Forgotten
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal
Chapter 71: The Will to Fight
It was as if she was transported elsewhere. She could no longer feel the heat from the flames burning down the forest that was once below her feet. As slowly opened her eyes, she realized she wasn't elsewhere. The fire was still burning around her. She was simply enclosed in Madara's Susano. She tried to move as she was in the perfect location to attack Madara, but she simply couldn't.
"Don't waste your energy." He told her as he finally noticed her. "Nobody has ever broken out of my binding jutsu. Instead, look around you and look at these pathetic human beings."
She looked down and saw each of the Kages, unconscious and waiting for the flames to eat their flesh away. She struggled even more as she grew anxious for their lives. She had to do something. All she could do was cry out their names individually, hoping that one of them still had a little bit of consciousness left in them to move.
"I saved you only for the reason that you might be one of the last Uchiha left." He said. "However, Konohagakure and Hashirama's will of fire made you weak."
"I've told you before. I'm not an Uchiha."
"Stolen eyes then?" He asked as he frowned.
"No." She replied coldly. "I would never. I would rather go blind then use somebody else's eyes."
He smirked and asked: "Have you been blind before?"
She shook her head as she was no longer really listening to him. She was trying to undo his jutsu. She knew it worked like a sealing jutsu, but she had to find the right key to undo it. She had no time to waste, but, like he said, nobody has ever broken out of his binding jutsu.
"It's scary when you can't see anything. You start falling into despair as you start losing your vision. Especially for people like us who can see so well normally. When you start losing yourself through blindness, you think of the unthinkable. You start thinking of anything that could restore your sight, including sacrificing another. At that point, you start forgetting that you are a human."
"Perhaps you were never a human to start with." Yuki said as she was still focusing on breaking the jutsu.
"I once believed in the peace Hashirama talked about. Perhaps that's the human you are talking about. If so, I was a human. Your First Hokage made me believe it was possible, but he was wrong. Look around you. Can't you see? No matter how hard you fight for peace, it is still a fight. With fighting comes death and despair. With that, even a rational mind starts losing itself. Humans are pathetic. They aren't strong enough for this world."
"There would be no war to start with if people stopped believing in such non-sense like you. War can be stopped by building bonds between these so called weak humans." Yuki said.
With those words, she noticed Onoki preparing and using what was left of his chakra to destroy the flowers and, in his jutsu's pathway, destroyed part of Madara's Susano, thus injuring him. Yuki managed to break free at that exact moment as well and quickly flashed herself to Tsunade's side, providing her first aid so that she would awaken. She quickly opened her eyes and thanked Yuki. They were both looking up towards Madara now with disgust written all over their faces. As he was recovering from Onoki's attack, on his body, they could now see a familiar face.
"No wonder he could use my grandfather's jutsu." Tsunade said angrily.
"He grafted the First Hokage's into his skin..." Yuki said in disbelief.
"You both seem disgusted at this." He said, pointing to his chest where the graft was located. "What I find disgusting is a weak Senju and a weak Uchiha, although what I detest the most is a weak Senju."
Tsunade smirked and stopped Yuki who was about to come to her defense. She wasn't going to let someone like him tarnish her name in such manner. She looked at Yuki and smiled warmly. Yuki took a step back as she understood what that smile meant. The Hokage was ready to risk it all in order to defend her name and the people she cared the most about. She took a step forward towards Madara who then proceeded to calling her, in a mockingly manner, a weak woman. Tsunade bit her inferior lip and said:
"A woman, yes, but not a weak one. I am a descendant of the greatest shinobi of all time, after all."
"What does this descendant have to offer? The Will of Fire?" He asked, looking down on their beliefs and will to fight.
"Don't underestimate the Will of Fire." Tsunade said firmly. "It allowed me to become the medical ninja that I am today."
As she finished those words, the mark on her forehead began to glow and the seal released itself, slowly tracing a pattern onto her body. Yuki smiled at the sight. She knew what it was. Tsunade had taught her the technique before, but with her limited amount of chakra and her missions, she was unable to achieve the feat that Tsunade had achieved.
"Sure, I didn't inherit my grandfather's Wood Style. However, I did inherit his medical ninjutsu skills which I still pass down to my students. Along with those skills, I remind them of three important rules. One, a medical ninja should never give up on treatment." Tsunade said.
"Two, a medical ninja should never fight at the front line." Yuki said as she tightened her ponytail, ready to fight alongside Tsunade, remembering her mentor's words.
"Three, a medical ninja should never die before the rest of her squad members." Tsunade completed as the seal pattern also finished covering her body. "However, if a medical ninja masters the Creation Rebirth Technique..."
"None of those rules apply." Yuki finished as she teleported Tsunade to where Madara was, allowing for her to land a direct hit towards Madara.
Just in time, he managed to block the punch by creating a partial Susano around him. However, to his surprise, Tsunade's punch cracked the protective barrier. He backed away to prevent further damage and tried to burn Tsunade with a large scale fire jutsu. It was quickly nullified by the Mizukage water technique. He was then met with the Raikage and Tsuchikage combo that furthered the damage done on his Susano. Tsunade delivered the final blow with a powerful kick destroying the protective shield and sending him into the ground. Yuki began sealing him up as other Kages observed the process. He seemed unable to move any further. He then said:
"You are indeed not weak, but you've also underestimated me."
With those words, Yuki realized that she wasn't actually sealing Madara. It was merely a clone. Before she could let the Kages know, Tsunade was impaled by a sword right through her torso. Everybody gasped in horror as the real Madara emerged from the wood just a little bit further away.
"Now, who is next?" He then asked.
"Not so fast. I told you I was no ordinary medical shinobi." Tsunade then said.
She pulled the sword out and her wounds almost instantly healed themselves without requiring any other help. While he was preoccupied about the current situation, Yuki quickly summoned her Kiku once again and began gathering Nature Energy to enter her sage mode once again. It didn't take long for Madara to notice it and he quickly attacked her to prevent her from taking action. The Kages rushed into battle as well only to find out that Madara had the ability to absorb ninjutsus.
"I should have told you beforehand. Only direct hits can harm me."
They had forgotten about his Rinnegan. They did notice it, but since he hadn't used any of its abilities, they had forgotten.
"I could have used this before, but what was the point of using it against such weak fighters..." He started, trying to demoralize the group.
"We still forced you into using a clone to save your skin." Tsunade interrupted him with a smirk on her face.
He raised an eyebrow but did not disagree with that statement. As much as he looked down on them, he still recognized their achievement. As the fighting continued, he came to the realization that the willpower that they possessed was far more impressive than what he had thought. The only way to stop them was truly to attack that willpower. With that thought in mind, he created multiple clones that all gained the ability to create a Susano. He believed the fact that they were outnumbered would make them lose hope in winning. He was wrong. If anything, it added fuel to the fire that was burning inside each and everyone of them. The ratio was not as he stated 5 to 1, but rather, as the Tsuchikage put it into words so well, 30 to 6. They never fought together better than at that very moment. They tasted victory for just a second as all the clones were destroyed in Onoki's Dust Release, enlarged by Tsunade's chakra. However, Madara answered back by showing them a full Susano.
It was massive. If it was as strong as it looked, they were doomed. Before they could do anything, he pushed them back with a single sword swing. Yuki managed to stand her ground as she unleashed her own Susano. It was the first time she had done it. It didn't last long. She was still too unfamiliar with the technique. It allowed for the blow to be reduced when it reached the Kages however as she used it as a shield for everyone to hide behind.
"Weak." He said as he prepared a second attack towards them, noticing that she was unable to maintain the form.
However, as they braced themselves for the next attack, Madara's complete Susano began to disintegrate itself. He looked perplexedly at his body that was now becoming transparent. Yuki knew immediately what it meant. She looked over at Tsunade who gave her a nod. She quickly teleported herself elsewhere. He had put an end to it all. He kept his promise, like he always did. She wanted to see him one last time. She had to. She wanted to say goodbye, at the very least.
End of Chapter 71
Thank you for reading this new chapter!
I struggled to write this one as I felt like I was mostly narrating the fight scene between the Kages and Madara rather than adding anything into it. Hopefully, it was still enjoyable.
xox
Krystal