Author's Notes:
HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE! Unfortunately, we are on the last day/ night of October 2021! That means that the last day of National Domestic Violence and NaruSasu Month is today! I hope all of you had, at least, somewhat a lovely month of October. If not, remember this: "luck and blessings favor those who act, not those who dream." So, let's welcome a new month (and the second to last month of the year) in the right way!
At the beginning of every month, I open at least one window, get my sage burning kit, and bless my home and things. Inviting in the positive energy of a new month and banishing the negative energy and spirits from the previous month always does something extraordinary to my soul. Are any of you into crystals and other holistic practices? If not, how do you like to welcome in the new month or close out the end of the current month? I'd love to hear about them! Love you guys!
Side Note: If any of you have Netflix, PLEASE watch Maya and the Three! It's a beautiful show that, although it could use some work, and felt rushed, had me crying at the very end. Fun fact about me, I seldom cry during movies (yes, the Lion King is one of them); however, that does not make me a monster or robot. But this cartoon hit me in my feels. So please take the time to watch it if you have not already or have never heard of it. It's only a limited series on Netflix, so I'm not sure if it will still be on there by the time you see this. If not, try looking it up. You won't be disappointed.
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Chapter 82: Countdown
Normal P.O.V.
Everyone watched in horror as the Infinite Tsukuyomi tree started to sprout. The hope amongst them was lost. All their hard work seemed to be for not. What were they to do? They were fighting against enemies you only heard about in legends and bedtime stories told to children. As Madara said, there was no hope of stopping something that was almost out of this world. Thankfully, there was still hope traveling in the distance.
Steadily approaching on clouds of sand were the five current Kages, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya. Each still had most of their injuries from their earlier battle with Madara but was thankful to be alive. However, thanks to Lady Tsunade, her summon, Lady Katsuyu, and surprisingly Orochimaru, they were all alive and eager to continue the fight.
"What the hell is that?" Mei, the Fifth Mizukage, gasped.
"It looks like some kind of weird tree," A added as he used his hand to look ahead.
"Lady Katsuyu, please explain," Tsunade commanded.
"Yes, Milady," the slug nodded. "What you have before you is the Infinite Tsukuyomi Tree. While the other Kages, Master Jiraiya, and you were unconscious, and healing, the Allied Shinobi Forces, the late four Hokages, and Naruto and Sasuke worked together to fend them off. You should take great pride in Lady Sakura's role during this as well. She activated the Strength of a Hundred Seal. With this seal activated, she unlocked more of her strength for the few battles she had to participate in, but she also used both her magnificent healing skills and me to keep the casualty count within some control,"
"My, my, Tsunade, what a skillful student you have. You must be so proud of her," Orochimaru smirked.
"I am quite proud of the kunoichi my student has become. And no offense, so Sasuke, but she and Naruto are living proof of what could happen under the proper sensei," Tsunade smirked back, causing the older snake male to glare in response.
"Tsunade, must we bring this… thing along with us to the battlefield? Or is he merely an observer?" Ōnoki asked in annoyance.
"Yeah, why are you here again, Orochimaru? Don't you have a new body to look for or a rock to crawl under?" Jiraiya glared.
"As I have said before, I have turned over a new leaf. I am here to help the cause. And you should be the ones thanking me. After Madara tore Tsunade in half, I was the one who helped piece her back together so we could heal all of you,"
"Hey, that's enough! We need to focus on getting to the battlefield before that thing blooms. Gaara, can you increase the speed of your sand clouds?" Tsunade's voice boomed with her question.
"Yes. Everyone, please hold on. I will do my best to maintain the sand as we continue our travels," Gaara said.
Doing as he said, everyone braced themselves as their sand clouds' speed increased. Between the lot of them, their nerves were relatively high for what they were about to face soon. Even with their combined strength, they were no match for Madara on his own. However, it gave them hope that there would be other strong shinobi to pull their power from. They just hoped it would be enough to win the war.
Seeing Tsunade bit her lip nervously, Jiraiya reached up and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze and a smile, "Calm yourself, mate. We'll get there in enough time to save the boys. Don't you worry,"
Trying not to show her doubt, the Slug Queen squeezed her mate's hand and nodded, "I hope you're right, my love. I hope you're right,"
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Naruto and Sasuke glared at Obito and Madara on the main battlefield as they stood between them and the tree trunk. Around them, Sakura worked quickly to save her fellow shinobi. But, unfortunately, there was not much that anyone could do to save them.
"Oh no, Shikamaru! Speak to me, please!" she screamed as she held her friend. When he didn't respond, her eyes grew wide as she looked to Katsuyu for help, "Lady Katsuyu, is it possible to start distance healing? Unfortunately, there are too many people for Ino, Hinata, Karin, and I to cover."
"I am sorry, milady, but it is of no use. Most of the shinobi that touch the tree's roots had their chakra drained from their bodies, much like your friend over here. For most, they have already died from being drained of all their chakra. For others, they are much like your friend: clinging to life with nothing more than a small amount of chakra left and their wills to live,"
This caused Sakura's eyes to widen further. To know that she could not help her friends and the other shinobi troubled her. How could she call herself one of the greatest medical-nin in the Fire Country if all she could do was sit around and wait for people to die in her arms. The screams and pleases of her friends fell on deaf ears as her brain continued to try and process this information. On the other side of the battlefield, Naruto, Sasuke, and the revived Hokage were running out of options on how they could continue to fight.
Tears stung the younger blond's eyes as he glared at the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, "Unless you want your guilt to swallow you, I suggest you allow yourselves to give into the Infinite Tsukuyomi Genjutsu. I promise that it will bring you a fate better than death. The life you imagined for yourself will be the last thing you see before death takes you to the Heavens," Obito yelled with his arms raised.
"Do not listen to him! Avoid his genjutsu at all costs! Getting trapped in a genjutsu like that is far worse than death!" Hashirama screamed to try and keep the morale up. Much to his relief, it seemed to work slightly. "Damn. This isn't good,"
"I know. We must figure out something soon before that bud blooms. If it blooms, then we have lost the war," Minato said.
"Yes, but pay attention to the bud," Hiruzen said as he pointed to the tree's bulb, "Since Obito erected the tree, the bulb has shown no signs of blooming yet. Even after draining all the chakra, the tree does not seem to be sprouting,"
"Yes. That is interesting. I wonder how that could be?" Tobirama questioned with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Madara! When is that bulb going to bloom? Or do you not know?!" Madara shouted.
"Hashirama, you fool, don't you know? Both the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails still live. However, as long as it has even the slightest bit of their chakra, then it will be fine. All that matters is the time it will take for it to bloom. When that happens, I will trade positions with Obito and become the new Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. So, my dear Hashirama, to answer your question," Madara said as he summoned a black rod from his palm with a smirk, "I would say we have about 15 minutes before it officially blooms,"
Hashirama cursed under his breath as he listened to Madara explain. Then, when he finished, he turned to yell towards the Allied Shinobi Force, "Is anyone from the Yamanaka clan?"
"I am!" Ino called out as she stood up with her hand raised.
"Child, please come here. I need you to deliver an important message to the Five Kages and everyone else," Ino nodded before she ran towards him. When she was close enough, she placed her hand over his forehead and focused her chakra. Then, after a moment or two, she connected him to Tsunade, "Granddaughter, can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can, grandfather. How are things going down there? They seem too good from up here," she asked.
"As well as you can imagine. Listen, everyone! I must share with you this information. Stay away from that tree! Anyone who touches it will die after it drains your chakra. Also, we cannot use regular chakra on our opponents. We must either use weapons, taijutsu, or Sage Chakra to fight them now. Another important fact is that we only have about 15 minutes before that bulb onto of the tree blooms," As he talked, most of the shinobi started to scream and cry. Hashirama knew he was losing the crowd, so he had to get them under control again, "Everyone, please listen to me! I know that you all are terrified and confused. Do not panic! We have plans in place to ensure victory, but we need your help! Within the remaining 15 minutes, we need to try and either cut the tree down or defeat the caster. As everyone is starting to see, defeating the caster is not as feasible for most of you. So please allow for the stronger shinobi and Kages to handle them. Tsunade, please encourage your team to get here as soon as you can. We need every second to take our opponents down. Until they get here, I want the rest of you to help the Medical-nin squad with controlling the casualty count, or you need to hack the tree down. I do not care how you do it but be sure not to let the roots hold you. We do not want to lose any more people to this thing. Is that understood?!"
Hashirama cursed when he didn't get much of a reply. So instead, he helplessly listened as the Allied Shinobi Forces, frozen in fright, watched the roots of the tree spread out more towards them.
"That's right, stay right there. Become nourishment for our tree. Death awaits you soon enough. Allow me to take you to a world where there is no regret, pain, or war. Instead, there is only peace and happiness. Now submit to me!" Obito smirked.
Naruto's tears continued to sting his eyes as he stood up and watched his comrades fall one-by-one. Then, suddenly, a tree branch was sliced and fell to the ground.
"Naruto, I hope you're not finished yet; because I'm not," Sasuke said as he stood with his Susanoo activated.
Naruto's were wide as he stared at his mate and his newly evolved Susanoo form. Instead of its normal purple skeletal appearance, it now had purple armor, a long nose, a beak-like mouthpiece, and a long and flamed covered sword. What interested him the most was that instead of only showing its top half, it developed legs and wings like usual. To everyone who started at it, it almost looked like a samurai standing before them. However, like most people outside the Uchiha clan, Naruto knew nothing about Sasuke's Susanoo ability.
"Sasuke, how did you~."
"With some practice, we Sharingan users can evolve our Susanoo to a complete form. During this battle, I used it enough that I could evolve it now," he explained with a glare. "But that should not be your main worry. You heard the First Hokage. We need to get working on this tree, or else we're finished. So, are you finished? Or do you plan on sitting back and letting me do all the work?" The motivated blond fox took a deep breath and summoned his Nine-Tailed Sage Mode and chakra Kurama form before joining his mate on the battlefield. "Hn. About time you joined me up here," he teased with a smirk.
Naruto didn't return the smirk. Instead, she closed his eyes and thought about all the adverse events that occurred up to this moment. When he opened them back up, he took another deep breath and spoke, "I don't want to live in a world where I regret anything I did, especially not today. We may have lost friends, loved ones, and people we just met today. However, I don't want their sacrifices nor my actions to be meaningless!"
"Hn. That's what I like to hear. Alright then, let's get started," Sasuke said as he turned towards Judo and extended his Susanoo's hand downward.
The orange-haired man nodded and jumped onto the hand. Sasuke lifted him close enough for him to jump inside and stand next to Sasuke. On command, Jugo activated his Curse Mark and allowed his power to seep into the purple being. As this happened, Minato gave Naruto the last of his power from Evil Kurama. Once the Nine-Tailed chakra was drained, Minato's Kurama form disappeared, and he was back to his normal form.
"Let's go!" both boys yelled as they leaped towards Obito.
"Hn. Interesting way to commit suicide. I hope you guys know that there is no more time for regrets, not that there's going to be much of a future for you guys anyway," Obito said as he readied himself.
He summoned his black rods from his hands and engaged Sasuke and Naruto in combat. As this happened, Madara and Hashirama continued their battle. The two pairs of groups fought to their fullest extent while also being wary of the tree. As ordered, some shinobis got over their fear and went to work. Some went to Sakura for directions. Others went to work on the tree itself. Everyone kept up with the other and their duties, but none faltered. As they all said, there would be a victor by the end; all that was needed was to see who claimed it. After about five minutes of the two pairs battling, Kages, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru finally arrived.
"Naruto, Sasuke, grandfather!" Tsunade shouted out with her hands clasped in front of her chest.
"They cannot hear you, great-niece. So there is no use in yelling," Tobirama said as he hacked at the tree.
"Hn. I never thought I'd see all of my students together at once again," Hiruzen smirked as he greeted them. Tsunade and Jiraiya kneeled before their former sensei while Orochimaru stood and glared, "I know. I know. You hate me. I am fine with that,"
"Hn. Annoying words from an annoying old man," Orochimaru hissed with his arms crossed.
"I deserve that. I deserve a lot of things. I made many mistakes with you and other young shinobis. If it wasn't for me~."
"Save your apologies, old man. They are no longer needed,"
This shocked Hiruzen, but he quickly recovered and turned his back towards his students with his staff in his hand, "You are right. Now is not the time for a trip down memory lane, nor regrets. However, I am sorry for the way things turned out. I may be an old man and the late Third Hokage, but even I made mistakes. I just wish I could atone for them before it is too late,"
"A little late to be thinking about your regrets, ain't gramps?" Jiraiya said in a severe tone.
"I suppose you're right. Now, let's get to work. We don't have much time left. We only have about 8 minutes,"
The Three Legendary Sannin jumped into action behind their sensei. Everyone continued to work until Hashirama was blown back by one of Madara's attacks. Quickly, Tsunade and Tobirama jumped into action to save him. As he fell from the sky, both family members caught him and brought him to stand on the ground.
"Brother, are you hurt?"
"Yes, grandfather. Are you injured anywhere? Please, let me take care of you," Tsunade pleaded.
Hashirama shook his head, dusted himself off, and stood tall in the face of his opponent.
"Looks like that reanimated body of yours doesn't seem to be holding up too well. Are you ready to give up and admit defeat by my hands?" Madara smirked as he raised his fist with a tight grip.
Hashirama only glared at his opponent before taking a deep breath to speak, "To all beloved, my children! I ask that those of you, frozen by your fear, come out of it and help us continue our fight. I know it is hard when you lose those you cared for during a war. But this is not the time to falter. We must take all our pain, suffering, and frustration and endure it for the future. Not just for the future of your village or families, but everyone! Let us use these "weaknesses" and weave them into said future!"
This inspired another portion of the Allied Forces, but not enough to get everyone moving. Thinking quickly, Tsunade turned towards her former team with a determined look on her face, "I'm going to meet up with the other Kages. We'll handle getting the other shinobi moving. You guys stay here and cut that tree down,"
"As if I had planned on doing anything else. Besides, I would love to take part in some nostalgia with my old sensei here,"
"Hey, don't you go dying on me, ya hear? We still have the rest of our lives, ya know," Jiraiya smirked.
Tsunade smiled before giving him a quick kiss, causing Jiraiya to brightly blush, "That's my line, you idiot," she took a few steps backward and placed her hands on her hips, "Be sure to take care of our boys now,"
Jiraiya gives her a thumbs-up as he grinned from ear to ear. Hiruzen gave his smile as he watched the interaction between his two students. He knew from the moment those two met that they would end up together. So, imagine his shock when Tsunade initially chose Dan to be her mate. But, unfortunately, their union ended abruptly with his death. After the death of her little brother, Hiruzen helplessly watched Tsunade spiral out of control before she left.
He tried to talk her down several times, but she was just as headed as her grandfather. She made it a point to, in her unique way, to go fuck himself and that she was going to do whatever she wanted. Since he was the Third Hokage, he made a decision. Ultimately, he had to leave her alone and make her own choices. Either she would pull herself together, or she would drown in her sorrow. Now, seeing her stand proud, strong, and fearless before him, he felt the proudest he had ever felt for her. And for that, he had Jiraiya and the Gods to thank for that.
"Tsunade," Hiruzen called out with his hands laced behind his back, "I'm so glad to see the beautiful, strong leader you've become. I had my doubts about everything you've been through. But I'm glad you finally got the "support" you needed to get you through those tough times. You've made this old man very proud… all of you have. I am thankful to be here to witness your prowess in person,"
Tsunade's eyes widened when her sensei said that. Yes, he has told her that he was proud of them before, but this was different. This time it felt… deeper than before. Tsunade bowed in respect and held back tears before taking off.
"Thank you for that, gramps. She needed to hear that," Jiraiya smiled.
"No, it is I who owes you thanks for saving her. If it had not been for you, we would have lost her. I had already lost one student… I couldn't lose another," he smiled a final time before he cleared his throat and pulled his staff out of the ground, "Now then, let's make quick work of this vile tree," Hiruzen said as he jumped towards the tree with Jiraiya and Orochimaru directly behind him.
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Once Tsunade joined the other Kages, they surveyed the conditions of the battlefield.
"It seems we still have some slackers. We need to do something to get them moving," Ōnoki said with his arms crossed.
"Most of them probably just need more commands. So that's where we are needed," Gaara said.
"Then we shall divide and conquer. Often, people like this witnessed the death of their comrades, time and time again. However, if they do not have a good leader,"
"Scatter!" Everyone yelled as they jumped towards the large army of people.
The other Kages, except Tsunade, appeared in front of several groups of the Allied Shinobi Forces and gave them orders. Tsunade jumped and ran through the battlefield until she found an exhausted Sakura.
"Lady Tsunade!" she gleefully shouted.
The Slug Queen smiled as she patted her student, "Why don't you take a break. You've done well, Sakura. I am extremely proud of you,"
"Thank you, Milady," Sakura nodded.
Tsunade returned her student's nod before leaning down and examining Shikamaru while using her chakra to heal him, "Are you alright? Can you still fight?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me. I told my dad I was sorry. There was no way I planned to die here. After all, there is no one else more qualified to Naruto's advisor," the deer boy smirked.
"Hn. You guys sure know how to keep an old woman young," she smiled.
As she continued to heal Shikamaru, she summoned more Shadow Clones to run through the battlefield to care for the injured and gave out orders. Back with the reincarnated Hokages, her mate, former friend and teammate, and grandsons, they continued to push through the enemy's defenses and tried to cut down the tree. Hashirama held against Madara while Naruto and Sasuke did their best to stop Obito in the next five minutes.
"Ugh! Why won't he hold still"! Naruto growled as he used Kurama's claws to swipe at Obito.
"Focus, dobe! Don't let him distract you!" Sasuke called out as he commanded his Susanoo to shoot an arrow.
Obito summoned his black shield to defend against each of their attacks. However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to continue. Each episode the couple unleashed was more potent than the last. Luckily, all the white-haired felines had to do was wait out his opponents until the Infinite Tsukuyomi's bulb bloomed.
"Shouldn't be much longer now," Obito thought to himself.
As he was distracted by his battle with Naruto and Sasuke, the Allied Shinobi Forces took this opportunity to work on hacking down the tree. Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and the other Kages led the attack on the tree. Tobirama and Minato used their Teleportation Jutsus to keep anyone out of the tree's harmful reach. Once Tsunade finished healing Shikamaru, she joined Sakura. Both activated their forehead seals and prepared for their Summoning Jutsus. But before they summoned Lady Katsuyu again, they called for Ino to stand behind them. Ino did as she was told and jumped their side without hesitation.
"Ino, once we summoned Lady Katsuyu, please link us with the Allied Shinobi Forces," Tsunade commanded. Ino nodded and watched her sensei and best friend go to work.
"Summoning Jutsu!" both women yelled after they drew blood from their thumbs and slammed their hands onto the ground.
A larger version of the summoning slug appeared.
"Lady Katsuyu, can you please help with keeping our chakras from being absorbed?" Sakura asked.
"Leave it to me, my ladies,"
Tsunade, Sakura, and Ino steadied themselves as the slug's body melted onto the ground and soaked everyone's feet. Afterward, Ino linked Tsunade to the Allied Shinobi Forces.
"Allow my summon's body to coat your feet! It will allow you to go near the tree without fear of having your chakra stolen!" Tsunade explained.
The crowd cheered as they continued their advances. As one team, the Allied Shinobis made quick work of parts of the tree, and soon the tree's limbs were removed. Obito cursed at this as he watched. But, unfortunately, he could do nothing as he was busy being hunted by Naruto and Sasuke. Both boys continued their assault and pelted him with purple chakra arrows and Tailed Beast Bombs.
"Damn, he's fast," Naruto said as he continued his chase.
"But it's becoming easier to sense him," Sasuke finished, doing the same.
"There!" both Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously yelled as they aimed their next attacks at Obito.
The white, older feline saw the attacks come towards him from both sides. He growled in frustration as he summoned his shields. Once they disappeared, he used his black energy and angrily pulled them towards him.
With a glare, Obito dived towards the ground and pulled them with him. Upon their impact, a large crater was created. The force blew anyone close enough away from the crash site. Both Sasuke and Naruto panted as they lay on the ground in pain. Jugo activated more of his Cursed Mark and created a layer of protection to cushion the blow. He ended up quite a way away from where Sasuke landed, but not as hurt.
Naruto, on the other hand, had his layer of protection. Unfortunately, his Nine-Tailed Sage Mode timed out, and he returned to his normal state. Luckily, this did not deter him. On shaky legs, he struggled to stand and gave Obito his best glare.
This angered his opponent. How could, after everything that happened up to this point, not keep Naruto down? What was the reason he kept getting back up? No matter what he threw at the boy, he still managed to get back up every time.
"You're such a pest!" Obito growled with his fist clenched. The couple gasped at the sudden outburst, "Why can't you stay down and admit defeat? Don't you know that it's over already? Don't you know you've lost? Or are you too stupid to realize what a failure you are? It's over, Naruto Uzumaki. You don't have to keep getting back up.
Look at you; you're in pain. Let me take you away from all of this. You won't have to feel pain or obligation to finish your commands anymore. You won't use it as a tool anymore. Isn't that better than this?"
Naruto chuckled at this, "You think you know me, don't you. Well, you don't! So you don't know shit about me!"
"Tell me, Naruto… why is it you keep getting back up? Is it because someone commanded you? Or is it because you're still fighting for this worthless world? And, if it is the latter, what's the point? You're fighting for friends who betrayed you and a world run by war. You don't know if and when your friends might betray you again. You don't know if the five nations are going to stop their fighting finally. Why do you want to save a world full of uncertainty? After all, it doesn't matter. In a few more minutes, this world will be gone anyway, so what's the point of continuing this battle? It's over. You've lost,"
Naruto pushed himself upwards more so that he stood straight up and glared, "Because… it's my ninja way," Renewed by his mate's words, Sasuke pushed himself to stand. Once he was standing straight too, he stood next to Naruto with his glare, "It doesn't matter what our enemies think of us or the outcome of this battle. One thing about us, Leaf Shinobi, is that we never give up! It's our ninja way! So tomorrow, we shall sleep in our dreams!"
"Naruto let's finish this bastard with our next move," Sasuke commanded. Naruto nodded, and both readied themselves.
Naruto activated his Nine-Tailed Sage Mode again and summoned his Chakra Kurama form. As the Chakra Kurama form manifested, purple armor appeared onto its body along with a long, flaming sword. Much like Sasuke's Susanoo, it took on the form of a fully armored samurai.
Obito, not swayed by Naruto's words, sighed in irritation, "Fine then, if you two want to continue with your foolish ninja way," Everyone watched as he summoned a large black shield and a long black sword in the same DNA strand, "Then let be the comfort you find in the After Life,"
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Side note:
Sorry about not getting this posted in time. I tried to post this before midnight, my time, but I ended up falling asleep. So I hope you guys forgive me and use this to start your new month off right!