Yo..
This chapter is dedicated to one of my favorite characters of all time, Obito Uchiha (Before he became the masked idiot, but I guess he found his way back in the end and for whatever it's worth, he died while trying to amend his mistakes. The redemption aspect of Naruto series is one of my favorite points, it teaches us that we can't change the past or undo our actions...but what you can do is try your best to improve the future and make up for your mistakes)
Enjoy the chapter...
Chapter 85
Why we Fight
Iwashi and his squad were slowly climbing back towards their control station, he could see sweat pouring heavily from the faces of his soldiers and he couldn't blame them. Climbing a mountain without using chakra was quite a painful exercise, and most of the ninja never performed it.
Unfortunately, his former Blacklight trainers had taken a great interest in teaching this exercise to all their cadets. Genma was the best among all of them, that man could climb such a steep mountain within minutes.
But these kids were not Blacklight, and yet they were still trying their best which was good enough for him.
"Hang in there, rookies" encouraged Iwashi, as a frustrated frown could be seen on Kentaro's face,
"Captain, why can't we use chakra? We could reach up-top in no time without wasting so much of our energy..." said Kentaro in an irritated voice, but Iwashi just got a small smirk on his face.
"Because those ninja up there are commandos, if one them has sensory abilities then they would know we were coming, and we would be walking straight into an ambush. Besides, it's fun..." said Iwashi jokingly,
"Fun? You call this fun..." said Yuna in disbelief, and was even more surprised when Iwashi just shrugged.
"Crazy Blacklights..." said Daisuke tiredly,
After another few minutes of gruesome rock climbing, the small squad finally reached on top of the mountain. Iwashi quickly signaled his men to hide behind a few large stones, concealing themselves in the shadows.
Yuna saw 4 enemy commandos standing outside the gates, and from the looks of it they were quite vigilant of their surroundings.
"Maybe you should learn a thing or two from them, Kentaro..." taunted Daisuke, as the younger boy's eyebrows twitched violently
"Fuck off, shithead" said Kentaro with a small smirk on his face, but both of them just received harsh bops on their heads...courtesy of Yuna Namikaze.
"Knock it off...do you want to get yourself killed?" asked Yuna sternly, as Kentaro got a little confused.
"Didn't we say the same thing to her a few minutes ago?" questioned Kentaro, making Daisuke smack his own forehead on seeing the boy's strange mentality.
"Not a good time, Ken..."
The trio were silenced when Iwashi came near them, he didn't scold them but one look in the man's eye was enough to make them realize how serious the situation was.
"How many enemies were there when they attacked the station? I can count 4 here, how many could be inside?" asked Iwashi patiently,
"It was too much chaos back then, but I saw 10 of them storming the station. Squad leader Tatsumi killed one before-" said Yuna sadly, but couldn't have the courage to finish the sentence.
"You're like him..." said Iwashi with a small smile,
"Who is she like, Captain?" asked Daisuke curiously,
"Yuna, you have the same compassion for your comrades like Naruto. And judging from the similar looks, I won't be wrong in assuming you are related to him?" questioned Iwashi confidently,
"He's my younger brother..."
"I see, then I will tell you the same thing which I told your brother once. We speak for the dead, that's our job. We are all they've got once the wicked rob them of their voices, we owe them that but we don't owe them our lives. The death of your comrades is not your fault..." said Iwashi in a kind friendly voice,
"We can't win this, Captain..." said Kentaro nervously, but the smile on Iwashi's face gave him confidence.
"Maybe you're right. I spent my entire life as a Blackops soldier, and from my experience I can only tell you that there are no victories, only the battles. And the best you can hope for is the find a place where you can make your stand. This is the place where we make our stand for Konoha, our actions tonight can determine the life and death of hundreds of innocent people. Konoha is our home, we are not just fighting for the people in the village...but also for all those ninja who died trying to protect the village." explained Iwashi patiently,
The former Blacklight soldier was a little touched when he saw all the 3 kids looking at him with a strange glint in their eyes. It was the same look which he once had when Naruto was the one who motivated them all to fight against 4000 Iwa troops.
"(chuckles) I think I finally understand what it means to be a leader, Naruto" thought Iwashi happily,
"So, are you ready to take back our station?" asked Iwashi seriously,
"Yes, sir" said all three of them in unison, making Iwashi smile.
"Alright, these guys are Anbu level ninja's from what I've seen. No offence but maybe you are strong enough to take each of the enemy trooper head on, but together as a team you can take down 1 or 2 of them" said Iwashi honestly,
"What do you want us to do?" asked Daisuke sincerely, ready to follow any order his leader would give him.
"You see those 2 troopers on the left, Daisuke you are not at your full strength. That's why I want you to act as bait and divert their attention, while Yuna and Kentaro will sneak up behind those 2 enemy troopers and finish them off. As for the other 2 on the right, I'll handle them" explained Iwashi in thorough detail, and gave a nod when Yuna raised her hand to ask a question.
"How much time do we have before they eliminate Daisuke? I don't want to lose any more comrades..." said Yuna seriously, and Daisuke saw Kentaro giving him a nod indicating the same message.
"30 seconds or even less, Yuna you are a Namikaze. Use your speed, get behind their backs and kill them" stated Iwashi, and Kentaro didn't miss his leader giving him a firm gaze advising him to do the same.
"I understand. I won't let you down..." promised Yuna,
"We will do our best or die trying..." said Kentaro confidently, while Daisuke just nodded.
Iwashi quickly loaded the magazine in his kunai launcher before giving a determined gaze to his team,
"Then let's do this.."
A lone Blood Clone Trooper was standing on the gates of the barrier control station. He could feel the presence of his other 3 fellow clones behind him, everything seemed to be normal until he spotted someone running in the shadows.
He quickly looked towards his partner, who unsheathed his sword...
"Enemy presence detected, follow me" ordered the first Blood Clone,
''Roger, Roger" replied the second blood clone in affirmative, as both the clones ran forward.
Meanwhile the 2 clone troopers on the right side were on high alert, and were briefly observing their sectors for any kind of any presence. They were so focused on their front, that they completely missed Iwashi emerging from the ground.
The former Blacklight soldier stealthily stepped behind one of the clone trooper, and in one swift movement grabbed the man's neck before twisting it violently making the clone blast into a pool of blood, which completely drenched Iwashi.
The other clone standing nearby saw his comrade getting killed and jumped towards Iwashi. But the man was already prepared for such a response, and easily killed the clone trooper with the help of his kunai launcher.
"Never mess with a Blacklight..." said Iwashi with a small cocky grin on his face, as the clone trooper blasted into a pile of blood.
However Iwashi was quite impressed when he saw Yuna gracefully evading the attacks of one of the clone troopers. The girl lacked physical strength but her speed was pretty much the best he had seen in anyone. He was proved right, when she evaded a punch from her enemy and used the momentum to give a strong kick on the man's knee followed by a kick to his balls, and finally stabbing a kunai straight in the heart.
At the same time he also saw Kentaro engaged in a fierce taijutsu match with the last clone trooper. From the looks of it, the boy was getting crushed and was ultimately stabbed by the clone trooper only to disappear and emerge behind the man.
"A genjutsu expert..." thought Iwashi curiously, as he saw the real Kentaro slicing the clone trooper's head ending the man's life.
His entire life, Iwashi had fought for Naruto. His friend's goal was his goal, but right now looking at these young children made him feel something. To fight for something more than his friend, looking at these 3 made him want to protect them.
To protect the future of Konoha.
And that was his goal as a veteran ninja, to fight for the future of the next generation. To be the brick on which the giant wall protecting Konoha could be built.
His 3 young comrades quickly came beside, and he was not surprised when he saw prideful smiles on their faces.
"Fight's not over yet, keep your mind focused" advised Iwashi seriously,
"You took down 2 of them? That's not fair..." whined Kentaro, making Iwashi chuckle.
"Maybe one day you will surpass me, that day you will be Captain..." said Iwashi happily, and gave a nod when Yuna raised her hand.
"Captain, how can we get in? The doors are sealed..." stated Yuna worriedly, but the trio just saw a small smirk appearing on Iwashi's lips.
The former Blacklight walked straight towards the sealed doors, and bit his thumb followed by spreading the liquid on the face of the door.
Yuna was stunned when the door instantly opened, and they came face to face with a surprised clone trooper. Before the enemy soldier could even react, Iwashi had his kunai launcher pointed towards the man.
"Get the fuck off my station..."
SLASH
As soon as those words escaped from Iwashi's lips, the clone trooper was blasted into a pool of blood courtesy of a kunai piercing his brain.
"Fucking awesome..." said Daisuke happily,
"Damn..." said Yuna and Kentaro highly impressed with their leader's skills and damn cool attitude.
"Let's kick these assholes back to the hole they emerged from..." said Iwashi excitedly, as he finished loading his second last magazine inside his weapon.
Before Iwashi could even take the lead, Yuna ran straight ahead into the control room. The sound of smoke bombs going off could be heard, as Iwashi and the boys ran after the girl.
But they were quite surprised when they found the clone troopers in disarray, and a person moving through the shadows.
"One..."
A clone was instantly killed when a shadow from the smoke pierced a kunai straight to his neck.
"Two..."
A ray of chakra could be seen on the feet of a person's legs, and within a second sprays of blood erupted into the room as Yuna sliced another clone trooper in half.
Kentaro and Daisuke jumped together on a nearby clone, and started stabbing him repeatedly. Two other clones tried to eliminate them from behind but were silenced when Iwashi fired his kunai launcher at them.
"Last one..."
The smoke disappeared and the small Konoha team was surprised when they saw Yuna standing above a defeated clone trooper, her legs mercilessly pressed on the man's neck.
"Yuna..."
Iwashi saw the cold and murderous look in the girl's eyes as she crushed the clone's neck, making it disperse into a pool of blood.
"This is for squad leader Tatsumi...you son of a bitch" said Yuna angrily, her voice full of hatred.
"Anger is the source of her power, just like her brother. She's fast and stealthy...but reckless" thought Iwashi seriously,
"Captain, they have already disabled the barrier..." warned Kentaro urgently, and Iwashi rushed towards the control station.
"Fix it, Ken..." ordered Iwashi, as Daisuke went straight towards the communication station.
"Can't do that, Captain. The controls are fried...we need to warn Konoha" suggested Kentaro, while Yuna's eyes widened in terror when she felt several dots on the monitor screen.
And they were headed straight towards them...
"Unknown chakra signatures heading towards us..." yelled Yuna,
"How many?" asked Iwashi quickly,
"Around 36 or more, high chakra levels. Possibly more clone troopers..." said Yuna worriedly,
"Some kind of chakra wave has taken out our communication devices, we're sitting ducks here!" said Daisuke in a very nervous tone,
Iwashi saw his squad panicking and with valid reasons, the barrier was useless now and without any communication they had no means of warning Konoha. If those clones reached his village, then the amount of casualties would be disastrous...
Guess, there was only one choice left...
"Enemy forces 500 yards and closing...orders, Captain?" questioned Yuna,
Kentaro could not understand when Iwashi rushed towards a wall on the right side, and after a few seals he slammed his hand on the surface. The trio were intrigued when a strange panel appeared from the wall as Iwashi started typing a few codes.
"We are blowing this station up, the shock wave would alert the village. Hopefully it will buy them some time..." said Iwashi seriously,
"What is our escape plan? Are we going down with the station too?" asked Kentaro worriedly,
Yuna and Daisuke took a step back in fear when the strange control panel turned into red color, as Iwashi picked up his kunai launcher.
''The station will get destroyed in a few minutes. There is a small escape tunnel on the south-west side beneath the men's barracks. Yuna, Daisuke, Kentaro...follow me" ordered Iwashi,
"Gladly..." said Yuna in a relieved voice,
The small team quickly started dashing towards the barracks with Iwashi leading the charge, the rookies seemed quite nervous as any moment the station could be blown to shreds along with them.
"Kentaro, calm down. I'll never let my comrades die..." promised Iwashi,
Looking at their leader's peaceful yet encouraging smile made the rookies feel a little less worried. So far, Iwashi had proven to be a great leader who was quite skilled. He was a ninja who always knew what he had to do, and was a person who valued the life of his comrades.
They continued running for a few minutes, taking a few turns here and there. Finally, Yuna saw the door of the barracks...
Instead the trio were roughly pushed back to hide behind a wall, as Iwashi continued to prevent them from going ahead.
"It's over, Konoha ninja..." said a mysterious voice,
Daisuke peaked a little and saw a man dressed in black cloak with red clouds on it, his face was covered by a bright spiral orange mask and behind him was a large force of 38 clone troopers ready to eliminate them at any moment.
Iwashi saw the sharingan gleaming through the man's orange mask, and realized who it really was.
"Uchiha Madara..."
Yuna saw the fear in her comrade's eyes, as she looked at the large enemy force standing a few meters away from them. A small bitter smile came on her face, as she gripped the kunai from her pouch. She moved-
"Tunnel's down that path, I'll hold them off"
Madara was a little surprised when Iwashi stopped the young girl and instead stood in between him and the Rookie squad.
''But Captain-" protested Yuna vehemently, but Iwashi just raised his hand.
"Go, that's an order..." said Iwashi calmly, but his voice had a commanding power.
"Captain, let's fight together..." requested Kentaro,
"You don't have to sacrifice yourselves for rookies like us..." said Daisuke honestly, and it was the truth as Iwashi was more valuable than all 3 of them combined. He was a former Blacklight, a prodigy in fuinjutsu, and yet...
Madara could not understand why a small peaceful smile came on Iwashi's face, what was he even thinking standing in front of death itself?
"All my life, I have searched for that one thing which I can protect with all my strength. I followed Naruto as he was the one who fought for my comrades, he fought for all of us, risked his life for us, and now I know why..." said Iwashi happily, as he loaded his last magazine into his kunai launcher.
"What are you saying?" asked Yuna in a choked voice, as her eyes started to become most.
"Watching the next generation grow and prosper in front of my eyes, you are the future of Konoha. A future which I want to protect...amazing isn't it, the will of fire?" asked Iwashi happily, while giving Yuna a small eye-smile.
Yuna felt an uneasy feeling in her heart, as tears started to fall from her eyes...
"What makes you think you can stop us, boy?" asked Madara in an insulting voice, making Kentaro tighten his fists.
"Is that, right?" asked Iwashi with a small smirk on his face,
The very next moment the entire corridor was blocked from all sides, as seals emerged from the walls. The rookies were just about to enter the barrier when Iwashi shook his head...
"Yuna, tell Naruto to meet me at the bar...drinks will be on me"
The young Namikaze had tears falling from her eyes, she could not let another comrade be left behind. She just couldn't...
"Amaterasu"
Daisuke was terrified when Madara fired a torrent of black flames straight towards Iwashi, but even the Uchiha was surprised when the former Blacklight launched a seal towards the black flames followed by a hand seal.
"Fuin"
The black flames were quickly blocked by the seal, and in a moment of surprise fired back towards Madara himself. The surprised Uchiha was barely able to dissolve his special attack before it hit his own army.
His Mangekyo glared at Iwashi who had his kunai launcher pointed towards them...
"Get out of here, Yuna!" yelled Iwashi,
Daisuke quickly grabbed the struggling girl, while Kentaro gave a final glance towards his smiling captain.
"We can't leave him out here, let me go Daisuke!" yelled Yuna furiously, but the boy just ignored her while dragging her towards the door of the barracks.
As she was dragged through the door, her gaze shifted towards Iwashi who finished performing a set of hand seals while saying a few words to her.
Madara gritted his teeth in anger, when he saw the rookies escaping through the barracks and more frustrating was the fact that the door was sealed. And knowing the boy who designed this station, Madara was sure he had set a series of traps to halt the enemy squads.
His plan was getting delayed, and he couldn't afford that...
"This boy..." said Madara furiously, and pointed his finger towards Iwashi.
"Kill him..."
All the 38 clone troopers charged straight towards Iwashi, their swords ready to cleave the boy to little pieces. But the former Blacklight had a small grin on his lips...
"My turn..." said Iwashi confidently, and aimed his kunai launcher towards the incoming clone troopers.
Madara could not believe when one by one his clone troopers started getting slaughtered courtesy of Iwashi's kunai launcher. The weapon was a mass killing machine that had completely butchered the front line of Arc Squad. Within seconds 16 clones were blasted to oblivion, and the rest were about to die when the weapon ran out...
The Uchiha was relieved when Iwashi gritted his teeth in frustration, and he quickly took out a large sword from his back.
Iwashi quickly parried the sword of the first clone trooper, before giving the man a leg sweep followed by stabbing his sword in the soldier's chest.
The second clone trooper jumped on Iwashi's back, but was violently grabbed by Iwashi and thrashed straight in the wall shattering his skull into tiny pieces.
Suddenly, two clones delivered severe kicks on Iwashi's back knocking him flat on the floor, but were unable to stab the former Blacklight as he quickly jumped high in the air while slicing his sword vertically.
Madara narrowed his eyes when he saw 5 of his clone troopers being killed instantly with a single strike from Iwashi's sword. So, this was a real Blacklight...despite being his foe, Madara could not do anything but just admire the boy.
He knew this boy was a part of 1st company of Blacklight and one of Naruto's good friends. But right now, even in the face of an overwhelming enemy force the boy was fearless and was willing to fight till his last breath.
But his admiration came to an end, when two clone troopers finally managed to stab Iwashi clean through his heart...
"Gah!" hissed Iwashi in pain, as he collapsed on his knees.
The clone trooper at the front tried to stab him in the face, but Iwashi grabbed the man's sword and in one swift movement twisted the weapon and instead stabbed the clone trooper in the heart killing it instantly.
SLASH
SLASH
Iwashi could not control his scream when the remaining 14 members of Arc Squad struck lethal blows across his entire body. The heavily injured boy fell flat on the floor as a river of blood started escaping from his entire body.
His vision started to darken, and he hazily saw Madara signalling the Clone troopers to leave him.
"(cough) (cough) I...can't (cough) let...them...reach...the...rookies" thought Iwashi painfully, and tried to get up but fell flat on his face as his body was unable to handle his weight.
Madara got a small cocky grin on his face when he saw the dying Blacklight soldier struggling to get up,
"Pathetic, and here I thought you'd put up a valiant fight..." taunted Madara, but deep down he very well knew this boy had single handedly destroyed more than half of Arc Squad, his best clone troopers.
Not to mention repelling his Amaterasu, how could he do that? What kind of jutsu was that?
But his interest vanished when the boy completely collapsed on the ground, and his breathing became extremely slow...
"I will destroy Konoha and this cursed ninja world. And die knowing this, that you failed to protect your home..." cursed Madara,
Iwashi wanted to fight but the pain was overwhelming all his senses, his gaze shifted towards the barracks door. At least he had bought enough time for his team to escape, but still...
"Is this the end?" thought Iwashi disappointedly,
He saw Madara and his clones walking away, he tried to crawl but could not go beyond a few steps. Regret and defeat clouded his heart as he finally gave in to his faith, waiting for death to deliver the final blow.
"I'll have your back every time, just say the word...Naruto"
His eyes widened when his own words ran across his mind, the promise which he had made to his friend. A promise which he intended to keep, no matter what.
A tired sigh escaped from Madara's lips as he heard Iwashi making a futile suicide charge towards him. The Uchiha turned around to silence the boy, but was terrified when he saw four dangerous marks occurring on Iwashi's chest as the boy jumped right in the middle of Arc Squad, inches away from Madara.
"Ura Shishō Fūinjutsu (Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique)...shit" thought Madara worriedly, and had to urgently activate his Mangekyo sharingan.
"Troopers, get away from him now!" yelled Madara urgently, as he started to disappear inside the ground but his clone squad was not so fortunate as a large dark sphere spread across the entire corridor.
"For the sake of Konoha and my comrades...I won't let any of you live!" yelled Iwashi furiously,
Each and every clone trooper of arc squad got entangled in the dark sphere, as it expanded to dangerous proportion. Iwashi saw his vision started to darken as a small smile came on his face...
"Naruto, I'm leaving the rest to you...
The remaining arc squad were instantly pulled towards Iwashi as the dark sphere minimized to dangerous levels,
"Sorry, but this is it for me..."thought Iwashi peacefully,
BOOM!
(Perimeter of Konoha)
Yuna was currently being dragged through the forest of Konoha, and she felt her heart stop when a giant explosion destroyed the entire barrier control station. The blast was so powerful that it sent a strong shock wave for hundreds of kilometers.
"He really did it..." said Kentaro sadly,
"We failed in protecting another comrade..." said Daisuke regretfully, but was stopped when Yuna blocked him from moving forward and instead landed them both on a tree branch.
Kentaro became a little worried when he saw the girl clenching her fists,
"He wanted us to protect Konoha. Even in the face of death, he was valiant and sacrificed his life to save hundreds of innocent people. Madara may still be out there, we need to warn the village..." suggested Yuna flatly, her face devoid of any emotion.
"Yuna..."
Daisuke came forward and put a gentle hand on her shoulder...
"What did he tell you, Yuna?" questioned Daisuke hesitantly, as a small sad smile came on the Namikaze's face.
"Fight for your future"
(Kage Summit- Kusagakure)
A group of 6 people could be seen standing on a tall mountain. Their strange purple ringed colored eyes were focused on the giant fort in which the leaders of the shinobi world were currently seated.
Suddenly, a orange headed ninja that was standing between the small group started to rise high in the sky.
His powerful eyes saw the chakra signatures of several strong ninja inside the fort, not to mention the entire Kusa army that was guarding the fort.
"From here on out...the world will know pain"
He pointed his hands towards the fort, and said two words that would rock the foundations of the ninja world.
"Shinra Tensai"
Author's Notes: End of chapter.
Feel free to leave your reviews, I'd like to know your thoughts about this chapter...and yes Arc Squad is dead, but so is Iwashi.
Next chapter: Kami No Chikara