Review Responses:
Guest: Nope but have no fear, Riku is coming along with the rest of the new Team 7! Also I've seen it spelled both ways.
meee: Thanks! I'm trying this new thing called slowing down haha. With that whole school thing, I was thinking the same thing. Sadly I won't be able to update as often but I will be able to up the quality (hopefully). I guess it's both positive and negative, let's just hope the quality makes up for the time.
Ohnoki sat staring at the letter on his desk. It was sent by Naruto but that wasn't what had his attention. Instead he was staring at one sentence. He couldn't stop reading it.
During the invasion, the Raikage was engaged in combat with the Mizukage and was killed in combat.
'Killed...How? I've known that man since we fought Madara! How could he have been beaten?' Ohnoki didn't want to accept the fact but it was impossible to deny. Naruto had sent the letter himself and if Ohnoki knew the boy like he thought he did, then there was no way that the letter was a fake. He also realized that the threat they faced was greater than even Madara. They were in serious trouble.
"Gather the army." He glanced at the still crouching messenger. "We are going to meet them half way."
Naruto had been working non stop for the whole week in a desperate attempt to drown the feelings of what he thought was another failure on his part. He felt that if he allowed these feelings to return, that he would break. Now he was close to breaking physically as his work and lack of sleep were taking its toll on the young Hokage. His head snapped up as the door opened and his wife entered, concern written quite clearly on her face.
"Naruto you need to come home. Please I...we are all worried about you." Sakura silently pleaded with her husband.
"I...I can't...I need to do this. If I don't stop him now then Iwa will be the next to fall. I can't let that happen Sakura. I can't." Naruto looked physically drained. He knew that he couldn't keep operating under this stress but he didn't know what else to do.
"Naruto if you keep this up the stress will break you. You may be strong, in fact I don't know anyone that could work at this level for a week, but still everyone has a breaking point and I can tell that you have reached yours. Please, please Naruto don't do this." Sakura's eyes began to water as she added, "If you won't do it for yourself then please do it for me and Hotaru." Naruto felt guilt wash over him as he seen the woman he loved begin to cry for him. He quickly got up and wrapped his arms around her. She finally let it out. All of the sadness, all of the loneliness, everything that had built up over the past week. She let it all out as she let his heat envelope her. Naruto couldn't stand seeing her like this but could think of nothing to help her, so he stood there and let her cry into his chest.
After several minutes, Sakura's crying had quieted down to sniffles and the occasional sob. When she looked up she saw Naruto's blue eyes staring back into hers. She let herself get lost in his eyes as she stared at them. After a minute she remembered why she came and finally looked away as she cleared her throat to speak.
"Naruto please, promise me that you will never do this again."
"I-I promise. I don't want to see you like that ever again. I'm so sorry that I scared you. I just...I just can't help feeling like I failed the Raikage." He looked away as he said that, not wanting Sakura to see his pain. She gently turned his face to look at hers.
"Naruto you never failed anyone. A knew the risks that came with being a shinobi. He also knew that being a Kage meant he would be a target for anyone attempting to over throw him or invade the country. He knew the risks but yet, just like you, he performed his job. However, this job carries those risks and it finally killed him. I wish that I could say that he, or you, were never in danger, but a lie like that could explode in my face one day. I know your in danger and I want to do my best to keep you alive. If you died... I don't know what I would do..." Sakura's voice trailed off as her mind followed that train of thought. She suddenly pulled Naruto into a deep kiss. When they pulled back Naruto seemed very confused.
"What was that all about?"
"I wanted to make sure you were still there."
"Sakura," She turned to look at Naruto as he began to speak. "I would never, ever, think of leaving you and Hotaru. This life is too perfect for me to leave it and I could never hurt you and Hotaru like that. You are the woman of my dreams and Hotaru is my precious son. I couldn't do to him what my parents did to me. It may have not been their fault and I have forgiven them, but still I know the pain of growing up without parents. Even if he still had you, the pain of my death would be unbearable for the two of you. I could never do that to you." His eyes began to tear up as he remembered his own childhood. He always vowed to never put his children through that pain and he intended to keep that promise.
"Oh Naruto..." She buried her face back into his chest. "I'm so glad your in my life."
The couple sat in Naruto's office, enjoying the feeling of each other's embrace.
The Reaper sat watching the flames as they consumed the Hidden Cloud Village. He already had all of the fighters out of the village so now he bathed in the sounds of screaming as the rest burned.
"Sir this doesn't seem right. Why would we invade a village if-" The lieutenant groaned and looked down to see a chakra hand embedded in his chest.
"This," the Reaper yelled, "is what happens when you question me. You will all show nothing but absolute loyalty or else." To prove his point, he lifted the man into the air and turned so everyone could see his face. The Reaper grinned when he heard several gasps as the man's eye color faded to white. He dissipated the chakra hand and let the body fall before he turned back to face his army.
"Within one weeks time we will rest comfortably in the village of Iwa. Until then we march. Move out!" Like a swarm of ants, the army began to pour into the countryside. Unkown to most of them, the Tsuchikage sat waiting for their advance.
The Rock's fate would be decided in the coming fight.
Riku glanced at his teammates as they ran. They fled the approaching army and cursed their luck. By some divine intervention they had been sent to help a client in the Cloud when the Reaper struck. They barely made it out as he lit the city on fire, burning it to the ground. The sick part was he never evacuated the civilians. Instead he said "those that are too weak to fight have only one purpose: death." After that he blew the tunnels and sealed the gate. Riku, Misaku, Hotaru, and Kakashi had barely made it out as the fireballs rained down on the city. The memories of the burning corpses and the stench made him want to vomit.
"Hey Riku are you ok?" Riku looked up to see Hotaru staring back at him. Hotaru could tell that something was bothering his best friend and he really wanted to figure out what.
"Everyone down. Now!" They all leapt down into the bushes and tried to suppress their chakra. A pair of feet came into sight and suddenly they heard Kakashi give of what almost sounded like a yelp of surprise as he was lifted out of the brush. Riku and Misaku jumped out of the bushes to help their sensei and just stopped, Riku even dropped the kunai he was holding.
Hotaru leapt out to help his comrades and was met by the sight of the last person any of them wanted to see: Rykuga Azu.
Naruto was at home with Sakura when he heard a tapping on the window. He groaned as he rolled out of bed, complaining the whole time. He tried his best to allow Sakura to sleep and he had no doubt that she would stay asleep. She had been emotionally exhausted when she came to Naruto that morning. He dragged himself to the window and was somewhat startled to see Yuki outside the window. Riku's hawk had learned how to speak human and was almost fluent, only the occasional mistake here and there.
Naruto opened the window to allow the hawk entrance to his house. As soon as Yuki was through the window he began to speak.
"Naruto, Riku sent me to get help but I knew only you can do anything in this situation." Naruto immediately tensed up, worried about them all especially his son. "It's Rykuga." Those words caused his eyes to flash red. No matter what his relationship with Kurama was, the fox would always force himself to the surface to protect their precious people if the threat was serious enough. This time though he knew Naruto could handle it. He only flashed the eyes to show his anger at the situation.
"Naruto what is it?" Naruto's head snapped around, his eyes coming to rest on his wife. Sakura stood rubbing the sleep from her eyes while waiting for an answer.
"Go back to bed Sakura. I will handle this." He turned around and was about to teleport from the room when he got a fist on the top of his head. "What was that for?"
'Didn't you just promise me TODAY that you wouldn't worry me anymore?! I. Am. Coming. With." With that said she spun around to get on her gear. Naruto knew he could leave right there but he also knew that if he did he would probably want to stay out of the village for awhile. In record speed, Sakura emerged from their room in her usual outfit. "Ok ready to go."
Naruto hugged Sakura and Yuki jumped onto his shoulder.
"Flying Thunder God!"
A flash of orange was the only thing marking their disappearance.
Kakashi formed his Chidori and was about to plunge it through Rykuga when his hand was suddenly surrounded by bone.
"Remember Kakashi, perfect control of my body. Sadly I'm not here to kill you. Today. Instead on need information on the advancing army. You have 30 seconds to tell me everything you know before Naruto shows up. If I'm not satisfied then I will kill you and your team, leaving it up to Naruto to cry over the loss of his son. Your 30 seconds starts now."
Kakashi knew that Rykuga was deadly serious. He also knew that if Hotaru died then Naruto would most likely go on a rampage. So instead of allowing Rykuga the satisfaction of causing said rampage, he began to tell Rykuga what he wanted to know.
After the 30 seconds were up Rykuga nodded and dropped Kakashi before he disappeared. An orange flash lit up the area signifying the arrival of their Hokage.
"So that's all that happened? No speech about insanity? No attempting to kill you all after you told him? He just left? That doesn't seem like Rykuga at all. We need to keep an eye on things and see how they turn out." Naruto was still puzzled but didn't question the turn of events. He could only be grateful for whatever caused Rykuga's behavior. Still it was very unnerving for him to be so...merciful.
"I agree but first can we please get out of here dad? Remember there is still an army out there." Hotaru watched as his dad chuckled and nodded. Everyone linked hands as Naruto uttered the three needed words.
"Flying Thunder God!"
For the second time, in a very brief period, the area became orange and the group of ninja (and one bird) disappeared.
The Reaper watched yet another man get sliced in half. He was getting agitated at Rykuga's interruption. It didn't help that every time they would cut off a limb that a new one would grow along with the limb growing another Rykuga. After the Rykuga in front of him absorbed all of the other Rykugas into himself, he had went berserk, cutting down well over 70 men in the last 5 minutes.
"Enough of this child's play Reaper. I have come to fight you, not these pathetic weaklings." As if to emphasize his words he shot a man in the head that has about to cut off his hand.
"Hm. So you have finally come to fight me huh? Well, this time there will be no escaping death. I'll finish you here." A chakra sword and shield materialized in his hands. Rykuga's hands and forearms turned iron before shifting their shape into two long blades that grew until they were dragging in the ground.
"Shall we?" With that the two rushed at each other, an entire army ready to witness the epic battle that was surely going to take place.
AN: Well there you have it. Rykuga actually showed mercy and the Reaper is even more messed up then before. Thanks for reading and please leave a review of your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!
Next Chapter: Rykuga vs the Reaper