Hello all Storm here with a new chapter! Here we'll be seeing a small timeskip after the Suna/Oto Invasion and some reactions of the other villages and organizations, before seeing more of Naruto's plan. So, without further ado.
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'How could things end so badly?!' Thought Baki while sitting in the Kazekage's Office, a position that's now unfortunately been pushed onto him after recent events.
Two weeks have already passed since the invasion of Konoha, with everything having gone as Orochimaru planned; even better, with the news that Danzō had been killed. Leaving the village leaderless with no one to rally the Ninja, and everyone panicking, making it rather easy to take Konoha down. With it having been over rather quickly, once Gaara unleashed Shukaku. Effectively putting an end to Konohagakure, while anyone that managed to survive escaped when they could.
After that, the Suna Ninja had returned feeling victorious and satisfied, believing that with Konoha gone that their Daimyō would start sending them more missions and Suna could finally prosper. Only for things to become even worse once they did return to Suna.
Learning that Orochimaru had killed the Kazekage on his way to Konoha to watch the finals, having discovered his body not far from the village on their way back. Leaving Suna without a Kage, with the Suna Council having chosen him to act as a temporary Kazekage in the meantime. But that wasn't where the bad news ended, as it wasn't long before the Wind Daimyō had sent a detachment of samurai to Suna. With the Daimyō being less than happy at their betrayal of Konoha, much less during the Chūnin Exams, an event that was meant to maintain the balance of the Elemental Nations. And where he and his family could have been casualties in the crossfire of the invasion, no less.
This, combined with Suna allying with one of the most notorious Missing-Nin in history to betray their allies, had stained the reputation of both Sunagakure and the Land of Wind as a whole. Resulting in the Wind Daimyo having no choice, but to pull even more funding and missions away from Suna as a result. Distancing himself and the Land of Wind as much as he can from Sunagakure, so his entire country doesn't go down with the Hidden Village. While also looking into having a new Hidden Village constructed to replace Suna as the Land of Wind's main military force.
With them now being in an even worse position than they were before, and Baki knew things would only get worse. As if they were willing ally with someone like Orochimaru to betray a village they were allied with, what would stop them from betraying another? Leaving them with no potential allies to seek out.
'And the other villages are no doubt already learning what happened and making their own plans. Damn that snake!' Thought Baki, slamming his fists down on the desk, wishing the Kazekage never agreed to Orochimaru's plan in the first place if this was the end result.
The Jōnin shook his head, knowing it wouldn't change anything to think about "what ifs". All he can do, is do his best in preparing his village for the inevitable. Which was easier said than done, as Suna wasn't known for having many powerful Ninja, with him now being the strongest with the Kazekage dead. While Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were the strongest after him, though the latter two still had a ways to go before they could be actual threats to their enemies. It didn't help that with Rasa gone, there was no one who can control Gaara if he goes berserk again.
'Meaning I either need to think of something to keep Gaara calm and satisfied or…find a way to kill our last line of defense.' Baki thought, letting out a sigh, knowing the only thing Gaara cared about was killing people, no matter who they were.
And while Baki didn't want to kill Suna's Jinchūriki, he also needed to lookout for the entire village and what was best for it. Given how it won't be long, before Gaara also realizes that no one can stop him anymore and will start killing whoever he wants without consequence. So for the good of Suna, he would at least need to think of countermeasures to take Gaara down.
Looking out the window over the village, Baki gained a resigned expression, fully aware that no matter what he does or how hard the Ninja train, Suna's days were numbered. And there was nothing he or anyone could do to stop it.
*Kumogakure*
Meanwhile within his office, the Yondaime Raikage A was looking over a report from his spies in the Land of Fire about Konoha's destruction. With there having been a delay in delivering the message, due to the invasion and needing to wait until the Suna/Oto Forces had cleared out.
'Hmph, seems like they really had a streak of bad luck.' A thought with a slight smirk, as first they lost the Sandaime Hokage and got that warhawk Danzō taking control, who's then foolish enough to execute the Sandaime and several powerful Ninja, only to wind up dead himself.
Now Konoha's completely destroyed, and from what he's heard, Suna's well on its way to joining them as well.
"What's the plan boss? With Konoha destroyed, Suna hanging on by a thread, and Kiri still fighting a civil war, that leaves Kumo and Iwa, along with all the other Minor Hidden Villages." Said Darui, A's right-hand man, wondering what the Raikage wanted to do next.
"Send word to all our forces and have them return to the village, along with having them start training up to be ready. And put together a few teams to be sent to Konoha and see if there's anything left that'll be of use to us." A ordered, aware that this will lead to a much bigger war, possibly a Fourth Great Shinobi War if things escalate that far.
"I'll get to it. Should we try sending any messages to other villages, to see if they'll ally with us?" Darui asked, since it'd never hurt to have some allies, only for A to scoff and shake his head.
"No, Iwa wouldn't accept an alliance since our villages are now the only ones at full strength. The smaller villages and nations don't have anything to offer us that'd prove beneficial in the long run, and Kiri's still fighting itself. We won't be finding any allies among the other villages, only enemies to take down." Replied A, knowing they wouldn't find many allies, if any, among the other Hidden Villages and nations.
But either way, he's going to ensure his village survived the coming war and make sure that Kumo will come out on top.
*Iwagakure*
Within his own office in Iwagakure was the Sandaime Tsuchikage Ōnoki, also known as Ōnoki of Both Scales, filling out his daily paperwork. Only to look up when the door his office opened and his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, walked in with a smirk on her face.
"Hey old man! You'll never believe what happened to that village of tree-huggers, they were-" Kurotsuchi said, having just heard about the destruction of Konoha.
"They were destroyed by Orochimaru and Suna, yes, I'm already aware. You would have been aware as well, if you didn't insist on taking a long-term mission before the information had been brought to my attention." Stated Ōnoki having learned about Konoha's destruction, making Kurotsuchi fall silent since she had only just returned to the village a few days ago from a long-term mission.
"Oh…well what're you going to do about it? Suna's now barely holding on, Kiri's still fighting a civil war, that just leaves Kumo and they're probably already gearing up to fight." Said Kurotsuchi, wondering what her grandfather was planning to do.
"I've already recalled both Han and Roshi to the village, while getting our forces to up their training and prepare for war, as well putting together teams to go to what's left of Konoha and see if there's anything that may prove valuable. As well as locate any survivors to be captured and find out what they know." Ōnoki replied, already taking the necessary steps to begin preparing his village for the inevitable war.
In fact, he'd been doing so since first getting word that Danzō had been named the Godaime Hokage, knowing a man like that would never be satisfied with just being Hokage. He'd use any reason, method, or excuse to attack the other Hidden Villages and nations, while ensuring he came out the winner. Though now, it seems his years of manipulation and back-stabbing had caught up to the warhawk, as he'd been found dead before the Suna/Oto Invasion began.
And that's who Ōnoki was really wary of, as opposed to the other villages. Knowing whoever killed Danzō had to be a dangerous individual. While the Tsuchikage may not know who the person is, it had to be someone Danzō crossed or tried using for his own goals, only for it to bite him in the end.
Which is also why he planned to hire the Akatsuki to hunt down this person and kill them, doubting anyone who can kill The Darkness of the Shinobi didn't have plans of their own. He just needed to find out who they are first and how powerful they are, before taking any actions that could make his village a target.
"Okay. And do you have anything for me to do, or help with?" Kurotsuchi asked, wanting to do her part in helping prepare her village, making Ōnoki look at her thoughtfully.
"There is one thing you can do that will be of great help and importance." Ōnoki replied, believing his granddaughter would be perfect to locate this person, and find out more about them.
Knowing how stubborn she can be and her refusal to give up on anything once she sets her mind to it, he's sure she can get him the information he needs and not be found out.
*Kirigakure*
"And this is accurate?" Questioned Yagura, looking between the report and his Anbu that delivered it.
"Yes Mizukage-sama. Our spies saw firsthand, Konohagakure was invaded by the combined forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure, being led by Orochimaru. Danzō had also been reported as having been killed before the start of the invasion by an unknown assailant." The Anbu replied, with Yagura humming in thought at this new information before dropping the report on his desk.
"Good riddance I say. All those clans and Kekkei Genkai they had, they're all better off dead." Yagura stated, not really caring about the destruction of one of the Major Hidden Villages, but was pleased at all the Kekkei Genkai users that perished in the invasion.
"We've also started getting reports that both Kumogakure and Iwagakure have begun building up their forces, likely in preparation to begin fighting over the territory left behind, as well as to deal with Suna now that they are weakened." Added the Anbu, which Yagura merely waved off.
"Worry less about what the other villages are doing and more about hunting down and eliminating those disgusting rebels." Said Yagura, with the Anbu bowing their head.
"Yes Mizukage-sama." Said the Anbu before Shunshining away.
*With the rebels*
'As if I don't have enough problems to worry about.' Thought Mei Terumi, sighing in exhaustion while holding her head as she read over the report of Konoha's destruction.
Originally, Mei had been hoping to speak with the Sandaime Hokage about a possible alliance between Konoha and the rebels to take back Kirigakure from Yagura. Only for that plan to end before it could begin, when Danzō took control and executed the Sandaime as well as several other Ninja. And while Mei knew they were desperate for allies, she wasn't desperate to enough to ally with someone known as The Darkness of the Shinobi.
Knowing just how badly that would end for them. Even if they did win, Danzō would likely install a puppet ruler as Mizukage while ensuring any threats were eliminated, herself included. Not to mention what would happen if Ao's Byakugan was discovered.
Now it seemed another war was going to be fought when they haven't even been able to end the civil war and retake Kiri.
'And from the look of things, I doubt that's even going to happen.' Mei thought sadly, feeling like no matter what outcome Kiri was never going to be freed and changed.
As even if they won, they'd just be attacked by another village taking advantage of their weakened state, and if they loss then it wouldn't matter as they'd be dead, while the Bloody Mist would continue existing. While the rebels had no allies, a slowly decreasing amount of supplies, and every day they lost more men and women, with Mei knowing many of her followers were even starting to lose hope.
Looking over the report again, Mei suddenly stopped at a certain part, the part where Danzō hadn't died during the invasion and was killed just before it started by an unknown assailant. An unknown assailant that was strong enough to kill Danzō, wipe out most of his ROOT Anbu, and then escape with no one being the wiser of where they went.
Thinking about it, Mei started gaining a rather foolish and dangerous idea of how they may be able to win this war, hopefully with no more deaths.
'If there's someone skilled enough to get into Konoha under Danzō's control, get close enough to the warhawk to kill him, and then get back out with no one knowing who it was. Maybe they'd be able to do the same with Yagura and his allies.' Thought Mei, believing if she could find this person and convince them to join the rebels, then they could have a chance at taking Kiri back.
And if they killed Danzō, it meant they likely weren't fans of dictators like him, which could help in convincing them to join their cause.
'Plus, if by chance they're a guy, then I'll definitely be able to convince them to join us.' Mei thought, willing to do anything she could to help her village, even more so if they're handsome and she can get them to stay permanently.
*With Orochimaru*
'That went far better than I could have hoped for.' Thought Orochimaru as he sat in his thrown with a satisfied smirk on his face, pleased that his goal of destroying Konoha had succeeded.
He didn't even have to unleash the Hokage, like he'd been planning to, due to the fact there was no one that could really stand against them. Given how Danzō executed Sarutobi, Kakashi, Asuma, and drove away most other Ninja to try and form a resistance, then getting killed himself. The Sannin doubted he would have even needed Suna's help with how Danzō practically did most of the work for him, by killing their strongest Ninja.
Though one thing that had been bugging Orochimaru was just who had killed Danzō, knowing he was still a formidable fighter despite his age, especially after receiving his Sharingan and Mokuton arm. Combine that with his paranoia of never going anywhere without several of his ROOT Anbu nearby to act as shields. Along with his knowledge of Izanagi, it would take someone of considerable power to kill the warhawk.
'Yet it seemed as if there was no fight, no chance for him to use Izanagi or call for backup, he was simply killed. Meaning the one who killed was someone Danzō didn't consider a threat, or believed would never harm him. They'd also have to be fast enough to stop him from attempting to use a Genjutsu, along with most likely having knowledge of his abilities and his right arm.' Thought Orochimaru, trying to think of who would have been able to kill Danzō without a fight, before freezing as realization dawned on him with the Sannin soon chuckling lowly.
"Kukukukuku, oh Danzō, you never were one to waste an opportunity. Were you?" Orochimaru said rhetorically, realizing just who had killed the warhawk.
'The only question is, how exactly did Naruto gain the power to kill Danzō without him so much as being able to throw a punch?' Thought Orochimaru, seeing that Danzō's lies about Naruto defecting from Konoha were just that, a lie.
He must have captured the boy to try and turn him into a weapon, which likely failed and instead only bred hatred and resentment towards Danzō, and most likely Konoha as a whole.
'The boy must have been playing the broken lapdog game, while making Danzō think he was controllable and waiting for the moment to strike. But how could he have gotten past his arm and Sharingan? Unless Danzō experimented on him, as from what I've heard, he was nothing impressive in the Academy and it wouldn't do to have a weapon that was neither strong nor knew how to fight. Whatever was done to him, must've given him some type of ability to prevent Danzō from using his Chakra, perhaps having awakened his own Chakra Chains.' Thought Orochimaru, trying to think of how Naruto succeeded in killing Danzō.
Though, knowing that also brought up another question if Naruto did in fact kill Danzō. Then what was he planning right now?
*Unknown Location*
Meanwhile, within a hidden cave, nine holographic figures appeared one-by-one. With these nine being members of the Akatsuki organization, who were known as a mercenary group. Though that was merely a cover for their true plans.
"Itachi, Kisame, have either of you succeeded in locating the Kyūbi Jinchūriki?" Questioned Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki, looking at the two partners to see if they had any new information.
"Unfortunately, no Leader-sama, it would appear that the Kyūbi Jinchūriki is better at remaining undetected than we anticipated." Itachi replied as they've had no luck in locating Naruto, after he "defected" from Konoha.
Something that all of the Akatsuki doubted was true, just from the fact it was Danzō Shimura who made the claim, who didn't have the best reputation for being honest. But Pein also knew they couldn't take the risk that the Kyūbi Jinchūriki really did defect and was hiding somewhere.
"Somehow. You'd think a kid wearing bright orange would stick out like a severed arm." Stated Kisame, wondering how a single kid wearing bright orange and carrying a giant scroll could be hard to find.
"Zetsu, what of you? Have you found any clues within Konoha?" Pein said, turning to the Akatsuki's Spymaster to see if he found anything in the ruins of Konoha.
As with the destruction of Konoha, it gave them more freedom to move around the village to find clues to the whereabouts of the Kyūbi. While the destruction of the village had amused several of the Akatsuki members, mostly Deidara and Hidan, others were less amused. With Itachi, Kakuzu, and Pein himself, with Itachi having been silent for the most part, but was inwardly enraged at what Danzō had done, along with the disappearance of his sister. While Kakuzu was annoyed at the loss of all the bounties he could have collected.
And Pein knew that this could negatively affect their plans and potentially lead to another Great Ninja War, a war that could end up causing the deaths of several Jinchūriki and set their plans back.
"I wasn't able to discover much, due to Shukaku burying the entire village in sand and the rest being reduced to rubble. But Danzō's base was still somewhat intact, somewhat, given how someone had ripped it apart, most likely whoever killed him. What's surprising though, is that whoever it was they seemed to possess the Mokuton, due to large roots emerging from the walls and carrying the bodies of ROOT members."Zetsu said, with this shocking several members to hear of someone possessing the Mokuton Kekkei Genkai.
"If that's true, then I want this person found immediately." Ordered Pein, knowing someone who had the Mokuton would be a great advantage to the Akatsuki with their ability to restrain Jinchūriki and Bijū.
And should they not join, then they were to be eliminated so they couldn't become a threat to the Akatsuki's plans.
*With Naruto, Satsuki, Yakumo, and Karin*
Meanwhile, Naruto and the girls had kept moving away from Konoha towards their next destination, but also stopping to train themselves. With Naruto training to get back in shape from his imprisonment along with training his Mokuton, Sharingan, and Mangekyō Sharingan. As well as learning some Jutsu from the Forbidden Scroll, which they had taken from Danzō's base before leaving, along with several other things that would prove useful.
With Naruto learning the abilities granted to him as his Mangekyō Sharingan was the Genjutsu Kotoamatsukami from Shisui's Sharingan, which will prove very useful. Even more so, as it seems his Mokuton and Healing Factor helped in lowering the time it takes between uses for it. While the second ability was called Kamui, which he guessed he gained from Kakashi's Sharingan, which Danzō had implanted into the palm of his arm after executing the Copy Ninja. Which allowed him to suck objects into a swirling distortion, turn intangible, and teleport himself to a pocket dimension.
As for the girls, they did their own training as well, with Satsuki working on improving and mastering the Jutsu she already knew. Which only consisted of the Substitution Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Rope Escape Jutsu, Great Fireball Jutsu, Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu, and Dragon Fire Jutsu, with her having planned on learning more before Danzō imprisoned her. But she was able to learn some more Fire Style Ninjutsu from the Forbidden Scroll, giving her a second chance to expand her arsenal.
Karin was training herself in Fūinjutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, and her Chakra Chains. Given Fūinjutsu was her clan's specialty, she'd been planning to learn Medical Ninjutsu to avoid having to use her Heal Bite, and her Chakra Chains were still incomplete and not as strong as they could be.
And finally, Yakumo was working on improving her Genjutsu to make them stronger and more effective, along with learning Medical Ninjutsu with Karin. Since she always had good Chakra Control, thanks to her Kekkei Genkai, it made it easy for her to learn it. With her also hoping to learn enough to help heal her body as well.
The four of them having made sure to train every day, knowing it's only a matter of time before they're hunted down or discovered, so they wanted to make sure they would be prepared and ready.
"Okay, we've been traveling for two weeks and all you've told us is your plan. Would you mind telling us where we're going?" Satsuki asked after they stopped training, wanting to know their exact destination, with Yakumo and Karin looking at the Jinchūriki, also wanting to know where they were going.
"A place known as the Valley of Lies, home to the village of Shangri-la. It's a village hidden in the valley and is considered a haven for those with bounties on their heads, where they're able to live without fear of bounty hunters. Everyone there uses Transformations to hide their identities and to avoid talking about the past, it's also small enough that everyone knows everyone, making it useful for identifying visitors and possible threats. I heard about it from overhearing Danzō speaking with his Anbu about it outside my cell, having sent his agents there to either collects bounties from those there or forcefully recruit the inhabitants he considered useful. And after I killed him, I was able to swipe its exact location after we looted his base." Explained Naruto, surprising the girls that a place like that existed.
"And we're going there to recruit some new members?" Questioned Yakumo, only for Naruto to shake his head.
"No, it will still take time before we can recruit anyone. Given that the only way we'd get people to follow us, is by having a foolproof plan to destroy the Shinobi System and the power to not only back it up, but force them to obey. Neither of which we have at the moment, but we'll be going there to use it as a haven to train ourselves without worry of being found. As the valley also contains a river that produces a natural aroma around the location of the village, which is used as a Medium for Genjutsu. Allowing the residence to hide the village's location." Naruto answered, making Yakumo perk up at hearing the part about Genjutsu.
While his ability to absorb Chakra and Kekkei Genkai was powerful, Naruto knew he himself wasn't, as he's still growing into his power. Making it so there's no guarantee anyone would follow him, being more likely to either kill or capture him to sell to the highest bidder as breeding stock to create their own Ninja that can absorb Kekkei Genkai. So, he figured it'd be better to keep a low profile, until he's much stronger and influential.
'And feared. The one thing that always gets results, is when people fear you and what you can do to them. If I want them to stay in line, then they need to fear me more than anyone else.' Thought Naruto, knowing as long as they were more afraid of him than his enemies, he'll be able to control anyone he recruits.
"That makes sense, better to wait until we're stronger and better trained before doing anything that could reveal ourselves. Though how long until we reach Shangri-la?" Karin asked, seeing Naruto's point in keeping a low profile before they start recruiting and reveal themselves.
"Just a few more days, two or three at the most." Naruto replied before stiffening slightly when he sensed something, which got the girls attention.
"Wha-" Satsuki said, only to be silenced when Naruto held up a hand, stopping her before motioning them to be quiet and suppress their Chakra.
Figuring he must've sensed someone nearby, the three did so before quickly hiding with Yakumo casting a Genjutsu over them, while Naruto slowly went towards where he sensed something.
"We can't keep hiding." Someone said, making Naruto tense and get ready for a fight at hearing there was more than one person.
"Yes, we can! Hiding is the only thing he can do; with my power, no one will accept me! And you swore we'd stick together!" Said the other person, making Naruto frown as he grew close enough to where he could see it was two men talking with each other.
'That one seems…strange.' Thought Naruto, sensing that one of the men felt off, like they weren't really there.
"I know and we will Ameyuki, we're friends, remember. But I just have a hard time staying in Shangri-la, it's difficult not being able to see my own reflection in the mirror. Sometimes, I can hardly even remember who I really am." The first person said, with who Naruto guessed was Ameyuki letting out a sigh.
"I know Hohozuki, I feel it too, I have to remind myself of who I really am. I swear, we'll leave Shangri-la one day and expose its location so we never have to worry about ever hearing from that village again. We just have to wait for the right moment, when hopefully someone will come along that can help us destroy it." Replied Ameyuki, making the Uzumaki narrow his eyes to hear they planned to betray Shangri-la and destroy it.
"Good, hopefully it'll be soon. I can't stand being in that village any longer, being surrounded by so many people willing to throw away their identity." Said Hohozuki, with Ameyuki nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, but don't worry, one day we'll be able to look at our real selves again. We just need to be patient." Ameyuki said, before the two began walking to return to Shangri-la.
Only to be stopped when several wooden tendrils burst out of the ground and wrapped around them, while Naruto walked out from his hiding spot.
"I'm afraid that day will never come, since I can't have either of you betraying or destroying Shangri-la." Naruto said while approaching the two, only to pause when "Ameyuki" suddenly dissolved into a pile of mud, while "Hohozuki" was enveloped in a puff of smoke which revealed Ameyuki.
'A Mud Clone and a Transformation?' Thought Naruto, watching as Ameyuki looked around wildly.
"Ameyuki?! Ameyuki?! Where are you?!" Ameyuki shouted, before grunting when Naruto backhanded him across the face.
"You're Ameyuki, you were wearing a Transformation Jutsu, while your friend was nothing but a pile of mud, which I'm guessing you created." Said Naruto, with Ameyuki blinking a few times before shaking his head.
"Y-yes, yes, I am Ameyuki. I…I was disguised as my friend Hohozuki who died, but I was transformed into him to assume his identity.. We were going to go to Shangri-la together because of my Kekkei Genkai made it so I was feared by our village, but he died." Said Ameyuki, sounding like he was still having trouble realizing where he was, making Naruto raise a brow while seeing that he must've started losing his identity with how long he was transformed into his dead friend.
"And your Kekkei Genkai would be…" Naruto trailed off, wanting to know what Kekkei Genkai Ameyuki had before he took it.
"Huh? Oh right, my Kekkei Genkai, it's called Deiton, it lets me turn any earthen surface into mud, that can trap people in it or even cause a landslide that can crush anything in its path." Ameyuki answered, before gasping when Naruto placed his hand over his face.
"Then it will certainly be a good addition to my collection." Stated Naruto with a smirk as he absorbed Ameyuki's Chakra and Deiton into himself, feeling his Chakra Reserves grow while his Chakra Nature changed to accommodate the new Kekkei Genkai.
Once he absorbed all of Ameyuki's Chakra, Naruto placed his other hand on the back of the man's neck before giving a quick twist, snapping Ameyuki's neck. Releasing the body from the wooden tendrils, Naruto channeled Chakra into the ground, causing it to turn into mud beneath the body which slowly sank until it was fully consumed.
"Very nice." Naruto said, knowing this Kekkei Genkai will be very useful, before he turned around to meet up with the girls and tell them what happened.
So, what did you think, good. Yep we see most of the villages gearing up for war, while others are looking into the one who killed Danzō, who as far as they know is someone skilled enough to get in and out of Konoha to kill him without a fight. Before we see Naruto and the girls, seeing how they're training to grow stronger, as well as Naruto's Mangekyō abilities he gained from Danzoo, before revealing they're going to Shangri-la to use it as a haven to lay low and train themselves in preparation for their plans. Before Naruto senses Ameyuki and his Mud Clone nearby, learning of his plan to betray Shangri-la, leading Naruto to steal his Deiton and Chakra before killing him. So, review if you liked go away if you didn't.
Storm out