Author's Note: Alright, so here is the final chapter in this arc, the next one starts the war (Hell Yeah!). Unfortunately, I'm turning my attention to Naruto Makaze and Children are Troublesome for a while, so the next chapter won't be out for a while... Sorry... Oh well, on with the chapter.
Kaibunkage
Arc II
Chapter XVIII
"Our enemy won't settle for words! Action and power are the only way to gain their attention! If we are weak, we will be crushed! There will be no compromise in this war, only death!"
- Yondaime Raikage, Ē
Kageno eyed Ao and Kiyohime as the trio stood in front of the gates of Kirigakure.
"Let's go." Kageno said. "I hate being late."
"Hai!" the two said in unison.
"Kill Akatsuki!" a man from within the crowd standing on the other side of the gates cheered, starting a loud roar from the Kiri shinobi and civilians.
Kageno smirked under his hat, something that both his escorts caught. He had been doing that a lot for some odd reason.
"Lord Mizukage," Kiyohime said. "This meeting will go uninterrupted, I hope."
"Akatsuki would be foolish to attack us this time." Kageno responded. "With the appearance of both the Hoshikage and Kaibunkage, things will be very different from the first time."
Ao had to agree with his leader there. This would very different than first time.
A cracking sound followed by a groan caused Kurotsuchi to sigh.
"Come on Gramps! We're nowhere near Kumo yet!" she called.
"My damn back!" Onoki committed.
Akatsuchi looked at his elderly leader. "You can ride on my back, Tsuchikage-sama."
The young woman rolled her eyes.
"The all-feared Tsuchikage, being given a piggy-back ride." she muttered as Onoki accepted the ride. "Can we go now?"
Onoki sighed. "You're more impatient than I ever was…"
"Then let's go!" Kurotsuchi said with a smile.
Matsuri gave Gaara a kiss as he prepared to leave.
"Be safe, Kazekage-kun." Gaara blushed as Matsuri's "sexy assistant" foreplay was probably the reason she was pregnant.
"Ahem." Gaara saw Temari standing with a small smirk, a slightly jealous Kankurou standing beside her.
"S-sorry." Matsuri apologized.
"Safe that for the honeymoon and after the meeting." Temari said.
Gaara gave a nod. While he did technically out-rank her being the Kazekage, she was still his older sister.
"Let's go." Gaara said.
The shinobi and civilians lined the streets as the Hokage made her way to the gates. Beside her was the famed Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi, his eyes already skimming over the pages of his favorite book.
"Well, well," Jiraiya said at the gates. "Look who finally decided to show. Are you ready hime?"
"Let's get this meeting over with. There's a tournament- I mean, paperwork that I have to get to." Jiraiya and Kakashi just sighed. If the war didn't put them in debt, their leader's gambling surely would.
Sumaru took in a deep breath.
"Nervous, Hoshikage-sama?" Nori asked from behind his mask.
"A bit." Sumaru stated.
"Don't be. The power of the Hidden Star is equal to any other village, if not greater." Sumaru looked at Nori.
"Thanks. I needed that." Sumaru replied before sighing. "Akane, are you ready?"
"Hai." the redhead said.
"Then let's get to Kumo." Sumaru said.
On a ship, Naruto eyed the coastline that was Ash Country as they pulled away.
"When we get to the Land of Lightning," Naruto said to his two guards. "I want to take a small break. Nothing long, twenty minutes tops. I think we could all use a little change in scenery, don't you think?"
"Hai, Lord Kaibunkage." Chojuro said adjusting his glasses.
When Naruto heard silence from his second guard, he turned to give the pink-haired woman his attention.
"Something wrong, Sakura?" he questioned.
"No." she said with a smile. "Everything's fine."
Chojuro saw the silent exchange between Kaibunkage and Smoke jonin and smiled a bit. Mei had given him direct orders to find out what was going on between the two in the past three months. Unfortunately, Naruto and Sakura were both quite illusive as well as users of the Shadow Clone. Therefore, keeping up with them, even within the village, was a taxing chore.
"Daddy!" Shiori said coming on deck with Jakken and giving his leg a tight hug. "I can't wait to see Kumo! I bet it's really cool!"
"It's going to be something." Naruto replied with a smile. "I just hope it's as 'cool' as you think."
Days later, Ē stood in his office, arms crossed as he stared out at his village.
"Yo, bro," Ē didn't glance at Bee, but he did pay attention to the jinchuriki. "My next show is soon and I-"
Mabui, who had been sitting in front of the desk this entire time, saw the true speed of the Raikage as he quickly closed the distance between himself and Bee and placed his younger brother in the Iron Claw.
"You idiot! There's a war going on and all you can think about is your raps!" Ē shouted.
Mabui sighed. Why did she take this job?
"Raikage-sama, did you forget that the other kage will be here soon?" she asked.
"No, I didn't." the Raikage said pushing the jinchuriki away from him. "And I didn't forget that he was one of them." Ē looked at Bee, who was attempting to crawl out of the wall, literally. "Bee!" The man groaned as he fell onto the floor, the large crater in the wall being his previous location. "The Kaibunkage is coming."
"…" Bee stopped himself from saying something he would regret and gave his leader and curious stare behind his glasses.
"Let me rephrase that," Ē said. "The jinchuriki of the Kyubi is coming."
Now Bee understood and frowned. Another jinchuriki within the walls of Kumogakure? And the most powerful one at that. This was surely going to be an interesting meeting after all.
"Dammit! I don't care! Breach Konoha walls and find out why Udon hasn't given us any information on the Hyuga and the Tatsuhiro!" Danzo shouted as his Root subordinates quickly left the office.
Or they would have had a man not blocked their path.
"L-lord Otokage!" the two said with a bow.
Sasuke stared at the two with a darkening glare.
"Your orders are simple. Get me information on the next Demon Country High Priestess. Now." With a bow, the two slid past Sasuke and ran for the hills. Sasuke then turned his attention to Danzo, his eyes still narrow. "What the hell are you doing, Danzo? All news regarding the war and village goes directly to me, remember?"
"I sent Karin." Sasuke wanted to kill the man for his calmness but took in a deep breath. "I see your vision is repaired."
"It was never damaged." Sasuke said grabbing his kage robe and hat from a nearby stand. "Come. We're needed at a meeting." Danzo rose from his desk. "And Danzo, betray me now and I will live up to the promise Itachi made."
Danzo kept the confusion off of his face, but he had to think; How'd Sasuke learn about his conversation with Itachi?
One guard was allowed in the meeting while the others stood waiting. Jakken, who came with Naruto, showed Shiori around the Raikage's office building.
"So, we're all finally here. The so-called Shinobi Alliance." Kageno said with Kiyohime behind him. "I must say, I'm impressed that we're all here and not out there fighting."
"Now is not the time." Ē said before looking at Naruto's and Sumaru's direction. "These past three months, you two have actually been useful despite-"
"The word 'pseudo' shouldn't leave your mouth. A kage is a kage." Naruto interrupted.
Ē grunted. "When this is all said and done, I will see if you're even worth being called the son of the Yellow Flash, let alone a kage."
Seeing a flash of red in Naruto's eyes, Bee took a subconscious step towards Ē.
"We're here to make divisions," Tsunade said. "Not pick fights with each other."
"The Hokage is right." Mifune said. "Are there any suggestions?"
"Kiri, Hoshi, and Kemuri thrive on sneak attacks and quick assassinations," Kageno spoke. "They are great for the supportive divisions."
Tsunade nodded. "I agree."
"I think we're forgetting about the most important part of this meeting." The group turned to Onoki, who had just spoken. "Guarding the remaining five jinchuriki."
"Lady Hokage and I have agreed to allow Bee-san to train the Nanabi and Sanbi containers in controlling their respective biju." Naruto replied. "But I've made one simple revision to that plan." Tsunade and Jiraiya, who stood behind Tsunade, frowned. "Shiori is hidden in the same place."
"What? Nar- Lord Kaibunkage, are you serious?" Tsunade asked loudly.
"If they find the jinchuriki they will have your daughter as well!" Jiraiya called.
Sakura, standing behind her leader, sighed quietly. She was present at the meeting where Naruto made this decision and had the same reaction as the two Sannin.
Naruto held up a hand. "Please, listen." The other kage and Mifune were all rattled by this decision but allowed him to continue. "Neither I nor the Kazekage have complete control over our biju. He simply overpowers his and I have a mutual comradeship with mine. The fox and I only speak in times of battle. However, as Bee-san is probably willing to explain, I know how stressful and risking taming a biju can be. They will battle to break free and the only person strong enough to restrain a raging biju is Shiori. If she's in a close enough proximity, say the next room or so, her special ability will react to the biju and put it down. Thus risking fighting Akatsuki and a raging body of chakra."
"It's risky, but I agree with the Kaibunkage." Kageno stated. "Not unless one of you knows a certain jutsu that their grandfather used…"
Allowing the words to wash off of her back, Tsunade stared at Naruto.
"Are you sure?" Was her only question.
Naruto nodded. "Very. With Tatsuhiro Kuroma guarding them along with the Genryu, Akatsuki will have trouble getting through them and whatever guarding we give them."
"That solves one problem," Onoki said spreading a map in front of the group. "But here's another one. Thanks to Jiraiya's spy network, we've pinpointed an Akatsuki base here. With Sound just below that, we will have to cross the lands of Hot Water and Frost to reach the Land of Sound. From there, we must battle through their home country just to reach Akatsuki."
"Ishigakure is located in-between Iwa and Suna. We might have a better chance taking them out of the equation first." Temari suggested.
"No," Naruto replied. "With Ame under Akatsuki's control, there is no telling what will happen if we send shinobi to that location. Even with Bear Country off of Stone's borders, it's still dangerous."
"Besides, we move as one now." Ē stated. "There will not be any Hoshi or Suna forces. Just one shinobi force."
"With samurai help." Mifune added.
"Right. So let's get started." Ē said.
Tobi just stared at him. Sasuke now had the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, though the Uchiha did not show it at the moment.
"This is pointless! I just want the Kaibunkage!" Matsuo shouted.
"Don't be an idiot. The Kaibunkage would surely kill you if you fight him alone." Sasuke said. "Fighting him will take skills that you don't possess."
"But you do?" Matsuo growled.
"You'd be surprised." stated the Otokage.
"There is no word on the Kaibunkage's true strength, especially after the Uchiha traitor did whatever he did." Tobi said. "But we do know that he has Sakura of the Salamander in his ranks."
Konan, who sat to Tobi's right, gave the masked-wearing man a glance before looking at the others. She knew what Naruto was capable of. She had witnessed it when Itachi and Naruto fought. Nagato and Itachi were both two of Akatsuki's strongest, and Naruto had defeated them. And she wanted to voice just how powerful Naruto was…
But she couldn't. Why? Even she didn't know that answer. Maybe it was because he had allowed her to live. Or maybe it was because the people of her village now looked at her as its leader and she knew fighting Naruto one-on-one at a hundred percent was stupid. Or maybe, just maybe, she knew that he was right. Peace could be obtained without bloodshed. Peace could be reached with simple words and negotiations.
Peace could be gained through love and bonds.
"Who do we target first?" Konan was brought out of her thoughts by Matsuo's voice.
"Konoha." Sasuke was very firm with his answer, though Danzo looked ready to disagree with his leader.
"Konoha will fall one way or another," Tobi said. "I, however, have a new target."
"Kemuri?" questioned Kabuto, the last person at the table. The man had changed greatly during the three months of his disappearance, and was still changing everyday.
"No. Demon Country. More precisely, the child of the Hyuga Heiress and the Tatsuhiro Heir. A child that powerful, along with Shoru and, possibly, Shiori would make us unstoppable."
Sasuke gave a short snort. "Putting our faith in the hands of children. They'll just get in the way."
"You underestimate the power of the next generation." Tobi reprimanded Sasuke in a solemn tone. "Uzumaki Shiori, the daughter of your former teammate, will one day be able to defeat every person that sits at this table." Sasuke gave an "hmph" of defiance. "At one time."
"Impossible!" Matsuo shouted.
"In theory," Tobi explained. "She is able to detain any tailed beast. Her shield is impenetrable. I wouldn't be surprise if her father taught her seals of the Uzumaki Clan, not to mention the seals she'll eventually learn through her priestess training. She will be able to send warnings from the future to her past self, absolutely besting the Sharingan and being one step ahead every time. And worst," Tobi leaned back in his chair. "Worst, she has a pure heart. The one beast that she can't control, the Reibi, cannot feed off of one so pure and innocent."
"The flames of-"
"Amaterasu is only good if it can penetrate a shield such as hers. And I highly doubt that it can." Tobi interrupted.
"Hn, if she's that strong," Sasuke began. "Then allow me to take a group of men after her. I'm sure Naruto will appear to protect his daughter, wiping out the remainder of the Uzumaki at one time."
"If you can." Tobi stated.
"The other kage are suspicious of each other." Danzo said. "We could use this to our advantage. Allow them to destroy each other and then finish them up, one by one."
"What do you think, Konan?" Konan had no idea why Kabuto asked her for her opinion, but she realized that now would be the best, if only, time to speak.
"The other kage, united or not, won't allow you to simply 'finish them up' as you say." Konan said. "There is hostility there, but they will make sure that their main threat, Akatsuki, is destroyed. I suggest that we find…" Konan paused. "A foolproof plan before making a move."
"You are in Akatsuki for a reason." Konan glared at Tobi for his praise. "First, let's take away their power. Let's plan on ridding ourselves of the jinchuriki."
"Our men have been divided evenly amongst us. We have appointed our captains to each division. So now, our only problem lies within the trust we have in each other. Or lack of, I should say." Kageno said.
Naruto inhaled before exhaling slowly. "Shion once told me that a kunai has no ally or foe. It is loyal to who wields it. Each of us wields a kunai, or blade of some sort. And by nature, shinobi are trained to strike at the opportune moment." Naruto took out one of his special made kunai and stabbed it in the table in front of him. "This is my blade. I vow that it will not be used against any of you so long as yours won't be used against me."
Mifune nodded, placing his katana in front of him. "Here is my blade. You have my word, Lord Kaibunkage."
"My only blade is my sand." Gaara stated. "It won't be used against my allies. Even if Shukaku tries to kill you."
"This is my blade," Tsunade said placing a scapel on the table. "A blade that will heal my allies in this war, not harm them."
"A kunai is only as treacherous as the person wielding it." the Hoshikage said placing a kunai on the table. "That is a lesson I learned from Lady Shion. That is a lesson I will never forget."
Forming a kunai out of ice, Kageno place the ice weapon on the table.
"I have nothing to gain by betraying any of you. However, this blade will be used on anyone who gets in-between the one known as Tobi and myself." he said.
"A kunai has no foe or ally. Hmph, that's something only a child would say." Onoki said. "But," The old Tsuchikage revealed a kunai and placed it in front of him. "It is something a wise child would say."
Ē placed his left hand on the table.
"These hands won't harm any of you unless you turn against us." said the Raikage. "This I swear."
Sakura saw a smile on Naruto's face and fought to keep hers off of her face. She was on guarding duty after all. But she had to be pleased about the turnabouts of this meeting. Kemuri, her home, had been weary of how the Gokage would treat the villages of Smoke and Star. There were many shinobi and a few civilians who suggested that the Hidden Smoke should just fight with the Hidden Star and no one else. But this meeting had put a lot of doubts to rest, once and for all.
"Sakura," Sakura gave Naruto her undivided attention. "Have Chojuro find Jakken and Shiori. I'm in the mood for some lunch."
"Hai." Sakura said going to the door.
Outside in the waiting area, the other guards stood, a few casually talking. Sakura noticed that Kankuro kept to himself, his eyes scanning everyone else, while the redhead known as Karui was chatting away with Kurotsuchi. Sakura found Chojuro standing against the wall by himself. She smiled softly wondering why he was so shy, but found it adorable at times.
"Chojuro," Chojuro, as well as the other guards, looked at Sakura. "The Kaibunkage wants his daughter back so they can go to lunch."
"H-hai, Sakura-san." Chojuro said before leaving.
Sakura was going to re-enter the conference room, but Karui spoke out to her.
"How'd you do it?" Curious, Sakura gave the woman a questioning look. "We all know about your bad history with the guy, not to mention that he kicked your ass. But somehow you managed to become a member of his village. How?"
"Probably some of the Leaf's kindness still in him. Why, if that had have been me, I would have melted her with Lava Release!" Kurotsuchi stated.
Ao grunted quietly. "He forgave her too quickly, that's for sure."
Sakura was seconds away from responding, but the sound of a book snapping shut caused everyone to turn to one Hatake Kakashi.
"You three obviously don't know who Uzumaki Naruto is, so I'll explain it to you as his former jonin sensei." Kakashi said. "As you can imagine, growing up as a jinchuriki was tough, but worse for him considering no one knew just who he was. He had a very few people to count on, one being the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was not known for his ninjutsu or fuinjutsu, like he is now. No, he was known for his pranks. He-"
"What?" Kurotsuchi shouted. "You mean that the Shodai Kaibunkage is nothing more than a-"
"Prankster. Yes. And a very great escape artist." Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes, muttering about unskilled shinobi. "However, if there was one thing Naruto was great at, it was standing up for his friends in a pinch and always pulling through."
"So… Even after she let him get wounded by the Uchiha-"
"That was my fault." Sakura stared at Kakashi in disbelief. "I taught Sasuke the Chidori. I thought he could handle it, but I had mistaken."
"That doesn't excuse Sakura's actions. She has attacked Mizukage-sama as well as the Kaibunkage." Ao said. "If anything, she should be jailed."
"Your Mizukage helped attacked Konoha with Orochimaru and Dōsame. Shouldn't he be jailed as well?" Ao didn't respond to Kakashi's question. "For whatever reason Naruto forgave Sakura, we should be thankful."
"Why is that?" Karui asked.
"If Salamander Hanzo had the speed only bested by the Yondaime Raikage and strength second to none, and could heal minor wounds with the flick of a seal, do you think you could beat him?" Karui shook her head slowly for no. Kakashi grinned. "Then how could you defeat Sakura when she has all of that and genjutsu?"
"…" No one said a word, letting Kakashi's words sink in. That is until Kankuro was heard chuckling to himself. "It's because he loves her."
Sakura's brow twitched. "Kankuro…"
The puppet-user paused in his mirth and saw the green eyes of Sakura flash white in anger. He was seconds away from calling a puppet- any puppet- to his defense before a flash of blonde caused him to sigh in relief.
"Sakura-chan!" Shiori said happily running towards the pink-haired woman to be picked up. Sakura gave Kankuro a small glare before lifting Shiori in her arms. "Kumo is really big! And the mountains make it cold like in Kemuri! But they don't have any spiced jerky here…" Sakura smiled at Shiori's last statement. "But everything else is so cool!"
"I'm glad you liked it. Your dad wants to have lunch now." Sakura said.
"Kumo ramen!" Shiori cheered.
Sakura sighed. "Let's hope not…" Shiori pouted. "I mean, let's hope so."
Kakashi watched as Sakura carried Shiori into the conference room. He then eyed Kurotsuchi and Karui.
"So she's banging the Kaibunkage?" Karui's statement caused a mixed reaction amongst the other guards, most noticeably Kakashi.
"U-um, let's just say that they're really good friends." answered the Copy Nin.
Udon looked around the area carefully. He was currently standing in the forest outside of Konoha, near one of Orochimaru's old labs. He didn't know where his contact was and growing impatient by the seconds. Every meeting had to be precise down to the millisecond and he had to be back before anyone could miss him.
"Crap…" Udon muttered as he registered three new chakra sources.
"Hey!" Udon didn't attempt to run, he merely waited for the captain of the squad to approach him. Just his luck, it was none other than Hyuga Hanabi. "Udon? What are you doing out here?"
"I was just taking a walk. Konohamaru and Moegi had another 'disagreement' earlier." he lied.
Hanabi sighed. "That baka always seems to say the wrong thing…" Udon nodded and glanced at the two young men behind the teen Hyuga. "You need to hurry back to the village. With our new assignments, there's no telling where you'll be posted."
"Posted?" Hanabi nodded.
"Yeah. Because the Nanabi is in our care, you could be guarding the jinchuriki now. Though, I strongly doubt a strategist like you would be doing that." Not knowing when Hanabi was giving a compliment or insult, Udon merely let the statement go. "You'll probably be sent to Demon Country again to ensure Hinata's marriage."
Udon remained silent again. He really did not want to go back to Demon Country. No matter how great a spy he was, there was something about Tatsuhiro Kuroma that just made him ill at ease. It was almost as if the man was taunting Udon to do something wrong. Odd enough, Konohamaru, someone who Udon actually respected as a friend, saw nothing odd about the whole trip.
"Tch, daydreaming again, Shimura? That's going to get you killed on the battlefield." Udon fought himself from giving the spoiled girl a glare. "Alright men, let's keep going."
"Hai!" the two behind Hanabi stated before the three took off.
Udon watched the three head away before feeling something at his foot. He looked down to see a small rat and narrowed his eyes. Taking out a scroll, he laid it in front of the rat. The rat, and a few more that revealed themselves, crawled onto the paper and slowly dissolved into letters that formed a message.
"Hmm…" Udon said reading the message from Sai. "I understand." Udon took his fingers and traced a message on the paper, warning his grandfather about Kuroma as well as the safe house in Demon Country. As he did so, the letters on the scroll changed with whatever his finger made out. "Go."
The ink slowly rose from the paper, becoming rats again, before scurrying off. Udon rose and smirked to himself. Naruto and Sasuke could portray Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Udon and Konohamaru would be the ones to represent their respective grandfathers, Danzo and Hiruzen.
Udon just hoped that in the end, he would never have to be pitted against his friends again.
Sasuke moved down a dim hallway. He had no one but his thoughts with him, questioning who would survive this war with him. His survival was pretty much assured already, but there were others that he suspected would live to see another day after the smoke had cleared. Tobi was one of them. He would probably run before things got too much for him, Kabuto as well. And as much as it pained Sasuke to admit, but somehow, someway, Naruto would live. Maybe Sakura too, but Naruto was a definite survivor.
"You…" Sasuke gave Kisame a relaxed stare. He really had no idea why the former Mist Nin had a grudged against him, but didn't care.
"Stay out of my way." the last Uchiha stated.
Kisame grunted. "I knew I should've killed you when we met in Tanzaku Town."
"You should've." Kisame clenched his teeth.
"I don't know why Itachi wanted you to live! You're nothing but an ungrateful brat! And if he-" Kisame was cut off by a dark hand of Susanoo, gripping the man and slamming him against the wall.
"Don't talk about him. Not in my presence." Kisame opened his mouth, but Sasuke applied pressure. "You don't know who you're dealing with, Hoshigaki. Stay out of my way or else."
Sasuke ended his attack and continued walking down the hall. One thing was for sure. After all of this, he would kill Kisame. Not that he had a real reason to; he simply just didn't like him and never has.
Well, he would kill Kisame if Kisame lived the war, that is.
Months have come and gone. What seemed impossible in the past now held true in the present. The Gokage have joined together with the addition of two kage and a priest. The large group of shinobi that made up the army stood on the ground below, waiting for their leaders to present themselves.
"This is going to be fun!" Sayuri squealed, Marashu giving her a nod.
"There definitely is an element of excitement." Karui, who stood behind Marashu, patted his shoulder.
"Just don't die in this excitement, 'kay?" she teased.
In the First Division, Tenten walked up to Ranmaru.
"So, you're Naruto's protégé, huh? I'm Tenten." she introduced.
"Ranmaru." Ranmaru replied before spotting Konohamaru. "Sarutobi-san."
"Ah, call me Konohamaru!" replied the young Sarutobi. "And it's great to see you again. I can't wait to see which one of us has the most defeats in this war."
Tenten laughed, spinning a kunai around her finger.
"You're going to have to best me first, Konohamaru." she said.
"Yosh! I am in the same division as the mighty Guy-sensei!" Lee said.
"Lee! My student! We are reunited once again!"
"Guy-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!"
A sigh caused the two to stop their reunion.
"Even during all these years, you're still the same." Sakura said, fixing the glove on her right hand, Kakashi to her left. "Just don't do that on the battlefield, alright?"
"S-Sakura-chan/Sakura-san!" Lee and Guy replied.
Sakura smiled. "Believe it."
"It's about damn time!" Kiba shouted excitedly. "Now I can-Ow!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, little brother." Hana said after removing her fist from atop of Kiba's head. "This isn't time for one of your pigheaded mistakes. There are more lives at stake."
"Yeah, I know." Kiba said before hearing Ino laugh. "Stop laughing already!"
"Whatever you say, little brother." the blonde teased as she and Hana laughed.
At the Fourth Division, Shikamaru scanned the area carefully.
"All these people. I wonder why they didn't divide us up by village." Choji stated.
"Because we're not seven different villages anymore," Shikamaru didn't have to turn to know that it was Temari speaking. "We're one army. And thus we're divided up by our skills and talents."
"Besides, this is just the main regiments." Shikamaru inputted. "There are other, smaller, divisions as well."
"Oh…" Choji said.
Mifune was greeted by two of his samurai, as well as a curious Shino.
"You are Mifune-sama, general of Iron Country, right?" Mifune nodded.
"I am. But today, I fight amongst you while the others take control." Mifune said.
Ino, who stood behind the two, frowned.
"Wait a sec, if you're here, who's the captains for each division?" she asked.
Mifune turned to the balcony before explaining the generals and the reason they were appointed.
"Sutayouji Sumaru, the Yondaime Hoshikage and leader of the First Division. His proxy commander, Darui from the Hidden Cloud. Sumaru is one of the few men out here that has battled the swordsman, Hoshigaki Kisame, and walked away with nothing more than a few cuts."
"Next, Kitsuchi of Iwa, his poxy commander, Baki of Suna. Kitsuchi is one of the Tsuchikage's top jonin and has much experience in war. When he encases his fists in rock, there aren't many that can survive his deadly blow."
"The Third Division is lead by the legendary Toad Sage, Jiraiya, with Haruno Sakura as his proxy commander. I think that one speaks for itself."
"The Godaime Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara is the commander of the Fourth Division, with Nara Shikamaru being his proxy commander." Ino, as well as Kiba and Shino, were both stunned to hear that Shikamaru was a proxy commander. "Gaara's use of sand makes him perfect for a long-range attack and he has Shukaku sealed within him to aid him in need."
"Finally, the Fifth Division is watched over by Mikadzuki Kageno, the Fifth Mizukage, with his proxy commander beind me. Despite his previous alliance with Orochimaru and shady background, Kageno's battling is something our enemy can not take lightly and it is only second to his strategic mind. As much as I hate his personality, I rest my fate in his hands, knowing that he can get our battalion through this."
"Wow…" Ino said.
"There are other teams," Mifune continued.
"The Surprise Attack Division is led by Kankuro, the brother of Gaara."
Kankuro looked down from the large dragon he rode on.
"Take it down there." Kankuro told Guren.
Guren nodded. "Hai."
"The Medical Division is led by Rin of Kemuri as well as Shizune from the Hidden Leaf. It is rumored that combined, their medical knowledge is surpassed by no one other than Tsunade."
"Alright," Shizune said to her team. "Let's get one rule out of the way." Shizune held Tonton up in front of her. "Tonton isn't meant for food!"
"Due to the battle taking place in the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water, we needed to make a team to evacuate, relocate, and protect the daimyo of the respective countries as well as the other daimyo. Thus, Hanya Nori of Hoshi is leader of the Protection Squad."
Nori scanned the area through his mask.
"Excuse me, Hoshi Nin," Nori casually turned to the Daimyo of Frost. "How much longer?"
"We will be there in a few more minutes. Sorry for the delay, we had to make sure that everything is going according to plan." Nori answered.
"I trust you." the man replied.
"During the war, the jinchuriki become an important goal. We must protect those that we have and train them to use their biju just incase. To avoid Akatsuki from gaining them before their training is complete, we formed the Jinchuriki Guardians, led by Terumi Mei and Tatsuhiro Kuroma."
"Baa-chan, it's hard!" the now five-years-old whined.
"Concentrate Shiori-chan." Mei said. "The sooner you're done the sooner you can rest."
Shiori nodded and turned to her instructor from Demon Country.
"Alright Lady Shiori. Your training will resume now." the woman said.
"Our Sensor Division is led by Ao of Kirigakure no Sato and the Intelligence Division is led by Yamanaka Inoichi. Their jobs are simple. Find the enemy and relay the message amongst the rest of us. If they fail, then the tides can be turned against us in a heartbeat."
"Are you ready, Inoichi-san?" Ao asked.
Inoichi nodded as the two began to resurrect the Sensing System Technique, a barrier vital to their situation.
"Finally," Mifune concluded, staring at the blond man that stood in front of the five commanders. "There is Uzumaki Naruto, the man that created the Sealing Team and the appointed regimental commander and oversees all of us. With his picked team, he is able to back up any and all teams in a split second." Mifune paused and grin. "His job is simple. Get us back with as few casualties as possible. And while that may seem nearly impossible for the ordinary man, I think he can pull it through."
Naruto looked down at the large army. He spotted two men within the Third Division bickering.
Jiraiya sighed from behind Naruto. "Great. I get pitted with those guys…"
"I got this one." Naruto said tossing a kunai towards the men. The two separated, the blade embedding in the ground between them. A clone of Naruto appeared between them and stared at the original. "Now that I have your attention, I want to make this very clear. From this moment on, there is no Hyuga Incident," Neji's eyes narrowed, as well as Hiashi's. "The Tragedy of Yosuga Pass does not exist," Kageno gave a small snort under his breath. "The Sand's help in the invasion of Konoha is long forgotten," Shikamaru and Temari glanced at one another. "And there was never such an event that took place at the Kannabi Bridge."
Kakashi gave Naruto a small smile beneath his mask. He knew what Naruto was doing, as did Sakura, though neither voiced their thoughts at the moment. They wanted their temporary, permanent for Sakura, leader to continue.
"My father, Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage, made a lot of enemies in his time and the Nine-tailed Fox that I have sealed within me doesn't make me any more favorable. So if any of you have a problem with that, please stand now. But I warn you, I won't hesitate to eliminate anyone who can't put aside petty grudges for a larger cause." After Naruto finished, he wasn't surprise that no one stepped up. Then again, word of his and Pain's battle spread throughout the shinobi world quick and anyone who could defeat the man that put Jiraiya in the hospital was pretty badass to many of the shinobi.
Smirking, he continued.
"I want you to look around you. Look at the hitai-ate that you wear as well as the man next to you. There isn't a Kumo or Kemuri emblem. They all say one thing." Naruto gave the group a stern glare. "Because as of now, the hidden villages are no more. We are all shinobi. And we will all fight for one cause, destroying Akatsuki!"
The large assembled group of men and women cheered at the words of the Kaibunkage, Sakura smirking as she crossed her arms.
"You never fail to be a fan-girl, one way or another." Kakashi stated.
Sakura growled. "One more word Hatake and I'll burn those treasured books of yours."
"Now, now Sakura. No need to be rash. We're all one group now, remember?" The man said nervously with his famed eye smile.
Naruto closed his eyes, listening to those roar with excitement below him. This was supposed to be the sound of his Hokage initiation. This was supposed to be in Konoha with Tsunade and Jiraiya by his sides, maybe with Hiruzen and Iruka as well. But it wasn't and it would never be. And while he could be mad about that until the day he died, there was one person on his mind.
"It's time to finish this… Sasuke…" Naruto muttered as he looked towards the sky.
Sasuke looked at the assembled army. Truthfully, the forces of Ame, Oto, and Ishi were nowhere near large enough to combat the others. But that was just half of the army.
"Are you ready, Otokage-sama?" Kabuto asked.
"Hn." Sasuke said before he and Kabuto slammed their palms in the center of a seal.
"Summoning Jutsu!" the two shouted, a great amount of coffins rising out of the ground.
Kabuto smirked a bit. After combining Orochimaru's, as well as a number of others', DNA with his own, his body had gone through several changes over the six month period that led to the war. However, his transformation was nothing compared to that of Uchiha Sasuke. Kabuto knew that Orochimaru's chakra still ran through Sasuke, more than anyone else that received the Curse Seal. And with that being said, Sasuke would be able to control many of them better than Kabuto would.
But Kabuto had the Curse Seal army.
Tobi made his way towards Sasuke and Kabuto. Danzo, Matsuo, and Konan walked behind the masked man.
"The dead resurrected, the Zetsu army ready, the Root spies planted, the Curse Seal strengthened, and Akatsuki ready." Tobi said. "Today marks the remaining days of our enemies. For soon, the Jyubi will be resurrected!"
"Just remember one thing," Sasuke stated. "No one kills Naruto but me." Tobi gave the Otokage a nod. "Then let's move out."
Sasuke began walking towards what would be the battlefield, the others behind him. His mind was not on anything else except proving everyone wrong. Uzumaki Naruto, his former friend and largest rival, was not better than him. He would kill Naruto once and for all to put an end to any doubt that he could beat him. And once the suspicion was put to rest, he would focus on the rest of the war.
As for Konan, she was currently in war with herself. She would fight for Ame to the day she dies, but there was something telling her that she was on the wrong side of the war. Her shinobi all looked at her with doubt whenever she made a decision, something no one in Ame has ever done before; looked at her with doubt that is. She remembered the words of the Kaibunkage. Nagato and Yahiko fought for peace, but they both died doing the same technique. Fighting. They both literally and physically fought for peace. But Naruto had stated that there was another way. And she was starting to believe he was right.
The shinobi heading for the battlefield, one Haruno Sakura found the time to separate from her division for a split second.
"Naruto-kun," she said to the man that appeared before her. "Please, be careful."
"I will." Naruto responded. "Make sure that you have the Sealing Team mark a spot for transportation. If more are wounded than can be healed, we'll need to send them to the medics." Sakura nodded. "Sakura-chan, please, be careful."
"Is that an order, Lord Kaibunkage?" the woman asked in a flirting manner.
"A direct order." Naruto responded with a grin. "Hurry up and catch up with your division. I have some seals to prepare."
"Hai." Sakura said before Naruto gave her a tender, yet passionate, kiss. Before she could say anything, he vanished using Hirashin. "Be safe, Naruto-kun."
And with that, Haruno Sakura went to join her team with a new goal in life. To live the war and return to her home in Kemuri. If she could achieve this goal, then she would make sure that she never missed another chance at being with Naruto ever again in her life.