Chapter 7-The Counter Offensive
Shao Kahn rose from his throne and walked toward Koyuki with a smile on his face before embracing her in a friendly hug. The woman had to fight back the blush on her face from being hugged not only by her country's hero, but the fact this hero was now a tall walking mountain of muscle. This was the first time they had seen each other without anyone else around to question them. His face was clearly different from what the Spring Daimyo remembered of him as a boy, rumors of it being disfigured behind the helmet, and his eyes were glowing crimson red compared to the usual blue she remembered. Of course Koyuki had heard why that was the case, mostly rumors from unreliable sources, but seeing him now after all this time made her wonder if some of them were true, and he had become the very demon Konoha once feared.
'As well as they should for the things done to him,' thought Koyuki while she disengaged the hug and walked with him throughout the castle.
"I don't think I need to try in convincing you that an alliance between our countries would be mutually beneficial," stated Naruto with Koyuki nodding.
"No. You don't. I want an alliance between us. I want our countries to prosper together and bring an end to this war with Fire Country," replied Koyuki with the man beside her nodding.
"The war is really with Konoha. They are the real driving force behind the war with our allies. From what Anko has told me, the Fire Daimyo is in fact an idiot, his Advisors are on Konoha's payroll, and they basically tell him what they want him to know. He gives them money for their war like someone giving out candy to children and believes them incapable of doing wrong under the pretense of a prophecy. Its like saying they have the backing of the Gods themselves and all should fold under them unless they wish to suffer damnation in Hell should they oppose their cause," replied Shao Kahn with Koyuki now frowning.
"It doesn't excuse the Fire Daimyo's ignorance on the matter. He's not much of a leader if his Advisors make all the decisions for him and then whisper what they want into his ear. It sets a bad precedent for all Daimyos to follow and I simply refuse to be like that man," said Koyuki with Shao Kahn agreeing.
"Agreed. But I will not be a Daimyo who sits on his thrown. I intend to fight my enemies as a warrior of battle...and to do that I need your help to launch our next strike against Konoha," stated Shao Kahn with Koyuki being led to what could be considered the Wave Daimyo's war room.
"What did you have in mind?" asked Koyuki while wanting to see what the man had in mind in terms of a strategy.
"As you know, their is a heavy embargo on Water Country, and the 5th Fire Naval Fleet from Fire Country is making any form of trade with the continent nearly impossible. They are trying to bleed the country economically into submission and in a few years time...they will succeed," explained Shao Kahn while showing her a map with the 5th Fire Naval Fleet on the "water" part of the map and various other parts of the world where Konoha's troops were posted.
"And you want my forces to break the embargo," concluded Koyuki with Shao Kahn nodding.
"Yes. Your country currently has enough airships under its command to keep Konoha at bay should they try anything. What I need from you Koyuki, is a small fraction of them to bombard the 5th Fire Naval Fleet from the safety of the air and cripple them, and at the same time get in contact with the Water Daimyo to have his own naval fleet attack them once they are weakened. While this happens, I will need one of the airships to send me to this naval base, where I will descend upon them, and crush Fire Country's only means of producing naval warships," finished Shao Kahn while Koyuki listened intently to his plan and liked everything about it...except one part.
"Who will be coming with you on this mission?" asked Koyuki with Shao Kahn looking at her.
"No one. This mission I will do on my own," replied Shao Kahn with Koyuki gasping in shock.
"What? But that's...that's suicide! The naval ship yard is a highly guard area defended by both Fire Country Samurai and Konoha Shinobi. Even against an unsuspecting surprise attack, one man could stand up against them and win. Not even...not even you are that strong," said Koyuki with Shao Kahn smirking slightly.
"I can pull off the impossible Koyuki. I always have and always will no matter what. It was the one consistent thing in my life when it came to fighting. Just when defeat or death was close to claiming me in battle...I pulled out a victory out of nowhere. Trust me when I say...I will win," replied Shao Kahn with Koyuki still looking worried since it was just him against an army.
"You've never faced odds like this before and there was always someone watching your back," countered Koyuki with Shao Kahn letting out a chuckle.
"True, but I was always too weak all those years ago to fight an army by myself. Make no mistake, in the years I have been away, massive armies have tried to fight me, and they all fell by my hands. There was a reason why I was called Shao Kahn: The Conqueror of Realms," replied Shao Kahn before explaining what he use to do once Onaga changed him into what he was now and after becoming Emperor of Outworld.
There was also some various images in his mind of what he felt happened in another life time, but they were vague, and hard to focus on. Even his dreams seemed to show him in a time that extended beyond his failed invasion of Earthrealm where instead of winning, he lost against its warriors, and returned in a weakened condition. At times, Shao Kahn had suspected these events he saw in his dreams were in fact of another time that led to what could only described as...Armageddon.
But who knows. Perhaps his mind was still playing tricks on him again.
"Even if that is the case Shao Kahn-sama, I feel it is unwise to send you on your own. At least attack with some form of reinforcements. The Hyuuga girl or even Anko could join in the battle. I'm sure they could help you in combat," offered Koyuki with Shao Kahn thinking it over.
"Perhaps I will take them. But it must happen around the time your airships are attacking the 5th Fire Naval Fleet. If I don't attack them now, the fleet nearly finished at the Naval Yard will be deployed to strengthen the embargo, or be used for the invasion of Water Country. They may even strike Wave Country again using it once surrounding us on all side. Either way...I must attack them now!" stated Shao Kahn firmly with Koyuki seeing his determination and knew this was the same determination Uzumaki Naruto had when push came to shove when a fight was about to break out.
He was asking for her trust. Her faith in him.
"How many ships do you need me to send?" asked Koyuki with Shao Kahn looking at the map.
"A small amount. Nothing that will weaken you enough that Konoha would risk sending in an invading force. Somewhere along the line of...at least 10 medium size airships with a few being smaller in design," answered Shao Kahn with Koyuki nodding.
"I'll have them ready to mobilize when I return to Spring Country," replied Koyuki while seeing Shao Kahn's eyes soften now when looking at her.
"Thank you for doing this. I know I'm asking a lot of you and I...I feel strange doing it to someone I care about. Someone I know who I can trust," remarked Shao Kahn while now fighting that dark part of himself that told him to ignore apologizing to the woman.
But he couldn't. Not this one.
"Because of the life you have led before returning here. Because of the warrior and future Emperor of that cruel realm you once ruled," Koyuki surmised with Shao Kahn and now let out a sigh.
"I don't know why I feel this way. I never have before until my return. Sometimes I feel that a part of myself was suppressed by Onaga when he transformed me into this form," said Shao Kahn while gripping the table holding the map of the Elemental Countries on it.
"Maybe he did. Maybe its something else. Whatever it is, know that I trust you. I trust you because I know the real you and the real you cares about others when it counts," said Koyuki while holding onto his arm and felt how tense he was through his muscles.
"Thank you Koyuki. There are times I find myself forgetting that," whispered Shao Kahn while she smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his massive one.
"Its all right. That's what friends and loved ones are for Shao Kahn-sama. To remind us of what we believe in and what we stand for," replied Koyuki with Shao Kahn raising an unseen eyebrow at her.
"Loved one?" questioned Shao Kahn while giving the woman a knowing look and now had Koyuki blushing.
"Well...that is to say...," replied Koyuki while trying to come up with an excuse and her face became even redder when hearing his chuckle.
"Loved ones. I like that sound of that. I believe this alliance between our two countries will be the beginning of something wonderful," said Shao Kahn with a hint of lust in his voice that made Koyuki grip his arm tighter while feeling a sense of heat rushing through her body.
"It has a certain ring to it," said Koyuki in full agreement while the two walked hand in hand together while ignoring the various people throughout the castle.
"I don't believe it! He's going to bang another one!" exclaimed Anko while seeing the two and knew it was only a matter of time before her Master found another woman to screw.
Koyuki's loins were practically frothing when she first met him at the secret meeting with the other Kages and was now getting her chance to see if the man was packing something big between his legs. A something which Anko knew from her own personal experience that he was!
"Why are you so angry? Jealous?" asked Hinata, as she had been lurking in the shadows with Anko, and was watching the two like a bodyguard should.
"As if! Though you would think the man would learn to keep it in his pants given his title and what he represents," remarked Anko while Hinata knew better.
"I think you're upset he's not mounting you right now. That you fear the more women he had relations with, the greater the chance you will be cast aside, and be nothing more than a temporary moment in time capable of bringing about some needed stress relief through lust driven sex," countered Hinata with a smirk and saw Anko glaring back at her.
"And you won't be?" challenged Anko with Hinata looking at her without fear of those words possibly being true.
"Why would I be afraid? I'm one of the few women in his life that actually cared about him before and after he became Shao Kahn. You still want to find a way to be free from his seal to kill him," said Hinata before walking away from the older woman without looking back.
'Bitch!' thought Anko, as she rubbed the back of her neck, and felt it pulse slightly from the touch that told the woman to be mindful of what she did or else the results would not be good.
The last time she touched it, the damn thing shocked her violently, and made Anko have a spasm on the floor.
Still, Anko felt that while the life she lived now wasn't the best, it could be far worse, and was actually getting off easy give how truly vengeful he could be to her if he wished. She was a slave/bodyguard/concubine to Shao Kahn and was his property in every sense of the word. If he said jump, she jumped without asking. If he said punch someone she just met in the fact, the random guy would be on the ground. If he said strip and walk naked in the streets to a tattoo parlor to have the word "SLUT!" written diagonally in large big letters across her back...well you could bet your hard earned cash it would happen.
But as it stood right now, none of those things happened, and Shao Kahn seemed content in using her as sexual relief when she was not protecting him from the shadows. And while Anko was glad her situation wasn't more humiliating then it already was to begin with...part of her did wish to be loved again.
Even if it was by Shao Kahn.
(Fire Country-Naval Shipyard)
The Fire Country Naval Shipyard was formed around the time Fire Country was formed and meant to build a fleet of ships in order to keep any invading army from coming by sea. The ships currently in the shipyard were being armed to the teeth, capable of holding a small army per ship, and meant for the single purpose of a full scale invasion. At the moment, most of the workers were not reporting in today due to their relocation to Wave Country being halted, and their was a complication in terms of housing them since they were all promised housing in what was meant to be newly claimed territory. New housing for themselves, their families, and their belongings were all jumbled up into one big crazy bureaucratic cluster fuck traffic jam.
Meaning the entire shipyard was understaffed. Not that it mattered or the shipyard needed to be packed with workers since most of the ships were finished anyway. If there were far too many workers here when the number of ships being built was just a few, it would do more harm than good, and causing congestion in terms of multiple workers handling the same project.
Hence why most of them were being relocated. Or rather...planned to be relocated.
"Did you hear? Wave Country kept its independence," stated one worker on break with a few others.
"Yeah. Who the Hell do they think they are? They should be proud to become part of the Fire Country," said a second worker smoking a cig.
"Everyone knows Fire Country is the strongest country out of all the others. They might as well just concede to our power and be done with it. I mean, we have all those Konoha Shinobi and their chakra powered Jutsus kicking ass against all those other so called Shinobi villages. Doesn't that already say something about us being the best?" said a third guy while drinking a bottle of water.
"You said it. Plus we have some of the all time greats in Konoha fighting this war. All of them are badass and legends in their own right. You would think these other villages in the other countries would just give up," remarked a fourth worker gruffly.
"No one ever said our enemies were the smartest guys on the block. Now they have to learn the hard way," said the first worker with the others laughing.
"Man that is a big ass cloud in the sky," said the third worker while looking up when the sunlight was being blocked.
"Yeah. Its moving fast too. Almost...too fast," remarked the second worker with his hand over his eyes and squinting to see the object in the sky clearly.
"He's right. What the Hell is that?" asked the fourth worker before seeing something fall from the object and descending downward.
Toward them.
"What the...OH SHIT!" exclaimed the first worker, as he saw it wasn't a cloud they saw, but an airship from Spring Country, and the something that was falling toward them was in fact...a person.
But not just any person. It was Shao Kahn: Daimyo of Wave Country!
"Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm!" exclaimed the third worker, but he along with the rest of the group was struck by a barrage of kunai, and shuriken that killed them in mere moments.
"Even if they did try, the guards around it are already dead," remarked Hinata, as she had on ANBU attire complete with a fox mask painted with orange marks.
She had snuck in with Anko, who had been to this place on a few occasions so it wasn't all that surprising the former Leaf kunoichi knew where some of the weak points were located. Right now, Anko was summoning a few of her larger pets to attack the east side while Hinata herself was targeting the west side.
Shao Kahn had decided to descend from above into the center where the finished Capital Class Dreadnought had just been finished and was the Flag Ship of the nearly finished fleet. With his Wrath Hammer in both hands, the speed, and velocity of his descent down toward the ship caused it to break in two. The amount of debris sent flying damaged other ships around it, several sinking instantly, and others were consumed by the rising water that followed the impact.
Moments later, Shao Kahn emerged from the ruined Flag Ship to land on another, only this one filled with workers, samurai, and Konoha Shinobi. The samurai and Shinobi attacked first while some of the workers tried to help, believing their large number of allies would successfully overwhelm the demonic giant. Unfortunately, they didn't try to factor in their enemy being incredibly strong physically, inhumanly fast for a man of his size, or the fact their foe was capable of swinging that giant hammer.
They also didn't count on the Shao Kahn taking their souls right out of their bodies to become his own which scared some of the workers fighting him to flee. Even some of the Shinobi were hesitant to attack him, as they clearly saw what he did, and feared such a power would be used against Konoha in the long run.
"How does it feel to know fear? To feel to know that your soul could become mine once I rip it from body? How does it feel to be in the presence of a monster your Masters created through their own arrogance?!" questioned Shao Kahn before letting out a cruel laugh at the terrified foes that stood in his path before charging at them with the intent to kill.
Their screams echoed throughout the shipyard.
"He always had to make an entrance," remarked Anko from her position a giant snake while several of her pets lashed out at the Shinobi, samurai, and shipyard workers around her.
They were making quite the mess.
As for Hinata, she was striking down just about everyone around her, and showing why the Gentle Fist was a Taijutsu style worth fearing. Especially her version of Gentle Fist since no one could land a hit on the Hyuuga woman despite the seemingly overwhelming numbers. She didn't hold anything back on them as they fell and it was showing with the number of bodies on the ground at Hinata's feet. She ruptured internal organs, made the hearts of her victims explode, destroyed lungs, and made others go brain dead.
She was a one woman slaughterhouse.
In the distance, two people were watching this battle with great interest, and taking in the sounds of battle.
"Damn Itachi! Look at these three go. Just by the sound of people dying makes me want to join in on the fun," remarked the tall blue skinned man holding a large bandaged item in his hand.
"We will be joining in the battle soon enough Kisame. We are here to asses the level the Kyuubi Jinchuriki is ranked among us and how big a threat he is to the organization," said Itachi calmly, but inside he was a jumble of emotions, and they were making him question everything he once stood for.
"Should we take out the Hyuuga first? Or go for the snake woman?" asked Kisame with Itachi looking between the two women and then their intended target.
"Keep the two at bay. I will deal with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki myself," answered Itachi with Kisame raising an eyebrow at him.
"So you are finally going to fight huh? That's a first. You always fight at the last possible moment. I'm usually the one to start stuff," stated Kisame with Itachi glancing at him.
"Water is your domain Kisame, but you tend to go overboard with it. We can't afford to drown him here. Your skills will keep his two allies at bay while I subdue him with my Sharingan. It should be enough to keep him controlled long enough to knock out and bring back to base," explained Itachi with Kisame scoffing.
"So you are going to use your Sharingan. And here I though you would actually fight. Oh well. Maybe the Jinchuriki will make you," commented Kisame while hearing a cry of pain followed by a loud squishing sound of someone's head getting crushed by a certain Wrath Hammer being wielded by a demonic giant of a man.
"Enough talk. Deal with his allies," replied Itachi before he leaped forward to engage his opponent in combat.
"Bossy jerk," remarked Kisame before heading toward Anko.
(With Shao Kahn)
"Where is your Yondaime Hokage now? Where is the Sandaime Hokage? Where are the Konoha Shinobi you have all looked up to growing up? Who you admired? Worshipped for their so called power? If they were really the heroes and Gods you love so much they would be here to defend you from my onslaught. To protect you from my wrath! Instead they hide behind their walls of their precious village!" exclaimed Shao Kahn, as he killed one samurai with a punch to the face, three Shinobi with his Wrath Hammer, and two of the shipyard workers with a front kick to their torsos in a span of five seconds.
"Let's see you face someone of a much different level...Uzumaki Naruto," replied Itachi with the Uchiha appearing behind Shao Kahn.
"Uchiha Itachi. Agent of Akatsuki...and secretly the loyal lapdog to a village filled with traitors," remarked Shao Kahn with Itachi not batting an eyelash at the words.
"You are remarkably well informed," replied Itachi in a whispered tone.
"Its amazing what you can learn from the souls of those you take," remarked Shao Kahn with Itachi's hand twitching slightly.
"I see," replied Itachi before activating his Sharingan.
"Do you? I know things not even you know about Konoha. Like how they played on your pacifism and love for the village like the sympathetic fool you are. They used you to kill your clan and they are using your brother to kill you to cover it up. They are spoiling him silly. Giving him everything he could ever want. Do you care about how many people he's killed? Men? Women? Children? He's even burned down hospitals filled with babies all crying out for their parents to save them," replied Shao Kahn, as he had seen quite a few memories of what Sasuke did while on missions with Konoha Shinobi, and the ones the Root ANBU went on.
"You lie. I would know," whispered Itachi with his Sharingan Eyes spinning.
"The souls of Root ANBU say otherwise. I'd tell you to confront him on the matter, but you won't live past today," replied Shao Kahn with Itachi bringing out his sword.
"You cannot win. Your chakra can be repressed with my Sharingan Eyes," remarked Itachi, as he used his power of his bloodline with the mental command to suppress Shao Kahn's power.
All Shao Kahn did was laugh at him.
"Fool! Your pathetic little Sharingan has no power over me. It might have influenced the Kyuubi itself, but the two of us have merged into a whole new entity thanks to the powers of dark magic, and sorcery at a level you couldn't begin to understand," said Shao Kahn with Itachi frowning and decided on another approach with his eyes.
"Let us test that theory. 'Tsukuyomi!'" said Itachi with his eyes before trapping himself and Shao Kahn in the Genjutsu world.
(Tsukuyomi World)
"So this is the world so many fear when dealing with an Uchiha with such an advanced Sharingan," commented Shao Kahn before he saw Itachi stand in front of him.
"In here, I am the ruler of all things. For the next 72 hours...you belong to me," replied Itachi before snapping his fingers and chains appeared and wrapped around Shao Kahn and the former Emperor of Outworld instantly knew what these chains were.
They were Uzumaki chakra chains.
"Oh I see. You think the Uzumaki chakra chains created in this world using your mind will hold me. But you merely adopted the idea of the chakra chains. I was born with them. They are apart of me by birth. I never really called them because I didn't see a need to until now, but for you Uchiha Itachi...I will make an EXCEPTION!" exclaimed Shao Kahn before breaking them and charged at a shocked Itachi who went flying back.
"That's impossible! You are in my world. My realm. I control everything here," replied Itachi while Shao Kahn laughed.
"Your realm? Don't you know Itachi. Before I came back to the Elemental Countries, I am Shao Kahn: Conqueror of Realms! This place is no different. Besides, you may have trapped me in this realm, but can you control all the souls in it that are mine?" asked Shao Kahn before pointing to his left the vast army of souls he had taken over the years before and after coming back to his birth realm.
"What? How are they here? I am the Master of this place. I command you all to leave!" asked Itachi in shock.
"Because they belong to me. These souls are mine! These chakra chains are mine! These souls do not bow to an Uchiha. They bow to their EMPEROR!" declared Shao Kahn with the souls nodding as one.
'This shouldn't be possible,' thought Itachi while looking around at the army of souls that were surrounding him.
"For the next 72 hours, these souls are going to tear you apart...Uchiha Itachi," remarked Shao Kahn before letting out a cruel before the army of souls descended upon the Uchiha.
(Real World)
Itachi stumbled back, gasping for breath, and taking a knee while looking at Shao Kahn in shock at what he saw in that Genjutsu world. He looked at the demonic giant in horror, the ramifications of what Itachi saw in that place made the man feel fear for the first time since Kyuubi attacked all those years ago, and knew this...man in front of him was quite possibly a thousand times worse.
"You...You are a monster!" accused Itachi with Shao Kahn nodding and laughing.
"You sound surprised. Is it really so surprising Itachi? Konoha constantly called me one during my childhood. I was baptized in the darkness, molded to fight in wars, and to do what Konoha always wanted me to do. And that something is...to kill people," said Shao Kahn while walking toward Itachi.
Only to be blocked by Kisame.
"Hey Itachi! You overtax yourself again with those eyes? Shouldn't he be unconscious right now?" questioned Kisame with Itachi slowly standing.
"No. He turned my power against me. I saw...I saw terrible things. We must go and report back my findings," replied Itachi with Kisame narrowing his eyes at Shao Kahn.
"Running away already? What happened to Anko? Don't tell me the woman is too weak to last only a few seconds fighting you?" questioned Shao Kahn with a frown before the woman appeared beside him.
"Give me some credit! He never got a chance to get near me. My snakes got hacked to tiny pieces, but by the time fishy got near, he noticed Itachi on the ground, and decided to redirect himself here," explained Anko while feeling a little hurt inside.
"So its true. You serve him now," remarked Itachi while Anko scowled at him.
"Not by choice. Not that it matters anymore. I might as well be labeled a Missing Nin like you regardless of my situation," replied Anko with Shao Kahn smirking.
"Enough talking! The blue skinned one is mine. You can have the Uchiha as your prey Anko. Kill him!" commanded Shao Kahn before he charged forward and tackled Kisame into a ship that had yet to be fully damaged.
"We are both agents of Konoha. You know this. Tell me what he has planned and I can deliver it to the Akatsuki and Jiraiya-sama," said Itachi with Anko shaking her head.
"Doesn't work that way. I can't betray him. His seal won't let me. All I can do is fight his enemies until I win, lose, or die. Sorry Itachi, but orders are orders," replied Anko before she charged the Uchiha, and the man went on the defensive in hand to hand combat while his Sharingan was keeping the woman at bay for the moment.
"I see. Then I too have no choice, but to kill you for your involuntary betrayal of Konoha, and serving the Kyuubi Jinchuriki," replied Itachi, as he began to shift his movements to a more offensive approach.
In the distance behind the Uchiha, the sounds of fighting could be heard, cries of battle, and pain echoing with the destruction of the ships around them. Shao Kahn had forsaken the use of his Wrath Hammer after throwing it at Kisame, who knocked it away, but felt Samehada cry out in pain, and was punched in the face hard into a ship's interior. Spitting out some blood, Kisame swung his sword at Shao Kahn, who expertly dodged the huge weapon, and moved in closer for close combat. Cursing his enemy, Kisame could only endure the blows Shao Kahn launched at him, and waited for the kick to the torso to send him flying back before going through hand signs.
"Suiton: AmesuikÅha!" said Kisame, as he put his hands into the water below and large amounts of water shot into the air before they descended down upon Shao Kahn in the form of large sharks.
Recalling his Wrath Hammer to his hands, Shao Kahn knocked the water sharks away from himself before making a Light Spear, and threw on at Kisame. Naturally, the man dodged it, and reached for his sword in order to get close. Shao Kahn grinned and once more charged the swordsman with Wrath Hammer in hand. Kisame swung hard with his incredible strength and Shao Kahn blocked him using his own weapon. The demonic giant felt Samehada was trying to feed on his power like it had done years ago with the Kyuubi's chakra when he first encountered the two Akatsuki members as a young naive Genin of Konoha. While it would get little to nothing from its feeding, Shao Kahn was not going to tolerate the sword eating anything that belonged to his person, and took the draining as a personal insult. This sword was a leech, feeding off other people to survive like some filthy parasite, and contributing nothing other then being a weapon used for cutting people up.
Shao Kahn would have to rectify this situation with a means of removing Samehada from the equation and the former Emperor of Outworld knew just what to do when given the right opportunity.
Such an opportunity came when Kisame swung his sword horizontally at Shao Kahn to cut him in half at the waist and the demonic warrior acted quickly. Dropping his Wrath Hammer, Shao Kahn moved his right arm at just the right moment, and actually caught Samehada under it, and held the weapon in place while ignoring the pain from it making contact with his side. Kisame was too shocked to react in time and it cost him when Shao Kahn pulled him forward enough to land a solid kick to the swordsman's torso. The blue skinned man was sent flying back, losing his grasp on Samehada, and landing against the water before correcting himself. Looking up, Kisame saw Shao Kahn was holding the sentient sword in his right hand, ignoring the spikes that went through it, and grabbed the scaled blade with the other.
'Time to see if this thing's mouth can do more than eat chakra!' thought Shao Kahn before he began bending it with the intent to break the weapon and was enjoying the new sound of Samehada crying out in pain.
"What are you doing? Stop it! You're killing her!" protested Kisame in horror at seeing this while Shao Kahn began meeting some resistance with the sword fighting back, but the man's overall physical strength was slowly winning, and the screams increased.
"That's the idea. This sword is sentient, which means it has a soul, and like all who have faced me before in the past...this one's soul in mine now!" declared Shao Kahn before raising the sword over his head and brought it down on his knee.
Snapping it in two.
"NO!" yelled Kisame, as he saw Samehada's energy, or rather its soul leave the weapon itself before entering Shao Kahn.
The blade itself, once made up of shark like scales that shaved rather than cut, dissolved to reveal a simple ordinary sword, and was casually discarded by the one who broke it. Shao Kahn laughed at the look on Kisame's shocked face and walked casually toward the man who couldn't believe his sword was just broken in such a way.
"Let's see you fight me now without that little crutch for a sword," mocked Shao Kahn before he called upon his heritage of his Uzumaki bloodline and summoned chains that wrapped around the fish like man before pulling him forward.
"What kind of monster are you?" asked Kisame before he was punched and backhanded in the face before being slammed into the ground.
"The one you, Itachi, and the rest of the Akatsuki decided to provoke. Your Master will fear me now," replied Shao Kahn before lifting Kisame up by the throat and pulling him close.
'I have to break free somehow,' thought Kisame, as he struggled against the chakra chains that bound him, and saw the grinning helmeted face of Shao Kahn looking down at him.
"Your soul is mine!" declared Shao Kahn before he violently pulled Kisame's soul from the man's body and absorbed it into his own.
In an instant, Shao Kahn was bombarded by Kisame's memories, from training to be a Mist Shinobi, the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist program, and the meeting with the man claiming to be Madara after seeing Yagura was in fact a puppet Mizukage. The memories soon shifted to Kisame's time spent in the Akatsuki organizational, their current plans for the Jinchuriki, and how they were currently planning to make their move soon. With the memories subsiding, Shao Kahn got a wicked idea, and decided to test out his brand new affinity for water in combination with his power.
(With Itachi and Anko)
"You're skills are quite impressive Anko. You are indeed worthy of being called one of Orochimaru's student," remarked Itachi, as he had been fighting the woman for some time now, and the former Leaf kunoichi had held her own against him.
She was certainly doing much better than Orochimaru had done before the Sannin left the organization after that incident which caused the man to lose his hand to the Uchiha.
"You won't be saying that to me once my pets filled your body filled with snake venom," replied Anko, as she launched snakes from her arm, and they converged on the Uchiha.
"Not today," countered Itachi, who used his Sharingan to influence the snakes to turn around, and attack their wielder.
Or would have if Hinata had not sliced through them with her Gentle Fist attack.
"My turn," said Hinata with Itachi frowning since he couldn't use his eyes on her since the ANBU mask she wore was preventing it and Itachi knew the Hyuuga girl's bloodline prevented any Genjutsu from working.
"Another time," replied Itachi before he turned into a flock of crows and was gone.
"So the Uchiha got away," commented Shao Kahn after appearing in front of them.
"Sadly yes. Even in his weakened state the guy put up a fight. He's clearly Kage level even after all this time. Given his condition, I'm a bit surprised," replied Anko with Shao Kahn frowning.
"What condition? Does it have to do with his eyes?" asked Shao Kahn since he knew from Kisame's memories that Itachi's eyes were inching closer to blindness to the point where his time in the Akatsuki was coming to a close.
"No. He has an illness. A deadly one. I don't know all the details. Only Tsunade, Shizune, myself, Jiraiya, the Yondaime, and the Sandaime know about it. He's been sneaking into the village every few months to get treatment, but its borrowed time at best. I also think Orochimaru has known for a few year so the idea of possessing Itachi's body would be out of the question for him," explained Anko with Shao Kahn nodding.
"And when his time is no more, Sasuke gets what he wants. Using his fame of avenging his clan to be the next Hokage of Konoha. How...nauseating," said Shao Kahn since he could picture the arrogant Uchiha being praised by the people for "avenging" his clan.
They were so in the dark about just how vile the Uchiha really was to others. Or maybe they did know and just didn't care because he wasn't being mean to them.
"I'm just reporting to you what I know. It has always been the way of Konoha and there policy on things and people they deem important to the village," commented Anko with Hinata nodding in agreement.
"That policy will be their undoing," remarked Shao Kahn before he motioned them to follow him until they made it to the very top of one of the shipyard's walls.
"What now?" asked Hinata with Shao Kahn going through one handed hand signs.
"Now we sink this shipyard in the water depths below," remarked Shao Kahn, as he saw this place could be repaired, and the workers replaced.
Not on his watch.
"You can use Jutsus?" asked Anko in surprise.
"It's a possibility. I have taken quite a few souls and wished to experiment on using their Jutsus and affinities they have. What better way, than by using my most recently captured soul...Hoshigaki Kisame," answered Shao Kahn with a grin before ending his hand sign.
"You can do that?" asked Hinata with Shao Kahn nodding.
"We're about to find out. 'Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!'" exclaimed Shao Kahn, as he used the memories of Kisame performing the Jutsu, the fish man's affinity for water, combined with the former Emperor's own reserves of power making the Jutsu that more potent, and the three watched the massive amounts of water rising around them before it fell like a waterfall.
Screams of people below could be heard among the sounds of the utter destruction from all the ships being torn apart violently from the Water Jutsu.
"Damn! Not bad for a first try using so much power. I'm guessing that you haven't really used any Jutsus since you first became...this," said Anko with Shao Kahn looking at her with his crimson eyes.
"I didn't see the need to try any Jutsus given my limited options when I first became Shao Kahn. I was made this way through Dark Magic and powerful sorcery. I had believed that my means of using them were lost. But now...now that I have seen it is indeed possible...I now have a whole new way to fight my enemies. A way that they will never see coming," replied Shao Kahn while letting out a cruel chuckle and Anko was feeling uneasy about this.
"How many Jutsus do you know or can use now?" asked Hinata with Shao Kahn grinning at her.
"If I include Kisame's soul to the others I've taken so far? Quite a few hundred. Not quite up to Hatake's level, but it won't matter once his soul is ripped out," answered Shao Kahn with Anko's eyes widening in realization.
Kakashi had copied well over one thousand Jutsus when first teaching Genin team 7, and that had only increased since that point. The Jounin had copied a little over two thousand Jutsus in the years following Naruto's escape and becoming Shao Kahn. If Shao Kahn got a hold of Kakashi's soul, it would result in the newly made Wave Daimyo learn those two thousand Jutsus, and how to use them with the incredible power in his body.
"When will you go after Konoha directly?" asked Hinata, as she wanted to unleash her own frustrations out on the village, and wanted to see them get taken down a few...couple dozen pegs.
"Not yet. Soon though. We've crushed their means to create a navy. Their current fleet at sea will join the long line of ships being built here along with those onboard. Konoha has been pushing its enemies to the brink of destruction with their war mongering and their interpretation of prophecies. Now its time to begin the true counter offensive and show them the price of their arrogance," replied Shao Kahn while watching the water in the shipyard from the top of the wall to see it was filled with broken pieces of wood, metal, and most importantly...bodies!
"With Water Country no longer caught in the embargo, they can trade again, and bring back their economy," said Hinata with Shao Kahn nodding.
"And increasing the funding needed for Mist to get strong enough to launch an attack of their own," added Shao Kahn since he would need that village to flank Konoha while the Wave Daimyo had his enemies focused on him.
By the time Konoha is even aware of its other enemies...it would be too late.
"Now all we need to do is somehow focus on fighting both the Akatsuki and Konoha," said Hinata with Shao Kahn nodding.
"We'll focus on the Akatsuki for now. We've done significant damage to Fire Country and Konoha as a whole with this attack. They will have to refocus their efforts in the war around the other things outside of myself. Besides, with the Akatsuki gone, the Shinobi villages won't have to worry about their Jinchuriki being abducted by them, and focus all of their attention on Konoha," explained Shao Kahn since he had Kisame's memories and knew it was important to focus on them now over Konoha.
For the moment at least.
With their task done, the trio left the destroyed navy shipyard, and headed back to Wave Country to relax for a bit.
(Konoha-Sometime Later)
"You can't be serious? This isn't possible Jiraiya!" stated Minato with Jiraiya shaking his head while standing in the middle of the room in front of everyone in the meeting about what the Sannin found out involving Naruto's past.
"I'm not making this up Minato. The Great Toad Sage himself told me and showed how Naruto became what he is now. Not to mention everything he's done in one timeline and then again in an altered one the Thunder God Raiden was able to perform that caused him to lose to the Elder Gods," explained Jiraiya with some on the Councils looking skeptical.
"It still seems pretty far fetched Jiraiya," stated Koharu with Jiraiya sighing.
"You still don't believe me? Fine! Inoichi, use your family's Memory Projection Jutsu on me," commanded Jiraiya with Inoichi looking at Minato, who nodded for him to do it, and went through the hand signs.
"Yamanaka Style: Memory Projection Jutsu!" exclaimed Inoichi before using it on the Sannin before a three dimensional sphere formed several feet from Jiraiya and the events he saw now being shown to all of them.
They saw Naruto's transformation at the hands of the Dragon King and becoming Shao Kahn.
They saw his actions of conquest, one after another, and all leading up to the death of the Dragon King in order to become the new Emperor of Outworld.
The fall of Edenia, the plans to take Earthrealm, and the failures that mounted after losing the tenth tournament.
The failed tournament in Outworld that soon followed it and then the failed invasion of Earthrealm with a weakened Shao Kahn preparing himself for the worst.
The Deadly Alliance leading to the return of the Dragon King and finally...Armageddon.
Only for Raiden to change things by sending vision of what would happen to the past and altering the timeline.
And thus leading to Shao Kahn's defeat at the hands of the Elder Gods in Earthrealm by ironically enough having him win in his invasion of the realm.
Before Shao Kahn was brought to this realm...and ultimately became their problem once more.
"This is outrageous! These so called 'Elder Gods' had no business in sending him back here!" exclaimed a Civilian Council member angrily.
"They decreed him the Child of Prophecy. Even the Toads themselves know this and were not happy about what we did. They have no faith in us in terms of surviving the altered prophecy," replied Jiraiya with everyone not liking what they heard.
"Minato is the Child of Prophecy and if not him than Naruko is the one. You didn't teach the demon brat anything so it can't be him," stated Homura with Jiraiya shaking his head.
"I said the same thing to the Toads and they told me that teaching someone a little or a lot doesn't matter. The point is, I did teach Naruto something, and it put him in the running to become the Child of Prophecy," replied Jiraiya with Minato looking pissed and it was clear everyone else was too.
"So how do we proceed?" asked Danzo with Jiraiya sighing.
"Troublesome. Even I don't really know what we can do about this. With the loss of the Fire Daimyo's shipyard, we have lost our secondary fleet being prepared to invade Water Country, or at the very least invade Wave by sea since land is out of the question. But with the loss suffered there, plus the recent report earlier today of losing the embargo fleet around Water Country, we have to go on the defensive, and prevent ourselves from being overrun by our enemies," replied Nara Shikaku since this attack was not foreseen or even remotely prepared for within his mind.
"Defensive? Bah! Only the weak go on the defensive," replied Sasuke, as a Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, which he was remotely trying to repopulate with Sakura, and was still as arrogant as ever.
"While you are entitled to your opinion Uchiha-san, this is the only strategy open to us at the moment. We have no way to go on the offensive ad lost several crucial points where we can openly do that. One navy out at sea is gone, the one being built at the shipyard has been wiped out, Wave Country is lost to us, a key offensive line was overrun by Iwa, and we have several key Shinobi serving the ranks of our enemies. All at the hands of the very person we tried to destroy years ago, but survived everything we dished out, and is back to return the favor. A defensive position is the only option here for us until things change in our favor," stated Shikaku with the others reluctantly agreeing.
"Okay. Here's a question for you Shikaku-san. How exactly do we turn this in our favor?" asked Sasuke arrogantly.
"I don't know yet. Our strategies have always worked because defeat was never a factor in our plans because victory was guaranteed with whoever was sent to the frontlines. We never considered Naruto would ever return as this Shao Kahn person and cause so much damage," replied Shikaku before muttering troublesome since it was true.
"Well now you will consider them Shikaku. My former son has been a thorn in our sides long enough. Its time to put an end to this," declared Minato firmly with everyone now looking at him.
"How?" asked Tsunade with Minato looking at her.
"Simple. Kakashi, Jiraiya, and myself will attack him ourselves in the heart of Wave Country," replied Minato with everyone looking at him shock.
"What? Just the three of you? Is that wise?" asked Kushina with Minato nodding.
"My son maybe strong, but I'm confident my skills, combined with Jiraiya, and Kakashi should be more then enough to take him down. No one has ever fought the three of us in combat and won when facing our teamwork. We can crush him if we take him on that way," replied Minato confidently with a hint of arrogance in his voice.
"Is Kakashi even cleared for fighting?" asked Homura while keeping the fact the man got a Sharingan Eye replacement away from Sasuke.
"Yes. I cleared him yesterday," answered Tsunade while seeing Minato grinning.
"Good. With our current losses, no one will expect an immediate retaliation this quickly, and that means my son will not see us coming when we strike him at his new home in Wave Country," said Minato with the others understanding.
Attack in a way that no one suspects and deal a crippling or lethal blow that turned things around in Konoha's favor.
(Akatsuki HQ)
"Let me see if I understand you perfectly Itachi. You just said in your report that Kisame. THE Hoshigaki Kisame...is dead?" questioned Pein with Itachi nodding while his face was still showing signs of fatigue.
"Yes Pein-sama. Not only that, but the way Kisame died is what bothers me the most," answered Itachi with Pein frowning.
"But you weren't there when he did," stated Pein with Itachi.
"Yes, but when Shao Kahn appeared after fighting Kisame, I concluded who was the victor of their fight, and what happened soon after when the shipyard was flooded by a Water Jutsu," answered Itachi with Pein narrowing his eyes.
"Your assumptions of Kisame's death might have been too soon. You had no proof of his death other then the Kyuubi Jinchuriki had returned. Perhaps Kisame escaped?" offered Konan with Itachi shaking his head.
"No. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki never learned any Water Jutsus before his escape. From what I learned of our target's abilities, Kisame was killed by having his soul ripped out, and the skills from my partner went with him. After I fled, I saw the Water Jutsu used was one of Kisame's favorite since it helped flood an entire area in water. The entire shipyard was flooded all the way to the top before it went down, leaving only death, and destruction in its wake," replied Itachi with Konan and Pein looking at each other.
"You are certain?" asked Pein with Itachi nodding.
"I saw it with my Tsukuyomi when I used it on him. A nearly endless army of souls that attacked me in that world. I barely managed to survive it and fight off Mitarashi Anko afterwards while Kisame fought him," reported Itachi with Pein frowning.
"Leave us. We need time to think," commanded Pein with Itachi nodding before he left the two.
"This is upsetting. Who knows how strong the Kyuubi Jinchuriki can become if he has the power to take souls and the powers of others in the process," stated Konan with Pein nodding in thought.
"Kisame's death has become a major setback. Not only that, but Samehada is lost to us due to it being consumed by the water after the shipyard was flooded. Recovering it will be next to impossible. We must move against the other Jinchuriki now before moving against the Kyuubi. Once we secure all the others, we can focus all our resources on the last one, and achieve our dream," said Pein with Konan nodding.
"I will inform the others of their assigned targets at once," said Konan before she left him to carry out her mission.
"What do you make of this new predicament regarding the assessment of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki's powers Madara?" asked Pein while not even looking at the orange spiraling masked figure appearing from the shadows.
"We must tread cautiously. With each new soul he takes, our target will get stronger, and his war with Konoha will only provide him with more strength. While his main target is fighting Konoha, we will move against the other Shinobi villages, and take each of their Jinchuriki from them. This will keep one side from getting the upper hand in their petty war. We have already acquired the three and six tails respectively so we just need to go after the others," replied Madara with Pein nodding.
"Agreed. We also need to have a suitable replacement for Kisame. Now would be a good time to have you become more active in the ranks and partner you with Itachi for the time being," said Pein with Madara nodding.
"Agreed. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Itachi given his eye sight failing him. It was because of me that the Uchiha Massacre was so successful in the first place," replied Madara since he had helped Itachi with that mission and used the Uchiha like he did just about everyone else.
Only now were things were finally getting interesting for him.
(A/N: YAY! Awesome chapter or what? Hope it was to your liking. It took me awhile to create, but it was worth it. Now I'm going to relax for a bit since I've made some progress on my school work thanks to my classes being cancelled this current week we just had with the snow and the ice followed by power being out. Crazy huh? I had three days of no power in my house. Three days! I had to occupy my time or else I would go nuts! So I got a good chunk of my school work done and then I was able to do this when the power came back on. Until next time...PEACE!)