Hello everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; I hope you all enjoy it and with nothing else to say lets begin.
Ashigaru Kitsune: Chapter 10
Lightning Front: 2 years and 6 months into the war
Naruto was touching the necklace that Ayame had given him all those years ago when he left Konoha; not once in the 2 years and a half years he's been gone has he ever taken it off, so far she was right it was good luck.
'Just one more day' Naruto thought as he kissed the necklace and stuffed it between his shirt and chest.
"Naruto" Asuma called putting out his cigarette "Colonel has called us; we got our orders" he said as he walked off.
Naruto walked to the designated meeting area with asuma which was of course their new 'home'; as Naruto walked over the hill he saw it, Orihime.
Colonel Hojo named the tank long before Asuma and Naruto came along; Orihime was a thing of terrifying beauty that could only exist in war. She was 27-ton mechanical marvel; 25 feet long, 14 feet wide and 8 feet high, with a 105 horse power engine. She had 5 ports to mount the new rotating ballista's (gatling guns except with bolts instead of bullets) and 3 ports for Asuma or any other crewmember to use a fire jutsu if they had one available. (Imagine a British Mark 4 tank from WW1)
When they got permission from the commander they were allowed to paint the tank; Asuma painted a very accurate portrait of Kurenai on his spot on the right forward port, Yujiro the driver painted a tiger face on the front of his position, Colonel Hojo painted a image of a geisha on his commander position, Sado the engineer who was a samurai before painted a picture of a ronin since in his words 'he strayed from the path of the samurai'.
Naruto walked closer to the tank and walked by his position in the front left port where on the side there was painted the image of doom that plagued Konoha for over 12 years; the 9 tailed fox.
"Naruto glad you can make it" Colonel Hojo said as Naruto stood with his crew:
"Ok men this is it; the army has been battering away at the enemy for a week now. Our time to break through the enemy line has come; at 0600 hours tomorrow the infantry will attack the enemy trench line and we will follow up behind and exploit the gap. Our objective is the village of Chosokabe; a important railway hub and supply depot. Once we take this the entire line will collapse and we along with the cavalry will push on through and mop up the enemy; men this is what we've been training for. The lightning army is on it's last legs; once we break through we will be one step closer to victory, all I ask is that you keep your heads straight and watch out for each other."
Naruto and his crew stood in silence; 2 and a half years of hell they had to endure, now they were close to the end, closer to home.
0555 the next day
Naruto was in the tank clutching his necklace once again; he was scared. The Battle of Wave, the Battle of Spring country, the Uprising in Konoha; none of that even compared to the amount of pressure he was feeling.
"Get ready lads" Hojo said "they're about to go over the top" he said. Naruto closed his eyes and thought of all his loved ones, Asuma kissed his ring, Yujiro prayed that his ancestors watch over him, Sado was making his peace with death as he wanted to rejoin his father in the afterlife. Hojo however was looking at his watch; then the next moment a whistle sounded through the morning fog.
All along the trench line the first wave of soldiers in their olive-green uniforms and black helmets rose up and charged across the muddy desolate field of no mans land. Naruto held his breath as he saw the infantry charge ahead; for a good 5 minutes he heard the yells and battle cries of men eager to enter battle. The next 15 minutes as a symphony of horror that shook Naruto and his crew down to their cores; the screams of the dead and dying was carried on the wind as explosions and fire erupted in the distance.
The fog obscured the carnage and as the sounds of battle died down; the next thing that happened was a sign to Naruto that this battle was going to even worse than he imagined, a red flare. A red flare was the universal code of a failed attack; as soon as that flare went up another whistle blew and the second wave of soldiers went into the carnage that awaited beyond the fog.
"What the fuck are we waiting for" Naruto shouted as the sounds of battle started up again "we should be going in" Naurto yelled.
"No we have to wait for the signal" Hojo said trying to calm his crew down; as the minutes dragged on the sounds of battle echoes throught the air. Only this time it lasted for 30 minutes instead of 15.
As soon as the sounds died down a frantic knocking came from the entrance hatch; Hojo opened it too see a messanger.
"Colonel Hojo; change of plans. You and your tank company will assault with the third wave" he said to Colonel Hojo's surprise.
"What the hell is going on over there" Hojo asked.
"The bombardment didn't do shit; the fortifications are still in place. We lost 2 Brigades already, 8,000 men; we only got you and 2 brigades left" the messenger said before hopping off and running to the HQ.
"Fucking hell" Hojo said as he got out his hatch and looked to the 13 other tanks behind him "company thunder up, thunder up; we assault with the third wave" he yelled before re-entering his tank and locking the hatch.
Naruto was taking deep breaths in order to calm his nerves; as he released his breathe the whistle blew and his tank started moving forward. As the tank crossed the muddy bog known as no mans land Naruto was on edge waiting for anything to pop out.
"Movement front" Yujiro shouted over the roar of the engine; Naruto and Asuma aimed their ballista's forward ready to open fire.
"Hold fire! Friendlies" Hojo shouted stopping Naruto and Asuma; as they drove they passed a wave of wounded broken men. Some were missing their arms, those who were missing their legs were being carried and those who had no wounds were walking aimlessly; their souls and minds shattered by the horrors they just lived through.
As the tank continued driving the sounds of explosions and death grew ever more closer; as the fog cleared Naruto saw the enemies forward trench and the battle raging ahead. The enemy barbwire was keeping the infantry at bay while they picked them off with their crossbows and mortars.
"Yujiro! Drive over the wire clear a path for the troops" Hojo shouted.
"Yes sir" Yujiro responded making the tank go forward at max speed.
"Sarutobi, Uzumaki open fire! Kill those damn darkies" Hojo shouted.
Naruto and Asuma began to crank their ballistae at a steady pace; the bolts flew out at a speed that made a regular crossbow look like a child's toy. Naruto was cranking his ballista and he saw his handiwork as the exposed heads of the enemy kept falling down and popping back up like a sick carnival game.
Yujiro drove as fast as he could over the barb wire to flatten it and clear a path for the infantry behind them; as they neared the enemy trench the lightning troops began to break and run. Naruto and Asuma had a field day as they stood unopposed as they mowed down dozens of fleeing enemy troops every second.
"Keep firing, keep firing; Yujiro enemy on the ground run those fuckers over" Hojo commanded; Yujiro nodded and continued forward. A human body is insignificant compared to a multi-ton steel monster; Yujiro drove over the wounded and prone enemy soldiers on the ground squishing them like bugs beneath a boot.
"Yujiro stop here" Hojo commanded as the crew stopped in the middle of a retreating battalion "all crew members engage the enemy on all sides; Asuma flames burn the bastards" Hojo shouted. Asuma went through hand signs and shot a stream of fire to a platoon of enemy soldiers; Asuma watched as they danced while on fire screaming in agony as they rolled on the ground.
Naruto continued to fire his ballista; Naruto heard the bolts of the enemy hit the side of the tank and bounce off. Her turned and say 3 soldiers firing their crossbows as fast as they could in a hopeless attempt to fight back; Naruto sprayed down the 3 soldiers in a hail of gore and bolts.
As the tank began to roll forward Naruto and his crew kept firing their ballista's; after reloading his ballista for the fourteenth time he looked to the side and say that was his last box of bolts.
"Colonel" Naruto shouted over the sounds of battle "I'm down to my last box; 500 bolts" he yelled.
"Same here Colonel" Asuma shouted as he continued to fire at the retreating enemy.
"I'm out sir" Sado yelled as he opened his hatch and threw a grenade out.
"God damnit" Hojo yelled; "Yujiro stop the tank" he ordered; for a moment Hojo was deep in thought until he looked back up. "Yujiro; return to our lines we will be nothing but a moving target without any ammo" Hojo ordered.
"Yes sir" Yujiro said as he began to turn the tank around.
Colonel Hojo then put out a green flag signaling that the tank is going back to re-arm and refuel as a signal to the other tanks; as the tank moved away 2 more tanks returned along with them one with a green flag and one with a black flag signaling that a crew member has been killed.
After 30 minutes of driving back Naruto and the tank arrived back at the depot; Hojo and the crew then jumped out.
"I want her fueled and armed to the teeth; we head back out in 45 minutes" Hojo shouted as Naruto and the other tanker began to get to work.
Naruto then saw from one of the other tanks the crew was dragging out their commander who had the top of his head blown off.
"What the fuck happened" Naruto asked he shaking driver.
"Some bastard shot him through the vision port" the driver said grabbing a bucket of water "be careful if they get close they can shoot you through the gaps" he said to Naruto; "Now I got to go clean up what's left of the lieutenant" he said walking into the tank with the bucket.
Naruto seeing this huffed and began to walk back to his tank as he walked up he say Asuma shaking as he fumbled to light a cigarette; "let me get that for you" Naruto said pulling out a lighter and lighting Asuma's cigarette.
Naruto looked into Asuma's eyes; they were wide and vacant, pupils dilated and not even puffing his cigarette. Naruto then tapped Asuma on his arm snapping him back to reality "Asuma; are you here brother" Naruto asked.
Asuma nodded "yeah… I'm here" Asuma said softly "how many men did we kill today? 200, 300; so many we ran out of ammo. What if this is it? What if we end up killing ourselves off in this war" Asuma said his eyes and in a tone very uncharacteristic of the man.
Naruto brought back by this shook his head "Asuma; keep your head in the game. We can't be thinking like that; we are at the 5-yard line. All we need is to push a little more" Naruto said turning around and walking away.
"Do you really believe that" Asuma asked "or is that what you're trying to convince yourself?". Naruto stopped for a moment; he was about to say something but couldn't find the words.
"Alright men mount up and lets get back to the fight" Hojo said hopping back into the tank; Naruto, Asuma, Sado and Yujiro followed shortly afterwards and began to drive back to the battle over the horizion.
Dusk later that day
Naruto and his crew were driving back to the captured trench carrying a load of wounded and dead soldiers on the top of their tank. After the battle died down a hour ago Colonel Hojo decided to volunteer the tank to drive back the dead and wounded; as the tank approached the hospital tent the tank stopped.
"Take the wounded off first" Hojo ordered as he climbed up top and grabbed one end of a stretcher and Yujiro grabbed the other. Naruto and Asuma grabbed a stretcher with a wounded man and pulled him off; the poor man was in a horrible state. His face completely torn off, right hand missing and a closed chest wound.
Naruto and Asuma entered the hospital tent and say a familiar blonde-haired doctor; "Tsunade" Naruto shouted. The blonde woman looked over and saw the same blonde boy she saw back in wave.
"Naruto? What do you know small war" Tsunade said before seeing the wounded man they were carrying "bring him here" Tsunade ordered as Naruto and Asuma nodded and put the wounded man down and Tsunade began to look over him.
"I need fresh bandages, disinfectant and morphine" Tsunade shouted which made a young medic boy rush to get the medical supplies. "It's nice to see you both; lets talk more later" Tsunade said; Naruto and Asuma both said their farewells and exited.
Later on that night Tsunade and her apprentice Shizune joined Naruto and his crew for dinner; the small fire beside the tank seemed dim compared to the thunderous sound of artillery over the horizon.
"-and after me, Jiraya and Orochimaru survived Hanzo the Salamander named us the Sanin for being the only ones to survive a fight against him" Tsunade said finishing her story. Naruto and his crew looked at her in awe.
"That was a amazing story" Yujiro said "I can't believe you survived a battle like that" he said; Tsunade nodded and looked to the battle happening in the distance.
"Trust me" Tsunade said taking another bite of her A ration "I don't think it even compares to what you boys are doing; you lose more men in one hour that how many Konoha lost in 3 wars combined" she said. "It's funny though; I had a fear of blood and it took another war to break my phobia" Tsunade said smiling solemnly "if it wasn't for the war I'd still be a drunken mess gambling away my family fortune" she said.
"I'd be a ninja by now" Naruto said sadly.
"I'd have a genin squad" Asuma said.
"I'd be back ion the farm" Yujiro said.
"I'd be a samurai" Sado said.
"My sons would still be alive" Hojo said making everyone look at him "one of my sons died at the very beginning, the other died during the desert campaign in Suna; so many men have died that they'd ask a old retired samurai like me back to duty" he said touching his tanto strapped to his ankle.
Just then a loud explosion off in the distance rocked the earth and everyone looked and saw a raging fire "I guess the tunnelers finally set off the mines" Hojo said as he took another bite.
Naruto seeing this spoke up "we still have to go back tomorrow" he said; just then Shizune put her hand on his shoulder.
"You will be fine" she said with a smile "kami loves you and he'll watch over you" she said; Naruto looked back at her with a face void of emotion.
"Kami loves us all" Naruto said " and he's been watching me kill and stuff people into body bags" Naruto said taking another bite. "Kami would never set foot here; it's to hellish" Naruto said; the rest of the meal was eaten in silence.
Naruto then got up and went inside the tank to go to sleep; he then grabbed the necklace Ayame gave him and closed his eyes. 'One more day, one more day' Naruto prayed as the echoes of battle filled the night air.
Ok another chapter done; I hope you all like it. And just FYI next chapter is going to be a filler chapter in place of a time skip and just to let you all know it will be a damn good one. No hint though; ok with nothing else to say thanks for everything and until next time bye.