Ai stared at the letter from the Sandaime with amusement. Sure, Konoha was in a tough situation, internally at least, but to think the village had something like this was simply ridiculous. It meant there was a lot of control. Then again, it was the Sandaime Hokage in charge.

Villages with powerful clans always seemed to suffer the worst. The Kaguya clan in the Mist became too big for their shoes and attempted a coup. They were completely destroyed. The Uchiha survived, but allowing one clan to become powerful enough to surpass the Kage was just wrong—it offended the balance of power. Nobody should be more powerful than the Kage.

Ai didn't mind his people having power. But, looking at the report, he came to a realization that Konoha probably had no control over the Uchiha clan. He'd never allow it in the village. If those people came here, they'd cause problems.

"Our intelligence operations are lacking. Something like this happened and we didn't know until the Leaf informed us," Ai said, handing the letter over to Mabui.

There was no benefit in starting a war with Konoha. It wasn't because he thought he'd lose such a war—perish the thought; he simply thought it was more beneficial to have meals with the Leaf than a clash of swords and fists. However, he also understood the value of intelligence. Allies, but ignorance wouldn't benefit him in any way.

"We're not big on intelligence." Mabui remarked, looking through the letter. "Our operation to capture a Hyuga was because we lacked the correct information. If we had the Intelligence, we would have planned it with care, and targeted someone else."

"We wouldn't have gotten rid of that man," Ai said with a shrug. "Nothing much came out of it."

Mabui stared at the man. "You were the one who threatened war with the Leaf." She said with a blank expression on her face.

He'd been serious when threatening a full-out war. He may not have intended for war, but if Konoha had called their bluff, Ai would have gone to war with them.

"What do you think?" Ai asked, without responding to Mabui's statement.

Mabui sighed deeply and placed the letter on the desk. "It's not surprising that Iwagakure wants to see Konoha destroyed. We have had our issues with the Leaf, but Iwagakure is far worse. They've never even had any form of communication since the war. But I'm surprised they'd go this far."

Ai interrupted Mabui while she spoke. "I'm talking about the Uchiha." He didn't care what motivated Iwagakure. The matter was finished. But of course, he didn't dismiss the threat. Konoha was indeed powerful, and the current Kumo didn't have anyone rising in the ranks to even surpass the current generation. It was disheartening, and treacherous. Perhaps a failure on his part. If he'd succeeded in attaining the blood lines he wanted, he wouldn't be having such worries.

"It's unsurprising. But it doesn't look like there is an issue. The fact that it was their leader who sorted it out simply means it was never his intention." Did she say anything about Naruto appearing in the way to warn them? Mabui decided it would only complicate things. After all, the Uchiha had simply wanted to see if they were taking advantage of the Sandaime Hokage.

"What if the Uchiha decide we are a threat to Konohagakure?" Ai asked curiously. This letter made him wonder about it.

"Konoha would unlikely be unable to stop it. Naruto-san is stronger than the Sandaime Hokage. But once Itachi-san assumes leadership, things would be different. We know those two are completely different people." Mabui explained.

"What do we do about that?" Ai asked.

"What are you thinking?"

Ai shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing is going to change," he said in a firm tone. "But we need to ensure Konoha can control the Uchiha clan leader. Regardless of their differences, Itachi is still Uchiha."

"When we go to the Leaf, we should arrange a meeting with him. You'll get a better opinion about him once you've spoken with him." As far as Mabui has heard, the Uchiha was a good person, and likely someone they could work with.

"Have it arranged then." Ai said with a slight nod of his head. "We must also try to curtail Konoha's control over Iwagakure—if they succeed." Nothing was guaranteed. No power was truly absolute. Even gods stumbled in their own power.

"Will Konoha agree?"

"We will have to talk to Kiri about it. Konoha can't take any of the Jinchuriki in Iwagakure. In fact, they should capture them and share with us." Ai suggested. "We need something to balance the scales."

What Iwagakure wanted didn't matter. The village had declared war on the Leaf. If it fell, it was only right for its Jinchuriki to be taken away from it. He wouldn't even mind coming to an agreement with the other Kage for all of them to oversee the Village.

"Kirigakure and Konoha are good friends." Mabui pointed out. "We remain an outsider. Without Iwagakure, we have no other power to defend us."

A fatal flaw in all this that couldn't be ignored. The thing that made Mabui felt a sense of safety was the fact that Konoha didn't plan on destroying the Earth. If so, she thought they could try to offer the Stone an olive branch. They would accept any hand, as long as it made them feel they were not without friends.

"We'll have to be cautious things."

Earth Country

In the full day Jiraiya spent with Naruto's his students, he realized the three were completely different from each other, in terms of their personalities, but they still worked together. Strangely enough, Yuto and Neji didn't interact that much. They both spoke with Sora, but didn't hold much of a conversation between them. Naruto just seemed to watch, and only took part in anything when he was showing them something or giving them lectures.

He'd already known the Uchiha was a good teacher. Despite being very rational, he seemed to care for his students.

He'd come to learn Sora had graduated from Military academy as the stop student. There had been Uchiha in the group, but the boy had come out on top. He was smart, and had been taught well. At his age, he could use different nature transformations. It was so remarkable, Jiraiya only ended up thinking it was what to be expected of Naruto's student.

Neji was practicing with his sword, with a clone of Naruto, and Yuto was closely behind Naruto. He was like a tail. You'd think the boy had no emotions, but when Sora pressed, he displayed all sorts of emotions. It had been funny when that expressionless mask slipped.

"What do you think about your sensei?"

Sora glanced at the Sannin. The man was a pervert, and he was proud of it. They'd come to a town, and the man's glory had been at display. It had been disappointing. Sora wished it was an imposter. The powerful Sannin turned out to be a self-proclaimed super pervert who bled from his nose when he saw boobs and a skirt crossing the road.

"Sensei is sensei," Sora shrugged.

"You're saying that on purpose, aren't you?" The sannin said, both eye brows raised.

The boy smiled, "despite appearances, you really miss nothing, Pervert-sama."

Jiraiya wore an annoyed expression at the nickname. Before he could huff and puff in frustration, Neji walked back toward them, looking worn out. It was apparent that Naruto had no interest in making them engage in battle with Iwagakure. He was still training them along the way. Perhaps because he probably didn't even have time to spend hours with them in the training field within Konoha.

"How do you get along with him?" Jiraiya asked Neiji. Rather, he whined toward the Hyuga prodigy.

Neji was truly dignified, and he was just as smart as Sora. A prodigy, no question. His skill in the gentle fist was evident. Naruto truly 'taught' his students. Jiraiya had tested Neji's gentle fist and it was beyond what a normal Hyuga could do. The speed in which Neji attacked was simply ridiculous. His hands moved like a blur, and even so, Sora seemed to be able to dodge the strikes.

The three were built for stamina and could withstand hits.

"I tolerate him," Neji said, and then settled on his butt. He grabbed a bottle of water and took a few gulps. "He isn't so bad now that he can't beat me."

"You've just gotten lucky!"

"Yes… a couple of times now…" Neji replied, rolling his eyes. "What did you expect anyway? You'd peaked too early."

Sora glared at Neji – after all that hard work, the Hyuga just surpassed him. He truly understood why Naruto wanted him to learn Sage Arts. Jiraiya of course, hadn't said anything since. "One day, Hyuga, one day…"

"I'll wait for that day." Neji said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Jiraiya shook his head. He could understand Sora's frustrations. As far as he's heard, the boy had trained toward his physical limits. He'd been better than his teammates, and then suddenly, when the two tapped into their bloodlines, all the effort became undone. Jiraiya had never been a genius, and he'd not come from the background of Tsunade, but he made it. But it was not enough for him to consider taking Sora as a student.

"Bloody bloodline wielders," Sora said in a cold tone. He turned toward the incoming Yuto. "Even this bastard is going to become unreachable when he excels in manipulating the Sharingan. Why was a born clan less?"

"Nobody chooses where to be born." Jiraiya said in a serious tone.

"Don't take him seriously," Yuto said to Jiraiya, a little amused. "He whines like that. But let him have a little bit of an edge, he'll be telling us our bloodlines mean nothing."

"Ah, Yuto, my friend. You were such a spot when you couldn't hit back. It was fun seeing your look of contempt at your inability to do anything despite being Uchiha. And now, you've become insufferable. Seeing you look down on me makes me feel angry."

"You should use that as motivation to become a better shinobi," Yuto said with a shrug and then settled down, leaning against the trunk of a tree.

Naruto leaned against the trunk of a tree, hands folded across his chest and then looked through the parted leaves, into the sky. "Sora, create a Kage Bunshin. You and I will be going to scout the area in front of us. Of course, if you want to come," Naruto said, turning toward Jiraiya. "You're free to come. Once I know what is waiting for me, we can proceed."

"I thought you just bulldozed through anything," Jiraiya said, with an exaggerated look of shock. The Uchiha had never been accused of stupidity, but he liked rushing head on in battle without any due considerations of any consequences.

"He'll probably do that," Sora said, creating a solid clone. "It is most likely this is part of our training. Sensei does things proper when he is training. We don't have the strength, so, we must fight strategically," the clone finished speaking, grinning a bit.

"He seems to understand you better." Jiraiya said to Naruto.

"I'm not a complicated person," Naruto shrugged. "And Sora likes to show off his ability to read between the lines. One assumes he thinks everyone else is an idiot and they won't get anything unless he explains it."

"Normally, for Yuto's sake." Sora added in a serious tone. He tried to keep it for more than a second, but he blew it and burst out laughing.

"Why he is tagging alone?" Jiraiya asked in a serious tone.

"I'm a sensor." Sora flashed the Sannin a wide grin.

Konoha, Hokage Office

"Please sit, Itachi-kun," Hiruzen said to his chosen successor with a small smile on his lips.

Itachi glanced at Tsunade, who was sitting in front of the Sandaime's desk, hands folded across her huge burst. Their eyes met; she wore an expressionless mask. He sat beside the woman, on her left side. "Tsunade-sama," he acknowledged the Slug Princess.

"This is the first we formally meet. Have we even spoken before?" Tsunade asked the Uchiha with a raised eye brow. "That's something else, considering, you're the person who took the Hokage seat from me."

She held no interest in the Hokage position, but it was remarkable that despite having been in the village, she'd never interacted with the Uchiha. He was the most famous Uchiha in the village, and yet, they never sat together. Then again, what was there to even talk about?

"Our paths have never crossed," Itachi said in a quiet tone.

"Sure…" Tsunade shrugged indifferently. "Why did you want to see both of us?" She asked the old man.

Hiruzen sighed – what did he expect from Tsunade? She could be a little kind, but no, she chose to be this way. "The Hokage currently does a lot and as a result, some things are given halfhearted attention. We're a shinobi village, but there a thousands of civilians we must take care of. In the future, I want the Hokage to be assisted in executing his duties by other people. The Hokage currently assigns even D-rank missions…" the Third shook his head. "There is a way of retaining power without burdening the Hokage."

Every other Kage held absolute power. Great Nations were designed this way. Perhaps it was out of fear of losing control and fear of traitors who would undermine the Hokage. However, that could all be mitigated by selecting worthy successors, who were also powerful enough to command the respect of the shinobi business they led.

"Shouldn't you be discussing this with your successor?" Tsunade asked.

"You also have a role to play. Medical Ninjutsu will be one of our finest export. I want our village to be at the forefront of medical Ninjutsu. There is a lot we can sell to generate income. There will be people coming into Konoha for medical services. And some hiring our shinobi for such services. This means, your team has to grow. We need to establish the Medical Corps. You'll be in charge of it all. When a request comes to the village, Itachi will send it to you to decide which team goes, he can agree or reject it. But for that to happen, you both need to work together."

Tsunade groaned. She could feel the heavy burden on her shoulders. He'd started with a few students, and now there would be more. It seemed, she was going to play a vital role in the future of the village. Perhaps, her grandfather would be pleased in the afterlife. She snorted at the thought, wondering when she ever started to care for such things.

"You've already threatened me with insubordination, so, I don't think I have a choice."

Hiruzen smiled. "I'm glad we got that out of the way," he said with amusement. "There are various research material on medical Ninjutsu that Kabuto collected with Orochimaru. I will make it available to you."

"You should build me an office and an academy."

Hiruzen chuckled. "I'm sure you'll make things work out. We'll discuss budget issues. I'll give you profiles of shinobi and you can pick who you believe can learn. You can also go to the academy and choose students you…" a knock at the door and Hiruzen paused. "Come in."

"It seems I'm late," Shikaku said as he walked into the office, smiling a bit. He greeted everyone and remained standing.

"I was just about to finish with Tsunade," the old man said. "I'd like for you to create a plan on how you'll get this done and market it to other nations. I've already had an agreement with Kirigakure, we should be sorted in that area. Pakura's village will also depend on us. If things work well, we will also come into agreement with the River Lord."

"If I get time," Tsunade said as she stood up. Without another word, she left the office.

Shikaku settled down were the Sannin vacated. "The Feudal Lord has arrived with his family. I've told them we'll hold a meeting with him. The news will reach him now that he is here."

"It just makes things easy."

"Yes," Shikaku said. "But we'll still have to accompany him back to the capital to hold talks with his advisors. He can agree with us and when he goes back, change his mind once his advisors speak," the Nara added. The Fire Lord was known for his indecision. For such a huge country to have someone like him hold power was simply dangerous. It was a good thing the Fire Council was effective, though, with their own agenda.

"The three of us are going to talk to him about Military Police Force. I have built a relationship of trust with him. He listens to me. But we'll need to make some difficult decisions. He will be asking us what will happen if there is another attempt for a coup. He trusts me, and will trust you. You have to speak up," the Third said to Itachi.

"I understand."

"Riku and Kouseki met the Sandaime to talk about Military Police and the Uchiha's role in it. I understand while the Uchiha remain powerful, and we don't really have a mechanism to oversee police officers outside of Konoha, Naruto just wanted to create a special place for the Uchiha."

"But it doesn't mean his idea is wrong," Hiruzen added. "I've agreed to almost all their requests. But there needs to be a balance of power. Military Police in the future will simply be too powerful. Aside from interfering with its work, The Hokage has no control over its operations…" he said, shaking his head.

"We've decided to offer this suggestion. But it is for you to decide. We want to restrict Military Police to investigation and enforcement of laws. Currently, Military Police investigates and arrests anyone 'guilty.' We want to take away the power to pronounce someone guilty from Military Police. We want to create a Committee, under the Hokage, which will decide whether a person is guilty or not, and what is the correct sentence for the offences committed."

"The Committee will be made of Shibi and Inoichi. You can add more members to it." Hiruzen added.

"But this should be limited to certain offences and classes of people. If it is a Jonin, Anbu, and any politically connected person, the committee can do so. The Committee cannot tell Military Police how to do its jobs."

Both Hiruzen and Shikaku accepted Itachi's suggestion. "Shikaku has been acting as my advisor and assistant when I'm not around. I hope you keep him as your advisor in my retirement. What I am saying is, after the Mizukage and Raikage leave this village, I will resign and you will immediately become the Godaime Hokage. You should also consider who will be your new Anbu Commander."

It was a reality – he was really going to become Hokage. It was a surreal moment. His father would certainly be proud. And it wouldn't be happening if things occurred in a way the he'd thought they would when the clan was at the peak if their disgruntlement against the village.

He felt, his father would surely be redeemed.

Earth Country

It didn't take long for Jiraiya to discover the extent of Sora's sensory abilities. In Sage Mode, he could sense just about anything, but the boy displayed an impressive feat. He'd done few hand signs, put both his hands on the ground and fell silent for a couple of minutes. Once he was up, he started singing about chakra movements, and positions of Iwagakure shinobi.

Sora's statement around Naruto's reason was true in form. When the clones dispersed and the memories returned to them, the Uchiha began to discuss the details and asked them what they would do. Neji and Sora came up with strategies.

"The fortifications they've built tempt me to unleash Susanoo and destroy them just to show them it all means nothing." Naruto said in thought, smiling at the idea of unleashing his Susanoo.

"You're not going to take their suggestions?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I just wanted to show them how missions should be done. When going into enemy territory, the first thing is to scout the area. Imagine members of Military Police falling into a trap and dying?"

The look of disgust, mixed with horror made Jiraiya realize that Naruto probably gave his all to train his students because he couldn't stand the idea of Military Police officers being humiliated in battle. It was a matter of pride in what they represented. And his apparent disgust for weakness.

"And how do they follow when you don't?"

"We get it." It was Neji who replied. "Our training has never been about raw strength. We've been constantly taught we can't act the same way as him."

"We're programmed to fight in that way." Sora added with a smile. "Everyone in Military Police is trained to be like that. After all, we're not always trying to destroy enemies but capture them."

The structure of Military Police and its mandate. For shinobi, enemies were killed—some out of moral reasons didn't. Police officers always wanted to capture their suspects and bring them to justice. They'll either end up in prison or executed, depending on the crime they committed.

"How are you going about this then?" Jiraiya asked Naruto.

"I'm going to walk in there... see what they are trying to do." Naruto replied, summoning his gunbai.

Use Perfect Susanoo? He didn't think so. It would be embarrassing if he simply used his Susanoo just to clear some blocks. Worse, he wouldn't kill everyone. His Susanoo was not for exhibition—it was destruction incarnate. If he was going to use it, Iwagakure would have to cease to exist.

"How do I help you?" Jiraiya asked in a serious tone. He was dead set in not allowing the Uchiha to go alone into a deadly battlefield. "Even if it is insignificant, I want to help out."

Naruto sighed and then went through hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" There was an explosion of a white cloud. Within the smoke, a low, and dangerous growl was heard. Tails swung lazily, and the enormous beast became fully visible.

Jiraiya stood, staring at the humongous Bijuu. Kushina had held this beast down with her chains. Something this huge. Not even the Toads were this big, and this was just half its size. Without doubt, the Kyūbi was indeed the strongest of the Nine.

"Wow!" Sora exclaimed with excitement. "Finally I get to see it."

This was not some toy, but the damn Kyūbi. And this boy had nothing but excitement? Jiraiya shook his head and glanced at Naruto.

"I was enjoying my sweet time... why are you bothering me?" The Bijū demanded in a cold tone, full of hate. Its deep voice and coldness sent chills down the spines of Naruto's students.

Naruto jumped over to the Kyūbi's head and motioned for the others to follow suit. The Bijū growled, but didn't shake them off.

"You can sense your brothers, right?"

"Yes."

"Let's get closer. But you're not going to fight. I just want you to protect my students while I fight." Naruto said in a bitter tone.

It was mad, but he was simply being rational. He was even dealing with powers he didn't know. If Zetsu showed up, anything could happen and if he blinked, the Tsuchikage could very well claim his head. It would be too humiliating to be killed by the Tsuchikage of all people. He'd not want to return from the dead and if he did, he'd turn Iwagakure into dust, along with everyone in it.

The Bijū laughed. "Mad your little pride has to admit you're not god and can't do everything?"

He had the ability to rewrite reality. He could cast a Genjutsu on reality itself! In a single swing of his sword, he could level a great nation. Yet, even with all that power, there were things he couldn't do. It frustrated him. It bothered him. Worse, there was nothing he could do to change it. It was like kind of balancing equation by nature. He could do so much, but not everything.

"It's maddening. But it's the truth." Naruto said and then turned to Jiraiya. "You'll have a good view. You can jump in."

"You don't want me to come with?" Jiraiya asked again, in a dead serious tone.

"I would rather you not insult my pride but thinking I need help with such opponents." Naruto said in a stern tone.

Onoki was confident everything would work out well. They'd made all possible measures to try to stop Naruto. With the time they had, there was nothing more possible they could do. Iwagakure was not Suna—he told himself. He told himself his village was powerful—and if they claimed victory, they could force the Leaf into the negotiation table.

The presence of the Kyubi changed nothing. Nor that of Jiraiya. A legendary shinobi, but he didn't have the same destructive might the Uchiha possessed.

Everyone was ready to give up their lives. Nobody wanted to end like Suna. He knew Iwa wouldn't face that scenario, given what Kitsuchi was told. But not everyone needed to know that. They needed motivation. They needed to be angry at the possibility of their beloved home being destroyed.

"It looks like he is coming alone," Kitsuchi said to his father, standing on the walls that surrounded the village. Thousands of shinobi were ready for action, around the village. They surrounded it, for they did know which side the attack would come. Iwagakure's Earth Jutsu would be at display.

Whether Naruto was alone or with the Kyubi really didn't change much. In fact, it would have been better if he came with the others. He wouldn't be reckless in fear of hitting his companions in friendly fire. Coming alone meant he could pull the stunts he wanted, without having to worry about anyone.

They couldn't even consider attacking the Uchiha's company. Jiraiya was a mountain to be climbed. If that wasn't enough, there was a force of nature in the Kyubi.

"Overconfident," Onoki swore at Naruto—for looking down on them and thinking he could destroy them by himself. And for making him regret his actions this much.

"With reason." Kitsuchi pointed out.

The good thing was that Kurotsuchi was far away, so she wouldn't have to suffer whatever would befall them. He had reasons to be afraid, and reasons to be confident.

"We'll see..." Onoki said in a stern tone. He wanted to survive this—to get out of the mess he created in his haste. As Tsuchikage, he should have done due diligence. But he was hasty and it had backfired. He could have been preparing for a Kage Summit, looking over points to argue with the others. Instead, he was playing a survival game, not just for his life but also for everyone in the village.

Onoki glanced down, he could sense the fear and unease in his men. Some were confident but some were down right trembling.

Onoki couldn't blame them. Who c0uld? They were facing off against a force of nature that could wipe out Iwagakure with a single swing of his Susanoo's blade. And there was no attack that they had that they could use to really stop such an attack. If that wasn't enough, the damn Kyubi was waiting for them.

"They are ready." Kitsuchi assured him. "Fear is not a bad thing. It will help us be on our toes." He said in a firm tone. "We will fight because we are afraid, but with confidence we can win this battle."

"We have to win. We don't have any other option."

"HE IS COMING!"

"STRAIGHT INTO THE TRAPS!"

Hearing the battle cries, Onoki snorted with contempt. The Uchiha was walking straight into traps—and he knew. They saw they scouted the area.

"No Susanoo?" The thought made Kitsuchi very fearful. The defenses and the man were positioned to stop the Susanoo, but he was walking head on without it. Did he just want to fight a head on battle? Why?

"Just get everyone ready!" Onoki shouted.

Boom!

Naruto crashed landed in a loud boom, causing debris to rise around him. The dust and chunks of earth stayed in the air for a couple of seconds before falling to the ground. They revealed Naruto, standing inside a small crater, holding his gunbai firmly.

Iwagakure was about a km away from him. In front of him, were hundreds of boulders, narrow paths created just for him. They were planted all around the village. Shinobi hid inside some of the boulders. Sora said some hid underneath. For a strategy, this was worthy of it being from a great nation.

He could try to use perfect Susanoo, but without knowing where Onoki was, he'd be setting himself up for embarrassment. How could he even walk with his head held high if Onoki's jutsu vaporized his perfect jutsu?

He was in a lot more danger either way. But this way, they wanted him to drain his chakra. The Jinchuriki were not even attacking him. But he knew they were somewhere. It was truly a fine strategy meant to push him through his limits—but they did not know his limits. It was actually funny. A good strategy, but they were not powerful enough to put him at his limits.

He raised his gunbai, releasing an oppressive chakra. It was like a powerful shockwave, one that ruptured some of the boulders closer to him, causing debris to rise and leaving only stillness.

From top of the Kyubi's head, Jiraiya and Naruto's students felt the wave of the chakra. The Sannin was left shocked—it was like the flood gates had been opened and a Tsunami pummeled everything that was above the ground.

He'd always known Naruto had impressive chakra levels—for an Uchiha. There were not many in history within the clan who were known for having large chakra reserves. But the level of chakra Naruto displayed was just breathtaking. It made him realize why the Uchiha's fighting style was designed around burning a lot of chakra—it was because he could afford it.

The one person who didn't seemed shocked was Sora. Hardly surprising given the boy was a sensor.

"I knew he had a lot of chakra reserves, but not like this."

"Sensei must be impressed with their strategy that he'd decided to be serious and not just fool around." Sora said. "I could be wrong, sensei has never taken any battle serious."

Once more, Jiraiya was impressed with Sora's understanding of Naruto. He was truly his teacher's student. And it was only right it was like that.

Naruto leapt onto a boulder, and then stared toward the gates where Onoki was. He grinned. "Let me see the power that nearly brought Konoha to its knees!"

Quite possibly without Minato, Konoha would have lost the Third War. Hiruzen's decision to make a hasty peace deal with Iwagakure was because the Leaf had already bled too much to continue fighting. Even if it had claimed victory, it would have been too crippled to maintain its status. This village nearly brought the Leaf to that state, without any special powers, just its Jinchuriki.

Golems are formed from boulders, with dust picking up. Earth formations are three times as big as him—there's about 50 of them. No shinobi has appeared yet.

Naruto's smile slipped, feeling offended.

They expected him to waste time with golems? It seemed they just wanted him to really waste his chakra without doing any damage to their forces. But, Naruto wasn't going to waste a sweat fighting mere golems. If it was shinobi, yes. Those would be flesh and blood he could simply cut down, nurturing the ground.

He grabbed his gunbai with both hands, channeling chakra through it. He then swung it in one quick motion.

"Tearing Wind Blades!"

He released multiple waves of wind blades that were shaped like waves. The waves cut through the air, cutting down any boulders in their path and slashing through all the golems.

While the golem crumbled, another one, huge, was lunging toward him. Its gigantic footsteps caused the ground to tremble slightly. However, as it got closer, its footsteps became so light they made no sound whatsoever.

Naruto swung his gunbai again to release the same technique, but the waves simply crashed into the golem, cutting it slightly but not through it. It continued its march toward him, and then it threw its huge fist at him.

Despite its small size, it was surprisingly fast. The punch crashed through the ground at lightning speed. As it made contact, large pieces of debris were sent flying.

Naruto was still able to dodge the swing, jumping over to the huge hand and landing on it. The golem swiftly tried to shake him off, forcing him to leap into the air. While in the air, the golem waved its other hand with a huge slap. Naruto disappeared from the path of the huge palm, flashing above the golem's head.

Before he could do anything, another golem appeared behind him. It appeared as if it had teleported right behind him. Its attack was as swift as lightning. Naruto didn't even have time to turn around and only brought his gunbai behind him to block the punch. There was a loud bam when the golem's fist collided with his gunbai. The slight shockwave sent Naruto flying through the air like a bullet.

Remarkably, he was still able to control himself while still in mid-air.

He crash landed deep into enemy territory in a loud boom and then quickly steadied himself.

"I see... they've been hardened and then lightened. A combination of two techniques. It makes them strong and fast."

"Well, the Sharingan is good for something." A man spoke, standing behind the human sized golem that punched him. "Impressed?"

"Just a little."

"Disappointing." The man said, but he didn't look disappointed. He leapt backwards, and then the golem shot toward Naruto at lightning speed.

It flashed in front of Naruto, and then crumbled without even making contact with him. There was no time to be shocked over what had actually happened. Two huge golems formed from the ground, and then charged toward Naruto. This time, their gigantic footsteps could be heard everywhere.

"I'm tired of this already. What is the use of destroying things that don't even bleed or feel pain?"

He placed the gunbai on his back and removed his spear. The spear burst with lightning and then Naruto dashed toward the golems. The one on his left drove its huge first toward him, and Naruto simply leapt up, jumping onto its arm and then ran across it while his spear slid through the skin. With each step, the arm crumbled until Naruto was forced to disappear as the other golem tried to stomp him into the ground.

Naruto appeared in front of the golem and then stabbed his spear toward its forehead. The spear pierced through the forehead and then the golem burst with lightning currents. It crumbled into dust within seconds.

Before Naruto could move, a horde of kunai, marked with explosive tags were thrown toward him from all angles. There was simply no where to hide. He summoned his Susanoo and the Yata mirror, before the kunai collided them him.

Boom!

Boom!

The hundreds of kunai exploded in a chain of explosions around him, creating a huge black cloud in the sky. The black and red flames continued to burn as a human-sized figure fell from the cloud.

As soon as he landed, massive square formations formed around him and then shifted. They slammed into him, and exploded into pieces of rocks.

The ground beneath him opened before he could even recover from being slammed on both sides. He glanced below, ignoring the spike of chakra he felt. It was a huge hole, so deep he thought he wouldn't be able to climb up without flying.

About 20 shinobi jumped above him, trying to latch onto him as he slowly fell deep into the hole. Steam seemed to blast out of the hole from the walls. It was so hot Naruto was sure contact with it would melt his very skin. While his vision was obscured, both Five and Four Tails began pooling their powers into one, creating a huge tailed beast bomb.

Naruto's smile returned. The steam was powerful enough to melt even a normal Susanoo. If it had the same qualities as Mei's corrosion, he was in trouble. If he didn't have the Yata mirror, that is.

Even if he uses perfect Susanoo to shield himself from the tailed beast bomb, he wouldn't really escape unscathed, because the shockwave produced in such a closed setting would still hit him. Not to mention, the steam would weaken his Susanoo. If it still kept coming after the explosion of the tailed beast bomb, it would finish him off. The men around him are sacrifices, to keep him busy a little and take his attention. Onoki could even be hiding among them. Hell, one of them could even possess the Tsuchikage's dust release.

This was truly a well thought attack. He applauded the effort and then closed both his eyes.

The Bijū launched their attack, and it sped into the hole.

Boom!

A loud explosion tore through the area as the Bijuudama set off. The ground shook as the jutsu exploded below. A huge column of energy rose from the ground, creating a dark mushroom cloud that hovered over the Hidden Stone.

Everything within the vicinity of the explosion was blasted away.

The village was at a standstill as they too heard the explosion. Onoki bit his lip, hoping it was enough. They made plans to create another attack after this—if the Uchiha survived. But the magnitude of the explosion left him feeling hopeful, that they had succeeded.

He knew that if the Uchiha suddenly got up unscathed, the attacks wouldn't come so quickly. The men would be too shocked to move. How could anyone even survive such a terrifying explosion? If he could take on a Bijuudama, what more could they do?

Onoki glanced down and saw the hopeful expressions, relief on some faces. If they would be shattered if the Uchiha rose up again. He couldn't afford to have them off-guard.

"Do not think that will be enough!" The Tsuchikage shouted in a cold tone. "Stay on your toes. He could rise at any moment and we must not let up until we win. For our loved ones are behind us, waiting for us to claim victory!"

It took a couple of moments, but a shaky roar came. It didn't have the same confidence as he wanted, but it was more than enough. If the Uchiha survived, they would attack.

"Even a perfect Susanoo would struggle against that. No normal person should be able to survive." Kitsuchi said, shaking his head.

"They are not normal. We have not even seen his perfect Susanoo." Onoki said sharply. "Look... the Kyubi isn't even moving!" He added this with frustration.

"Should we ready for you?"

"Han and Roshi will try one more. While busy, I will launch my attack. He must be distracted." He didn't need much; just a second and his particle style would vaporize the Uchiha. It was fast enough to cover the distance and Naruto didn't have any jutsu that could defend against it.

"Let us blend in then."

As Kitsuchi spoke, the energy died down, revealing a huge crater. The earth's belly had been ripped open, leaving a gaping hole inside. Han and Roshi stood at the edge, in their human forms. There was no more boulders standing within the immediate vicinity. Everything had been crushed, and thousands of shinobi were left exposed.

"No way..." Kitsuchi mouthed silently, afraid to kill the morale of everyone by shouting. But, once the energy died down, Naruto shot out of the crater and landed on the other side, hands folded across his chest. He was completely unharmed, but expressionless.

"Is this some kind of illusion?"

"There is no way he took that on and escaped without any harm!"

"What kind of monster are even facing?"

The questions rang through the battlefield, and Kitsuchi felt helpless to do anything. He just wanted to put an end to it. Thousands of lives could die here, leaving their village without any defenses.

Naruto stared at the clearing, deciding what to do about the Jinchuriki. Without his Mangekyō, he might have been forced into a ridiculous position. A normal person would be on their knees, with a labored breath, and draining chakra reserves. His Genjutsu used a lot of chakra, but using it once wasn't a problem—and he never really had to worry about chakra again.

"I must applaud the effort. If I was weaker, I would have been killed." He said to Han and Roshi.

"I was thinking that may have been enough," Roshi said, calm.

"Not quite." Naruto said. "My perfect Susanoo has defenses that make it a truly perfect jutsu." He said confidently. "You're not turning into your Bijuu form because you're afraid I'll manipulate them. You've thought this through."

But they weren't there yet. He didn't need the Bijū to be out to manipulate them. He could manipulate the Jinchūriki himself if he wanted.

Han didn't wait for an invitation to attack; he shot toward the Uchiha. Steam rose from his armor as he was flying above the crater. Naruto pointed an index finger at him.

"Amaterasu."

Han's body burst into black flames, engulfing his entire body. The flames burnt so quickly that even while he was still in mid-air, they burnt through his armor. Yet, there was no sound that came from the Jinchuriki. Steam burst out of his armor, as he tried to remove the flames, but it didn't work—the flames continued to burn.

Roshi rushed in and pulled back his partner before he could fall into the crater. The flames licked his hands, and he tried to put them out but it was no use.

"You can't do anything." Son said from within him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, ignoring the fact that the Bijuu was choosing to speak to him, even considering the circumstances.

"Those black flames can't be put out by anything. They burn until their target is completely incinerated."

Han was rolling violently on the ground, the black flames eating his skin away. The steam was gone, along with the armor. His pained growls grew louder. Everyone heard them, and watched him roll through the ground.

Roshi decided that he had no choice but to transform. His hands were already burning, and if Naruto wanted to use the same technique, he would have to use a lot more chakra.

The moment he transformed, the Uchiha appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye. He was staring up at him with an expressionless mask, his visible eye was closed.

"Yo-"

Son screamed. An ear shattering screech as the Bijuu's entire body lit with black flames. He mixed lava but it was nothing compared to the heat being generated by the flames. Within a few seconds, the Bijuu had retreated inside the seal and the flames burnt Roshi's body.

Nobody moved. Nobody said a word. They are just stood there, shocked at what just had happened. A lifting of a finger had defeated two of their most powerful assets. Both were crying uncontrollably with immense pain.

"Ah, this must be unpleasant." Naruto said of the cries.

What did it matter if he allowed them to toil a little longer? It had psychological effects. The shattering cries echoed throughout, and there was seemingly nothing that could be done. None of the men seemed interested in rushing in to face him. They were simply afraid of getting torched. What was the point of struggling, if the result was going to be the same?

"Is there no more?" Naruto asked, his eyes shifting around the battlefield.

The question was like a taunt. It infuriated Onoki. He balled his fists in anger, but he never lost his composure, nor his purpose. He was far too experienced to be blanked and demoralized. He would die on both feet, fighting and struggling for the survival of his beloved village. He was responsible for this, just as he was as he was responsible for its success.

All efforts, wasted, and used to achieve nothing. All that fireworks, to be dismantled in the blink of an eye. Had Konoha always had this power? His Jinchuriki didn't even get to fight the Uchiha. He was supposed to attack while the Jinchuriki were fighting, but there was no battle that occurred. It was over before it even began.

But, Onoki was already in position. Naruto didn't have Susanoo to protect him. A split second was what he needed. He'd built up enough chakra to launch two attacks after the other, just in case he failed with the first one.

"I will take away his attention," Kitsuchi said to his father, who was hiding inside a boulder, he was standing on.

"Do that." Onoki said, holding his hands together. "If he senses of spike of chakra, he'll act. You must mask it."

Kitsuchi landed behind the boulder, and slammed both his hands on the ground. Two huge rocks formed around Naruto, towering his figure like two mountains. Naruto was sandwiched between the two formations. They moved closer to him, and then tried to crush him. When the rocks collided, they did so with so much force, they crumbled into small pieces of rocks upon contact.

Onoki was ready. He jumped out of the boulder, just in front of Kitsuchi. The sphere was already formed in front of him. "Particle Sty…"

Pain shot through his chest. The sphere dispersed. Onoki knew he'd been stabbed from behind. It was not metal. He didn't feel the coldness of a sword inside his chest. He glanced down, saw a hand sticking out of his chest, blood gushed out as if a water pipe burst. He coughed out more blood.

Onoki slowly turned his head to see the face; it was Kitsuchi. He was crying, yet a hand through his own father's chest. a stab in the back at the crucial moment. He couldn't even meet his eyes. Quickly, he tried to remove his hand, but Onoki grabbed it and forced his son to look at him. Energy was seeping out of his body, but he mustered everything he had.

Anger bubbled within him, mixed with the feeling to utter betrayal. How could Kitsuchi do this to him? How? What had happened? Had he been manipulated by the Uchiha? Yet, he couldn't stop feeling betrayed by his own son. After everything, was this the end? He had planned everything with Kitsuchi, and agreed with everything, yet, in the end, his own son betrayed him.

He felt bitter. The anger washed away. Just bitterness.

"I'm sorry." It was a whisper from a crushed soul. A heavy breath that made Onoki realize his predicament.

Kitsuchi looked at his father for the first time. They were in their little world. He could hear nothing. He could feel nothing. It was just his father in front of him, holding onto his bloodied hand. His body trembled with horror at his own actions. Yet, he felt, this was the only way to save the lives of his people. Yes, to betray his father; to stab his father in the back, in front of thousands of Iwagakure shinobi.

The anger in his father disappeared, replaced by a look of understanding. This didn't make him feel any better. He wanted to shout. He wanted to curse Zetsu for showing up. He wanted to curse his own existence and foolishness for following through on evil intentions without any proper plans. But he could do none of that. He had to remain resolute, for the shinobi surrounding him.

As the life in his father's eyes dimmed, a sad smile only graced his lips. And his neck fell to the side. Dead. By his own hand. Kitsuchi dropped his father to the ground, in horror and disgust. He felt as if his whole body was bathed in his father's blood. He saw the entire village turning on him, cursing his existence. Kurotsuchi turning on him, for killing her grandfather. What about the men surrounding him?

They all looked shocked, puzzled by what had just happened that they couldn't process it.

Before anyone could attack him out of anger. Kitsuchi leapt on the boulder and shouted. "We surrender! Please spare us!" He pleaded, his voice full of dread and pain.

The deathly silence continued. At this point, Han and Roshi had gone quiet. Kitsuchi couldn't even tell when. He didn't care. He dared not even look at the reaction of his men. He was simply focused on the Uchiha a small distance away.

Atsuchi landed beside Onoki's bleeding body and fell to his knees. "Tsuchikage-sama," he cried in a breathless tone. He then glared at Kitsuchi. "Were you not the one who said his death would not end this? Why have you done this?!"

Everyone had been told that they had to fight because the Uchiha would not be satisfied with any sacrifice. They simply wanted to destroy them, for trying the same with them. It was either they fought or perished, along with everyone in the village. If that was the case, there was no sense in Kitsuchi's betrayal. No sense at all. If surrendering could solve it all, they shouldn't have done anything in the first place.

Naruto appeared in front of Atsuchi in a blur and stared down at Onoki. A wise old man perishing needlessly. It didn't have the same effect as he had hoped. There was a part of him that wanted to slaughter everyone in this field. That way, his anger would be satisfied.

Multiple shinobi jumped from behind him, lunging at his figure while he stared down at Onoki's body. Naruto took out his spear, and it burst with lightning currents. "Thunder God's Sword." He did a 360-degree spin, releasing a thunder wave. The lightning moved so fast only a few had the opportunity to dodge, but more than fifty, were cut in half by the attack. Their halved body parts fell to the ground, melting intestines spilled all over, along with blood.

As soon as Naruto had attacked his fellow Iwa shinobi, Atsuchi lunged at the Uchiha. Naruto's reaction was far faster than he'd thought. The Uchiha didn't even face him before the spear pierced through his forehead. His death was instant. He only widened his eyes when he saw the spear, and everything went blank.

Naruto threw his body to the side and waved his spear once to rid of the blood. He looked around and then nodded.

"Quite nothing I had imagined, but this will do." He said before turning to Kitsuchi. "I promised to slaughter your family members. Bring them to me."

"Others are in the village, but Kurotsuchi was hidden away by my father."

Naruto didn't respond to Kitsuchi. He felt, Jiraiya would be jumping in soon and if he wanted to do what he wanted to do, he had to do it quickly. The Sannin would not like what he would do and would try to stop him. Naruto didn't care for the Sannin's opinions. He simply wanted to avoid a situation where he had to restrain the man before slaughtering people.

There were thousands of shinobi around the village. He'd not killed more than a hundred. He held a single hand sign. "Kyubi, see the grouping on my right?" It was a group that were not within his vicinity. Iwa's shinobi were spread around the whole village in a defensive formation.

"Yes."

"Launch a Bijuudama toward them."

The beast did not respond in words. Naruto simply looked up into the heavens. He could hear Kitsuchi's pleas, Jiraiya's cries from a distance and those of the shinobi. But he ignored it all, staring into the sky with an expressionless mask.

The Kyubi launched its Bijuudama into the panicking and running shinobi. It detonated in the middle, while they spread in an attempt to flee from it. But the explosion was huge enough to cover a good area. A large mushroom of black smoke rose. The shockwave caused by the explosion caused chunks of rocks to fly over, causing others to flee to safety. The explosion knocked back portions of the village's walls, causing panic to spread across it.

Kitsuchi fell to his knees, his heart thumping with fear.

"I'll give you a month. If your daughter is not dead, I will kill a thousand of Iwa's shinobi every month."

Jiraiya had a look of horror. He'd just arrived, but he heard what Naruto had said. Perfectly a rational being, but Naruto was still capable of just anything. Jiraiya had been impressed by his humility when dealing with his students, he forgot. The Uchiha was kind to those he liked, but treated enemies with cold indifference. Jiraiya was a little disgusted.

"Why would you do that?" the Toad Sage asked in a whisper.

Naruto glanced at the Sannin, with an expressionless look. "Do you think I'm a nice person, Jiraiya-san?"

"Everyone is nice to someone. But in general, no." The Sannin replied in a firm tone. He didn't want to engage in the philosophical question Naruto was asking him. The hard truth was that Naruto was not a good person who was ruled by good morals.

"You have your answer," Naruto said and then turned to Kitsuchi. "I accept your surrender. There are other things I must do. I'll leave, for now. But I will return in a month, and then discuss the terms."

Kitsuchi didn't even have the energy to stand up—he realized that no matter what he did, Kurotsuchi would have to die. He couldn't bear the thought of sacrificing a thousand ninja every month for her sake. The village wouldn't even accept it. They'd put him on a stake and burn him to death if they realized this much.

Jiraiya's protestations should have given him some hope, but they did nothing. Naruto's attitude toward them just dampened everything. He had to live with this reality—for the rest of his life.

"What is really going to happen to us?" Kitsuchi asked in a tone devoid of any emotion. "I killed my father and will have to hand over my daughter as well." He was simply asking for mercy.

Jiraiya really didn't see the need. Iwagakure had surrendered. The most important thing was that Onoki was dead—he was the one who gave the order. Was there really a need to kill more? What was the point if the objective had already been achieved?

"Why do you even want to kill her?" Jiraiya more or less pleaded with Naruto.

"Because I want him to suffer as my children will suffer. They have ruined our reputation for generations. They must suffer the consequences." Naruto said sternly. "Nothing you say will change anything, Jiraiya-san. He knows what to expect. I've already told him."

"But he is right. They've surrendered." Jiraiya insisted.

Naruto ignored the Sannin and glanced down at Kitsuchi. He'd indulged the idea of devising a Genjutsu that could be cast over the entire village. He decided to simply settle for controlling Iwagakure through Kitsuchi.

"Gather your people. Let them know you're the leader, but I am your supreme leader from today. If they disagree, I'll destroy your village."

End of chapter

I hope you'll having a happy festive season!