DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO, HINATA DOES
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Legacy Part 2
Jounin Exams Arc
Chapter 59 – A Dragon's Wrath I
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"Come not between the dragon and his wrath"
King Lear
## Konoha ##
Tsunade was buried in her paperwork or how the Sandaime would put it, the curse of the kage. It was a deadly curse I assure you of it, capable of bringing even the strongest of the shinobi to new heights of boredom and despair. The legends tell of many brave kages that stood against this common enemy and, even though armed with years of knowledge, the enemy still stands strong.
"This is ridiculous" Tsunade muttered beneath her breath as she stamped another worthless, yet surpassingly detailed D-rank report of the well-known 'Catching Mr. Tora-chan!' mission.
She looked up as the door opened and watched as Kakashi lazily strolled inside, hand in his pocket and nose buried in his books. "Finally" Tsunade nearly screamed as Kakashi stopped in front of her desk. If looks could kill, Kakashi would already be dust by the angry gaze on Tsunade's face.
"I'm sorry I'm late" Kakashi actually looked embarrassed for a change. "I met this pretty little snake in the forest and she wanted to…uhm…play…so we did" Kakashi chuckled nervously when he noticed Tsunade's eyes narrowing.
"This pretty little snake wouldn't be Anko by any chance, would it?" Tsunade asked and was internally pleased when she saw Kakashi cough into his hand. "Anyways, I need a favor from you" Kakashi noticed the business tone and immediately pocketed his precious book.
"Whatever you command Hokage-sama" Kakashi said.
"Leave us" Tsunade said, waving her hand at seemingly nowhere. Kakashi, however, felt three chakra signatures vacate the room.
"She sent her anbu away. Whatever it is must be important" Kakashi mused in thought when he noticed Tsunade rest her head on her hands and release a long sigh.
"Cat is missing" Tsunade said and Kakashi's eyes narrowed at the possible implications.
"By Cat you mean Yugao?" Kakashi asked, more a statement than a question.
"Yes" Tsunade replied nonetheless. She got up and turned back to the window, looking at the horizon. "She hasn't come for her duties today. Her shift began almost five hours ago. If she was anyone else I would have dismissed it and proceeded to punch said anbu for endangering their hokage"
"You want me to search for her?" Kakashi asked.
"There are very few people I trust completely in this village. Yugao isn't just some random anbu, she's pretty high in the chain of command. Anyone else we would place him in the bingo book if he went missing all of a sudden" Tsunade sighed. "She's part of that select group of people I trust and she wouldn't simply skip a shift of her job without an explanation. I sent a chunnin to her house and she was nowhere to be found. So…find her" Tsunade ordered.
"Hai Hokage-sama" Kakashi answered as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Tsunade sat back down on her chair and leaned backwards, gazing into the ceiling. Neither Yugao nor Hayate were anywhere to be found and both of them weren't some random shinobi. Tsunade was broken from her thoughts when she felt the ANBU return to the room and a knock at the door.
"Come in" Tsunade said as she adjusted her posture.
"Tea Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, poking her head through the opened door.
"I could use it. Maybe it will wash my stress and problems away" Tsunade replied and watched as Shizune placed a cup of steaming hot tea at her desk and promptly left the room.
Tsunade absently picked up the cup and took a long sip, sighing in bliss as the hot tea ran down her throat. She was deep in her thoughts when she felt her heart starting to speed up with no apparent reason. Her breathing rate started increasing as well and Tsunade immediately shot up from her chair.
She stumbled momentarily as she felt light headed and her vision seemed blurry. She rose her arm, desperately reaching for anything to support her as she fell to the ground, knocking the cup of tea with her. She fell to her knees taking deep breaths and trying to calm her beating heart.
"Poison?" Tsunade thought in shock as she brought her shaking hand to her chest. Her hand started glowing green but was immediately brought to her mouth as she coughed up blood. "Why aren't the ANBU doing anything?" Tsunade looked up in despair until she heard the door opening slowly.
As the door creaked ever so slowly, she looked up to see Danzo and surprisingly, Shizune accompanying the old mummy. "T-this is…*cough*…treason" Tsunade gritted her teeth, her vision becoming blurrier and her breathing starting to waver.
"Good work" Danzo said, as he watched Tsunade collapse to the ground, drawing her last breath and blood trickling from her mouth. "Shizune"
## Moments Earlier – Kumo ##
"The man that wanted the world. I'm going to make a martyr out of you, the world will see you as the fool you were. Are you ready Fugaku?" Naruto asked.
"Oblivion Awaits"
"SHINRA TENSEI"
A loud voice broke Naruto from his actions as he tilted his head to the side to see some Akatsuki member with his right hand raised. Naruto vanished in a yellow flash, appearing on the other side of the arena next to Hinata. Fugaku received the blast wave head on and went flying with Nagato's attack, but I suppose sore flesh is better than death.
A single Zetsu immediately emerged from the ground and attached itself to Fugaku, patching up his body in a few seconds. Naruto watched with trembling anticipation as Akatsuki members seemed to pour from the sky. The six paths of Nagato followed by Konan and Kisame.
"What a happy reunion" Naruto said happily, clasping both hands and bringing them together to his chest in delight.
"We have come for you Kyuubi" a white masked Akatsuki member said. Naruto narrowed his eyes as the white swirly mask opened to show Uzumaki Nagato.
"According to my Intel you were supposed to be physically impaired, but I suppose wearing a Zetsu body is a good replacement" Naruto said offhandedly. "And you know very well why you are in that state. Those eyes do not belong to you" Naruto said, his sharingan boring straight into Nagato. "And I shall be taking them when I'm through with you" Naruto added in thought.
"It matters not. They are just a means to an end" Nagato said as he stepped forward, placing himself in the middle of his paths. Jiraiya, A, Blue (Tobirama) and Green (Hashirama) dropped from the kage box and landed in the arena, or what was left of it after Naruto's match against Hinata.
"I am Guruguru (Spiral Zetsu)" Guruguru yelled. "Did you have a good bowel movement today?" Guruguru asked with fascination in his tone.
"W-what?" Naruto sputtered.
"YOU GOT SOME BALLS COMING FOR B" the Raikage shouted as his Lightning Armor roared to life.
"So it's true after all" Jiraiya sighed sadly. "This isn't the path to peace you told me long ago"
"This world is nothing but a petty child" Nagato started. "But even a foolish child can grow up in a right way, when he learns what pain is. Knowing pain controls ones thoughts and decisions"
"ENOUGH" the Raikage shouted and his armor flared. "Raitoningu Sutoreto (Lightning Straight)" A shot forward, cracking the ground as he ran towards Nagato with maximum speed.
Nagato didn't seem to flinch as his pupils seemed to contract ever so slightly. "Shinra Tensei" Nagato said with disdain. A was repelled backwards with tremendous force, tumbling through the ground and crashing near Naruto and the others.
"Attacking head on is foolish against a Rinnegan" Naruto warned, helping the Raikage up. "Raikage-sama" Naruto said.
"What do you want brat?" A snapped.
"Leave them to us, go take care of your village" Naruto simply said, ignoring the looks of disbelief he got from A. "You have your village to defend. Let us take care of them"
"Oi gaki" A said, snatching Naruto by his collar and bringing him up to his eye level. "If they get away or take B I'll have your head. Do you understand me?" A snarled but Naruto nodded nonetheless. A vanished with pure speed, leaving Naruto to deal the Akatsuki. A had his troops to rally and the village to defend.
"Sorry B" Naruto said and B looked at him with confusion. "But I can't take any chances with you" Naruto said and before B could say anything, he was warped into his Kamui dimension.
"Let's even the numbers a little bit" Naruto smirked. "Summoning Jutsu" Naruto said and everyone tensed as he placed his hand on the ground. Naruto was unpredictable and from a simple summoning jutsu could come the Kyuubi or nothing at all.
"Black (Mito)" Everyone's attention shifted to the small cloud of smoke. Once it dissipated, everyone cloud see the Black Dragon, pitch black armor and mask. Red hair tied into bun with a very large scroll attached to her lower back. Black is the color of authority and power.
"Red (Kushina)" And another cloud of smoke. Waist-length blood red hair coupled with red armor and red mask. A single pitch black katana with red hilt hand on her back. The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love.
"Yellow (Minato)" This time it was a yellow flash instead of smoke. Yellow armor and mask, three pronged kunai on each hand. Cheerful, optimistic sunny yellow is an attention getter.
"Brown (Gaara)" Absolutely nothing. No cloud of smoke, no yellow flash…no nothing. *Cough* "I guess he's busy" Naruto muttered. Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature.
"Pink (Nao)" The newest addition to the group. Light pink colored armor and mask, long raven hair and two twin swords strapped to her back in an x shape. Pink, the color that showed unconditional love but also being immature, silly and girlish.
"White (Itachi)" The newest member along with Pink. He was clad in a pure white colored armor and mask. Jet-black hair that was pulled back and tied with a red elastic in a low ponytail. White, the color that represented purity and perfection.
"So these are the fabled Ten Dragons of the Leaf…or nine I should say" Fugaku corrected. "I suppose they can be imposing with the armor and masks" Fugaku said and narrowed his eyes, taking in the aura surrounding both White and Pink.
"Traitors to your own family, Itachi, Nao" Fugaku spat.
"We have two very distinct understandings of what family is…father" Itachi said, shattering his mask on the ground.
"Long time no see Tobi….or maybe I should call you Fugaku" Yellow (Minato) said
"And you are?" Fugaku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Come now" Yellow (Minato) said, an amused smile tugging his lips beneath his yellow mask. Minato's sharingan blazed to life, glowing an ominous red behind his mask.
"An Uchiha…it's not possible" Fugaku thought, narrowing his eyes when he saw the red glow behind the black holes in the mask. "Who are you?" Fugaku asked carefully. He knew of no blonde Uchihas besides Naruto.
"Are you sure you don't remember me?" Yellow (Minato) snarled, deactivating the voice changing seal engrained in the mask. Minato chuckled when he noticed Fugaku's eyes widening in complete disbelief.
Minato laughed, slowly bringing his hand to his yellow mask and, dropping it, he showed his real face to the world. He felt everyone looking at him in disbelief, shock and to some degree…fear. "You set my village in flames, you bring death to my people, you force my son into a life of hate" Minato spat with his sharingan glowing.
"Today you shall bear witness to the full might of Namikaze Minato, son of Uchiha Madara, Yondaime Hokage of Konoha" Minato said, going through hand seals faster than some could even blink.
Rat → Ox → Dog → Horse → Monkey → Boar → Tiger. "Katon - Goka Messhitsu (Majestic Fire Destruction)" Minato kneaded the chakra into his lungs and converted it into fire. He expelled a massive stream of intense flames, setting the area ablaze and engulfing half of the arena in a sea of flames.
Nagato was the first to break from the shock of seeing Minato alive and well. "Shinra Tensei" He raised his hand and pushed back the incoming wave of flames. Nagato blinked as there was a yellow flash right in front of him. Nagato still had his hand raised as Minato appeared right in front of him, between Nagato and the wall of fire.
"Oodama Rasengan (Giant Rasengan)" Minato smashed his sphere of chakra against Nagato, who didn't even manage to use his Preta Path to absorb the jutsu. Nagato was blasted backwards and chaos ensued.
"I'll take Nagato, I have no wish to fight his puppets" Naruto said and everyone charged forward to their enemy.
"Hinata-chan…grab a sample of Konan's blood. I know Black (Mito) would love her origami bloodline" Naruto smiled darkly and Hinata nodded.
## Nagato vs. Naruto ##
Every dragon charged forward, randomly picking an opponent and proceeded to dish the pain, either by iron, bone or chakra. Naruto and Nagato were no different and, as such, were ducking it out between themselves.
"Give yourself up Kyuubi" Nagato said, raising his hand and releasing another repulsive wave. Naruto simply used his Kamui and dematerialized his body to avoid the attack.
"I have no intension of hearing your explanations. You and your Akatsuki are responsible for all the bad shit that happened in this world" Naruto growled. "Tobi or Fugaku, whatever, I do not care. He released the Kyuubi in Konoha, he drove Kiri into a civil war and he played Yagura like some puppet, butchering thousands of innocents. You, in your holy quest for the bijuu, killed Yugito, attacked the Fire Temple and Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village), nearly killing Fuu in the process" Naruto spat, glaring at Nagato.
"You won't get any words…the only thing you will get from me is vengeance" Naruto said just as his sharingan started spinning into the mangekyou. "Amaterasu" Nagato's body exploded with black flames, consuming the white shell of the spiral Zetsu.
"Arghhh" Spiral Zetsu yelled as the black flames started consuming away his body. "DOSOMETHING" He yelled to his guest, his words slurring together due to the pain.
"Shinra Tensei" Nagato replied, pushing the flames away and dispersing them. Guruguru's body was singed all over with several black specs spread through his shell.
"Oodama Rasengan" Nagato's eyes widened in shock as Naruto appeared in front of him. Nagato, momentarily distracted from Naruto's previous attack, was almost caught off guard.
"Gakido (Preta Path)" Nagato said as a silvery barrier appeared around him and started absorbing Naruto's attack. However, Naruto's frontal assault with a powerful chakra technique was merely a distraction. Nagato sensed someone behind and quickly looked backwards and saw another Naruto speeding towards him, a black sword pointed straight at him.
Just as the tip of the blade was about to connect with Nagato, a mechanical arm sprouted from his shoulder and caught the blade in his hands. Two more arms appeared from his body, these ones without a hand but what seemed to be a cannon at the edge. "Shura no Ko (Asura Attack)" Nagato said, each arm aimed towards one Naruto. Both mechanical weapons started glowing and gathering chakra.
Just as the arms were about to go off, both Narutos started glowing. "Bunshin Daibakuha (Shadow Clone Explosion)" Both clones said in perfect sync. They detonated themselves with a deafening bang.
Once the smoke cleared, Nagato stood in the middle of the blast zone, arms crossed around his face. He looked around and quickly spotted the original Naruto, sitting safely in a nearby wall watching the fight, his hair waving due to the explosion and an amused expression etched into his face.
Nagato was about to engage when himself staggered slightly. "My Tendo (Deva Path) has fallen. So Tobirama is also alive, this is troubling" Nagato thought to himself and analyzed the situation. The Kyuubi brat was certainly strong, to force him to not only use two paths simultaneously but to also come out on top.
Before he could think anymore, five more Narutos burst from the ground, forming a perfect circle around Nagato. "Shinra Tensei" Nagato yelled, destroying all five clones at once.
Nagato's eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of yellow out of the corner of his eye. "Hiraishingiri (Thunder God Slash)" Naruto's sword seemed to blur as Guruguru immediately shifted Nagato's body in his shell to avoid him losing his head. "Shinra Tensei" Having regained his power again, he blasted Naruto backwards only for him to poof in smoke as well.
Nagato felt something hot trickling down his face and noticed a small trail of blood running down his forehead. He hadn't escaped completely unharmed. "He's using the intervals between my attacks. I'll have to be very careful. I cannot blindly use it any longer or I'll end up like my Tendo (Deva Path)" Nagato concluded in thought as he looked towards his arm and spotted a black marking.
"Hirashin seal" Nagato thought in shock as he quickly absorbed the chakra inside and destroyed the marking.
"Ukojizai no Jutsu (Rainmaker Jutsu)" Nagato muttered, raising both hands to the sky, forming dark clouds with his own chakra. It was mere moments later that heavy rain started pouring down around both fighters. "I cannot rely solely on my vision to track him" Nagato thought as he connected with the rain.
He turned to Naruto's location only to see him still sitting in the wall, looking at Nagato with curiosity. Naruto rose and jumped to the ground, arms crossed and standing face to face with Nagato for the first time since the battle began.
"Banshō Ten'in" Naruto rose from the ground and flew straight towards Nagato's awaiting arm. Mere inches away from contact, Naruto triggered his kamui and simply phased through Nagato, appearing behind his back.
"Raiken (Lightning Fist)" Running electricity through his right arm and going into his fist, Naruto punched Nagato's back. It sounded like a thunderclap, Nagato gritted his teeth from the impact as his body was blasted forward. Nagato twirled midair and landed on the ground safely, a black spider webbed pattern on his back, where Naruto had stroke.
"Enton - Goka Mekkyaku (Inferno Style - Great Fire Annihilation)" Naruto said, unleashing a wave of black flames. Nagato instinctually raised his hand but stopped before he used his gravity attacks.
Instead, Nagato placed both hands on the ground and raised a vast wall of rock to block the incoming flames. He felt the powerful flames smash against his wall but it managed to hold against the initial impact. "What's this?" Nagato thought in confusion when he heard a small buzzing sounds coming from the other side of the wall.
"Futon: Rasenshuriken" Nagato's eyes widened when the wall in front of him cracked open and everything was enveloped in a towering dome of spiraling wind chakra.
"SHINRA TENSEI" Nagato bellowed, blasting everything around him backwards. The earth was tore part, sending chunks flying everywhere and dispelling Naruto's attack. Using the rain, Nagato searched for his opponent, his vision clouded by the debris of his latest attack.
Nagato caught a small glint in the middle of the dust and immediately ducked. A golden chain buzzed through his ears, missing him by a few inches. Nagato rolled to the side as another chain shot from the smoke coverage. "Fuuton - Reppusho (Gale Palm)" Nagato clapped his hands together and released a powerful gale. Not enough to be destructive, but good enough to push all the dust and smoke away, clearing his field of vision.
Naruto stood in the middle of the battlefield, arms crossed, completely still and with several golden chains dancing ominously behind his back. Nagato summoned a mechanical arm and launched dozens of mini rockets, whistling their way towards Naruto.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
Rocket after rocket crashed on the ground near Naruto with loud explosions. Nagato stopped his attack and waited for the dust to settle, searching for any signs of Naruto. From the dust came six chains, heading straight towards Nagato who began evasive maneuvers.
Nagato jumped, ducked and rolled as the chains chased after him. One chain smashed against the ground and dug itself. Nagato jumped on the chain and ran above it towards Naruto. "Shinra Tensei" Nagato yelled outside of the dust cloud, releasing a shockwave at point blank range.
Nagato watched as the chains retracted against the will, the metal creaking as it bent against its will. The ground rippled and the dust cloud was disrupted, making Naruto appear from the inside. Nagato watched with as the repulsive wave washed over Naruto with no visible effect.
"Ningendo (Human Path)" Nagato tried to place his hand on Naruto's head, only to phase right through it and end up on the other side. Nagato caught Naruto's elbow on reply and flung Naruto into the air.
Naruto disappeared midflight and appeared on the ground a few yards away. "I have to find a way to neutralize his Kamui" Nagato mused in thought.
"The sharingan is an amazing doujutsu isn't it?" Naruto rhetorically asked as he a wild idea came to his mind. He crossed both arms behind his back and nodded to Nagato. "Come" Naruto said with a smirk.
Nagato's eyes twitched at Naruto's blunt disrespect for him. "People rely too much on ninjutsu and genjutsu. Very few people appreciate the art of taijutsu and kenjutsu, it's one of the things I love about Hinata-chan. Both of us like getting all close and personal with the adversary" Naruto grinned as Nagato arrived near him.
Naruto tilted backwards as Nagato threw a left jab and crouched when Nagato added a horizontal kick. Naruto grinned and pushed forward, ramming his head straight in Nagato's stomach. As Nagato momentarily stumbled, Naruto rose and performed a perfect round-house kick, sending Nagato spiraling and crashing into the ground.
Nagato shook his head, getting rid of the dizziness that lingered. He looked up to see Naruto with his arms still behind his back and jumping lightly on the ground, alternating his feet with each jump, almost like skipping but without a rope. Nagato snarled and ran forward, arriving near Naruto and throwing a series of punches and kicks.
Naruto's sharingan glowed as it predicted every move, a small tilt backwards to avoid a punch, a sidestep to the right, a forward lean. Nagato went for a leg swipe, forcing Naruto to jump into the air. Naruto leaned his body backwards, placing himself horizontally in the air and sprang his legs forward, slamming both feet against Nagato's chest.
Nagato went flying and Naruto fell to the ground with a simple thumb sound. Naruto rose his head slightly and watched Nagato rise to his feet, wiping a busted lip with his arm. Nagato got tired of being pushed around like some ragdoll and slammed both hands on the ground.
"Doton: Ganban Kyū (Bedrock Coffin)" Multiple sections of rock rose around Naruto's lying form, trying to wrap themselves around his body and bury him permanently. Naruto grinned and raised both legs into the air, he brought them down quickly, transferring their momentum into his upper body, forcing himself to rise and land perfectly on both feet.
Without missing a beat, Naruto jumped just in time for the rocks slabs to slam where he previously was. Naruto dashed forward and jumped high into the air. Nagato tracked him in the sky and rose his arm as Naruto landed besides him. "SHINRA TENSEI" Nagato yelled, hoping to catch Naruto off guard and blast him away.
He had no such luck as Naruto used his kamui to simply avoid the attack. Naruto grinned and twirled around, trapping Nagato's extended arm with his chin to his chest. Naruto used Nagato's arm for leverage and swung his legs upwards, pinning Nagato's head between them. With a small flick of his body, Nagato was jerked violently into the ground, his head first and the rest of his body following shortly.
Naruto disentangled himself from Nagato and jumped backwards to gain some distance. "Your taijutsu is sloppy" Naruto commented. All the physical exchanges had been with his arms crossed behind his back. "How about this?" Naruto said, stomping his feet into the ground and bringing both arms forward. "I won't move from this place" Naruto offered, closing his hands into fists and waiting for Nagato.
Nagato rose from the ground and flexed his neck, satisfied by a few crack sounds. Nagato looked up and for the first time saw what an opponent Naruto truly was. He wasn't an ordinary s-rank shinobi that had a single deadly technique, like Deidara's bombs, Hidan's immortality or Sasori's puppets.
No…Naruto was a different kind of s-rank shinobi. The kind that didn't rely only on his bloodlines and powerful abilities. He was a shinobi that had all the traits of a shinobi mastered to their peak. His kenjutsu and bojutsu were deadly, his taijutsu flawless, his genjutsu perfect and his ninjutsu unmatched. He truly deserved the title of god of the shinobi.
"It's useless Nagato" Naruto said, breaking Nagato from his inner musings. "You may have the Rinnegan and be a powerhouse, but all that power is meaningless against someone like me. You are too slow to face me" Naruto taunted, striking the ego of the so called god.
"Nothing will stand against me" Nagato replied, not even slightly angered by Naruto's words. "I may not be able to hit you, but this village will not be able to run" Nagato said as he started floating and shot into the sky.
It took a mere second to reach the highest point in the village. Nagato looked down at the village and Naruto, feeling that they were in their right place, beneath him. Nagato's chakra spiked as he stretched his arms outwards, making the sky around him turn a piercing white.
"He's too far away…I won't make in time before he blows up the village" Naruto raked his brain for answers. He should have finished Nagato instead of playing around with him and seeing his mastery of over the Rinnegan. Naruto was about to unveil his Rinnegan to counter Nagato when another wild idea come to his mind.
"UCHIHA" Naruto roared, slamming his right hand on the ground, each finger carrying small chakra flames. "KAENJIN (Uchiha Flame Formation)". A pure red cylindrical barrier rose from the ground and circled around Nagato, placing him in the center. The barrier wasn't overly large, it stood a few feet away from Nagato, completely surrounding him.
"Chou Shinra Tensei" Nagato whispered releasing his attack at maximum power. The sky glowed a reddish white, a combination of Nagato's attack and Naruto's barrier.
The barrier creaked, almost like plastic, as it stretched around Nagato. The power of his attack forcing the barrier to expand like a balloon. Nagato poured more chakra into his technique, intending to destroy the barrier and level the village, including everyone in it.
"That fool…he's going to kill himself" Kurama said. Nagato was pouring too much chakra into his technique and the barrier was stretching to its limits. The amount of energy inside the barrier was insane and it wouldn't matter who won in the end, Nagato or Naruto's barrier.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM
A shockwave reverberated through the village, shaking it to its foundations but otherwise not damaging it. The barrier itself exploded like a balloon, with Nagato still inside. There was a large cloud of smoke high in the sky, where Nagato was. Naruto lifted his hand from the ground and looked up to the sky. He looked at his finger tips and watched as the skin sizzled to full health. He had poured too much chakra into the barrier without any type of preparation.
Naruto saw something leaving the smoke cloud and plummeting to the ground in a free fall. Naruto narrowed his eyes and watched the form of Nagato falling down, his external Zetsu shell, a.k.a spiral zetsu, a.k.a Guruguru completely gone, most likely decimated in the explosion.
Nagato grunted as he hit a building and finally came down, tumbling through the ground as he came to a halt near a rock. Nagato struggled to move, pushing himself up with only his arms. He looked over himself and noticed that the zetsu shell for mobility was gone.
"No" Nagato gritted his teeth, willing his legs to move but only getting a small twitch. Even if his legs were to move, they would never serve his purpose, their muscle was weak and atrophied. Nagato struggled but managed to look up to see Naruto approaching.
"IT WON'T END LIKE THIS" Nagato roared with a rage filled voice, slamming both hands on the ground. "KUCHIYOSE…GEDO MAZO"
Naruto stopped his progress when he heard Nagato's words. His eyes widened when he saw a humanoid hand burst from the ground and try to stomp him. It didn't take long for its decayed looking body to come out of the ground as well. "This is…" Kurama's eyes widened when he saw the humanoid figure appear.
ROOOARRRRRRR
The gedo mazo rose from the ground with Nagato sitting on top of its head. "I will show you the power of god" Nagato said, having regained his breathing. The gedo mazo kept still as Nagato started pouring his chakra into the statue, making a translucent purple dragon to form on his mouth.
"Bring me into this, Naruto" Kurama said from his den in Naruto's mindscape.
"No…I don't want you getting sucked into the statue" Naruto replied and Kurama reluctantly agreed. "Besides, he's killing himself. He's feeding the statue his own life force, he may be an Uzumaki but he still is human" Naruto replied.
"I suppose it's time I showed the true power my sharingan" Naruto said to Nagato who stood on top of the gedo mazo statue. "The Rinnegan will my trump card should I ever need it" Naruto thought as his sharingan started glowing.
"There are some things that I keep secret from nearly everyone. Only Kurama and Hinata know everything about me" Naruto chuckled aimlessly. "You will be the first enemy to bear witness to the full might of my sharingan. I'm going to show you why the S-RANK title…is meaningless against me" Naruto said as his chakra spiked and a silver aura surrounded his body.
"Behold…my Perfect Susanoo"
And with that his chakra seemed to roar and come to life. Naruto's body was immediately shrouded by a large cloud of bubbling silver chakra. Only his eyes remained visible, glowing that blood red color that haunted so many shinobi.
Naruto's aura shot to the sky and started taking humanoid form. The only thing Nagato could do was look up and pray he wouldn't end up beneath a foot of Naruto's Susanoo. "Stabilizing" Naruto thought as his Perfect Susanoo started taking shape. His Susanoo had translucent silver specter, almost looking demonic.
Its form had long, shaggy white hair that reached its waist, with two massive white horns protruding from its head and two featherless wings from its back. Pitch black eyes with fangs instead of teeth and twin scythes strapped around his back. In all honesty, it looked like a visage of the shinigami itself, if it wasn't for the massive size it had.
"Tell me Nagato" Naruto said from inside the head of its Susanoo. Naruto looked like a small dot on his Susanoo's forehead. "Do you feel like a god…or an ant?"
## Fugaku vs. Minato ##
"Ready for round two?" Minato asked, bending his knees and reading his three pronged kunai. He had hundreds stored away in his wrist seals, ready to use at any time.
"You can't be him" Fugaku stressed, having difficulty believing the man in front of him could be the fourth hokage. "I watched him die" Fugaku stressed his words.
"Does it really matter? I'm here now, and this time nothing will save you from me" Minato said, twirling his kunai.
"Ahahah" Fugaku chuckled at Minato's empty words. "If I remember correctly, you died last time we fought"
"Really?" Minato asked in curiosity. "I remember shoving a Rasengan up your ass and sending you away with your arm melting" Minato taunted.
"So he really is HIM" Fugaku thought, hearing Minato's words about their last battle and found them to be true.
"Naruto was right about you" Minato said, breaking Fugaku from his thoughts. "You could have applied all that power you have to the leaf, you could have brought the Uchiha Clan into greatness. You could have had everything, a good life, a respectable position in the village as a clan leader but that wasn't enough was it?" Minato asked, shaking his head in disappointment.
"The world is barely enough" Fugaku replied. "I won't stop until the world belongs to me" Fugaku growled and was about to step forward when he noticed a shift in Minato's eyes. They were spinning, the tomoes blurring together and forming a whole new pattern.
"A mangekyou?" Fugaku asked in disbelief as he gazed into Minato's glowing eyes.
"I always hid away my heritage" Minato chuckled. "Both as request from my father and by fear as well. Fear of being rejected in the village I grew to love so much. I never really trained my eyes and simply left them in the background. I only used my Susanoo once and it was when I sparred with Kushina-chan and she went berserk" Minato reminisced.
"But not anymore" Minato's tone suddenly became serious and his face hard as stone. "It's time I embrace my heritage as an Uchiha and wielder of the Sharingan Bloodline" Minato smirked when he noticed Fugaku gulp.
Minato shot forward, cracking the ground and leaving a trail of dust behind. Fugaku watched as Minato approached him, his sharingan seeing the enemy incoming, frame by frame, like a slow motion movie. Minato was a few feet away and Fugaku's eyes started spinning.
10 feet
Fugaku's eyes were picking up speed, the tomoes becoming nothing more than blurred lines in a sea of red.
5 feet
The black circle on his sharingan started taking form the form of three stretched triangles, evenly spaced around the pupil, making it similar to pinwheel.
2 inches
"Kamu-"
*BANG*
Minato's fist collided with Fugaku's face as he was thrown backwards. Fugaku tumbled through the ground but quickly regained his footing. He got up and wiped a little bit of blood dripping from his lips. Fugaku brought his hands to his chin and with a sickening crack, he reset his jaw.
"You are faster than I remembered" Fugaku commented. It had been a mistake relying on his sharingan since it took a small time frame to switch to the mangekyou.
"I grew lax on my time as hokage" Minato admitted without shame. "The job will do that to you. Although fighting against my son really placed things in perspective"
"Oh" Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "How so?" He asked curious.
"He's beyond any of us" Minato chuckled softly. Naruto was everything he ever wanted in a son and he turned out like that all on his own. Well, maybe Hinata did help with the mold.
"Mokuton Hijutsu" Fugaku said, clasping both together. "Jukai Kotan (Deep Forest Creation)" Fugaku finished as the ground started grumbling. Dozens of trees grew from the ground. Their branches seem to obey Fugaku and immediately dashed towards Minato and great speeds.
Minato's sharingan glowed softly, his eyes balls moving wildly, tracking every single branch of the incoming wave of trees. Minato side stepped a branch, avoiding it by a mere inch. Not by luck or chance, everything had been calculated. "He's nowhere near Hashirama's level of skill with the Mokuton" Minato thought, looking at the forest replica in front of him. Hashirama was able to create a forest in the blink of an eye.
"Let me show you something that Naruto taught me" Minato said as he jumped backwards, avoiding another tree and landing on some branches. "Katon" Minato began, stretching both arms forward, his hands inches apart.
A small ball of chakra flared in between his hands. It was small at first, but quickly it started gaining size and turning dark orange in color. His right hand forming and shaping the spinning sphere of chakra, his left hand changing the chakra into fire type. "Goen Rasengan (Great Flame Rasengan)" Minato finished, unleashing his Rasengan upon the forest and flashing away to safety.
Fugaku's eyes widened as he activated his kamui and swirled away, just in time to avoid the maelstrom of raging fire. It looked like a tornado, burning through the forest, leaving nothing but ashes behind. Minato placed his hand in front of his face, shielding himself from the brightness and the blazing heat.
Once the attack had calmed down there were no surprises. The tree had been turned into charcoal, covering the floor in black dust. Minato dropped down to the ground, his feet raising a small cloud of the black charcoal as he landed. His sharingan snapped to the left as he caught movement.
*CLANG*
Minato instantly raised his right arm, a three pronged kunai made its way to his hand as he parried Fugaku. Minato tilted his body and went for a kick. Fugaku caught him by the ankle and sent a punch in retaliation, which Minato blocked, making them both hit a standstill.
"Kamui" Fugaku thought, making the space in front of him swirl, intending to send Minato to his pocket dimension and leave them there until he perished. Fugaku watched with glowing relief as Minato was completely absorbed into his dimension. "You lose" Fugaku said to no one.
"I told-arghh" Fugaku screamed as Minato appeared out of nowhere right in front of him and punched him in the gut, followed by a kick to his head, sending Fugaku tumbling through the ground. Before Fugaku could understand what happened, Minato was already upon him once again with a Rasengan inches away from his chest.
"Rasengan" Minato smashed his blue sphere only for it to phase right through, Fugaku had used his kamui just in time. Both jumped backwards and Minato watched with anticipation for something to happen.
BOOOM
Out of nowhere, Fugaku was blasted backwards, crashing into the ground with enough force to break the earth. "That bastard…the Minato I absorbed was a clone" Fugaku snarled in thought as he coughed up blood. He looked up to see Minato watching him calmly, so calmly that it let a sinking feeling in Fugaku's stomach.
"Your trick was a one-time shot. I won't fall for that again" Fugaku ripped out of shirt, completely ruined to Minato's Rasengan. Minato watched as Fugaku's shirt dropped to the ground to reveal a pure white chest, almost completely made out of zetsu.
"How far would you go for power?" Minato asked in disgust.
"The body of the Senju and the eyes of the Uchiha do make a rather nifty combination" Fugaku said, his hands blurring through hand seals. "Katon - Goenkyu (Great Blaze Ball)" Fugaku exhaled a meteor-sized sphere of fire, completely blocking Fugaku from view.
"I don't have any seal out of reach of that attack" Minato thought as he saw the gigantic sphere of fire approaching. "I guess it would come out eventually" Minato smirked to himself as his body was enveloped by a yellow flare.
BOOOM
The fire sphere collided with Minato and exploded in a shower of fire. Fugaku watched with satisfaction as Minato's form was enveloped in flames so hot that rivaled Minato's last fire Rasengan.
"What the?" Fugaku said in complete disbelief when he saw Minato's form simply walking of the debris, right through the ring of flames like he felt nothing. Minato's body was completely yellow and that wasn't his armor.
It was like his body had some type of yellow cloak, chakra flames covering his form. It seemed he had some ethereal yellow armor around him, but skin tight. "You like?" Minato asked as two ethereal kunai formed, one in each hand. "This is my version of perfect Susanoo. A skin tight armor that sacrifices all offensive abilities for the ultimate defense. I doubt even a bijuudama could crack my version of the Susanoo" Minato smirked at the panicking face of Fugaku.
"How?" Fugaku simply asked.
"Naruto knows more about the sharingan that you could ever hope to" Minato said as he readied himself to end this battle for good. He was about to jump forward when both of them felt the village rumble. They looked up and saw a big figure appear.
"He summoned the gedo mazo" Fugaku said, shocked. "Is Naruto really pushing him that far?" Fugaku thought in disbelief. He was completely surprised when another figure appeared in front of the statue. Fugaku's eyes widened when he spotted the perfect Susanoo of Naruto.
It was massive to say the least, it even dwarfed the gedo mazo and that was saying something. "Don't you see it? You can't win" Minato said as he bent his knees and prepared for his final jutsu. His Susanoo may be nearly indestructible but it ate a lot of chakra, and he didn't have a chakra supply like Naruto.
"Are you ready Fugaku?" Minato asked, breaking Fugaku from his shock. Fugaku didn't know what came over him but for the very first time in his life, he felt fear. It hit like a ton of bricks…he couldn't win, he would never be able to win. Everything he ever done was…pointless against someone like Naruto.
"The third and last level of my Hirashin" Minato said and Fugaku could only watch as the ground around him lit up like a Christmas tree. Dozens, if not hundreds of Hirashin seals riddled the grounds, the dislodged rocks, the walls…everywhere.
"Hirashin no Mai (Dance of the Flying Thunder God)"
And with three simple words, Minato began his onslaught. Fugaku immediately triggered his kamui and could only look in despair as dozens of Minatos appeared in around him. Fugaku took a step back to avoid getting slashed by a kunai, he tilted his head only to see another Minato coming for him.
He used his kamui to dodge and nearly screamed in fright when another Minato appeared in front of him. And that was when it hit him. Minato was using his Hirashin at such great speeds that even Fugaku's sharingan couldn't track him. He was moving so fast that it seemed they were multiple Minatos coming at him from all directions when in fact it was only one.
10 seconds
Fugaku gulped when he felt his kamui ability stretching thin, but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't even make hand seals because he needed his fingers to become tangible, and he knew Minato would slice them off in the blink of an eye.
0 seconds
Minato noticed the slight shift in Fugaku's chakra network and took immediate action. The first move would be crippling him. Minato flashed near Fugaku who didn't even seem to flinch in acknowledgment. Minato slashed with his kunai, beginning in his left eye, crossing the bridge of his nose and ending of Fugaku's right eye.
"ARGHH" Fugaku screamed as he dropped to the ground. He clutched to his face, blood dripping freely into the ground and his eyes completely destroyed. Fugaku didn't get to scream much more as Minato flashed in front of him and finished him with a point blank Rasengan to his chest.
Fugaku's body ripped through the ground as the blue sphere drilled into his chest, nearly tearing his body apart the instant it hit him. Minato lost track of Fugaku as he dropped to his knees, his Susanoo vanishing and taking deep breaths. His chakra stores were empty, his Susanoo coupled with the final level of the Hirashin for so long had taken its toll. Minato had done his part in this battle and he proceeded to flash to safety, to rest his body.
## Konan vs. Hinata ##
"Do you know what you are doing?" Hinata asked.
"I have received the will of god and I must kill you. Any last words…little girl?" Konan asked in her traditional neutral and cold voice.
"Bring it" Hinata replied.
"Shikigami no Mai" Konan said, her body and clothing turning into small sheets of paper, the size of exploding tags. Two white wings materialized behind her back, made completely of said paper. Konan flapped her wings, raising in the air and diving towards Hinata.
Just as Konan was about to make contact, Hinata triggered her water body technique and dropped into a puddle of water, letting Konan fly by harmlessly. The water quickly moved its position, making Hinata reappear on the other side of the battlefield.
Konan waved her arm towards Hinata, making hundreds of exploding tags burst from her arm and fly towards her. Hinata used her byakugan and noticed that the tags were coming from all directions, circling around her and preparing to detonate.
"Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho (Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)"
A similar version to the Kaiten technique but far more effective against Konan's attack. Hinata's hands glowed a soft blue, to the naked eye it would be just that, but to anyone with a doujutsu or enough talent in sensing, they would be able to notice extremely thin, sharp chakra blades protruding from each of her fingers.
Hinata waved her arm downwards, slicing dozens of bombs tags and turning them into worthless pieces of paper on the ground. Hinata's arms were picking up speed, looking almost like blurs and forming some sort of barricade around her, similar to the Kaiten, but with chakra blades that sliced anything that came even near it.
As time got by, the tags started decreasing in number by the dozens, and in just a couple of seconds they were nearly reduced to dust on the ground. "Tsk" Konan huffed in annoyance. Her attack should have been enough to finish her, but apparently Hinata's reputation as an S-rank shinobi was well earned.
Konan blinked as Hinata was suddenly at her face in a burst of speed. Konan quickly found herself on the defensive against Hinata's vicious strikes with both power and speed. Hinata went for a palm thrust into Konan's chest only for Konan to burst into hundreds of papers.
The papers swirled around Hinata as they flew off and slowly started clotting together, giving Konan's form back. Konan blinked as she stumbled backwards, barely avoiding an array senbon. The needles were so small and were thrown with such remarkable speed and precision that she nearly got hit.
"Tsutenkyaku (Heaven Kick of Pain)" Hinata came down from the sky, her heel hitting against Konan's back and smashing her into the ground in a large explosion. Hinata watched as Konan's form wavered as she fell apart into sheets of paper. Her byakugan caught a blur and Hinata jumped away, avoiding several paper chakrams.
Hinata twirled around and blasted forward. Konan's eyes widened as Hinata closed the distance in the blink of an eye and all she could do was bring her arms up to shield herself.
*SMASH*
Konan was blasted backwards, crashing through the ground until finally coming to halt. Hinata took a senbon and took a small blood sample from the ground where Konan had been it. She quickly sealed the senbon back in her wrists seals and waited for Konan to get up.
Konan dug her way out of the rubble and spat blood to the ground. She had enough with the Hyuuga girl. She was going to end her know and go to help Nagato against with Kyuubi brat. Konan was about to unleash her ultimate technique when she felt a change in Hinata.
"Your aura has changed" Konan commented with curiosity.
"It's called senjutsu" Hinata began, her purple markings around her face seemed to glow with energy. "By absorbing natural energy and finding the proper mix with the physical and spiritual energy that make chakra, I can create a new mixture called senjutsu chakra"
"You would need to feel it to truly understand it" Hinata said softly, with clear passion in her voice. "The things senjutsu chakra allows…it's truly amazing and scary sometimes. Naruto only uses senjutsu to boost his own power to levels that can defy logic, but I am more subtle about it. To me, senjutsu isn't only about power. The medicals applications of senjutsu are limitless"
"I can forcefully inject it into a chakra system and completely petrify a person or I can use it to push to my body to levels never before reached" Hinata said seriously. "I can regenerate vital organs instantly, regrow limbs in a matter of seconds, push my body to the ultimate level by opening The Eight Inner Gates and live to tell the tale" Hinata laughed softly, raising her hand into the air, the purple marks spreading around her arm like a snake. "The power of the world, in the back of my hand"
"As long as I have chakra…I don't fall in battle" Hinata said as her byakugan flared to life once again. The world around her lighting up like a fire, her eyes able to see the natural energy around her. Running through the ground like endless rivers, flying in the wind like flocks, running deep in her veins like blood.
"The possibilities with senjutsu are endless and I've just began to truly understand how chakra really works" Hinata said, ever so slowly lowering her right. "Like this" Hinata said and slowly tilted her head. Konan's eyes widened when her hair seemed to increase to impossible lengths and before she could think of a proper response, Hinata's hair wrapped itself around Konan, pinning her wings to her back.
Without a hand seal or anything else, Hinata's hair started rotating mid-air until it whiplashed Konan to the ground at neck breaking speeds. Konan flexed her paper wings to break the fall but even that wasn't enough to stop her momentum as she crashed into the round, making a crater from the impact.
*cough*
Konan gritted her teeth, momentarily losing control of her origami bloodline and her body returning to normal. Konan's hand was holding her shoulder as if she let go, her shoulder would drop to the ground. With a sickening crunch, Konan pushed her shoulder backwards, placing it in the right place.
"You won't stop Nagato's vision" Konan said with vigor as she raised her arms to the sky. This time it wasn't hundreds, but thousands of exploding tags coming out of her arms. Her breathing started to get heavier as her chakra levels started to drop lower and lower, her ultimate technique taking too much out of her.
"Kami no Shisha no Jutsu (Paper Ocean Technique)" Konan said as the thousands of paper tags seemed to swarm Hinata and start to spiral around her body. "Even if you transform into water, you won't get out of this alive. I've prepared this technique should Tobi ever step out of line. Any last words?" Konan asked.
"Yes" Hinata said, locking eyes with Konan, her byakugan blazing. "You followed the wrong god"
"Senpou - Sekka no Me (Sage Arts - Petrifying Eyes)" Hinata said as her byakugan seemed to give off a silver pulse. Konan suddenly drew a harsh breath as foreign chakra flooded her system and started overwhelming her. Hinata was about to finish her technique and petrify Konan forever when both kunoichi felt the village tremble. Hinata stumbled and dropped her eye contact, making Konan fall to the ground, coughing and taking a series of quick breaths.
"NAGATO" Konan yelled at the blinding light on the horizon, where she knew Nagato was fighting against the Kyuubi kid. Konan jumped into the air, pouring the remnants of her chakra into forming her paper wings. Konan quickly flew off with Hinata running after her.
## Kisame vs. White (Itachi) ##
"We meet again Itachi-san" Kisame replied, grinning like a mad man. It appeared he would get the battle he always wanted.
"So it seems" Itachi replied.
"People say I'm a shark" Kisame said, shrugging his shoulders. "And sharks have to eat" Kisame finished, picking up his blade that seemed to shiver with excitement. "Looks like samehada has taken a liking to your chakra. Maybe it was all that time we worked together"
"Suiton - Amesuikoha (Rain Water Shark Wave)" Kisame said, flashing through hand seals and slamming his hand on a nearby pond. The water rose into the air and formed several large water sharks.
Itachi didn't move from his place and simply took out five kunais with exploding tags attached. With a single hand, he threw all the five kunais at each shark's mouth with deadly accuracy. Five explosions was the sound of Kisame's technique being defeated. Kisame just smirked when he noticed the explosion.
All that water in the air simply reformed into more sharks, although these ones were smaller they were far more numerous. Kisame jumped into the air and brought his samehada downwards, trying to smash Itachi. Just as the sword was about to make contact, Itachi exploded into crows that circled Kisame and reformed not far away.
Kisame grinned and swung his samehada backwards, hoping to catch Itachi of guard. A single kunai flew into Itachi's hand and, with dexterity he simply blocked Kisame's swing. Itachi was flung backwards due to Kisame's raw strength but landed safely on the ground.
Both dashed forward again and met in a flurry of punches. Itachi threw a kick only for Kisame to bring his sword to the front of block it with ease. Minutes later, both Kisame and Itachi found themselves struggling against each other, samehada clashing against a simple kunai in a battle of strength.
Itachi's eyes widened and he jumped backwards when samehada seemed to become alive and rip through the bandages that hid its real form. "I told you, Samehada isn't a simple sword" Kisame grinned as he began hand seals.
"Suiton - Suikodan no Jutsu (Water Shark Bomb)" Kisame said, thrusting his hand forward, hurtling a big water made chakra at Itachi at high-speeds.
"Katon - Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Great Fireball technique)" Itachi jumped backwards to gain some room as he took a deep breath. He released a powerful ball of fire that crashed against the incoming shark. Both technique neutralizing each other in a cloud of steam.
Kisame took samehada by the handle and scanned his surroundings for Itachi, the steam clouding his vision. "You lose" Kisame's head twitched ever so slightly as Itachi seemed to shimmer behind him and place a simple kunai at his neck.
"You really are a prodigy of the sharingan" Kisame laughed, not at all intimidated by the kunai at his neck. "But I think you underestimated me" Kisame grinned, bursting into water as another Kisame appeared behind Itachi, this time placing Samehada at Itachi's neck.
Kisame felt a small spike on Itachi's chakra and almost bubbled with excitement. "So you are going to use those eyes?" Kisame asked, not needing to see the mangekyou on Itachi's eyes.
"I already was" Kisame's head did a 180 and saw another Itachi looking at Kisame with a neutral face. The Itachi at Kisame's mercy only shimmered out of existence, no water, no smoke, no crows, like it was never there to begin with.
"Impressive" Kisame said, lowering his blade and looking at Itachi carefully. "You got some new eyes I see"
"A gift" Itachi simply replied.
"How about we end this right now?" Kisame asked. "Our most powerful jutsu against each other" Kisame offered and Itachi simply nodded.
Itachi's eyes began glowing as Kisame began working through a long chain of hand seals. " Suiton - Daikodan no Jutsu (Super Water Shark Bomb)" Kisame shouted, thrusting both hands forward as a gigantic shark barreled towards Itachi, its massive jaws opened and ready to swallow anything on its way.
Itachi was enveloped by an orange glow, signifying the use of his Susanoo shield. In just a few seconds, Itachi was completely surrounded by his fully formed Susanoo, complete with a sword on its right hand and a shield on its left hand. "Yata no Kagami" Itachi simply said, putting his red shield forward.
The Yata Mirror, an ethereal red shield that was rumored to be endowed with all five nature transformations, capable of negating any type of opposition, whether it spiritual or physical. The rumor was about to be put to the test as the massive water shark approached.
The shield lived to its expectations as it didn't even buckle when the water shark crashed upon it. Taking use of Kisame's shocked face upon seeing his strongest ninjutsu attack negated like it was some little pawn trick, Itachi took his sword of Totsuka and thrust forward, piercing through Kisame's chest.
Kisame didn't scream out in pain or anything, perhaps he was still shocked, or maybe he just didn't feel anything. "Itachi…it seems that in the end…even a shark gets eaten" Kisame said as his form started to crumble and he was absorbed into the sword, sealed for all eternity.
## Blue (Tobirama) vs. Deva Path ##
"Why do you follow the Kyuubi brat?" the Deva Path asked in his monotone voice.
"Because I believe in his ideals. He and I…we are both realists. We see the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be" Blue (Tobirama) said. "And he, unlike my older brother, doesn't think this world will know peace with friendly talks and by playing nice. He will reach peace, one way or another" Blue finished.
"I see" the Deva Path replied, narrowing his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked with simple curiosity, no real need to know.
"My name matters not. I'm the man that will support Naruto to the best of his abilities, and if that includes killing you…then so be it" Blue (Tobirama) said, clasping his hands together in a prayer sign.
"Suiton - Baku Suishouha (Great Exploding Water Wave)" Blue (Tobirama) said as spiraling vortex of water appeared in front of him. The vortex exploded from the top, coming down against the Deva Path in the form of a gigantic wave.
"Shinra Tensei" Deva path raised his hand, pushing the wave backwards. The remaining water circled around the repulsive barrier.
"If Nao's information is correct, he should have a small interval between attacks" Blue (Tobirama) thought as he watched the water calm down and the Deva Path lowering his arm.
Blue flexed his right wrist, making a pop sound followed by a small cloud of smoke. Blue took the handle of whatever came out of the storage seals and channeled chakra through it. The handle seemed to roar to life, forming a blade of sparkling yellow light.
"It's the first time I've ever laid eyes on the Raijin no Ken (Sword of the Thunder God). If I remember correctly it belonged to the nidaime hokage of the leaf, Senju Tobirama" the Deva Path said, not the slightest impressed by the legendary sword.
"Not belonged" Blue (Tobirama) said, bringing his hand to his blue mask. "Belongs" Blue said, dropping the mask to the floor and showing his face with three red markings and shaggy white hair.
"Senju Tobirama" the Deva Path simply said, taking in the man in front of him. "I supposed I shouldn't be surprised by your appearance seeing that the fourth is also alive and well" the Deva Path stated.
"Suiton - Suidanha (Severing Wave)" Tobirama spewed a highly compressed jet of water. The jet ripped through the ground like a knife through hot butter as it approached the Deva Path.
"Shinra Tensei" the Deva Path shouted. The water jet collided with the shield, splashing like water on hard floor. Tobirama immediately dropped his attack and threw a few kunais.
"My power isn't ready yet" the Deva Path thought, tilting his head to the side and allowing the kunais to fly by harmlessly.
"Hiraishingiri (Flying Thunder God Slash)" the Deva Path heard a voice behind and quickly turned around, only to catch a small glimmer of yellow as the Raijin no Ken detached his head from his shoulders.
*THUMP*
The Deva Path's head rolled to the floor as Tobirama turned off his sword. "Some god" Tobirama muttered as he walked away to help Kumo deal with the invading force of Zetsus.
## Red (Kushina) vs. Preta Path ##
"Another one" the Preta Path said, his Rinnegan boring straight into the Red Dragon. "You have Uzumaki chakra" the Preta Path commented with slight curiosity.
"I'm related to Uzumaki Mito after all" Red replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I have red hair like the real you. My Uzumaki genes are dominant, but does it matter? Don't expect mercy on my hand just because we belong to the same clan. You want my so-" Kushina stopped mid-sentence as she was about to reveal her identity.
"Forget it" Red said, unsheathing her sword from her back. "Futon no Yoroi" Red said, her body gaining a small blue aura around her, almost invisible to the naked eye but like a light bulb to the Rinnegan.
"Issen (Chakra Wave)" Red flicked her sword, releasing a blue crescent wave of chakra towards the Preta Path who held his ground. The Preta Path allowed the jutsu to hit him head on, only for the technique to disappear upon contact.
"He completely absorbed my attack…he must be the Preta Path" Red concluded in thought, deciding to resort to more physically oriented attacks. It was lucky that she was a more physically oriented fighter, even with her slender frame she still packed quite a punch.
Red took a deep breath and allowed her body to relax, her aura begun shutting down as she dropped her wind armor. No use in wasting chakra when the enemy could simply absorb it into his own reserves. Red buckled her knees and shot forward, leaving a trail of dust.
Red swung her sword, the blade whistling as it cut through the air with ease. The Preta path instinctually ducked and jumped backwards to gain distance from his opponent. He himself wasn't an offensive path but more of defensive one, and against a fast and powerful opponent like the red dragon, the Preta path found himself troubled.
The Preta path quickly found himself on the defensive against Red's unrelenting attacks and vicious strikes. Red narrowed her eyes when she saw a black metal rod appear from the Preta path's hands and parry her sword. Both weapons clashed with a resound bang, orange sparks flying as both metals grinded against each other in a battle for supremacy.
Red took a single hand from her sword and pointed it straight at her opponent. The Preta Path noticed a small glint in her palm. His eyes widened and he immediately pushed himself backwards as a golden chain sprouted from her hand, grazing his cheek and drawing a small line of blood.
"Chains as well. Is she related to the Kyuubi brat as well?" the Preta Path mused in thought, struggling to dodge the incoming chains that seemed to increase in number as time went on.
The preta path couldn't do much against such opponent and in desperate times, come desperate moves. The preta path rushed forward, dodging a few incoming chains as he made his way to Red, who was stationary while using her chains. The preta path spread his arms, making black rods sprout from each hand.
Red raised an eyebrow as the preta path jumped into the air and flexed both rods at her, hoping to end her quickly. Red tilted her head in confusion as two chains shot from near her feet and wrapped themselves around the rods, snapping them like rotten wooden twigs.
Red swung around and smashed her foot into his chest, sending the preta path sailing through the air and landing harshly on the ground. The preta path looked up and quickly rolled on the ground to avoid a volley of shurikens.
"Chain Style" Red said, placing both hands on the ground and looking up towards the preta path. "Chain Forest" Red said as the ground started to rumble ever so slightly. Hundreds of chains burst from the ground near her hands as they made their way against the preta path.
The chains seemed like snakes, slithering their way to their target. The preta path could only look in horror at the incoming amount of chains. He knew that it was the end for him, he could never dodge that amount of chains, not matter on hard he tried so he simply accepted his fate.
The chains wrapped themselves around his arms and legs, ripping him apart in a matter of seconds.
## Green (Hashirama) vs. Animal Path ##
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)" the Animal Path wasted no time in talking to the Green dragon. There was big cloud of smoke as the ground started quaking. A giant rhino burst from the smoke, stomping his way towards the Green dragon who was already going through hand seals.
"Mokuton: Hotei no Jutsu (Laughing Buddha Jutsu)" Gigantic wooden hands erupted upwards from the ground. These hands quickly wrapped themselves around the incoming rhino, halting his progress and pinning him to the ground.
The animal path slammed both hands on the ground, bringing forth more summons. This time a loud shrill filled the air as the summon shot from the smoke and high into the sky. Green was momentarily distracted with the bird summon that he didn't notice the ground beneath his feet start to crack.
A giant centipede burst from the ground, sending Green flying through the air but he landed gracefully a few feet away. Looking at the rhino, Green forced his wood ninjutsu upon his enemy, making the wooden hands clench around the animal. The rhino groaned in pain until he burst into smoke.
The bird gave another shrill as he looked down and plummeted towards Green. He jumped backwards as the bird crashed into the ground, the bird's beak drilling into the earth. Green was still mid-air when he felt the earth rumble. He looked backwards to see the large centipede burst from the ground and open its mouth.
The centipede gobbled Green in the blink of an eye and closed its massive jaw. "Mokuton" From the centipede's mouth came the muffled voice of Green as several spikes of wood emerged from the ground. These spikes impaled the centipede in multiple places, raising him into the air like some piece of meat on a stick.
The summon burst into smoke, letting Green land safely on the ground. Green looked towards the Animal Path who was on top of the bird's head, out of Green's reach for now. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)" the Animal Path muttered. Another cloud of smoke, followed by a large, brown-colored dog with a chakra receiver stuck through its head.
ROARR
The dog barred his fangs and charged forward, the ground shaking with each step he took. Green held his ground, his hands blurring through hand seals faster than the average eye could follow. "Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu (Wood Dragon)" A big wooden dragon with glowing yellow eyes burst from the ground.
The wooden dragon coiled like a snake before springing forward at high speeds. The dragon sneaked through the incoming dog's body, wrapping itself around his legs and bringing him to the ground. The dog howled in pain, his snout meeting the hard ground when his legs were tied together.
To Green's surprise the dog didn't disappear in smoke with that crash. No, in fact the dog somehow split into two and rushed forward once again. Green didn't stop to ponder what happened and sent two more dragons forward, one for each dog, and the same thing repeated itself. The dog crashed into the ground and proceeded to split and slip through the dragon's grasp.
"It seems that I can't defeat that summon" Green mused in thought as fours dogs charged at him. "Mokuton: Shichuro no Jutsu (Four Pillar Prison)" Green said. The ground grumbled and this time not caused by the approaching summons.
Green took his time, letting the dogs approach him until they reached the intended spot. Several timber pillars shot from the ground, forming a perfect square around the dogs. The dogs whined as they crashed into the wooden walls and proceeded to split once again. Although this time they would not be going anywhere as they were confided inside the wooden prison.
"Time to end this" Green thought as he looked at the sky, watching the impassive face of the animal path.
"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan (Deep Forest Emergence)" Dozens of tree rose from the ground and this time they didn't stop at that. The trees continued growing into almost impossible heights as they went after the bird in the sky. The Animal Path's eyes widened when he saw the gigantic trees approaching and immediately began evasive maneuvers.
"Excellent" Green thought as he watched the Animal Path getting distracted with the trees. Green clasped both hands together and waited patiently as several red markings spread across his forehead and cheek bones.
"Senpou: Myojinmon (Gate of the Great God)" Two massive red torii fell from the sky. The Animal Path was busy dodging the trees and didn't realized the danger coming from the above. Each torii landed on one of the bird's wings, bringing him to ground level with a loud crash.
The Animal Path jumped as the bird crashed into the ground and disappeared in smoke. He was about to summon more when the wooden trees wrapped themselves around his form. "It's over" Green said, dropping down from the trees and landing in front of the Animal Path.
"Nothing will stop me" The Animal Path said before Green removed as the chakra receivers, making the body fall to the ground dead. He was already dead but this time he wouldn't be a puppet anymore.
## Pink (Nao) vs. Asura Path ##
Nao dropped her mask onto the ground. It was no use hiding her face and identity when Fugaku had just told the world who was hidden beneath it. "The old hag won't be happy about this" Nao grinned to herself at the thought of the old Senju hag rambling.
"Traitor to your own family" the Asura Path said, several mechanical contraptions bursting from his body.
"Fugaku was the traitor" Nao spat back, not appreciating being called traitor. "He killed my sister just because she didn't follow his orders blindly like the rest of my pathetic clan" Nao gritted his teeth. She hoped that Minato was giving Fugaku what he deserved.
"We were great you know?…once…but Fugaku drove us into this quest for power and in the end, he ruined us. It's interesting how a single person can influence the world" Nao sighed sadly before looking up and looking at the Asura Path, knowing that Nagato was listening behind this puppet.
"And he will do the same thing to all of you" Nao warned. "He cares only for himself. He doesn't share your goals Nagato. You want peace. The only thing he wants is control over everything, and he will kill anyone that tries to oppose him"
"I think you are mistaken about me Nao" the Asura Path said, a slow chuckle escaping his lips. "Even I know there are no loyalties in the Akatsuki. Everyone is in there for themselves. Some for art, some for money, power, others just for fun of it, but in the end, they all did what I ordered" the Asura Path replied as his weapons readied themselves.
"Just…like…you" The Asura Path pointed out, emphasizing each word as his head seemed to open to reveal to a cannon. He started gathering energy just before unleashing a powerful chakra blast.
Nao dropped her head, her eyes finding the floor. "I know" Nao said softly, ignoring the incoming missile of chakra. "I have my fair share of sins to atone for…and I think this is a good beginning" Nao said, taking both swords from her back.
Nao raised her head, her eyes bearing a look of fierce determination. She extended both arms forward and sliced the incoming chakra ball with ease, making it explode right in front of her. She raised a single arm to her face, shielding her eyes from the heat of the blast.
Her sharingan caught movement through the cloud of smoke and she immediately jumped backwards. The ground where she stood exploded when a small missile landed on the ground. Nao looked up to see several more missiles heading towards her. She turned around and started running from them.
She looked backwards to see that the number of missiles had diminished but the remaining ones seemed to be tracking her. Nao placed a single sword in her back and used her free hand to take out several shurikens. With precision only the Uchiha Clan was known for, the shurikens hit the missiles, destroying them right in midair.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Great Fireball technique)" Nao took a deep breath and released a powerful fireball that burned its way towards Asura path. He remained in place as the blast of fire crashed upon him. Nao narrowed her eyes when she noticed that the Asura Path took the jutsu head on but seemed unharmed.
As the smoke cleared the Asura Path stood unharmed. His traditional Akatsuki cloak was ruined, leaving him bare skinned from the waist up. Instead of the traditional pink color of skin, Asura's chest was nearly all silver in color, with several metallic plates.
"Tsk" Nao thought when she noticed that her fire attack did nothing but to melt his clothes. She would need more heavy powerful attacks if she wanted to break through the shell of his. Genjutsu was out, taijutsu was well since she didn't have enough raw strength to break that kind of metal.
"Ninjutsu it is" Nao thought with a grin, her sharingan slowly spinning and her black tomoes blurring together to give birth to her eternal mangekyou sharingan.
She shivered when she felt the usual rush of chakra into her eyes. Only shinobi with doujutsu could ever relate. It was like scratching that itch that wasn't really painful but it was enough to be uncomfortable. Perhaps she was just liked to using the sharingan or maybe it was the enhanced vision that came with it.
She took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts away. She was in the middle of a battle and even the slightest of distractions could prove deadly. She slowly rose her eyes lids, the world around her lighting up. She blinked slowly as she watched dozens of incoming missiles, courtesy of the Asura Path.
Nao stood her ground, watching the incoming missiles approach ever so slowly, one inch at a time. Her eyes started releasing a soft reddish glow as a purple aura manifested around her body. She took her last sword and cautiously placed her in her back, as if with a too hard of a movement they would break. The swords were one the last remaining links she had to her sister along with her eyes.
It barely took a second for her Susanoo to roar to life, shielding her body from the incoming threat. Nao watched as the first missile hit her Susanoo shield and simply squashed itself like a mosquito in a window. The same fate happened with the following missiles. They didn't even scratch the surface of her ethereal shield.
Nao's Susanoo grew in size, manifesting itself to its full height. A single, vibrant red colored sword appeared in her right hand. Nao flexed her own hand and the Susanoo gripped the sword tighter. Nao cocked her arm backwards and pushed her sword forward at blinding speeds.
The Asura Path dodged to the side and replied with several chakra blasts that crashed upon her Susanoo. While powerful in his own right, the Asura Path didn't have the weapons necessary to break through Nao's ultimate defense. Another swing and the Asura path started running away, letting out small chakra blasts and the occasional missile.
Nao closed her eyes and took a deep breath in deep concentration. She snapped her eyes open, immediately locking his position. "Amaterasu" A wave of black flames exploded on the Asura Path who fell to the ground. Nao narrowed her eyes when she saw his bones shifting under his skin.
The arm burning with the black flames of Amaterasu simply fell to the ground like some disposable object. She watched as another mechanical arm took his place like nothing had ever happened.
"Looks like I need to either destroy his body completely or take out the chakra receivers" Nao mused in thought as she watched the Asura Path point his arm at her and forming a fist. His fist detached itself from his arm before rocketing towards her.
BOOOMMMM
The fist missile crashed against her Susanoo and yet again, nothing but smoke. "This is getting nowhere" Nao thought with disappointment. They were at a standstill. Her only way of winning was with destroy his body with her Susanoo but he was too slippery for her to hit him.
"Kaen Bodi (Flame Body)" Nao thought, dropping her shield and channeling fire chakra through her body, making it explode with fire. She bent her knees before throwing herself forward towards the Asura Path.
"Kasai no Ken (Fire Fist)" Her right fist glowed a dark orange as she swung her arm at her opponent. The Asura Path simply tilted backwards, watching the trail of flames her fist left behind.
Nao thrust her left arm forward. "Hidama (Fireball)" A small fireball exploded from her arm hitting the Asura Path straight in the head. Knowing that such attack wouldn't stop his mechanized body, she rose her leg to kick him. The Asura Path swiftly caught her leg by the ankle and threw her away like some rag doll.
Nao twisted midair and landed safely on the ground. Her eyes started glowing once again and her reddish aura of fire started darkening into a menacing pure black. "Amaterasu no Yoroi" Nao said, standing there with her body completely covered in Amaterasu flames.
"She's feeding her chakra into the flames to stop them from burning her" The Asura Path thought and prepared as Nao blurred forward.
"Enton - Shi o Senkai (Inferno Style - Swirling Death)" Nao arrived near the Asura Path and unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches so fast that the Asura Path was finding himself pushed back. He couldn't block those attacks or he would be hit with the powerful black flames.
"Enton - Hi o Arekuruu (Inferno Style - Raging Fire)" The Asura Path's eyes widened when Nao unleashed a wave of black flames from her arms. The Asura Path pointed both arms forward and released a couple chakra blasts to dispel the attack. He watched as the flames fell to the ground and started eating away the rock.
Nao swung her arms wildly and watched as a ring of fire appeared in the battlefield, trapping both shinobi inside it. It didn't take long from the flames to grow tall and easily block their view of the outside. "You won't be going anywhere" Nao smirked flexing her arms.
The Asura Path scoffed at her pointless threats. He was, after all, a dead body, being reanimated with the six paths technique, and should he ever be destroyed, Nagato could easily put his body back together. "Shura no Kō" The Asura Path unleashed a couple more of chakra bombs.
Nao twirled, avoiding a ball of chakra and swiftly ducked another one. Nao rushed forward, taking out both swords in the process. "Enton - Kasai Surasshu (Inferno Style - Fire Slash)" Nao swung her blade and unleashed a black crescent wave of chakra. Nao watched as her attack connected and chopped off one his arm only for it to regrow once again.
Nao took a deep breath and channeled all the chakra she could into her leg and sword. Her swords took a darker aura, causing the black flames to increase in size and heat. She looked up and locked eyes with her target just before whispering her ultimate kenjutsu technique.
"Enton - Enha Kishuu no Jutsu (Inferno Style - Flame Blade Assassination Jutsu)" Her body shimmered out of existence. The Asura Path's eyes widened when he felt the surge of power and completely lost track of Nao. He felt a small air displacement behind his back and immediately turned back.
All he caught was seven streaks of black before Nao disappeared once again, back to her original position. Nao smirked as the Asura Path fell to the ground in a mix of severed limbs. Seven precise and incredible powerful strikes. One to take his head, one for each arm, one for each leg and two more to his chest, essentially leaving nothing but chunks.
With a final Amaterasu she left his body to slowly burn to ashes.
## Outside of Konoha ##
"This isn't very graceful yeah" Deidara said, tired of waiting in the trees, hidden from sight.
"Be quiet Deidara" Sasori reprimanded. Both Akatsuki members were outside of Konoha walls, waiting for their contact to arrive. The problem was that both of them had rather short tempers and waiting wasn't something either liked to do.
"I'm just saying. These tree huggers have no respect for art" Deidara grumbled. Sasori was about to reply when two shinobi dropped in front of them.
"Deidara and Sasori?" Torune asked.
"We are here. Don't keep us waiting anymore with worthless questions" Sasori replied harshly. Both root shinobi said nothing but merely started walking towards Konoha with both Akatsuki members in tow.
"This way" Torune said, leading his group through a more quiet entrance other than the main gates. Torune and Fu led the Akatsuki members through the barrier the covered Konoha without raising any type of alarm.
"Where are our marks?" Sasori asked, making both root members stop walking and turn to stare intently at Sasori.
"We do not need to remind you of your deal with Danzo-sama, do we?" Fu asked, with a dangerous tone in his voice.
"We will keep our end of the deal. We will draw the attention for the dragons into Kumo in exchange for the bijuu" Sasori explained and Fu nodded, resuming their path towards their objectives.
Minutes later both Akatsuki members and the two root shinobi were standing outside of the Senju compound. They were standing a bit away so they didn't get detected. "My bugs tell me that the dragons are still in there, along with the Ichibi and the Nanabi" Torune said.
"Let's go then" Deidara said, rising form the ground but was stopped by hand on his shoulder.
"Don't be foolish" Fu warned. "There are five seal masters living there. Anyone not authorized to enter the compound would be reduced to ashes before he could even cry in pain"
"We must wait for them to leave. I will interrupt the Ichibi from getting called and from there you will take charge understood?" Torune asked and both Deidara and Sasori nodded.
## With Kakashi ##
Kakashi was jumping from roof top to roof top, his form blurring through the buildings as he made his way to Yugao's apartment. A few minutes later Kakashi found himself standing at her front door. Unlike other shinobi, Yugao had a small apartment in a building shared with civilians.
Yugao was one of the few shinobi whose house building was shared. Most shinobi preferred their privacy and usually lived in single, separate houses. This of course didn't apply to the clans. Then again, clans were usually big families and not random strangers all living together in the same building, split only by a few walls.
Kakashi knocked on the door and waited patiently for a reply. Seconds quickly turned into minutes and Kakashi knocked once more. Getting no response Kakashi leaned in, placing his head on the wooden door and listened for any sounds coming from the interior.
"Strange" Kakashi thought as he kneeled on the ground, standing a few inches away from the door lock. He went to his pockets and retrieved a small case, no bigger than his own hands. He set the case on the stone floor and quickly unrolled the fabric to reveal a few shining metal tools.
Kakashi nearly felt like whistling as he took a thin metallic lock pick and introduced the tool into the lock. Kakashi listened and felt for the clicks as the lock's pins were placed in the right place, allowing the tumbler to rotate freely. Kakashi pocketed his tools and opened the door.
The first thought that came through Kakashi's mind was amusement. Shoes tucked away in a corner, two swords hanged neatly in a nearby wall, a small shelf filled with books, no empty room for more and surprisingly enough, no books lying around the house other than the bookshelf.
"Still the same old perfectionist" Kakashi thought to himself walking towards the room and silently opening the door. His sharingan came to life as he gazed in the darkness of the bedroom and saw nothing more than an empty bed. Kakashi went to check the remaining rooms but found no evidence of Yugao. All of her clothes and equipment were still here so he ruled out defecting.
Kakashi was closing the door out of the apartment when his nose caught a familiar scent. "Hayate...that explains her absence in her home" Kakashi thought with a grin as he closed the door and made his way towards Hayate's house where he was sure he would find Yugao.
It took only a couple of minutes for him to reach his new destination. Hayate's house was an ordinary house but unlike Yugao, Hayate lived alone in the building. Kakashi approached the door and like any good neighbor, he politely knocked on the door and waited from someone to answer.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed when his nose smelled something metallic. "Blood" Kakashi concluded as he took a step back and kicked the door open, blasting the wooden door right of the hinges. The house was a mess to say the least, there was blood everywhere and signs of a small battle.
Kunais and shurikens on the floor and walls, the tables were destroyed along with the chairs, pieces of the walls on the ground. Kakashi quickly searched the house for any signs of Yugao or anyone else. The amount of blood that was sprayed around the apartment was too much for someone to survive.
He chose to follow his nose, trailing the scent of blood to its source. Kakashi quickly reached another door, presumably to Hayate's bed room and decided to take caution. Something had happened here as it wasn't pretty. Kakashi stealth approached the door and slowly pushed it open, the wooden frame creaking ever so slowly
"YUGAO, HAYATE" Kakashi shouted as he saw his two comrades lying on the ground, in a pool of their own blood. He quickly rushed to their side, hoping that they would still be alive. Kakashi gingerly brought a finger to their neck and sighed in relief when he felt a pulse, a weak one at that but a pulse nonetheless.
"K-ka-shi" Yugao muttered weakly, barely able to part her lips. Hayate seemed to be in even worse state, completely unconscious. They were lucky to have fallen unconscious with their wounds facing the floor, somewhat stemming the blood flow.
Kakashi did a quick overall scan of the room and found another person lying in a nearby corner with a sword driven through his chest. "An assassin" Kakashi mused in thought, noticing a single white mask on the attacker's face and simple ANBU clothing.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu" Kakashi said, making a clone of himself and hoisting Yugao over his shoulders, with one hand applying pressure to her wounds. Kakashi's clone did the same with Hayate as both dashed towards the hospital. During their way, Kakashi made another clone to inform the hokage that someone had targeted her bodyguard.
While Yugao was jounin and one of the best, there were far more likely targets for an assassination inside the village. Everyone knew that Yugao was an ANBU but a mere few knew that she the Hokage's bodyguard. Just thinking that someone had found their identities and made a move on them was troubling enough.
## With Akatsuki and Root ##
"NOW" Torune shouted as the four members stormed the Senju compound.
Gaara was about to respond to Naruto's summon when a swarm of bugs burst from the ground, ripping through the wooden floor. "Fuuton - Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough)" Gaara took a deep breath and unleashed a powerful gust of wind, breaking the swarm and pushing the insects backwards.
Without a second thought, Gaara jumped towards the window, smashing the glass and ending on the outside of the Senju compound. Sand started flowing freely from his wrists seals as it started crushing the flying bugs. "Bugs are a specialty of the Aburame Clan and Fu-chan" Gaara thought in confusion as to the person responsible for this attack.
"KATSU"
Gaara's eyes widened when a white bird appeared right in front of his face and started glowing. He barely had time to shield his face as he was blasted back, his sand skin cracking slightly due to the explosion. Gaara cursed beneath his breath as he twisted midair and landed on the ground.
BOOOOM
The ground beneath Gaara's feet suddenly exploded, covering his form in smoke. "All done" Deidara smirked, coming down from the sky on top of his clay bird. His cocky smirk was quickly wiped from his face when the smoke cleared and instead of battered Gaara, he found a solid cocoon of sand on its place.
"Akatsuki is it?" Gaara asked rhetorically as the sand cocoon opened slowly to show his neutral face. "You are either very brave or very stupid to attack the one of the five great elemental nations on broad daylight" Gaara said, stepping on top of a small chunk of sand and started floating into the air.
"Hn" Deidara was not happy his plan hadn't worked. Now he had to actually fight the Ichibi Jinchuuriki. "Looks like my plan failed" Deidara grumbled in disappointment.
Gaara was about to reply when they felt the ground starting to rumble. Gaara's eyes widened when he felt a massive spike of chakra and his head snapped to his left just in time to see a wall of the Senju compound being blasted open by a small bijuudama. "BASTARD" a deep voice came from inside the compound as Sasori came running from inside.
Fu stepped outside slowly, in her five tailed jinchuuriki state. Piercing green eyes, dark blue chakra cloak. The ground cracked as Fu shot forward, heading straight towards Sasori. Gaara's eyes followed Fu as her bijuu empowered fist crashed into Sasori's form, obliterating the Akatsuki member into pieces.
"They are not alone Fu-chan. Be careful" Gaara warned, remembering the swarm that nearly overwhelmed him earlier.
"Let me out…I want to play to" Shukaku yelled from inside Gaara's mind.
"This is no time for jokes. They are attacking us and Konoha isn't responding. Fu's attack should have drawn a lot of attention" Gaara replied and Shukaku frowned.
"I haven't used this body in years" a voice broke Gaara from his thoughts as his eyes turned to the new voice. "Sasori of the red sand. I wondered when you would show your face to us" Gaara said.
"You are well informed Sabaku no Gaara" Sasori replied, stretching his wooden limbs.
"We know more about your organization than you could ever hope to think" Gaara said. Fuu slowly made her way towards his side as more sand started pouring from his storage seals.
"Fu-chan, are you in control?" Gaara asked towards his partner in bijuu form.
"Yes" Fu snarled at the Akatsuki members.
"Go" Gaara said, raising a wave of sand as Fu roared and dashed forward. Deidara's bird quickly flew high into the sky, out of range from Gaara's sand. Sasori disposed of his Akatsuki cloak to reveal his puppet body. From his back came several metal blades that blocked Fu's punch.
ROAAAR
Fu roared, releasing a shockwave that pushed Sasori backwards and cracked the ground from the pressure. Sasori skidded through the ground until he stopped. "Tsk" Sasori sighed beneath his breath as he took his favorite puppet. Things weren't supposed to be like this, there wasn't supposed to be a battle in the first place.
"Satetsu Shigure (Iron Sand Rain)" Sasori's puppet, also known as the Sandaime Kazekage opened his mouth, releasing a cloud of black grains of iron. "Satetsu Kesshū (Iron Sand Gathering). The iron sand started compressing into high-density shapes, the size of small houses as they hovered in the air.
With a flick of wrist, Sasori commanded his puppet to send the barrage of chunks of iron towards Fuu. Fuu watched as the weapons of iron quickly approached and she bent her knees, disappearing from her position with a loud swoosh sound. Sasori took an involuntary step back when he lost track of Fuu.
He caught movement in the corner of his eyes and formed a metallic sheet of iron in front of him, just in time to block a bijuu powered fist from Fuu. Her punch connected with Sasori's defense with a loud bang, the sound reverberating through the air, a testament to both the power of the strike and the sturdiness of Sasori's shield.
"KATSU" Deidara yelled as dozens of white clays bombs surrounded Fuu and exploded. Deidara narrowed his eyes and scoffed when he noticed Fu completely enclosed in sand, protecting her from the blast.
ROAAAR
Sasori's eyes widened in shock when the sand dome opened and a bright glow emanated from the inside. "BIJUUDAMA" Fuu released a tailed beast bomb at point blank range.
When the smoke cleared there was no puppet or puppeteer to be seen. Fuu took a whiff of the air and her head snapped to the sky where she saw Deidara flying on his bird with Sasori next to him…with a missing arm.
"We cannot fight them head on" Sasori said, looking at his missing arm. "They have too much raw power for either of us"
"In that case" Deidara grinned as his hands flew to his bags on his legs. He took out a big chunk of clay and started molding it. "C3" Deidara yelled, throwing his creation into the sky. With a single hand seal his creation increased in volume, taking the size of a small building and started plummeting to the ground.
Gaara's eyes widened at the sheer magnitude on the incoming clay meteorite. "A bomb of that size would destroy a chunk of Konoha" Gaara thought in panic, raising his arms to the sky. Sand started pouring out of his wrists seals like rivers.
"Kūsa Bōheki (Giant Sand Shield)" Gaara said as the sand started covering the Senju compound. A giant shield started forming itself mid-air, right on the path of the incoming explosive.
BOOOOMMMM
The explosion lit the sky and Gaara gritted his teeth, pouring more power into the shield to protect the village from the blast. Once the explosion had cleared Gaara took a deep breath as fell to his knees. He poured too much chakra into the technique to defend the village.
"Give some chakra" Gaara said to Shukaku, huffing as he kneeled on the ground for support.
"NOW you want my help" Shukaku snarled at his jinchuuriki.
"Please" Gaara said and Shukaku scoffed.
"Fine…but it will take a while to replenish your chakra reserves. Even with me helping" Shukaku replied and allowed some his chakra to seep into Gaara's network, slowly refilling his reserves.
"Woah" Deidara shouted, forcing his clay bird to bank left all of a sudden as a tailed beast ball barely grazed them. Deidara started evasive maneuvers as Fu started firing multiple bijuudamas against the bird, trying to bring them to ground level. She looked towards Gaara and saw him slowly regaining his breathing.
"GAARA-SAN" Gaara's attention turned to the incoming voice as two anbu squads arrived at their position.
"Reinforcements?" Sasori rhetorically asked. "It was bound to happen with all the ruckus you made" Sasori said towards Deidara who huffed in defiance.
"Does it matter?" Deidara grumbled. "Let's just take the jinchuurikis and be done with this"
"H-help her" Gaara said, slowly regaining his breathing. Gaara watched as one anbu group dashed after Fuu and before Gaara could explain what was happening, one of the anbu slapped a bijuu suppression seal on Fuu's body. Fuu roared as Chomei's chakra was suppressed and the link to her bijuu closed off.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Gaara yelled as the remaining anbu squad tried to the same with him. Gaara was lucky to have his sand that automatically pushed the anbu back. Gaara's mobility was still impaired by the heavy usage of chakra and he didn't have many options left. Whoever these anbu were, they were in working with the Akatsuki.
Gaara was forced to jump backwards as the anbu group engaged offensive actions against him. "What is happening?" Gaara thought as he dodged another sword strike. His eyes turned towards Fuu's unconscious form, her body being loaded into Deidara's bird.
"Konoha has been compromised. And the rest of the group was drawn into another battle" Gaara thought, pondering his options. Two Akatsuki members along eight anbu members were too much for him now that he was drained. Gaara did the only thing he could in this situation, he channeled what chakra he had available and shunshined away from the battlefield.
"Oi" Deidara yelled when he noticed Gaara disappearing in a tornado of sand. "The Ichibi is running away"
"Forget about him Deidara. We will use the Nanabi as bait, he will come for her" Sasori explained but Deidara grumbled nonetheless before accepting the facts. Sasori jumped on top of Deidara's bird as the two flew away from Konoha, knowing that Gaara wouldn't take long to come after them.
## With Gaara ##
Gaara canceled his shunshin due to lack of chakra, arriving a few miles away from the Senju Compound and collapsing against a tree, taking deep breaths. He looked over his shoulder, scanning his surroundings for any possible shinobi. He could trust very few people if Konoha's ANBU had been compromised.
Gaara looked at the sky and noticed a white bird hovering around Konoha and flying away. Gaara strained his eyes at the bird itself and saw Fuu's limp form on the bird. "I'll need help" Gaara said out loud before dashing towards the only place he knew he would get help to rescue Fuu.
"What's taking so long?" Gaara asked towards his bijuu.
"Well excuse me for not being able to flush your system with chakra like the Kyuubi" Shukaku snarled.
"Just keep giving me what you can" Gaara replied, trying to avoid conflict with the raccoon and his mood swings. Gaara stood up, having regained his breath and run off towards the Aburame Compound. The shunshin was out of the question, he had used what little he had left to get away from the Akatsuki.
## Aburame Compound ##
"Push them back into the woods" Shibi yelled to his clan. All of a sudden his compound was being swarmed by two anbu squads.
"Hijutsu: Mushitatsumaki (Insect Tornado)" Shino said as the bugs surrounded the enemy and started spinning around them at high speeds. As the tornado was spinning, each bug took a bite of each one of the ANBU. It was mere moments later that the ANBU were all but disintegrated.
"It's done" Shibi said taking a deep breaths and falling to his knees. "ARGHHH" Shibi suddenly began yelling in pain and fell to the ground, squirming in pain.
"Father!" Shino yelled, rushing his father as well some members of the clan.
"What's happening?" some member asked, clearly wondering what was happening to their leader. Shino laid his father flat on the ground and ripped his chest's clothes to display a growing purple spot in the middle of his chest.
"Rinkaichu (Phosphorus Destruction Insect)" Shino simply said, ignoring the gasps of everyone around them. Rinkaichu, a rare breed of nano-sized, venomous insects that destroy the body's cells, causing excruciating pain in the process.
"Take him to the hospital"
"It's too late for that. We would never make in time" Shino replied, ignoring the protests of the rest of the clan.
"S-Shino" Shibi gasped, reaching for his son and bringing his closer. "T-the clan…i-it's up to…you" Shibi whispered, dying and his arm dropping limp to the side.
The Aburame Clan, a clan that valued logic above all, a clan that taught each member to bury emotions, to remain objective on the field. Even having been taught all that, Shino couldn't help but let out a small tear. "Dammit" Shino swore, punching the ground.
"Report the attack to the Hokage" Shino said but neither member moved. "NOW" He snarled, startling everyone around him. The members scattered to fix the damaged that had been done to the compound and to report to the hokage.
Shino sighed and picked his father's body. He didn't need to worry about the Rinkaichu since they went destroyed themselves once the host they fed upon had died. Shino quickly made his way towards the compound, a small walk but it felt like miles.
Shino arrived near his house and looked as the door opened. "Shino?" A female voice appeared on the other side. "Nooo" She whispered when she saw Shibi's limp form being carried in his son's arms.
"SHIBI" She yelled, rushing towards them. Shino stopped and lowered his father to the ground, allowing his mother to envelop Shibi in a desperate hug.
"S-sorry" Shino said, his voice raspy and dry. "They took us by surprise and one the attackers was one of us" Shino whispered, watching his mother swallow herself in grief at the death of her husband.
"H-he's a better place now" Shino offered, feeling completely helpless. He had already accepted his father's death and was trying his best to help his mother.
"STOP RATIONALIZING EVERYTHING" His mother yelled, her eyes red with tears. "HE WAS YOUR FATHER AND YOU CAN'T EVEN SPARE A TEAR IN HIS HONOR"
"Do you even feel anything for us?" his mother asked.
"I would sacrifice anything for my family" Shino replied instantly and immediately snapped to attention. "Stay behind me" Shino ordered feeling a presence rapidly approaching the compound. His eyes looked around until he caught Gaara approaching and the first thing he noticed was his state. Sweat dropping from his face and his chest weaving heavily.
"What happened?" Shino asked, shouldering Gaara so he didn't fell to the ground.
"Akatsuki" Gaara replied and Shino was immediately on alert. "They took Fuu" Gaara said softly and Shino's heart sank. First his father and now Fuu.
"Where?" Shino simply asked but Gaara noticed the slight edge on his voice. Gaara looked to the ground and his eyes widened when he saw Shino's father dead.
"You were attacked as well" Gaara said and Shino nodded. Looks like it had been and joint attack on the clans of the village. Gaara could only speculate on the goal of everything.
"Rest" Shino said and lowered Gaara to the ground.
"What are we going to do?" Gaara asked, finally being able to rest for a few minutes.
"We are going after Fuu" Shino simply said and started walking away. "Wait for me to come back" Shino said and Gaara nodded in acknowledgment.
"Moth-"
"Go" his mother interrupted him. "Give them hell for me" His mother smiled sadly and Shino nodded.
## Aburame Hive ##
Shino arrived at the center of the woods surrounding his compound. He slowly entered the room and made his way towards the center of the room. As he walked, he looked around to see several hives all around the room. Here was where they grew their bugs, and where they performed the ceremony on the newborn.
Shino stopped right in front of a large box. It was just an ordinary box, standing in a simple wooden desk. While seemingly plain, this box had etched a single word on the front.
Forbidden
Shino paid no second thought and opened the box, taking the jar out and gently lowering it to the table. Shino placed a hand on the lid and hesitated ever so slightly, before picking up the jar and smashing it on the ground.
As the jar shattered on the hard floor, a large swarm of bugs burst from it, immediately accessing the threat and completely covering Shino form head to toe in a shroud of darkness. Shino gritted his teeth in pain but did not waver for even a second on his decision.
"You took my father from me" Shino said, dropping to his knees. "But with you, I will rescue Fuu" Shino replied, his eyes burning with fire and the bugs seemed to feel his power and determination.
The swarm slowed down and began slowly flying around him. The bugs started landed softly on him and started slithering their away into his skin. Shino dropped his black googles to the ground and slowly stood up. His skin was now a deep purple and his eyes shining a bright silver.
"Let's go hunting"
Like it? R&R
I know what I said but I have lots of work to do and now I began my thesis. It's a nightmare juggling everything together.
