Sum of our Parts
Shoulders of Giants
***I do not make any $$$ on Naruto. ***
"Le gasp!" normal talking
'das fuken?' normal thinking
"set-you-on-fire-no-jutsu" Jutsu and other techniques
"I will murder you!" Tailed beast talking
***SooP***
"Where am I?" a voice rang out, the owner's sight slowly taking in the dark and desolate area in which they awoke.
The redhead pushed herself up to her feet and noticed a distinctive lack of pain, quite surprising considering her last memories.
There were no stars to navigate by, and no lights in any direction. Instead her surroundings seemed to glow faintly, providing just enough illumination to navigate the flat and barren ground.
So she began to walk.
***SooP***
The gathered Ninja stared in shock and awe at the blonde Uzumaki.
She stood before them, cloaked in what appeared to be a blazing golden outfit. Her skin glowed with a faint hue while her pupils hand changed to small crosses.
Power literally radiated off of her.
Tears continued to roll down her face, yet the rest of her demeanor was calm, as if her emotions had been sealed away.
Those who knew her parents were instantly reminded of the Namikaze during a battle. Calm on the surface, and yet underneath a sea of emotion.
Then the Kunoichi directed her wrath upon those most deserving.
The ground began to shake as roots tore up from it, lightning flashed across the sky where previously there were no clouds, a terrible and fierce wind seemed to emanate from every direction at once
It was if nature itself was enraged at those who had taken away the life of Akane Uzumaki.
***SooP***
"Enough of this bullshit! Hidan flank the bitch while Kakuzu and I provide covering…"
The Konoha forces moved forward to intercept the Akatsuki when a voice rang out instead.
"They are mine."
It was not a request, nor a plea for them to grant her a favor.
It was a command, given by a leader to those under them.
In that moment all of those present knew that this girl would become Hokage, for no one dared to challenge her. Even Jiraiya and Kakashi, who had both served in war, gave light bows of obedience.
The girl's allies fell back behind her.
Kisame sneered in defiance. Despite how powerful the Kyuubi was there was no chance that this girl would be able to defeat three S-Ranked Ninja.
Hell there was very little chance that any of the Konoha forces would be able to make it out of this encounter alive.
Hidan took a step forward, intent on bringing the girl into melee combat.
In a second the girl had begun weaving through hand signs at a furious pace, which even Kakashi admitted he lost count of.
Finally, the girl slammed her hand down onto the ground, before roaring out the name of her Jutsu.
"Life Release: Last Avatar"
The area began to shake, as if the Kunoichi had just called forth an earthquake of epic proportions.
Then a massive object began to tear through the ground next to her.
It appeared like a massive rock, and continued rising into the air even after passing the girl's height.
Moments later she too began to rise, as the ground surrounding them also lifted up towards the heavens.
They continued rising, while the Ninja watched on in mixtures of shock and terror.
"What in Kami's name…" Kurenai muttered refusing to believe her eyes as the true implications of what her student had done began taking shape.
When it was finished the blonde stood on the shoulder of a massive humanoid creation, made of rock and earth.
From what Kakashi had seen the form seemed to be as large, if not even larger, than what the Kyuubi had been all those years ago.
Then the most curious thing of all happened; the massive stone figure turned its head slightly, as if giving a questioning look to the girl who stared down like a vengeful Goddess.
Without even acknowledging the look the teenager gave her command.
"Kill them."
The warrior pulled back its fist, one several times larger than a house, and dropped it down towards the money obsessed man.
The attack impacted, and utterly annihilated the surrounding space, knocking down trees and cratering the ground with just the force of the blow.
But Kakuzu was not an S-Ranked criminal for nothing.
He had managed to switch places with the heart that belonged to water just in time to save himself.
This proved to be only a temporary relief, as the massive creature followed up with a, surprisingly swift, backhand.
Again one of his hearts had taken the blow, thus leaving him with only fire and lightning remaining.
Those two struck out, launching ranged attacks against the Jinchuriki in hopes that her fall would defeat the massive creature as well.
Instead the giant raised its hand, easily blocking the assault and appearing to be none the worse for it.
When it was lowered a massive Rasenshuriken tore through the air, completely obliterating the heart associated with lightning.
The last heart fell when the creation 'clapped' its hands together, sending a shockwave of force the slammed into the ground even as the impact smashed the creation of Kakuzu's into dust.
At this point the original man snuck back into the shadows of the forest, hoping to live to fight another day and avoid any more of the blonde's wrath.
***SooP***
"Hello Akane Uzumaki."
The Kunoichi spun around, before calling for her sealed weapons. None came, and a tingle of fear rolled down her spine as the girl faced the man.
Before her stood a fairly young man with orange hair and a small, almost sad, smile adorning his face.
"Who are you, where are we?"
"My name is Nagato, and we are… well I suppose the best way to describe it is 'the place between destinations'." But I suppose you could call it Limbo.
"So I am dead?"
"Not quite, you are on the edge of life and death. I was sent here to retrieve you while your situation is discussed."
"Discussed by who?"
"Kami, the Shinigami, Yami take your pick."
"The God's of this world are discussing me?"
"Indeed, you have become quite the topic of interest since your 'demise', mainly due to the fact that you aren't supposed to be dead."
The girl scoffed in annoyance.
"You are starting to sound like a Hyuga."
"Oh? Is the talk of 'fate' not appealing to you?"
"Fate is a bunch of bullshit. So you can go tell whoever the hell it is you are working for that they can cram the idea up their ass."
The man seemed to smile even wider at her response.
"Good answer, I myself never enjoyed such a concept when I was younger."
"Why were you sent to me anyway? I don't think we have ever met before."
"Not directly, but indirectly we have. I was known as Pein before my death."
The instinctive part of Akane wanted to immediately place herself on guard, that this was an enemy of hers. But the logical side of her brain rang out and reminded her that not only was she unarmed, but they were not even alive at this point.
"That still doesn't answer my question of 'why'."
"No I suppose it doesn't. The true answer is that I volunteered to come here. If you are to be brought back, then I am the best choice to enact the will of the Gods. If you are to fall…"
"Then you would be more than happy to kill me."
"No, after your sister spared my life… well quite a few things were revealed to my blind eyes before I passed on."
***SooP***
The masked Akatsuki growled in rage as he watched on from behind a tree in the forest.
Not only had the Jinchuriki been far more powerful than they had been told but there had been no information at all on this new technique.
Even worse he had lost four of his 'lives' in the process, making the fight too dangerous to continue any longer.
He would escape, find a few more 'donors' and then return when it was convenient for him.
At least that was the plan before a hand came up from behind him, covering his mouth, while a white hot fire burned through his stomach.
The sound of chirping filled the area as a terrifyingly calm voice whispered next to him.
"Do you really think you could just walk away? Did you or your team truly believe we would not do everything in our power to hunt you down for what you did to her?"
The lightning attack slowly shifted upwards, tearing through more of the man's organs as he coughed up blood onto his mask.
Yet his shouts were stifled by the silver haired man's palm
"This is the end for you. Relish in the fact that you are one of the few opponents who have managed to elicit such a reaction from me. For taking that girl's life I have found strength and power that I had long since forgotten. Your actions have reawakened the ANBU within me and for that reason only you have my thanks. But for killing someone precious to me I hope you burn in the darkest circles of whatever hell awaits you."
With that Kakashi tore through the remainder of the man, ending his life once and for all.
***SooP***
The Shark-faced man launched forward with his immortal companion.
Sure Kakuzu had been taken out quite easily but that was due to the man relying on trickery and overwhelming his opponent rather than overpowering them.
The Jinchuriki wouldn't be able to stop Hidan and Kisame's blade and power would be more than enough to bring her down.
The two men leapt up onto the giant's leg, before racing upwards towards where the small girl stood, looking down with a stoic expression.
The giant itself seemed almost… annoyed by the turn of events and swept one hand along it's leg, throwing the Jashinist into the ground.
The other Shinobi had managed to dodge the assault and continue upwards, all while avoiding any attempts at knocking him off.
Finally, he reached the young girl, and swung his legendary sword at her without hesitation.
The blonde dodged backwards before throwing another Rasenshuriken towards her enemy, who smiled and cut through the attack.
"You really should research your opponent more you dumb brat. My sword eats Chakra which means that anything you do is…"
He was interrupted as the girl sprinted forward and grabbed onto the sword itself.
"The hell do you think you are doing!? It doesn't matter if you are a Jinchuriki or not, your Biju Chakra will be gone in…"
A howl of pain erupted from the weapon itself and as the monstrous man watched on in horror as it began to mutate and change, adopting toad-like qualities, before it shifted into a solid stone state.
"Wh-what the hell did you do!?"
"You should research your opponent more. Natural Energy is the key component to Sage Mode and if it is not balanced correctly then the result is the user being turned to stone instead."
"YOU BITCH I'LL KILL YOU!"
Before the Shinobi could make good on his threats a clawed, golden clad had ripped its way into his stomach.
The man coughed up blood, and cursed his own stupidity at dropping his guard. Leaping backwards, and out of the girl's combat range, he stumbled slightly before making hand signs to try and ranged assault.
Unfortunately, he had forgotten one very important detail.
They were not fighting on neutral ground.
A massive hand surrounded him an instant later, closing in and crushing his body like one might crush an insect.
The remains were then drawn back, as the giant hurled the Akatsuki member through the air with all of its strength.
His body impacted a nearby hill at hundreds of miles an hour.
There was not enough of his corpse left to identify him with.
***SooP***
With a deep groan Hidan managed to push himself off the ground, noting that several of his bones were either fractured or even broken.
Yet still he survived.
He always survived.
A slow chuckle grew into a roaring laughter as he turned to mock the girl.
"DON'T YOU SEE YOU STUPID WHORE? YOU CAN'T KILL ME, I AM IMMORTAL! I WORSHIP THE ALL POWERFU…"
His rant was interrupted by the shadow of an impossibly large foot covering the area.
The giant then stomped the man into the ground, sending another massive shockwave through the area.
The creature took a step back once more, almost as if to survey the damage when the laughter continued, albeit considerably more haggard.
"I TOLD YOU!"
***SooP***
The Avatar turned to give a questioning stare at the girl, who nodded in response.
It turned and delivered another massive stomp into the man.
He continued taunting even still.
Now the creature was actually puzzled. It had no knowledge of any such thing as 'Immortality' yet this man had survived two attacks that should have turned him into paste.
Curious
A slight tilting of its head was the only reaction that the Jashinist received from the stone warrior, before another stomp came down onto his broken body.
Still he taunted.
***SooP***
"Natsuko-chan, he appears to be immortal, you already took out the other two so let me handle this one… for Akane-chan." A voice rang out from the snake mistress.
The girl turned her head towards the woman, and gave an imperceptible nod, before releasing the Jutsu that held her creation onto this world.
The giant nodded, before slowly sinking back into the earth, and placing the girl safely back on the ground.
***SooP***
Anko slowly made her way towards the battered Akatsuki member.
He still ranted and raged, despite being in a rather large foot shaped crater.
"Well well well, what do we have here? Looks like you got the crap kicked out of you… and if the smell is any indication I would say that is fairly accurate."
"LISTEN BITCH, ONCE KAKUZU GET'S HIS LAZY ASS IN GEAR AND REPAIRS ME I AM GOING TO SACRIFICE YOU THEN THAT STUPID BRAT!"
"Considering that Kakashi went off to 'remove' your friend I highly doubt that is going to happen. He may be an S-Ranked criminal but Hatake wasn't an ANBU Captain for nothing you know. My guess is that the other 'immortal' is already dead. That just leaves you doesn't it?"
"SO WHAT YOU GOING TO INTERROGATE ME NOW HUH? MAKE ME TALK OR SOME BULLSHIT!?"
"No I think you have talked enough for one lifetime. I am here to make sure that you are never heard again."
With that the woman took out a small case, which contained a handful of senbon.
The then threw them into the man's neck.
He glanced around, before laughing out once more.
"THAT'S IT? ALL THAT STUPID DRAMATIC CRAP AND ALL YOU DO IS…"
It was at that moment that the Jashinist found it getting increasingly difficult to speak.
"Ah it must be taking effect. Looks like I was right and that it would be quite efficient when used. Since you probably have a lot of questions, but find yourself unable to ask them, I will answer what I assume you are about to ask. Those senbon were poisoned, like most tend to be. The difference is that these were dipped in a very special toxin created using the Kusanagi and a combination of my own toxins. Ironically it was Akane-chan who suggested it."
The woman paused, staring up into the sky in remembrance of the girl, as tears began falling from her face.
"Why did you have to take her from us? Why her? Didn't she suffer enough in her short life? Couldn't you assholes have gone to Kumo instead and gotten your asses kicked there?"
Hidan tried to retort, to 'rub salt into the wounds' so to speak. But by now he could no longer move any part of his body.
Instead he was forced to watch on with unblinking eyes.
After a few minutes the woman composed herself and continued on with her explanation, "Like I was saying it was a new poison we created. It mixes the powerful paralytic with a caustic neurotoxin I perfected from the bastard who called himself my Sensei. The effect is quite interesting it literally dissolves the portion of your nervous system that allows impulses to be sent to various points of your body. In simplified terms it paralyzes your body… forever. Now normally this would be a powerful weapon in combat by itself… but for you… well you are immortal after all. So now I am going to bury you, deep and dark in the ground. I will bury you so far down that no one will ever find you. There you will stay for the rest of eternity. So enjoy your immortality asshole."
With that the woman began a series of hand signs for a Jutsu that she had demanded Kakashi teach her.
Moments later the ground below the, now frozen, man opened up and swallowed him into a near bottomless hole.
He fell for hours until reaching his final resting place.
***SooP***
'Natsuko-chan… I am so sorry about Akane…'
The blonde didn't trust herself to responded, and merely nodded slightly to acknowledge the Biju.
'She helped me. Somehow she managed to give you the other half of my power. I don't know how but she kept out the negative influence that came with it… Your sister was an amazing person Natsuko-chan.'
'Yes, she was. Despite everything that she has gone through…' Here the girl had to pause, forcing herself not to break down in sobs at having to think about what happened to her sister. 'She was still thought of others before herself… she always put me first even though she suffered because of me.'
The Kyuubi thought for a moment, trying to think of how to word her next statement.
'I don't think she regretted any of it Natsuko-chan. She was one of the rare types of people that would have given everything up a thousand times just to help who she cared about. I doubt that she had any regrets concerning you when she passed on.'
The blonde nodded, allowing the fiery cloak to fade, and returning to her normal state.
***SooP***
"Hello my child, we have finally come to a decision." A warm, motherly voice rang out.
Akane turned to the beautiful woman, clad all in white, in curiosity.
"It has been deemed that you are far too important for the sake of this world to merely allow fate to claim you before your destined time. Too many things are dependent on you. Add to that the fact that you should not be here to begin with and…"
"Excuse me, what do you mean by that?"
Nagato could only gape at the girl, had she just interrupted Kami?
The woman chuckled in an angelic manner before continuing on. "You should not have passed on from the extraction."
"I thought that Jinchuriki died if their Biju is removed."
"They do, but you are sort of the exception to the rule. Due to your heritage, and the cruelties of the creature locked within you, your life force and Chakra are both far denser than nearly any creature before you. Because of that alone you would have survived, albeit barely. The second reasoning is that you slowly removed the Kyuubi's influence on you and your life force through seals. This adds in another reason that you should have survived. The only reason that you are here now is because of your last sacrifice. By using your body as a last minute conduit to your sister and the Kyuubi inside of her you managed to reunite the two halves of its essence. But by doing this you also overloaded your own Chakra and life networks."
Akane merely shrugged, to her it had been worth it to help her sister in the end.
"Such a noble sacrifice cannot be shrugged off. For always taking care of your sister, and even those who you had no real reason for doing so, we will reverse the fate you imposed upon yourself. Nagato if you would please."
The orange haired man was still staring in shock, it wasn't every day that the God of all creation commended someone and offered them a second chance after all.
After a few moments, and finally the Goddess clearing her voice to gain his attention, the man nodded and activated his Rinnegan.
***SooP***
The Ninja slowly made their way back to where the two youngest girls still stood.
Though they had won, and had not suffered any casualties in the battles, a sense of defeat still hung in the air. None believed that three S-Ranked criminals were worth the life of the young girl.
"What am I going to do now? She was all I had left; she was all I ever had…" Natsuko whispered out.
"You are going to stay with Hanabi-chan and me, you are not going to go home and be by yourself." Hinata answered firmly.
"You still have us Natsuko. I know that it does not come close to what you had before but… we are not going to let you fall apart and into depression. You are too strong for that and Akane would not have wanted it." Anko chimed in.
"She's right, Akane would have wanted us to take care of you and that is what we are going to do. She saved my student and I fully intend to make sure her sacrifice was not in vein." The cyclopean Jonin nodded as well.
"Thank you but I…"
Suddenly the redheaded, formerly dead Kunoichi, gasped out. Then began violently coughing and rolling onto her side.
"Holy crap that hurts." The girl groaned out.
The others watched on, frozen in shock, before Hinata snapped into her 'medic mode'.
Healing Jutsu began flowing from her hands as she went through every test her mind could come up with.
"Heart rate fast but acceptable, breathing normal, no internal bleeding, Chakra flow weak but expected, no broken bones, no immediate life threatening injuries… Kami it's a miracle."
The blonde broke into happy sobs as she threw herself into her sister with a fierce hug.
"Bit… lighter… Natsuko… can't… breathe…"
The girl loosened a bit, but did not move from her position of sobbing into the Kunoichi's torso.
The Sanin was the first of the 'adults' to recover and ask a question "A-Akane… how?"
"Apparently my life is far too interesting to let end here. Oh and Nagato-Sama says hello and that he is sorry."
The white haired man's expression became even more shocked, before it settled on acceptance and he quickly moved to embrace the two girls, tears flowing down his face as the full scope of what happened finally settled in.
Anko and Kurenai followed shortly after, with Hinata joining in seconds later.
Kakashi tried to join the group hug, with a handle placed subtly on Anko's ass, but was met with a smack to the back of his head from Yugao.
"Let them have their moment… pervert…"
"Mah mah don't be so upset Yugao-chan. After all this is a happy occasion. We must celebrate!"
"If you even suggest anything sexual I will tell Hayate that you solicited me and the Hokage that you copped a feel from the Uzumakis."
Kakashi paled at both of these outcomes, but more so at the thought of Tsunade smashing his testicles in.
"So mean…."
***SooP***
After the hug had let off, and Akane had recovered enough to stand, Hinata gained a determined look in her eyes and walked over to the girl.
"Sorry for worrying you Hina…"
But the Hyuga wasn't interested in the apology, as noted when she put her finger to the girl's lips motioning her to be silent.
"I love you."
With that the pale eyed girl took a step forward, practically pressing their bodies together, and smashed her lips into the redhead's.
A split second later she shoved her tongue down the shocked girl's throat with as much passion as possible.
The others watched on, equally shocked, before Kakashi broke out in perverted giggles, Asuma began violently leaking blood from his nose, Anko gave a 'whoop' for joy, and Jiraiya started taking notes.
The other women were not amused in the slightest at their teammates.
After a minute passed Kurenai decided to break up the 'make out session', "Hinata let the poor girl up for air!"
The medical practitioner did as was requested with a happy, and sort of 'drunken', look on her face.
Yugao swore she heard the girl mutter something about the taste of apples.
"Hinata, you should make out with Natsuko next." Kakashi whispered out, just loud enough for the girl to hear.
The older Kunoichi turned fierce glares on the man, promising pain beyond compare for his little comment.
In her state, however, Hinata seemed to think that it had come from her own mind. Grabbing the blonde, who let out a startled 'eep' in response, Hinata once more mashed her mouth with another's.
"Kakashi, if you become Hokage I will follow you to the ends of the Earth." Asuma muttered out, watching in awe at the new scene.
"Me too…" The cyclopean Jonin responded, oblivious to what had been said as he stared in perverted bliss.
Jiraiya's notepad had caught fire from how fast he was writing.
Finally, Hinata broke off that kiss as well, before Kakashi figured he might as well go for broke.
"Natsuko you should kiss Akane, just to make it fair."
Hinata's eyes widened, as blood began pouring from her nose at the thought. She never nodded in agreement so fast in her life.
This time the redhead glared at the man as well.
"Oh don't worry about that ero-Inu. I have something… especially tasty planned for Akane-chan when we get back to Konoha."
This was too much for the two male Jonin, and they were promptly rocketed back in geysers of blood.
***SooP***
"Reporting for debriefing Hokage-Sama." Kakashi announced, snapping into an ANBU pose.
Tsunade did a double take in shock, she had never seen the silver haired man be so… proper before.
She also noticed that Natsuko never seemed to be more than five feet from her sister, almost clinging to her most of the time.
Anko and Kurenai were standing behind the two, glancing around as if constantly on guard.
Hinata was standing far closer to the two sisters than normal Ninja ethics would deem proper.
Even Jiraiya seemed to be tensed, as if ready to fight some unseen enemy.
"Is everything… okay?"
"It is now Hokage-Sama."
The woman caught the meaning immediately. Something had happened during the mission.
"Very well, before we begin let me just say that I am incredibly relieved to see you alive and well Akane."
"Thank you Tsunade-san," The woman's heart leapt at the use of honorifics, she had made it one of her missions in life to be considered one of those the girl trusted on a first name basis. "Have you managed to apprehend the traitor then?"
The others turned towards the girl, both confused and shocked.
The Senju merely smirked. She was starting to wonder which of the two sisters would be the better Hokage when the time came to pass the hat on.
"Indeed we have, and after this meeting I need to speak with you about that in private."
The girl nodded in acknowledgement.
***SooP***
The explanations of what had occurred during the mission had ended with the Hokage leaping over the desk and pulling the redhead into a massive hug.
The thought of losing another person in her life had the woman on the verge of tears.
Afterwards the woman had explained that the traitor had been found guilty, and that sentencing would be held in a few hours by the council.
The two Uzumaki, along with their team, had been told to join as well.
***SooP***
"Danzo Shimura, you have been found guilty of all crimes of which you have been accused. This council will now move onto sentencing."
The man glared at the village leader in response.
With a gesture the Nara clan leader stepped forward.
"After some deliberation we have decided that the only punishment fit for this man is death Hokage-Sama."
The woman nodded, before another voice spoke up.
"Hokage-Sama, may I have a word with you in private for a moment? I wanted to speak with you before the sentencing took place but you were preoccupied."
"Of course Itachi-San."
The two Ninja stepped off to the side, and out of hearing distance, before the man began whispering.
Minutes later the woman's growls of rage could be heard, and she promptly punched a crater into a nearby wall.
With barely concealed rage the woman stepped back to the podium to face the criminal.
"Due to some… information… that I have just received we will be changing the sentencing slightly. Death via decapitation is too good for scum like you and so I have thought of a considerably more fitting end. Akane Uzumaki please step forward."
The redhead did as commanded with a confused expression, matched by all the others in the room.
"Akane, it has been revealed to us that the man standing before you is the one responsible for the, 'lost month' of your life all those years ago. As such I pass sentencing completely onto you. Deal with him as you please."
The killing intent in the room erupted, causing all civilian council members to faint, any most Ninja to gasp in shock.
The fury on Natsuko's face could have given the man a heart attack.
The redhead merely stared at him with a stoic expression before turning and gesturing for her Sensei to approach.
The two conversed for a brief second before the woman nodded.
Walking up to the criminal the young girl proceeded to draw a series of Fuinjutsu on his forehead before nodding to the woman, whose hands blazed into signs.
Moments later the man gasped out in agony, before slumping over to the floor.
He continued breathing, but his eyes were empty and the rest of his body remained unresponsive.
"Akane-chan, what did you do to the bastard?" Anko inquired, wanting to torture the man herself for a few days.
"I am sure that Jiraiya mentioned that I was working on a method to block all Genjutsu back during the Chunin exams correct?" The various nods gave the girl her answer, "I was unsuccessful, but what I did figure out was quite the opposite, how to make a Genjutsu permanent."
The horrified looks from most of the Ninja showed just how powerful such a thing was.
"Which one did you put him under Kurenai-san?" Kakashi growled out, slightly annoyed himself that he was not given a few hours of 'play time' with the bastard.
"The most fitting one we could think of. It forces the target to experience the worst memories of someone. The problem is that it is doesn't last very long, only a second or two normally. Thus it is used as a short distraction. But with that seal…."
"He will be forced to live through the hell that he put my sister through… for the rest of his life."
Those gathered winced at the malice that the blonde had used in her tone.
"Should have let me have some 'fun' with the asshole first…" Anko grumbled out.
***SooP***
"Now that the Akatsuki are all but destroyed I would like to explain what was discussed during the Kage conference." Tsunade declared to all of the Ninja of Konoha, who had called to gather in the meeting hall. "The man, who refers to himself as 'Madara' has declared war against the world, and through Jiraiya's spy network we have confirmation that he has some sort of army that threatens us all. All of the Ninja nations have thus formed a temporary alliance until this threat has passed."
"What is the plan for this war Hokage-Sama?" Asuma called out.
"Simple, we know that it will take him at least six months to finish creating his forces. Until that time, we will be looking for him… and training. If we cannot stop him by then we will join up with the other nations to crush him once and for all."
The various Ninja nodded, each preparing their own training for the war to come.
***Omake***
"You may have won the battle but you will lose the war Uchiha."
"Considering that your fate is going to be decided in a few hours I doubt you will live long enough to see it either way Danzo."
"Perhaps, but you have already lost her."
Itachi flinched slightly, before turning to the man.
"Oh you are surprised that I am aware of your interest in the Uzumaki? Please, my spy network was almost as extensive as Jiraiya's was. Why do you think I used that during our battle?"
"It matters not what you think."
"True, but it does matter what she thinks. She is too damaged to have a relationship with you and you know it. The 'process' broke her in too many ways. We both know that she will never be able to have a relationship with a man."
"If that is true then I will respect her wishes."
"An Uchiha allowing himself to be bested by a Hyuga? Truly the times are changing. If you truly were your father's son then you would take what is owed to you and rebuild your clan, and Konoha's future, by any means necessary. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few after all."
Itachi seemed to take stock in what the man said, listening even closer, much to the traitor's delight.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Genes such as Akane's should not be wasted, and she has shown a passing interest in you. You should let nature take its course and simply force her to bear your children."
"Force her?"
"Yes… she might disagree at first but like all women she will be broken to your will easily enough. Then you will be able to rebuild your clan stronger than ever. I can see the desire in your eyes for her, would it not be far more logical to act on them rather than holding yourself back?"
"I think…"
"Yes…"
"I think that I will enjoy watching her tear your heart out of your chest you monster."
With that Itachi turned to leave, which put a deeper frown on the former council member's face for being led along in such a way.
***Omake 2***
Hinata crept through the ever growing twilight until she reached her destination.
The Senju compound, and home of her two teammates.
The Hyuga girl knew she shouldn't interrupt. That she should leave them in peace but… she couldn't get Natsuko's words out of her head.
"I have something… especially tasty planned for Akane-chan when we get back to Konoha."
The pale eyed girl had to know what she meant.
So she knocked, almost silently, on the door.
Moments later Akane answered and invited her inside and lead her to the dining room where she had previously been told to wait.
"What brings you here Hinata? Is everything alright?"
"Yes, I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were both okay."
The redhead nodded before a voice called out from a nearby room.
"Alright Akane-chan, time for your surprise."
Hinata's heart began pounding in her chest, her hands sweating as dozens of perverted images flashed through her mind.
In walked Natsuko… carrying a large pot of ramen.
The Byakugan wielder resisted the urge to face palm. Of course that was what the blonde had meant, why she had thought it would be anything else was… silly.
"Oh hey Hinata-chan, are you joining us tonight?"
"No no I was just stopping by to make sure that you two were okay. Hanabi is waiting for me at home." With that the girl ran a few simple medical Jutsus over the formerly deceased girl, and noted everything was perfectly normal. Giving a slight bow to both sisters Hinata excused herself, allowing Akane to walk to out, and headed home, shaking her head at how ridiculous her mind had mad the situation.
"Well that certainly was strange, don't you think Natsuk…"
When the seal master walked back into the room her eyes had widened to epic levels.
Her sister was still there, but was dressed in nothing except for the ramen.
"Like what you see Akane-chan?" the blonde practically purred out.
"N-N-Natsuko what are you…"
"How about we take a bet?"
"Wh-what?"
"I bet that that I can get you to call me Natsuko-chan by the end of the night." The blonde whispered out huskily as she slowly approached her sister.
It was the one time that Akane would lose a bet to her sister.
***A/N***
So I hadn't actually planned for this arc to end on chapter 30 originally… just sort of happened that way I guess.
Akane survived YAY! Originally I had it as she knew that she would survive, and had placed herself into a Zabuza-like coma… but it felt too ridiculous after reading it over.
Also I would like to give a huge shout out to all my commentators. You guys made this chapter in a way. Originally I had the Akatsuki fighting the various Konoha Ninja, but then after going through all the comments a couple times I realized that it was extremely unsatisfying and I wanted Natsuko to play a far greater role in the revenge.
Now we see how powerful Life Release can truly be.
I am particularly proud of how I dealt with Danzo. I had almost forgotten what to do with him until I remembered that conversation from the Chunin exam section. Quite a fitting end in my opinion.
*For those of you who had been asking, the "pairings" have been decided, although they will still be far from important and mostly remain as side interactions, or the occasional Omake. I have chosen Akane x Hinata with a bit of Natsuko thrown in for Yuri goodness.
I had a lot of problems choosing between Itachi and Hinata until one of my readers reminded me of something.
Hinata has been developed, and has played an important role, throughout the story whereas Itachi wasn't really introduced until the Chunin exams. Even then he was very minor.
Reading back over the story I recalled that Hinata was actually supposed to be the main pairing, the first real instance being the "training in the rain" scene with her and Akane.
I had actually forgotten about that until recently.
Sorry all of you Itachi x Akane fans, I might make a few alternate reality scenes between them as Omakes later on but… what can I say, Hinata x Uzumaki sisters makes me squeal with excitement.
Another little time skip, to justify a few fights that will be taking place later on, before the Fourth Shinobi War officially kicks in. As promised there will be quite a few twists and turns but overall I expect this will be a slightly shorter arc than the others, mainly due to the fact I never actually read this far into the manga and I am sort of just skimming over canon for this part hehe.
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I had a lot of fun rewriting it.
