Hello again! Here is the awaited invasion of Konoha! Hope you'll find it suitably epic.

About reviews of the previous chapter: Tobi didn't kill everyone alone. You'll see for yourself in the chapter below.

Thanks ABitterPill for betaing.

Kagaseo's Advice: I would suggest listening to a song like 'Rules of Nature' from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (hell, the entire soundtrack of this game would fit), or 'We are finally cowboys' from No More Heroes while reading the chapter, for extra ambiance.


Chapter 12:

Hellfire

It took Gaara five seconds and a fist breaking his nose to realize he was in serious danger.

The man in front of him was both faster and stronger than the redhead. He was surrounded by steam, moved faster than Baki and could hit with the power of an enraged bull. His arm raised, the red giant charged forward.

Summoning a cloud of sand, Gaara attempted to crush the man's legs from underneath, only for the giant to leap gracefully, crossing the distance between the two ninjas, and kick the Sand-nin's stomach. The sheer might of the strike propelled the redhead to the other side of the arena, crashing against a tree.

Quickly returning to his senses, Gaara summoned a platform of sand under himself, and used it to dodge a new charge by floating above the stadium. He doesn't appear to have long-range techniques, the young ninja noted. If so…

"Sand Blades," Gaara whispered, shaping hundreds of swords out of refined sand and launching them at his opponent, as a deadly rain of projectiles. Moving faster than the wind, Han skillfully dodged the onslaught, started running up the arena's walls, and used a burst of steam to propel himself through the air.

Two seconds later, his hand went through Gaara's automatic defense, the sand armor, grabbed the redhead's face, and threw him towards the ground below. A cushion of sand automatically reduced the shock and prevented the fall from killing the Ichibi's vessel outright. As he saw the red giant descend upon him like a meteor, Gaara started panicking. "The Han's Blazing Kick of Doom!" the crazy ninja shouted happily.

"Sandstorm!" A tornado of sand surrounded Gaara, shielding him from the Han's view. When the red giant landed, it was on the arena's soil instead of Gaara's face, and he found himself trapped in a thick sandstorm.

Unable to see clearly, the former Iwa-nin protected his eyes and listened. "The Han didn't think you would be such a coward," he taunted Gaara, hoping to draw him out of hiding. "Come and get your ass kicked."

A beastly roar answered his taunt. A creature slightly bigger than him, looking like a one-tailed Tanuki, emerged from the tempest, maw wide open. "I will not let you destroy me!" it declared with Gaara's voice. "I won't let you end my exis-"

"The Han's Godly Slap!" the giant replied, unimpressed, as he slapped the demonic tanuki with enough strength to break two of its fangs. "The Han is not going to destroy you. The Han is going to annihilate you to the point all that will remain of you shall be memories. Other's people memories. The Han forgets losers quickly."

"Sand Shurik-" Han interrupted the attack by punching the beast's jaw. The creature attempted to fight back with its tail, only for it to be absentmindedly deflected by a kick. The giant started beating the crap out of Gaara, easily tossing the monster to the ground.

"Let's play humanball," Han whispered, gathering all his strength and a good chunk of his chakra reserves in his leg and kicking Gaara while he was still down.

The Jinchuuriki was propelled upward, flew above the stadium, and landed in the forest outside Konoha. Using his steam to fly above the city, Han quickly found the tanuki.

He was getting bigger.

Han soon found himself staring at the fully manifested Shukaku, the creature easily the size of a building. The unconscious Gaara was sleeping on the top of its head, having allowed the beast to take over. "You little piece of shit!" Shukaku roared maniacally, glaring at Han. "This is gonna suck, for you!"

Han shrugged, and flew in the creature's direction. "Take this!" Shukaku started firing bullets of air with astonishing accuracy. One of the blasts barely missed Han and went on to destroy a large chunk of the forest.

Han narrowed his eyes, making hand seals midair. This was going to take most of his chakra reserves, but it would show Gaara which of them was the boss. "Steam Screen."

Han's body started producing an incredible quantity of steam, enough to create a large cloud around him. It prevented Shukaku from seeing clearly. "Come on, get out here!" the Ichibi snarled, as the steam cloud closed up. He would probably target the unconscious Gaara, but the Shukaku wouldn't let him get close. "I wanna see your bloody face when you die!"

It was indeed a face that came out of the cloud first.

A dolphin's head, with five horns of varying length. The creature was slightly bigger than Shukaku itself, a white horse the size of buildings. Its five tails waved with majesty, and the Ichibi winced. "Oh shi-"

"This is for calling me 'My Little Pony' in front of dad, you asshole Raccoon!" Kokuo, the five-tailed beast, headbutted Shukaku's stomach with its horns, knocking Shukaku on its back. Then the giant horse jumped above the tanuki. "And this is because you're ugly!"

"Wait, please, don't do-"

"Five-mountain jump!"

The Gobi's hoofs smashed Shukaku's head so strongly the shockwave blasted the Ichibi's body and a good chunk of the forest around them into dust.

When it was over, the Gobi dematerialized, allowing Han to regain control and land on the ground safely. "It felt wonderful," the horse mentally told its host. "Can we do it again? Please?"

"Later," Han replied, before glancing at the Shukaku's remains. "The Han warned you his punching-bag you would be."

"Yeah, yeah, well, do the victory ritual and let's go help your pals, I'm pretty sure this energy surge I sense comes from Chomei."

Han quickly found what he sought: the defeated Gaara, laying stunned in his own sand. "Say uncle," Han ordered, grabbing the redhead by the collar. "Say uncle, bitch."

"U… uncle…"

"The Han dominated you," the giant boasted, claiming Gaara's forehead protector as his own, "And that's his trophy." He put the defeated boy on his shoulder, turned around, and prepared to go back to Konoha and let the town marvel in his wonderfulness.

Two people were observing him.

"You know, Itachi," Kisame Hokage, shirtless and wielding Samehada, grinned at his partner. "I think next time I defeat you in a spar-"

"If you do that," Itachi Uchiha replied, his only facial expression being in a deadpan frown, "I won't ever speak to you again."

"It wouldn't change much," Kisame deadpanned, glancing at Han next. "You recognize us?"

"The Han would say you're a shark and a crow on a walk," Han replied. "Could you please step out of the Han's way?"

They didn't.

"Well, suck to be you."

Han threw Gaara at the two ninjas.

Itachi, his Sharingan activated, easily dodged the surprise attack, but the slower Kisame was forced to deflect the improvised projectile with his hand. Exploiting the opening and realizing he would be easier to take out than his partner, the Gobi's vessel charged at Hoshigake.

The swordsman attempted a horizontal strike, which Han avoided by lowering himself. Extending his arm, the giant had it hit Kisame's stomach. "The Han's One Man Lariat!" he shouted upon knocking down his opponent.

Such strike would usually kill an opponent in one move. In fact, the man who taught it to Han in the first place, a crazy rapper from the Land of Lightning, pretended he snapped a man's spine with it.

Kisame was barely hurt, much to the Gobi's chagrin.

"We're all gonna die! He's a shark, I'm a dolphin, I'm lower in the food chain!"

"I don't wish to hurt you," Itachi whispered, launching a volley of Shuriken aimed at Han's eyes. The Gobi's vessel was forced to leap away to avoid getting blinded. "Surrender and I promise we will not harm you."

"Sorry, the Han learned never to trust people who kill their own family for the hell of it," the giant replied, closing the gap between himself and the Uchiha. If the man stayed at distance and if his frail appearance was to be trusted, he could dodge blows, but he couldn't survive them.

"Fire Stream Technique!" Itachi whispered, his hands moving faster than the eyes could follow. Like a dragon, he breathed a long cone of fire at his opponent. Gathering steam around his body as an improvised protection, Han kept charging through the fire, endured the heat, and attempted to punch the Uchiha's face.

Itachi gracefully dodged the first punch…

And realized Han's second hand aimed at something else.

"The Han's Brutal Manhood Castration Fist!"

Itachi, suddenly very afraid, activated the Mangekyo.

An ethereal but very real giant fist hit Han's face, propelling him a few meters away from the Uchiha. As he landed to his feet, the giant looked up.

And up.

Itachi was surrounded by a colossal, colored armor of solid chakra. Its shape was vaguely humanoid, with strong arms, a head, and the allure of a knight. Itachi was standing inside the chest plate, glaring at the former Iwa-nin with genuine rage.

"Wow… you're compensating for something, right?"

At Itachi's expression, Han understood he should have kept his mouth shut.

The ethereal warrior's fist moved faster than the wind, smashing the spot where Han used to stand. Reacting faster, the Gobi's vessel managed to dodge, pondering his actions. "Run like hell!" the Gobi immediately suggested. "I've already used a good chunk of our chakra with the Five-Mountain Jump! I need a few minutes to get it back, so put as much distances between them and you, rest a little, and come back for round two later!"

"He's too fast," Han noted, struggling to escape Itachi's attempts at crushing him. "Can you give the Han enough chakra to go one tail?"

"You're going to get us killed," the Gobi complained, although he agreed to Han's suggestion. A cloak of thick white chakra surrounded the red warrior's body, creating an artificial tail behind the former Iwa-nin's back.

His speed and strength enhanced, Han circled around Itachi, stopping when he had the mass murderer's back in sight. Before the Uchiha could rotate, the red giant tackled his strange chakra armor with his shoulder. The blow failed to destroy Itachi's protection, but the shockwave threw him to the ground.

Wasting no time, Han repeatedly punched Itachi's ethereal armored plate, quickly cracking it open. Raising his two hands and joining them, the giant prepared to smash through the chakra armor and shatter the Uchiha's skull in one strike.

Then he was striped of the Gobi's chakra.

Han actually blinked in surprise at this new development, a mistake that cost him the fight. Samehada hit his red armor with enough power to snap a tree in two. The metal endured the hit, but Han was tossed aside.

"Itachi, with me!" Kisame made hand seals, his partner imitating his motions. "Water Style: Shark Bomb Jutsu!"

Han raised his eyes, and faced two dozen shark-shaped water projectiles as they prepared to land on his face.

The resulting explosion was deafening, water flowing enough to fill a pool. When the assault was over, Han laid in the water, knocked out.

"Wow… two more seconds and he would have broken past the Susanoo…" Kisame noted, unable to resist the urge to mock his partner. "It takes balls…"

"Kisame, if you ever speak of this event to anyone, I will kill you," the Uchiha promised ominously, glancing at the unconscious Jinchuuriki. "Let's get these two and continue with Sasori-san's plan."

"Right, right…"


It took Tobi twenty seconds to kill Danzo.

He had attempted to kill the masked man with a blade of wind, only for the Uchiha to teleport behind the Root leader, and pierce his skull with a kunai. The man collapsed, blood flowing from his injury. "That was… anticlimactic," the Uchiha noted, kicking the corpse to see if he was playing possum. "Strange… I expected more."

When the body vanished into thin air, only Tobi's instinctive activation of his intangibility saved his brain, as a kunai phased through his skull. Teleporting to the other side of the room, the masked Uchiha found himself staring at a very much alive Danzo Shimura. "The hell?"

Danzo replied by firing a volley of miniature bullets of air at his opponent. Tobi reacted instantly by countering them with fireballs. In doing so, he noticed one of the Sharingan implanted on the man's arm had gone blind.

Putting two and two together, Tobi smirked behind his mask. "Izanagi, the most forbidden Kinjutsu in the history of the Uchiha clan," he mused, Danzo closing the gap between them, blades of wind forming around his arms. "Why? Because overuse of it weakens the individual's grip on reality, resulting in madness. All of that to surpass Sarutobi? You can't stand being second best, can you?"

"If I can kill you here, Konoha will be safer," Danzo replied, ignoring his opponent's taunting and attempting to find a flaw in the man's intangibility. "No price is too high for that."

"You think you can save anyone, Danzo? You are not a hero. You're just a walking corpse." Tobi vanished, replaced with a hundred explosive tags. They instantly vaporized Danzo. "Why don't you do like all old men and die?"

Sacrificing another Izanagi to escape death, Danzo was quickly grabbed by the throat by the masked Uchiha. "Alright, I tire of playing with ruins," the masked man mocked, his Sharingan absorbing the air around him. "Time to vanish in the void!"

Reacting quickly before he could be absorbed, Danzo shoved an explosive kunai in the hole in space. Realizing the danger, Madara interrupted his technique and backed down. Unlike Danzo, he survived the explosion, although he was thrown across the room by the blast.

"Just as I thought, you are forced to materialize to activate your absorbing technique," Danzo noted, once more cheating death. "You cannot stay intangible and open the gate to whatever place you drag your victims to at the same time."

Madara groaned, getting up. His broken mask, damaged, fell to the ground, revealing the face underneath.

It wasn't Madara Uchiha.

Danzo didn't bother to hide his surprise, upon identifying his nemesis. "You should be dead," he noted flatly, before being blast apart by a volley of powerful fireballs.

"Sorry, being buried alive does not count as certain death," the unmasked Uchiha deadpanned, attempting to kill Danzo the second he appeared back. "Although I had to undergo a little plastic surgery to be presentable. The boulders did ruin my face. As you can see, beauticians did wonders with this face."

This face, it was the grown up version of a Uchiha that died in a mission, for the sake of the Leaf. An untalented boy who graduated as the dropout of his class, and as such was put in the same team as the genius Kakashi Hatake. Even if apprenticed to Minato Namikaze, the boy hadn't shown any particular aptitude. Danzo would have forgotten him, if he hadn't sacrificed his life to ensure the success of a capital mission during the Third Shinobi War. For such sacrifice, his name had been written on Konoha's memorial, and Shimura had considered him a hero.

Obito Uchiha had changed for the worst.

He had grown into a handsome man, with a pretty face and a happy smile. His left eye, extracted by Rin Nahora, had been replaced with a two-tomoed Sharingan, much different from the right one. All in all, he could be mistaken for a charmer, if it were not the fact he oozed with malevolence and killing intent.

"I am certain there is an interesting story behind your survival, Obito Uchiha," Danzo noted, firing a powerful, rock-shattering gust at his opponent. "Why are you doing this?"

"Harming Konoha?" Obito asked flatly, stopping Danzo's counterattack with a wall of flames. "Uchiha Flame Battle Encampment!"

"You died a hero, and you rise from the grave as one of the Leaf's greatest foes," Danzo replied, trying to navigate around the barrier and exploit an opening. "Is it because of Rin Nahora?"

"Please, you think I try to take over the world for a childhood crush? I'm not that petty, Shimura-kun." Obito teleported right in front of Danzo, gutting him with a kunai. "To be honest, I just don't give a shit about her and Kakashi anymore."

"I should rejoice he is not there to see how far his role model has fallen," Danzo replied, materializing right in front of the Uchiha. This time, the Akatsuki member didn't turn intangible fast enough. "Rasengan."

With his right hand, Danzo smashed a sphere of chakra on Obito's chest.

The powerful aftershock propelled the Uchiha against a wall, although he seemed more angered than harmed. "My own teacher's technique," Obito snarled, dodging a bullet of wind, "Minato-sensei used it too, the night of the Kyuubi's attack, after I interrupted the suppression of the Kyuubi. Almost got me too."

On anyone else, the attempt at psychological warfare might have resulted in slipping up, but Danzo knew better than leave an opening. Instead, Danzo analyzed the battle's development. The fact he took my Rasengan and dodged instead of teleporting means he is economizing his space-time ninjutsu, the old man guessed. It makes sense. It must be extremely difficult and after fighting my men he must be low on chakra.

Obito apparently read his mind, for he smirked wickedly. "Our fighting styles aren't this different, which means it falls on endurance. Either you run out of Sharingan to save yourself, or I run out of chakra to dodge your strikes. The one who lasts the longest wins."

"So you indeed released the Kyuubi on Konoha," Danzo whispered. "I was right in the end, it was an Uchiha who did it. I just got the wrong ones. I regret having pushed for their destruction."

"I laughed really hard when you ordered Itachi to destroy his own clan," the Akatsuki member gloated. "I mean, come on, you destroyed mentally and physically every Uchiha except the right one! Although I helped you a little, of course."

"The only mystery is, why?" Danzo asked. "Why did you release the Kyuubi?"

"Technically, I didn't break the seal. I simply interrupted Minato-sensei's attempts at reinforcing it when his boy was born. Without his intervention, the seal weakened enough for the Kyuubi to crawl out of Kushina's belly on its own." Obito snorted, firing a stream of fire at the Root leader. "The Kyuubi's rampage was a complete accident. Honest."

As he dodged, Danzo listened closely to what the madman had to say. "I had come to kill sensei's boy in revenge for leaving me under rocks, but when he managed to save the brat, I settled on the wife. Unfortunately, the Kyuubi had already broken its shackles, and all I could do was watching the resulting arson and mass destruction. Bah, at least the fox killed Minato and Kushina before being sealed."

"You caused the death of thousands over a petty grudge?" Danzo snarled, showing genuine anger for the first time in the battle. "Do you have any idea how much it cost us all?"

"I don't care," he replied bluntly, closing up to Danzo. "I've left my conscience under the boulders, literally. I feel no remorse for what I do anymore, for I am a true Shinobi. You should take a few notes."

"Fool." Danzo attempted to kick Obito, only to end up passing through him. "A true Shinobi mustn't feel emotion, true, but he must still have a conscience, for his loyalty is what differentiates him from the rabble."

"You are the one to talk," the Uchiha mocked, incinerating the man with a well-placed fireball. He coughed briefly, slightly tired. "I know everything, Danzo. About how you covered up Orochimaru's experiments for your own use. How you plotted with Hanzo and accidentally created Pain. How you set up Kabuto Yakushi and his mother to kill each other. How you plotted to extract the Kyuubi from Naruto Uzumaki in clear violation of the Sandaime's wishes, backing down only because there was no seal master the level of the Yondaime around to guarantee the procedure's success."

"I did what I did for the good of the Leaf," Danzo shot back, using a shunshin to appear in front of Obito and punch him by surprise. The Uchiha staggered a little, and teleported away before the war hawk could finish him off.

"No, everything you did, was for your own ambitions, because you wanted the Hokage seat, because you wanted a Konoha in your twisted image. Liars like you anger me. At least I have the courage to recognize the truth about my own motives." Tobi reappeared a few meters away, throwing two Fuma Shuriken at his adversary. "When all Bijuu are mine, I will create a new world without feelings. A world where there is no nation, no lies, no identity, no pain. I will kill the self itself."

Dodging the projectiles, Danzo retaliated by activating Shisui's Sharingan. "Great Fireball Jutsu!" Having copied Obito's own technique earlier in the fight, the war hawk unleashed a blast of fire at the Uchiha. The man phased through it, showing genuine tiredness.

Danzo silently cursed his lack of foresight. Shisui's Kotoamatsukami could have won the fight, if it wasn't this long and hard to prepare. He should have prepared it before going into battle.

"Phew, at this rate, you're gonna win," Obito deadpanned. "You're tougher than expected. I guess it's time to stop playing fair."

Before Danzo could blink, a white maw broke past the ground underneath his feet and ripped his face off.

Using another Izanagi to materialize away from the fake Madara Uchiha, Danzo ground his teeth.

"You didn't think I beat all your men on my own, did you?" Obito snickered. "You aren't the only guy here with a personal army."

Dozens of monsters emerged from the soil and the walls of the room, all identical. They were vaguely humanoid, although they lacked clothes, reproductive organs, and hair. Their flesh was white, their teeth were fangs, and their eyes feral. He had already seen these creatures somewhere. "Zetsu."

"Zetsu was their template, the first of thousands." Obito grabbed one of the creatures, Danzo's Sharingan noticing the chakra being transferred from the beast to the renegade Uchiha. "Kill him boys."

The remaining creatures charged with a hiss. Joining his hands, Danzo pushed them back with a powerful gale. However, more rushed inside the room. One nearly killed the old man by ripping its fangs into his jugular, getting his head perforated by a blade of wind for his trouble.

"They feel neither pain nor fear," Obito commented, replenishing his reserves by draining a Zetsu Clone's. "They don't have particular abilities or tactics, but they're good at killing. There are ten thousands of them in this building. Within three years, I could make one hundred thousand of them. Quantity is a quality all of its own, a wise man said."

Biting his finger, Danzo summoned his Baku and stood at its top. The creature looked like a dark orange elephant, with tiger limbs and bandages around his head. The beast started sucking the nearest Zetsu Clones, while Danzo exploited the suction to launch new Wind Techniques at Obito.

"They slaughtered your men like pigs," the Uchiha mocked, using his space-time ninjutsu to phase through the attacks. "A few of the Root killed some of my pets, but they were swarmed in the end. And now… these creatures are all converging toward this location. All I have to do is send waves after waves of them at your until you run out of Sharingan to sacrifice. Don't worry, when you're dead for real, I will have them attack whatever Leaf-nin Sasori's pawns spared. It should be… entertaining."

A hundred Zetsu Clones dropped from the ceiling, surprising Danzo. The Baku summon was quickly swarmed and roared in pain as its flesh was ripped off. The war hawk himself died once again, his throat ripped apart by one of the creature's fangs.

Reviving once again, Danzo was forced to his knees. He had exhausted nearly all his chakra. At best, he could use one last Izanagi by sacrificing Shisui's eye.

"Finally out of chakra?" Obito mocked. "Let's make a deal: you tell me where I can find Edo Tensei, and I promise it won't hurt… much."

"If you and these creatures get away… you will harm the Leaf…" Danzo joined his fingers, deciding to activate his last ace in the hole. "If so…"

Seals covered the walls. The corridors of Root's base lightened. The entire lair shook, and in a split second, Danzo's world was swallowed by a bright light.

When he opened his last eye again, Shisui's Sharingan dying out, Danzo stood in the center of a smoking crater, under the bright sky. His entire base had self destructed, annihilating the street it was hidden under. If the charred remains surrounding the war hawk were to be trusted, then the Zetsu Clones had been destroyed to the last one. "I succeeded," Shimura whispered proudly. "I did it."

"Ha ha, no."

A kunai transpierced Danzo's back, causing him to gasp in a mix of pain and surprise.

"That was close, but I'm better than that," Obito whispered to Danzo, as he materialized behind the Root leader. "You did wipe out my pets though. Bastard. It will take so long to get new ones…"

He slowly approached his mouth from Danzo's ears. "Any last words?"

Danzo, for the first time in his life, smiled with pride.

"Thanks for being so close."

The seal on his stomach activated.

Tobi was too surprised to escape. A sphere of blackness grew out of Danzo, absorbing light, sound, matter itself. The renegade Uchiha, caught off guard, drowned in the darkness, unable to teleport away. When the jutsu was over, Danzo collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "Sarutobi…" he whispered with his last breath. "The rest… is up to you…"

Silence fell on the battleground for a few instants, until a two-faced creature rose from the ground, having observed the battle from afar since the very beginning.

"Fuck, Tobi has been sealed!" Zetsu cried in horror. "He's deeeaaad!

"What is sealed can be unsealed, moron… I think. Maybe." His other half snorted. "Let's grab Danzo's corpse and get the hell out of there."

"And the city?" White Zetsu asked. "Shouldn't we be helping Orochimaru?"

"Tobi's our priority. He'll have to win on his own." Black Zetsu snickered. "The plan has gone off the rails…"

"Oh fuck…" White Zetsu blinked. "He's there."

"Who?" Black Zetsu suddenly picked up the very special chakra signature. "Guess he was motivated after all."


As Enma, turned into an adamantine staff, parrying the Kusanagi, Sarutobi suddenly realized he hadn't aged well.

His mind was as sharp as ever, true, but what he had gained in experience, he had lost in vitality. Hitting seventy was considered exceptional in the Shinobi world, yet old age was a terrifying foe, weakening the Hokage's muscles and reducing his endurance.

And Orochimaru fought with unmatched strength, which was odd.

"Getting tired already, sensei?" the renegade Sannin's mocking sneer caused Sarutobi to curse himself for not having killed his student, back in his underground laboratory. With a kick, the snake pushed back his opponent, and the Kusanagi extended like a spear.

The Hokage dodged the strike, while Terumi unleashed small bullets of lava at the Akatsuki member. Sarutobi was both impressed by the Mizukage's Kekkai Genka and Orochimaru's flawless agility, as he dodged the attack with grace and elegance.

So much potential had gone to waste…

Slamming his hands to the ground, Orochimaru summoned a true sea of snakes, advancing forward to consume all life in its path. Placing his staff horizontally, Sarutobi jumped on it and achieved a difficult balance, the reptiles unable to adhere to Enma and reach the Hokage. Meanwhile, Mei Terumi created a wall out of lava, shielding herself.

Sarutobi spared a glance at his other students. The undead Shodai had created gigantic roots, preventing the Sandaime from seeing anything more than a few explosions. So far, Jiraiya and Tsunade seemed to do well.

Orochimaru suddenly turned into inert earth, the real one attempting to stab his teacher in the back.

Reacting quickly, Sarutobi spun on himself and kicked Orochimaru's skull with all his strength. The bone in his leg broke upon contact, pain flaring through his nerves. The Sannin's bones were harder than steel, and he barely felt the strike.

Grabbing the Hokage's leg, Orochimaru tossed him into the sea of snakes. Sarutobi made hand seals midair, creating a pillar of rock to land on safely.

Mei chose this time to reappear, incinerating the reptiles with a powerful fire jutsu. Sarutobi, unable to move due to his broken leg, decided to give her support, creating dragons of earth to launch at Orochimaru. His renegade student dodged them, avoiding the flames that had slaughtered his summons.

Jiraiya seized the opportunity to sneak on his old teammate and hit him with a Rasengan.

The surprised snake summoner was propelled against his own barrier, crashing against it and being set on fire through mere contact. As Orochimaru shed his body to survive the flames, Tsunade reappeared at her sensei's side, promptly healing the leg. "It will hurt," she said upon placing the bone back in place, causing Sarutobi to groan. "Don't overtax it, it's only a temporary solution."

"Alright," Sarutobi glanced at Jiraiya. "The Edo Tensei?"

"Sealed," the man replied, presenting him a scrolls covered with symbols. "It will hold them until we can released the technique."

The Hokage nodded, and prepared a new jutsu. "Mizukage-dono, Jiraiya, now!"

The three ninjas all unleashed a blast of fire at Orochimaru, incinerating his flesh. The Sannin hissed, his skin falling apart and revealing the true face underneath, that of a teenager. Sarutobi blinked, upon realizing the truth. "No… you completed this abominable technique?"

"I did more than that, sensei," the man smirked malevolently, his body transforming. His skin turned brown, a tail grew out of his tailbone, and sharpened bony spikes pierced his own skin. "Let me show you the power of the last Kaguya."

Spikes of bones were projected in all directions, forcing the group of S-rank ninjas to disperse. Moving with incredible speed, Orochimaru prepared to crush the Sandaime's head with his bare hands. Jiraiya grabbed his teacher, leapt away with him, and turned his hair into needles. The projectiles didn't even pierced the traitor's skin. "What were they supposed to do?" the man mocked Jiraiya.

"They were supposed to hurt," Jiraiya deadpanned. "Guess I will have to try a bigger caliber."

"Sorry, but they'll never compare to bone bullets," Orochimaru shot back, pointing his fingers at his enemies and firing multiple, small spheres of reinforced bones. Jiraiya and his partners barely dodged them, aware they could easily pierce any protection.

Tsunade, the fastest of the group, sneaked up on Orochimaru and punched his ribs with enough strength to shatter a mountain. The traitor was propelled against the purple barrier, cracking it and causing the entire building to shake. Yet, as he rose up to his feet, he shed his body once more, reappearing unharmed. Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "This would have killed a giant summon."

"By combining this special body structure with my own regenerative ninjutsu, I am practically indestructible." Orochimaru grew a javelin out of his arm. "I can't say the same for you." Tsunade rushed forward, this time intending to crush her former teammate's head and kill him in one blow.

Orochimaru smirked, and stabbed his own arm with his javelin, throwing his red blood at Tsunade's face.

The woman instantly stopped moving, paralyzed by her hemophobia. Orochimaru laughed and launched his javelin toward her chest, aiming for the heart.

Sarutobi reacted on impulse, and pushed his female student out of the way.

The spear of bone pierced the old man's iron armor plate, went through the stomach, and ravaged the intestines on its way out. Blood was splattered on the ground, the Hokage collapsing. Tsunade snapped out of her trance, and rushed to his side. "Sensei!"

Meanwhile, Jiraiya, reacting faster than Orochimaru, smashed a giant Rasengan on the traitor's chest. The renegade Sannin hit the purple barrier, which finally shattered, and was propelled into the arena. Trusting Tsunade to save the Sandaime, Jiraiya jumped in pursuit of the traitor.

As both rivals locked eyes, each preparing the summoning jutsu, Jiraiya couldn't help but find it familiar to his last duel with Orochimaru, back when he left the Village. This time it'll be different, he promised himself mentally.

The arena was filled with smoke, and two gigantic beasts faced each other. This time, none of them complained about their summoner, and attacked one another in silence. Manda, the colossal purple snake, moved to bite Gamabunta, while the toad boss parried with his blade.

Moving to avoid the two titans, their summoners jumped into the audience's stands to pursue their duel. The place was covered with corpses, and ninjas were still fighting to the death. Most wisely exited the range of the two S-rank ninjas, and the unlucky ones were sliced in half when Orochimaru unleashed horizontal blades of wind at his rival. The toad sage barely dodged the attack, but it still grazed his left side and drew blood.

"I hope you realize I'm going to kill you, like I just killed sensei," Orochimaru attempted to threaten his adversary, as four snakes swirled around his hand and extended to bite Jiraiya.

"I would like to see you try," the toad sage unleashed a stream of fire with his mouth, incinerating the reptiles and forcing Orochimaru to step back.

Mei chose this time to return, unleashing an acid mist on Orochimaru by surprise. The astonished Sannin hissed in pain, both his flesh and bones dissolving, while meanwhile the two giant summons dissipated, Gamabunta due to having been bitten in the jugular, Manda because his face had been impaled by a giant Katana.

Orochimaru vainly attempted to exit the poisoned mist, only for Jiraiya to smash his nose with a Rasengan when he tried. The man was pushed inside the mist once more, cursing.

"I am the immortal Orochimaru," the Sannin boasted, preparing to shed his body again. "I am without equal!"

"I hate to break it to you, but…" Mei Terumi ignored the man's ramblings, as she fired a small bullet of lava in the mist's direction, "Women aren't always soft."

Orochimaru barely had the time to blink before the poisonous mist ignited.

The explosion's blast nearly caused Jiraiya to fall on his back. The shock caused the stadium to shake, the noise was deafening, and the renegade Sannin was torched alive. His flesh was incinerated, his blood boiled, and his organs exploded. Only the unbreakable skeleton remained, falling lifeless to the ground.

Mei waited an instant, narrowing her eyes. "Did I get him?"

After sealing the remains, just in case, the toad sage gave his answer. "Yeah," Jiraiya whispered. "We won."


When the scorpion's tail wiped out the entire street in one sweeping motion, the ninjas dispersed.

"So," Sasuke shouted, Fuu grabbing both him and Naruto, insect-like wings growing out of her shoulders. Kakashi and Yugao meanwhile jumped roof from roof, trying to dodge the creature's tail. "Does anybody have a plan?

"Kill the beast, and kick Sasori in the balls," Fuu replied. "In that order, if possible."

"Alright, let me correct this: does anybody have a good plan?"

"He's a freaking human puppet, he doesn't have balls… I think. Someone should check out later." Naruto bit his finger. "Fuu, I'll need your help. Summon a big one, but hopefully, not Manda. I'm pretty sure he would rather eat us than help."

"Got it." The trio landed on a distant street, and Naruto offered his blood to Fuu. The girl completed the summoning and slammed her hands to the ground. Smoke filled the entire district, as a giant cobra materialized.

"Who dares summon me in the middle of my nap?" Smaug sneered, his nostrils releasing smoke. He glanced at his summoner and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, it's you tourists. What do you want?"

"How much will I have to pay you to kill a giant scorpion without doing too much property damage?" Naruto asked.

"Not enough. If you ignore the property damage we can work on a decent paycheck later."

"Konoha will be destroyed anyway if we fail," Apophis told Naruto, the snake still hiding under his master's clothes.

I hope nobody will take him for one of Orochimaru's summons, Naruto mentally added. "Alright… go for the kill."

The snake charged, crawling and hissing. The giant scorpion moved sideways, its stinger launching shots of corrosive poison at the giant reptile. The creature dodged them easily and closed the gap, swirled around the arachnid's tail, and started biting it. The fangs pierced the monster's carapace, resulting in the scorpion shrieking and attempting to shrug off its attacker.

"Fuu, you're going to give Smaug air support with the Nanabi's help," Naruto ordered, forming a strategy. "Sasuke, we'll try sneaking up on Sasori."

"Good luck then," Fuu snorted, blood and green chakra mixing to create a shell over her skin. She flew upward, then dive bombed one of the scorpion's legs, crushing it and immobilizing the creature.

"How are we supposed to beat Sasori in close combat?" Sasuke asked. "It didn't work out well last time."

"I've got a trump card that could take him out, but I need to get close enough to pull it off and since it has a limited duration, we got to make it count." Naruto raised his eyes to the skies, noticing the growing black cloud above him. "You know what, I changed my mind. Let's run."

A metallic sand fell from the skies, turning into tendrils and spears. The two Konoha-nins fled as fast as they could, the projectiles flattening the houses around them. Tendrils of black sand progressed toward them, forcing the teens to dodge them with difficulties. Sasuke searched under his clothes, bringing out a small bottle, and threw it on the ground, releasing a small pond of water.

"Water Style: Aqua Projectiles!" Sasuke shouted, the water turning into small, pressurized bullets. They deflected the tendrils, giving Naruto enough time to try locating Sasori.

The man was standing on a flying platform of black sand, the Third Kazekage hovering closer to Naruto and Sasuke. Silently, the puppet's arms opened and unleashed a volley of kunai at the duo. Sasuke used the remaining water to create a dolphin-shaped missile of liquid, which impacted against the projectiles. "Han's technique?" Naruto asked, searching a projectile in his bag.

"Yeah," Sasuke admitted, glancing briefly at his friend's weaponry: a bottle full of a black liquid equipped with a handkerchief… which Naruto promptly set on fire with his lighter. "What's that?"

"A spiced drink," Naruto deadpanned, throwing it with all his strength upward at the Third Kazekage, as Sasori was too far away to be targeted directly. The projectile landed on its face and set it and its robes ablaze, much to Sasori's horror. "I guess making puppets of wood has its downsides."

The black iron shifted uncontrollably, Sasori's platform decomposing. The rest of the metal sand flowed in all directions, without aim or purpose. "The Kazekage lost control of its magnetism," Naruto noted, before realizing a literal tsunami of metal was rushing in their direction, with little way to escape.

A wall of earth formed out of the soil and stopped the attack, shielding the boys. They glanced behind them, locking eyes with their savior. "I guess I'm a little late, as always," Kakashi shrugged behind his ANBU mask.

The moment was quickly interrupted when the Third Kazekage, still ablaze, shattered the earth wall and charged toward Naruto, a buzzsaw having replaced his left arm. "Lower!" Naruto heard a female voice shout.

When Naruto threw himself to his knees, barely avoiding brutal mutilation, a tanto sliced the Third Kazekage in half. The puppet's remains crashed on the ground right at Naruto's side. "Thanks," the blonde told Yugao, as the woman put her blade back in her sheath.

"No problem," Yugao told him as she helped Naruto get back to his feet, before Kakashi removed the wall, allowing them to see Sasori.

The puppeteer was around one hundred meters away, staring in genuine surprise at his destroyed puppet. He glanced briefly at his summon, which was slowly being ripped apart by Fuu's claws and Smaug's fangs in spite of its valiant resistance

"I never thought I would lose these two," Sasori told himself, before removing his clothes, revealing six arms, a cable extending from his belly and scrolls attached to his back. "It has been a long time since I used myself."

Using the cable to lift himself in the air, Sasori seized one of his scrolls and opened it. Naruto blinked, when the skies above him were shadowed with a hundred puppets armed to the teeth. "I will show you a spectacle that brought a country to its knees," the puppeteer boasted, chakra strings forming out of his chest and animating the puppets. "Kneel before my performance!"

The hundred puppets descended, their weapons raised.

"I need to get close!" Naruto told Kakashi and Yugao, the latter instantly backing him up. The two ran toward Sasori while dodging its puppets, Sasuke and Kakashi destroying them with fireballs.

"Back down," Sasori warned, his hands starting to shoot streams of fire at the blonde. Yugao pushed them back with a powerful gale, and proceeded to cut in half an axe-wielding puppet with her tanto the following second.

Sasori wisely attempted to back down, suspicious of Naruto's plan… only for Fuu to tackle him by surprise from behind, crashing with the redhead to the ground. The puppeteer quickly pushed her back with a stream of pressurized water, but Naruto finally had him in range.

Touching his arm, Naruto activated the anti-chakra seal.

There was no flashy effect, no sparkle, no dramatic wind. Yet the effects were instantaneous. Sasori fell to his knees, the chakra flow allowing his body to move disturbed. The strings he created vanished, his hundred puppets turning inanimate. Fuu shrieked in brief pain, struggling to maintain her chakra cloak. Yugao coughed, as if she suddenly caught a flu.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked the two girls, while Sasuke and Kakashi quickly joined them. They looked deadly sick.

"I've been worse," Yugao chuckled.

"Nana's chakra is more potent than a human's, hence, I still have access to its power," Fuu replied, "Let's make it quick."

The blonde nodded and glanced at the former Suna-nin. "So?" Naruto asked, remembering Sasori's words in the Forest of Death, "How does it feel to be dragged to my level?"

Sasori didn't reply anything. He couldn't move, his body being dependent on chakra to move. Naruto and his allies carefully approached him, with Naruto being the closest.

Then he noticed Sasori's fingers twitching.

Taking a step back, Naruto barely avoided a sneak attack, a kunai barely missing his leg. Sasori, much to his cousin's shock, rose back to his feet, albeit with difficulties. "Impossible,"

"Always have a back-up is my motto," the puppeteer shot back. "I've got a battery. It's a poor substitute for Chakra, but it will work for a time." He snickered. "Interesting secret weapon, Naruto. I am genuinely surprised."

Naruto searched inside his bag, preparing to bring out his flamethrower. A fuma shuriken thrown in his direction interrupted the blonde, who instinctively dodged.

Much to his horror, Naruto realized half a dozen ninja in grey were rushing in their direction. Their headband's symbol was similar to a sound note.

"You think you're the only one who thought about bringing reinforcements?" Sasori deadpanned, before turning his back and running away.

"Shit, he's trying to get out of the seal's range!" Naruto cursed.

"Yugao, Sasuke, Fuu, take care of these ninjas," Kakashi commanded, before locking eyes with the blonde, "Care for a game of hide and slay?"

Naruto nodded and raced after Sasori, praying his friends would be safe. The three engaged Sasori's goons, while Naruto and Kakashi rushed after the missing-nin.

They quickly caught up to him inside a half-destroyed alley. Sasori used a pile of rubbles as cover and started firing small fireballs with one of his arms to keep his enemies at bay, Naruto and Kakashi hiding behind the alley's corner. Searching in his bag, Naruto quickly put on his heat resisting suit and gas mask. "At my signal, we rush in," Kakashi said, preparing three smoke bomb. "Go!" he ordered when tossed them in Sasori's direction.

As smoke filled the alley, reducing Sasori's field of vision, the duo charged inside and progressed past the piles of rubbles. Kakashi reached Sasori first, a kunai in hands. The redhead dodged the attack, grabbed Kakashi's shoulders, and propelled the copy-nin against a wall with all his strength. Unfortunately for the puppeteer, it gave Naruto enough time to close the gap and activate his flamethrower.

Sasori shrieked when flames swallowed his body whole. The wood composing his body burned, as he was brought to his knees. Naruto pursued his ruthless assault, although he felt a brief instant of sadness over killing a family member.

Then he remembered what happened to Anko, Sakura, and Sai, causing him to press the flamethrower's button more forcefully.

He would have roasted Sasori alive, had not pain suddenly raced through his arm, forcing him to stop. The place where the anti-chakra seal was located felt like hell, and when Sasori's burning form rose up once more, it didn't take long for Naruto to guess what had happened.

The seal had glitched.

"I hate prototypes and design flaws," Naruto cursed, as strings of chakra swirled around his flamethrower, stealing it. A metallic hand caught and tossed it to the ground.

As Sasori emerged from the flames, Naruto couldn't help but shiver.

The wood and face had been turned to ashes. The fake skin had burned. All that remained was a skeleton of metal, the armature around which Sasori's artificial body was built. A small compartment, probably containing Sasori's vital organs, was pulsating inside the ribs. The face had been replaced with a skull, the eyes with glass.

"You have been a bad brat, Naruto," Sasori whispered, his voice created by artificial lungs. "Time to get punished."

He quickly charged. Naruto instantly grabbed his tanto's pommel and unsheathed it, targeting the articulations of one of Sasori's arm, slicing it. However, he was no match in close combat for the puppeteer. One of the monster's metal hands grabbed Naruto's throat and lifted him above the ground. Even through the heat suit Naruto could sense the heat from the melting metal.

"This is very sad," Sasori whispered serenely, one of his hands turning into a buzzsaw and aiming for Naruto's arm, "But I will have to cut a limb or two. You left me no choice."

Apophis chose that instant to pierce the heat suit, swirling around the metal arm and halting its progress. The snake hissed in pain over touching the hot steel, and unfortunately, it became quickly clear the puppeteer's inhuman strength would prevail over his feeble resistance.

Naruto's eyes noticed Kakashi sneaking behind Sasori, a ball of lightning inside his palm. The puppeteer heard him, released Naruto and rotated, raising his weapon.

Blood was splattered over the ground.

Sasori's buzzsaw sliced Kakashi's throat, while Kakashi's Chidori destroyed Sasori's chest, destroying the heart inside. The two stood immobile, in a mix of astonishment and despair, glancing at their mutual mortal wounds.

"I see," Sasori whispered with a strange sense of serenity, falling to the ground with his defeated opponent. "This was… unforeseen."

Kakashi would have replied something, if he still had a voice. "Killed… by the son… of my parent's murderer…" Sasori glanced away, his body failing him. "Such a stupid way to go…"

Kakashi didn't have last words, but he had one last thought. As he started bleeding to death, his sight failing him, he pictured a face in his mind, that of a friend long gone.

What would you think of me, Obito?


When Naruto rose up again, he got rid of the mask and inhaled deeply. "Are you okay?" Apophis asked, the cobra sounding genuinely afraid for the blonde's life.

"Yeah," the Jinchuuriki replied, before glancing at the two dead ninjas.

After briefly checking out Sasori's corpse in case he was playing possum, and quickly realizing he wasn't, Naruto put his tanto back in its sheath and examined Kakashi. The man's heart had stopped beating, and he seemed strangely peaceful in death. Naruto sighed and glanced at the dead redhead.

"Farewell, Sasori," Naruto said, upon picking up the flamethrower and proceeding to burn to ashes any remaining organic part of his dead cousin, in case Pain had the means to repair him, "I sincerely hoped it could have gone another way. Maybe… maybe in another life, it will be different."

When the fire died down, Naruto put his flamethrower back in his bag, and with great difficulties lifted and carried Kakashi's corpse. The Sharingan was too precious to be left for any passer-by to extract, and it would allow Konoha to give Kakashi decent funerals.

"I hope Yugao and co managed to win," he told himself, before shrugging, "Of course they did."

The first thing he found, when he returned to the site of the battle, was the corpse of a giant scorpion and the remains of Sasori's goons. "Uncle returned home," Apophis told Naruto, hiding under his clothes, "I sense three heartbeats a bit farther north."

A short time later, the blonde found his friends laying on the ground, bloodied and unconscious. A man had put his foot over Sasuke's head, and locked eyes with Naruto, who instantly recognized him.

The man had orange, almost red short spiky hair. His skin was deathly pale and covered with piercings. His eyes were inhuman, a Dojutsu. His slashed headband represented Amegakure, and his black robes were covered with red clouds.

"This man," Naruto heard Apophis whisper, "He has no heartbeat. He isn't alive. You must flee-"

"You have gone farther than you should have. But then again, you hadn't crossed a god either. The ride is over, Naruto." Pain raised his hand. "Time to pray."

An invisible force sent Naruto crashing against a wall, knocking him out instantly.


Glancing down at the town of Konoha, the six paths of Pain observed the fighting. Blood was filling the street, former allies fought one another, banners were forgotten in the chaos. All that remained was the desire to harm someone, to endure and survive. Peace was a foreign notion

Obviously, this city hadn't suffered enough to reach enlightenment.

Five Paths of Pain left, each of them carrying a body. The Deva Path floated above the Hokage Monument, joined his palms, and uttered a death sentence. "Shinra Tensei."

And the Hokage Monument crumbled, the landside devastating the Leaf.

In a single instant, hundreds of lives were wiped out by rolling rocks. In a single second, buildings that lasted for nearly a century were crushed underneath the head of the Yondaime Hokage. As the power of the Rinnegan unleashing untold destruction, true equality was achieved. Men, women, children, civilians, ninjas, Konoha-nin, Suna-nin, were the same in death.

The grim reaper did not discriminate this day.

When the technique was finished, a quarter of Konoha had been reduced to ruins. As Pain contemplated his work, flying above the ground to return home, he found himself drunk on this vision.

Pain to the world.


A/N: yep, the invasion ends with an Akatsuki semi-victory. Semi because while they captured the Jinchuuriki, many of their main members are dead or incapacitated, their resources have taken a hit, and Konoha has survived.

Many elements in the different battles were inspired by the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, especially the moves of Han and Mei.

Han's fighting style is more or less the Juggernaut's: getting close to the enemy, beating him up with physical blows, taking hits instead of dodging them... at least this is what I gathered from his brief fight in canon. Oh, and Gaara never stood a chance. Never.

While writing the Danzo/Tobi fight I realized their fighting style was more or less the same: all attack while using a technique to cheat death repeatedly. I think a canon duel would be a matter of who can last the longest. And half of what Tobi said during the fight were lies meant to make Danzo slip. Psychological warfare if you prefer. And I had him do a little plastic surgery to be presentable.

I've got the impression many dislike Tobito, at least after his identity and motives were revealed. I preferred to insist on his cruelty/madness to make him a nastier antagonist: less whining and ranting, more vicious and insane. Hope the small change worked for the best.

Anyway, next chapter will detail the aftermath of the invasion, and then the second half of the story begins.

Would you kindly review?