Yo..
Time for the finale, but before that two questions were raised by the readers which I need to answer...
First is why Naruto and Itachi seem so opposite to Indra and Asura. The point is they inherited their ideals (Naruto with the empire, and Itachi with the dream of discipline and co-operation), but in reality they are their own person. Reincarnation does not mean exact copy of Indra and Asura, we have to remember Naruto and Itachi are related to Hashirama and Tobirama. Naruto's love for his people and his comrades is similar to that of Hashirama, while Itachi's desire to protect Konoha is similar to that of Tobirama. And we don't even know how Indra and Asura truly were in Cannon, Indra could be caring too while Asura may have killed people. It's all just speculation on our part...
So let me make it simple,
Naruto symbolizes Nagato and Kakashi (for the most part), while inheriting the ideals and love of Indra and Hashirama respectively.
Itachi symbolizes Tobirama (for the most part), while inheriting the ideals of Asura and the unwavering love for his brother like Izuna. This is who these brothers are, and I hope it makes the picture clear. Just as Hashirama couldn't create the ninja world without Tobirama, Naruto cannot create the empire without Itachi. They are like Dean and Sam of Supernatural series...opposites but yet the same, and all they care about is family.
Next is about the fight of Hiruzen and Ohnoki. I accept that Ohnoki is powerful, but in this fight his two biggest advantages were destroyed from the start. Ohnoki can fly which allows him to perform long range jutsu quickly and without any counter attack from the enemy, but Kagami took away that advantage by giving Hiruzen his crow making him even with Ohnoki. After that Ohnoki's dust release take some time to fire, Hiruzen is a veteran Kage and the God of Shinobi and he capitalized on these weaknesses. And seeing their leader getting thrashed reduced the morale of the Iwa forces, while the Kumo forces saw their leaders getting trapped.
The Heavenly Alliance's trump card that could achieve victory (Edo Tensei) were already trapped before the battle could even begin making the enemy army lose their confidence, while under Minato and other veteran ninja, Konoha shinobi gained the confidence and started overwhelming the enemy.
Just having strength in a war is not enough, lots of factors like morale, tactics, desire to win, and faith in the leader are vital for victory. This is something which Konoha possessed in ample amounts...
Hope you understood my point...
Also the title of this chapter has been changed for a reason...
Enjoy the chapter...
Chapter 59
Fierce Battles
Minato completely freezed in shock as his once "dead" son easily passed through the most strongest barrier of their world. Just what the hell was going on? If Naruto was alive, then whom did he burn at that beach...
Naruto slowly walked towards him and every person inside the barrier could feel the power emanating from the boy. Toka was quite stunned with the glow on Naruto's face...it looked so divine. He looked exactly like Minato, but a little more handsome as his silky blonde hair had clearly covered one of his eyes.
Meanwhile Tobirama was shocked as he sensed the chakra inside the boy, it was probably even more than Minato and judging from his similar chakra it was safe to assume this boy was related to his son.
"Naruto..."
The young Namikaze was keenly observing the Edo Tensei team in front of him, this was probably going to be one of the biggest battles of his life.
"Never in my entire life did I imagine that I would have to fight my own breatheren like this..." said Naruto sadly, and gave a respectful bow to the Senju family.
"Who are you?" asked Toka curiously, unlike her husband she still couldn't connect the dots.
"Commander of 1st company of Blacklight, son of Minato Namikaze and Mikoto Uchiha and heir to the Namikaze clan. Naruto Namikaze..."
Hashirama and Toka were completely shocked on hearing this and judging from the look on Minato's face, it was true. While Tobirama was keenly observing the boy, he was completely different from his younger grandson. He had seen how devoted and faithful Itachi was, it was like looking at a younger version of himself, but this boy...his chakra was so strong, dark, it was borderline evil.
"Naruto..." said Minato hesitantly, as his son gave him a small smile.
"It's been a long time...Tou-san" said Naruto respectfully, even if he had just met his father a few hours ago Minato couldn't remember it as Naruto had wiped out that memory from the Kage's mind.
"You traitor..." said Izuna a.k.a Orochimaru angrily, as Naruto got a devious smile on his face.
"I was never your ally, Orochimaru. You were a fool to believe that I would support your vile plan..." said Naruto arrogantly, and the Sannin was fuming in anger on seeing the arrogant smile on the boy's face, he was mocking him.
"I warned Madara, not to trust him. Seems I was right..." thought Orochimaru bitterly,
"So the coward finally returns, you think you can win this war and protect your family and village? Just like you protected Armin..." said Izuna a.k.a Orochimaru slyly, he knew this was Naruto's biggest weakness.
"You let Armin die..."
Everyone was a little intrigued when Naruto's eyes shifted towards the sky, and a tired sigh escaped from his lips...
"I'll never let my comrades die..."
Hashirama was a little pleased when he heard such words from his grand nephew's mouth, but he also spotted the guilt and pain in his eyes.
"Those words are a curse aimed at myself. I have not been able to save many of my comrades...that's why I keep on telling myself that this time I would protect them. But again I fail, and I'll have to face this guilt for the rest of my life. It's true that Armin died, he along with Kotetsu and many of my friends died to protect Konoha from people like you, trying to protect me. That bond lasted only for sometime, but it taught me that I am capable of doing many things. They died entrusting me to change this cursed ninja world " said Naruto calmly, and Minato was surprised as well as pleased from the understanding his son was showing.
He was even more escalated when Naruto stepped beside him and put a firm hand on his shoulder...
"From the very beginning, I grew up with heroes. My Tou-san, my Kaa-san, my sensei Commander Fox who taught me everything, my best friend Armin and so many more friends who gave me something invaluable. And that is something which you will never understand..."
"Naruto..." said Minato proudly, as a small smile came on his son's face.
"Kids love looking up to their heroes, that's why they always follow them. Konoha is a home of heroes, my heroes and I will protect it at all costs!"
"That's my Dream!"
BOOM!
All the Edo Tensei were blown several feet away as a monstrous wave of chakra was unleashed inside the barrier, and they saw Naruto's entire body covered in bright blue chakra.
"Tou-san, I know a way to defeat these Edo Tensei..." said Naruto calmly, and he just smiled on seeing the shock on Minato's face.
"It's impossible...this jutsu is-" replied Minato but was cut off, when Naruto looked him in the eye.
"Every jutsu has its weakness, this jutsu's weakness is my existence..." said Naruto cunningly, as his Mangekyo sharingan came to life.
Minato immediately understood the message his son was trying to give him, and gave a small nod.
"Naruto, you've lied to me about a lot of things, always hiding the truth...and then you died on me. After this is over, I want you to promise me that you will tell me the truth..." said Minato sternly, as a small smirk came on Naruto's face.
"They say you take your personality to your grave, well I've already died once. You have my word..." replied Naruto honestly,
Both father and son quickly stepped ahead and were now facing the Edo Tensei squad...
"The estranged father-son duo finally came to gang up on me...so amusing" said Izuna a.k.a Orochimaru with an evil grin on his face
Izuna slowly regained control of himself as that weird presence slowly disappeared from his mind, he saw a young boy standing beside Minato but what intrigued him was the Mangekyo in the person's eyes.
"Tou-san, what can you tell me about them?" asked Naruto seriously,
"That Uchiha there possesses a Mangekyo, I was able to restrain him till now but he's free thanks to you..." replied Minato sarcastically, as Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. After all, it was due to his chakra wave that destroyed everything except for the barrier...
"My Bad..."
"Hashirama is quite strong and his wood style is a threat, while my Tou-san is quite fast like me and can perform the Hirashin. He is a master of water ninjutsu like you..." said Minato honestly, as Naruto's mouth went agape with shock.
His gaze shifted towards Tobirama who was stoic as usual...
"That EMO there is your father?" yelled Naruto loudly, as Minato smacked his forehead in frustration, while Toka and Hashirama started laughing loudly.
"Who are you calling Emo, brat!" shouted Tobirama angrily, but Hashirama put a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Tobirama, that boy is only saying the truth..." said Hashirama jokingly, as Tobirama's eyebrow started twitching.
"Brother..."
"There, there, Tobi...no need to be so rude. I'm sure you two will get along soon enough..." said Toka cheerfully,
"We're dead, Toka" replied Tobirama in a dead pan voice, as a tired sigh escaped from Naruto's lips.
"Indra was right, I really have a fucked up family..." thought Naruto bemusedly,
"If your comedy show is over, then I'd like to complete the explanation..." said Minato in an irritated voice,
"Hai"
"The women there is my mother, and is quite deadly with genjutsu and ninjutsu. Her name is Toka..." replied Minato hurriedly, as Naruto shot a friendly wave to his grandmother.
"Yo..."
"Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun. You're quite amusing to say the least..." said Toka teasingly,
"Oh, you have no idea...Baa-chan" replied Naruto teasingly, and this time Toka's eyebrows twitched on hearing that word.
"Hahahaha..."
Everyone was quite surprised when Tobirama started laughing madly on seeing the anger and frustration on his wife's face as Naruto called her grandmother. Toka probably died during her 20's because even now she looked so young, and just being called 'granny' would have made her feel terribly old, especially hurting her female ego.
BAM!
Hashirama quickly ducked as Tobirama was sent sailing away courtesy of Toka's punch, while Izuna, Naruto and Minato were baffled on seeing the banter among the Senju family.
"Maybe I shouldn't piss her off..." said Naruto hesitantly, and Minato patted his shoulder.
"Too late for that son...word of advice, never call a woman old" replied Minato bemusedly,
"You couldn't have told me this before?" asked Naruto frustratedly,
"Well, what can I do...you're a moron" said Minato teasingly, as Naruto glared at him.
"This isn't over, just wait till I tell Kaa-san about your Icha Icha: Swimsuit collection which you always hide inside the closet of the guest room..." replied Naruto victoriously, as Minato paled on hearing that threat.
"Minato, you pervert!" yelled Toka angrily, and threw a small rock that hit Minato straight in the head.
"Serves him right-" thought Naruto happily, until another rock hit him straight in the head.
He quickly got up and pointed an his finger at his grandmother...
"You..."
"Did you like it, Naruto-kun?" asked Toka in a very sweet tone,
But her taunt was cut short when she spotted Naruto and Izuna closely observing each other, both of them were keenly watching the Mangekyo in the other's eye.
"Who are you?" asked Naruto seriously,
"Izuna Uchiha"
"Should I consider a friend or foe?" asked Naruto bluntly, as Izuna smirked on hearing the question.
"You've got some nerve asking me this question, no Senju can be my friend...especially descendants of treacherous Tobirama, only if my brother Madara was here then we could have shown you the power of the Uchiha" said Izuna angrily, for his part Naruto completely hid his shock but the same could not be said for Minato who was shell shocked by this new information.
"So, he's Madara's brother. Can I use him against Madara? No, it's far too dangerous besides I can't do it...it's settled then" thought Naruto quickly,
"Very well, let's dance"
Izuna smiled on hearing that phrase, it reminded him of the man he respected the most. Maybe this battle won't be too bad...
"Tou-san, please watch my back with your Hirashin. I'll take the front...just follow my lead and we'll get through this" reassured Naruto confidently,
"Understood"
The Edo Tensei quickly stood side by side each other, as Naruto narrowed his eyes at them while Minato took out his Hirashin kunai.
Tobirama sensed a massive outburst of chakra as Naruto performed a single hand seal.
"Katon: Goka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)"
A giant wall of flames was unleashed by Naruto and fired straight towards the Edo Tensei team, and it was quite massive. However Tobirama and Izuna quickly stepped forward and performed their own hand seals.
"Katon: Goka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)"
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Style: Violent Water Wave)"
The combined fire and water attacks of the legendary shinobi quickly clashed with Naruto's fire wave, and with their combined forces easily destroyed his attack. But Tobirama's eyes widened in shock when he sensed a spark of chakra behind him.
He quickly turned around and saw Naruto grabbing Toka, did the boy just teleport from beneath the ground?
"So that was his move, distracting us with his fire attack while sneaking up on us from behind. Who would have thought that he could teleport like his father too?" thought Hashirama seriously, as he was quickly pulled away by his controller.
Before Tobirama and Izuna could move to counter Naruto, a sharp three pronged kunai passed between them as Minato flashed towards them instantly delivering devastating kicks that sent them crashing away.
Meanwhile Toka tried to stab her kunai through Naruto, but was shocked when the weapon as well as her entire hand passed right through him.
"It's over...Baa-chan" said Naruto victoriously, as his Mangekyo spinned quickly.
"Kamimusuhi"
Toka was shell shocked when she felt the link that was controlling her being severed. She could feel herself in control of her body...
"It worked...just a little more" thought Naruto painfully, and quickly swallowed the blood that had got accumulated in his mouth,
If not for Asura's power passing through his body, he would have fallen dead by now. But it didn't diminish the fact that he had freed at least one of the enemy forces and turned them on his side.
But this victory did come at a cost, however now was not the time...
Toka slowly removed her hand from Naruto's intangible stomach, as the boy just gave her a small smile.
"Get away from me...he could regain control any moment" warned Toka urgently and jumped away from Naruto, as he just smiled.
"I'm afraid it won't be possible...wouldn't it, Orochimaru?" asked Naruto slyly, adding more fuel to the Snake Sannin's anger.
He quickly jumped towards Toka and grabbed her quickly, while Minato blocked the rest of the Edo Tensei.
"Time to go..."
"Huh?"
Before Toka could realize what was happening, Naruto quickly absorbed her into his pocket dimension. A place from which there was no escape, so even if he lost control of her...she could not do any damage and be beyond Orochimaru's reach.
Several wooden spikes emerged from the ground and tried to stab Naruto, but once again they passed right through him. He patiently turned around and saw Hashirama had performed the attack.
With a quick nod to Minato, he charged forward as his opponents too ran towards him. Naruto quickly signaled Minato to head towards Tobirama, while he jumped towards Hashirama and Izuna.
Seeing this, Izuna quickly performed his own hand seal...
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu(Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)"
A large fireball was instantly fired towards Naruto as he too performed his own hand seal.
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Style: Violent Water Wave)"
Quickly summoning the water on the ground, Naruto formed a giant water wall protecting himself from Izuna's attack. However, Hashirama was already on top of him and sent a right hook towards him.
Naruto quickly ducked from the incoming attack, and blocked another kick from Izuna who appeared on his back.
Both the Edo Tensei together attacked Naruto, but to their surprise Naruto became intangible as their punches hit each other. But this time, Naruto's eyes widened in shock when both his opponents disappeared in puffs of smoke and something grabbed his foot.
"Banmuchi (Vine Whip)"
As the mist from the previous attack disappeared Naruto was shocked when he saw at least 30 Hashirama and 10 Izuna standing in front of him.
"This jutsu is so amazing...I can create so many shadow clones. You're dead boy" said Izuna gleefully, as all his shadow clones performed a set of hand seals.
While Hashirama and his clones also clasped their hands together, as Naruto realized what that hand sign was...
He tried to teleport himself, but the mysterious vines had connected with his chakra points and had frozen him. Just when everything seemed over, Minato flashed in front of him and threw a seal towards the Edo Tensei as they finished their attacks.
"Katon: Goenka(Fire Release: Great Flame Flower)"
"Doton Doryuudan (Earth Release: Mud Dragon Projectile Jutsu)"
A volley of earth dragons and fire golems was fired towards the Namikaze duo and Minato quickly grabbed his hirashin kunai while Naruto grabbed Tobirama who tried to attack his father from behind.
"Jikūkan Kekkai (Space Time Barrier)"
In a flash the huge attack from the Edo Tensei got absorbed in the mysterious hole, but Naruto's eyes widened in horror when 5 more Tobirama's emerged around him and Minato, and performed a set of hand seal.
"Get away from here, boy!" warned Tobirama urgently, for the first time in his entire life he felt scared.
These two people were his blood, he had fought to protect Konoha his entire life and he would never be able to forgive himself if his son and grandson died by his hands.
Minato was busy in diverting the attack from the front, while Naruto was unable to move...
"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu(Water Release: Water Bullet Technique)"
Hundreds of water bullets were unleashed by the Tobirama clones and were now heading towards Minato who was unaware of the incoming attack. While Naruto saw an exploding tag on the real Tobirama's armor...
"KATSU!"
BOOM!
A giant explosion occurred in the entire area, dust flew wildly in the whole barrier as Izuna got a wicked smile on his face.
"It's over..." said Izuna a.k.a Orochimaru victoriously,
CRACK
A sick sound was heard, as the smoke and dust cleared as the Edo Tensei saw something in the shadows...
"You truly are worthy of being called the strongest shinobi's..." said Naruto calmly,
Minato who was standing beside Naruto was amazed by the thing he was seeing...
"Now, I, Naruto Namikaze will also respond with full power..."
"SUSANOO!"
Author's Notes: To be continued...