A/N: This is my first try as an author so bear with me. English isn't my first language so don't hesitate to pm me with any fault you find, I am always eager to learn.
Earlier today, I went to check the in-box from the Email address I'm using for this site because I needed to retrieve some activation link from another site I just registered on. The thing is I don't really check that box that much, since I'm using some other Email for my professional communications.
You will all laugh at me, but I didn't know that every time someone put my story in their favorite or alert list, I received an automatic mail from the site. It is the same with private messages and some other alerts things too. You can see the stats for my story in my profile, so imagine me discovering that my in-box contained more than two thousands mails from the site.
That was the start of one very exciting hour to sort through everything and delete those automatic mails …
I'm pretty new to this site, merely started to write this story a little bit more than one month ago, so I guess there are still things I don't now about this website :) Sorry about this mini-rant, I thought it could serve those who don't know about this "nice" feature.
Not much to say concerning the reviews I got from last chapter, overall positive reactions to Naruto's newest powers. Some of you are asking about Natsuki and her getting out of the seal, it's getting there don't worry, it will happen.
Anyway, welcome to the next chapter of Kaze No Kami.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other manga for that matter.
Chapter 39: Shinobi Alliance
Samurai's Fortress
The battle was still going on, Iwagakure's elite forces were struggling to get inside the Samurai's base, defended by General Mifune's men and with the Alliance's shinobi defending the higher levels of the base.
The attacking side was the one with the most casualties so far, losing more than a hundred men. The Samurai forces had also lost around eighty men out of their three hundred so far while the Alliance had yet to lose any member among their ranks. Mifune's men were fiercely defending the main gate, knowing that if their enemy came to break their defensive line, they would be have no difficulty to invade the rest of the base.
After another failed wave, an Iwa officer with fifty men under his command was about to call for another charge when the sky suddenly darkened. The commander held up his arm, momentarily delaying the charge.
Looking up, everyone could see the appearance of a huge dragon flying above them with two people riding on its back. Each side could recognize the people on the Dragon's back, Kurotsuchi the Tsuchikage's granddaughter with Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, the Kaze no Kami from the Leaf.
Absolute silence, no one dare to move an inch as they all gazed at the new arrival, having a hard time figuring out why those two weren't hostile to each other.
"I guess we have their undivided attention, Tsuchikage-dono." Naruto said to the kunoichi riding behind him as he ordered his Dragon summon to get closer to the Fortress.
"What now ?" Asked Kurotsuchi, highly amazed by the result of their arrival on the battlefield.
"I guess it's time for you to take command of your men so that we can finally stop this battle." Replied the blond jonin with a smile as he put a hand on her shoulder.
The crowd was stunned again, as they saw a flashing light leaving the back of the Dragon summon to almost instantly land on top of the base's main gates.
Iwagakure's and the Alliance's most experienced warriors recognized the Hiraishin jutsu while the younger ones and the samurai could only gasp at what just happened.
Battlefield
At the place where Naruto fought against Kakuzu and Hidan, remained the destroyed bodies of the two former Akatsuki members. Naruto took their heads and left the bodies to rot, not bothering himself to bury them.
A shadow slowly rose from one of the tree, revealing Akatsuki's spying specialist, the enigmatic Zetsu. Zetsu was easily distinguished by two large Venus fly-trap like extensions that enveloped his head and upper body, giving him a plant-like appearance. When his extensions were open and his head became visible, it was revealed that Zetsu had short green hair, yellow eyes, and that his body had two different colored halves. His left side was completely white and the right side black with small white dots along his body.
"The leader won't be happy about this new development, the Kyuubi brat took down the immortal combo by himself." The white half said while Zetsu was making his way towards the two headless corpses.
"It's a good thing they don't know how important the rings are to us and the plan, otherwise they could have seriously slowed us down, with the number of member they were able to defeat so far." Replied the black half as Zetsu went to collect the two rings.
After recovering the rings, the Akatsuki member continued with the second task he came for. True to his Venus fly trap appearance, Zetsu is cannibal. He is tasked to eat those that have connection to Akatsuki, to make sure that any secret of Akatsuki wouldn't spill.
Zetsu then went to consummate the bodies of his two former associates, Hidan and Kakuzu. As appealing as Hidan's blown out internal organs or Kakuzu's stitched and poisoned bodies could be, the Akatsuki member did not left out a single part of their bodies.
He then disappeared shortly after being done with his first class "meal", using the same technique to blend in with the trees that he used when he first appeared on the scene.
With Naruto
Naruto was about to speak to the still silent crowd when he felt incoming movements towards his position. The speed and power output of the attacker was quite amazing and Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly understood that the attack wasn't actually aimed at him.
Kurotsuchi was facing the other way, towards the battlefield. She sadly gazed at the numerous dead bodies of Iwa shinobi laying on the ground in front of her. She saw the expecting faces of the still alive ninja that were now under her responsibility, even if they weren't aware of that fact just yet. The kunoichi never saw or felt the attack coming her way.
"Raigyaku Suihei Choppu !" Yelled the Raikage, as he performed a simple yet powerful horizontal chop from above Kurotsuchi's position with his Raiton no Yoroi activated, covering his entire body with lightning chakra.
"Futon : Kazekiri !" Replied Naruto as he instantly appeared in front of Kurotsuchi and extended the palm of his wind encased hand towards the Raikage's attack. The two attacks canceled each other but A angrily looked down, wondering why Naruto was covering for the Iwagakure's kunoichi.
"What's the meaning of this, Naruto-san ? What are you doing with her, and for that matter, do you even know who she is ?" Asked A, as the Raikage glared at the blond and his "guest".
"I know perfectly who she is, however I doubt you do." Said the blond jonin, as the Raikage raised an eyebrow at the strange reply. Before the Lightning Shadow could reply Naruto decided to explain himself.
"She is Kurotsuchi, granddaughter of Ryotenbin no Onoki and she was recently appointed Yondaime Tsuchikage after Onoki's death." Added Naruto, surprising the people on both sides of the walls.
"Naruto-san here is right, you all need to stand down and listen to me. We have all been played by the terrorist group named Akatsuki and I won't let my grandfather's death be in vain." Said Kurotsuchi, while looking down towards Iwagakure's troops.
The temporary commanding officer of Iwagakure's troops slowly made his way towards the gates, and knelt in front of it, before speaking to Kurotsuchi.
"My lady, You must understand that we will need more substantial proof than what you just said in order to stop this battle." Asked the man.
Kurotsuchi jumped down from her position and met with the commander. She was soon joined by Naruto and the four other Kage. Both Naruto and Kurotsuchi took out different sealing scrolls and applied chakra to them, unloading their content for everyone around to see.
Naruto unsealed the two Akatsuki's member's heads he cut off while Kurotsuchi unsealed Onoki's body. The Kage and the Iwa officer were familiar with the bingo book and could verify that Naruto indeed had in his possession the heads of the missing nin Hidan and Kakuzu.
"Those two match the report given to me, about those who abducted Yagura back in Kiri." The Mizukage said while looking at the heads.
"I can testify about Onoki-sama as well, what are your orders Tsuchikage-sama ?" Asked the officer, still kneeling in front of them.
"Gather our men and fall back to Iwagakure, the battle is over. I shall stay here with two bodyguards you will select among your men." Replied the brunette with authority, trying to fit with her new responsibilities.
"As you command, my Lady." Said the jonin as he slowly moved back to the troops.
"You did great, Tsuchikage-dono, very professional." Added a smirking Naruto, getting a dark glare from the new Tsuchikage.
"I will explain everything, I am vouching for her and she is under the Namikaze Clan protection until the end of this meeting." Said Naruto looking back towards the Kage.
The four Kage nodded their agreement to Naruto while Kurotsuchi was slightly surprised that Naruto would vouch for her under such circumstances, fully knowing what the Namikaze name meant for Iwagakure and her people.
With the exception of two ANBU level ninja selected to remain as an escort to the Yondaime Tsuchikage, every shinobi from Iwagakure left shortly after that, taking with them the bodies of the deceased and wounded. The samurai did the same on their end and the Kage meeting could finally resume after that.
Meeting Room
The meeting room was furnished with new equipment, since with the fighting that happened during the first session many tables and seats were damaged. Now, each village took once more their allocated spaces, with the addition of jonin Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto currently in the middle of the room and Kurotsuchi taking Onoki's place.
Mifune stood up and spoke first, as he initially did when everything started.
"Naruto-dono, if you could describe to us everything that happened between the time you left the fortress to charge into the enemy's lines, and the moment you came back on top of your summoning creature with Tsuchikage-dono." Asked the Samurai General.
Naruto nodded and gave a summary of the events that took place during that time. His fighting with Onoki and his guards and the death of the Sandaime Tsuchikage at his hands, along with a decent number of Iwagakure's elite jonin that were around them. The blond took a few seconds to look towards Kurotsuchi, who gave confirmation of what she saw and the way her grandfather died.
Naruto then explained his suspicion towards Akatsuki, describing the scene of Onoki's last moments and how the previous Kage couldn't remember anything. This time, Naruto turned his head to Mei and got a nod of confirmation from the Mizukage who explained that the same scene happened with Yagura when Naruto fought him.
Kurotsuchi then told them about the warning she received about the Sharingan. Tsunade stood from her seat and turned her head towards the spectators area.
"Kakashi, is it possible ? Can the Sharingan be used to program people of Yagura or Onoki's strength like that ?" The Hokage asked the only Sharingan wielder on their side.
"I would normally say no, Hokage-sama. A regular Sharingan shouldn't be able to produce such results, there are ways to counter its effect for strong people like the previous Kage from Kiri or Iwa, Gai here is quite adept in the ways to counter the effects of the Sharingan." Replied Kakashi, getting a nod from his eternal rival.
"Normally ? Explain yourself, Hatake." Asked the Raikage as he too, knew about the general info on the Sharingan.
"There is however another level for that doujutsu, the Mangekyo Sharingan. I don't know about Uchiha Sasuke, but it's pretty certain that his older brother Itachi did achieve that level. I wouldn't be surprised if he had something in his arsenal to ensnare people of higher caliber." Said the silver haired leaf jonin.
"I suppose that you have yourself reached that level, if you're here to talk about it." Asked A.
Kakashi looked towards Tsunade, getting a nod from her he finally replied.
"Yes, Raikage-dono, I did. Mine is still not fully operational though, as I'm not a true Uchiha, my control over it is somewhat lower than what I'd like it to be." Announced Kakashi, shocking everyone in the room.
"I think anything else we may say on the subject will remain pure conjectures at this point, investigations will be necessary." Mifune said, getting everyone to agree with his point of view.
Naruto then told them how he fought and won against the two Akatsuki members who jumped out of nowhere in order to prevent him and Kurotsuchi from stopping the battle. Tsunade was shocked upon learning that Kakuzu was someone who fought against Senju Hashirama, her grandfather and Shodaime Hokage. The others were also highly surprised when Naruto once again showed them Hidan's head from up close. The damn missing nin was still alive, with only his head remaining.
Konoha and more precisely Tsunade, was given custody over Hidan's remains, since the Godaime Hokage was a well know medical specialist. Her knowledge on the human body would be highly useful in extracting whatever information they could get from Hidan. Everyone was also aware of Konoha's Yamanaka Clan, and their famous mind reading abilities.
Seeing that every pieces of information was now known from every parties, Mifune stood up again and spoke up.
"It seems everyone here is in agreement that Iwagakure was part of an elaborate scheme from the terrorist group Akatsuki to divide and conquer us. An alliance has already been formed between Kumo, Kiri, Suna and Konoha before the previous battle took place. Will Iwagakure request membership inside the Alliance and will the current members of said alliance agree to it, is what I'd like to know now." Declared the General.
"Iwagakure requests entry into the Alliance and even if it wasn't premeditated, I would like to formally offer our deepest apologies for what happened during the previous meeting and the casualties the Samurai suffered during the following battle." Said Kurotsuchi as she bowed in front of her peers and Mifune.
"Sunagakure agrees to Iwagakure's request, Naruto's vouch is all I need to know." Said Gaara.
"Kirigakure also agrees, Akatsuki's plans must not succeed in turning us against each other." Mei said.
"Konohagakure will also agree. It is highly time we put our past behind us and work together for a better future." Tsunade said.
The Raikage was once more the only one hesitating, still plagued by his brother's disappearance. He took the time to consider all the pros and cons before he finally spoke.
"Kumogakure agrees too." Announced the Raikage, effectively granting Iwa entrance in the Alliance.
Kurotsuchi was happy that her grandfather's death wouldn't be meaningless. She could clear his name and get a lead on their enemies. Iwagakure was safe for now and they were even allowed to participate in the Alliance.
"This is an historical moment, for the first time since the beginning of the shinobi era, every major village has reached an agreement and are willing to fight as allies against a common enemy. Before we go any further though, I would like to point out that for this thing to work, we will need someone to lead the Alliance, someone who will inspire strength and confidence to us and fear to our enemies." Said the Samurai General.
"From what I've seen during the meetings and on the battlefield, it is my opinion that this responsibility should befall Uzumaki-san. I know some of you may find him too young to assume such a role but age has nothing to do with this." Said Mifune, shocking some of the people inside the room.
"He was the one who managed to calm down the men when the battle shifted to the opponent's advantage. He is also the one who helped to put an end to the battle by capturing and killing the true masterminds and bringing back Tsuchikage-dono with him. Finally he is someone whose purpose is to bring peace to the world, more importantly, he is someone who can inspire others to believe in that dream of his." Finished Mifune.
Konoha, Suna, Kiri and Iwa had nothing to say, believing Mifune to be right about his choice. Of course they were also all holding Naruto in high esteem for his actions to help them at one point in the past.
Kumo with the Raikage was still debating over the question, in normal circumstances, A would have never allowed such thing to happen but the young leaf jonin was the son of that man. The Yondaime Raikage had a very deep respect for Minato Namikaze and Naruto seemed as respectable as his father was from what he could see so far. He was also highly impressed by the Kaze no Kami when they briefly exchanged blows at the main gates and decided to trust his instincts.
With every leader agreeing to his proposal, Mifune could declare Naruto as the commander in chief of the Alliance's forces. The blond seemed a bit embarrassed when everyone looked up to him, waiting for some sort of speech.
"I am honored to have been tasked to command the combined forces of the Alliance. I think that our first priority is to locate and protect the last jinchuriki, the younger brother of Raikage-dono." Announced Naruto. A then knew he made the right choice when he accepted Naruto as the leader for the coalition.
A/N : What do you think ?
Someone already knew my plan of having Naruto becoming the leader for the Alliance some chapters ago when I hinted Mifune discretely observing Naruto.
Changed some other things compared to canon manga, the Alliance may discover new leads with the retrieval of Hidan's head and Konoha's special mind readers techniques.
This chapter was the epilogue of this arc, next issue is the rescue mission to find Killer Bee. Read the next chapter to see how it goes :)
As usual please Read and Review.