Hey look, I didn't forget about this story, it's a new chapter! I really am not overly thrilled with this taking me over a month to update... but what're ya gonna do. Anyway, WAR IS UPON US and we're getting closer and closer to the battle that I've been looking forward to writing since the start of this story! Woohoo! Obviously the story won't be ending next chapter. I figure there's probably two more war chapters left, then one follow up/bridge chapter to the third and final part of this series.
Thanks to all who have reviewed/favorited/alerted my this story so far!
A special thanks and shout out to everyone who reviewed since last time: DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles, Toasty Warrior, stryker4narusaku, ZeroTail29, Echo Uchiha, saveme57, The silver wolf jinchuriki, Blazing CobaltX, Otaku Overlord, wingedmercury, Nightwind, Nutt Man 117, Shandrial, panda-kun
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles: Glad you liked it! And thanks for pointing out my slip-up! Iwa not Oto!
Toasty Warrior: Thanks =) It was fun writing the NaruSaku scenes this chapter (what a surprise!) And that Shikamaru is a pretty smart guy, I am keeping my finger's crossed that the plan works out for him!
stryker4narusaku: Here here! =P
ZeroTail29: I see. Well I already discussed my reasoning in my response to your last review, so I won't go broken record on you =) Although I'm curious how Naruto's peers disrespect him? That is quite far from my intentions. If you do happen to glance at this, it's fighting scenes from here on out... Well the last chapter won't be a fighting scene. But it's also the segway into the final part of this series so it will be too busy setting that up to really include any situations like these =) Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. I appreciate each review you gave and I truly appreciate your honesty!
Echo Uchiha: =)
saveme57: I couldn't think of a more perfect way for a guy as lazy as Shikamaru to get a girlfriend =P And I agree- Naruto would definitely be all for tunnels connecting all the villages, preferably littered with ramen stands... Glad you liked the chapter =)
The silver wolf jinchuriki: Ah well actually you can! Fukasaku always referred to Jiraiya as "Jiraiya-chan" which roughly translates to Jiraiya-boy. From what I've been able to dig up, it's quite acceptable and not entirely uncommon to refer to little boys as chan =)
Blazing CobaltX: Glad you enjoyed it =)
Otaku Overlord: Hehe, poor Shikaku =P I mean, yay for Shikaku getting a potential daughter-in-law and all, but if only he had his son's luck when he was younger! And I'm not sure if Shikamaru even knows that Temari is his fiance yet... if they even are =P I hope you enjoy this chapter!
wingedmercury: Ah thank you thank you =) I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters! And I just can't imagine Naruto getting married without Ichiraku's somehow being involved =P Also, the harder I work at my job the earlier I retire...hopefully =P
Nightwind: Thanks for the high praise =) I hope this chapter is up to par! Sorry the next chapter didn't get up so soon... My fingers are always crossed I can get the next chapter out quicker!
Nutt Man 117:When isn't Naruto obsessed with ramen? =P Glad you enjoyed that little scene, it made me giggle a little as I was writing it. Yes, I will freely admit that I giggled. I'm not ashamed. Enjoy this chapter!
Shandrial: You're not alone! So did Naruto and Shikamaru =P And thanks for the praise on Temari. She's got a lot of spunk which makes her a fun character to write =) Funny thing about the slight Jiraiya mention- I originally typed it in more as a joke to myself, fully intending to remove it once I completed the chapter. But as I was going through and editing it, I couldn't bring myself to take it out. So I'm glad you enjoyed it =) I hope you enjoy this (and the following) chapters!
panda-kun: EEP! I can't believe I did that! Thanks for pointing that out! Thanks for the praise, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well =)
Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and Sai would not have interrupted Sakura when she was trying to feed Naruto after his fight with Kakazu! Not cool Sai, not cool!
Alrighty, I think over a month is way too long of a wait. Let's get onto the chapter eh? Please do enjoy, A Jinchuriki's Strength- Chapter 9: All In
Far too soon for the allied forces liking, the day had finally arrived for the battle with Kabuto. By Shikamaru's calculations, the barrier that had been holding Kabuto and his army of zombies off would be cracking within the hour.
An army of Konoha nin stood outside the village gate with stony faces, all mentally preparing themselves for the horrors that they would be witnessing on the battlefield, and all making sure they had made their peace, as they knew very well this could be their last day among the living.
Behind the Konoha army stood the small task force that was put together to get to Kabuto and take him out as quickly as possible. Naruto and Sakura calmly watched the barrier in the distance with their hands clasped tightly together.
Tsunade observed her ninjas with an impassive mask. She was proud of the courage they were showing by standing so calmly against a nearly invincible army, and she was trying her best not to think about all the lives that would be lost today. The absolute worst part of being the Hokage was having the blood of each and every ninja you ordered to go on a mission on your hands. She knew that after today, her hands were going to be much more stained with Konoha blood.
Ino was leaning slightly into Chouji as the two waited for the barrier to break- something that did not go unnoticed by Shikamaru. The lazy nin had suspicions that the two had been getting closer than just teammates over the last couple of days, but hadn't had a chance to ask them about it. Now he found himself hoping he would be able to confirm his suspicions with them after this battle was finished.
Sai was the very image of a perfect shinobi. He stood in a somewhat relaxed stance, yet each of his muscles was tensed and he was prepared to leap into action the very second any sort of threat arose. His face was a perfect mask of calm confidence.
Kakashi, to the entire strike team's surprise, did not have his little orange book out while they waited. Instead he stood patiently waiting for Kabuto and his army to break though. He was focused like he had never been focused before. He had made a promise that he would not let any of his precious people die in this fight, and he intended to keep it.
A Konoha ANBU appeared in a puff of smoke directly in front of Shikamaru, drawing the strike team's attention.
"Shikamaru-san, Suna and Kiri forces are in place, and the Iwa and Kumo forces are as well."
Shikamaru nodded. "Good, this plan should work then. Now we just have to wait to see what variables Kabuto throws at us on the battlefield that could affect it."
The ANBU said nothing and disappeared in another puff of smoke.
Naruto took the moment to glance over his shoulder at the village gates. Genin were stationed along the walls as the absolute last line of defense. The jinchuriki could see the fear in their eyes; even the ones who were trying to put on a brave facade were still unable to completely hide their fear. Naruto was glad that Tsunade had ordered the genin to stay away from the front lines, they were definitely not ready for this type of battle.
I have to make sure that not a single one of Kabuto's army makes it past us and to the genin. But it's going to be tough since I'm just barreling straight through his army towards Kabuto… Naruto thought worriedly.
He felt Sakura squeeze his hand and he looked into her emerald eyes. "You're worried about the genin right?"
Naruto smiled and nodded his head; leave it to Sakura to be able to know exactly what he was thinking about.
"I'm worried too, but if we do our job, we can stop Kabuto before any of his army has a chance to make it to them…and we will do our job."
Naruto gave his fiance's hand a grateful squeeze.
"I don't think the barrier is going to last much longer." Shikamaru's calm voice rang out. "Do you all remember the plan?"
"We're going to drill straight through Kabuto's army." Ino answered. "Naruto is going to take point with Sakura directly behind him. Kakashi will be on the left side, and Tsunade will be on the right. You and I Shikamaru, will be directly behind Sakura, while Chouji and Sai protect our flank."
"That's right. We will move as one entity. Got that Naruto? We're going to need you to barrel forward, but you also have to make sure that the rest of the team is keeping up with you."
"I know Shikamaru." Naruto replied.
"Now then, Sakura will switch with anyone protecting Ino and myself if they need a break." Sakura nodded in understanding.
"As soon as our forces engage Kabuto's we will charge directly through the middle of our forces and spear our way into Kabuto's. He won't be expecting such a sudden change in pace so early in the fight, and we should be able to use that small amount of surprise to penetrate his army's lines."
In the distance the barrier flickered as one of Kabuto's minions attacked it.
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered.
"I know Naruto." Sakura replied. "I love you too."
"That's not what I was going to say." Naruto retorted with a grin causing Sakura to quirk her eyebrow at him.
"I was just going to say how I can't wait to get married to you after all this is over." Sakura couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Leave it to Naruto to break the tension of what promises to be the most dangerous battle she's ever been involved in.
"I couldn't agree with you more Naruto."
Naruto opened his mouth to reply but he was interrupted by Shikaku's voice.
"HERE THEY COME!" Naruto looked up just in time to see the barrier shatter. This is it… I can do this. I will do this. The jinchuriki closed his eyes and took a calming breath. His red sage cloak rustled in the wind. When he reopened his eyes they were no longer sapphire, instead they were the yellow eyes of a toad.
"LET'S DO THIS!" Naruto roared. The Konoha forces heard his cry and felt a fresh wave of energy pour through their bodies. Naruto's battle roar was filled with strength, confidence and determination. They let out their own battle cries as Kabuto's army ran towards them.
War was finally upon Konoha.
Kabuto watched as his undead minions surged forward. He heard Naruto's voice ring through the air, and soon the rest of the Konoha forces voices joined his. Naruto-kun is so good at inspiring people. First he inspired me, now he is inspiring his people. Unfortunately for him, all of the inspiration in the world won't save Konoha. By the end of this day, Konoha and all of its people will be nothing more than a memory.
The scaled man flicked his eyes to the personal guardians he had selected to stay behind. Each was a very powerful ninja, and each would have a great impact on the battle if he sent them to the front lines. But Kabuto was a careful man, Konoha had many clever minds. He knew better than to underestimate them. These shinobi would ensure that his plans succeed. These shinobi would ensure that no matter what plot Konoha concocts, it would fail. These shinobi were shinobi that Konoha's most powerful wouldn't be able to fight.
Kabuto smiled. Today was going to be a great day.
Neji ducked under and undead shinobi's thrust and quickly cut off its major tenketsu points before sending it crashing into another one with a powerful roundhouse kick. He had learned a lot from his battle with Naruto and Sakura. He knew that his byakugan wasn't invincible and could be fooled. He knew that while it was a very useful tool, he shouldn't rely solely on it.
Neji had spent the week training his instincts without the byakugan and his reaction time had never been greater. He felt two of Kabuto's shinobi closing in on him from both sides. Not missing a beat, Neji closed his eyes and calmly called out two words his clan had become famous for.
"Hakkesho Kaiten!" Neji spun rapidly expelling chakra from each tenketsu point on his body repelling the two attacking shinobi backwards.
"Clear the way!" Neji heard Shikaku Nara yell. He looked behind him to see Naruto leading the special strike team forward with a rasengan in each hand and a deadly and determined look in his toad-like eyes. He jumped to the side and watched as Naruto thrust his rasengans into two different revived shinobi who got in his way. More charged towards him but he batted them away with his sage enhanced strength.
Whoever would've thought that the brash little loud mouth kid I fought in the chunin exams all this years ago would turn into you Naruto… Neji thought with a small amount of pride for his friend.
"You shouldn't let your guard down Neji!" A voice suddenly yelled in his ear. It was a voice that Neji recognized all too well. He flipped forward into the air and landed a few feet away from where he had been standing. His eyes were wide with both surprise and horror when his eyes confirmed what his ears had already heard. He quickly calmed himself down.
"Hello… father." Neji calmly greeted as he turned his face into an emotionless mask.
Naruto really didn't even need to use his eyes as he rushed forward. He could feel the fluctuations in chakra with his heightened senses in sage mode as he batted away attackers with rasengans and frog kumite strikes while leading his team forward.
He slowed down as he felt Kakashi struggle with a particular ninja. He heard Sakura mutter something and suddenly the ninja that Kakashi was struggling with looked around in surprise as Sakura's genjutsu took effect. Kakashi used the opportunity to use the headhunter technique on it and resumed his running.
Naruto caught the arm of one of Kabuto's zombies that was intending to catch him off guard with a lightning chakra imbued kunai and hurled the offending undead shinobi into a group of other revived shinobi, knocking all of them down.
"Have you found Kabuto's chakra yet Naruto?" Shikamaru asked from behind him. Naruto felt the earth tremor as Tsunade slammed her foot into the ground creating a rift that swallowed another of Kabuto's shinobi.
"Yea, he's that way. But if we keep slowing down like we are, it's going to be a while until we reach him." Naruto ducked as a water bullet whizzed over his head. He looked towards the ninja who shot the bullet at him and cursed. The man was too far away. Most of Naruto's long range jutsus used up more chakra than he could risk using at this moment.
"Sakura, do you mind?"
"Of course. Suiton: Teppodama!" Sakura shot a water bullet of her own at the undead shinobi which caught it off guard and knocked it to the ground."
"Shikamaru…" Chouji grunted as he used an enlarged hand to bat away an undead shinobi. "We can't keep pressing forward like this; they're surrounding us on all sides. We need to fall back to our forces."
"Just hang on a bit more. Once my father sends the signal we'll be able to push much deeper into Kabuto's army."
"I hope your father sends the signal soon." Ino said worriedly as she watched Sai narrowly avoid a kunai aimed at his throat. The pale artist sent some ink snakes toward the zombie to restrain it.
"I do too…" Shikamaru muttered.
Shikaku dodged a fireball fired by an undead Konoha nin. That was a powerful fireball… This guy is going to be tough.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Gai's foot appeared out of seemingly nowhere and planted itself in the former Konoha nin's face. The force of Gai's kick sent the zombie skidding across the ground.
"Commander Nara, are you ok?" Gai yelled in his normal overenthusiastic voice.
"I'm fine Gai, thanks for the assist."
"The front lines are no place for the commander of an army." Gai suddenly spoke in a completely serious voice.
Shikaku chuckled. Most people only saw Gai as a crazy and overenthusiastic person, but when he needed to be, Gai could be extremely serious and deadly.
"You're right. I'll leave this to you then." Shikaku jumped backwards to take a look at the Konoha forces as Gai caught another one of Kabuto's zombies in the face with a right hook.
Hmmm… our momentum is certainly slowing. Shikaku mused as he observed his forces. Looks like it's time to bring in the first wave of allies.
Shikaku took out a small scroll and placed it face down on the ground. He poured chakra into the scroll and watched as it released a quick surge of bright blue energy into the ground.
Now to wait… Shukaku didn't have to wait long, as in 30 seconds a giant wave of sand exploded from the ground from the east of the battlefield, and a wave of magma erupted from the ground to the west.
Gaara was getting restless as he waited. Every second I sit under here waiting is another second someone precious to me can die… The rock around him and his army suddenly surged with a blue energy. Finally…
Gaara offered no words to his forces, instead he sent a massive wave of sand through the earth and crushed four of Kabuto's revived shinobi in it.
"Finally!" Temari yelled as the Suna forces rushed forward with fierce cries. She hit the surface and her eyes instantly searched for her boyfriend's team. She knew she couldn't go and help them; it wasn't her job in this fight. But she still wanted to at least locate them so she could keep an eye on their progress.
"Temari focus!" Gaara ordered as he used a wave of sand to trap an undead shinobi that was intent on ending his sister's life. "Shikamaru will be fine, he's with Naruto."
Temari felt a little embarrassed about not just being caught unfocused by her little brother, but also being saved by him as well.
"RIGHT!" She grabbed the fan off her back and shot a blast of deadly wind at a shinobi that was creeping behind Gaara. She knew his absolute defense would've protected him had she not intervened, but that didn't stop her from grinning.
"Now we're even!"
Gaara allowed a rare smile as he directed more sand to capture and crush Kabuto's army.
Mei stood patiently in the tunnel her forces had crafted as she waited for the signal to join the battle. Choujuro stood nervously by her side and Ao stood by his side.
"Choujuro don't be nervous." Mei said with a gentle smile to the young boy. "I know you'll do great out there."
"I umm… of course Mizukage-sama. Thank you."
"Choujuro you're about to enter war. You can't let yourself be whittled away by fear or you will never defeat any enemies and will be remembered as a failure forever."
Can't win any men over? Mei thinks as a dark look overtakes her face. Mei suddenly puts her mouth over Ao's ear with a fake smile.
"Shut up…or I'll kill you."
Ao's eyes open wide, but he's saved from having to respond as the rock surrounding them lights up with a blue glow.
"Alright everyone," Mei calls. "It's time!" She turns her mouth upwards and shoots a giant stream of magma out of the rock.
Kabuto cursed as Suna and Kiri forces joined the battle out of seemingly nowhere. Konoha had been full of nothing but surprises so far in the battle. The scaled man had never expected a small force of some of Konoha's most powerful shinobi to charge straight through his army and directly at him. It was a risky move, but with enough momentum he knew that the group could reach him. And with Naruto leading the charge, their chances of reaching him were that much better.
He had just started slowing down Naruto's group and was starting to turn things in his favor when Suna and Kiri forces shot out of the ground to join the battle. That threw his army in disarray which allowed for Naruto's group to push even further towards him.
It's no matter… He reassured himself. Even with Suna and Kiri they can't stop the edo-tensei. And I still hold my trump cards. Naruto and his team won't be able to make it to me.
Kabuto turned towards a man with spiky black hair and a black goatee to match. "Go stop the group that is headed this way."
The man sighed. "I hope you guys are ready for this…" He muttered under his breath as his body followed Kabuto's command.
Neji ducked underneath his father's jab and used the momentary opening his father left open to close three tenketsus on his father's left arm. Before his father could react, Neji started spinning.
"Hakkesho Kaiten!" Neji's rotation blasted his father backwards. Before his father could properly regain his footing, Neji pinpointed his vital points and released a high-speed palm thrust.
"Hakke Kusho!" Neji yelled. The vacuum thrust from his hand struck into his father's body causing the undead Hyuga to crumple down to the ground.
Neji quickly flickered over his father's fallen body.
"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Neji quickly strikes his father's body repeatedly with the gentle fist, cutting off 64 of his tenketsu points, and rendering him unable to move.
"You've learned the Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms and the Heavenly Spin…" His father mused. "Amazing."
"Thank you father." Neji replied somberly. He knew with his dad defeated, he should focus on the rest of the fight, but he couldn't bring himself to just yet.
"But…" To Neji's surprise, his undead dad started standing up. "They're not enough against Kabuto's technique son. You're going to need some sort of sealing or binding ability if you're going to stop me."
The edo-tensei heals the revived shinobi that quickly? Father shouldn't be able to move for at least another 30 minutes…
His father suddenly flickered and pulled his hand back intending to strike Neji's heart with his gentle fist.
"Juuho Shouriken!" A soft, yet powerful voice rings out. Hinata flickered to Neji's side and struck her undead uncle with her twin lion fists sending the revived man skidding across the ground.
"Hinata?" Neji gasped before letting a small smile take over his features. He never would have guessed a couple of years ago that Hinata would ever save him.
"I know fighting Uncle must be hard on you Neji… we'll do this together. Kiba will join us once he finishes up with his opponent, and my father is on his way with someone who can bind him."
"Be careful Hinata, our gentle fist attacks won't keep them stunned for very long thanks to the edo-tensei."
"I know." Hinata replied. "But we're both strong now. We can do this."
"Hinata? My you've grown up to be a beautiful woman. And that was a very impressive attack you developed."
"Thank you Uncle Hizashi." Hinata curtly replied.
"So you two are going to be fighting me now… Well then, get ready because here I come!"
Neji and Hinata nodded to each other as they prepared themselves for the undead Hyuga's onslaught.
At the pace we're going, we might be able to reach Kabuto without the distraction that Iwa and Kumo will provide when they join the fight… Shikamaru mused as he watched Naruto barrel through enemy zombies.
"Futon: Fujin no Jutsu" A familiar voice yelled.
Shit! Shikamaru swore as he used his shadow possession jutsu to force Naruto's body to duck just in time as the powerful dust cloud blasted over his head.
Shikamaru looked in the direction the attack had come from, and felt his very heart clench as he made eye contact with his deceased sensei.
"Asuma-sensei?" Ino gasped.
"Very good Shikamaru. Had you not reacted as quickly Naruto would've taken some serious damage there." Asuma complimented. "It's nice to see all of you again… I just wish this could be under different circumstances."
"Everyone… leave Asuma to Ino, Chouji and me." Shikamaru ordered calmly.
"WHAT?" Naruto gasped as he turned to give his a friend an incredulous look. "But what happened to moving as one entity?"
"Asuma-sensei is a powerful opponent, and will give anyone who faces him serious troubles. But Ino, Chouji and I know how he fights and how he thinks. We are the best possible team to deal with him."
"Why don't you let us back you up then Shikamaru?" Kakashi suggested.
"We can't afford it; we need to continue putting pressure on Kabuto. If Asuma stalls our entire task force here, Kabuto will take our momentum from us and that could prove disastrous for our forces."
"You and Ino are this task force's first two options of forcing Kabuto to drop the edo-tensei." Tsunade pointed out.
"Both Kakashi and Sakura are talented with genjutsus. It will fall on one of them to use a genjutsu to trick Kabuto into dropping the edo-tensei."
"That's a lot more difficult than both you and Ino's jutsus." Sai pointed out. "Why don't I stay behind and either you or Ino continue with the task force?"
"You don't know Asuma-sensei's fighting style. The three of us are going to be needed if we want to take care of him somewhat quickly. Even if you can't get Kabuto to drop the edo-tensei, just engaging him should distract him somewhat and buy us time to rejoin you."
"I don't like this…" Naruto growled. "How the hell are you guys going to fight your way to Kabuto after this?"
"We'll manage." Shikamaru replied with a smirk.
"But…"
"Naruto this is the best plan." Sakura interrupted as she gently squeezed his shoulder.
"I swear to god if any of you three die… I'm going to be pissed." Naruto sighed.
Ino chuckled. "And miss my best friend's wedding? I wouldn't dream of it Naruto!"
"Alright then. Sakura you're in the middle now and the rest of us will remain in our positions." Kakashi spoke up. "Let's move out Naruto."
"Good luck guys." Naruto muttered before running off towards Kabuto.
"I have no doubt the three of you can defeat me now." Asuma boasted with a proud smile as he stared at his former students. "But Shikamaru, this technique is unreal. I hope you have a plan to combat it."
Shikamaru smirked and withdrew a small scroll and tossed it up into the air. The scroll suddenly exploded in a burst of green light.
"Of course I do." Shikamaru calmed himself down and prepared himself to take down his sensei. He looked at his teammates, Ino was preparing herself just as he was, but Chouji stood rooted to the spot, trembling in fear.
"Tch, troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as an undead Kumo nin bore down on the petrified Chouji. Shikamaru quickly took possession of Chouji's body and leapt to the side causing his friend to dodge the attack.
Ino quickly put her hands in the oval shape that made her clan famous. "Shintenshin no Jutsu" The undead nin was caught off guard at Chouji's last second dodge, and was unable to dodge Ino's possession.
Now in control of the zombie's body, Ino hurled 'herself' at Asuma who dispatched it with a powerful roundhouse kick just as Ino left its body.
"Very good Ino! Using one enemy's strength to take out your other enemies." Asuma complimented.
"Get a grip Chouji!" Shikamaru yelled.
"I can't… I can't fight Asuma-sensei." Chouji muttered as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.
"Chouji…"
"Yes you can Chouji!" Asuma urged. "Be confident in yourself, you three can beat me."
Chouji opened his eyes and clenched his fists together as he took in his master's words of encouragement.
"Right… Let's do this Shikamaru, Ino."
Naruto felt an enemy nin approaching him, but could also hear Sakura preparing a genjutsu so he didn't even bother reacting as he continued to bolt forward. As he expected, the zombie that had been intent on taking him out was now charging away from the battlefield chasing what Naruto guessed would be an illusion of the remaining members of the strike force.
He felt Sai lagging behind as the artist had to deal with a fairly powerful revived shinobi from Suna. Naruto swore and slowed down, every time he was forced to slow down, the enemy had more of a chance to swarm him and his team.
We need the next round of reinforcements soon…Naruto thought as Sai drew a large ink bird which grabbed his foe with it talons and flew off.
"Damnit…" Naruto muttered. He could feel Kabuto's chakra… They were so close.
Naruto ducked just in time to a strike from an undead kunoichi's hand. Before he could react, Sakura reached over him and grabbed the offending kunoichi's arm, and then used her considerable strength to hurl the kunoichi far away from the battlefield.
"Naruto we need to keep pressing forward." Tsunade urged.
"I know that Baa-chan!" Naruto mumbled as more and more of Kabuto's undead puppets started surrounding them.
Shikaku stood at the top of the village gates as he surveyed the battle. The allied forces still had the momentum from Suna and Kiri's sudden appearance in the battle. One thing that troubled him though was the fact that he didn't see bodies flying around deeper into Kabuto's army.
Before he could watch a fairly steady path being cut through by the strike force, but now he couldn't tell where they were. He was tempted to call in Iwa and Kumo's reinforcements, but it just didn't make sense yet. Those reinforcements were their final trump card, he couldn't call them in while the rest of the allied forces were doing so well.
A flash of green caught his eye and he noticed Gai's young student Lee taking on the Akatsuki member that was the partner of Hidan, the man who killed his son's master. Lee seemed to be taking on Kakuzu by himself while one of his teammates, Tenten along with Yamato and Konohamaru were facing off against the thread-like monsters Kakuzu created. He wasn't sure how Konohamaru got out on the battlefield, considering the Hokage ordered the Genin to stay within the village, but seeing as Konohamaru received some training from Naruto and was fighting with strong allies, Shikaku decided to let him fight this time.
It still was so strange for Shikaku to see the younger generation on the front lines. From the few shinobi that were his son's age that he had observed so far, they were doing a fine job. He knew his generation wouldn't have to be the main protectors of the village for much longer.
"Umm Shikaku-san…" One of the genin standing behind Shikaku meekly spoke up. The elder Nara turned around to see a young Hyuga genin.
"What is it?"
"The strike force seems to have split up. Your son and his team are fighting who I believe to be Asuma Sarutobi, and the Naruto's team and the Hokage are surrounded on every side. They're barely moving forward at all."
"I see… Thank you Hyuga-san." Shikaku nodded gratefully to the young genin. I can understand why they would split up that way… Shikamaru's team knows Asuma the best so they can handle him the most efficiently. But I'm worried about the remainder of the strike force, if they stop moving it's only a matter of time before they get overwhelmed…
"I guess it can't be helped then." Shikaku muttered as he pulled a flare scroll out of his pocket. "It's time the allied forces go all in!"
Shikaku threw the scroll up in the air and it exploded in an array of dazzling blue fireworks.
The Raikage stood outside the battlefield; he hated having to wait like this. This Kabuto was working with the Akatsuki, the same Akatsuki who went after his brother, and the same Akatsuki that wrecked havoc on the world. A would much rather have charged straight into the battle.
But he had to admit, that the boy with the lazy look on his face from Konoha had developed a sound strategy, so here he was…waiting for the signal. It was still weird for him, to be preparing to enter a war even though his country wasn't being directly attacked. Even more so…him entering a war to defend Konoha.
"Raikage-sama, there's the signal." His general Darui observed lazily. A felt a surge of excitement course through his veins. Finally… battle.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! LET'S GO DESTROY THESE BASTARDS!" A roared as he charged forward, followed closely by his army.
Onoki stood at the front of his army peering into the distance as Konoha, Suna and Kiri forces threw themselves against the undead forces that Kabuto had summoned. He snorted at the thought of what he was about to do.
He was about to lead Iwa forces into battle to aid Konoha. The same Konoha that produced the Yellow Flash, a name which still causes some Iwa shinobi to shake in fear to this day…
"Oy Oji-chan, that's our cue." Kurotuschi called out in a completely calm tone. If someone who had no idea what was going on were to listen only to the girl's voice they would think the Iwa forces were standing outside of Konoha for a giant picnic.
Onoki sighed as he levitated off the ground. "I guess we should go save those kids then eh?" Onoki shot off into the air with his army closely following him on the ground.
Naruto blocked a kick from an ex-Iwa shinobi and quickly slammed a rasengan into the undead man's chest. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Kakashi blocked an undead Kiri shinobi's katana with a kunai before forcing the undead man backwards and quickly.
"Doton: Dosekiryu" Kakashi calmly called out and shot an Earth dragon at the zombie forcing it backwards.
"Tch, this is getting annoying." Tsunade complained as she threw a powerful elbow into the gut of an undead kunoichi wearing a kumo forehead protector, causing the undead girl to rocket backwards as her body skidded across the ground.
"We might have to pull back soon; we're going to get overwhelmed if we just stay her like this." Kakashi added as he sent another zombie flying with a roundhouse kick to the side of its head.
"Shikamaru said it's important that we at least pressure Kabuto." Sai observed calmly while decapitating a revived shinobi with a Konoha forehead protector on. "If we pull back now and give Kabuto the momentum, it could lose this battle for us."
"If we stay here we're dead." Sakura growled. She cast a genjutsu on an incoming wave of Kabuto's undead puppets causing them to stop their charge and start attacking each other.
"We just need to give them a little more time." Naruto said. "We're so close." To emphasize his point Naruto caught the fist of a particularly large man who was a kiri nin when he was still alive and roughly pulled the man off his feet, swinging him around as a giant human club.
The signal that the remaining strike force members had been waiting for finally went off, causing them all to sigh in relief as they heard the Raikage's battle cry.
"About time…" Tsunade muttered. The sound of battle came from the very back end of Kabuto's army causing the zombies swarming Team 7 and Tsunade to pause and try to figure out what was causing the commotion. They're temporary distraction was all Naruto needed.
"LET'S GO!" Naruto yelled as he led his team towards the very man who claimed to be inspired by him.
We're going to end this now Kabuto… We're going to take you out. Naruto thought determinately.
Onoki floated high above the battlefield as he stared at a man with long blonde hair sitting on top of a clay bird.
"Pathetic." Onoki spat. "You were so strong, and now after some kid from Konoha killed you you're back as nothing more than a puppet."
"I went out in a beautiful bang un!" Deidara retorted. "There's no way Sasuke could've survived my masterpiece. Just like there's no way you're going to survive my new one!
Onoki grinned devilishly. "Deidara… don't tell me you've forgotten how terrifying I am."
Kabuto swore as forces from Kumo and Iwa suddenly started attacking his flank. He had no idea they were even close to the area.
"It looks like your plan is failing," The man standing to his left said with a smirk. "And Naruto's getting closer. You might as well drop this jutsu and surrender."
Kabuto turned to the man and gave him a sick smile.
"Ah ah ah Yondaime-sama, that's what you're here for. Naruto won't stand a chance."
War! This chapter was more focused on the frantic charge of the strike force, so we really didn't get to see too much of the rest of the battle. Death is coming next chapter, not to any main characters, or secondary characters (most likely), but it's coming as the rest of the battle is going to get some more attention and we're going to see some more names we recognize pop up on the bad guys' side.
The battle between Onoki and Deidara will not be written in full and most of it will take place off screen. I just have too many fights going on to include it fully.
All of the fights have not started, and we will be seeing more of Lee's fight with Kakuzu next chapter.
Anywho... Please do review and see you next time =)
Jutsu List:
Hakkesho Kaiten- Heavenly Spin
Hakke Kusho- Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm
Hakke Rokujuyon Sho- Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms
Juho Soshiken- Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists
Doton: Dosekiryu- Earth Release: Earth Dragon