CHAPTER X

Kichiro

When they left Konoha, fog hung heavy in the air, a soft silver blanket clinging to the buildings and the trees. Light barely penetrated through the mist and with his natural eyes, Kichiro has trouble seeing further than a few meters. If it had been possible to wait out this bad weather, Kichiro would've taken it but he wasn't commanding, the Hokage was.

There were eight of them, Team Mirai led by the eponymous Mirai Sarutobi and consisting of Kataki, Setsuka and Kichiro himself and his father's old team led by Naruto with his daughter Honami Uzumaki, Shōgo Kazuma and Sosei making up the rest. There were a lot of them, Kichiro thought. Two three man cells and two squad leaders in technical terms although in actuality, there were seven of them with Naruto leading.

Kichiro didn't mind. He had longed for the opportunity to fight alongside or against Naruto when he was a boy. Now, that dream had come true, though he wished that it was under less stressful circumstances.

Naruto was almost entirely convinced that they were heading into a trap and had made everyone plan as such. Shōgo, the orange-haired boy that had been Takuma's old teammate and the closest thing to a best friend he had in life, had given everyone their directives based on the information he received from Sosei on the abilities of the Three Deaths. Kichiro knew his role but he dreaded it and felt fear eat away at him. But fear wouldn't solve a thing.

Naruto led them as they traveled in a V-shaped formation like a flock of birds with the only exception being Honami was directly him, her Byakugan active and providing a complete view of the foggy forest as they traveled deeper into it.

Across from him, Kichiro saw Sosei. He was dressed differently now, his tattered black vagabond garb replaced by a black shirt with one long sleeve, trousers and a waist guard. There was a white band wrapped around his forehead that kept his bangs from dropping in front of his eyes. He looked more like their father now.

Sosei threw him a quick glance and nodded. Kichiro nodded back and looked ahead as the group started to slow. They stopped, huddled in a circle on the forest floor. The Hokage closed his eyes and when he opened them, Kichiro saw the cross pupils. With a deep breath, the Hokage spoke softly.

"There's four of them," he said. "Yashagoro is among them, that much I know. I can feel his icy chakra and the malice in his heart. And, something else..." Kichiro watched his eyes pass over everyone. "We all know what our directives are and the plan proceeds with or without me. If Konoha is endangered, I'll have to return. You all are the next generation that hold the Will of Fire and I couldn't be prouder to see you all shine." Naruto stood and placed a hand over his chest. "Now, let's go."

As they headed out again, Kichiro expected the forest to fade into dry open plains and soon desert as it was on the map. However, the further they traveled, the larger and thicker the forest seemed to grow.

"This is bad," Honami said, causing a few people to look at her. "I can see chakra pulsating through the trees and roots like an entire chakra network beneath the ground."

Sosei scowled. "The tree," he said, looking to Naruto. "Is it possible that he could reproduce the seeds of the God Tree?"

"No, it shouldn't," Naruto said, jumping ahead. "A fruit only sprouts if all of the world's chakra is absorbed by the tree. The world's God Tree seed just fell from the sky one day."

"Could the same thing have happened again?" Shōgo asked. Naruto paused then nodded.

"Under very specific circumstances, but it should be impossible. Unless we have no real idea who we're dealing with," he said. Kichiro furrowed his brow and sighed. What were they truly walking into?

"Kichiro," Setsuka said. The Uchiha looked up.

"Yeah?"

"Everything is going to be fine," she said, smiling. "We outnumber them two to one and we have the Hokage with us."

But he'll leave us if the village is threatened by something bigger, Kichiro thought. What then?

While he had full confidence in their ability to hold their own based on Shōgo's plan but to go beyond that, to actually succeed in killing or capturing Yashagoro, they needed Naruto. If Yashagoro was intelligent enough to draw the Hokage away from the village with a small squad then force him to abandon them to save his home and people…

Kichiro had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had no idea how to shake. When he looked at Kataki, he felt his heart sink. If this mission was as suicidal as he felt, maybe he should tell him how he actually felt.

He had wrestled with these feelings since he was a child and on the same team as Kataki. He had thought early on that it had been little more than admiration for his friend's skill and strength but slowly his admiration shifted from Kataki's fighting prowess to his personality and appearance. He wanted to be around Kataki all of the time and hear his voice and laugh. When he had attempted to talk to his father about it, Sasuke had been cold and rigid in his response, prioritizing the advancement and growth of the Uchiha clan over who Kichiro felt he was attracted to. He hadn't been comfortable in the same space as his father since.

Telling Kataki this might yield even worse results. From all that Kichiro had seen, Kataki was interested in Setsuka and the two were together all of the time when Kichiro found himself preferring the solace of his own company. Perhaps they were in a relationship themselves and it would be pointless for him to even try to tell Kataki how he felt about him.

The Uchiha boy filed those emotions and feelings away. He was a shinobi first and he had a mission to accomplish, even if it meant sacrificing himself to get it done.

As they cleared the thickest parts of the forest and it cleared to a large, dry field, Naruto called for the team to stop again. It was dry now, with blades of grass sprouting up brown and thin where they were growing. In the center of the field, the stump of the old God Tree rested, its roots spreading far to the coast. Kichiro looked at Naruto and saw his face fall.

"No," he whispered. In the distance, Kichiro saw four people standing in the shadow of the God Tree, weaving hand seals. A red glow began to emit from the roots. Gritting his teeth, Naruto activated his golden chakra cloak and Kichiro saw him disappear across the field. Before he could even shout for Naruto to stop, there was a massive explosion that blew everyone back.

Kichiro rolled until he was next to Sosei and jumped to his feet. He narrowed his eyes trying to see what was happening and made out Yashagoro holding Naruto's fist with his other hand pressing against the Hokage's stomach. His golden aura faded and the Hokage slumped to the ground before he was suddenly wrapped in paper with multiple special tags, reading, "Suppress".

"How did he…?" Kichiro asked.

"A Chakra Suppression and Chakra Drain enhanced by the glove he's wearing," Sosei said, shaking angrily. "He drew Naruto in. He was planning on him showing up."

"Him and Dad," Kichiro said. He wondered what plans and traps he had set for his father. Whatever it was, if it was as powerful and potent as the jutsu he had just used on the Hokage. We're fucked.

Yashagoro and his companions walked forward, including the masked figure with the Sharingan. Even from this far away, Kichiro could feel Takuma's energy. What evil, demonic, twisted version of his brother was this?

As they approached, Sosei nodded to them all and the Konoha shinobi encircled them. Kichiro felt his heart pound in his chest as he finally saw the infamous Yashagoro, tall, pale with long black hair that rested neatly on his shoulders and down his back. And bright blue eyes. Unnaturally blue.

"Your precious Hokage is finished," he said icily.

Sosei simmered. "Do you think that we're just going to let you go without drawing blood?"

"You will share his fate, whether you choose to fight on this day, at this moment or choose to retreat. I give you that opportunity now, return to your home, embrace your families for the last time and eat your last meal. Because tomorrow, I reshape the world in my image."

"Whatever god complex you're suffering from, you won't leave here with the Hokage," Kataki shouted.

"Kataki!" Mirai said sternly. Yashagoro chuckled and a man with a plain white mask spoke up.

"You're not even strong enough to speak here, kid. Shut your mouth," he said. Kichiro saw Kataki grow angry and draw his bow, nocking a chakra arrow into the string. The woman and the hooded shinobi with the Sharingan were silent. When Kichiro looked closely at the woman, he saw that she looked as if she was rotting away and she had black sclera. When he looked at the hooded man, he tried to see if he too had black sclera. If he did…

Beside him, he heard Sosei mutter, "Fuck this." In his hand, a Chidori sparked brightly and he raced towards Yashagoro. Time seemed to slow around him and Kichiro saw Sosei's hand draw back and burst forward in a quick jab. Time returned to normal and Kichiro's eyes widened.

The Chidori crackled in his hand, a cacophony of birds chirping. Yashagoro stood frozen, his heart in Sosei's hand. He pulled his hand back and Yashagoro fell to the ground, still as a rock. There was a brief moment of pause.

Then hell broke loose.

Kataki fired an arrow at the white masked shinobi and Honami darted towards him, her hands moving like a hot knife through butter. Setsuka jumped to the decayed woman and Mirai followed behind her. Sosei and Shōgo turned on the hooded shinobi as he sucked in air and unleashed a fireball. Kichiro was caught in the middle, frozen.

He rushed to Kataki's side and charged chakra to his fists before he punched the ground, causing the earth to crack beneath his fists and the white-masked shinobi moved quickly out of the way to avoid the destroyed ground. Kichiro remembered his ability to create genjutsu using clicks with his mouth and watched him with his Sharingan. Around him, he heard explosions and grunts of effort as Mirai and Setsuka double-teamed the decaying woman.

Setsuka raised her giant sword over her head and slammed it down, barely missing the woman who flipped away right into Mirai's chakra blades. She ducked underneath them and the blue tinged blades hummed over her head. When the decayed woman flipped away, she found herself in the path of one of Honami's Gentle Fist attacks. She was blown away, skidding pas the body of Yashagoro.

"Keep your eyes on me, kid!" The white masked man said to Kichiro as he appeared in front of him, tossing a punch. Kataki fired an arrow and the masked man moved his head, snatching the arrow from the air and jabbing the point down at Kichiro. The Uchiha watched as the arrow got to his shoulder then dissipated in the man's hand.

He could almost imagine the look of shock on his face.

Kichiro balled his fist, the chakra he had been focusing made visible as a burning blue fire. His mother had trained him intensely when his father had refused after he chose a medic-nin's path. She had taught him what the medical shinobi and healers were supposed. He was meant to serve as a support and not engage in direct conflict, healing the wounded as fast as he could and getting back. But Kichiro was not the average medic-nin and his mother had made sure of that. The taijutsu drills had been intense. He was forced to wear weights and fight his mother, punch rocks until his hands were bleeding or broken then heal himself. After four years, not only was he one of the best young healers in Konoha, he was one of the physically strongest people as well.

The white masked man was close now, stuck in a position where his body was open to attack. Without a second thought, Kichiro sent an uppercut in the man's sternum, causing his arm to ripple as he heard the crack of the man's bones directly after impact before the masked man was sent flying limply away into the air. The man's body cracked against the ground and Kichiro lowered his arm.

The hooded shinobi, his Sharingan shining from behind the mask he wore, barreled into Kichiro's chest. He barely made out the glint of the kunai in his hand as it swung down at him. Three of Kataki's arrows burrowed in the shinobi's chest and neck and he rolled away before rising to his feet again.

After a few moments, the arrows exploded where they had found their mark, covering the field in fire and smoke. Kichiro raised his hands to shield himself from the shrapnel. He paused when he saw the tattered pieces of the shinobi's hood and mask fall away in pieces, the Sharingan eyes appearing first followed by the face of Kichiro's brother, Takuma Uchiha.

Kichiro started at this figure, this person and looked him over. Takuma was older, as tall as Sosei, lean and muscled with long jet black hair tied in a ponytail with bangs that framed his face. He wore a black mock neck shirt underneath his burned hoodie with a bloody Uchiha symbol on the back of it. The only things that seemed unnatural about him were his gray, color bleached skin and the black sclera of the Sharingan in his eyes. Were they transplants given to him by Yashagoro in return for his loyalty?

"Takuma," Kichiro said softly. He saw his brother's eyes go from person to person, analyzing the field the way Takuma always had. There had to be a way to release him now, though Yashagoro was dead. Unless, Takuma was doing this of his own volition. Would he forsake the love he had for his fatality and village in exchange for sight?

Kichiro watched him spit out a Grand Fireball at him and he quickly pressed his hands to the ground and infused chakra into it.

"Doton: Doryūheki!" Kichiro yelled as the earth wall formed just in time to block the fireball, the sparks and embers flying above his head. He took a moment to breathe then looked up as he saw his wall get breached.

Takuma crashed down faster then Kichiro could move out of the way and the substitution log he left his place was split in half by his brother's kick. As Kichiro rolled away, he saw Shōgo and Mirai come from his flanks.

The chakra blades hummed in the air as the whiffed harmlessly over Takuma's head and he kicked Mirai squarely in her chest. Shōgo attempted to draw kunai from his pouch but Takuma grabbed him by the wrist, raised his arm and punched him twice in the ribs before sending him flying with straight jab to the throat. Setsuka flipped over Shōgo using his body as a cover as she came from above with her greatsword. Takuma sidestepped Setsuka's downswing and kicked her sword to the side before he stared briefly into her eyes, trapping her in a genjutsu. He picked her sword up and prepared to slice her in half.

Then Sosei darted past, grabbing Setsuka before Takuma had finished swinging the sword. Kichiro rushed over to them and performed the tiger seal, releasing the jutsu as Sosei stood and looked across towards Takuma. His face was a grim mask, even as Setsuka sat up and the rest of the squad came together.

"Where's the woman and that masked man?" Kichiro asked. Sosei tilted his head slightly to the left, never letting his eyes leave Takuma. Kichiro saw two towers of black flames engulfing the bodies of the aforementioned and he looked up to see dried blood coming from Sosei's eyes. "Sosei…"

"I'm fine," he said quietly although Kichiro knew that he wasn't and would never admit it. While Kichiro had been fighting his own battle, Sosei had clearly been busy using both of his eyes to their fullest, burning bodies and slowing time. Not beside the fact that he was clearly still hurting despite having his wounds healed. The chakra binds were coming loose and without rest and food, there was no way he would heal fully.

The entire team looked haggard. Mirai was limping and coughing, either from the kick she received from Takuma or from attacks earlier. Shōgo had a fresh wound on his cheek with a bloody spot on his shirt. Setsuka could barely stand and Honami's beauty had been tarnished by dirt, blood and sweat though her perfect near-colorless eyes were locked on the face of her former teammate and boyfriend, Takuma. Kichiro himself was feeling his legs shake, either from the shock of seeing his brother's face or simple tiredness. They still hadn't made it anywhere near Naruto's body. If they could unseal him, they could defeat Takuma and return home.

"Have you had any success hitting him?" Sosei asked.

"With my arrows," Kataki said. "But that was pure luck."

"He's probably been doing nothing but training the last five years," Setsuka said. Kichiro frowned

"He's been dead." Sosei nodded and narrowed his eyes.

"I'll fight him, alone." He turned and looked at them. "You all make it to Naruto and release that seal. It's our only chance."

"You'll need help," Mirai said and Sosei scowled at her.

"Then Kichiro will help me. This is a family matter." Though Kichiro initially objected, he nodded his head. It was a family matter. Perhaps they could talk to Takuma and get through to him. Or maybe, they could beat sense into him. Either way, it was their job alone.

As the rest of the team dispersed, Takuma's eyes trailed after them.

"Yo!" Sosei shouted, spreading his arms. "It's you and me, brother. The fight you always wanted." This caught Takuma's attention, it seemed and Kichiro felt his breath get stuck in his throat. "I need to see something," Sosei said to him.

"What?"

"If he's truly there," Sosei replied.

Without another word, he unsheathed the sword on his back and twirled it in his fingers then raced to Takuma. Takuma was across the field in an instant and met Sosei's sword with his own kunai. Their blades sang in off-notes as the metal clashed again and again, their feet moving elegantly as they dueled. Sosei's Mangekyo seemed to give him more clarity and perception, allowing him to avoid Takuma's quick slashes by the smallest of margins. Still, Takuma seemed not to even be trying.

Kichiro noticed when he did put effort in, blood flew into the air and Sosei disengaged. Persisting, Takuma presses him, mixing a blend of taijutsu and kenjutsu together to keep Sosei on his toes. Kichiro saw Sosei attempt to weave a handseal but Takuma slapped his hands apart and punched him in the chest where he left an opening.

Takuma's better than him. Kichiro thought. Even if Sosei was tired, he was still one of the most crafty fighters Kichiro knew but Takuma was beating him at every turn. The two continued their taijutsu exchange with Sosei attempting to weave a hand seal only to be interrupted by Takuma. The last time Sosei attempted it, Takuma's fingers met his and forced him to weave several seals.

Breathing heavily, Sosei swung his sword at Takuma's neck and the younger locked his arm around Sosei's before squeezing and taking a breath. Kichiro's eyes widened as the fireball blasted into Sosei's face and the pair of them were wrapped in orange and red flames.

In the upheaval of smoke and dirt, he saw Sosei rolling away, his headband scorched but otherwise unharmed. He was panting and sweating though, barely able to himself on his hands and knees with the aid of his sword. The billow of smoke cleared with a sharp easterly wind and Kichiro saw Takuma standing.

His skin, gray and decayed, floated around his body like paper before resting on his cheeks, chest and arms. Kichiro heard Sosei gasp.

"No," he said softly. "He's a resurrected soul…" He turned to Kichiro. "It's the Edo Tensei." Kichiro had heard the name of the jutsu before. They taught in school that it was the jutsu used by the opposing side during the Fourth Shinobi World War to bolster their forces. And Sosei had done what their father had said was the worst thing to do in an attempt to counter the technique. He had killed Yashagoro.

Kichiro looked to where Yashagoro's body laid—had been laying.

He was gone.

Kichiro looked around and saw the figure of the man approaching behind the group as the attempting to release Naruto.

"Behind you!" Kichiro shouted as he ran over to them. Barely within earshot, he breathed a quick fireball. But he was too late to do anything. Takuma sliced through it with the knife and Kichiro could only watch as Yashagoro grabbed Setsuka by her arm and quickly froze her.

"A descendant of the Hozuki has no business facing a Yuki clan member." His hand raised to her neck and he squeezed. "You all crack when put under pressure." Setsuka's frozen figure began to splinter, her head breaking and falling apart first before the rest of her body crumbled to pieces. Mirai was the first to scream out in anger and anguish, coating her kunai in fiery blue chakra and rushing forward to attack Yashagoro.

The man raised an ice blade in his hand and sliced Mirai open from shoulder to navel and she fell to the ground, bleeding.

Kichiro had had enough. He took a step forward and quickly weaved hand seals. When it looked like Takuma was approaching him, he charged his foot with chakra and stomped on the ground, hard enough to crack it. Takuma briefly lost his footing, allowing Kichiro to finish his hand seals and take in a deep breath.

"Katon: Karyūdan!" he shouted, spewing a large stream of flame from his mouth. From the upheaved ground, a dragon's head formed in conjunction with his shout, and he continued, "Doton: Doryūdan!" The dragon spat mud balls at Yashagoro, which combined with Kichiro's barrage of fire produced an enormous fire that swallowed the Death-Breaker whole.

Kichiro saw Honami perform a Heavenly Spin, protecting everyone from the explosive barrage and simultaneously deflecting whatever backdraft there was back on Yashagoro. He turned quickly and saw Takuma rushing towards him. The two locked Sharingan and Kichiro deep into his brother's dead eyes, seeing no semblance of the person he had once known.

He's lost, Kichiro thought, forcing his brother to stop with an ocular genjutsu as he punched him fully in the face, taking his decayed head off. He turned and saw his squad mates, recovered from his jutsu. He looked to them, to Sosei and then to Naruto's sealed body. They had to leave. Kichiro created two shadow clones, and blew several fireballs as a smokescreen while one clone grabbed Naruto and the other Mirai then ran back toward him. Honami held the gap between the clones and Yashagoro while Sosei and Kataki provided covering fire.

After healing Mirai enough that her bleeding stopped, Shōgo grabbed Mirai from the clone and carried her beyond the tree line. Once they had cleared Naruto, everyone else followed. Kichiro's clone passed Naruto's body to Sosei and he dashed ahead. He was the fastest of them and the Hokage's safety was their top priority. Kichiro's clones disappeared and Kichiro moved next to Kataki.

Tears stream behind him as he moved quickly through the canopy. He's weeping for Setsuka, Kichiro realized. Her death hadn't registered in his mind yet. It seemed as though he was living in a nightmare. Between Takuma's body being raised as an undead zombie puppet and him having the power to outwit and outfight Sosei handily, Kichiro hadn't had time to even consider that his childhood friend was dead. Murdered by Yashagoro's hands. And there wasn't even a body to memorialize.

"Kataki…" Kichiro said.

The boy didn't look at Kichiro, instead blankly staring forward. They cleared a few more trees, before he said, "I didn't even move to save her. I just stood there and watched. What the fuck is wrong with me?" His words were quiet, faint whispers. Kichiro's own heart began to ache and he felt the warmth of tears flowing down his cheek. He wanted to stop and hold Kataki in his arms, but they didn't have time or space. He was sure that Kataki felt alone, but he wasn't.

I'm here for you, Kichiro wanted to say. He held the words inside and then decided to say something else. "Kataki, I—"

An explosion shook the forest, knocking the trees from beneath Kichiro's feet. He fell quickly and landed hard. The breath left his body and he gasped loudly. He was frozen in place, trying to force his body to wriggle as a tree quickly fell towards him.

Kichiro heard the impact of the tree hitting the ground, but he didn't feel it. He imagined that maybe it had hurt him so badly that he couldn't feel anything at all. Until he opened his eyes and saw that the tree was next to him. And so was Kataki.

The tree trunk laid on top of Kataki's waist and he coughed up blood. Kichiro felt the feeling return to his body and he jumped to his feet.

"Kataki!" he shouted. He grabbed the tree and with all of his strength lifted it off of his friend and threw it to the side. Blood gushed from Kataki's mouth and he coughed up more. He was crying more now. Kichiro weaved hand seals and began using Kataki's blood to draw a square seal around his legs. He reached into his pouch and poured some of his mother's regenerative slum slime on Kataki's injury and began charging chakra to Kataki's legs and stomach.

"Shitchiro," Kataki coughed. Kichiro saw that he had a peaceful smile on his face.

He's in shock. Kichiro poured more chakra into the seal. "Stay with me, you idiot! Don't you fucking die!"

"I couldn't let you die…" Kataki whispered. "I couldn't stand there again and do nothing."

"Shut up," Kichiro said, crying as he saw the bones begin to mend in Kataki's legs. He was fading though. The Healing Resuscitation jutsu was incredibly chakra-taxing and despite all of his control and training, Kichiro chakra reserves had been severely lessened by his battle. But even if he passed out or died, he had to save Kataki.

Kataki looked up at him and blinked. "Why are you doing this? You...look like you're going to die. Your chakra…"

Why? The answer was obvious. "I love you, Kataki. I...don't know if you feel the same but...I love you."

There was a long pause as the bones continued to mend and Kichiro began to fade. Kataki opened his mouth to say something, but Honami dropped down next to them. Her face was fallen, dark and hopeless. "Honami?" Kichiro asked.

Her voice was quivering and her body was shaking in despair. "Kumogakure was attacked. That's what that explosion was," she said. "And Konoha too."

Kichiro's mouth dropped. He had two thoughts…

Are Mom and Dad there?

Who was Yashagoro to have done this?