Chapter 16: Waging War


BBAAMM!

"That." I say, then a siren starts to wail.

Minato, who had been a dozen feet away, is instantly behind me, hands on my shoulders.

"Lord Hokage, we are under attack. Kumo shinobi have gathered outside the village walls!"

"Everyone," the Hokage ordered, "to the wall. Instruct any genin and chūnin to evacuate the civilians to the bunkers. Once the people are all safe, the chūnin will reinforce us on the wall. Move out."

"Shisui-san. Take Aimisouma to the bunker." Minato looks down at me, and ruffles my hair while smiling.

"I will, Namikaze-san." The boy replies. "She'll be safe with me."

"You had better hope so." He says before disappearing with Kushina in a flash of yellow and red.

"Aimisouma, why don't you come with me?" He says kindly, offering his right hand.

"I guess we aren't gonna fight, huh?" I ask, worried about the banging. I reach up, and slip my left hand into his outstretched one.

"Nope. I'm going to take you somewhere safe until everything is back to normal."

"Ok-kay." I stutter.

"Ah, come on, everything will be fine. This could just be ANOTHER drill." He says, more than likely attempting to lighten the mood.

"I hope so..."

He gently pulls my hand, leading me out of the now empty arena.

We make our way through the congested streets. I can see many young men and women wearing leaf forehead protectors, directing the civilians, and asking them to stay calm. Men shout to their wives, from whom they have been separated. Twenty yards ahead I can see a kunoichi comforting a distraught toddler, while looking for the child's mother. I can hear people some screaming, while others are complaining. Faintly in the distance, I can make out the ring of metal clashing against metal. The cacophony of noises battle for my attention, as I attempt to block them out.

Shisui weaves his way through the crowd, towing me behind him. He grip on my hand both gentle and firm. He seems anxious to get to these 'bunkers'. Several familiar faces pass me while snaking through the crowd. I recognize the kind man from the ramen shop and a nurse from the hospital. Both seem calm and collected as they march along with the crowd.

I am standing in the middle of the village center when the crowds fall silent. Everyone is looking to the skies. Dozens of fiery objects are falling towards Konoha. I can see some getting deflected, several have been grabbed by snakes and frogs, but their are too many of them. Help these people or keep your promise?

"Papa... are we gonna die?" I hear a little girl ask, fear in her voice. Not if I can help it.


Namikaze Minato (A few minutes prior)


"I will, Namikaze-san." The young Uchiha replies. "She'll be safe with me."

"You had better hope so." I say. I turn, and scoop Kushina up into my arms. I activate my Hiraishin and flash us both to the outer city wall. The sight there is not a pleasant one.

Hundreds of shinobi from Kumogakure have gathered. A large segment of forest seem to have been cleared with explosive tags. I set Kushina down, and examine the crowds. At least they aren't here. Relief washes through me at the absence of A and 'Killer' B.

But the relief doesn't last very long.

"Catapults? Really?" Kushina mutters, clearly irritated. "Oh great, catapults with FLAMING rocks. Oh joy." She says, while adding some rather colorful swearing to the mix.

At that moment, the Sandaime arrives beside us. He quickly observes the scene. Seven rows of five catapults are scattered across the and declares, "We need to stop those before they can go launch."

"The mechanisms seem to be aided by some type of jutsu. A large amount of chakra is being used on each. " A Hyūga notes, Byakugan activated.

"Ino-Shika-Chō, go and take out as many of the catapults as you can. Minato, lead an offense team to take out as many enemy shinobi as possible. Chūnin, stay on the wall and prevent anyone from crossing." Hiruzen barks out these, and other orders rapid fire.

People start springing into action, however, not before a volley of the catapults are launched. The fly much higher than they should.

"Redirect those! The civilians are not clear yet!" The hokage yells.

I bite my thumb and go through a set of familiar hand signs. Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram. In the corner of my eye, I can see Orochimaru running through the same seals.

We slam out bleeding hands to the ground at the same moment. Gamabunta appears under me, lifting me off the ground. I can see a giant snake appear as well.

"Jump after those!" I shout, not having time for pleasantries. He does so, getting close enough that I can hit one with my three-prong kunai.

Several Hyūga work together to preform gale palm, redirecting one off course. Manda, and Orochimaru leap skywards, after another fireball.

I fly to the kunai I planted on the last blazing rock. I burn my arm in the process, while launching another kunai.

Two things happen at the exact same moment. The second kunai hits, and I see the boulders are covered in explosive tags.

A split second later, the tags are activated. I hiraishin back to the wall. I activate my kunai, and send the exploding boulders to the bottom of the lake at the valley of the end.

Many shinobi pause, to watch in horror, as thirty one explosive fireballs are launched into the city.

"The way the are ascending, they will fly very far upward, then most likely achieve terminal velocity on the way down." Shikashi observes.


Namikaze Aimisouma


I yank my hand from Shisui's grasp. He turns, eyeing me with concern. "Aimisouma-chan?"

"I need some space. Excuse me, sir? Can you move that way a little?"

"Huh?" He mumbles, confused.

I pull my scroll from my back and begin reading through it looking for something. In my haste, I almost miss what I am searching for. Heiwa no ken. The Sword of Peace. My great-great-great-grandfathers Ōdachi. When I find it, I run through the hand seals, and a three foot Japanese-style blade is in my hands. At the sudden appearance of the long weapon, those around me take several steps back.

A glance at the sky shows thirty-ish fiery rocks still falling towards us. I close my eyes and focus my chakra. I unsheathe the ōdachi and uncerimoiniously drop the scabbard on the ground.

"Aimisouma? What are you doing?"

"Helping."

With that, I drive the blade through my unrolled scroll into the earth beneath me, and release the chakra I had amassed.I grip the hilt of the ōdachi firmly.

What appears as a dome of silver bursts from the buried sword. Expanding in shape and size until it sat like a grey, half-sunken bubble resting on the entire city.

The streets had fallen completely silent. Not a word was uttered as blazing boulder hurtled through the air.

It felt like all of the oxygen was sucked out of the city and everyone inhaled and held their breath.

The first fire ball came in contact with the silver chakra dome.

It vanished.

As did the second, and the third, and the fourth.

A whooping cheer ran through the city, breaking the fearful silence. Evacuation procedures began once again, people making their way into the catacombs. Shisui stood in front of me, causing the crowd to spilt and not trample me. 'Stupid Fiery Rock' and a number, counting the boulders intercepted and sealed away.

As the twelfth flying fire rock connected with my wall, my eyes were starting to grow heavy.

At the twentieth, I was starting to sweat.

At the twenty-seventh, my arms and legs were shaking.

At the thirty first, I was dizzy, my body overly fatigued. The civilians are gone now, I assume they all got into the bunkers.

"That was the last one, Aimisouma-chan." Shisui's voice cuts through my hazy thoughts. I cease the flow of chakra, and the grey barrier disapates. I attempt to pull the sword from the dirt, but lack the strength to do so.

"Need help?" He asks softly, to which I nod feebly. He reaches over and lifts the blade. He sheathes the ōdachi, and slings the strap over his shoulder. He pulls on the scroll, but it refuses to budge from the ground. He pulls again with a huff. "How much does this thing weigh?!" He exclaims.

"A lot more now that I put all those boulders in it." I say dryly. "Just leave it. It's not like anyone else can get my stuff out of it."

With that, Shisui scoops me up, a hand under my knees, another on the small of my back. I wrap my arms around his neck. Tiredly, I let my head droop against his chest.

"Let's get you to the bunkers." He mutters, as he takes off running, holding me tight to his torso. I nod, and let me eyes sag. I feel as if I have barely blinked, but when I open my eyes, Shisui is lowering me to a section of empty floor.

"Itachi-kun?" I ask in a daze.

"Hello, Aimisouma-san." The boy's voice responds kindly. I look up to see him, a confused look on his face. A kind, smiling woman sits beside him. They have the same dark hair and eyes.

"Aunt Mikoto, can you look after her? I need to report to the wall."

"Of course, anything for my favorite nephew." She grins cheekily at him.

"I'm also your only nephew." He retorts.

"Details, details." The woman smiles, and waves the Shisui away.

"Thank you." He lays my heirloom blade down next to me, and vanishes in a cloud of smoke.

I lay with my head resting on my arm for quite a while. I drift in and out of sleep. To tired to stay awake, but to nervous to fall asleep.

Eventually I fall into a deep sleep. Upon awakening, I see Itachi asleep, his head in his mothers lap. I smile at the sight, while feeling a small ping of jealousy. At my stirring, the kind looking woman turns to look at me. "Hi ma'am." I say quietly.

"Hello. I am Uchiha Mikoto." She offers her hand, to which I reach out tentatively, and shake. "I believe you've met my husband Fugaku and my son Itachi."

"I am Namikaze Aimisouma." I smile at her shyly.

"I know." At her statement, I raise a inquisitive brow. "Everyone in here is all a-buzz talking about what you did out there."

At her statement, my cheeks flush. I glance away, only to meet the eyes on several others watching me. "Really?" I ask, an anxious undertone in my voice.

"Many have been." She confirms.

I look around. The room has no windows, and is lit with industrial lighting. I have no way to gauge the time.

"Mikoto-san...How long have we been here?"

"About 15 hours," She sighs. "You've spent most of that time sleeping."

"Do...do you know if Minato-niisan is okay?" I ask, my voice betraying my nervousness.

"I am sure he is fine. He is an amazing jōnin. After all, not everybody gets to marry my best friend. He is way to tough for anyone to hurt." I feel like she is trying to reassure and distract me. It doesn't really work, but I am curious.

"Are you friends with Kushina-san?"

"I am. We've been friends since we went to the Ninja academy together."

"Are you a ninja, too?"

"I am. Although I retired early to get married and have Itachi."

Is she the same age as Kushina? Then why does she have a kid my age? Never mind. I don't wanna be rude.

"Do we know anything about what's going on out there?"

"They told us that they blew up all of the catapults that were shooting the large burning rocks at the city, and that many of the attackers have fled. They are just clearing everything, and making sure none got into the city."

"Oh. Okay. That's good, right?"

"It is. It means that everything is going well, and that we all will be able to go back to out homes soon."

"Good." I say, and give an ear-to-ear grin.