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Author's Notes:
Happy Holidays, guys! I hope everyone is having a somewhat better year than 2019. Last year, I didn't even put up my Christmas tree or decorations and fought severe seasonal depression. Unfortunately, NOT putting up my Christmas tree or decorations only made things worse. Lucky, this time around, I know how to combat it. I spent the holidays with my family and forced myself to get things ready for the upcoming Christmas holiday, spirit, and end of another Covid filled year.
I hope to pass along some inspiration to those of you fighting similar or more challenging battles. These past two years were brutal, and most didn't make it out alive. If you're reading this note, then you made it. If you don't believe me, then put your hand over your heart. Feel your heartbeat and your breath. As long as you are still breathing, then you can keep fighting. Be like your favorite Naruto character, and let never giving up become your ninja way. I believe in you, and I'm very proud of your progress. And always remember this: you may not be where you want to be, but you're much further than where you started. I love you guys! Happy Holidays!
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Author's Notes (2): On a heavier note, I would like to express my dislike for some writers and readers within the Fanfiction community. I have been writing and reading Fanfiction on this site since 2006. I have watched how progressive the site and the various communities evolve, and it makes me excited to be a part of it. However, what annoys me the most is when you get confronted by the "Fanfiction Police."
Those who don't know who the "Fanfiction Police" are are the readers who report stories and harass writers who break the "M" rating rules. This is where I would like to welcome you guys to my quick Ted Talk. Look, every writer who publishes explicit content on Fanfiction knows that we're breaking the rules. However, let's be honest, no one gives a single fuck but the "Fanfiction Police." Not even the site's admin cares unless it is reported. And, even when it does get reported, they just take it down and allow you to repost it. How do I know this? You guessed it because I have been notified and harassed about this rule. And it is the dumbest thing that can happen.
As a Fanfiction writer, I love posting explicit content. However, I make sure that there are plenty of warnings and encourage people uncomfortable with this to NOTread my work. Unfortunately, I am not the only author that has faced this issue. I watched plenty of excellent writers leave this site for a long time because of the "Fanfiction Police," and the only thing I have to say to them is I'm sorry.
I'm sorry that you were chased off by people who have nothing to do but harass others about their work and hobbies. This is FANFICTION! This is where anime fans alike come to post or read creative and unique stories, one-shots, etc., about their favorite characters. This is how we bond! This is what makes us who we are! I just wish we could all come to an understanding about this and not degrade others. And for the writers who make a big deal about the M-rating rules, fuck you in particular.
Now before you jump down my throat, please hear me out. I only say fuck those writers is because of their attitudes. I have recently read some interesting stories and one-shots where they make it a point to look down on writers like me, who write explicit content. Newsflash: just because you don't want to write it doesn't mean you can look down on or police others who do. You're the only one who is hurting here, not us.
The overall message I want everyone to take from this is: IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ A FANFICTION WITH EXPLICIT CONTENT, THEN DON'T! End of story. Bye-Bye. See ya later (credit for this comes from Shrek 1). Let's be adults about this and try to live in harmony. Life is already hard enough; let's not be petty about stupid shit like this. Thanks for sitting through my Ted Talk. Enjoy the new chapter.
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Chapter 85: Death's Grip
Normal P.O.V.
Madara looked down at the entire Allied Shinobi Forces before him with a neutral face. All the older feline wanted to do was rebuild the world Hashirama, and he imagined. But, it seemed that no one else had the same desires, not even the Reanimated Hashirama. It mattered not. When everyone saw him realize his vision, they would comply, whether they wanted to or not.
"Lord Madara, I will go on ahead. Have fun recollecting your pets," Zetsu smirked as he sank into the ground.
Madara only tsked before he jumped on top of the Ten-Tails' head.
"Limbo Hengoku!" This jutsu simultaneously attacked all of the Tailed-Beasts and knocked them to the ground. "That ought to tame you for the time being. Now, I can put on your collars," Madara said as he formed his hand signs.
Suddenly, the Ten-Tails opened its mouth where light purple chakra chains shot out and wrapped around the beasts' necks. Each beast struggled against the chains as they were pulled towards the Ten-Tails.
"I won't let you have Shukaku again!" Gaara yelled as he summoned large sand hands to grab the chains.
Madara summoned his Susasoon and launched a counterattack towards the redheaded raccoon dog. Shukaku used one of his hands to protect his former vessel.
"Behold! My ultimate defense!" Shukaku laughed.
"That will do you no good," Madara said as he controlled his attack.
He maneuvered his attack away from Shukaku's hand and used it to cut the chain away from Gaara's sand hands. Unfortunately, it reconnected once the chain was cut as Gaara was hit by the attack and sent flying backward. However, the sand protected him and caught him on an auto-formed sand cloud.
"Shukaku!" the red-head raccoon dog shouted in terror as he helplessly watched his Tail-Beast be reabsorbed.
As this occurred, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kurama struggled against the chain's hold. Naruto tried to save Kurama and absorb him back inside himself, but it wasn't working.
"Damnit! Kurama isn't going back inside of me. This is bad," Naruto internally thought.
"Naruto, we have to do something!" Sasuke shouted.
Before Naruto could reply, they were being pulled backward and away from Kurama's body. Everything was happening too fast for Naruto and Sasuke to do anything.
"Kazekage brat, you must save them!" Kurama ordered.
As the couple exited through one of Kurama's tails, Naruto and Sasuke felt a powerful pulse. It paralyzed both boys as they fell from the sky. Sasuke tried to reach towards Naruto, but he was just out of reach. Thankfully, Gaara saved them with another sand cloud.
"Are you ok, Sasuke?" Gaara asked as the raven-haired feline regained some of his composure.
"Yeah, I think so. But what was that feeling just now?" Sasuke asked as he released the grip on his chest. Then, however, his world came to an abrupt stop as he looked down at Naruto's barely conscious body. "Naruto? Naruto?! Wake up!" he screamed.
"Sasuke! Get ahold of yourself. We don't have time for this!" Gaara yelled back as he smacked his friend's mate in the face. "Now listen to me: The Nine-Tails was extracted from Naruto. When a Tailed-Beast is removed from their vessel, then that vessel will die. Fortunately for us, there are traces of the Nine-Tails inside of his father: the Fourth Hokage. If we can get Naruto to him, then we can save him. But we have to hurry,"
"Right. Then you go. Take Naruto with you, and you better save him, or else I'll kill you myself," Sasuke glared before he summoned his hawk and flew towards Madara.
As Sasuke flew towards Madara with hatred in his heart and eyes, Toshirama tried a sneak attack. After he appeared behind Madara, he used his kunai to attack. Madara sensed this and effortlessly dodged the attack before grabbing his opponent's arm and slamming him to the ground. However, Toshirama recovered quickly and wrapped his legs around Madara's arm. Madara summoned one of his black rods from the palm of his hand and thrust it forward. The rod pierced Toshirama's torso, effectively pinning him to earth. Madara summoned several more and stabbed each one into the silver-haired male's body and head.
"That should keep you still for a while," Madara glared before he turned his gaze towards where Gaara was flying away with Naruto's limp body. "Letting children do your work, Toshirama? I see you're still a delegator,"
"Hn. I could say the same thing about you, Madara," Toshirama smirked.
Madara's glare intensified as he continued to stare down at Toshirama, "You peons could never understand Hashirama or me. We had a dream; he had a dream about how this world should be. All I want to do is give him the world that he deserves,"
"So, this Infinite Tsukuyomi was your plan? This was your idea of a cure?"
"You would be correct in your assumption. Hashirama's original plan bore a paradox. However, in a dream world, there won't be any."
The silver-haired male smirked, "You've got a point there. However, the only problem is this isn't a dream that you can interfere with!"
Suddenly, Toshirama shot out needles from his mouth. Madara quickly summoned Susanoo's arm to protect himself. While he was distracted, Sasuke jumped down from his hawk with his sword, ready to attack.
"You're going to pay for what you did to Naruto!" However, just as he was about to attack, a clear shield appeared: protecting Madara and suspending Sasuke in the air. Unable to move, all Sasuke could do was glare. "What did you do to me?!"
"I see you have finally learned one of the most essential rules of becoming a ninja. To protect something or someone precious, one must sacrifice something great. To protect your mate, you have chosen death. How pitiful," Sasuke gasped as Madara yanked his sword from his hand and impaled it into his chest. "I gave you plenty of time to come around to your senses. I also warned you that there would not be much time left. However, you choose to live in denial. The cost of victory, your mate's and your lives was your foolishness. I hope it was worth it,"
Madara dismissed the Ten-Tails and the suspension jutsu as he removed the sword from Sasuke's chest. After that, Sasuke immediately fell to the ground. The raven struggled to get up, but the pain from his stab wound and Naruto's draining lifeforce was too much stress on his body. Unfortunately, things seemed to have a bleak outlook.
"I think what I find most pathetic is the fact you possess such eyes and powers. It shows your determination to strive for more power despite your substantial losses. However, you would rather play around and live as nothing more than a submissive omega. To call yourself an Uchiha brings disgrace upon our clan and your predecessors. Your journey ends here, young one,"
Sasuke continued to struggle as Madara threw the sword down and walked away. However, the more he struggled, the more blood he lost. Sasuke could feel the stress on his body, but Sasuke refused to give up. He would keep fighting until there was nothing left of him.
"I can't die here. I must keep going. I can't let Naruto down. Everyone depends on me. I won't stop the very end… until… the… end…."
Sasuke's movements started to slow down, and soon all he could do was lay on the ground and breathe. Then, as he continued to feel Naruto's lifeforce drain, he could do nothing but try to hold onto his. And, although unheard by his own ears, a loud scream for a dying Sasuke pierced the suddenly quiet air.
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As Gaara flew towards where Tsunade, Sakura, and Karin were on the battlefield, terror filled his body to the brim. Even though he was not a medical-nin, Gaara could still see the life drain from his best friend. All he could do was hurry.
Finally, Gaara arrived and landed in front of Tsunade, Karin, and Sakura. The three girls ran towards them in shock and fear.
"Kazekage Gaara, what happened?" Tsunade asked.
"Madara he… he reabsorbed the Tailed-Beasts…."
"Damnit, that means~."
"If we don't get Naruto to his father, then he's going to die," Gaara interrupted Jiraiya.
"Fuck me!" Tsunade yelled. "Alright, Sakura, Jiraiya, I want you guys to go with Gaara. Sakura, do your best to keep him alive until you find Hokage Minato. Karin, you stay with me,"
No one argued as they did as they were told. Instead, Gaara created more sand clouds for them to ride on. Jiraiya and Gaara shared one as Sakura rode with Naruto's body. Quickly, Sakura examined her friend with determination and fear as she felt his heartbeat slow down.
"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered with a final breath.
Everyone was confused until they heard Karin scream. Her voice carried through the suddenly quiet air.
"Karin, what's wrong? Snap out of it!" Tsunade screamed as she shook her student.
"It's Sasuke-Kun… he's… he's… dying…" she gasped out as she gripped her hair and cried.
"What do you mean he's dying?" Tsunade asked.
"It's Madara. After I flew off with Naruto, he stayed behind and fought him. Madara must have~."
"Don't even say it! I refuse to hear that either of my comrades is going to die!" Sakura shouted with tears in her eyes.
"Orochimaru, are you still with us?" Tsunade glared.
"Have I not proven myself enough for you, dear Tsaunde-Chan?" the snake smirked.
"More of reassurance. Fine then, I want your team to back up Karin," she waited for her comrade to nod before she stared at her distraught student, "Karin, you're going to take the lead. But you have to be brave, and no matter what happens, do your best,"
"But, milady. Are you sure that I can do it? I'm nowhere near Sakura's or your level. How can you be sure that I will succeed?"
"Because you are my student. Indeed, you are not at our level, but you possess a unique skillset all your own," the red-haired fox gasped as she was pulled into a hug by her sensei, "I know you can do it. Don't let me down,"
With the vote of confidence, Karin returned the hug before wiping her tears away and pulling back with a smile on her face, "Thank you, Lady Tsunade." Tsunade smiled as she watched her student take charge of the situation, "Alright, Lord Orochimaru, Jugo, and Suigestusu. We are going to save Sasuke-Kun no matter the cost, so make sure you follow my lead. Lord Orochimaru, how fast can you get us there?"
"Just leave it to me. We'll be there before Sasuke takes his last breath,"
Orochimaru bit his thumb, drawing blood before he slammed his hand onto the ground. After he summoned his snake, everyone jumped onto the head.
"Wait!" Hashirama shouted before he followed their movements. "Allow me to join you. I can help,"
"Please be careful, grandfather!" Tsunade said as she watched them leave.
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Together, the five of them rode Orochimaru's summoned snake with Karin's direction. However, the closer they got, the more frantic Karin became.
"Can this snake go any faster?! Sasuke-Kun's lifeforce is almost gone!" she screamed. But, before anyone said anything, she gasped with a smile as she pointed out Sasuke's body. "There he is!"
However, the Ten-Tails' Statue sensed them and readied for an attack. Madara summoned another bandaged, masked Obito clone, "Be sure to handle my light work. I want no trace of anyone left,"
"You got it, boss!" the clone evilly chuckled before it commanded the statue to attack.
Wooden tails shot out towards and impaled the traveling snake. Everyone jumped off the snake and ran towards Sasuke's body. However, the statue was quick and continued its attack. As the onslaught of tails tried to attack them, each group member jumped out of the way and protected themselves. However, as this continued, Karin got angrier.
"Don't get in my way!" she screamed as she dodged more tails.
"I see that you're going to be a problem. Allow me to fix that," the clone continued to chuckle. Karin continued to race, flip, jump, and dodge until she reached the center of the statue. Then, suddenly, she summoned several chakra chains that tore apart various parts of the statue. "Aw, you broke my toy,"
"Don't underestimate me!"
"Woah! I didn't know Karin was so strong!" Suigetsu gasped.
"Orochimaru, was it?" Hashirama called out, gaining the attention of the male snake. "Is she a descendant of the Uzumaki clan?"
"Why yes, Lord First. She is a distant cousin of both Nauto and Kushina Uzumaki. However, it seems she inherited some of Kushina's abilities," Orochimaru replied.
"It would seem so. It would also explain a lot of other things about her too. Hn. My wife's clan was almost as strong as mine," Hashirama smirked with pride as he thought fondly of his late wife: Mito Uzumaki.
"You're going to pay for that, little girl," The clone said as he grabbed one of the splintered wood pieces and stabbed her torso.
As this happened, more wooden pieces spread through her body and shot out her back. Karin quickly bit herself and started the healing process. Next, the rest of Orochimaru's team sprang into action. Hashirama freed Karin while Suigestus and Orochimaru attacked.
Suigetsu pointed his hands (in the shape of guns) at the clone's head. Water erupted from his fingers. This allowed Orochimaru to bite the clone's neck and spread a curse throughout its body. As they all fell out of the sky, Jugo used his strength and Cursed Mark to catch them. Once they were safely onto the ground, they took off towards Sasuke's body again.
"Ha! Now you can't move!" Suigetsu laughed.
As the clone's body landed on the floor, the curse quickly wore off. "Well, that's annoying. No matter. It's too late if you think you can save your precious Sasuke-Kun," The clone's wicked laugh echoed through the battlefield as they continued to run.
Karin tried to drown out the clone's words as tears formed in her eyes. However, she knew that she knew that she couldn't give up hope. Just as Sasuke and Naruto risked their lives to protect everyone, the least they could do was keep them alive.
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While Karin and Sakura cared for Naruto and Sasuke, Tsunade tried to keep her composure against Madara. However, the more they fought, the more hope they lost. Madara swatted them down as if they were mere flies. Time and time again, Madara indeed proved that he was a powerful being.
"This is terrible. We need to think of something, or else we're done for," Tsusande nervously thought as she bit her thumb.
"You seem troubled, Hashirama's granddaughter. Tell me, is it because you know that your Allied Forces are nothing compared to me? Or that, despite your best efforts, victory will never be obtained? Or perhaps it could be your own personal failures? Failure in knowing that you could never compare to Hashirama?" Tsunade gasped at his last statement before letting it turn into a glare.
"I see that got your attention. It is pathetic, don't you think? Knowing that your grandfather was arguably one of the greatest shinobi to ever live while you barely inherited anything. Even during our last fight, you barely put any effort into it. Where is the strength from your clan? Where is Hashirama's fire."
"How dare you! She is a medical-nin! Medical-nin were never meant to join the frontlines! She is here for support and healing!" Mei, the Fifth Mizukage, defended with a glare.
"Incorrect. Because she is a descendent of the Senju Clan, she should possess enough strength to do both, as Hashirama did before her. Tsunade, you are nothing but a weak woman and a cheap imitation of your grandfather. You can't even use the Wood Style, and your medical-ninjutsus are trivial at best. Are you sure you are a descendant of the Senju Clan as you have proclaimed? Your weakness disgusts me,"
"You bastard! You have gone too far this time! How dare you insult the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf! You'll pay for that!" A, the Fourth Raikage, angrily yelled.
Everyone stopped when they saw Tsunade take a few steps forward until she stood in front of everyone. Her fists and lips were clenched tightly. "You're right, Madara. Unfortunately, I did not inherit a lot of my grandfather's natural gifts. However, I am, undoubtedly, a descendant of Hashirama Senju.
I inherited his Will of Fire that drove me to become the person I am today. And I have passed that onto my students, who will pass it along to theirs and their children. As long as the Hidden Leaf stands tall, my grandfather's Will of Fire shall never die!" she declared.
The air around them was quiet. Everyone thought of Tsunade's words and took great pride in them, reminding themselves of what they almost forgot. Madara smirked as he crossed his arms.
"Is that all Hashirama's legacy amounts to? So tell me, Slug Queen, do you think you can defeat the likes of me with just this Will of Fire?"
"Without a single doubt. Madara, you may look down on my grandfather's Will of Fire, but it is the glue that binds our nation together. It is how I revolutionized the World of Medical-Ninjutsu. I may not compare to the man who did not even need to weave hand signs for his jutsus, but I still have my unique skillset. So, please, allow me to educate you." Tsunade smirked as she relaxed her body and crossed her arms over her massive chest.
"There are three rules every Medical-nin must follow. Rule one: No Medical-nin shall stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end. Rule two: No Medical-nin shall ever stand on the frontlines. And finally, rule three: No Medical-nin shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon. However, only a select few know that there is actually a fourth rule. Rule four: One, a Medical-nin who has mastered my Strength of a Hundred Jutsu can disregard the previous three rules. Unfortunately for you…." She continued to smirk as she unleashed her jutsu and prepared herself to attack. "I am one of two Medical-nin who this applies. You mocked my grandfather's Will of Fire, but allow me to show you the testament of strength that he passed down to his descendants and his village!"
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To Be Continued…