INTRODUCTION
Welcome back to the Chronicles. As always I like to start by stating I do not own Naruto.
THANK YOU
Thanks to everyone who reviewed my previous chapter: airnaruto45; newserkzzz; dragonshaun9; ZeroTail29; Gravenimage; Sasuje J; xDARKNESS; FoxSage19; tosakuai; The Flying Lion; Diamond Man; MyHikari; Kushina's Truth of Hell; Komljenovic; SofiaCullen; charles cdv; KrackerJak; LoveOfYourlife; goldone5.
RESPONCES
airnaruto45 - Yes, this is a trilogy. And if you want action then the next few chapters will help with the craving.
newserkzzz - Arashi = Storm
dragonshaun9 - Really? Funny thing with that speech is I drafted 4 versions of the speech and hated each of them! So I scraped it and just decided to just right whatever came to mind and there you go. :) And so you know, I had none of those characters in mind when i wrote the last one.
ZeroTail29 - Thanx.
Gravenimage - I'm glad you liked the Hinata/ Naruto conversation. It was important to me to show these two having an open and honest conversation about thier feelings and finally come to an understanding.
Umm Graven, i think you need to re-read my last chapter. Naruto and Sakura did kiss. ;) Glad you liked it though.
Sasuke K - Thanks for the catch. I've fixed it. Yeah, I don't really do lemons in this story. Maybe for others. Glad you liked the speech. It was really the biggest concern I had for this chapter. Was the NH development disappointing? :( I thought i did a good job on that. They gained a definite understanding and respect for eachother. Why would Naruto try to return her love? Either you love someone or you don't. Forcing it rarely works and just causes more pain.
Don't be so fast to assume Naruto will be willing to forgive Sasuke. Just sayin.
xDARKNESS - My story is slow burn dude. I want my readers to not only enjoy the ride but to enjoy the little tidbits within the story. Hope you did well in that test dude and if i really did help to relax you then i'm glad.
FoxSage19 - Thanx.
tosakuai - Two Towers? Hmm, nope. i wasn't even thinking of that story. But i guess I can see that though. Thanx.
The Flying Lion - LoL! yep. i hate to admit it but FMA is not only one of my favorite manga of all time but it has a heavy influence on how I wanted to depict this story. I'm glad you liked the chapter and i'm having alot of fun writing Konan if you can tell. Kisame, will be seen very soon.
Diamond Man - Wow, you guys really liked that speech huh? Glad I chose to re-write it. :) I'm happy you are enjoying the story so much.
MyHikari - LoL! Sorry but I just can't see Kiba with my darling Ino. Neji is the only man for her. LoL!
I don't know if I'll be able to pull of telling this war. But one thing you can be certain of is THERE WILL BE BLOOD!
Kushina's - Thanx.
SofiaCullen22 - Thanx.
charles cdv - Thanx
KrackerJak - Ok, WOW! O.O i gotta admit this is one of the longest reviews i can remember. I'll try to condence my responce as best i can. Naruto in the manga can only create a max of three Sage clones. But my Naruto is three years older as is everyone else. That's three years of improving that technique. And the clones assigned to the division are neither. And there is a reason for that, to be revealed later.
So book 1 was your favorite huh? Ok, i can respect the reasons for that. Lokk, I'm well aware of the lack of NS interaction throughout the entirety of the story can hurt things a bit. But the story i wanted to tell was far broader than just another NS tale. For me, it's more important telling my version of the story of Naruto. Not just NS. it's for this reason i also focused on other pairings and themes because i wanted this to be about everyone, not just one aspect. And yes that includes NaruSasu which is a major theme in Naruto's growth.
Here's the thing, I considered holding NS until after the war but when I considered how I want things to end I realized it would negatively affect the flow of the story. Also i thought to myself, Naruto and Sakura are about to enter a war where they could die. it made more sense to me for everyone wanting to clear things up just in case no? And it would also make no sense for me to stop my progression towards war to have Naruto go on a date or to highlight more jealousy situations. They had bigger things t deal with don't you agree?
I'm not a NH fan. but i like Hinata as a character...well...kinda. Anyway, I didn't want to bash Hinata in this story. i wanted to show her growth into a strong kunoichi. The same can be said for Sakura and all the rookies. In my story they are all around 20 yrs old so i wanted them to be more mature.
A fourth book? Well, I did say this was a trilogy so...no...well...maybe...ahh...no...hmm...i wonder. Lol!
And finally, I'm happy you liked what i did with Rock Lee. As i said, portraying thier growth was immensly important for me and as i said in a previous reply: THERE WILL BE BLOOD!
Whew!
LoveOfMyLife - You don't like NS stories? Well, hopefully i can help you wuv it! lol!Glad you're enjoying the story so far!
goldone5 - Wow, everyone is telling me Narutos speech reminded them from everything from Herny V to Lelouch! Funny thing is I didn't try to emulate any of them. i just wanted to give Naruto an inspiring, yet informal speech. Glad so many liked it though. And yes, the battle begins now. So strap in and i hope I don't disappoint!
Message from the Author
Ok, so here is chapter 23. Now about this chapter, you should all know that this war is a massive undertaking where i want to show the immensity of this battle across many locations and through different perspectives. As a result, this chapter will contain many changes of perspectives. I hope you like it and appreciate what i'm trying to go for here. And feel free to please leave a little review to let me know what you think.
Naruto: Chronicles of the Seventh
Book III: End of Innocence
Chapter XXIII: Harbinger of Destruction
Tsume quickly ducked and rolled under the large sword as it swung for her head. Another sword came crashing down towards her as she was still on the ground and she rolled back and flipped up onto her feet. Before her attacker could recover she kicked him squarely in the stomach launching him back as the other attacker came at her from behind with his sword raised.
Before his attack could land, Kuromaru, Tsume's canine companion leapt onto the man's back and bit down into his shoulder. His body crumpled to the floor as blood gushed from the open wound. "Thanks Kuromaru," Tsume said.
"No problem," he responded as he began to growl and looked off to the south. "There are more of them coming."
"Shit," Tsume said. She looked back to see the large wooden arrow launcher behind her. The launcher was over two stories tall and fired arrows the size of an oak tree. And the worst part was Akatsuki had brought dozens of them with them. "Hey hurry up and destroy that thing," she yelled. "We'll have company soon!"
"Almost done," Shino responded as his bugs covered the launcher and broke it apart.
Just then Yamato and Ibiki ran out of the bushes and came up to them. "This one is done Tai-cho," Shino said.
"Alright," Yamato responded. "We've got a large enemy force grouping just south of here and they're on their way. I've left a clone nearby to lead some of Division Three's men to take them out. We've got to move now!"
As the group ran off Tsume asked, "Where's the next target?"
"Sai spotted another launcher just over that rise," Ibiki yelled as several explosions went off in the distance. "We've got him high in the sky on one of his ink birds marking each target!"
"Then let's get moving," Yamato yelled.
******Meanwhile******
Hinata and her sister stood on the top of a large hill overlooking the battlefield. She couldn't believe how things had progressed so quickly into all out battle. The entire army had marched out just before dawn to the borders where there was already a large group of Konoha ninja completing the large wooden barriers to help hold back the enemy.
Unfortunately they had little time to relax as within minutes of their arrival, advanced scouts had returned stating that Akatsuki's forces were less than a mile away. Hinata's division was immediately dispatched to the hill they were on now. It was the perfect vantage point to see the entire battlefield and allow them to guide their forces against the enemy.
And within an hour, the enemy was upon them. Hinata was horrified at the brutality at which Akatsuki attacked them. She was forced to watch as her comrades fought bravely yet many were brutally cut down, stabbed, beheaded and worse. But this was her duty. She, her sister and the rest of her division were the ones who had to determine where their forces were needed. As a result they were forced to watch death.
"Oh no," Hanabi said.
"What is it," Hinata asked.
"A large enemy contingent is overrunning our forces to the Northeast," Hanabi responded.
"Ok, that's Choza's location," Ao responded. Ao then turned to a young ninja with a radio and said, "Inform Hiashi to send more men to that location now!"
Suddenly there was a large explosion on the hill below them as dozens of Akatsuki forces poured out of the hole.
"No," Hinata yelled. "They were traveling underground! We need men dispatched there as well. And it looks like one of the ninja among them has an Earth Kekki Genkai."
"You guys stay here," Naruto said as he ran past them. "We need you to continue guiding the army. I'll take care of these guys!"
Naruto sprinted towards the group of enemy ninja as they began to slaughter everyone in the area. Naruto leapt high into the sky and landed right in the center of the group and before they could react began punching and kicking every enemy within striking distance. Naruto's attacks were landing with such force that one kick or punch would launch an enemy into the air and send their unconscious bodies flying.
Naruto then heard a deep rumbling behind him and saw a large landslide hurtling towards him. He quickly leapt in the air, spinning his body over the blast of earth as it shot past underneath him. While in mid air Naruto spotted his attacker. It was the earth element user Hinata had spotted.
Naruto quickly threw several kunai at him while he was midair and forced the ninja to leap about as he dodged the kunai which caused him to go on the defensive. The moment Naruto landed he ran alongside the ninja, throwing more and more kunai which the ninja expertly dodged.
The ninja then made several hand signs and created a platform of earth under his feet and launched himself up and back away from Naruto. "It's over now boy," the ninja said with smile as he quickly made several hand signs and said, "Earth Release: Landslide Technique!" The ground on each side of the ninja began to rumble and then two landslide blasts launched at Naruto from either side. But much to the ninja's surprise Naruto ran directly at him without hesitation. "Fool," the ninja yelled as he smiled deviously.
Standing at the foot of the hill was Ao and some soldiers. They looked on in wonder as Naruto continued his fight. Ao looked around at the dozens of bodies sprawled about. I can't believe Naruto's clone was able to do something like this alone, Hiashi thought. If his clone is this strong then just how strong is the real Naruto?
Naruto sprinted at the ninja just as both landslides closed in on him. He then created a hand sign and said, "Release!" and much to the ninja's surprise, both landslides exploded in several areas, causing his jutsu to fail.
Naruto leapt through the dirt and smoke and stabbed the ninja in the side with a kunai. "Uhh," the ninja yelled as he spat up blood. Naruto then gently laid the ninja's body on the ground. "How," the ninja asked.
"Those kunai I threw each had explosive tags," Naruto said. "When you dodged them they would fall on the ground and when you used your Earth Technique they were absorbed into your attack."
"Damn," the ninja said as his eyes closed. Naruto turned and returned to the rest of the group. "Continue you're observation. I'll take care of guarding you all."
"Right," Ao said.
A few feet away Hinata looked at Naruto and smiled. Thank you Naruto-kun, she thought before returning to her duty.
******Meanwhile******
Konohamaru was thrown back by the force of the explosion and landed hard on the ground. He and his unit were tasked with overtaking a key location and after a grueling campaign, were beating back the enemy. Then suddenly there was an explosion from beneath their feet followed by blood, noise and darkness.
Konohamaru's head was spinning and he knew he had lost consciousness at least once. Then he felt himself being lifted in the air and he opened his eyes to see Iruka yelling at him. But he couldn't hear him above the ringing in his ears.
"….you ok Konohamaru," Iruka yelled as he tried to get through to the young man who was clearly in shock.
Konohamaru shook his head and finally he could hear and think clearly. "What," he asked.
"Are you ok," Iruka asked again. "We need to keep moving. Are you ok?"
"Yes," Konohamaru said. "Wait, what about the others?"
Iruka shook his head solemnly. "They were too close to the explosion," he said. "Most were killed and the ones who survived are being taken back to the medical area for treatment. How about you? Can you still fight?"
Konohamaru nodded and got to his feet. All around him, he could see the dead bodies of his comrades. A few feet closer and that would have been him. "It appears Akatsuki planted paper bombs underground," Iruka said. "We need to be careful. Let's go! Naruto and the other units are up ahead clearing out the enemy."
Konohamaru took a deep breath and ran alongside Iruka towards the enemy location.
******Meanwhile******
The body of the Akatsuki soldier crashed to the floor. His head was caved in and he was bleeding from the mouth. Standing above him was Tenten. She was breathing heavily and her clothes were tattered and dirty. In her hands was a smoothly polished oak bow staff.
Four more ninja closed in on her and she quickly parried one attack and swung the staff, hitting her attacker squarely under the chin. Blood and teeth spat from the ninja's mouth as he crumpled to the floor. The second attacker came from behind but Tenten was prepared; swinging her staff behind her and burying one end into the soft dirt, she used it to vault herself up and over the ninja and landed behind him. Before he could recover she leapt into the air and kicked him in the back of his head pitching him forward and face first into the ground.
The third attacker grabbed her staff in an attempt to slow her while the fourth attacked swung his sword at her face. Tenten quickly slid her finger and flipped a small switch on the staff and it suddenly broke into three equal pieces connected by chains.
The move took the third attacker off guard and she quickly pulled her sansetsukon free. Within a matter of seconds she blocked the sword and swung her weapon, hitting both ninja in the head and knocking them out cold. Tenten spun her sansetsukon around her body and over her head before going into a ready stance to fend off any other attack.
Tenten turned to see Hana and her three companions were in the midst of using Double Sawed Fang to take out several dozen enemies. Tenten was so caught up in watching Hana that she didn't notice the ninja slowly rising from the ground behind her with a kunai in her hand.
"Watch out Tenten," Kurenai yelled as she leapt to Tenten's aid. Before the enemy could attack Kurenai made several hand signs and large vines shot from the ground and grabbed the ninja by her wrists and waist.
Tenten turned and punched the ninja in the face, knocking her out cold. "Thanks Kurenai-taicho," Tenten yelled.
"Look out," Naruto screamed as he grabbed Tenten and leapt away. High in the sky, hurtling towards them was a large arrow the size of a tree. Hana and her dogs leapt clear and just when Kurenai was about to jump one of the enemy ninja, lying on the floor, grabbed her by the ankle and smiled.
Kurenai looked up to see the arrow bearing down on her and desperately tried to pull her leg free. Just then Kotetsu jumped in and pulled her free and threw her clear as the arrow crashed to the ground. The earth shook from the impact as the arrow crashed into the dirt, knocking over trees and throwing twisted bodies everywhere.
Naruto got to his feet and helped Tenten up. "Is everyone alright," he asked as he looked around for survivors. Other Konoha ninja began to get up while others remained dead all around. "Kurenai-san," Naruto screamed as everyone looked around.
Kurenai shook off the mud and dirt off of her has she struggled to her feet. "There she is," Yoshino yelled as she ran to help Kurenai up. "Are you alright," Yoshino asked.
"Yes," Kurenai said. "It was Kotetsu. He pushed me out of the way." It was then she realized what that meant. Everyone looked at the large wooden arrow and knew; somewhere under there was a dear friend now lost.
******Meanwhile******
"What's their status Hinata," Ao asked.
"Kurenai's Division has already lost a third of her soldiers tai-cho," Hinata said. "And another platoon of Akatsuki ninja are already closing in on them."
"Damn," Ao said. "Alright maybe we can…."
"Tai-cho," Hanabi yelled. "We have a problem to the north!"
Ao activated his Byakugan and looked to the north. What he saw made his blood run cold. "Oh no," he said.
Out in the distance Ao and the others could see dozens of Akatuski ninja pulling in two large wooden machines, both several stories high. They were launchers capable of firing extremely large shurikens. Such a weapon could kill hundreds of them at a time.
"We need to marshal our forces and send them in to stop those machines," Ao yelled. "Notify Divisions Two, Three and Five of those weapons and have them move in now!"
******Meanwhile******
Sakura was kneeling between the beds that contained two of her fallen comrades. Both had been brought in from the battlefield with grave injuries. The one on the left had been caught in an explosion of exploding tags. He had third degree burns all over his face and chest while the one on the right was part of a platoon that ran into an Akatsuki force led by a ninja with a Flame Release Kekkei Genkai. He was the only one was the only one who survived.
Sakura had a hand on each one as she desperately attempted to heal them both simultaneously. She was doing this because she had no choice. The injury riddled bodies of her comrades were being brought in by the dozens. Within the hours since the battle had begun her division was overwhelmed by the shear number of injured ninja that were coming in.
Sakura was forced to send the ones whose injuries weren't as bad back to the medical ward in Konoha while she and her staff worked on the critical patients.
"Tai-cho," one of the medics yelled as he ran up to her. "Tai-cho, we just received another patient. She has a collapsed lung and several broken ribs. One of them is threatening to puncture her heart. We need you right away!"
"Give her a shot of adrenaline to keep her heart going and I'll be there as soon as I can," Sakura responded.
Just then the patient on her left coughed up blood and gasped. "No," Sakura whispered as she stopped healing the one on the right to focus on the dying man. His heart stopped, Sakura thought as she desperately poured more chakra into him to get his heart going again, but within a few seconds she knew it was too late.
Sakura slowly lifted her hands from the dead mans chest and stared at him in silence. Some distance away there was an explosion that un-nerved the medic that was standing nearby while Sakura didn't flinch. "I'm sorry Tai-cho," he said. "You did everything you could."
"Go give that woman the adrenaline," Sakura said. The captain hesitated for a moment as if there was something he wanted to say. Just then Sakura raised her head and he could see the tears in her eyes. "Didn't you hear what I said," Sakura yelled. "We don't have time to be waiting around while people die!"
"Right tai-cho," the medic answered as he saluted. He quickly turned and ran off as Sakura turned to tend to the ninja on her right. Damn you Sasuke, she thought as she continued to heal the man. I can't believe this is what you wanted.
******Meanwhile******
"Everyone get down," Shikaku yelled causing his men to dive to the ground. A large shuriken, fired from the massive launcher, flew past over their heads. Many of Shikaku's men were fast enough to dodge the deadly weapon. But dozens more were not so lucky, as the large shuriken tore through their bodies, cutting them in half and coating the ground in their blood and remains.
"Damn it," Shikaku yelled in frustration. "We have to get up that hill and destroy those two machines before it kills us all!"
"Stay focused Shikaku," Choza yelled as he helped his friend to his feet. "It takes them about three minutes to reload that behemoth. We should be able to get there in time. Let's keep moving."
Shikaku looked to find Naruto helping the others. "Naruto," he said. "Is there anything you can do?"
"I'm just a clone," Naruto said. "So my abilities are limited. But once I get up there I can use Rasengan to destroy the machine."
"Right," Shikaku said as he looked to his remaining troops and yelled, "C'mon men! We're almost there! For Konoha!" With that the large group screamed as the continued their ascent.
******Meanwhile******
Some distance from the main battle Madara stood watching things progress. Standing to his left was Sasuke and his right was Zetsu. Just behind them was Kisame and Karin. "Things aren't progressing as quickly as I'd like," Madara said. "Konoha's organization is far too precise. We need to throw them into more chaos. Do that and the battle will be won."
Sasuke looked off to the East and then said, "I see. Konoha has placed a large division of the Hyuga clan away from the main battle."
"They must be using their Byakugan to determine our locations and relay them to their forces," Madara said.
"Then what we must do is blind them to our movements," Sasuke said as he walked towards a female ninja standing not to far away. She wore a hood and had a large scroll strapped to her back. "You have your target," Sasuke said. "Make sure every Hyuga is dead."
The woman bowed in silence and leapt up into a nearby tree and ran off, leaping from branch to branch. She took care to avoid the Konoha forces as best she could as she made a beeline for her target's location.
At one point she was spotted by two Konoha ninja who quickly gave pursuit. They didn't notice the woman pull out a small scroll and wrote something on it and then stick it to a nearby tree.
The woman waited for them to pass the note before she made a hand sign and disappeared before their very eyes. The two ninja stopped and began to look about for any signs of her. "Uhh," the ninja on the right yelled as he spat up blood and fell from the tree with a kunai in his back.
The ninja on the left was momentarily frozen in fear as his comrade fell and before he could recover, the woman was upon him, stabbing him in the eye and into the brain with a kunai. She quickly turned and left as her victim fell from the trees.
Within moments, she could see the clearing where a group of Hyuga stood about as they scanned and analyzed the battle. As she came to the last tree before the clearing, she stopped and hid in the shadows and removed the scroll.
The woman then leapt down from the branch to the ground without making even the slightest noise and walked out into the clearing.
"Tai-cho," Tokuma yelled as he spotted the woman at the edge of the clearing. Ao, Hinata, Hanabi and the others all looked at the woman who merely stood there with her large scroll.
"An enemy got through," Naruto asked. "How! How is it that no one sensed her!"
Using her Byakugan, Hanabi quickly got the answer. "It's because she has no chakra," she said. "Take a look at her. I can't even see her chakra network."
"Impossible," Hinata responded. "No one can mask their chakra that completely!"
"It doesn't matter," Ao said as he looked at two other Hyuga ninja. "Take her out. Try not to kill her if you can. We can see what she knows."
As the two ninja closed in on the woman with their kunai at the ready, the woman dropped the scroll onto the floor and unraveled it. On it were intricate circular pictures and kanj. The woman quickly bit both of her thumbs, releasing a small bit of blood and wiped them on the inside of her palms. She then slammed her hands onto the scroll and much to everyone's surprise, a dozen Akatsuki ninja appeared in a puff of smoke in front of her.
"Shit," Ao yelled. "That's some sort of reverse summoning jutsu! Everyone, prepare for battle!"
Within seconds the woman had summoned several dozen Akatsuki ninja who all ran at Ao and his men, hungry for blood.
******Meanwhile******
"Keep moving everyone," Hiashi yelled as he spurred his Division on. "We're almost at the top! Once there I want the entire area surrounded and then we'll attack."
"Tai-cho," a ninja yelled as he sped up to Hiashi. "We just lost contact with Division One sir."
"Lost contact," Hiashi asked. "Is there something wrong with our equipment?"
"No sir," the ninja responded.
Hiashi stopped on the tree branch and turned towards the direction where Division One was camped and activated his Byakugan.
Just then Naruto arrived and yelled, "Division One is under heavy attack! One of my other clones is there."
"I know," Hiashi said as he continued to watch the scene unfold.
Just then Guy arrived. "Then what do we do," he said. "We need to destroy those launchers up there. But if we lose Division One, we'll lose our advantage."
Hiashi then looked to them and said, "I'm heading back. I'll take a small group with me. Guy, you take command of the Division in my absence."
"Right," Guy said.
"I'm going too," Naruto said.
"No," Hiashi said. "We need your help to take out those launchers." Hiashi dipped into his flak jacket and removed the specialized, three-pronged kunai and handed it to Guy. "Here," he said. "In case you need to execute the plan without me."
Hiashi quickly turned and leapt away with a dozen ninja in tow. Hinata, Hanabi, I'm coming, he said. Please just hold on.
******A few minutes later******
"So tell me again what the plan is," one of the Naruto clones asked.
"We're the distraction," Shikaku said as he stared across the wide open expanse at the hundreds of Akatsuki soldiers who stood in front of the two large shuriken launchers. "We will attack them head on and force them to focus their entire force on us. In the meantime, Yamato and his group are hiding and once the enemy is distracted they'll move in to destroy the entire thing. We'll also try to get both of your clones close to it to give the final blow."
Both Naruto clones looked around at the hundreds of Konoha ninja that had gathered to destroy the launchers. They all were tired, some injured and dirty. Right next to him was Konohamaru, Guy, Iruka, Shikaku, Choza and Choji and as he looked about one of the clones spotted a familiar young face. It was young boy Katsu, from earlier this morning. Naruto was glad to see him alive but saddened to know that he was here.
"All right," Guy said. "Let's do this!"
Across the plain, hanging half way up one of the launchers was Suigetsu, who was using his hand to shade his eyes from the sun. Suigetsu smiled as he saw hundreds of Konoha ninja pouring out of the trees heading towards them. Suigetsu climbed down the launcher and looked to Juugo who was standing near by.
"It looks like things are finally gonna get interesting," Suigetsu said with a smile. "And here I thought playing security guard for these fucking things would be boring."
"You enjoy battle far too much Suigetsu," Juugo said.
"Ha! Don't act like you don't either Juugo," Suigetsu said. "Maybe if you allowed yourself to cut loose once and a while you wouldn't have had to create an alter ego to release your dark side."
Juugo stared at Suigetsu harshly and then turned his back to him. "You don't know anything about the burden I have to carry," he said.
"Burdens are just weights we choose to carry Juugo," Suigetsu said. "All ya gotta do is put it down." Suigetsu then looked at all of the men who wee reading themselves for Konoha's arrival.
"Well," he yelled. "What the hell are all you idiots standing around for! Our job is to protect these fucking things right? So get your asses out there and spill some blood!"
The ninjas all sprinted out to meet the Konoha ninjas as Suigetsu laughed riotously. Just then he noticed several birds high in the sky and paused as he watched them. Just as Juugo was about to leave, Suigetsu grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "Not so fast my friend," Suigetsu said with a smile. "We may have other guests to the party."
******Meanwhile******
Madara remained stoic as he watched the war progress. "Konoha's forces have engaged Suigetsu, Juugo and their division," Sasuke said. "And Ayuki has made it to those Hyuga. She's already summoned five dozen of our men. They'll soon be taken care of. However…"
"However," Madara asked.
"How long will I have to play this game of yours Madara," Sasuke said impatiently. "I told you, Konoha has to be destroyed by my hand."
"And it will Sasuke," Madara replied. "This is but the opening blow. The final strike will be made by us." Madara spread out his arms in a sweeping motion and gestured behind him where the ominous Demonic Statue of the Outer path sat. "But before then," Madara said. "There is still yet one more card that must be played."
End of Chapter Twenty Three
Next Time: Innocence Ends
"All men dream...but not equally..."
The Curse is coming...