating her would be suicide.
"Yes" she finally shouts as she runs into the battlefield.
Lara's gaze has already shifted from Brooks but the small girl doesn't know that. Her eyes shift left and right, desperate to carry out the order she was given as fast as possible.
'A target, a target, I have to find a target'.
There!
As she runs along it passes through the corner of her eye, the flutter of a silver cape on a man's back. A man with a face adorning hundreds of years' worth of battle scars.
It's Peterson.
She curves her run and heads straight for his back. This is her lucky break, he doesn't even spot her coming. She is going to have the easiest yet one of the most significant kills on the entire battlefield.
But one-person spots her; Senju Tsunade.
Tsunade watches as Brooks bears down on Peterson, her golden 'ice' cloak starting to activate. She has time to stop her, she even clenches her fist but is left to ponder her own actions.
She doesn't move.
'She's going to attack Peterson… stop her Tsunade…'.
Brooks leaps towards Peterson, pulling her fist back for a wild swing of a punch. It doesn't matter though, if that connects with an unsuspecting Peterson he will be down for the count.
'Why can't you stop her?'.
A thousand memories rush through Tsunade's head all at once. The things Naruto said about the invaders and how we should forgive them. The things that her grandfather claimed. The first time she saw Boruto and the ruthless attacks he unleashed. The way Minato looked so relieved to be working together with Clyde. Lastly, she thinks of Dan, his face, his death, all because of invaders.
She uncurls her fist.
She doesn't move!
Zoom!
Her hair is pushed into her face by a sudden gust of wind. She sees a man go past her and knows that the wind has been caused by his speed alone. It is her own teacher, the 3rd Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen intercepts Brooks' attack. He uses an earthen shield to minimise the effects of her punch and retaliates with his own using the other hand. Both the general and the Hokage end up taking damage from the collision, both knocked back off their feet by the impact.
Hiruzen skids back between Peterson and Tsunade.
Peterson is alerted by the collision, turning around like a child who just missed a firework. 'With this much divine energy flying around I barely even noticed her coming up behind me. If this man didn't intervene I may have been a goner'.
"Tsunade" Hiruzen calls.
"Sensei…".
"You have to move".
She starts, what is he saying.
"You may not like this man. You may, like your grandfather, despise all those who have invaded our world. But right now you are not acting as his granddaughter, you are the 5th Hokage".
Tsunade feels it, all around them, shinobi fighting and dying in small hopeless skirmishes. There is no chance of those battles making a difference, they are just battles of necessity, battles to survive. The eyes of the village will be on her and she cannot let them down, she must prioritise their survival right now.
She nods and tightens her fist.
Hiruzen offers a quick glance to Peterson. "We must fight alongside our new ally if we are to save the village. That is what we will do!".
Tsunade can steel feel it inside though, the conflict. She only has to look at Peterson and it all swells up. If he had done what was right from the start, if he had helped them wouldn't Dan still be alive?
'Is it really OK to fight alongside these people' she asks herself, 'They have been attacking this world for years, long before I even got here. Since I have arrived they have been responsible for so much death. They have killed my grandmother, they've killed my grandfather and they've even killed Dan. So, just how, just how can I trust them?".
"Be careful, Brooks is a highly competent general" Peterson announces to his two allies.
Tsunade is snapped from her thoughts, coming around slowly, like waking up in the morning. A highly competent general, is that supposed to be a joke? Up until now have they fought a single general who wasn't competent?
Hiruzen backs up the point, "Yeah, I came off worse in that last exchange despite surprising her".
"You can probably feel the cold air radiating from her. Her element is 'ice'. It isn't a transcendent element but she is strong personally, much stronger than most people on our level".
"How could she get so strong; she is only a child?".
The colonel almost laughs. "Don't let her looks fool you. Once you unlock divine energy you no longer age. I can feel divine energy within you now that I focus; you probably aren't ageing anymore. Sometimes you continue to age for a little longer, a few years at most. Last time I saw him Naruto looked about 20 to me. But from this point he shall not grow any older, nor will any of you who have understand divine energy".
"I see, no wonder she is so fearsome, she must have understood it at a very young age".
This is true. Age is a good measure for how talented one is when talking about divine energy. Brooks first understood 'ice' when she was merely a child, that is younger than any of the Hokage, even Naruto. This shouldn't be confused with her being more talented though. For example, the likes of Naruto and Clyde have understood an element far more complicated than that of general brooks. Additionally, Clyde made the breakthrough to unlock his golden 'darkness' cloak at a younger age than Brooks made her final breakthrough.
While it is all about balance, the truth is still right in front of them. Brooks cannot be underestimated.
Brooks places her hand on the ground, everyone feels the temperature drop a few degrees around her as she does. Not as cold as Elliot whose element is 'cold' itself but enough to make you uncomfortable, even when not in direct contact.
An icy floor is formed between Brooks, Peterson and Hiruzen. She immediately rises to her feet and sprints straight onto the ice. She has no equipment to assist her but she glides across the slippery surface with incredible accuracy and speed beyond what she could manage without.
Peterson isn't going to wait for her to arrive. He activates his golden 'lightning' cloak and stirs his divine energy, forming it into a whip, just as his leader had done earlier. He then spins the whip, moulding it into a lasso before throwing it around Brooks, capturing her.
As if it would be that easy. Brooks freezes the whip and generates an incredible amount of strength in her little arms, breaking free from her confines. Not only does she break free but she also extends her ice along the length of the lasso, freezing Peterson's hand to it. She grabs hold of the lasso and pulls him in, kicking him in the chest when he arrives.
Peterson falls to the floor beneath her, immediately sucking in a mouthful of cold thin air.
Brooks tries to stamp on his chest but he rolls out of the way.
Hiruzen takes this as an opportunity, coating his hand in a thin crusty layer.
"An 'earth' user, huh?". Brooks records that mentally.
Peterson grabs Brooks by the ankle.
She starts, having almost forgotten that he was there. She quickly raises her hand in a panic, forcing an ice spike to form from the floor and move towards Peterson's hand.
He is reluctant to release the control he has but Peterson pulls his hand away at the last second, letting go of Brooks' ankle. He breathes a sigh of relief, if that had hit he may very well be fighting without a hand for the rest of this encounter.
Hiruzen's run along the treacherous ice is complete, he throws a punch towards Brooks but the difference in their mobility and talent is made as clear as day. Brooks dodges handily to the side before catching the 3rd Hokage's wrist. She lifts him into the air above her and slams his body down into Peterson's.
Both men cry out in pain.
As they lie one atop the other, Brooks creates a sword of ice, intending to kill them both in one swift strike.
She lowers her sword with intent to kill only to be knocked back by a solid punch to the gut.
She is very slow to decelerate, opting to use ice as the frictional medium to do so. She looks forward seeing the source of such incredible power. The power behind that punch is far greater than should be expected in this fight.
It is Tsunade.
The Senju raises her head to reveal strange markings on her face. Many shinobi would recognise this as sage mode.
Combining Tsunade's incredible chakra control with the added power of sage mode is Mitsuki's brain child. It's his way of turning her into someone who could fight on this level quickly. She may lack in elemental prowess and even in speed and reaction time.
However, Tsunade smiles. When it comes to a single powerful attack, she has the most powerful amongst the four.
"Don't underestimate the hidden leaf" she shouts as she steps forward.
She isn't sure about Peterson but she is certain about Brooks. She must fight this enemy with everything she has.
Elsewhere on the Battlefield
Colonel Martin runs through the battlefield like a kid in a sweet shop, his elder sister following closely behind him. These people used to be his subordinates but they have sided with Clyde instead of him, that is a capital offence as far as he is concerned. He hits groups of them at a time, using poisonous energy he can not only incapacitate large groups at once but also put them into a seriously difficult spot. If those hit by the poison are to survive this battle it will take one of the big shots to nurse them back to health.
A captain runs towards Martin and attempts to stab him with a fiery knife. This is one of the men who used to work directly under him but that cuts no ice with the colonel. He dodges the first attack while creating a blade of his own, a 'poison' blade. Laughing, he runs the blade into his former friend's chest. Pulling it out, he leaves him to die.
"Damn you Martin… damn you…".
Martin strikes a final blow, killing the man who used to serve him with a perverse pleasure. Strangely, despite his cowardly nature, Martin's bloodlust in this battle will likely endear him to Lara.
Georgia squeezes her lips into a circle as if about to whistle. No sound arrives, instead she blows out a massive cloud of poison gas. The gas heads straight for the nearest group of captains who have been leading the attack for this region of the battlefield.
"Gas!" one of them barks, "Everyone get back".
A shinobi steps forward and takes responsibility, a Jonin with years of experience. "Wind users, get here now".
A small selection of shinobi proficient in the wind-release gather, combining their collective chakra to hold back the cloud of poison. They can only slow it down but it is long enough for people to get clear.
It's all a meaningless struggle before Georgia. The people of the hidden leaf village foresaw their own death last time when she cast that net over the village. That time they had to be saved by Peterson, somebody not even from their village. With Clyde and Peterson fighting elsewhere, things start to look bleak in this region.
"Do you see him Martin?" Georgia asks as she looks to her little brother. "Do you see the one here who hurt you?".
'Ah yes, him' Martin thinks to himself. Who knows what may have happened if that fight had continued, the 'poison' colonel may very well have lost his life. He can picture him, blonde hair, blue eyes, a very distinctive face that looked younger than its years. There is no way Boruto could be missed in a crowd.
"No, I can't see him. If he's here I can't see him".
It's a great surprise to Martin. Boruto should be one of the strongest amongst the opposing force. In the last three years he should have gotten stronger still. If anything, he should be fighting against colonels or perhaps even generals now. Where is he?
Martin shakes his head. "There is no way he would have died".
A shinobi charges at Georgia. A big mistake.
She swings her kunai towards the general to surprise her. It doesn't matter how strong you are, unless you have some freakish ability, a stab through the heart will kill you.
Georgia catches the shinobi's wrist, taking a moment to observe the fear in her eyes before the end. She summons 'poison' divine energy to her hand and overwhelms the young shinobi with it, evaporating her instantly.
"It looks like the others will have to take his place then".
"He's not here" a voice calls to Georgia.
Both brother and sister turn around to see someone so similar to Martin's description.
This is not Uzumaki Boruto.
This is Namikaze Minato.
"Uzumaki Boruto is my grandson. He isn't here right now".
"I've seen you before" Martin clicks his fingers.
"You recognise him?".
"Yeah. It's true, they must be related. He looks just like him".
Minato isn't just Boruto's grandfather, they are close friends who have worked together since the 4th Hokage arrived in the future. It is he who encouraged Boruto to embrace his different way of thinking in the captained-six contest, a philosophy that allowed the Uzumaki to unlock his strongest powers.
"You had an unfair advantage in your fight with Boruto because you had already poisoned me" Minato recounts.
"You… you're the one from the hill".
Martin is correct. Minato isn't just here to fill in for his absent grandson, he is not just here as the 4th Hokage; he is here to settle a personal grudge. Prior to the captained-six contest Martin deceived Clyde, he orchestrated an underhanded attack to poison his potential opponent. That opponent was supposed to be Minato but in the incident, that saw Mito lose her life, he almost lost his as well.
"I'm sorry that Boruto isn't here to settle the score with you".
Minato activates chakra mode, drawing on the power of Kurama who is only too happy to help him now.
"But I am more than happy to fight you in his place".