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 79: Unmasked
What was going to happen when she would run out of chakra? That was the thought that began circulating among the Alliance. Seeing the despair in their eyes and the fear that rose in the crowd, Obito announced that if they did not resist, they would be left alive. At that moment, a clone of the First appeared next to Yuki.
"Anybody from the Yamanaka clan nearby?"
"Yes, here." Ino quickly responded and headed over.
"I need you to connect me to everyone here. Can you do that?"
"Yes, sir!"
"15 minutes. Once those 15 minutes are over, it is the end of this world. In 15 minutes, you'll be nothing but nourishment for that tree. In 15 minutes, you'll be in a state that's even worse than death."
"But, how can we fight against something like this? It's like fighting against God."
"Don't give! There are still some who are fighting for you all. She's fighting to protect you all. Are you going to let her fight alone? Alone, we are nothing against God. However, together, as history has shown it, we can defeat this God. We will revere a god that is benevolent, not one who seeks the destruction of mankind. Together, we are just as strong if not stronger than this so-called god."
"But she's…"
"I'm nothing without everyone." Yuki intervened, fearing what was going to come after those words. "To many of you, I promised that I will do my best to protect everyone. To many who have passed away, I promised to protect what they sacrificed themselves for. To the future, I promised that they will have one. It's easy to give up now. I… I lost everything already or so I thought, but I'm holding on because of that promised future. I'm holding on because I want to see everyone in that future… a real future, not one created from our imagination. I can still fight, but only if everyone is with me."
She suddenly felt her chakra increase. She looked away from the God Tree for a second. Tsunade was there by her side, providing her with chakra. She smiled. She heard what Yuki said to the Alliance. Yuki looked back at her mentor. She was thankful Tsunade was ok, but her face still showed no emotion. In fact, she said everything while doubting her own beliefs. It sounded good. It was true, but she didn't feel those words. She wanted to see everyone in that future and that included Neji. It was no longer possible. Saying those words only reminded her of that fact. She looked away from Tsunade fearing that her mentor would see the lies behind her words.
"I'm alright." She told Tsunade. "Shikamaru, however…"
"I know, but you need a little extra right now." Tsunade interrupted her.
The Alliance was still hesitating. Perhaps, some did see through the lack of emotions behind Yuki's word. Then, connected to everyone, Naruto's memories and thoughts began to show themselves to each and every single one of them. His loneliness, his regrets with regards to Sasuke, his losses, his hardwork… everything. Yuki bit her lower lip when Neji's face appeared. "Protect her." They were his last words.
"Yuki, I'm sorry." She then heard Naruto say to her specifically. "You can hear me right?"
"Yeah…" She murmured. "Let's not talk about this now. 15 minutes, Naruto. We only have 15 minutes left."
"Gotcha. Can you hold it still for a bit longer?"
Yuki smirked as she saw Naruto fly pass her: "Have I not proven myself yet?"
With the help of Tsunade, she was able to extend her reach even further with her magnolia trees. The flowers on the branches began blooming as well with the sudden chakra increase. The battlefield became as white as her hair from afar.
"EVERYONE! Let's not have regrets at the end of this!" She heard Naruto cry out to everyone. "Let's cut this goddamn tree down!"
Cheers were heard from all directions. The five Kages who have arrived on scene began taking charge of the different platoons. Sasuke and Naruto took the lead to attack Obito and the tree. Sasuke's Susanoo began showing Orochimaru's curse seal all over it. Yuki took a quick glance at it and saw that Juugo had joined him and lent him his senjutsu. Meanwhile, Naruto's chakra was recovered with the help of Minato. They were ready to put an end to it all.
A large chunk of the tree was cut down by Sasuke allowing for Yuki to focus her attention elsewhere than that area. Her tree soon became bigger than the God Tree. Everyone was working together to bring down the God Tree while Naruto and Sasuke were now focused on Obito, being the only two who could actually damage him. The Second Hokage then walked up to Yuki and told her:
"You learn very quickly, right? As your predecessor, I will show you a technique that could be useful down the line. This requires two things: the ability to teleport and the ability to sense chakra. Yondaime, can you connect me to everyone on the battlefield through your chakra?"
"Yes!" Minato said.
"Yuki, this requires very fine chakra sensing skills. The moment you sense that a chakra body is in danger, you can use your teleportation technique remotely to move the person away from the threat. It has its limitation depending on the user. I can only move one at the time, but the time between each is less than a second. Therefore, it is crucial that you can tell who to move first and who to move second. You can also only move the person to a certain distance. In a sense, it is more like the Body Flicker Technique. You, from the Yamanaka clan, relay this to everyone on the battlefield. Let them know that between Yuki and me, they should be able to charge forward fearlessly."
"Yes, sir!" Ino said as she relayed the message immediately.
Obito started changing form again. He grabbed onto both Naruto and Sasuke. He brought them both high up in the sky before slamming them both hard on the ground, landing them right in the middle of the magnolia trees. Sensing what was about to happen, Yuki managed to let go of her position for a quick second to soften the ground for their landing. Her hands were clasped together one again and she tried to rebuild the tree to protect the Alliance once again. The petals of magnolias were now all over the battlefield. The white of the petals began to soak up the blood that was spilled throughout the battle. What was once a white battlefield slowly became red.
"Katsuyu, get to Naruto, Sasuke and Juugo right away." Tsunade said. "Thank god for your quick reaction Yuki or they would have a pile of broken bones."
Naruto stood up despite the pain that was caused from the landing. He looked at Yuki and gave her a thumbs up to reassure her that he was fine, but also to thank her for saving his life once again.
"Why do you keep standing up? Why are you all still fighting?" Obito asked as he came closer to the ground. "For your friends, you said? Do you even really know who they are? The people you fought with today might betray you tomorrow. Look at Sasuke who betrayed you and the village! Look at Yuki! Do you even know who she is? Has she ever actually been honest with you all?"
"No. She lies all the time." Sasuke then intervened.
Yuki looked at him with wide eyes. Of all people, she didn't think he would be the one to call her out on being a liar.
"Sasuke!" Naruto said angrily. "She…"
"But she always protected all of us, so why does it matter?" Sasuke ignored Naruto and said. "She always lies about not caring, but she always cared the most. She made sure I had a roof over my head for who knows how many years. When Team 7 had their first mission away from the village, she wore her mask the entire time, acted like she didn't care whether we died or lived, but, in the end, she was there when we needed her most. She worked in the shadows of the village for who knows how long, because she didn't want those who knew her to be hurt when she was hurt. She never said how much pain she was in. Yuki always wears a mask, but she never changed behind that mask after all these years. Obito, you are right about me, but don't drag her name in the same mud as mine."
Naruto looked at Sasuke in shock. He never knew that ANBU who was with them during the battle against Haku and Zabuza was Yuki. He should've known. He then remembered all the times Yuki was there when he was a kid who had no one to rely on. He remembered how she never feared him or acted like he was a monster. Obito was right. He had no idea who Yuki was, but, just like Sasuke said, why did it matter? All she ever did was protect them from harm. All she did was put herself aside to help others. She acted like she was selfish, cold, distant from everyone, but, in reality, she was the one who cared the most.
"Yuki…" Sakura then said softly. "I never knew…"
"Sasuke said too much." Yuki interrupted her.
"I once told you that you didn't care… That… I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry. I never wanted you guys to know any of it. I meant to take everything with me to my grave." Yuki said, touched but not showing it even for a second.
The Second Hokage looked at her. "She would make a good Hokage." He thought to himself. "But she would never take that position." Her talent and skills had already exceeded his expectations when he first met her. Now, her character impressed him even more. She reminded him of himself, his older brother and his prized pupil, Hiruzen. She embodied hope just like Hashirama. She was firm and decisive like Tobirama. She was kind and compassionate like her grandfather.
"Sasuke is right. Yuki never changes." Naruto said as he heard those words. "She will selfishly take on all the responsibilities of the world on her own shoulder. She will keep silence until the end. Obito, you're the one doesn't know who she is, so keep your mouth shut."
End of Chapter 79
Thank you for reading!
I hope you are enjoying it so far. Don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the reviews.
xox
Krystal