Yo..

Time for another interesting chapter, previous chapter we saw the real reason of Naruto's dark feelings, and he will have to deal with this entity.

Ikiryo, means manifestation of a soul of a living person, it is a dark part of a person's soul which is born when a person holds tremendous grudge against someone, and feels he has been done injustice.

And Naruto's relationship with his family during his early childhood...was less than ideal, so that was the place where Ikiryo was born.

I had asked what path Naruto may choose? And what does he value the most in the world?

All the answers you guys gave were partially true, however he values something more than friendship too.

Enjoy the chapter...

Chapter 28

Feelings of the Heart

Powerful gusts of wind freely flowed in the open ground as 70 troopers stood in attention and were keenly looking at the two people in front of them.

But the look the soldiers were giving to the two men in front of them were totally different. They were looking at one of them with utmost respect while the other person just received blank stares.

Baku noticed how the soldiers were looking at Naruto proudly, while giving him hateful looks.

The old war hawk could not understand just why could these fools not understand that every shinobi is a tool, it was true many troopers had died under his command following his brutal orders, but it had gained crucial victories in this war.

Ideologies cannot help in winning a war, if soldiers like Naruto were needed...then commanders like Baku were needed too.

There was no victory without sacrifice and Baku did not care what the young soldiers thought about him, his only duty was to protect Konoha and he would sacrifice anything and anyone for it.

He looked at Naruto and couldn't understand the look he was giving to his comrades, for Baku person like him was an idiot. A leader has to be strong and take harsh decisions, and he could never trust Naruto with that...the boy was too much of an emotional fool.

"Let's get this over with...I have other important things to do," thought Baku irritatingly,

"Ghost company, you are being transferred to another war zone. Your services in the war against Iwa are no longer required," said Baku seriously, and he saw the suspicious look in his soldier's eyes.

However he was thankful none of them had started murmuring among themselves and were waiting for him to explain further. His son had at least trained these kids in that courtesy very well.

"Tomorrow, at 5:00 hours all of you will be embarking on a long and tough campaign in Tokushima islands of Kiri. Your objective will be to capture the islands, and kill every enemy." said Baku sternly, and he saw Naruto requesting his permission to speak. Baku knew what he was going to ask, and gave him the nod.

"Why are we going to Kiri? We have to participate in Operation Flash in Iwa," said Naruto skeptically, but Baku shook his head in negative.

"Iwa is on the verge of defeat, their forces are in full retreat. Hiruzen-sama's second division has already started infiltrating various cities of Iwa through the tunnels of Shuri Castle, Iwa's Jinchuriki are dead and as for the Tsuchikage, he will be personally handled by me," said Baku flatly, and Naruto didn't have any objections to this.

Roshi and Han were dead, the former was killed due to over usage of the foul Biju chakra while Han had been critical for 2 days, but ultimately he too had collapsed due to poison that had spread in his entire body due to Cerberus's bite.

So, Naruto realized Iwa was history now as Kagami and Hiruzen's divisions would finish them. And as for the Tsuchikage, he knew Baku could fight him, the supreme commander maybe a lunatic and a war hawk...but he was one of the strongest ninja of Konoha, and even Naruto could not refute these facts.

"What is the situation in Kiri?" asked Naruto curiously, as the leader of the company he was asking these questions on behalf of his men who too were listening to each and every word, however he didn't miss the disheartened looks in their eyes.

And there was only one reason behind this.

His men were tired of this war, it had been almost 6 years since they had left their homes, their families. Day and Night they had been through hell in Boot Camp, and since they entered in the war they had constantly fought fierce battles and watched many of their friends die.

And now some of them didn't think they would make it back alive, looking at Baku brought a frown on Naruto's face. That man didn't even care how these soldiers felt, he was just here to boss them around.

"Kakashi's division has suffered heavy losses, apparently Kiri has developed a weapon called "missiles", and it has caused havoc on the battlefields. Entire platoons were wiped out within minutes, and Kiri's Navy has completely put Kakashi's company on the defensive. If this situation continues, we will lose the entire front within a few days," explained Baku gravely, and Mikasa tensed a little.

This was serious trouble and no wonder Kakashi had requested their help, Blacklight troopers were para commandos but they also specialized in naval warfare. But Kakashi's division had many Anbu Blackops in them, to think that even Anbu were facing difficulties...

"This weapon is going to be a pain in the ass..." thought Genma frustratedly,

"Ghost company is going to link up with 2nd battalion of Kakashi's division, your objective is to capture Miyasato island. It is one of the biggest and most dangerous stronghold, and more importantly it is one of the centers where the missiles are stored. Is that clear?" asked Baku stoically,

"How destructive are these missiles?" asked Naruto sharply, and his dark black eyes bore into the supreme commander's eyes.

"It has a blast radius of 2000 yards, 20 Platoons of Anbu Blackops were wiped out along with many of the other regular forces, when they tried to capture Miyasato," said Baku nonchalantly,

Baku clearly saw the shock in the eyes of the soldiers, many of them were terrified and fear was clearly leaking from their bodies.

"Do you want us to get killed?" asked Genma angrily,

"This is madness, we won't go on a suicide mission, you got so many of our friends killed at Shuri Castle," accused Rangiku murderously,

Various protests erupted across the entire company and Naruto watched bitterly as Baku increased his KI to maximum level and many of the troopers fell flat on the ground.

"Don't push me to brand all of you as traitors, you are soldiers of Konoha and it is your duty to fight and die for it. You will capture Miyasato or I'll kill all of you myself," warned Baku dangerously, but the next second he felt a cold metal pointed at his neck.

Everyone was completely shocked when Naruto and Mikasa had their tanto planted sharply across Baku's neck and chest, and the old man was practically fuming with anger.

"If you even lay a finger on my soldiers, I will kill you myself. I don't care if you are the supreme commander..." said Naruto murderously, and Mikasa pressed her tanto a little closer on Baku's chest to make their point clear.

Baku watched both the young kids furiously, he had expected something like this from Naruto...but this girl had reacted in a flash when Naruto had made his move, after all she was the company's new second in command.

"Is that a threat, troopers?" asked Baku sternly, and he noticed Mikasa looking at him darkly.

"That's a promise..." said Mikasa demonically, and for a second he saw a sea of anger in the girl's eyes. It seemed Armin's death had affected her badly, and she blamed Baku for it.

Baku put a firm hand on Naruto's shoulders as Mikasa got a little tensed on seeing the murderous glances both men were giving each other.

"I can kill you in a flash, Namikaze. I won't tolerate any threats to Konoha..." said Baku darkly, but he was surprised when Naruto chuckled a little.

"Look around you, Baku. Kill me, and you won't leave this base in one piece," said Naruto victoriously, and Baku noticed the entire company had took out their weapons and were just waiting for Naruto's signal.

Baku calculated the odds, he could take Naruto head on but it would be a disaster if he underestimated Mikasa. She was the second strongest soldier in the entire company, and the rest of the company were one of the best soldiers of Konoha.

He won't be able to escape unscathed, and Minato would have his head if he killed these kids.

"You can order us all you want, but there is one thing which you will never get from us." said Mikasa flatly, and Baku saw the other troopers were etching closer to his position.

"Baku, you maybe a strong ninja but you fail to understand the most important thing of being a shinobi of Konoha," said Naruto disappointingly, as the old man glared at him murderously.

"All of you are failure as ninjas, don't you see all of my decisions were to protect KONOHA!" said Baku stubbornly, but he was further infuriated when he saw Naruto looking at him pitifully.

The next second he signaled the soldiers to lower their weapons, he even gave Mikasa a stern gaze and she had to step back begrudgingly.

Naruto unsheathed his tanto, and started walking away from the infuriated Blacklight commander.

"We will do this mission, but not for you because you don't even know the meaning of being a Konoha shinobi," said Naruto truthfully, and the next second Baku appeared behind him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Do you know who you are talking to, soldier?" asked Baku murderously, if this brat was not Minato's son then he would have already been dealt with.

Naruto looked at the old man, and looking at the faces of his soldiers made him realize just how much he had to be there for them. The command never gave rat's ass about them, for them they were merely pawns ready to be sacrificed.

"Protect the village, huh?" asked Naruto mockingly, and he saw Baku agreeing with the statement.

Rangiku noticed the look in Naruto's eyes, and the young girl could clearly see how much he had changed in these years. And she didn't know what the future had in store for them, but they could at least be sure that they had a good leader whom they could trust with their lives.

"Baku, you still don't understand how long and difficult it will be, the struggle to protect the 'real' village, you still don't see how important it is" said Naruto sadly, as his eyes glanced at the faces of his men.

"I admit many of your comrades have died in the line of duty, but such sacrifices is a part of being a shinobi," said Baku adamantly,

"Then I pity you commander, the village you are trying to protect is a wall of bricks...but the village which we want to protect is right here in front of your eyes" said Naruto honestly, and quickly walked away but not before ordering his soldiers to leave the commander alone.

Baku watched murderously as the entire company walked away and his fists clenched tightly.

"You will pay for this Namikaze..."

"You ready for this?" asked Iwashi hesitantly, as his friend just gave him an encouraging smile.

"I am brother, you know what kind of man Baku is. I have to present this atrocity to my father, but he is on the front lines and I doubt informing him now would help the war effort. He already has a lot to deal with, seal of my memories...are you sure this will work?" asked Naruto curiously,

"Yes, it will. Only a Yamanaka can get this information out of your head now, but they would require your support to dive so much deep into your subconscious. Naruto, once I seal this information it is possible you won't be able to remember it for a few months...but these memories will come back," explained Iwashi briefly, as Naruto agreed to the explanation.

He noticed Izumo giving him an encouraging nod, and Iwashi took in a deep breath. Both the boys looked Naruto straight in the eye as he activated his mangekyo sharingan.

Iwashi quickly performed a set of hand seals and placed his hand on Naruto's head, as Naruto's jutsu activated too.

"Kamimusuhi (World of Illusions)"

A small seal glowed on Naruto's head, meanwhile Izumo and Iwashi were caught in his genjutsu simultaneously.

Both the jutsus took their effect and both Iwashi and Izumo fell flat on the ground, while Naruto grabbed his head in pain as he spatted a small amount of blood from his mouth.

"Oh, Naru-chan...you seem to be in bad shape, how are your eyes?" asked Ikiryo mockingly,

Naruto decided not to answer the question, but that didn't change the fact that using the Mangekyo sharingan put an enormous strain on his young body, but more than that it was somehow reducing his vision.

And that worried him a lot.

It was now his curse.

Naruto calmly observed the dark moon in the sky, tomorrow was going to be a big day for everyone. And if what Baku had said was true, then a lot of them won't be coming back alive.

And this worried him a lot, these were the only friends he had left and he didn't know if he could handle any more of them dying.

Just what was the reason for this pointless war? Who were the real mastermind of this war?

He could not accept that three great nations waged war against Konoha because they were jealous, there had to be a more concrete reason for this atrocity.

Or was someone else playing the entire game from the shadows?

This war had greatly weakened all the villages except Suna, Iwa had lost its jinchuriki and nobody knew where the tailed beasts would reappear again.

"NO!" thought Naruto in horror, was this the real reason for the war? Were all of them fooled by someone else?

"Finally, you can see why this war happened, dumbass." said Ikiryo disappointingly, as Naruto's curiosity increased.

"Are you telling me someone wants to capture the tailed beasts? Is that the real purpose of this war?" asked Naruto suspiciously,

"You are too naive for not realizing this till now. All of us, know the 3 great villages didn't have the balls to wage war against Konoha on their own, someone must have instigated them...and this weapon called missile is not something which Kiri can develop. I killed the Four Tails, and now who knows where it will appear again, the villages would be extremely weak after the war...recognize the pattern?" asked Ikiryo darkly, and somethings started making sense in Naruto's mind.

"It will take time for the 4 and 5 tails to be born again, but they are Biju it won't be easy to capture and seal them again." said Naruto skeptically, and Ikiryo got a demonic smile on his face.

"Unless, you have a Mangekyo sharingan..."

"Naruto.."

Rangiku's voice stopped him from diving further into shock, and his eyes shifted to the blonde girl. He was surprised when her eyes widened in shock, and she ran towards him.

"What happened to your eyes?" asked Rangiku worriedly, as currently she could see half of Naruto's eyes had turned totally black in color and blood was leaking out of them.

It looked demonic!

At first Naruto didn't get what she was worried about, but his eyes hardened as he realized just what was happening.

"I will take over your body completely one day. I have done this countless times, you are a bastard and I hate you," said Ikiryo murderously,

Naruto closed his eyes and he could feel Ikiryo's possession slowly decreasing over his body. He had not even realized just how much dangerous his dark side was, it was best if he never talked with him.

"Why do you hate me so much?" asked Naruto sadly, and he could feel Ikiryo's anger clearly.

"Because you broke the heart of the person I love the most in this world..."

These were Ikiryo's final words before he completely disappeared from Naruto's mind scape. One thing was clear to him, there was a really dark side of his soul which could harm all the people he loved, and he had to find a way to stop it.

Because whenever Ikiryo took over his body, he always caused enormous tragedy and massacres. It was his way of making the world feel the pain that both (Naruto and Ikiryo) had suffered throughout their lives.

But deep down in his heart Naruto felt bad for his dark side, Ikiryo was born due to Naruto's mistake. Only if he had been a little more understanding in the past, this wouldn't have happened.

"Are you alright?" asked Rangiku worriedly, as she carefully wiped away the blood that was leaking from his eyes.

Naruto opened his eyes gently and Rangiku saw his eyes were back to their normal look, they were not completely black and this relieved her a lot. But that didn't mean she wasn't terrified of those eyes...

"I'm alright, what are you doing here?" asked Naruto curiously, as both of them gently sat on the soft grass of the base.

"Never mind that, why were your eyes bleeding and why were they almost black like a demon?" asked Rangiku flatly, and she gave him the best intimidating gaze she could muster as he chuckled sheepishly.

"It's nothing Rangiku, I had overused my eyes at Shuri Castle, so Shizune had given me a medicine to heal them...though it does have some really strange effects," said Naruto 'innocently', as his friend tried to estimate whether he was lying or not.

"Are you sure?" asked Rangiku affectionately, as he gave her a warm smile.

"I am"

Both the friends peacefully sat in the moonlight, Naruto's eyes were currently fixed on Rangiku...she so looked so beautiful right now. Her silky blonde hair were shining brightly in the dark night, while her face had a strange glow which he had never seen before.

Strangely, he had seen such a strange glow on Mikasa's face when the beautiful rays of the morning sun hit her face, while Rangiku had the same glow in the moonlight. Both of the girls were like the sun and moon.

And he cared about them with all his heart.

"Would you like to eat something?" asked Rangiku warmly, and she saw he accepted her offer.

Naruto watched curiously as Rangiku took out a few small scrolls and made a hand seal pulling out a plate filled with steaming Kushiyaki as well as a container of steamed rice along with a Kasutera. Naruto looked at the food as Rangiku waved her hand, indicating for him to dig in. She favored him with a small smile as she pulled two skewers of Kushiyaki onto her plate with a small bowl of rice to accentuate the food. Naruto smiled as he served himself, a healthy portion of rice going along with his four skewers.

"Itadakimasu." the two chorused as they prayed over their food. With this done, Naruto took a skewer in his hand and gracefully brought it to his lips, seemingly oblivious to Rangiku's staring as she eagerly awaited him trying her cooking. She was amazed at how easily he managed to eat the chicken off of the skewer, not leaving a even a small amount of it. Rangiku waited eagerly, as Naruto chewed his food, seemingly enjoying the taste before he slowly swallowed his food and opened his eyes, to see Rangiku's intense stare.

A hue of pink tinted her cheeks and she smiled demurely, "I didn't realize you looked so good eating." she said with a flirting tone that Naruto almost missed, as it was it caused Naruto's heart to flip in his chest as she fluttered her eyelids.

Naruto smiled, "You don't realize how beautiful you look all the time Rangiku-chan." he replied, causing Rangiku to blush a bit harder as he said the word 'chan', "But, I was curious what you thought of the cooking." she asked after having paused. Naruto blinked before looking down at the food.

"It's very good, I have to say it holds a unique taste that I haven't tasted in all our time in Blacklight. Where did you get it?" he asked as he took the green pepper into his mouth along with a smaller piece of beef on the other side of the pepper on the skewer.

Rangiku smiled, not even bothered by the assumption that he had, "I cooked it." she said as she picked up her own skewer and dug into her food with a gusto, keeping an eye on Naruto, catching his guilty gaze, he swallowed his food quickly and smiled at her.

"I'm sorry, Rangiku-chan, I should have thought about it, it is really good." he apologized. as Rangiku frowned slightly.

"It's fine Naruto, you didn't know I could cook. I just hope you enjoy the rest of the meal." she said as he watched him nod then take another bite, following suit they both fell into a comfortable silence as the two ate.

Moonlight bathed the open ground in its glow as Naruto and Rangiku partook of the small feast Rangiku had made, thoroughly enjoying the food and the sweet at the end.

As they were getting to the end of the sweets though, Naruto seemed to find a good point, "So," he started, his hesitancy coming to the forefront, "what's your favorite color?" he asked with a piercing gaze. Even though someone would normally be embarrassed asking such a question like this, Naruto seemed so genuinely curious, Rangiku chuckled.

"Oddly enough," she said as her eyes gleamed in the moonlight, "it was silver, but I have somehow come to like a golden yellow." she answered with a small smile while she blushed slightly.

Naruto blinked before reaching behind him, pulling a full spikes of his hair forward, he looked at them, before looking back at Rangiku as she blushed slightly. Naruto chuckled as well. "What about yours?" she asked.

Naruto smiled at her, pushing his empty plate away from himself, he leaned forward slightly, "I like the color black," he said honestly. Rangiku nodded, "When's your birthday?" he asked.

"September 29." she answered honestly, as a surprised look came on his face.

"Mine is September 15, hehe...I'm older than you, Rangiku" said Naruto teasingly, as the young girl laughed happily on the comment

"Kasutera?" she asked, holding a knife up to the cake she had made for desert.

"A small piece please." he said as he held out his plate. Rangiku smirked as he picked up a small piece of the cake, no bigger than her pinky and placed it on his plate, struggling to contain her laughter as he looked at the piece in disbelief before looking back at her, noticing her shaking sides he glared at her. That is, until he grinned himself.

Rangiku cut herself a piece and went to sit back, placing the knife on the plate with her cake. That is, until Naruto's piece of cake splattered against her face, the frosting on the top of it causing it to stick to her face. She grimaced as she wiped her face of the frosting before turning an eye on the violently laughing Naruto, whom was now eating a piece of cake that was more along the size he had asked for.

Naruto looked down, figuring she had asked for that, when he noticed his plate was gone. He looked around for a few seconds before it dawned on him that the cake Rangiku was now eating was the piece he had cut for himself! He looked at her, to see her place the last piece of cake into her mouth and visibly swallow the cake. Naruto's eye twitched as he watched her calmly wipe her face with her napkin then slowly look up at him. The smirk that then graced her lips was the snapping point, "No one outpranks me!" Naruto thought to himself as he launched himself across the ground, tackling the surprised Rangiku.

Naruto and Rangiku rolled, each trying to gain the upper hand as Naruto spoke, "Trying to outprank me! The Prankster king from hell huh!" he said as he rolled Rangiku onto her back.

Rangiku smirked as she lifted her body, rolling Naruto's heavier body over for the final time, "I can't exactly be dull if my best friend tries to pull one on me." she retorted as she straddled him, looking down at his panting face with her own breath coming in slightly labored breaths their little tussle having taken more energy out of them than expected, of course, Naruto rose his hips, trying to jostle her off.

Naruto was surprised when she gently wiped away a piece of cake that was present on the edge of his lips, with her touch sending jolts of electricity across his entire body as her silky blonde hair covered his entire face from the moon.

He suddenly felt really uncomfortable in his pants, and with each passing second he had to stop himself from just kissing her beautiful lips.

"Would you be angry if we called it a night here?" he asked, "I have some duties to perform before we embark on our mission," he explained.

Rangiku shook her head, "Let's call it a night." she said. Naruto smiled as he walked back over to their previous sealing scroll, tapping a seal, he held it out and all of the items previously sealed within it were sucked back up into its seal. He smiled at Rangiku.

She was surprised when he gently hugged her back, as her hands automatically caressed his back.

"Thank you, I really needed this...with this war, and Baku's mess and-" said Naruto haphazardly, but she shushed him by hugging him more affectionately.

"You don't need me to thank for that, you were there for me when I needed you the most...what kind of friend would I be if I was not there for you too?" asked Rangiku warmly, as a small smile came on his face.

"You are a nice person, Rangiku...and I'm grateful for having you in my life,"

Both of the young teens were so happy in their own world, as they completely missed the broken look in Mikasa's eyes.

A swift knock was heard on the door, and after a few moments a disheveled Mikasa opened the door and her eyes hardened when she saw him standing on her doorstep.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I disturbed you...but I need to discuss something with you," said Naruto in a friendly manner, he did find it weird that her eyelids looked more darker and heavier than usual, her hair were a mess...and she was trying her best to give him a 'normal' look.

"Can it wait? I am a little sleepy..." lied Mikasa swiftly, and he saw a worried look appearing on his face.

"What happened? Are you alright?" asked Naruto quickly and put his hand on her forehead, as her heart became a lot more heavier and she tried her best to hold her tears back.

She was so wrong, just what was she thinking...by confessing her love for him in the moonlight, her dreams would come true. That he would start loving someone like her?

Today Mikasa had realized just how much of a gap was there between her and Naruto, he was the great commander Phoenix and the son of the Fourth Hokage.

Naruto was the heir of the Namikaze clan, while she was a nobody- an orphan whose parents had died years ago. She didn't even belong to any clan, and it would be stupid to think that the village and Naruto's family would approve his relationship with someone like her.

Maybe...it was just wishful thinking.

She strengthened her heart, it was not his fault if he loved Rangiku instead of her. But it didn't change the fact that she wished he would love her, and it wouldn't change the fact how she felt about him. She would stay by his side always...but not tonight.

Tonight, she wanted to be alone...

"Mikasa..."

His voice snapped her out of her despair, and she looked at him painfully. Her fists clenched tightly, and she suppressed the tears in her eyes, if he loved Rangiku, then she was happy for him.

Because in the end his happiness was all that mattered to her.

"I'll talk to you in the morning...please, I just need some rest," requested Mikasa politely, as Naruto caressed her cheeks affectionately.

Naruto noticed she was really tired, and he knew he had to let her rest as tomorrow was a big day for everyone, and he wanted her to be in perfect health. He came forward and kissed her forehead lovingly and gently wrapped her hands around her chest.

"Get some rest...we'll discuss the battle plans in the morning," said Naruto lovingly, as a lone tear slipped from her eyes.

"Hai.." said Mikasa in a choked voice, he gave her one last kiss on the forehead before slowly grasping the hilt of the door of her room.

"Good night..."

As soon as he said those words, he gently closed the door of her room as the dam of tears that she was holding bursted unconditionally.

Tonight was going to be one of the toughest nights of Mikasa's life...

In a dark corner of the base, 4 persons stood beside each other. One of the person was a plant like entity, as half of its body was black in color while the other half was white in color.

The person standing next to him was none other than Kisame Hoshikage, with the large sword "Samehada" strapped firmly on his back, as the shark like man looked menacingly at the person in front of him.

The one who was currently being glared at by Kisame was none other than Kushina Uzumaki, the fiery red head was currently dressed in her akatsuki robes as her gorgeous red hair flowed freely in the air. However her dark purple eyes were as cold as ice.

Lastly, the man in the center of the group stepped forward. His face was covered by a spiral orange mask, and his thin body was dressed in Akatsuki robes.

"The war has entered its final stages, The Jinchuriki of the Nibi (Two Tails), Yonbi (Four Tails) and Gobi (Five Tails) have already been killed. The villages have suffered a lot both militarily and economically, and by the end of this war no matter who wins...the shinobi world would be broken, and there would be no one who can stop our plans, and at that time we will capture the tailed beasts one by one," explained Tobi briefly, as the other members of the Akatsuki listened to all the information attentively.

"What do you need from us if everything is going as per your plan?" asked Kushina seriously, and she noticed Tobi giving a nod to Zetsu.

"We need you take care of something, Pain-sama requested this mission personally. Konoha is going to strike Miyasato islands tomorrow, and he wants you to bring his missiles back if Kiri is not able to hold the enemy off," said white Zetsu calmly,

"This is no mission, Zetsu even you can handle this task...why do you need both of us?" asked Kisame irritatingly, he just didn't want to perform in such an easy task.

"The primary objective of your mission is to eliminate the entire First company of Blacklight, along with Commander Phoenix..."

Author's Notes: Things are getting interesting, aren't they?

I'm too cruel, and yes I know this fact. Next chapter is going to be damn interesting when the two main characters of this fic meet each other.

Yes, Blacklight is off to Kiri...and get ready for some kick ass fighting.

This war arc is nearing its end, and now you see why Tobi waged this war. In cannon, I always thought just how could Akatsuki members just barge in a village and break shit up, Nagato and Konan can do it, even Kisame and Itachi are worthy of that...but the rest of the Akatsuki are too much hyped. If an entire village jumps on them, then I highly doubt they would be able to capture the Jinchuriki.

This fic's Tobi is a smart guy, and as time passes you will realize most of the things are well thought out in the story, and there are very less plot holes.

Poor Mikasa...but that's what teenage love is.

PS: I have posted Kushina's real picture on my profile, it would really be helpful if you can see how she looks. It will help you visualize her better, it's in Namikaze Legend pics section as the second last image above Namikaze clan symbol.

Next chapter: Meet the Titans