THE IMPERIAL PALACE – PULLED IN TWO DIRECTIONS
To the South
"It's good that you want to beat some sense into them, they are your responsibility" Kurama notes, "However, right now you have an even greater responsibility. You have your responsibilities as the Hokage".
"Yeah, I know, there is probably only one person who could stop 'death' from taking over Tsunade's body" Naruto admits, "And that person is me".
"Then do it Naruto".
Naruto looks at the obstacles before him. To his left is the one living bearer of the tenseigan, the son of the Hidden Leaf's most highly regarded shinobi and the student of the first ever shadow Hokage. To his right is the one living bearer of the rinnegan, the daughter of that shadow Hokage, the student of that Hokage. Frankly, they are much like their parents, they have a connection not just personally but on the battlefield. Naruto already knows that everything they do will be almost perfectly in sync, that he will be coming up against teamwork much like his own with Sasuke.
They should be an unbeatable team.
But if anyone can overcome that 'should', it's him.
Naruto activates his six paths sage mode and holds his hand out before him. In an instant, a sizeable tailed-beast bomb is formed, pooling energy from both Kurama and his host. The powerful explosive in hand, Naruto aims carefully before firing the enormous mass of chakra in the direction of his two opponents.
Both Sarada and Boruto slide sideways away from the tailed beast bomb, easily evading it.
Naruto uses this opportunity, as the 9th generation of the Leaf's leaders avoid the attack, it starts to raise away from the ground, narrowly avoiding Tsunade and travelling into the distance, only detonating when it touches the outer walls of the imperial palace. But the bomb clears the path to Tsunade, just as Naruto knew it would, and he takes that path without hesitation.
As the 7th Hokage flies forward, he knows that his actions will not have gone unnoticed. The smallest of movements, the hesitation in his muscles that even he can't prevent will have given it away. He is facing two opponents with the greatest vision in all the world, and neither of them have missed that Naruto's true intention was to clear the path.
Boruto activates his tenseigan chakra mode, glowing a bright green to oppose his father's orange tinge. He launches himself back towards the path he just deviated from. He is still stunned as he watches, trying to catch up with his father. Naruto moves with a speed greater than his own, greater than any he has ever seen. He wasn't speaking out of turn previously, the 7th Hokage truly is a powerful monster.
Sarada uses her powers of 'creation', creating a touch steel chain in her hand. She uncoils her arm, swinging the chain towards the now leading leg of her once teacher. As it gets closer she can only hold onto the hope that her attack will be effective as she observes the reactions of her opponent. He is fast, he is more effective in his movements than he ever was during their training.
Naruto curves his run for a single stride, lifting each foot slightly higher to skilfully step over the incoming chain. As his feet plant into the ground he reassess his position, there is only one thing that matters, he is one step closer to saving Tsunade.
Unfortunately, Sarada's tactic was well judged, and the change in Naruto's stride provides enough time for Boruto to catch up and overtake his father. Now the Shadow 9th has taken up a position separating the 7th from the 5th. He creates a rasengan, a move taught to him by yet another great village leader. He coats it in 'death', a technique taught to him by one of his current allies. Lastly, he throws it forward with a tremendous battle cry, pushing it towards his father's chest.
Naruto steps back, such an obviously targeted attack is unworthy of Boruto and he can easily avoid it. Or so he thinks.
As Naruto takes his second step back, he feels the cold steel of Sarada's chains wrap around his legs, forcing him into a stationary position.
Boruto's first swing missed, but it was deliberate. The son takes an extra full rotation, increasing his momentum before pushing the rasengan towards his father's chest once more, this time connecting with the latter's chest with tremendous force.
As Naruto bounces back along the ground, he gather's 'life' energy on his hand, first to break the chains that bind him, then to remove the traces of 'death' energy that linger on his chest. He slowly forces himself to his feet, now with a deeper understanding of the gargantuan task that he is facing.
"Their teamwork is incredible. They must have worked together almost their entire lives" he concludes.
"I've only ever seen one duo work together so seamlessly before" Kurama adds, "That was you and Sasuke. Your kids aren't that far behind you".
Naruto is put back onto red alert by the screams of pain. Tsunade's screams pierce the air around them, reminding him of the urgency of her situation. He has no idea how long it takes for 'death' to overtake its victims, but he knows that he dare not wait around a moment longer than he must. If nothing else, Tsunade is in pain, and that is something that he cannot stand.
"Right now it doesn't matter how well they cooperate. I just need to save Tsunade as quickly as possible".
"I know what you're trying to do father" Boruto shouts. "Thinking of Tsunade before yourself is valiant in this situation, but frankly there is no way you can beat both of us if your attention is divided".
"Even Hashirama himself wouldn't be able to do that" Sarada adds.
Hashirama himself wouldn't be able to do that? Naruto wonders when that started to become the way Sarada and Boruto thought. The name they revere is Senju Hashirama? What must have happened? Do they not remember who he is, do they not remember what he has done? He is Uzumaki Naruto, the 7th Hokage, and the ceiling for those who never give up doesn't exist.
"Who do you think you're talking to" Naruto asks as he throws down a smoke bomb.
Behind the cover of the smoke, Naruto creates a dozen clones, all of which run simultaneously towards the victim of this heinous assault. Each of them move parallel to one another, converging on Tsunade with purpose.
"I could ask the safe of you" Boruto snorts.
Boruto uses a technique originating with the tenseigan. He raises his hand and blasts the array of Narutos with a golden wheel reincarnation explosion, making sure to enhance the attack with his element as he does so.
This is no problem for Naruto, he simply protects his real body with a 'life' shield. Unfortunately, this does bring attention to the real body.
Sarada uses this. She rushes to Naruto and uses a 'creation' solar punch to once again knock the would-be hero backwards. Together she and Boruto have stopped the advances of the Hidden Leaf's top shinobi once again. They truly are a team that no individual shinobi could ever hope to overcome.
Coming to a halt, Naruto uses his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow before getting to his feet.
"Why are you doing this master?" Sarada asks. "Why don't you just accept the truth of this situation".
"Because you're forcing something on a friend that she doesn't want. That is the truth of the situation. There is nothing complicated about it, I would help Tsunade even if I weren't the Hokage".
"I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about the reason everyone betrays you" Sarada says, capturing Naruto's interest. "It should be clear to you now that the village doesn't want to work with Clyde and Lara. The village wants unity with Hashirama, Boruto, Tao Ma and all their followers. Why can't you just accept that you are wrong?".
"… I don't know" Naruto admits, much to Sarada's surprise.
Sarada and Boruto each stop in their tracks, looking cautiously at the man they once admired. Even Tsunade painfully works to crane her neck to look at him. It's in these moments that Naruto always seems to have something they don't.
"I don't know why I have to be right about this, but I do" Naruto declares, "I have to move forward no matter what. I may have forgotten why I am moving forward, but I remember that I will never give up".
Kurama now understands. Naruto is just like the rest of them at last. That fire that drove him before, that passion, it came from a source that nobody else could ever understand. Now the jinchuriki himself has forgotten what it is.
He can only pray that Naruto remembers it.
To the North, the Camp
A warrior in a long black garment approaches.
She walks slowly towards the camp, her hands in the air to signify her surrender. She does nothing as she sees dozens of people run around each other in a fluster, opting to continue her unimpeded walk. She keeps moving, right until she has without a doubt entered the camp.
Dozens of captains surround her, each with their arms raised or weapons ready. A mass of divine energy is summoned as the captains prepare for a fight. This woman is dressed in a way that is all too familiar to them. She is one of Hashirama's followers, a user of the element 'death'. An enemy with greater potential than they can afford to take their eyes away from.
Blackburn is the first major figure to arrive on the scene, the general issuing the camps orders.
"Stand very still and keep your hands up".
"Of course" the woman answers without hesitation.
The situation is out of the ordinary and Blackburn doesn't understand it. Why just walk into the enemy camp and give yourself up? Did she think that the resistance to her arrival would be weaker than this? Undoubtedly, there is no way that she could battle him and hope to win. She is too weak to fight a general, even with her doubly transcendent powers of 'death', they build on a foundation far weaker than Hashirama's or Boruto's. She would at most be able to fight with a colonel.
"Why have you come here?" Blackburn eventually asks.
"I have a message from my leader to yours" she answers. "Would you please go and get Uzumaki Naruto".
"Anything you have to say to him you can say to us all".
She shakes her head. "That won't do. I was given strict instructions that I must only give the message to your leader. I am willing to sacrifice my life if you are determined not to accommodate me".
Blackburn hesitates. This is not good. He knows for a fact that Naruto left the camp a short while ago, there is no way that he could meet with her now. Would it be best to wait? Would it be unwise to let her know that Naruto isn't here at the moment? He decides to pull one of his more trusted captains aside and discuss the matter with him.
"Uzumaki Naruto left the camp earlier" Blackburn whispers, "Go get Lara and Clyde, at the double".
"Yes sir" the captain salutes before running off as fast as he can.
The woman begins to lower her arms, humming tunefully to herself and tilting her head from side to side. As her arms lower the captains bark at her to raise them again and she does so, emphasising her surrender by lifting them as high into the air as she can. None of them quite understand what she is doing.
The next significant figure to arrive is Shikamaru, who urgently sets about assessing the situation.
"What's going on here General Blackburn?" he asks.
"This woman is demanding to speak to Uzumaki Naruto, she says she has a message from the traitors" Blackburn explains, "Personally I find it a bit…".
Shikamaru zones out of Blackburn's speech, what did he just say, she brought a message for Naruto. Surely not, why bring a message to Naruto in this way, in front of all these people. Inojin could communicate with them on mass like he did last time. Hashirama has the means to speak to Naruto at a moment's notice, so why?
Shikamaru's mind lights up.
"Everyone stop! Stop talking! Absolute silence!".
The general and the captains all comply. There is not absolute silence as Shikamaru requested though. There is one single sound that blots the environment.
The 'death' user smiles knowingly at Shikamaru as she continues to hum.
"Stop her!" Shikamaru shouts, pointing urgently, "Stop her now! Keep her quiet!".
The captains all run towards the intruder at great speed, but it is too late. She slams her hand down into the floor, using a wave of 'death' energy to knock everyone backwards. There is only one exception to the backlash from her power, General Blackburn stands firm against her attack and begins to bear down upon her.
It is too late though.
This humming is the same method Tao Ma and his followers used last time.
It is their method of creating portals.
An enormous portal opens behind her and as Blackburn continues to move towards her, despite his great speed he finds that someone moves to block his path.
It is Hashirama!
Dozens of people in long, torn black clothing pour through the portal, spreading themselves quickly throughout the camp. It is a surprise attack! An army has arrived and Homeworld's greatest military minds never saw it coming.
Nearby
Clyde and Lara were discussing the situation, but that is thrown out the window in an instant.
"It's him" Clyde realises, "It's Hashirama, he's here!".
"This was his plan all along" Lara quickly realises, "They deliberately lured Naruto away so that we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves".
As they speak the terrible grey wispy energy begins to spread over the battlefield. The terror of Furst Jonas is the greatest they have experienced in their lives, but their fear of this energy is a close second. As the seconds pass, more and more of their captains are cut down while shinobi are left untouched.
"What do we do?" Clyde asks dimly.
"Fight to the end you fool" Lara barks at him.
"Everyone, battle formations, get into your teams!" the head general shouts, covering the entire battlefield, "We are under attack! Fight! Fight!".
The military-shinobi alliance may be outgunned in terms of raw power, but they are an organised force beyond the rabble they are battling against. Groups of shinobi and military quickly sort themselves into effective fighting units, complementing one another's skills. Their power is weaker than their enemies, but using this superior organisation, they soon slow down the rate at which they are losing people.
"What do we do about Hashirama?" Clyde asks, "You know that without Naruto we can't stop him".
"Mirai and Elliot are strong too" Lara concludes, "The four of us can work together, then we may be able to slow him down".
"Slow him down? What good will that do?".
"That's the best we can do you fool" Lara shouts once again, her old impatience returning. "By all means, if you think you can kill him go ahead. Now, put your hand on my shoulder, and let's show him that we're not going without a fight".
Clyde regains his composure, this is no time for panic. He does as Lara suggests, placing his hand on her shoulder while she teleports the two of them to the middle of the battlefield.
They try to turn the battle around, making big differences in small encounters as fast as they can, but it is hopeless. For every skirmish that they rescue, Hashirama and Tao Ma ruin two more. Slowly the battle turns more and more against them as two groups start to form. Hashirama works to split their force into a military half and a shinobi half. He brutally assesses those who he wants to leave alive and those who he wants to kill. Unopposed by anyone on his own level he is unstoppable.
Clyde understands now that they are likely to die here.
The only man who could help them is stuck fighting the odds to the south.
To the South
Naruto turns his head to the north, sensing what is happening. 'So, that is what your plan was, Hashirama'. He considered it strange that only two of the three strongest traitors had come to battle against him, but he dismissed it as a tempering exercise for the two students. Now he knows that he was wrong and that this was all a trap.
"Hey, what's wrong" Kurama asks.
"Hashirama has attacked the camp, this was all just a plot to lure me away".
"You still have no time to waste, you need to get Tsunade now".
If only it were that easy. Still, the difficulty doesn't stop Naruto from trying.
He uses the weapons his present state allows him, launching four of his truth-seeking balls. The four miniature attacks travel half the distance between Naruto and his two opponents before they split, two heading towards Sarada and two heading towards Boruto. The attack succeeds in its purpose, once more driving the 9th generation apart and giving Naruto a clear run at Tsunade.
He presses forward, seemingly heading for the 5th Hokage, but that is not his intention. Just as his son moves to block him, Naruto changes his course slightly to the right, tackling Boruto to the ground.
'If I can't get past both of you, I will take one of you out first'.
Without considering his own wellbeing, Naruto grabs his son by the collar and slams their heads forcefully together. The impact rings throughout his skull but he manages to recover just in time to see the incoming counterpunch from Boruto. He thankfully avoids it just in time, replying with one of his own, forcing the back of his son's head down into the floor.
Boruto reels but does manage some basic thought. 'It's not just that his speed is superior to mine, his element means that he is recovering faster than me too. That would be enough to defeat me alone, but not the two of us together'.
Boruto throws a haphazard punch towards the right side of his father's head. Dodging it would be all too easy.
However, at the same time Sarada uses her power of 'creation' to conjure two kunai made of pure diamond. She aims carefully, considering the slight weight difference of these kunai and throws them towards the left of Naruto's head.
The 7th Hokage is left with no choice but to shift back to the right and avoid the lethal kunai. This puts his head right in the way of Boruto's punch and he is left to take the impact head on.
He gets back up to his feet after receiving the punch and tries to back away from Boruto, but he cannot. His son grabs his wrist and allows him no room to escape despite his groggy state. He could pull himself free, if it weren't for Sarada quickly grabbing his other wrist, now the two have a tight grip on him.
The 9th Hokage and her shadow Hokage pull on Naruto's wrists hard, lifting up their knees and painfully slamming them into his head. That b rings Naruto back down to his knees, right where they want him. Together, the two of them pull hard on his wrists once again, slamming their knees forward. That's when they get their first sign of victory.
Naruto's body goes limp.
They release him and Sarada kicks him back along the ground for a third time in a row.
It is only thanks to a quick circulation of 'life' energy around his body that Naruto is able to survive.
"Come on Naruto isn't it finally time that you give up" Sarada asks, "You must realise that you have lost by now. Unless you leave here, Clyde, Lara and all the military will die".
Naruto spends a few seconds recovering and genuinely considers Sarada's proposal. Could he really go north and save everyone?
"Would you leave a loyal friend father?" Boruto taunts him, "Tsunade has done nothing wrong, would you leave her here just so you could pursue your own selfish ideology".
"Shut… shut up…".
Tsunade has added her voice to the conversation.
"You two don't… you don't understand… anything…" she says, clearly holding back her screams of agony. "… Naruto leave me… go… help the others… RUN!".
'I can't give up, that's not my ninja way, but if I stay here I can't save the others' Naruto realises, 'Am I going to be held back by my own ideals'.
'What do I do?'.
'Who should I save?'.
In front of him a friend he has let down.
Behind him his redeemed allies.
What will he do?