Sorry the wait, but in Life shit happens sometimes.
And I bought Metal Gear V: Phantom Pain...do the math as to why my uploading got slower...
I was wondering what you people would prefer for my next OP Corner (once this story is done): A "Familiar of Zero" Cross-over with "Bayonetta" and Bayonetta as Familiar (Crossover that I surprisingly saw had never been done) or one with an even-more-OP version of Naruto after the Naruto Manga's ending as her familiar? (I mean VERY OP!).
Here is Chapter 7. By the way, I added a little "shot-out" to another story of mine, the Chapter of it named "A very Tremor230 Crossover" to be precise.
You know, just for the sake of Time-line. I hope you don't mind.
One or two "Franken Fran" Elements (appearance and overall concept only, STRONGLY OOC).
Pairing: Naru/fem Gaara (Sahara)/ Temari/ Fem Kankurou (Kankuo).
Few Naruto/Veronica moments.
NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE FINAL ONE! BE ADVISED!
"You bastard" - demon talking / jutsu
"Let's finish this" - dialogue
" Can it get any worse? " - during flashback/Thoughts
Disclaimer: I don't own and NEVER will own the material I use/used/ will use and I will NEVER take money for this or anything else I write so leave me alone, lawyers!
Black Baron of Suna Chapter 7: The Snake that wished to become a Dragon.
Suna – Shop Near the Underworld -
Veronica was conscious of her "Less-than-normal" origins, actually inhabiting the reconstructed and modified body of a young girl Baron Shi had welcomed as client to hear her request to see if he could actually satisfy her and her needs; Veronica had even met the 'original soul' that once used to posses her face...
The original girl was a brat, thing that never stopped making Veronica flinch; the two were so FAR AWAY in terms of ideology and psyche that one would have had to wonder if they were even both Human instead of coming from two different planets.
As the Necromancer had explained, she was his first experiment in the studies of how souls worked, a way for him to go deeper and learn how to properly channel, banish, summon and even control other people's spirit and mind; in order to "Test" the resultant knowledge her Master had gathered several 'sparks', residuals of the Will of different people of every race, of both sexes and as much different upbringing and age as he could and fused them together with as much harmony as he could (he had also told her though that he had steered as far away as possible from kids, if only out of respect for their too premature death).
He had always told her that the loyalty she displayed was not planned nor induced in any way, that it had all been mere chance that 'Veronica' was who she had been born as, and she had no doubt that he would have accepted her no matter what would have been the final result...so why not give her best at making him proud of her?
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" that's why the scream of inhuman rage that had tore its way through the blond Necromancer's throat that would have scared any lesser being, other Staff Members of the Shop comprised, had not affected her in the slightest and instead simply resulted in her moving at his side in an instant as he marched into the main room of the Shop.
"I am here, Master. What do you need?" Veronica asked immediately.
"To sleep more than three hours a night before a new vision decides to pup-up! That would be a start! And then for people to at least once not try to cheat Death and achieve Godhood! It's so hard for others to go on a single day without trying to defile Nature's Laws?" Naruto answered with a growl.
"Hoy, hoy, Boss! Calm down! Protection of the Graveyard or not you risk an aneurysm like that!" Anko said with a worried tone as she ran in the main room.
"Easy for you to say, you are not plagued by visions..." he answered before plopping down tiredly behind his desk.
"Maybe it's time to start blocking them, you got the message, wasting sleep just to see over and over again the same images won't help making them clearer. It's been two weeks, you too have every right to rest," Kurama said from his plush body as Kushina gently moved the little stuffed toy on the table.
"And with any luck for once that I do it the vision WILL change and I'll lose some important detail." the other answered groaning.
"What was the vision about?" Minato asked as he, Tayuya and the bandaged woman Adorea too joined in the room.
"Always the same, a white snake dying and another taking its place and 'eating' the flesh of the fallen one before shedding its skin to become similar to a dragon, but even then I could feel that transformation being a mere mockery of a real dragon, I could almost taste the poor delusion irradiating from that thing...I need to know who is this idiot that is trying to take over where Orochimaru has left," Naruto answered before standing up and walking towards one of the curtains in the back, throwing it open to show a small bookcase.
"Any idea on how to find the bastard?" Tayuya asked curious.
"Bibliomancy." Veronica answered.
"Exactly, the art of using a book, and a randomly-chosen line on it, to try and divine the future and gain answers." said that the blond simply kicked the bookcase making the various tomes in there rattle until one of them tried to fall down.
"And this one is the book Fate decided I will use...the History Book about the birth of the Land of Iron and their most notable Samurai..." Naruto answered surprised.
"Tenten's gift for your birthday," Kushina said smiling.
"Well, she is helping you from all the way in Konoha. Nice girl." Minato added, highly amused by Veronica's frown.
"Tch! Ass-kisser more likely..." Tayuya muttered in disdain.
"While I admit that had I not being born with the gift of Necromancy, or at least a natural talent towards its Arts, being a Samurai would have been a possible choice of career, I am still surprised she remembered my mentioning of it." he answered shrugging.
"Why not Hokage?" Minato said with a pout.
"For all the so-called importance, that role has even less 'freedom' than a normal shinobi, it chains one down with laws and added bureaucratic traps, that's why I still find Tsunade's role as Fire Shadow of Konoha to be a 'waste' of her abilities, but it was a sacrifice that needed to be done to keep the Village under the guide of a decent Leader," the Necromancer answered before balancing the book on its spine and let it fall open after a short pause.
"Adorea? Even if you technically don't have eyes, please choose a passage with your finger without looking. And please, focus on wanting to know who is the one that my visions refer to..." he ordered while looking away himself.
"Why?" Kushina asked.
"I want to confront the answers, Adorea is 'mentally pure' in a sense, I want to be sure my turmoil won't influence the result."
Obeying the order with just a simple nod, the bandaged woman focused a little before letting her hand fall on one of the pages before looking at what exactly she was pointing.
"It's a picture of..."
"Don't tell me, I want to be sure." the Necromancer said stopping his father immediately.
"Paranoid, eh?" the former Fourth Hokage said chuckling.
"Very much so...let's see...'It was then though that voices and legends took over facts, talking about the helmet and his falling from Kurosawa's head just in time to intercept the arrow shot at his back as if guided...' this is not helping," Naruto said with a groan.
"Not exactly, Master." Veronica said.
"Uh?"
"Adorea was pointing at this image..." the blue-haired girl said moving through the pages until she found what she was looking for.
It was a picture made by one of the researchers representing the old armours the first Samurais of Iron Country used to wear, the blond's eyes got caught by the peculiar helmet the soldier was wearing in the picture.
"Eh! Stupid for me to not think about him as a first probable culprit, the idiot was too much attached to his beloved Master to not follow in his deranged steps," Naruto said with a mirthless snort.
"Who?" Kushina asked.
"Dear Kabuto, the Apprentice of Orochimaru; the helmet in the image is an Harikake kabuto, a type of helmet which used papier-mâché mixed with lacquer for the elaborate decoration (the shell) on an iron bowl; and I have read about an helmet falling by itself to protect its Master and its 'ideals'...I really need to pay attention to small details too instead of just looking at the grand scheme of things," the young man said shaking his head.
"So he is changing himself into a 'copy' of Orochimaru to continue his studies about immortality?" Veronica asked.
"Pretty much, but how much of it it's his own desire to gain immortality and how much is instead blind loyalty I can't say...we'll still need to keep an eye on him before he turns into another threat," he answered gravely while putting the book back in place.
"Oh! I can tell you that by how fondly he looked at him, Kabuto was a step-close a being a fan-girl, so it's hard not to think about him using part of the Snake Bastard's body on himself just to feel his beloved Master closer." Tayuya answered shuddering in disgust.
"Do you want me to prepare the screening orb, Master?" Veronica asked.
"No, I'll have some spirits find and check on him for me, as for now I need to talk to Sahara and her sisters, soon I'll start the final stages of my plan and I need her political support along Tsunade's, they will help me direct things from the soon-to-be Kage Summit. Now that Akatsuki is reduced to its bare bones and Kabuto is starting his own machinations I can not permit incidents to happen...not after YEARS of planning," Naruto answered as a sharp chiming of several tiny bells above him attracted his attention on the dozen of talismans dangling from the ceiling.
"Sigh! The wards tripped again...let me guess..." he said opening the door to see Nemesis handle him a small envelop while Sammael was happily munching on what looked like a big, charred bird.
"As I suspected...tracking, compulsory subliminal messages, and out-right teleportation...he is getting desperate, but I am not one to have my Guests and future Apprentices be stolen from me like that, especially when they are that young or gifted." Naruto said sighing while burning the letter with one of the candles around the Shop.
"Want me to write another Rejection Letter?" Anko asked.
"Yes, please. The usual: 'No he won't take part to your school yadda, yadda, yadda...come here to kidnap him for 'the Greater Good' and you'll pay...blah, blah, blah, stop having sex with goats and we will talk...'. Pretty much what we said last time." he answered nodding.
"Okay!" the woman answered snorting.
"As for you others; Minato and Kushina will accompany me to our dear Kazekage while Veronica and Tayuya will take care of informing Itachi that either he takes Sasuke away as he promised or I'll take care of that personally...let the thing hang to give him the impression of some sort of impending Doom befalling on his young brother should he not comply, at least he'll have a proper incentive to do as asked." the Necromancer said.
"It will be done," Veronica answered bowing.
"Good! Done this Baron Shi and his two 'pets' will pay a visit to Nagato in Rain; Yahiko and Rin reported Nagato and Obito begin to amass new recruits to rebuild Akatsuki...that is not to be left unchecked," he said.
"Roger!" the Staff of the Shop answered as one.
The Next Day – Konoha – Hokage Tower -
Tsunade was once again walking towards her office after another small meeting with Hiruzen and the Clan Heads with Shizune barely a step behind her, now not only Danzo was acting strange, but her former sensei, and former Third Hokage, too was starting to get on her nerves.
"What is the Pervert doing?" she asked with a frown.
"By his latest report, he is at the moment keeping tabs on the Akatsuki since after their failed attack in Suna things morphed into them lying as low as possible." Shizune answered meekly.
"Who stopped the attack?"
"If voices had to be believed, Baron Shi himself along two of his guards...the thing had gained him the praise of both Wind Daimyo and the population of the Village although the man is still looked at with the tiniest bit of mistrust all the same," the young woman answered.
The answer to that had to wait for the female Hokage to enter her office and lock the doors as a clear wish to not be disturbed, once returned on her seat she sighed and took out a bottle, looking at Shizune with a raised eyebrow and gaining a nod in answer.
"They forced Naruto to fight personally, for one like him that prefers to stay in the sidelines hidden, he must not have been happy, but at least he took his annoyance on the Akatsuki...I don't envy those poor bastards though," Tsunade answered sighing.
"Still unsure about telling Jiraiya-sama the truth, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked while filling the woman's saucer.
"Jiraiya is a great man, no matter how much I won't tell it to his face, but he also has a lot of negative traits. And just like Sarutobi-sensei, he has a giant blind-side when it comes to Konoha, it's not as bad as with the old man, but he too may have at least doubts about Naruto being not in Konoha...I tried to touch the issue as rarely as possible, but when the confrontations about it had been impossible to evade, I could clearly see him being conflicted. No matter how strong the proofs of Naruto being unhappy while living here are, he still thinks that it would be his "duty" to stay here, even without a Biju." Tsunade answered with a defeated sigh.
"He has what others have started to call 'Cold Chakra' some would probably wonder about experimenting with it to see if it has some form of usefulness once 'added' to pre-existing bloodlines," Shizune said.
"Eh! Wouldn't they love to do that! And they say Orochimaru was the one with a fixation for human experiments."
"We also got a new letter of Itachi, Tsunade-sama; he says that he needs to take Sasuke away from Konoha for a while, until new orders come," Shizune said.
"He finally decided to listen to Baron Shi then? Tell him to 'kidnap' Sasuke-san tonight and then to tell Jiraiya that he will go to a completely different place than the direction the two will take, I will send him a letter to return once everything is back under control and both the Pervert and Hiruzen-sensei are neutralized...hopefully not in a crippling or, heaven forbid, a lethal manner," the Senju woman answered.
"Do you think Jiraiya-san will be angry at you 'stealing' his spy?" the assistant asked curious.
"He will whine, he will curse, I don't care which...but for as long as I am in charge I will be the one spies report to instead of him. Until I get a clear idea about how his ideals work I won't let him get more informations than me. And intercepting Itachi's messages to Jiraiya is showing-up to be one of my best ideas, at least I can really help those two Uchiha instead of letting them suffer from whatever half-cooked plan my sensei and old Team-mate can come up with..."
Any further argument stopped when a loud banging on the door threatened to have it fall from its hinges.
"HOKAGE-SAMA! HOKAGE-SAMA, HURRY! PLEASE WE NEED YOUR HELP!" the woman outside yelled in apparent fear.
"What is it?" she asked opening.
"Danzo-sama just collapsed! He is...he is puking bugs!" the ANBU answered with a disgusted voice.
"WHAT?!" both women yelled as they hurried outside and back to the meeting room.
In there they could see the various Clan Heads too returning to try and give assistance to the bandaged man that was STILL regurgitating every possible bug existing in nature, movement from under his skin showing that the little pests where everywhere inside him; but as soon as he saw the Hokage enter he stopped vomiting insects to directly look at her with empty eyes.
"Tsunade..." the man's voice came out distorted and with a faint clicking undertone as if he was talking through pincers.
"What's happening?" Tsunade asked with narrowed eyes.
"It's Time...let the Flame call you to the embrace of the Underworld..." Danzo said before his mouth opened impossibly wide, so much that the upper half of his head got teared away as the fattest of the bugs came-out from inside the man's head making him fall down to the floor and 'deflate' as every other bug rapidly left.
"Remember my words...I will be waiting." the giant bug said before shriveling and dying in a small ball of blue fire until nothing remained.
"Shibi?" Tsunade asked with a grimace, just like everyone else she was desperately trying to not puke.
"They are normal bugs, Hokage-sama, no modifications. Probably the big one was directing them through pheromones in an Hive-mind-like manner," the Aburame Clan Head answered.
"...he is empty," Shikaku Nara said after studying Danzo's body.
"Uh?"
"It's true, Tsunade-sama! The body had been emptied of everything leaving only the outer skin and the eyes, the bugs were acting in place of bones, muscles and organs," Shizune explained.
"And the brain?" Tsunade asked.
"Still there, but it shows traces of bites and markings of tendrils that were probably clinging the thing tightly, the curious thing is that it's still fresh while the...the inside layer of skin was already showing sights of rotting," the young woman answered gulping.
"Whoever did this had left the brain so that the bug could connect to it and use the informations inside Shimura-san's mind to properly act like him, from that the Queen Bug then directed the others to move the body accordingly and modulate the vocal cords enough to talk," Shikaku added.
"The fact that it needed his brain may explain why it looks still fresh, the worm needed it in pristine conditions so to access everything and not lose important informations, so it kept it fed and alive." Inoichi Yamanaka added.
"The problem remains, who did this? And why?" Chojuro Akimiji asked worried.
"It must be someone with a great knowledge in human anatomy, the bugs' own chakra was mimicking exactly Danzo-san's chakra network, even I never noticed the changing, so we can't know for how long he had been like that," Hiashi Hyuga said with a frown.
"How can that be?" Tsunade asked.
"Kikaichu...the same species of bugs my Clan uses, my own bugs have just found some rests, they had been modified to 'give-out' chakra instead of absorb it." Shibi answered with a minute frown himself.
"Baron Shi then? He already had a way to interact with Aburame bugs from when he came here for the Chuunin Exams so to study them, and he managed to go toe-to-toe in medical knowledge with you, Hokage-sama...his dealing with Dark Arts is also well known, or at least heavily implied and talked about...could it be him?" Shizune asked.
"We cannot say it was him nor that it was someone else, it may very well be a move from Akatsuki or a third party that decided to make its move. But if it really was Shi, then it would mean that Danzo tried to ask for something that either he got and never paid for or that greatly insulted the man...and not to sound disrespecting to the dead, but I am almost ready to say that our Elder here tried to threaten him into doing something nasty...otherwise I can't see why making of Danzo's death such a macabre spectacle when he normally makes people disappear without trace," Tsunade answered with a thoughtful expression.
"You have already stated your suspicion about Danzo being not so loyal, are you sure your own ideals are not influencing you?" Hiruzen asked.
"Sensei...if that Baron Shi really is the one to do this, then he must have a VERY GOOD reason to do it, several of our Genin have met him, several ANBU have met him, and me personally too went into his Shop...he keeps 'Mementos' of the ones that try to threaten, steal from or betray him, they just enter and NEVER come out...this was done out in the open, if it was him then it was a 'Message' for us to keep distance and stop bothering him; but I am not able to give a meaning to that 'Embrace the Underworld' speech of his," the Hokage answered.
"Maybe it was an invitation? He said to let the Flame, with a clear Capital "F", embrace you to the Underworld, that is also the name of his Shop, so he is asking you to meet him, as for the reason why he may want to meet you...there are voices about the Wind Daimyo choosing his youngest daughter as an heir instead of the oldest, a spoiled boy that most people privately saw as unfit to rule; maybe he is asking if Konoha and the Fire Nation too will change or not like the new heir that openly stated her desire of peace," Shikaku offered.
"Unfortunately we cannot be sure until we speak with the man," Tsunade answered sighing, not surprised by the uproar the other occupants of the room gave start to as soon as she answered.
"YOU CAN'T MEET HIM! WHAT IF HE ATTACKS YOU TOO, HOKAGE-SAMA?" Hiashi bellowed with wide eyes.
"Even if he never showed open hostility, we can't risk you to go there alone!" Shizune added horrified.
"Then why don't we ask him to come here?" Jiraiya said as he entered the room.
"He hardly leaves his Shop, Jiraiya. And from his own point of view, he too would leave the security of his Village to come here, so why would he accept?" the woman answered with crossed arms.
"Because you are the Hokage?" the Toad Sage tried saying shrugging.
"Sigh! Why do I still try? You and sensei are too deep into 'Konoha above everything else' to think rationally, it's a lost cause." she said with a tired, defeated sigh.
"Tsunade!" Hiruzen said shocked.
"Oh, do shut-up! If my Grand-father and Grand-Uncle were still alive they would call your handling of Konoha and the rest of its politics a complete failure and you yourself an idiot of the greatest degree..." Tsunade said waving the old man off.
Not that it was a stretch of the truth in any shape or form, the two dolls really kept saying that about Hiruzen every time a new 'mess' of his came out whenever the Senju woman reviewed what the Third Hokage had done ever since he went elected AND re-took the mantle after Minato's death.
"NOW SEE HERE!" Hiruzen yelled in offense with Jiraiya right behind him.
"Another word and I'll demote you to the 'Complaints Office' and make you Miss Gamarichi's personal assistant!"
"NOOO! Not the personal assistant of She-who-is-thrice-widow-because-she-annoyed-her-husbands-to-suicide! I'll be good! I'll be gooood!" the old man howled as he threw himself at Tsunade's feet to kiss her sandals while crying fat tears of fear.
"And you, pervert?" the Hokage asked.
"Can I choose? Then I prefer marching to Iwa and kiss Onoki on the lips, call him a limp-dicked midget and then openly flirt with his niece with my dirtiest jokes; everything but that toad-like hag that dress in pink cardigans only!" the disgusted Sannin answered immediately.
"Then remember your place! I am in charge now so every form of fanaticism will be punished harshly! There is no longer place for that kind of crazy talk here, if you really think that bloodlines, Age, being from Konoha or God knows what else makes you entitled to play superior then that's the door, I can find a dozen substitutes with a snap of my fingers and you won't be missed; Elders as well as they will be 'gently' asked to retire, but into one of those sordid retirement homes where the patients get robbed, beaten and touched in disputable manners at every given hour...understood!?" Tsunade answered with her hardest glare.
"YES, HOKAGE-SAMA!" the assembled ANBU, Elders and Clan Heads answered as one.
"Good! Dismissed, and by tomorrow I pretend a written suggestion about how you think we should treat this message from Baron Shi, detailing how you would act in my place, pros and cons of each idea and then how do you think this will affect Suna and Konoah as a whole, not only us. We will have another meeting and discuss the various suggestions and find a solution together...see to not force me to turn this place into a Dictatorship and kick your collective ass out of MY Tower." she then ordered.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the others replied before silently leaving the room.
"Good, this should keep them occupied for a little at least," Tsunade thought sighing.
"Danzo's death is now hereby treated as State Secret, nothing will be said about it until I say so. ANBU, please take the body to the graveyard and have it buried as fast as possible, we'll have his funerals tomorrow at the earliest," she then added.
"As you wish," the ANBU Captain answered with a bow.
"I'll be in my office, Shizune. Call me if there is another emergency,"
"I will, Tsunade-sama." the young woman answered bowing.
Back in her office the Hokage sealed the room shut and made sure no-one was listening from the windows or in any other way, once done she took the two plush dolls of Hashirama and Tobirama from the shelf under the pictures of the past Hokages and moved them on her desk.
"So? What is he planning?" she asked aloud.
"We are not in his 'Inner Circle', Tsunade. He doesn't tell us everything, for security purposes." Tobirama answered with a calm tone.
"We know for certain that Danzo tried to capture and brain-wash him for his plans, both regarding his 'Naruto' persona and 'Baron Shi', and you know what would have happened had the old man managed," Hashirama added.
"I prefer not thinking about the consequences of that happening, what was that bug?" Tsunade asked sighing.
"Master calls it 'Neurax Worm', one of his latest creations; Danzo was the Testing Ground to see how 'deep' the control the worm can exercise truly is, the rest of the bugs was instead the punishment for his attack on him and his plans for Konoha and the Elemental Countries as a whole, he gave us a small rendition, but it was enough for me to say that personally...I would have done worse to him," Tobirama answered.
"That bad?"
"Worse, 'Megalomaniac' and 'Completely Crazy' come not even close to what he sounded like," Hashirama answered.
"What now?" the Senju woman asked.
"You'll need to do your part probably, he must have used that cryptic message to tell you that it is time to move for real, but I am sure that soon you'll receive a message or something with the full-details of what he wishes to do...then it will be up to you," the former First Hokage said with an apologetic tone.
"Can you ask him if he can come here as Baron Shi? Like that we will be able to talk and hopefully calm down the others before they start panicking for an non-existent attack of his towards me and the Village?" Tsunade asked.
"Tonight we are supposed to leave the dolls and reach Suna for our weekly report, we can try and ask." Tobirama answered.
"Thank you. Now, do you by chance know how many...Neurax was it?" she asked.
"Yes."
"How many of them do you think he has? Those things...they make me feel uncomfortable with the their mind-controlling ability."
"Knowing him? I wouldn't be surprised if after seeing the excellent results and how several Clan Heads failed to notice he would start mass-producing the eggs for it before putting them in stasis until he needs them...he probably already has several dozen ready if not more." Tobirama answered, his voice gaining a faint worried tone as well.
"Yeah, I don't like that either," Tsunade muttered shivering herself.
"Where is he now?"
"We don't know..."
Meanwhile – Rain Village -
"Everybody's Grudge!" Naruto, in his long-haired Baron Shi body, intoned moving in a wide swipe the lantern he was holding, launching an huge horde of skeletal spirits towards the two Akatsuki members.
"Shinra Tensei!" the 'main body' of Pein yelled rising his hand and using the resulting dome of gravitational force to protect himself, surprised to still be able to feel the dreadful chilling coming from those angry souls grab onto his spirit in a suffocating grip.
"Katon: Haisekishou (Burning Ash Accumulation)" a mask-less Obito said before blowing out a vast cloud of ash from his mouth and using the diversion to force Pein and his remain bodies to jump away.
"Is this how you people welcome guests? I think I get why then you are so poorly-liked!" the Necromancer said chuckling as the dark cloud of ashes exploded around him in an huge flare of super-hot fire.
"You killed the very few recruits we managed to gather, you really expected us to welcome you with open arms?! AFTER YOU DARED TO SPIT ON MY FACE!?" Obito answered snarling.
"You were choking me, it was a good distraction; and to be honest, it was Nemesis and Sammael to kill them, excluded the first one, but he had been stupid enough to question my mother's faithfulness to my father...I had to pull his spine out of his throat, it was a matter of family honour," he answered amused as he walked out of the cloud of smoke of the explosion without even considering the heavy bleeding in his chest from the gaping hole showing a first trace of ribs from under the burned flesh.
"You modified yourself to no feel pain...does sufferance scare you that much?" Nagato asked curious.
"There are other reasons behind it actually," the Necromancer answered shrugging.
"A pity that I am not interested in hearing them! KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU! (Summoning Technique)" Animal Path growled as two giant centipedes made their appearance between the three to glare at Baron Shi while hungrily clicking their drooling pincers.
"Those eyes of yours...the Rinnegan, they are very interesting, I hope you won't mind if I take one to analyze it, right?" the man said as he switched to the chained hook-like claws.
"You'll have to kill me to do that, ATTACK!" Pein answered as the two summons darted forward.
Jumping high to evade the first the Necromancer hooked one of the claws inside the second millipede's mouth to jump on its head and circling the chains of both around the base of its head.
"YAAAAH!" with an almost joyful scream the young man jumped down, to Nagato's surprise pulling out of the beast a translucent copy of it, making the giant bug fall-down dead as soon as the spirit entered the Necromancer's body somehow healing his wounds.
"We are similar in a lot of ways then..." the Animal Path said while it recalled the remained centipede so jump on its head.
"Those eyes may make you more Spiritually Aware than the others, but you are still so obviously blind that it ruins the effect, your 'Peace through Fear' plan will never work, I am sorry."
"IT WILL INSTEAD! ASURA ATTACK!" the Akatsuki member said from the mechanical Path's mouth as it launched a bullet of compressed chakra from the cannon on its head and obliterating an huge portion of Rain Village in the resulting explosion as the projectile attack went dodged.
"Are you sure? How so?" Naruto asked back plunging the claws deep underground and summoning a dozen copies of it around himself from under his own feet to intercept the huge fireball the Uchiha of the two spat in his direction.
"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu (Great Fireball technique)! We will create a perfect world! Tell me how that is supposed to be wrong or not worth fighting for!" Obito said amused before spitting a new imposing fireball towards the other.
"I think it's time to bring this fight outside the Village, I may have plans for your destruction, but Rain is not on my list of enemies, so I'll take this little show of further unneeded destruction as my cue to leave, until our next meeting, Obito-kun!" Baron Shi said chuckling as he, Nemesis and Sammael dashed away.
"NO! I won't let you escape!" Nagato yelled in rage as his various Paths launched themselves in the chase.
"This is not a fight you can just leave! Katon: Housenka no Jutsu! (Fire Element: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)" Obito added, spitting several fireballs and guiding them against the Necromancer.
"Katon: Karyū Endan! (Fire Element: Fire dragon flame bullet!)" Baron Shi answered by turning around and meeting the Uchiha's flaming bullets mid-air with his own Dragon-shaped fireballs.
"You had the nerve to come right outside our HQ, this transgression won't stand. I WILL MAKE YOU FEAR THE POWER OF A GOD!" Pein yelled as almost every Path fell on their knees bar one.
"Tch! That doesn't bode well..." the Suna Necromancer muttered with narrowed eyes.
"Just far-away enough to use it...a pity that he will be crushed, I would have loved to torture him myself before parade his body around as a trophy." Obito said sneering as he reappeared behind the Rinnegan User.
"DIE! Chibaku Tensei!(Heavenly Body Bursting from the Earth)" Pein said as he launched a small sphere of energy at the intruder.
Immediately an overwhelming pull of gravitational force pulled whole chunks of earth, whole trees and even clouds towards the small technique, forcing Shi to dig the hooks of his chains as deep as he could underground, watching in annoyance as both Sammael and Nemesis got destroyed by flying debris before their bodies started burning in purple fire leaving behind nothing.
"It's not like I never made a copy of Nemesis, and the Shop's basement is filled by eggs of Sammael waiting to open...it's just a pain waiting for a new undead and two other Hell Hounds to be ready for deployment..." the man thought in dismay.
Deciding to cut the thing short, a shadow clone was hastily created to bring the Necromancer's equipment to the accorded recovery area, hopefully Veronica will be there in little time to recover his soul and other stuff.
"THERE!" Obito said happily at seeing the long-haired (empty) body of Baron Shi fly towards the ever-growing sphere of rock to be turned into a red smear soon buried by more debris and then compacted in a smooth surface thanks to the powerful gravity of the jutsu.
"Fuuton: Shinku Renpa! (Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!)" Inhaling deeply the ecstatic Uchiha blew-out several wind blades while moving his head in several direction to spread out the attack, covering a wide area in deadly blades of wind that soon turned the hovering sphere in a mass of flying slices of rock.
"You really wanted that man dead then," Nagato muttered uninterested as he dropped his technique making the mass of rock fall down, further destroying whatever remains there were of the Necromancer.
"It gave me a lot of satisfaction, that's true, Bwhahahahaha!" Obito answered before disappearing back into the secret base of Akatsuki under Rain Village.
"Laugh all you want, your time will soon come, Obito-kun!" Naruto thought as he entered his original blond body and followed Veronica back to Suna.
Not Far away – with Nagato's real body – (It may sound a tiny bit cheesy, sorry.) -
The weak-looking, grey-skinned body of Nagato could be seen still sitting on the complex chair he had been stuck on ever since the faithful day he had become 'Pein', the chakra rods impaling his back still there as sharp as they were the first time they pierced him.
"Konan?" the man asked making the blue-haired woman appear near him while staying hidden in the shadows.
"Nagato." Konan answered with a little bow.
"How did things go with your meeting?" the Rinnegan User asked hopeful.
"He accepted, in exchange of our help, me and you will be spared...and if you renounce to an eye we will have back Yahiko," Konan answered.
"And...and my body?" he asked with a surprisingly weak voice.
"I...I got him to promise to heal you, for a price..." she answered uncertain.
"What price?" Nagato asked with wide eyes.
In answer the woman walked out of the shadows, showing a eye-patch covering her left eye.
"An Eye for an Eye...or in this case...an eye for an eye user." Konan answered smiling sadly.
"WHY!? I am not worthy of it! You shouldn't mutilate yourself like that for me!" Nagato said horrified.
"Why?"
"Because...because..."
"Because you love me?" she asked caressing his face.
"...Yes."
"Then I love you too, Nagato."
"How can you love a monster like me?" the man knew as 'Pein' whispered while relishing in her touch.
"Because I know who you were before, and I can still see that man in your eyes, hidden deeply in a life-long mistake another mad-man wish to use for his plans..." Konan answered.
"So it's true? He is really using us?" Nagato asked.
"I fear that it is indeed true, but until he is dead we'll need to play along, he knows about your body so how to attack you. He can't put his hands on the Rinnegan, we have to pay attention." she answered.
"I'll protect you," he said moving an hand over hers.
"And I'll protect you," Konan said smiling.
"Without an eye?"
"I have two of them, Nagato." She said smirking, revealing a perfectly healthy eye under the patch.
"W-Why?!" he asked betrayed.
"Cursed eye-patch. I swore that you were a good man misguided by a fool...had you showed being instead a power-hungry killer the eye-patch would have took my eye, and you wouldn't have been healed," Konan answered.
"So he will help me instead?"
"You heard Yahiko, Baron Shi is a family member of yours, he would of course have helped you had you been redeemable." the woman answered.
"But I killed him," Nagato said.
"You think something like that will really kill an Uzumaki? One with powers over Death as well?" Konan asked curious.
"Huhuhu! Yes, stupid of me to think that..." He said chuckling.
"Yes?" She asked.
"I may not be the most handsome man at the moment...but can I hopefully steal a kiss from the woman I love and hope to date once healed?" he asked with a small smile.
"It's not stealing if that girl willingly gives it," she answered as her lips moved closer to his.
Suna Village – the next night – Shop Near the Underworld -
Tsunade had just entered the main room escorted by Minato and Kushina and was looking at the once again wider collection of mementos and trophies of non-paying clients, surprising her at thinking that there was still someone around believing to be able to screw with the blond man and get away with it.
"Welcome in my Shop, tiring trip?" Naruto asked from behind the desk, still sporting his normal, blond-haired body.
"So this is an informal appointment? I don't see your 'Business Suit' body anywhere." She asked as she sat down.
"I underestimated the Leader of Akatsuki and lost it along Sammael and Nemesis I, but it was not a great lost; two new Sammaels are growing rapidly so I am not worried." the blond answered as a new Nemesis marched into the room to stand behind Naruto.
"S.T.A.R.S." Nemesis (II) answered growling.
"I still don't get why they come out with that verbal tick..."
"So I got your message, no matter how disgusting it was, and here I am. And believe me, sneaking out of the Village when you are Hokage is hard." Tsunade said sighing, smiling wide as a sake dish was offered to her by Tayuya.
"It was rather dramatic, I admit that much, but like that the others sharing positions of power with you will waste time trying to understand why I so openly killed Danzo and invited you, hopefully this should keep occupied enough for things to move on without too much trouble." Naruto answered.
"Exactly, they are pushing for me to order you to come to Konoha and talk, they fear that you may use those bugs on one of us or give start to an epidemic break-out just to weaken us and help Suna attack and conquer the Village," the Hokage replied as she emptied her dish in a single gulp.
"I knew they would have exaggerated things, but I am always surprised to see HOW MUCH people can blow things out of proportion," Naruto said smirking, personally replenishing the woman's dish.
"You say that because you have your own way to do things, someone else would have used those Neurax like a weapon of mass destruction to empty an enemy Village of living beings before 'cleaning' and settling in themselves,"
"Perhaps yes, or perhaps not...it's hard to say, it's a very unstable little thing, only I know how to properly handle its powers and abilities."
"What now, then? What about Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked gravely.
"That's a matter I already have decided how to deal with. Once removed the rotten parts of a plant, one only has to feed it properly and wait for the right result to come up." the Necromancer answered chuckling.
"What do you expect to gain from the Kage Summit? Next week me and Sahara will be there, I imagine that with your being close to the Kazekage and her sisters and then me you have two Kages ready to try and move things your way..." Tsunade said with a calculative look in her eyes.
"I admit that I do have a good position inside the right circles, but Sahara takes her own decisions and you should take yours, I know little of the hidden workings of Suna and absolutely nothing of Konoha's, both Villages are not exactly in the palm of my hand...and even then, Onoki and A are two tough opponents even I would pay attention not to piss-off." he answered calmly.
"What about Mei Terumi?" the Hokage asked.
"The Mizukage? She is in that position of power, yes. But if not for my men and few dead spirits influencing the enemy side and the mad Jinchuuriki of a past Mizukage...she wouldn't be there...and she knows it," Naruto answered with a cold smile.
"And she fears you," Tsunade muttered.
"Not me personally, but she indeed knows that I can enter her dreams and read her soul...and she knows that even her private bodyguards Zabuza and Haku wouldn't be around if not for me...but their being resurrected is a detail she doesn't need to know. I don't need such a unrefined method as the Impure World Resurrection to have dead return, I am a proper Necromancer, I know how to do it." the young man answered.
"This arrogance may cost you dearly," The woman said scoffing.
"It had already cost me a body, if I have to deal for the rest of Eternity with dead souls seeking peace and continuously walk the earth then I will have things go the way I want, I never choose to be like this, but I will be damn sure to teach people how to live in a civilized manner instead of slaughtering each other like animals in the name of an useless piece of metal with a Village symbol engraved in it!" he answered angrily.
"Villages have ideals!" Tsunade yelled jumping up standing.
"THEN SHOW ME ONE THAT STILL FOLLOWS THOSE IDEALS! Suna is about survival, the mighty trump the weak and get to survive a new day in the desert, we are just a bunch of desperadoes waiting for the next one to drop their defences to pounce. The others? Iwa is all about their supposed 'Rock-solid Virtue' and spit around speeches about their being unopposed because they know few powerful Jutsu; Kumo can only try and steal bloodlines like a mass of crazed drug-addicts in need of a dose, as if a normal ninja couldn't be good enough; Mist had been a bloodbath between non-bloodline holders against Bloodline holders until just about yesterday; and Konoha...Konoha...proudly holding the banner as the most hypocrite, power-hungry nest of worms, with the Nine-tailed biju and the most powerful bloodlines all inside their own walls, it was just a matter of time before they grew too full of themselves and started believing to be a land of Gods..." Naruto said glaring her into sitting back in her seat.
"And what about Uzushioagakure?" Tsunade asked.
"Too much ready to believe people could live in Peace, they trusted Konoha and Suna to come to their help during the attack that destroyed them, and until the very end they all latched to the idea that soon help would have come...I talked with each one of them, all were ready to forgive your betrayal because believing you to be friends, such naïve mentality was a ticket to destruction. But I can't find in me the strength to fault them for that, they were the best Village, maybe that is why they got eradicated, they were too good for this world..." he answered sighing.
"Sigh! What do you want then? From me I mean." the woman asked tiredly.
"Go to the Kage Summit, then try and gain as much information as you can, Sahara will do the same, but I suspect the other Kages will answer and act differently with you two than with the others, if you could be so gentle as to try and spy on them I would be very grateful, especially on Onoki and A." Naruto asked.
"I thought that your spirits could do the same,"
"Yes, but it's tiring to get so many up and around, and with Akatsuki hunting down Biju I have to spare as much resources as I can...and I do trust you, even if we have not the same view of the world." he answered.
"I'll see what I can do and I will try to back-up Sahara in some of her decisions, but only as long as those won't damage Konoha, as you yourself admitted, I firstly want my home to return to its old glory, then I will focus on the outside." Tsunade said getting up.
"Well said, I would not have asked for more. Thank you." Naruto answered shaking her hand.
"I'll tell the others that you refused to meet me, but that you just killed Danzo like that because he planned to kidnap you and you were not happy about it, making of his death a message." the woman added.
"Nice way to put it," Naruto said impressed.
"A last thing..."
"Yes?" the young man asked confused.
"There are good people in this world, never forget. Not everyone see the planet as an huge war-zone, we others would really love to see a true form of Peace as our future." Tsunade said smiling.
"I'll keep that in mind. Promise." he answered nodding and with a smile himself.
"Good. I'll be on my way then, any problem if Minato accompanies me all the way to Konoha?"
"None whatsoever."
"Thank you." she answered closing the metallic door behind herself.
"She has good intentions, my son. I think you can try trust her." Kushina said with a gentle smile.
"I do trust her, but appearances must be maintained, she needs to see me as someone that needs to be saved, like that she will struggle hard enough to achieve the right results, even just to prove to me that Peace can be obtained...in the meantime I will continue cutting-off the bad parts while hidden in the shadows." Naruto answered smirking.
"I don't like when you manipulate family members like that...it makes you seem evil." Kushina replied pouting.
"Sorry, mum."
"Okay...I'll forgive you this time."
"Thank you."
A week later - Kage Summit – Iron Country -
Every Kage of the various Villages were finally sitting around the room with their very best bodyguards standing immobile behind them, as soon as the host of the meeting entered silence finally settled and everything could finally began.
"Good to see that everyone managed to come this time as well, I am Mifune and will act as mediator in this Kage Summit, please remember the rules as this is neutral ground so any problem you have with each other stopped having any value the moment you entered those doors. The Summit is officially open." Mifune said before sitting at his own chair facing the various Kages.
"Then I have to ask a question," a new voice said.
"Who's there!?" Mifune said jumping to his feet while the various guards in the room took a fighting stance.
"An old acquaintance from Konoha, here to make an announcement." the voice said as an orange mask appeared from a tear in the air soon followed by the rest of the body.
"Akatsuki!" Onoki growled at recognizing the black cloak with red clouds the man was wearing.
"Indeed I am. And I am here to give you all what you truly desire, and by the way, Onoki. I am sorry to say that your precious nephew will lose her left arm after our small attack," Obito said in mock sadness.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO KUROTSUCHI?!" the short man yelled.
"I infiltrated your precious Village and took your Jinchuurikis while you were traveling here...I have just five minutes ago teared that arm off personally to be exact, she was opposing my plans and I could not permit her to stop me." he answered shrugging.
"YOU DEVIL!" Onoki yelled as he flew through hand-seals with his face contorted by rage.
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu! (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique)" The current Tsukikage said with a growl while trapping the masked man in a translucent cube of energy.
"And this should stop me, Onoki?" Obito asked amused.
"THIS IS YOUR END!" Onoki yelledas a powerful explosion engulfed the trapped Akatsuki member but leaving a perfectly squared hole on the floor and ceiling along an huge cloud of smoke thanks to the barrier.
To the others shock an hand shot-out from the smoke to pierce the Tsukikage's eye with a finger making him howl in pain.
"Now disappear, old man..." Obito said as the vortex in his eye appeared around Onoki's head tearing it off in a shower of blood.
Utter chaos exploded in the room as attacks rained on the masked Missing-nin, the killer showing a great deal of speed and agility by manoeuvring his way around the assault using the small size of the room to his advantage to drive each attack towards the other assailants, sometimes even leaving the attack phase through his body as if he was a ghost.
The fighting stopped when with a blast of fire the Raikage's right arm went reduced to ashes but leaving Obito open for Tsunade to punch him breaking his mask in two and shooting him against the wall almost demolishing it.
"Wait!" Mifune ordered making the others momentarily stop.
"What are you doing here? Are you really so sure of yourself to believe yourself strong enough to kill all of us alone?"
"I was just here to deliver a message, it's not my fault if a couple of you attacked me," Obito answered with a deranged giggle.
"And what would this message be?" Mei asked with narrowed eyes.
"But that War is finally coming! That we all will finally give a sense to our existence!" he answered showing a grin from under his damaged mask.
"War?" Mifune asked confused.
"Why would a war give a meaning to our lives?" Sahara asked.
"My friends! Just like you I am son of a War! I was born for it and christened in its violence! What other purpose does a shinobi serve if not a War?We need those to justify our existence! Peace is nothing but an insult to everything we stand for! That's why I am preparing the greatest War this world has ever seen!" Obito answered.
"You speak as if the prospect of a massacre excites you..." A said with a growling voice.
"I admit that one may say that I simply like war. But my friends, I don't just like war...no, my friends, I love war! I love holocausts. I love assaults. I love defensive lines. I love sieges, charges, I love mop-up operations, and retreats!" the masked Obito said with a crazed voice as he stood up from his place at the wall.
"Wars across prairies, in streets, in trenches, in grasslands, in frozen tundras, through deserts, on the sea, in the air, I love every act of war that can occur upon this pathetic earth!" he said laughing madly.
"Insane..." A muttered with clenched teeth.
"I am just being honest, Raikage...I love blasting the enemy to smithereens with Katon Jutsu salvos that thunder across the lines of battle! My heart leaps with joy whenever a shinobi is tossed high into the air and cut to pieces by well placed Fuuton-charged shuriken, and there is nothing like a Doton User crushing an enemy under thousands of tons of rock. And the feeling that comes when a soldier runs screaming from the blazing battlefield only to be mowed down by sharp blades of water from Suiton Jutsus, is such an exquisite feeling." said that he tore off his mask, shocking everyone by showing his heavily deformed face twisted in a feral grin and the spinning Sharingan eye in his only occupied eye-socket.
"I like when ranks of infantry brandish their kunais rushing into the enemy line. It moves me deep within my heart to watch a fresh recruit stabbing over and over into the bloated chest of a long-dead enemy..."
"The sight of deserters being strung up from a street lamp is an irresistible pleasure. And there is nothing more arousing, than the sounds made by prisoners of war dropping like flies, screaming in agony as they're mowed down by our swords!" he then said chuckling, by now the others could only listen in horror as the clearly crazy man kept talking.
"When a band of pitiful resistance fighters makes their final stands with nothing but small knives, only to have their city smashed to atoms block by block by concentrated Jutsu assault, I'm in ecstasy." Obito said before turning surprisingly sad, looking at the assembled Kages with sorrow-filled eyes.
"I even love it when my forces are ravaged by an enemy division. It's so sad to see towns and villages that were supposed to be defended at all costs by my men, being laid to waste, their women and children being raped, and killed...I love to be squashed under the heel of Kumo and Iwa war machines. The humiliation, as my men crawl around like vermin, ducking the fireballs and Mud Dragons flying overhead..." he said before falling momentarily silent.
He slowly lifted one hand, palm facing the Kages as he lifted his head to look at the assembled Leaders with such an intense stare to make everyone flinch in surprise.
"My friends, I want War, an Hellish War...My friends, people like me that were born in war and exist only to serve in the glory of your Villages, people that only know War and destruction. Don't you want further War? Don't you want a merciless, shit-like War? A War that unleashes all of Nature's Fury? A War like a tempest that kills all the ravens upon this Earth? Brother killing brother...parents burying their mangled sons...don't you too wish to such magnificent War to exist?!" Obito asked with wide unblinking eyes.
"WHY WOULD WE WANT THOSE HORROS YOU SPOKE OF?!" Mifune growled in rage.
"Don't lie to me, my friend...you all...WE all assembled here, we all represent the will of every Village, the Will of every Shinobi...and we crave War and Death! We are a clenched fist about to be lowered with all its might on the Elemental Countries, but after enduring an useless Peace, after biting our own hands to not strike the weak...it's finally time to go where we belong...TO WAR!" Obito answered ecstatic.
"A simple, ordinary war is no longer sufficient though...We need a massive War! A massive ALL-OUT War! We will wake this world upwith the sound of our battle and then fade to Oblivion as THAT is the Fate we all really want! We will drag each other down by the hair, open our eyes and finally remembering the thrill of living in fear! BWAHAHAHAHA!" he said laughing.
"SHUT UUUP!" A yelled as he charged the man, ignoring the pain of his missing arm out of sheer rage.
"Not so fast...things still need to be prepared properly. But soon...soon we'll have our glorious War!" Obito answered before disappearing in the vortex generated by his eye an instant before the Raikage's attack could touch him.
A long silence fell in the room once the man left, interrupted only by the bodyguards of Onoki silently covering the body of their fallen Leader with a cloth, offering a prayer to his spirit before sealing it away to properly bury it in Iwa.
"We have just seen the product of years of Wars..." Sahara muttered as she sat tiredly on her seat, Temari immediately near her to comfort her.
"What do you mean?" Mei asked confused.
"You heard him, he believes that as long as shinobi exist then Peace is not possible, something out of consideration...how many more people thinking like that are around? How many of them instead of coming out in the open are just planning in the shadows? And how much are people like them influencing Villages and Daimyos alike?" Tsunade answered.
"Now you are exaggerating, he is crazy, but this doesn't mean others like him exist," A grumbled while accepting the Medics' help in bandaging his shoulder.
"It only takes someone believing him, if he or someone else with the same ideals manages to charm enough people to start a revolt in a small Village, then things may spiral out of control; you heard him, he plans to move War to all of us, and with the Biju the Akatsuki stole, he may as well have what it takes." Sahara answered.
"So for once we all have a common objective...to stop that man and his dreams of endless War," Mifune said sighing.
"Once this is over though, I say we can try and really start working for a way to live in Peace...or at the very least to reach something as much similar to that as possible." Tsunade said.
"Peace? Us? Don't make me laugh! You can't pretend years and years of tension to evaporate just like that! WE may say that Peace is necessary, but what about every single shinobi of our Villages? How will you talk them into living in Peace?" A asked with a growl.
"I am not saying that we will do that in an instant! But if we don't start working for it we will NEVER stop declaring war at each other!" the Hokage answered.
"That's easy for you to say! You just need our help to stop yet-another Missing-Nin of your Village! That place it's just a growing ground for psychopaths!" the Raikage bellowed in answer.
"Talks the one that ordered dozen kidnapping attempt on Clan Heirs for their bloodline! Konoha was not just the first place you have send your 'diplomat', right? How many kids have you others kidnap through the years? Eh?! And how many of those were just simple girls?!" Tsunade yelled.
"HOW DARE YOU! Those insinuations are insulting! Where are your proofs of us doing that!?" A asked in complete fury.
"The way you are reacting is more than enough for me to know that it is indeed true!" the woman answered disgusted.
"I will..." A said before a wall of sand erupted in front of him.
"You will put that hand in your pocket, take a deep breath and then calm down. Otherwise I won't hesitate to tear off your remaining arm, you don't need those to govern a Village so do not force me to remove it." Sahara said with her couldest tone and glare to date.
"CALM DOWN! This is a discussion we will have another day, now please act like proper adults instead of bickering kids; we need to devise a strategy against Akatsuki, especially now that out of nine Biju they control the power of seven of them." Mifune said with a calm, and yet firm, tone of voice.
At a subtle movement of his hand a samurai steppednext to Mifune so that he could lean closer to listen what the old man wanted to ask, nodding in acceptance the warrior rapidly left and barely few minutes later several masked guards moved into the room sporting trays of bottles, nodding at their Leader they started distributing the liquor and dishes to the various Village Leaders.
"I am doing a concession this time only, as you all need to calm your nerves to think rationally. The Sake has been tested and nothing is in it, the quantity will be enough to help you relax and pay a little homage to a fallen warrior as Onoki but not inebriate you, we are here to solve problems, not to have a pleasant party." the man said taking a sip himself.
"Thank you, Mifune-san." Sahara said with a little bow of her head, action mimicked by the other Kages although with A grumbling a little while doing so.
No-one noticed that one of the masked guards, spotting a deep-blue colour of hair, had stealthily dipped the tip of her finger inside A's bottle letting a single blueish drop fall inside, especially the Raikage that had simply tore the bottle from her hands to empty it in a single gulp.
As Tsunade saw the whole thing happen she could have swore that she saw a faint trace of an X-shaped scar on the guard face from under the veil covering her head, but she treated it as a trick of the light, especially when A tried a last time to attack her for yet-another Missing-Nin coming from Konoha causing trouble, further banishing the mysterious guard and her identity in the darkest corner of the Hokage's mind.
As the ruckus inside the Meeting Room had started once again, the strange guard silently moved in an isolated area to drop the clothes she was wearing and the mask, making sure to have the real owner of the clothes wear them.
"As you suspected, Master. A too was against the idea," Veronica said to the radio around her neck.
"His answer was right, we cannot pretend decades-long feud to just fade away, but if no-one ever takes a first step either, then things will never change. Killer Bee will be the new Raikage once A dies, the trick will then be making sure he will at least consider the idea of Peace," Naruto's voice came out in answer.
"Next orders?" the Human Puppet asked.
"Come back home, now that Obito has started digging his own grave he will have every major Village focus on him leaving us free to move. At the moment our priority is to 'Remove' Kabuto before he too will start making damages, once killed the last remaining snake we will cut-off that fool and hopefully start the 'Cleaning' of this Land." the Necromancer answered.
"As you wish, Master. I'll return right away." Veronica answered nodding as she closed the communication, soon blending with the shadows to return to her beloved Master.
With Obito – Rain Village -
"Stop! Please stop this! This is not what I want!" Obito thought in horror as he saw himself talk to Nagato about using the Gedo Mazu as a weapon to march in every Village to slaughter every one crossing their path, even more shocking was seeing the other man nod in acceptance with a look of regret momentarily flashing in his Rinnegan eyes.
"NO! This is not me! This is my body, let me go!" he thought in despair, feeling small tendrils wrap tightly around his own mind.
"Silence! Master Shi wants you to say those things and this is what will happen!" the clacking voice answered harshly, making the Uchiha man shiver as he felt the already feeble control he had slip further.
Ever since that man had spat in his eyes Obito had started feeling strange until that voice had come out in his mind, but whatever he tried he seemed unable to talk about it, in the meantime he could swear something was crawling under his skin until it reached his head, it was then that the voice had gained power over his body, controlling him as a puppet but with him still conscious of it.
"I NEVER PLANNED FOR THIS! I JUST WANT MY IDEAL WORLD! I WANT MY RIN BAAAAACK!" the man cried in despair.
"She has forsaken you the moment you 'fused' with Madara and started killing people by the hundreds, you have already discarded your humanity so I am just claiming this empty shell to follow the orders of my Master. Now BEGONE!" the voice commanded, finally shoving Obito away from the last vestige of control of his own body and turning him into a prisoner of his own flesh.
"Everything done?" a small flame asked as soon as he saw that Obito had been left alone.
"Yes, Master Yahiko." the masked man answered nodding.
"Good, I'll let Baron Shi-sama know, you just follow your orders." Yahiko said.
"Yes, every wish of Master Shi is my command." Obito said bowing low.
"Remember, Baron Shi wants the eye of your Vessel in pristine conditions, do not damage it." the spirit said coldly before leaving through the wall.
"As you command, Master Yahiko." the controlled Uchiha said with a last bow before disappearing in the vortex of the Kamui Jutsu.
From behind the obscure protections hiding 'The Shop Near the Underworld' Naruto smirked in satisfaction, removing with a flick of a finger several white pieces from the chessboard in front of himself until only two pieces remained, the King and the Queen; as his grin grew even more wide he took the King piece and looked at it, chuckling as the piece slowly turned black before setting it back in its previous place.
"Contact Itachi, tell him that I will soon need his and Sasuke's talents in exchange of their return to Konoha." the young man ordered.
"As you wish, Boss." Tayuya answered bowing, soon leaving him alone as she rapidly left.
"...And then there was one...Kabuto-kun." the Necromancer said amused as he playfully flicked the piece a little, making the real (and by now completely transformed) Kabuto look up from his latest project with narrowed eyes.
Another Chapter done, next one will be the one closing the story.
As usual I thank you all for reading my works no matter their flaws and grammar, after this I should be able to focus on my Twilight Princes/Naruto Crossover along the ones in the OP Corner series.
What do you prefer though: for my next OP Corner: A "Familiar of Zero" Cross-over with Bayonetta as Louise's Familiar (Crossover that I surprisingly saw had never been done before) or one with an even-more-OP version of Naruto after the Naruto Manga's ending as her familiar? (I mean VERY OP!).
Please let me know.
Thank you so much for reading, I'll see you all around the net.
Tr230.