"You picked the worst possible time to be late, Obito," sighs Kakashi.
"My face stings," says Shisui conversationally.
"Just stings?" says Nono Yakushi, kneeling down beside Shisui and beginning to clean and bandage his eyes. "You exploded your eyeballs and your face just stings?"
"I have a high pain tolerance?" says Shisui, sounding a little uncertain.
Fugaku frowns. "Where have we met before?" he asks Nono. "I can't remember, and it's bugging me. I feel like it was important."
"I was at the chunin exams," says Nono, tying Shisui's bandage in place. "I was wearing the mask of Wind at the time. Rin was wearing the ANBU Turtle mask."
"Sometimes I wear the Rain mask if Obito is busy somewhere else," says Nagato. "But it was Obito as Rain at the chunin exams."
"So it was Obito who killed Orochimaru before making him end the reanimation jutsu, then," Tobirama crosses his arms and glares at Obito.
"HAHAHAHA!" Kohari Umino doubles over laughing. "Then he's done it twice! Danzo was the jutsu caster for the reanimation jutsu this time!"
Fugaku laughs too (although his laugh is more of a subdued snigger), and heads over to where Sasuke and Naruto are lying, still unconscious.
Feeling a growing sense of dread, Minato and Kushina follow. Minato kneels down beside Naruto.
"He's alive," says the member of Kurama's Guards who is healing him. "Kurama is helping him heal faster. It's Sasuke we are worried about. She was already in a bad way…"
"I'm getting deja vu," jokes Kabuto. He is one of the many medics crowded around Sasuke.
"Keep having deja vu," orders Fugaku. "That way she'll make it."
"I hate to be a buzzkill," says Yahiko nervously. "But..uh...where is Black Zetsu?"
"We are here," says Black Zetsu.
Minato turns to see the evil monster standing a short way away, at the foot of the ruined Temple stairs. Minato, who had calmed his chakra, gets riled up at the sight of the monster who twice tried to kill Naruto. He feels Kushina's chakra rise too.
"Minato, let's kill this monster, dattebane," says Kushina.
Minato stands and starts walking towards Zetsu. Kushina falls into step beside him. Zetsu stands his ground as Kushina and Minato walk slowly towards him. Kushina unleashes all her chakra chains, and they float menacingly in the air around her and Minato. Minato stares at a space in the air behind Zetsu. He has only done this successfully once, but he is so angry that he does not care whether or not he can actually activate the Hiraishin with just his mind. The seal activates, and Minato teleports behind Zetsu.
"Rasengan," says Minato calmly, activating his Rasengan as he slams it into Black Zetsu. Zetsu breaks into four pieces. His white half separates from his black half and the two sides of his plant covering fall to the ground.
The black part of Zetsu slithers along the ground like a black snake. Kushina sends her chakra chains down upon Black Zetsu in a volley of doom. Black Zetsu slips through the gaps between chains and vanishes into the gathered allies.
"SCATTER!" yells Gaara, flying up into the air, our of Zetsu's reach. He lifts Naruto and Sasuke, along with their medics, off the ground on platforms made of sand.
Sai draws a giant ink bird and uses ninjutsu to bring it to life. He pulls Shisui onto the bird and flies up into the air.
"SAI!" Tsunade calls up to the boy. "Stay there!" She lifts up Iruka and leaps into the air, and onto Sai's ink bird.
The rest of the defenders spread out around the temple grounds. Deidara, Konan and Nagato all join Gaara and Sai in the air. Nagato simply floats up, while Konan flies up on her paper wings and Deidara flies up on the giant clay bird she made during her battle with Sasori. Rasa rises into the air on a platform of gold dust, taking Temari and Kankuro with him. Shukaku's guards lift themselves into the air on platforms of sand too.
"Kazekage," says Kimimaro, looking up at Gaara. "Do you think you and your guards can get everyone except me airborne?"
"Done," says one of the guards, lifting a hand. Minato, along with everyone else still on the ground (reanimations included), rises into the air. Only Kimimaro remains on the ground.
Minato and Kushina look over the edge of their sand platform to see where Zetsu is. "Where is that slippery bastard?" growls Kushina.
"That is what I intend to find out," says Kimimaro.
"What are you doing?" demands Kinoko. "Get up here, Kimimaro!"
"No, wait," says Kabuto, holding up a hand. "I know what Kimimaro is planning. Hurry, before he stops you, Kimimaro."
Kimimaro nods and makes a hand sign. "Bracken Dance!" The ground shakes as thousands of white spikes rise out of the ground. Minato realizes the spikes are made of bone.
Kinoko leaps down from her sand platform, sword in hand, the Mangekyou Sharingan blazing in her eyes. Zetsu leaps out of the forest of bones. Part of his body is formed into spikes. Before those spikes can make contact with Kimimaro, Kinoko slices them off. Black Zetsu falls back letting loose an angry growl. The black goop Kinoko sliced falls to the ground and twitches, before lying still.
Gaara stretches out a hand. Sand rises out of the ground, lifting Kinoko and Kimimaro to safety.
Zetsu slides over the ground, a strange black shadow now that the white part of him is gone.
"How did you get Danzo on your side?" Fugaku demands. "And how could he use the Wood Style?"
Zetsu pauses over the place where the severed part of himself fell. "I found him after he fled the Leaf," explains Zetsu. "I explained my plan, and asked him to join me. He agreed to help me because I promised a perfect world. I helped him replace his crippled arm with white zetsu cells, enabling him to use Wood Style. He implanted his stolen Sharingan into his arm and we began to locate the things we need for project Tsukinome. Of course, I can continue the project alone. But it will take a while before I can gather enough help to capture the bijuu. But first: all of you who know my intentions must die."
Gaara screams.
Minato turns to see what has happened. A white zetsu is slithering out of Gaara's sand shield. The severed piece of Black Zetsu wraps around Gaara's throat. Yashamaru leaps off his sand platform. "LET HIM GO!"
"Substitution jutsu," says Rasa. Instantly, he and Gaara switch places.
"What…?" the white zetsu is so surprised he falls off the sand platform. Gaara's sand platforms fail, and the people on them leap to the nearest flying device in order to stay airborne.
Rasa grabs the piece of Black Zetsu, which is now around his throat, and tears it off. As they fall to the ground, Rasa grapples with white zetsu and the piece of Black Zetsu. In the few seconds it takes for them to fall, Gaara has already recovered and is on his way to assist his father. Yashamaru lands on the ground, skids slightly and turns to stop Gaara from going near Rasa, white zetsu and the piece of Black Zetsu.
"Get out of there, they are after Shukaku!" calls one of Shukaku's Guards, pulling Gaara up and away from the ground.
The piece of Black Zetsu squeezes out of Rasa's grasp and attaches to the white zetsu. The white zetsu springs through the air, brushes aside Gaara's sand shield and knocks the boy to the ground.
A quick glance around at everyone else shows Minato that mostly everyone else is exhausted. They are trying to stand, trying to get up and help. The reanimations (bar Sasori who is content to watch) and the stronger members of Akatsuki are poised, waiting for an opportunity to assist.
But it is all happening so fast. By the time they move, it will all be over. Shukaku's guards lifted everyone a little too high, and those flying on their own jutsu are holding up others as well. Except Nagato and Konan.
Nagato holds out his hand. "Almighty Pull," he says, and Gaara flies away from the hybrid zetsu, up into the air towards Nagato. Konan's paper butterflies wizz past Gaara and imbed themselves in the Hybrid Zetsu. Minato activates the Hiraishin with his mind again and retrieves Rasa from the ground. Rasa is a dried out husk, barely alive. White Zetsu sucked out all his chakra and most of his body mass.
"Ga...Gaara…" croaks Rasa.
Nagato flies over with Gaara under his arm and places the boy Kazekage beside his father.
"I'm sorry Gaara," whispers Rasa, unable to summon enough energy to speak any louder. "I tried to kill you so many times...but in the end...I love you too much to let you die."
"Father…" says Gaara, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "Don't die. I want to know you properly."
"It's too late," whispers Rasa. "I'm proud of you." He falls back and his eyes glaze over. Gold Dust Rasa is dead.
Gaara puts his hand over the kanji carved into his forehead and cries.