AN: I wanted to get all the pre-story stuff in one chapter, so apologies for a longer wait.

I do not own Naruto.

Pls review!

Andante I

c3 dxc3

Warfare is a delicate matter.

Sometimes, single moves are enough to doom an entire nation, while other times, a series of actions over the course of years – decades, even – will culminate in victory.

However, one thing remains constant, no matter what kind of war it is, where it is fought, or why it is being fought.

Prolonged warfare benefited no one.

So, how odd is it that the Fourth Great Shinobi War has already been going on for the better half of a decade now, and the number of major battles can be counted with the fingers of a single hand?

The squadron of Kumogakure shinobi captured prior to the first confrontation was not the Raikage's gambit. No, it was a group of unfaithful or disobedient shinobi put together as pawns meant for sacrifice.

The gambit truly began with the inactivity of Kumogakure and its allies after the war had begun.

Fourth Year After the Kyūbi Attack

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Hi no Kuni – Tanzaku Gai

*Slam*

Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, the most renowned kunoichi and healer in the Elemental Nations, stared directly into the eyes of her lecherous yet strong and dependable teammate Jiraiya (former teammate, rather).

"NO."

Jiraiya grimaced. He had been expecting this, but to convince a stubborn woman such as Tsunade while she was half drunk was going to be an ordeal.

"Hime, it's been years. And with the recent disaster in the village, none of our soldiers are doing well. We've all lost someone important to us. You're not the only one, so why not come back? Save the grieving for after we've secured the safety of our village."

Tsunade scowled. "The village that literally symbolizes pain to me? I'll pass on that."

"You're being childish and immature!"

Her scowl deepened. "Well, if that's the case, then why don't you go and find someone who's not childish and immature?"

Shizune grimaced lightly at the drunken slurred speech and offered an apologetic smile towards the Toad Sage.

Jiraiya put his hand to his face.

"Besides," Tsunade began in a drunken tone, "I have hemophobia. It's impossible for me to go back to being a shinobi. Can you imagine a shinobi fearing blood? Haa..."

She slowly laughed, and then no more sound came from her besides light snores. She was drunk and unconscious.

Jiraiya's eyes widened, and he turned towards Shizune. Said woman was stroking her pig, Tonton, and averting eye contact.

So it was true.

Well, that complicates things even more, doesn't it?

This year passed without much happening. After the initial battle ending in Kumogakure's loss (in which Hatake Kakashi officially broke into the top 15 highest bounties of the Elemental Nations), things remained mostly quiet.

Hiruzen enrolled Naruto into the academy this year. During wartime, the entering age for students was lowered from six to four, and thus he was enrolled. No matter how much Hiruzen wanted to deny it, to take this burden himself, the truth was that Naruto was the third host of the Kyūbi no Yōko, and he was Konoha's ace (if trained properly). And given that the village's very existence is on the line, he was going to have to steel his heart and make Naruto into a weapon. On with emotions and morals, but a weapon nontheless. A child robbed of his innocence and childhood before even typical academy graduation age.

He began to teach Naruto. Unlocking his chakra, the three basic academy jutsu, and such.

And Naruto took to everything frighteningly quickly.

Granted, every time Hiruzen would try to explain theory to him, the young child would simply blank out, and everything would go in one ear and exit straight out the other. However, through rudimentary "sparring" and applicative methods, he was able to drill battle instincts and such into the boy at a fast pace. That, coupled with Naruto's seemingly boundless energy resulted in Naruto reaching the academy graduation level of jutsu usage in less than a year (Hiruzen gave up on teaching the standard Bunshin (Clone) jutsu to him and opted for the more chakra-intensive Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) which was easier for the literal well of chakra).

Fifth Year After the Kyūbi Attack

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Hi-Kaminari no Kuni Border

Kakashi was making his daily rounds throughout the area surrounding the encampment. The war effort was going well. Rather, as well as it can be with Konoha's weakened state.

However, with the inactivity of Kumo recently, Kakashi felt no peace, but rather a sense of dangerous foreboding. Despite his famed temper, the Yondaime Raikage was anything but a fool. And with the old fence-sitter Tsuchikage thrown in, the silence could only mean that they were building big. Dragging on warfare is foolish, and the only reason they could do such a thing is if they had the plans and means to completely vanquish the opponent in the end.

So, the anxiety of warfare did not leave him for a second, but it rather festered and grew.

Suddenly, one of his many distant pulses of chakra was disturbed. The shinobi paled.

He's sensing a massive force, perhaps nearing three thousand in count (at least he couldn't sense the jinchūriki).

Their defense forces at the border numbered barely two thousand.

Kakashi created a clone, who sprinted back towards camp, alerting every one of the threat.

We must call at least another shinobi of my caliber to survive this, mused Kakashi.

He sent another clone, this time to alert Inoichi and send a message via CTCD (Chakra Transmission Communication Device) to Konoha for Jiraiya.

- (A few days later) -

Umino Iruka was a freshly minted chūnin, one with little experience with warfare and death, apart from the deaths of his parents during the Kyūbi Attack five years ago.

So, with his first mission being such a vital one it is incredibly nerve-wracking. His teammates, Gekkō Hayate and Shiranui Genma (the highest ranked shinobi, a tokubetsu jōnin and a former guard of the Fourth Hokage), were equally nervous, but at least they had experience with this, and were stronger than him.

The three of them had been assigned to a sabotage mission. Today is the first day of the battle, and they were to sneak into the enemy camp during the chaos and burn their food supplies, forcing a temporary retreat.

Why was this mission assigned to three chūnin?

Because these three had small signatures, and all the jōnin were in the vanguard of the army, drawing all the attention to increase the chances of successful infiltration.

Right now, Iruka, Genma, and Hayate were Henge-ed into flies, and they were slowly moving towards the enemy camp, careful to avoid people as much as possible to prevent chakra detection.

A few shinobi would glance at their general direction, as if they had sensed something, but turned away soon after.

Blade of grass after blade of grass, the shinobi trekked across the landscape at a steady snail's pace. Although the journey was long, it was fairly calm.

That changed very quickly, however.

Hayate, in a momentary lapse of judgement, brought his hand to his mouth to cover up a near imperceptible cough. Instead, he accidentally let off a small flare of chakra when his foot landed not on solid ground, but rather onto empty air, then a small pit in the ground.

Granted, he was able to right himself quickly without disrupting his Henge, but that light fluctuation of chakra was enough to alert the enemies.

An aged shinobi with a scar across his face narrowed his eyes and sent a chakra-aided palm in a great gust of wind towards the trio. The two that were ahead managed to stay hidden, but Hayate was not so lucky.

Tumbling from the form of a fly into a human, Hayate barely managed to escape a blade that was a hair's width from slitting his throat. He stumbled up, still coughing, but with his sword drawn, he could at least fend for himself.

Hayate nervously swallowed as he was quickly encircled. This was the end for him. Hopefully his teammates had gone on to continue the mission, but...

To ensure their safety, he was going to have to go all out.

A double of Hayate appeared beside him, and together, they forms turned into nothing but a series of afterimages.

"Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

Together, their blades sang a duet of deathly beauty. One shinobi was cut down in a sanguine shower, and then another. Hayate's breaths became increasingly labored, yet with every swing of his blade, a new sanguinary drizzle would appear.

The shinobi began backing away in fear, calling for back up. This gave Hayate a moment of reprieve, allowing some air to return to his insalubrious lungs.

He was not aware of it at the time, but later, this battle would give him the moniker of Hayate of the Crescent Blade, Konoha's unmatched swordsman. Though there was much speculation on whether he or the Seven Swordsmen of Mizugakure were stronger, it was no doubt in anyone's minds that a new generation of powerful shinobi were on the rise.

Hayate was only a chūnin in name, after all. His skill in kenjutsu (the art of the blade) could be considered the best in the village, and the only reason he was unable to attain higher heights was because of his ill lungs.

And those lungs cost him.

Noticing the coughing, he was once again surrounded. And by their signatures, Hayate could tell that they were no longer amateur shinobi, but seasoned veterans and formidable opponents.

So, this was it, huh?

However, any and all comprehension of the situation was shot out of his mind when he saw two men fly literally into the circle and grab him by his collar.

Genma and Iruka. They'd come back for him.

Why? Was their mission accomplished? Or was it abandoned?

He could do nothing but keep running.

Genma growled, and a volley of deadly blades appeared out of seemingly nowhere, halting their pursuers for a moment, enough to pull ahead with his teammates and disappear into the thick forest surrounding the battlefield.

Their pursuers seemed to stop, deciding it wasn't worth it, and returned to camp in the case that it was a diversion.

And Hayate, along with his teammate, finally allowed them to breathe.

The forest was silent, besides their labored breathing mixed with Hayate's suppressed coughs.

"Why?"

He finally managed to croak out, "Why come back for me? You saw what happened to the White Fang, why would you abandon the mission for me?"

Genma scowled. "Listen here, idiot. The people who told you that Hatake Sakumo-sama's actions were dishonorable were idiots, and you should know that! So what if he put the lives of his comrades above the mission? The war was going to happen anyways, and the mission's failure was simply the excuse they used, and the White Fang was simply the scapegoat the masses pushed their blames onto!"

He poked his finger into Hayate's chest. "I was a consort of the Yondaime Hokage, and I'm not about to let my teammate die if I could've prevented it!"

Iruka chimed in, "Besides, the job was done anyways." He smiled. "Genma waited there to save you, and I went on my own, and exploded a good third of their foodstuffs."

Hayate's eyes widened minutely, and he was silent.

For Hayate, this was a reminder of what made Konohagakure Konoha. Teamwork really was unbreakable, apparently.

And for Iruka, this finally instilled some confidence into him, and a greater appreciation for the Hokages' preaching on collaborative effort.

Many more such experiences will continue to shape them and sharpen these shinobi into truly formidable weapons.

After all, bonds forged in the fires of war are unbreakable. And with these unbreakable bonds, Konoha can't lose.

This year saw Naruto further improving in basic jutsu and other things as well.

Of course, that wasn't all that he had to know. Though Naruto was somewhat of a fighting genius, being able to come up with unique and effective tactics on the go, getting him to learn and hone more delicate skills such as his aim with projectile weaponry and long-term strategy and negotiation was nearly impossible. In the end, after months and months, Hiruzen settled for what he had managed to drill through that thick skull. Naruto had a mediocre understanding of strategy (long-term planning and strategical decisions rather than on-the-fly tactics), passable aim that could be supported and remedied by his ingenious use of shadow clones. However, Hiruzen was saddened by the fact that in that cranium, Naruto had absolutely no sense of negotiation or situational awareness. All he had was sheer, unadulterated, unbreakable stubbornness. Which might be a good thing in some cases, but a complete detriment in other cases.

Well, no one was perfect, right?

This year, Kumo launched a single attack. However, it was a heavy one. Only under Kakashi and Jiraiya's joint leadership was Konoha able to pull through. In fact, Jiraiya had to abandon his spymaster network as well as his quest on bringing back Tsunade (a task that was relegated to one very reluctant and fearful Sarutobi Asuma) in order to help with the warfront efforts.

This year, as a result, saw Tsunade be labelled a missing-nin. It pained Hiruzen to do this, but it was the only way he could think of cornering her into returning. If Kakashi could return to active duty with such vigor so soon after the death of everyone he loved, there was no logical reason for Tsunade to stay away. She was merely being childish. And an alcoholic (which really doesn't help anyone).

However, besides the several-month-long battle resulting in a standstill (coined the Northern Border War, later changed to the First Northern Border War), this year passed by relatively peacefully.

Sixth Year After the Kyūbi Attack

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Konohagakure no Sato

"I'm gonna win this time, old man!"

This was a spar. The first clean hit wins.

Naruto grinned and charged at Hiruzen. As he ran, one figure became three in a puff of smoke. The two newly created shadow clones together charged ahead as the vanguard while Naruto was in the rear, waiting for an opening.

Hiruzen, with a single tap of his fist, dispelled the two clones. Flipping into the air, Naruto then came rushing down in a vanguard of another three clones. Hiruzen, sensing a trap, simply jumped back while sending out a small shockwave with a crossing of his arms to guard against any attacks and push the team of Narutos back. Naruto gave chase, yelling loudly the whole way. "You're going down, old man!"

The aged shinobi simply smiled. "Oh, is that so?"

Naruto leaped forward, a ring of corporeal clones surrounding him from being struck. "Go!" He shouted.

The twelve clones tackled down Hiruzen, and as he dispelled them, Naruto came into view.

The boy swung his fist in a wide arc, and it reached closer and closer...

And then he was laying on the ground. Hiruzen used Kawarimi at the last moment, and because his momentum was not enough to accelerate and dodge nor was it small enough to halt and turn, Naruto was sent flying into a tree with a light palm strike.

"Damn it, I lost!"

Hiruzen chuckled. "It's still far to early for you to be able to best me, Naru-chan."

Said child pouted. "I'm not Naru-chan anymore! Call me something cool!"

Hiruzen played along and pretended to think while stroking his goatee. "Hmm, how about Narutomaki, the King of the Kamoboko?"

Naruto, being a young child who was not aware that this title meant King of the Fishcake, happily agreed, and proceeded to bellow this title out to everyone he knew.

"Ack!"

Naruto was blown into a tree, once more, by the force of Hiruzen's blow.

"Can't you go a little easier on me, old man?"

Hiruzen smiled slyly. "Why? You can't handle this?"

Naruto was immediately furious. "Of course I can! Who said I can't?"

Charging back in, Naruto managed to hold his own against a greatly powered down Hokage for a few seconds, and then was promptly blown away again.

"Naruto," the young boy looked up. "There's something that I've been waiting to tell you. Tomorrow's your birthday, isn't it? Let's go celebrate, and I'll tell you then."

Naruto nodded, excited for whatever he was going to be told. Maybe a cool new jutsu? Maybe some top-secret information?

It turns out that the latter was quite close, actually.

October 25, the Kyūbi Festival. Each year, on this day, the villagers would celebrate the defeat of the monstrous being that had trashed their homes and stolen their loved ones.

However, on this day, they would also be extra hostile towards Naruto.

The young boy was no fool, after a few experiences involving chases and ANBU interference, he had learned to either stay at home or use a Henge to disguise himself.

Since he was three though, the old man had always picked him up to his house, and there was always a little cake and a present for him. First, it was a package of brand-new kunai and shuriken, then a book on basic sealing (which was fascinating, really. Too bad he didn't have enough time to really delve into it), and now...

Hiruzen sat there, wearing an expression that could only be described as tired. He handed Naruto a photo. A photo of a man and woman. A man, whose hair looked like his own, and a woman, whose face looked like his own.

Merge the two together, and Naruto sees himself.

As tears began to drop, Hiruzen stood up, paced around to pat Naruto's back, and slowly began.

"That photo is of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina."

Naruto sobbed. "Really? Then why do... why do they hate me so much?"

"Lift up your shirt, Naruto."

Naruto did. There it was, the inky black formation that was always there. The one that always prompted the old man to change the subject when it was mentioned.

"What is it?"

"A seal. Remember that book I gave you?"

Naruto nodded. "Good, then what is the primary function of a seal?"

"To store, mostly physical objects and manipulative chakric energies."

Hiruzen nodded, faintly smiling as it was evident that Naruto had paid attention to the subject. "Correct. That seal, my boy, holds the Kyūbi no Yōko."

Naruto's eyes widened, and they welled up once more with tears, salty as the ocean.

"Is this wh-why they...? Why me?"

Hiruzen pulled Naruto into a hug. "Because your parents trusted you, Naruto. Listen carefully, this is a secret of the village that no one else can know. Can I trust you?"

Naruto, despite his obvious distraught, nodded.

"A jinchūriki is a demon vessel, one who holds a tailed beast. There are nine of them in the world, with the one in your stomach being the most powerful of them all. Your mother was its holder before you."

"...?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Sealing these beings of chakra into people allowed their immense power to emerge and be used, and thus, one by one, they were sealed away as deterrents of war and shows of power. However, a seal weakens during childbirth, as all the energy in the body is diverted to that task instead. Someone claiming to be Uchiha Madara-"

"Madara? Isn't he dead?"

"We don't know for sure yet. But that man was able to use a fully developed Sharingan – you remember what that is, right? Good – was able to take control of the fox and forced it to wreak havoc upon the village.

"Your parents gave their life to seal it within you, because they trusted that you, you would be able to control its power and use it for good. Now that war is upon us, you will be a primary target.

"Before the war, I made a mistake, and revealed your status to the village in hopes that they would raise you well. That obviously did not go well. This is my way of making amends: I will protect you until the time is right, and you will become more than just a weapon.

"Naruto, many out there wanted you to be trained much harder, into an emotionless, flawless, sub-human weapon. However, I want you to be a human being, one capable of emotions, of empathy. Can you promise me that no matter what, you'll place your humanity above all else?"

Naruto's tears had dried. There was no longer a need to cry. He understood. "Yes, old man. I will be a human before a weapon, but I will protect this village and make my parents proud!"

Hiruzen could only nod, and finally the child and elder shared the cake in silence, as the sun set upon this day.

This year began with good tidings and ended with a dangerous portent of trouble to come.

Tsunade, after being pursued relentlessly by dozens of bounty hunters from all over, finally caved. After some negotiations, she and her former teacher agreed on her coming to Konoha bi-annually to check the medical system and shinobi, as well as heal any difficult injuries. She also agreed to take on at least one student in the next two years, to ensure the legacy of a battlefront medic will continue to run in Konoha.

With Naruto, he was up to almost genin level. Although progress slowed down greatly from the year before, Hiruzen managed to drill some sense of strategy and warfare into him, to at least prevent him from falling to the simplest traps (it would be completely in-character for Naruto to immediately get caught in a pincer trap the moment he arrives on the battlefield and barely make it out alive).

Hiruzen made a deal with Naruto, where he would teach him one elemental jutsu of his choice (he was training the boy after his style after all, as a master of all elements) every time Naruto could successfully come up with a reasonably sound strategy for the many situations he had come up with. However, this deal was soon altered to just wind and water jutsu since Naruto hyper focused over those two more than any others.

It was at this point that Hiruzen confirmed his suspicion was correct. Naruto would not be a master of all, but rather a grandmaster of few. He could do more with less, and thus, Hiruzen's training methods changed.

He began limiting Naruto's arsenal, to only the Academy three (with the Kage Bunshin) and one jutsu of each element. Then, every few weeks, there would be one less jutsu allowed, until Naruto was only able to use Henge (Transformation), Kawarimi (Body Replacement), and Kage Bunshin.

And Hiruzen's heart both ached with joy, sadness, and guilt when Naruto, at the age of 6, was able to hold his own (for just a few short minutes, mostly running away, but still) against the aged God of Shinobi.

However, all good things ended when concerning news came from Jiraiya's extensive network of spies and informants.

Kumogakure somehow had established hold in Kaze no Kuni, and Sunagakure was under fire from both Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

Konoha hastily sent reinforcements, and the village was saved, but losses for Konoha and Suna were extensive, and the situation is dire on that front. However, with heavy forces in Kaze no Kuni, the rest of the Konoha Allied Forces were able to win ground north, into Kaminari no Kuni.

One thing that many people may ignore are the deep connections between the Daimyōs of each country and their respective Kages. In order to maintain order, they must work together closely. In times of war, war between villages become war between nations, and each nation has their own non-shinobi forces that assist with battle. A large portion of the forces in Sunagakure defending are made up of such soldiers. They may not have chakra, but with heavy armor that shinobi would almost never wear and solid understanding of tactics and strategy, they were a vital force holding up the fort of Suna.

This year saw the failure of the deal Hiruzen had struck with Kakashi. If the son of the White Fang was to return to Konoha, the battlefront he was at would literally collapse, so Hiruzen sighed, and continued to care for and train Naruto.

This year ended again with both sides at a standstill, but a standstill built upon a dam of tension that was destined to be released.

The only question: when?

Seventh Year After the Kyūbi Attack

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Sunagakure no Sato

A cloud of dust rose on the horizon.

In a desert like the one Sunagakure is in, sandstorms are quite commonplace.

However, as Kakashi squinted his eyes through the sand, he felt his chakra register something unpleasant.

Two enormous chakra signatures, on par with if not surpassing Kage-levels.

"So, they're finally here," he muttered with disbelief and fear.

Shouting at a nearby genin, "Go get Jiraiya-sama! This is an emergency!" Kakashi leapt from his post and down, towards the congregation of soldiers in the center of town.

"We're under attack! Into formation, now!"

A clone appeared in a puff of smoke, and in a blur Kakashi was running the opposite direction, towards the frontline defense.

Hopefully their hidden strategy would prove to be useful, since this could potentially spell the doom of the Village Hidden in the Sand.

He scanned the surroundings. Where was Itachi? The young genius recently was deployed in Kakashi's squad, and he's been a very reliable second-in-command that's saved Kakashi and the troops many times.

"There he is."

Kakashi called out. "Itachi!"

Itachi jumped onto the roof, landing beside Kakashi. "Hatake-san."

"Iwa and Kumo are here. It's time to go."

The young shinobi nodded, and the two turned into blurs as they sped towards the frontlines.

Kakashi turned towards Itachi. "Is everything accounted for?"

The younger shinobi nodded. "Yes. The troops are in place, the traps have been set. And... Gaara is ready as well."

Kakashi noted his grimace. "I know, using a child like that is disgusting, but we can't go and tell the Kazekage to stuff the Tanuki into a different person, you know?"

Itachi clenched his fist lightly. "He's the same age as my brother."

Kakashi held out his arm, and they halted. Itachi looked at him confusingly, questions visible in his coal eyes.

Kakashi's hand landed on the Uchiha's shoulder. He offered no words of comfort, but instead simply held his shoulder.

"There must be no hesitation in battle. One moment of hesitance is enough to die by, so I want you to clear your mind, and then we can go."

Itachi nodded. He took a few deep breaths and looked at Kakashi again. This time, his eyes were unwavering in their determination. "I'm ready."

"Then let's go. Time waits for no one, and war..."

His gaze hardened. "War spares no one."

It was a brutal battle.

However, with Konoha's initial surprise, they were able to somewhat level the playing field, and after three days and nights of anxiety and determination, Sunagakure survived.

What was the surprise?

Well, there wasn't one. Or, at least there wasn't one at first.

In the weeks prior to the attack, Kakashi and Jiraiya had managed to draft up a strategy. With the help of Gaara, the Ichibi jinchūriki, they rearranged the terrain outside the village into something reminiscent of a valley. Though the slope was not steep at all, the loose sand dunes and pits of carefully placed quicksand would be enough to steer the enemies into a rough area.

And thus, it would be most logical for the defenders to employ some sort of a pincer attack, otherwise what would be the point of such a formation?

Consequently, the joint Iwa and Kumo forces strategized heavily on countering such an attack. After all, there would only be one viable direction to attack from; all other directions were cut off with endless pits of sinkholes filled with loose sand and fields of artificial quicksand, and easily detectable arrays of volatile explosive tags.

So, rather than messing with the countless traps, they opted to concentrate their forces into one hopefully successful attack in the single weakness of their defense.

However, their preparations went up in smoke as no pincer attack ever came.

Kakashi was smirking at this point. The plain and open confusion of the enemy forces was clear, and this was exactly what their point was. But that would not be for long.

With a swipe of his hand, Kakashi sent out the first waves of forces. At this point, the enemy had marched close to the city wall, though halting a fair way away in fear of some trap. However, with his estimations, Kakashi had surmised the general location, and in a tidal wave of sand from Gaara the vanguard of the joint Iwa-Kumo army went under.

From that point on, it was utter chaos. The Konoha-Suna forces leapt from the city walls in a storm of blades, fury, and a giant toad. Meanwhile, the Iwa-Kumo forces were desperately trying to regroup and organize.

Despite the initial surprise factor and successful hampering of the Iwa-Kumo army, their overwhelming numbers still allowed them to fight back with vigor. By the end of the first round of chaotic brawling, both sides were down to less than a thousand soldiers fit for battle, but Konoha-Suna had over a hundred less than their enemies.

However, the core of the battle lay with the Kage and near Kage level shinobi. It was Jiraiya, Kakashi, Gaara and Itachi against Nii Yugito of Kumogakure (holder of the Nibi, Two-Tails), Han of Iwagakure (holder of the Gobi, Five-Tails), and Rōshi of Iwagakure (holder of the Yonbi, Four-Tails).

The attackers were highly skilled and seasoned shinobi. Nii Yugito, a seasoned warrior of Kumogakure, was lithe and agile, accentuated by her thin shape and a long whip-like blond ponytail. Han and Rōshi on the other hand were far more power-focused. Han's bulky crimson armor and furnace on the back inhibited him from being fast, but made his strikes far more powerful than any others. Rōshi's lack of heavy bodily protection gave him enough mobility to surpass Han but not quite Yugito. He much prefers to finish fights with flashy, powerful jutsu in a simple battle of chakra, giving him a reputation of hard-headed and brash.

Out of the defenders, Gaara and Itachi were a bit too inexperienced to be able to stand against toe-to-toe with the others. Thus, they mostly stood back and provided support rather than being the main fighters. On top of that, Gaara had some... insubordination issues.

This of course put Jiraiya and Kakashi at a disadvantage, seeing as how they were often outnumbered, two against three. Despite this, they were able to hold on. After all, Konoha preached teamwork over anything else, and with two of the strongest shinobi from that village working in tandem, even three fully mature jinchūriki had trouble defeating them.

However, Gaara usurped this balance. Every time Han puffs out a stream of steam out of his heavy red armor, instead of waiting for a correct moment to strike, Gaara rushes in, the Ichibi cackling in his mind, goading him to take their lives, riding upon a tsunami of sand.

And every time, Itachi, Kakashi or Jiraiya had to rush in after him to not get him killed. Han's superior chakra and strength of jutsu allows his steam to easily blow away the sand, ladening the light and flexible medium with enough moisture to take away any potential threat.

An unstable jinchūriki, and one at the age of seven, was not a fun thing to handle amid a deadly battle. One day in, and Gaara was sent back behind the lines with a brand-new seal that patched up his unstable one and a lot of chakra suppressants.

And so, the battle raged on. Itachi's stamina was not up to par with Kakashi, who himself was not on equal footing with Jiraiya. This created an interesting rotational strategy, where Itachi and Kakashi rotated in and out of the battle to recover, and if Jiraiya is in need of rest, they both chime in and buy him some time for recovery.

And at last, the final day, the final battle.

"Gamabunta!"

The boss toad grunted, readying his massive tantō into a battle stance. "Same plan?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Same plan. Ma, Pa," he turned to the toads on his shoulders. "You can start now."

The short statured toads nodded in synchronization. They closed their eyes, and Jiraiya felt a stream of familiar volatile energy enter his nexus of chakra paths. Silencing any and all movement of his body, that energy was carefully absorbed into his body, and soon tell-tale red markings of his famous Sage-Mode emerged (along with a toad-like nose).

Itachi and Kakashi stood beside him on top of Gamabunta. Itachi's eyes swirled with fully mature three-tomoe Sharingan, just as Kakashi's left eye was. They stood there, silently waiting, as their opponents looked up upon them from thirty meters below on the ground.

Jiraiya, to kill of any budding unease, shouted. "Shinobi of Konoha!"

"Go! For Konoha!"

The trio leapt into action. Yugito, Han, and Rōshi readied their stances, preparing to receive the first attack.

"Hmmph!"

A giant slash from Gamabunta's blade opened the battle. It left a deep gash upon the earth, one that the Iwa-Kumo shinobi jumped back from to avoid. Following the flash of white, Itachi breathed in deeply, drew upon his shallow yet deadly reserve of chakra, and blew out a giant dragon of fire.

"Katon: Ryūka!"

Kakashi's hands spun at a nearly inperceptible speed, before blowing out an equally strong stream of wind. "Fūton: Kami Oroshi!"

Wind fueled fire, after all. The stream of oxygen that was circulating through the fire and the added velocity turned the initial dragon of fire into a raging inferno, a conflagration that scorched the Iwa-Kumo shinobi.

Unfortunately, the three opposing tailed-beast holders all had fire as an element of mastery. Yugito responded in kind by dancing into the fray of battle, body covered in the blue fire signature of the Nibi. "Die!" She jumped forward, lithe and agile, fingering lengthening into deadly claws that simlutaneously attacked Kakashi and Itachi. The two Konoha-nin dodged the attack, and readied counterattacks.

Yugito stood up straight, and held out a curling hand. "Come, youngsters. Prepare to die."

Kakashi was immediately wary. At best, she was able to fight him to a standstill, and with Itachi, it was a sure loss for her.

Unless...

A suicide jutsu? A two on one would have a high likelihood of killing off Jiraiya.

"Itachi!" Kakashi bellowed, projecting his voice over the wind Yugito's claws are stirring up in their wake. "Go assist Jiraiya-sama! I'll take care of her!"

Itachi frantically asked, "Are you sure?"

Yugito swiped her hand at Itachi. Kakashi barely managed to push the young Uchiha out of the way and was rewarded with a gash in his vest and a stinging pain in his shoulder. "Go! You musn't lose your resolution, not at this moment." He turned towards the Nibi holder, eyes deadly sharp, body unwavering in his determination. "I will win. And you will help Jiraiya-sama, and we'll all pull through this!"

Itachi grits his teeth, barely choking out "Yes" to his captain, and left, tears pooling in his eyes. He didn't even know why he was crying. After all, Kakashi was tough, wasn't he? He was the strongest shinobi in Konoha besides the Sannin and their teacher, surely, he could hold off the enemy long enough to live, right?

Right?

With Jiraiya and the two jinchūriki hailing from Iwagakure, things weren't going well for the former.

Despite neither being able to quite reach Jiraiya effectively within close quarters, they settled for heated jutsu. With Han being a master of Steam Release jutsu and Rōshi being one of the strongest Lava Release users in the Elemental Nations, the scorching heat from the two was enough to keep Jiraiya on his toes, even thirty meters above ground

Jiraiya frowned. Here, he was taking more hits than he was landing, so in a flourish of white hair and red robe he descended from the giant toad like a comet.

Holding out his hand, he beckoned silently, awaiting the true start of battle.

Han, known as one of the top taijutsu masters in the world, began with a hailstorm of close-quarter attacks. His hands were puffing with steam, red-hot and burning to touch. Each palm would be the equivalent of a scorching piece of metal placed upon one's skin; in short, it would hurt.

Jiraiya knew this, and he was wise to avoid direct contact with Han's strikes, instead going to deflections. Though his armor was still hot to touch, the Toad Sage's clever coat of chakra allowed this contact heat to be negated.

However, Han was not the only threat in this battle.

Rōshi, in all his molten glory, spat out a great meteoric burst of molten rock. Jiraiya could not simply dodge, so in a flurry of handsigns, he spat out a great torrent of water.

"Suiton: Hatō (Water Release: Surging Sea)!"

The great wave of water collided with the titanic ball of lava. Upon collision, the lava solidified, turning into a charred black rock, which Jiraiya easily smashed through with a nature-chakra infused fist.

Wait, where was Han?

Jiraiya's nervousness dissipated, as out of the corner of his eye, he could see Itachi dancing around the armored man with ease. Though Itachi could not defeat Han, the reverse was likely also true, seeing as how much of a genius Itachi was when it came to tactics and strategy. A breath that he didn't realize he was holding was released.

"Tough old man, aren't you?"

Jiraiya looked at Rōshi, whose purple marking across his face was curved in a slight grin, spurred on by the heat of the battle.

He lightly returned the expression. "You're not that young either, Rōshi of the Lava Release. You can really tell one's age when their epitaph is of the Kekkei Genkai that they use, eh? No originality in your day and age, it seems."

Rōshi snorted. "Fair enough. Though your name is not very creative either, Mr. Toad Sage. Although I will say," his form lit up with chakra, enveloping his body in a bubbly coat of demonic chakra. "Your facial features certain match your summon."

Jiraiya's hands also began to spin with chakra. "Well, let's allow the outcome of the battle to settle this, won't we?"

The Yonbi jinchūriki smirked, in his four tailed chakra form. "Fair enough," he conceded.

In a burst of greatly enhanced speed, his lava-coated fist flew towards Jiraiya in a shower of red. The Sannin was barely able to raise a wall of dirt to block the strike in time.

Rōshi smirked. "How will you handle this, Toad Sage?" Raising his hands to his chest, Rōshi blurred through dozens of handsigns, and from his lungs an eruption of molten rock flew at the Sannin.

Jiraiya hastily took out a scroll from his belt, and in a flourish unraveled it. A large matrix glowed upon the parchment, and all the lava disappeared from the air.

"Seals, eh? I suppose you do live to to your name as a seal master."

Rōshi suddenly grunted, as Jiraiya managed to slam a fist into his stomach in between dodging and throwing punches.

"Gogyō Fūin (Five Elements Seal)!"

Rōshi was sent into a panic, as the familiar fiery chakra faded from his veins and coils. Jiraiya had somehow seal away the power of his bijū, and all he could do was sit there as sudden chakra depletion paralyzes the body.

Jiraiya smirked. "One down, two to go."

Kakashi's voice rang out weakly from behind him. "That's two down, actually, Jiraiya-sama."

The Sage turned around and saw Kakashi hoisting a tightly bound Nii Yugito, knocked unconscious and gagged.

His eyebrows rocketed up. "That quick? I was expecting a long, drawn-out fight between the two of you, since you're both tactical and quick shinobi rather than powerhouses comparing chakra pools."

Kakashi shrugged. "I went in with an injury, so I decided to finish things fast. I surprised her with my new jutsu."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding and chuckled. "I see. Well, you can recover, I'll go help Itachi."

"I can still-"

Jiraiya stopped him, "No, stay. I'm not that old yet. Itachi and I together can take Han out, no problem."

Kakashi sighed with resignation and sat down obediently.

Jiraiya turned somber once more, channeled chakra into his already fatigued legs, and took off towards the commotion in the distance.

Itachi was there, standing with a slight limp, opposing an equally weary Han. The armored man was slumping a bit, cradling one of his arms, and his signature crimson bodily protection bore countless cracks and chinks that were not there before.

Han, upon noting his arrival, put up both hands. "I surrender."

Jiraiya was taken aback. "Why?"

Han snorted. "I'm not about to throw away my life fighting a losing battle for a village I'm not even loyal to. I've long ago cut my ties with Iwa, and I was mostly coerced into returning by Ōnoki."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "How'd he do that?"

"High bounty, assignment of a specialized assassination squad. I'd have no peace, the very reason why I left in the first place."

The white-haired man nodded. "I see, I see. Well, we'll be taking you into custody now. We can't promise anything to you, you know?"

Han nodded. "I know. I entered the war fully aware of the consequences." And so, Jiraiya knocked him out.

Despite heavy losses, with the forces based in Sunagakure suffering over a thousand deaths, they pulled through.

The joint Iwa-Kumo army suffered even more, as their initially superior numbers are now below that of the defenders'.

And after this battle, all was quiet for a long time. There were only minor engagements on the border here and there, but for a long period of three full years, no more major engagements occurred.

And that brings us to the present.

The tenth year after the Kyūbi attack.

One short, blond-haired child named Uzumaki Naruto grinned.

The day has come.