Chapter 24.

They've fought so many enemies over the course of the last hour that Sasuke had lost count. Bodies of slain Root piled up across the battlefield, and yet there was no end to their onslaught. The Uchiha warrior huffed as Naruto was exchanging banter with the enemy.

"Give it up, dattebayo," his blond friend said as he dispatched yet another of his opponents. "We can do this all day."

Did that idiot get dumber while he was in prison? Underestimating your enemy is the worst mistake a ninja can make, and those they were fighting weren't just some mooks. They were Root, one of the most elite shinobi organizations in the world. Sasuke knew firsthand just how formidable Danzou's army was – he fought them countless times over the course of the last year. Avoiding them had been a major pain, and more than once he was just a hair's breadth away from getting caught.

"Your bravado will not fool anyone," they heard that scruff voice of Danzou's. "No matter how strong, everyone has their limit. You have been fighting dozens of my best shinobi for hours now."

The usurper seemed to have just arrived on the battlefield, clearly intent on participating personally. Seeing his smug smirk Sasuke wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his wrinkled face. Only now the bastard joins them, after everyone is already tired from the fight.

"Look at your comrades," Danzou said as if the word left a foul taste in his mouth, "I doubt they will be able to continue like this."

Naruto, to Sasuke's dismay, did as was told and turned back. The Uchiha avenger rushed to help his friend but was halted by Root shinobi jumping in his way. Sasuke could only watch what was about to unfold. Because as soon as Naruto's eyes left the enemy, Danzou sprang to action.

"Naruto!" Sasuke heard himself shout despite being occupied with his own fight, just as the Sixth Hokage's Wind Blade pierced Naruto's shoulder.

Danzou's attack was so fast that even Sasuke's Sharingan almost missed the movement. And that was only because Sasuke expected the dirty move. It was testament to Naruto's own peerless speed that he managed to dodge just in the nick of time what would have been a fatal blow.

As Naruto glided around the blade that slashed his shoulder, he twisted his body and used Danzou's momentum to get behind the old coot. Summoning his beastly chakra, he struck the man's back and slammed his enemy to the ground with enormous force, only slightly guilty for feeling satisfaction at the crunch of Danzou's bones shattering underneath the Kyubi paw.

Despite the sharp pain in his left shoulder from his wound, Naruto couldn't help but feel relieved. Even if his hit didn't kill the bastard, his bones were crushed and his body pinned under the monstrous demonic chakra.

"Guess we won't be needing–"

Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence as he felt a sword stab his back. It pierced right through his body and he could see that the wind chakra blade sticking out of his chest unmistakably belonged to the man who was supposed to be lying dead before him.

"How?" was all he managed to say, coughing up blood.

His friends' anguished screams echoed in his head as Naruto fell on the ground. He saw all of them desperately trying to reach him even though there were enemies everywhere. Sasuke was right, he should've been more careful.

"Hmm, it looks like even now your Kyubi protected you. I aimed for your heart but the demon inside you seems to act as a barrier, and my blow was deflected slightly to the side," Danzou mused, summoning a new blade in his hand as the one in Naruto disappeared. "No matter," he sneered, lifting his sword above the fallen jinchuuriki to deliver a final blow.

"No!" he heard another boy's annoying voice before something peculiar happened: Instead of the jinchuuriki lying on the ground there was the Uchiha traitor crouched in his place.

That surprised Danzou enough to delay his blow, and as a result the Uchiha brat had gotten away unharmed.

Deflecting Danzou's sword, Sasuke jumped away towards Naruto's new location which was previously occupied by the Uchiha. He picked his friend's prone body and took a few forced jumps towards his other comrades. As soon as he appeared before them Shizune rushed to Naruto's side.

"His lung is pierced clean," the medic said barely touching Naruto. "His Kyubi chakra is dealing with the damage for the time being, but there is no way he can fight. It is taking everything in him to stay alive, much less conscious," Shizune concluded after a more thorough examination.

Meanwhile, the rest of their squad formed a protective line around them and waited for enemy's attacks. Surprisingly, nothing came. An almost unnatural silence hung on the battlefield, with only Sasuke's heavy pants disrupting it.

"Further resistance is futile," they heard Danzou's voice as they saw him approach. His stride was confident, and his vile smile seemed to stretch wider with each step. "Before you rebuke my wisdom once again with your naïve nonsense, I ask you to once again look at yourself. Look at your situation and think about it rationally. I'm sure I don't need to explain that there is no way you can win should you decide to fight."

Sasuke's scowl only deepened at the bastard's taunts. As the scum he was, Danzou only let them a moment of respite to recognize that they failed. He wanted them to let it sink in. The hopelessness of their situation.

Before, Sasuke was so consumed by their fight that he didn't notice it, but now that the battle had let up, he was fully aware that his Sharingan was steadily giving out. Wiping the blood that trickled down his face from his strained eye, the Uchiha began to truly fear for their lives.

"You may be strong, but I have been doing this for far longer than you have even existed," Danzou reprimanded, looking straight at Sasuke, letting the man know that he was aware of his condition. "Please do refrain from being a nuisance any further, I need those eyes, afterall. If you surrender willingly, I promise to spare all of your lives."

Of course, all that bastard cared about was power. The only reason he was even talking to them was to attempt to convince Sasuke to spare his Sharingan so that he could take it from him. Naruto's last attack cost him his precious Izanagi, and now he was likely desperate to get his hands on the last Sharingan left in the world.

Sasuke had to think fast. Danzou could crush them with a flick of his wrist, as they were surrounded by his Root from all sides. His greed for Sharingan's power prevented him from doing so, but Sasuke had a feeling that it wasn't for long.

"If you let them go, I'll give you the Sharingan," he shouted back, hoping that Danzou's greed will prevail.

His comrades protested of course, but Sasuke was adamant. His eyes were a very low price compared to his friends' lives. He just hoped Naruto won't hate him for giving up. Or himself, for letting Danzou defeat him despite him being aware of Izanagi and its power.

Sasuke waited for the answer to come, not paying any mind to his teammates' insistence that he retract his offer. Finally, Danzou spoke.

"What makes you think you can negotiate with me?"

With those words, the old Hokage appeared before the group, surrounded by his Root bodyguards. Somewhere during the pause in their fight, he retrieved his cane, and was now leaning on it once again, looking down on Sasuke.

"If you want these eyes," Sasuke said, pulling out a kunai and pointing its tip on his face, inches from his Sharingan, "you'll listen."

Danzou's own lone eye narrowed. He couldn't afford thinking that Sasuke was bluffing if he wanted his Sharingan and Rinnegan. After a tense moment the man relaxed, giving an almost imperceptible nod.

To Sasuke's relief and everyone else's horror, the Root around them parted, giving their group a clear way out.

"We are not abandoning you here," Anko declared angrily, tightening her grip on her kunai. Beside her, Sai also looked conflicted.

"You have to go. Look at Naruto," Sasuke calmly countered. "He is more important than me, and he cannot stay here."

Anko's gaze traveled to their unconscious blond friend, the realization settling. They couldn't stay unless they wanted to get Naruto killed. Letting Shizune carry him alone was also not an option, as Danzou was most likely to break his promise and go after them as soon as Sasuke surrendered.

"Come on, Anko, let's go," said Shiznune, bandaged Naruto already hefted on her back.

Exchanging meaningful glances, the three of them departed. Sai turned back one last time, the feeling of wrongness of the whole situation weighing heavily on his heart.

Sasuke waited for a few minutes to let them get away before he looked his enemy in the eye.

"Well?" Danzou raised his brow. "Your friends have gotten away and yet here we are, waiting for you to keep your end of the bargain."

The undertones of threat hadn't escaped Sasuke's ears. 'Give up or I'll send my people after your friends,' such was the meaning behind Danzou's words. With a heavy exhale, the Uchiha lowered his blade, letting Danzou's henchmen apprehend him.

"That wasn't that hard now, was it?" the false Hokage clicked his tongue, earning himself a glare from his captive. "Now that this business is finished… Orochimaru!" he called out.

"What do you want, Danzou?" the serpent Sannin replied evenly, seemingly appearing out of thin air behind Sasuke. His eyes briefly flickered to his former apprentice before they once again turned to the old Hokage.

"Go after the jinchuuriki. Bring him here, you can kill the rest."

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Wait! You can't do this! We made a deal!" he yelled, trying and failing to break out of the Root ninjas' grip.

Both Danzou and Orochimaru smirked.

"As I said before, I have been doing this for far longer than you have lived," the old man sneered, letting Orochimaru go after his friends.

"What makes you think he will come back?" Sasuke asked, feeling panic settle in his heart. "He could just take over Naruto's body. He is just as strong as me!"

"If you think that I haven't considered that then you are even greener than I thought, boy," Danzou coolly replied. "But your concerns are unnecessary. That man has a strong fascination with you and only you, and he won't give you up no matter what. On top of that, the jinchuuriki is gravely injured, and all the damage of the container is transferred back to the host upon taking over. Simply put, Orochimaru has no desire nor means to cross me."

This time, the Uchiha avenger had nothing else to say. He was utterly defeated, and Danzou's smug delight only reinforced the feelings of despair and anger in him. He was about to use his last trump card in a final attempt to stop the monster before him when he heard a voice in his head.

"Sasuke, we see you. We are coming. Try to hold on."

It was unmistakably Ino's telepathic message. Sasuke felt infinitely grateful for the Yamanaka's ability. She was the only one aside from Anko who managed to escape Konoha after everyone was captured, and she's been an immense help to their war effort throughout.

"I have a plan. How close are you?" he asked back, hoping against hope that this communication was two-way.

To his relief, he heard Ino's voice reply in his head.

"Right above you."

"Tell Tsunade to aim at me. She knows the rest."

With those words, Sasuke waited for a few more seconds before lifting his head up. There she was – Lady Tsunade. She jumped out of Sai's bird and was flying straight at him, akin to a dropped missile.

Danzou and his goons also noticed the movement and lifted their eyes up, but it was too late. In an instant, Sasuke used his Rinnegan to swap himself with Danzou and jumped away. He didn't want to get caught in the destruction of Tsunade's imminent punch. The Rokudaime Hokage wanted to do the same but was shocked to see that he was being held down by two of his own Root ninjas! The splitsecond it took them to realize what had happened was enough for the Lady Sannin to land a devastating hit, practically obliterating the three of them on the spot, along with a big chunk of ground underneath, forming a sizeable crater at the point of impact.

Unlike Naruto, Tsunade immediately jumped away after her fist connected with the ground, not willing to risk in case Danzou survived. Her caution had proven to be prudent, as Danzou materialized several meters away from the spot of his demise.

Sasuke stood corrected. That probably was Danzou's last Sharingan. He fought the man before, and there was no way the old ninja had any more left to use his Izanagi to keep reviving himself.

"You okay?" his thought was interrupted by Tsunade's voice beside him.

Turning his eyes, Sasuke saw that their enemies were not the only ones harmed by Tsunade's attack. His Hokage's right arm looked completely mangled, hanging limp at her side. Her free-fall punch from such a tremendous height had likely fractured her whole arm and ruptured all the muscles in it.

"Don't worry, brat, I still have my left," Tsunade said to him, no hint of pain in her expression.

"Would you look at that," they heard Danzou's gruff voice. He sounded pissed. "Two cripples standing side by side, trying to prove that impossible is possible." He slowly approached them as their eyes darted from side to side, spotting dozens of Root shinobi menacingly circling them. "That nifty little trick of swapping our places has fooled me for the last time!" he snarled, summoning gusts of powerful wind and sending it in his targets' direction.

The air violently smashed into them, sending Sasuke flying. Tsunade, who managed to hold her ground lifted left arm to her face to protect her eyes from all the dust and debris flying her way. Just as the Wind Release technique ceased, two enemy Root jumped towards her, aiming to finish off the disoriented former Hokage. Unfortunately for them, their opponent wasn't just some overpowered shinobi. It was one of the Sannin herself. Anticipating their move, she lifted her leg up and slammed it down on the first one, crushing him under her heel. Right after that, she caught the second one by his face with her left arm and squeezed, poor guy's eyes popping out of his face from the immense pressure.

"I don't like fighting, but you guys piss me off," she growled, her face and sizeable chest covered in blood of her enemies.

Tsunade's display and killing intent seemed to startle the Root a bit, and it was enough for Ino to sweep from above and get Sasuke on their bird. As soon as the Uchiha was aboard, she jumped off, allowing the inky summon to carry their injured friend to safety.

"Go after Orochimaru!" Tsunade shouted, "and don't you dare come back here if we lose!"

Sasuke wanted to stay and fight with the rest but he knew when to give up a bad idea. In his current condition he would be more of a hindrance to them. At least Orochimaru was chasing Naruto alone, and there Sasuke would be able to aid Sai, Shizune and Anko against the snake Sannin. With a resigned sigh, he relaxed a fraction and looked around as the bird dodged enemy's projectiles.

On his way out he spotted a familiar chakra signature. Turning his head towards the general direction of the signature, Sasuke was comforted to see Kakashi's form rapidly advance towards where Tsunade was battling Danzou. His former sensei had Hinata, Sakura and a whole little army following after him.

This time Sasuke truly allowed himself to rest. With Kakashi, Hinata and Sakura, there was no way they were going to lose. What Sasuke missed, however, was that somewhere in the distance Hyugas and other rebels were struggling against Danzou's forces.

Hiashi Hyuga and his allies were being pushed back by massive forces of Root and loyalists. It felt like the whole army of Danzou's concentrated their forces on them. With nowhere else to run, Hiashi chose to fight till the end.

"Hanabi!" his voice was almost lost in the rumble of jutsu thrown around. "Get out of here!" One little girl could probably sneak past in all the havoc that was going on.

"No way, Father! I can't leave you guys here to die!"

Just as Hiashi was about to exercise his rights as clan head and order her to hide, a large fireball blasted right between the two, separating father and daughter. Hiashi was quick to get back on his feet; he frantically looked around, searching for Hanabi. Terror struck him when he found his daughter lying on the ground, quite a distance away, unconscious. He bolted instantly.

In his panic-driven haste, he couldn't spot the enemy coming from the side until it was too late. Hiashi managed to dodge the fatal blow, but the sword still grazed his side. He ignored the wound and ran up to his fallen daughter, relieved that she didn't seem to be seriously harmed by the explosion.

Picking her up carefully, Hiashi discovered that he was now backed into a corner by three enemy nins. It would've been the end both for him and his daughter had Hiashi not spotted his clansmen approach his enemies from behind. The Hyugas quickly slayed the threat, and one of them came up to their leader, offering medical assistance. He stopped her with a raised palm and pointed towards his daughter lying in his arms. The medic nodded in understanding, and immediately started checking Hanabi's condition.

To Hiashi's surprise, she began to scan Hanabi with medical ninjutsu. Medical jutsu were much more common in the branch house, since they were the ones to be expected to serve as field ninjas. Now that he looked at her, he didn't recognize the woman. Hiashi's eyes widened in realization.

"You are from branch family,?" he stated, looking at the rest of her team. They all had their foreheads covered up.

"We are," one of them nodded, confirming for all of them. "The two houses may have stood on unequal grounds all this time, but we are still one clan."

Hiashi accepted the man's explanation, acknowledging the fact. Only then did he notice that these were not some stray branch house members. With his Byakugan he could clearly see that all of the shinobi from the branch house had joined the fight. And they were fighting alongside their main house relatives against Danzou.

With the Hyuga clan now back to its full power, they might stand a chance in this battle.

While the Hyugas were busy fighting Root, Sasuke had caught up to Sai and others. The Uchiha tried to get Shizune and Naruto on Sai's bird, but Orochimaru predicted that, prudently destroying the ink summon. Thus, their group was forced to run from the Sannin on foot.

Ten minutes into the chase, Sasuke, Sai and Anko were barely keeping Orochimaru away from Shizune who was carrying Naruto. The serpent Sannin was expectedly slippery, often stretching his body in unnatural ways to evade their attacks. As someone who fought the snake before, Sasuke was familiar with his techniques. Anko too, seemed to be well-suited for battling Orochimaru, as she was his former apprentice. As for Sai, the ex-Root was highly adaptable to any situation, so it didn't make much of a difference to him.

And even with all that, Orochimaru was steadily gaining the upper hand in their skirmishes.

"Dammit," Sasuke muttered after his attempt at Amaterasu failed.

The Uhiha's Mangekyo Sharingan was throbbing painfully, and he brought his hand to his eye, blinking the bloody tears away for umpteenth time. Sai and Anko needed one look at their teammate to see that there was no way Sasuke was going to fight his former master in this condition. Wordlessly, they swapped positions so that the Uchiha was closer to Shizune and therefore safer. He will be the last line of defense.

Orochimaru grinned amusedly. As much as their little reunion was pleasant, he had two bodies to retrieve. Danzou, arrogant bastard that he was, had allowed Sasuke to escape, leaving Orochimaru with cleaning up after him. Which, of course, was only better for the Sannin. He might even consider killing everyone and taking over Sasuke's body right away…

"Listen," he shouted, spurting up to get closer to his targets, "I don't care about the Uzumaki brat, so why don't you stay here and fight while the girl gets him to safety?"

Sasuke, Sai and Anko exchanged glances. For a second they considered his offer before shaking their heads. There was no reason for them to stop.

"A pity," Orochimaru said, before his amused expression completely changed into a dead-serious one.

He then suddenly stopped, making Sai turn around only to see that their enemy was no longer chasing after them.

"What is he doing?"

"He's summoning his snakes!" Anko answered, recognizing the hand seals. "Whatever it is, we better keep running."

When the final hand seal was over, Orochimaru crouched down to release thousands of snakes from his mouth. The creatures slithered on the ground, slowly advancing towards their prey.

"There is no way they are catching up to us!" Shizune yelled, also looking back confused at the underwhelming pace with which the snakes were moving.

Their confusion didn't last long, as Orochimaru immediately went into another set of hand seals. This time it was Sasuke who recognized the jutsu.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Orochimaru announced almost proudly, summoning wind of enormous power.

The snakes, picked up by the wind were now flying rapidly at the group.

"Stand back!" Sasuke shouted, his hands already in the process of performing a technique of his own.

Sasuke released a Great Fireball at the flying snakes, trying to burn them before they reached their target. Unfortunately, there simply were too many of them. The snakes dropped at them like rain of arrows, their combined numbers casting a shadow on the ground below. Sasuke and others tried to dodge, pulling out their blades to deflect the projectiles, but it was proving to be too difficult. It took all their concentration and skill for them to evade the poisonous bites.

While they were busy running through the sea of snakes that formed around them, Orochimaru was quickly catching up. They were apprehensive seeing him perform yet another jutsu.

"Let me show you why I am one of the Sannin!" the snake master declared, pulling out a sword and dashing towards them in powerful bursts.

The group of Konoha nins could only watch in dread as the snakes around them started to combine, transforming into a shape of… Orochimaru! Now instead of thousands of snakes there were dozens of Orochimarus. Sasuke didn't even know what was worse.

The clones had their swords out, all sporting identical amused grins. They were surrounding Sasuke and his teammates, taking turns at slashing at them.

"These are strong," Anko said as her direct hit didn't dispel the copy unlike the normal Shadow Clone. She shot two large snakes from her sleeves, capturing one. Anko's snakes bit the clone and began suffocating him, only for him to slice them in two with his blade.

Others weren't faring any better. Every time the clones were hit, they just broke down into individual snakes and reassembled back.

Using the last vestiges of his strength, Sasuke used the Deva Path of his Rinnegan to attract all Orochimaru's clones towards himself, simultaneously summoning his Chidori Current. As the bodies hit Sasuke, they were struck by the lightning enveloping him, getting electrocuted. It was a costly move, but a move much needed.

"Not bad, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru praised, "but don't get too excited, otherwise your body may not endure all the strain."

The Uchiha fell on his knees, panting heavily. Now both his eyes were burning, he felt his Sharingan revert back to his natural dark iris.

Orochimaru didn't wait for the man to regain his breath. With inhuman speed he appeared right beside the raven-haired ninja, intending to deliver a kick at his side. His attempt was promptly interrupted by Anko.

"Don't forget that you are fighting us too," she snarled, sending a sharp stream of fire on the Sannin, who was too close to dodge.

As soon as it hit Orochimaru it exploded, engulfing his whole body in flames. The resourceful serpent wouldn't die from that, though. With seeming ease, he shed his burning skin, coming out of it completely unharmed.

"Very well. I'll deal with you first," Orochimaru relented, once again lowering his sword to summon his devastating wind.

The group braced for impact that never came. Instead, they saw a large wooden wall right in front of them, protecting them from the powerful gust. They looked around, delighted to spot a familiar silhouette of Yamato.

The Wood Style user nodded, sending several wooden appendages towards their common enemy. It seemed he wasn't the only one who came to assist them, as a purple haired female ANBU had attacked Orochimaru while he was dodging the wooden spears. She slashed at his shoulder, spilling the snake's blood for the first time since their encounter today.

Orochimaru took a few cautious steps back, assessing his situation. Now there were two more highly skilled opponents against him. Theoretically, he could keep fighting, but who was to say that there weren't more coming? In any case, the war was likely lost. He was deliberating whether he should retreat back to Konoha or escape altogether when a whole army of soldiers appeared from his other side. They looked armored but that was about it. Orochimaru could feel that the mob facing him were no shinobi. Even so, an army was an army. It'd be suicidal to face them all alone and in his current condition.

With a slight frown, the Sannin chose to run. The ANBU girl was about to go after him when she heard Yamato's order.

"Let him go, Yugao-san."

It was too risky to follow the serpent. Besides, they had more pressing matters to deal with.

Yugao took her mask off, pouting.

"Who said you were in charge?"

"Kakashi-senpai," Yamato deadpanned, secretly feeling smug.

"But that's unfair!" the woman protested. "I knew senpai longer than you, pipsqueak."

Yamato's eye twitched at the nickname, but he refused to raise to the bait. He was older and bigger than her anyway.

"Why don't you tell them what's going on first?" he said instead, nodding towards Sasuke and others' direction.

Yugao sighed, turning to her comrades before explaining that ANBU were being called back to Konoha in massive numbers. This was dangerous, as the ANBU were a wild card – a lot of them were so untethered from reality that their Hokage's orders were the only thing that mattered to them.

"So, it can go either way," Yugao finished, "they could help us, or they could take Danzou's side."

"When are they arriving?" asked Sasuke as Shizune was treating Naruto's injuries in peace.

"Right now."

Kakashi expected their battle to go much worse, but once again his comrades surprised him. Not only did they manage to break into Konoha, but also start a whole uprising. Their village was steadily slipping out of Danzou's iron grip, judging by the number of allies they were gaining with each minute.

"Surrender, Danzou. Stop this madness, you can't win!"

The Rokudaime Hokage, surrounded by a contingent of his best Root bodyguards, only snarled in response.

"Never!"

And so their fight resumed. Two groups clashed back and forth, before eventually the battle broke off into a number of smaller skirmishes.

Sakura and Tsunade were fighting back to back against a whole squad of Root shinobi. Ino and Hinata were engaged in a battle of their own, quickly getting separated from Kakashi. While the Copy Nin had only one target in mind.

Kakashi's Shiden struck the first enemy on his way, blowing off his whole upper body. His eyes narrowed when he noticed Danzou right behind the slain Root, coming straight at him. Everything fell to the background at that point. Their comrades' screams as they died, and the sounds of distant battles faded as the two shinobi charged at each other. It was clear from both men's expressions that it was a duel.

Kakashi and his enemy's blades struck, predictably resulting in an impasse. Both looked into each other's eyes, killing intent fully bared. Danzou created a Wind Sword in his other hand, attempting to strike his enemy's side, only for it to get shattered by Kakashi's Purple Lightning. Kakashi used this opportunity to counterattack, but Danzou was quick to jump back, creating distance between the two.

From his spot, Danzou frowned, resummoning his sword jutsu. Now Kakashi knew that his Shiden was stronger than Danzou's Wind Blade.

With a little more than a second of respite, the two resumed their bout. They slashed and thrusted, parried and dodged, and yet, none of their attacks seemed to connect cleanly with their enemy. Both opponents began to pant slightly from the lengthy match, each sporting minor injuries from hits that almost landed.

"You are a strong opponent, I admit," Danzou chose to spoke, "but don't think for a second that your current condition will be enough to defeat me. One can only go so far with spirit alone."

Kakashi mentally frowned. His already normally quite average chakra reserves were draining even quicker due to the weakened state of his body. When it came to power and skill, he had the upper hand, but endurance was on Danzou's side in their duel. It didn't mean, however, that time didn't favor Kakashi.

"Even if you manage to defeat me, it's only a matter of time before others will put you down," he yelled, throwing a couple kunai.

Danzou deflected the projectiles with his sword, but the power behind the shots was higher than he expected. Chakra imbued kunai, he deduced as he stumbled a little, barely able to keep the grip on his Wind Blade. Kakashi used the opening and was instantly a few feet above Danzou, Purple Lightning aimed straight at his enemy.

Danzou jumped away from the Copy Nin's strike, performing hand seals mid air. When his jutsu was ready, he blew a dozen waves of Wind Release on his enemy in rapid succession. His barrage of wind bullets was met with Kakashi's signature Earth Wall, grinding it to rubble. The whole interaction created a sizeable cloud of dust, from which Kakashi lunged, his hand ablaze with Chidori.

Who did the Copy Nin take him for? The Sixth Hokage exhaled several small blasts of wind at his enemy. Kakashi tried to dodge, but with Chidori it was too difficult, and one projectile connected, piercing his heart. Danzou smirked as the Copy Ninja's electrical clone dissolved.

"It was a clever idea to use Chidori to bait me for attacking your Lightning doppelganger," he shouted into the distance. Had he hit that clone directly, he would've been electrocuted and the real Kakashi would've likely finished him off. "But you forget one thing."

With those words, Danzou jumped high and fired several wind blasts at the ground below, in the general area where he'd been standing. A second later, his opponent came out from under the earth, and Danzou was pleased to note that one of his blind attacks managed to injure the real Copy Nin.

"You thought you knew everything about me, but you don't seem to realize that I too have been studying you, Kakashi Hatake," he gloated as he landed back on ground a distance away from his wounded adversary. "I have gone through every report of your missions, every record of your battles, even your chunin exam fights. I know all of your little tricks. For instance, how you are fond of hiding underground while your enemy is distracted, only to strike from the side that they least expect," Danzou sneered, looking at Kakashi's injured left shoulder. "Below."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Looking underneath the underneath was what he always preached, and the old coot couldn't be accused of not following that. Thankfully, his wound was hardly significant. He instantly proved that by performing hand seals, only a fraction slower than normally, to shoot a mighty torrent of water at his enemy.

Danzou responded with a gust of concentrated wind. "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!" he declared as the air met water, the two cancelling each other out. The water had blown upwards and fell back down, showering both adversaries like a miniature rain. Before the last droplet hit the ground, Danzou dashed forward, his Wind Sword in hand.

Kakashi sent a quick fireball at his enemy, not waiting for him to dodge and preparing his next attack right away. Summoning his Purple Lightning once again, he slammed it on the ground, using the little pool of water that his previous attack had created as a conductor to enhance his jutsu.

Danzou landed right in his trap.

The older shinobi screamed as the current enveloped him. Even though it wasn't enough to kill him, it paralyzed Danzou, making him ripe for picking. Sure enough, the Copy Nin was already sprinting towards him with that annoying purple lightning of his. Danzou locked eyes with his oncoming opponent, prepared for anything, when another person interfered by jumping in between them.

Kakashi's eyes widened as someone suddenly appeared on his way with a lightning technique of their own. The girl's lightning was yellow in color and seemed to cover her whole body. Both lightning wielders braced for impact, and in a splitsecond, it was over: The girl tried to swat Kakashi's palm away, but the Shiden that coated it pierced through her lightning armor, cutting her fingers off and plunging right in her heart. The Copy Nin was inches away from the Root agent, and he could clearly see the girl's face. That was when Kakashi's whole body froze at what he saw.

There, impaled by his hand stood his own wife! Life rapidly fading from her lavender eyes as she gazed at him emptily.

"K-Kakashi…" she brokenly said as life left her body, causing Copy Nin's face to blanch.

The horror of his action dawned on him full force. In his shock Kakashi didn't notice how his wife's hair seemed to be back to her natural color, despite the fact that she dyed it for todays mission; nor did he pay any attention to the fact that his wife was dressed differently than last time he saw her. All he could see was his hand driven in her chest, the blood pooling around the area and draining on his forearm. All he could hear was Hinata's whimpers and wheezes as she spoke his name, each syllable driving the knife deeper in his heart, each drop of her blood pounding in his ears as it dripped on the ground. All he could sense was the weight of his dying wife's body on his outstretched arm, and the crippling anguish from his own heinous crime.

It was Rin all over again, except even worse.

"Hi-Hinata?" he uttered in a small, unbelieving voice when a blade pierced his wife's body from behind and lodged firmly in his own abdomen. Kakashi barely felt the pain from getting stabbed. How could he, when what mattered to him the most was already dead?

Kakashi fell on his back, with Hinata's body landing on top of him, Danzou's sword connecting the two like a deadly pin. He could feel her limp body pressed up against his, and her lifeless eyes were inches away from his, gazing, unblinking, accusing.

Dead.

Hinata's blood trickled from her half-opened mouth onto his mask, its metallic taste making Kakashi wish he died sooner. Images of Rin kept appearing in his mind, her face sporting the same expression as his wife, both jumbling in his head, interchanging. His name being the last thing they spoke before he killed them.

He screamed.

Hinata was fighting three Root ninjas when she noticed that Kakashi had pinned Danzou and was about to finish him off. Thankfully, her momentary distraction didn't result in her death as Sakura and Ino had covered her back. After silently thanking her friends she turned back to her husband, shocked to see that someone had jumped in front of his Purple Lightning. Immediately, the alarms went off in her head. Because of that woman's sacrifice Danzou was unharmed. Hinata was sure that Kakashi, realizing that, would jump away or do something to counteract Danzou's attack, but was horrified to see that her husband was not doing anything. He just stood there, still as a statue, with a panic-stricken expression.

Hinata instantly tore off from her comrades and dashed to where Kakashi was fighting. She ran at full speed, watching in dread as her husband continued to stand unmoving, as if stunned.

"Kakashi!" she yelled, as Danzou thrusted his sword through the dead Root girl, piercing Kakashi together with her. "Kakashi!"

By the time Kakashi had fallen on the ground with the Root soldier's corpse on top of him, Hinata was close enough to see her husband without the Byakugan. All the color drained from her face as she looked at him. Kakashi's face had such an expression of utter heartbreak that Hinata found herself shaking. When his screams of agony filled the clearing Hinata couldn't hold back tears of her own.

"Kakashi!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, sprinting to save her husband. Whatever happened seemed to be causing a lot of suffering for him.

Meanwhile, Danzou stood above Kakashi's wailing, broken form. He looked down on his enemy, the famed Copy Nin of Konoha…

"Pathetic," he sneered, gripping the handle of his sword and plucking it out. There was no point in driving it deeper or twisting it – the man didn't pay any heed to physical pain.

Danzou just wanted to finish him off. Coming up closer to his defeated adversary, the Sixth Hokage couldn't help but gloat a little, relishing at the sight of his enemy's humiliation.

"Look at you, I doubt you even hear me," he said in between Kakashi's howls, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "All it took for you to crumble is for a girl that looked like your wife to die."

That was the weakness of people like the Copy Nin, he mused. They were too attached to their close ones. That was the reason why the Second died. That was the reason why Sarutobi died. And it will be the reason why Hatake dies today. It wasn't hard for Orochimaru to make one of his Root agents look almost exactly like Hatake's wife. And when that was done, it was easy to utilize her.

"Too easy," Danzou taunted, raising his sword, prepared to strike the broken excuse of a ninja down. "And once again, I have proven that you lot are wrong."

Danzou dropped his blade on Kakashi, anticipating the expression on the masked man's face as the life abandoned him. That never came to be, however, as someone slammed into the Hokage, sending him flying. His Wind Sword immediately vanished because of that, failing to touch his target.

"Who dares!" he barked, standing up, only to see a pair of furious lavender eyes rapidly closing in on him.

Danzou raised his arm, ready to summon his Wind Sword, only to get appalled at his limb's lack of response. He fired a barrage of wind bullets from his mouth instead, but the damn Hyuga girl powered right through them as if they were nothing! All Danzou could do was quickly summon his sword in his other hand and slash at her, but even that didn't do much – Hinata broke the wind blade with her Twin Lion Fist in one hit and sent the man flying with another.

Still on the ground, Danzou noted with dread that his jaw was broken and right arm completely crushed. After the girl's attacks he felt strangely drained of chakra, so there was nothing much he could do except turn around and run when he has the strength.

Hinata watched with hatred and disgust at the coward's prone form. She had half a mind to go after him but knew that there were things much more important right now than revenge. She turned to where her husband was lying; he seemed still struck with grief over her supposed death. He was no longer screaming, just holding the dead girl's body and swaying slightly from side to side. Once again, Hinata winced at how unnaturally similar the girl had looked to her.

Running up to her husband, Hinata crouched down, struggling to push the dead body away from Kakashi as he desperately clutched it in a hug. His grip was weak though, and Hinata's heart felt sharp pangs of guilt at the way he tried to latch onto 'her' dead body.

"Kakashi! Can you hear me? Kakashi!" she called to him, the tears coming back. "Kakashi, please!"

There was zero reaction from him. Kakashi's eyes had an empty look in them, as if he was looking through Hinata and not at her.

"He can't hear you. He is in shock. His mind is somewhere else," Hinata heard, sharply turning her head, her chakra flaring up ready to defend her husband.

It was unneeded, however, as the Hyuga felt relief to see that it were her friends.

"We gotta calm him down!" she heard Tsunade say, giving orders to Sakura and others.

Sakura nodded, coming up to her sensei and putting both of her hands on the sides of his head. Her palms glowed and quickly enough, Kakashi quietened, his eyes slowly closing and breathing returning to normal.

"Don't worry, Tsunade-shishou's instant sedation jutsu will knock him down for the time being," Sakura said, putting a comforting hand on Hinata's shoulder.

Hinata was thankful for Sakura's skill as much as she was thankful for her friend's support. The two women shared closeness to Kakashi, so naturally they sought reassurance from each other.

"Now will somebody explain what the hell happened here?" Tsunade barked, eyeing Hinata as Kakashi's other wounds were being treated by Sakura.

Hinata wanted to go help but knew that Sakura alone would be sufficient. She was the only one who saw what happened, and as much as she wished to be close to her husband, she felt the need to explain everything properly to Tsunade.

"Danzou used… my clone to… to die for him," she said, sending a glance at the prone body of her lookalike.

Everyone looked at the dead girl, gasping at the uncanny similarity between her and their friend.

"That bastard!" they heard Tsunade mutter angrily and turned at her. "This practically smells of Orochimaru."

Tsunade's killer intent made some of them jump, her whole body trembling with rage.

Hinata watched in amazement at Tsunade's uncharacteristic display of tenderness, before the woman had finally calmed herself down.

"Hinata," she said, mustering up a weak smile, "good job."

They all then turned to look at Danzou, who managed to get back on his feet. There were ANBU and Root standing behind him. They seemed to just arrive, judging from their clean looks. Everyone tensed – this could get messy real quick.

"Finally," Danzou said through pain, swaying unsteadily as a couple of Root came up to support him. "ANBU, destroy the insurgents."

There were dozens of ANBU. They were ordered to report to their Hokage, and it seemed that was exactly what they did upon entering Konoha. Those that weren't present were likely fighting alongside Root in other skirmishes that took place everywhere else.

The ANBU hesitated for a second before some of them went to carry out the order. The rest soon followed, and a new battle seemed unavoidable. Just as the first move was about to be made, they all heard a rumble of hundreds of feet shake the earth. Turning their heads, they saw an army of armored civilians arrive at the battlefield. They looked scruffy, their different clothes and the presence of youngsters in their midst indicating the militia nature of their group. Some of them ANBU recognized as owners of their favorite food stalls and neighbors they remembered from the last time they left Konoha.

"These are citizens of Konoha, you goddamn idiots!" Tsunade scolded the confused ANBU in her classic manner. "They came to reclaim their village. Danzou killed everyone who stood in his way, including your own commanders! Will you still fight for him as he is about to kill civilians?"

The ANBU exchanged glances.

"It's true. Look who are you about to fight!" they heard a familiar voice come from the midst of those civilians, where surprisingly another ANBU came out of. "You all know me as Cat, I'm part of ANBU, just like you," Yugao began, coming closer to her comrades.

"What are you standing here for? I gave you an order!" Danzou screeched in the background, to no avail.

Meanwhile, Yugao continued with her speech.

"There," she gestured at the Copy Nin's unconscious body, "Kakashi Hatake, I'm sure he doesn't need any introductions. He's saved most of your lives more than once back in the day." She then moved her hand towards Tsunade, "There is my Hokage, our real Hokage, fighting alongside her people!" As she said that, hundreds of Konoha civilians came up to stand beside Tsunade and other ninjas, ready to fight for their village. "Now look back at your Hokage," she told them, pointing at Danzou, surrounded by his Root, Konoha's ruins behind them. "Whose side are you on?"

"Don't listen to her!" Danzou yelled as the civilian army slowly approached, the ANBU were the only ones that stood between Danzou and them.

Root tensed up, ready to protect their leader. Some of the ANBU retreated back to where Danzou was standing, their choice clear. Most of them, however, lowered their swords, allowing the approaching civilians to pass right through their lines.

Danzou watched as his ANBU let the enemy pass with no resistance. His eyes hardened.

'I guess this is it.'

He gave his final order. Root sprang to action. They shot jutsu at the civilians, their eyes widening as their attacks weren't dealing as much damage as they had expected. There were too many of the armored civilians for them to fight, and yet, they still fought to the end despite being completely overwhelmed.

The ANBU and other Konoha ninjas joined the fight, quickly ending what would've been a massacre from civilians part.

When the dust settled, Danzou seemed to be the last Root standing. He calmly looked around, seeing enemies everywhere. Civilians, ANBU, Tsunade and her gang – they were all there, surrounding him.

"Surrender."

He glanced at Tsunade, satisfied at least to see that she was in as bad a shape as he was. She looked a mess. But he knew that the offer was the last one he'll get. It didn't matter, really, since they were easily capable of detaining him by force. Traitors. Oh, how would he have enjoyed killing every single one of them.

He had one last trick up his sleeve, afterall. The Reverse Four Symbols Seal he placed on himself will explode upon activation, and the blast will obliterate everything within a five-meter radius. Now, who should he kill with it? Too bad he couldn't take all of them with him.

He watched the faces of his enemies. He was sure they could clearly see the killing intent in his eyes but he could no longer care. There were obvious choices, like Tsunade, or that Hyuga girl, he pondered, locking eyes with Hatake's wife. However, while he was choosing his last victims, something stopped him in his tracks.

Those damn civilians' faces.

Those faces were glaring at him, full of hate. Their fury didn't bother him at all, it was war. What hit him was the fight in their eyes. He looked at those ragged, unremarkable people holding weapons and clad in armor. It was the first time in his whole life he's seen those weaklings stand up for themselves.

Perhaps there was hope for Konoha, afterall.

They watched as Danzou closed his eyes, slowly exhaling. His expression looked defeated, almost resigned compared to the hard determination he displayed only moments prior. Hinata wondered what had changed in Danzou in such a short amount of time?

"I give up," he sighed. "You win."

With those words, Danzou simply offered up his hands for handcuffing. Civilians celebrated while everyone else let a sigh of relief. After their prisoner was secured, Tsunade dispersed the ANBU to assist others against the remaining Root, while Hinata went back to attending to her husband.

Even in his sleep, Kakashi looked disturbed. His brows creased, small moans escaping his lips. Hinata cursed Danzou for umpteenth time for doing this to her husband. Her blood boiled with rage just at the thought of Kakashi experiencing a living nightmare because of the old bastard. His teammates' deaths was a painful subject that had almost broke Kakashi before, and Hinata could only imagine the horror he must've felt at reliving it once again.

She kept stroking his hair, whispering soothing words even though there was no way for them to register in his mind. She didn't know what else to do so she will patiently wait until Kakashi wakes up. Thankfully, his wounds were quickly tended to by the best medics, so the only thing of immediate concern was his mental state. Who knew what kind of emotional state will he be in upon regaining consciousness.