Hello everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; I hope you all enjoy the chapter and continue to support my writing. With nothing else to say let's begin.
Ashigaru Kitsune: Chapter 14
Lightning Front: 3 years 8 months since hostilities began.
Naruto was leading his platoon down a muddy road as they were moving to another position along the front; over the past 2 months the Fire, Wind, and Waterfall armies have been pushing back the lightning forces deeper into their home territory.
Naruto and his platoon were marching in a seemingly endless column of men and machine on the left side of the road; on the right side were countless wagons of both dead and wounded servicemen and stragglers who were not wounded enough to ride in a wagon.
Konohamaru and Udon were marching in the middle of the column; as Konohamaru looked over he saw a wagon full of wounded men pass by. By the looks on some of their faces they were in the thick of the fighting as they did not look at him but through him.
"Goddamn" Konohamaru said as he looked at Udon; Konohamaru then heard a scream of a woman come from the right side of the road. As he turned his head he saw 4 fire soldiers drag a young girl into the trees "what the hell" Konohamaru said as he unslung his crossbow and broke formation.
"Konohamaru" Udon shouted which got Naruto's attention.
Konohamru ran into the trees and saw the four soldiers huddled around the girl; they were ripping her cloths off as she was screaming for them to stop. Konohamaru ran up and bashed one of the soldiers in the face with the butt of his crossbow "get off her you fuckers" Konohamaru shouted as the other 3 soldiers backed off.
"Hey asshole what the fuck you doing" one of the soldiers shouted.
"Why you helping her she's a fucking darkie" another said.
"She's a fucking human being asshole, fuck you" Konohamru shouted.
"What the hell is going on here" Naruto said approaching with 10 marines "explain now" he said cooly.
"Just having some fun sergeant" one of the soldiers said "until this little shit came along and ruined it" he said.
Naruto took in a deep breath "I see" Naruto said calmly.
15 Minutes later
Naruto was standing in front of a tree with his platoon formed up; in the tree were the 4 soldiers hanging from their nooses as they swung with the wind with signs that read 'rapists' hung around their necks. Naruto turned around and addressed his men.
"Let this be a warning to you all" Naruto said addressing his troops "rape is not and will not be tolerated under my command; disobey this order… you hang" he said pointing to the 4 hanging men. "Get back in the column" Naruto ordered before he turned to the girl.
Naruto reached into his pack and tool out a C ration box "it tastes like crap but it's better than nothing" Naruto said; the girl took the box and nodded.
"T-thank you" she said meekly.
"Don't thank me" Naruto said "thank him" he said pointing to Konohamaru; the girl the went over to Konohamru and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you" she said.
"No problem" Konohamaru said; he then saw 2 more soldiers show up wearing armor plate collars, the military police.
"We're here to escort her to the displaced persons camp" the MP said until he looked over to the tree "huh… thanks you saved us some paper work" he said before ushering the girl away.
Konohamaru then looked over to Naruto; the 2 of them said nothing. They both then walked back to their platoon and rejoined the column.
The Next day
Naruto and his platoon were formed up with the rest of the regiment as they awaited their orders; when the colonel stepped up, he spoke up
"Men I have 2 pieces of news; first is that Earth country has officially surrendered. As of right now that country is in turmoil due to civil war between the Kyosan Shugi-sha and the Loyalists. The second is that we'll be in a joint operation with the wind army; as of right now we are 25 miles from the lightning capital. As you can see the lightning troops are scraping the bottom of the barrel; most of them at one point were too old, too young, unfit for service or any of the in-betweens. Men we are nearing the end; once we take the capital, we win this war and then we can all go home. But we have one last obstacle; the enemy has set up a defensive line 2 miles north of our position, once we break through, we'll have a straight shot to the capital. In preparation for this operation the wind army has sent us their elite shock troops; they are the best trained, most experienced and blood thirstiest unit they have to offer. They have a current strength of 2,000 and we will supplement them with our regiment of 5,000. We will be attacking the line in 3 days; so rest up and get ready boys.
-And one more thing" the colonel said gaining all their attentions "Sergeant Uzumaki! Front and center" he ordered Naruto walked up and stood in attention. "For outstanding bravery and leadership in the face of the enemy; I Colonel Miura hereby promote you straight to the rank of First Lieutenant" He said pulling out 2 silver bars and pinning them onto Naruto's collar "congratulations son; now dismiss the regiment".
Naruto with a smile on his face turned around "Regiment! Attention" Naruto shouted as the entire regiment stood at attention "dismissed" Naruto shouted as the entire regiment dispersed.
1 Hour later
Naruto, Konohamaru and Udon were walking through the Wind army camp as they were looking for the commander of the shock troops.
"Man, these guys are weird" Konohamaru said looking around "why the heck do they wear all that face paint" he said and Udon looked at him.
"Probably just tradition" Udon said adjusting his glassed.
"But why only around their eyes" Konohamaru asked.
"Because they wanted to honor me" came a deep monotone voice; just then a swirl of sand appeared in front of them. When it stopped a short redhaired boy around Naruto's age appeared; he was wearing the standard Khaki uniform that clashed horribly with the forest around them, he had dark rings around his eyes and a tattoo on his forehead.
"I'm Major Gaara; leader of the Sunaarashi shock troops and you are" Gaara asked.
"Lieutenant Uzumaki" Naruto said.
"Lance Corporal Sarutobi" Konohamaru said.
"Lance Corporal Ise" Udon said.
"We're here to coordinate the attack with you and your troops" Naruto said and Gaara nodded.
"Very well follow me" Gaara said leading the 3 to his commanders tent.
Later that night
Naruto was smoking a cigarette as he looked off in the distance; the battle happening along the line made it look like dawn.
"May I sit" came the familiar voice of Gaara.
"Sure" Naruto said and Gaara sat next to him.
"I can sense the demon inside you, Uzumaki" Gaara said bluntly and made Naruto jolt in surprise "don't be alarmed; I have one too" Gaara said. "How long have you been a soldier" Gaara asked.
"Marine actually" Naruto said "Since the beginning mostly; I started off this war fighting in Wave, then Snow, the Konoha due to that uprising, then summer offensive, and now here" Naruto said before looking to Gaara "how about you" Naruto asked.
"I was a shinobi before the war" Gaara said "when the war broke out my father the Kazekage lent me as a weapon; however, I proved to be more than that. They first put me in charge of a squad, then a platoon, then a company and now I lead my own unit. Because of my ability I have not been injured once; I have been leading attacks that appeared suicidal on paper, and my men have been following me without question" Gaara said and Naruto offered a cigarette which Gaara refused.
"How do you stand this shit" Naruto asked and Gaara smiled evilly.
"Before this I had only one purpose; to kill all those who get in my way" Gaara said "but ever since this war began, I have found my true purpose; endless battle, more ways to prove my existence to the world. I hoped this war would go on for years but it appears to be coming to an end" Gaara said and Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"What do you plan to do once it's over" Naruto asked and Gaara chuckled.
"This will never be over" Gaara said getting up "if anything; it's only just beginning" he said as he walked away.
Naruto looked at Gaara as he walked away "fucking freak" he said as he threw away his cigarette and began to walk back to his tent.
3 Days later
Naruto was walking down the trench making sure his platoon had all their equipment; as he continued down the line, he stopped next to Konohamaru who was saying a prayer and Udon who was adjusting the straps on his radio.
Naruto double checked his equipment; he then looked at his watch "5 minutes" Naruto said "pass it down the line" he said to Udon who then relayed it down the line. Naruto took a deep breath as he then approached the ladder.
'Kami makes me fast and accurate' Naruto said in his mind; he then took out a whistle and placed it in his mouth. When the second hand on his watch hit the 12, he and every other officer blew their whistles "over the top, over the top" Naruto shouted as he climbed up the ladder and ran across the muddy desolate battle field.
"Let's go Udon" Konohamaru said as he ran up the ladder.
Udon climbed his ladder and began to weave and run through the barbed wire; Udon looked around and saw an endless wave of men as far as the eye can see. He then saw hundreds of men fall dead in their tracks as enemy bolts came raining down and enemy artillery began raining down.
Udon kept on running as men were cut down around him or blown up by the artillery; Udon then took cover in a crater. A sergeant seeing him stop ran over "get up, get- "he wasn't able to finish his sentence as the top of his head was blown off and showered Udon in blood and gore.
Udon then saw off in the distance what looked like a giant wave of sand; Udon then got up and began to run again. As he ran for another couple yards, he saw an enemy ballista enplacement; Udon ducked behind a stump of a tree. Udon then took out a grenade and pulled the pin; he threw the grenade into the emplacement.
Udon then ran into the opening he created and saw a survivor; Udon raised up his crossbow and shot him in the head. Udon then moved into the trench as other Marines and Soldiers followed in the opening he created.
Naruto and Konohamaru were clearing out a section of a trench together; as they passed a dugout, they saw a enemy soldier emerge. Naruto in a swift motion took out a trench knife and slit his throat; Konohamaru then quickly threw a grenade into the dugout. The explosion from the grenade caused a cave in effectively trapping all those who were still alive inside.
"Move up" Naruto shouted; as he turned a corner, he dodged a hatchet from a enemy soldier. Naruto grabbed the enemy and threw his to the ground; both him and Konohamaru shot him with their crossbows before moving on. As they continued forward, they saw a wave of sand pour down upon a dozen or so enemy soldiers.
"Sand coffin" came the voice of Gaara "sand funeral" he said as the wave of sand pressed down with a tremendous force killing all those underneath. "The enemy is retreating" Gaara shouted to his men "hunt them down like the vermin they are" he said as he and his troops continued forward killing the enemy.
Some of the enemy raised their hands up in surrender but were killed anyways as taking prisoners was not a necessity; Naruto watched on in disgust. While he did not take prisoners, he did not take any pleasure in it; Gaara and his men seemed to enjoy and relish the slaughter.
"Naruto, Konohamaru" Udon shouted finding them "you guys ok" he asked and Konohamaru nodded.
"We're still alive" Konohamaru said and Naruto turned to them.
"Secure the trench" Naruto shouted to everyone in ear shot "we need to hold it until our remaining forces can pour on through" he said as he, Konohamaru and Udon began to scour the trenches.
2 hours later
Naruto, Konohamru and Udon were digging through the pockets and packs of the dead enemies to find anything of use; cigarettes, matches, gum, food, anything.
"Hell yeah" Konohamaru shouted which got Naruto and Udon's attention "this guy had some good stuff; look porn mags" he said holding up a magazine. He then sat down and popped it open "man these dark-skinned girls are built different; their nipples are like little chocolate bites" he said. Naruto and Udon then ran over and looked at the centerfold.
"My gosh" Udon said cleaning his glasses for a better look.
"Goddamn" Naruto said "her tits are bigger that Koyuki's" he said not believing what he's seeing. They then heard some chuckling and turned and saw a older soldier in his 50's.
"Hey kid keep that attitude and you may come back with a war wife" he said to the 3 boys "when I went to war back in the grasslands of Kusa 30 years ago, I brought back a sexy little farm girl; now she's back home with our 4 daughters. Ain't nothing like a little foreign tail" he said before walking off with a chuckle.
Konohamaru rolled up the magazine and placed it in his pack "foreign tail huh" he said to himself.
"What the fuck" Naruto said which caught both boys' attentions; they then turned and saw what he was looking at. Several Sand shock troops were going around the dead bodies of the enemy to collect trophies; one sand soldier took out a knife and began to cut off the ears of one of the dead soldiers.
He then placed the ears on a leather strap that was filled with at least 2 dozen other ears; he then tied it to his bandolier and turned to Naruto, Konohamaru and Udon. He didn't look at them but through them; he then smiled a hollow empty smile and walked off with his friends to continue their hunt for trophies.
2 week later
Naruto, Konohamaru and Udon were all looking at the destroyed walls of the capital of Lightning country; over the past week artillery and fires have reduced the city to ruins. Naruto turned to his men and spoke "over there is our final objective men" Naruto began "once we take this city, we end this war and we can all go home" Naruto said.
Konohamaru and Udon both looked stoic at the burning city as they both knew this was not going to be easy. Naruto then put on his helmet.
"Let's go to work" he said as he and his platoon began to march to the fighting that was taking place a couple hundred yards away.
Ok here is another chapter of my story; I hope you all enjoy it and keep supporting my writing. Now with nothing else to say please like, comment and share. Bye