Chapter 187
Showdown in the Leaf: Sannin vs The Niō of the Akatsuki!
I arrived just in time.
The Masked Man eyed the space the Stone shinobi once occupied, Sharingan ablaze with wrath, and blackened by malevolence.
He was almost too late. History was on the cusp of repeating itself right before his eyes, and once more he would've stood alone in this wretched hell, hovering over the empty shell of yet another person he sought to protect. Another moment, another second, and Haya would've…
The Masked Man grit his teeth. Wrath and malevolence seethed within his blazing orb, it swirled within his being in the form of a churning whirlpool, sucking him deeper, deeper, and deeper into a isolated and cold abyss absent of light and warmth.
Haya nearly slipped through his grasp, he nearly let it happen again. Except there wouldn't have been a cold corpse to cradle while seated in a pool of blood, there wouldn't have been a body to bury. He merely would have arrived on a battlefield annihilated by that self-righteous scum's Suicide Sealing Jutsu, a battlefield rendered silent and still, and barren of all those descending the conical prison of stone.
Nothing would have remained. Not Haya, not Sasuke or Mimi and Aoko, not the Crows or the two Anbu agents assigned to guard these young shinobi. Even the complicated netting of stone columns and beams would've crumbled, and just as the Valley of the End was carved into existence by powerful ninjutsu, so too would this battlefield have been torn asunder, scarring the very earth, as war so often did.
I was certain the Akatsuki would eventually target Haya, he ruminated. When the world shuddered beneath the power of the Amenominakanushi, and Haya's declaration of war echoed out to this wretched world, it was only a matter of time before the Akatsuki attempted to eliminate such an imminent threat to their power.
However, I imagined they would keep themselves busy elsewhere with this war. So far they've proven themselves quite devoted to their primary goal; it's made them predictable, for the war is ripe with opportunities to gather the necessary funds to strengthen and expand their organization, and with each passing day they inch themselves closer to the Stone's jinchūriki—Rōshi and Han, bearers of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails.
To think they would try so soon… Hmm. This is a glaring deviation from the Akatsuki's normal behavior.
Were they merely after eliminating Haya? Is there something more to their attack beyond this immediate objective?
Before this assassination attempt, the Akatsuki merely acted as mercenaries, loyal only to whichever client was paying them at the moment. It was quite the ruse, the Stone didn't suspect their true intentions whatsoever, from what he had observed.
Such a ruse made tracking their movements simple. All he needed do was monitor the main fronts of the war to find their handiwork. After all, by aiding the Stone's march into the Land's of Fire and Wind, they progressively weakened the military might of two of the Five Great Nations, all while the Stone's military eroded itself for their elective and pointless war.
Thus the fog of war would spread across the continent day by day, month by month, year by year as the Akatsuki pushed the war into a protracted phase, ensnaring the populace in an impenetrable haze as blades cried out for vengeance, and sandals sank in the bloody pools of dead comrades and enemies alike.
Consumed by the war, the Great Nations wouldn't see the Akatsuki's shadows silently drifting through the smoke and fire, capturing and consolidating the power of the Tailed-Beasts. No, they would be far too busy killing each other to see the real threat. Just as their Leader planned.
Of course, at a glance, the Akatsuki were nowhere to be seen upon the current battlefield. However, he could see their fingerprints all over this attempted kidnapping and assassination. To what end, the Masked Man wondered. Were they merely after the elimination of the Amenominakanushi? Or something more?
The Masked Man turned his gaze to Haya. She sat upon the earth, breathing long and heavy breaths as adrenaline, rage, and fear slowly faded. A Crow bearing iridescent blue plumage was perched on her shoulder, it was monitoring his every move.
He was not bothered, nor afraid; in fact, he was grateful for the Crow's patience—a selfish patience, of course, as it doubtlessly hoped to gather Intel on him. Yet that patience had allowed him to remove the Stone shinobi before they could perform a Reverse Summoning on Haya, Sasuke, and Mimi and Aoko.
Now he had yet another opportunity to speak to the young shinobi, to illuminate their path and guide them forward. He had a chance to open their eyes to this wretched hell, and warn them of how deeply they were now steeped in it.
Haya exhaled deeply, wiped the back of her left hand against her bloody cheek. New dribbles of blood glided down both cheeks, past her jaw and along her neck, where it was then absorbed into expanding dark blotches staining her navy long-sleeve.
They had no qualms in destroying her eyes before their defeat was sealed. It told him everything he needed to know about their plans, as did the rest of her wounds.
A horizontal cut below her forehead protector severed through her armor and flesh, staining her long-sleeve in dark carmine; the necklace and pendent one displaying her Clan Crests proudly around her neck was now secured around her wrist, splattered with blood. Four shuriken protruded from her right forearm, their teeth stained by blood.
They didn't care what condition she was in, so long as she was alive.
So long, he concluded, wrath and malevolence swirling, as she could still reproduce.
Her left hand was burned, the cuff of her sleeve singed. Self-inflicted, he judged; such burns were natural, familiar even to him, similar to those which occurred when Uchiha children started learning the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu. He noted the scorch marks scarring the earth. Her Fire Nature was intensifying, and though that was unsurprising, he still nodded once in approval. Perhaps even a hint of pride.
Drawing his eye back to Haya, he examined her appearance one last time. She was wounded. Visibly sweaty. Yet she was alive, in spite of the Stone's best efforts.
They underestimated her strength, he observed. They saw her as a pale imitation, at first, but now they see the fire that courses through her veins. They see what she will become. Just as the Akatsuki do.
Yes, there is only one reason they would help the Stone organize this attempted kidnapping and assassination: They believe she threatens their very existence. They see that she is a cleansing flame, and should they fail to stop it soon, she will cleanse even them.
I'll need to keep a closer eye on Haya, Sasuke, and Mimi and Aoko. They aren't yet ready to face the Akatsuki, but in time, they will be.
Unconsciously he clenched his hands into fists.
They tried to hand her over to the Stone, he processed, blood boiling beneath his skin. They would throw her to the wolves, to face a fate worse than death. To live in a hell beyond the misery of war. They would have handed her—a child—to the worst scum this wretched world has produced.
He let his hands relax. Calmed himself as the Leaf shinobi and Crows descending the series of beams and columns neared.
So, this is the path the Akatsuki have chosen. So be it. Then I will nurture Haya into the very cleansing flame they fear, and watch as she purges them from this world.
The earth trembled beneath his feet. Roots ruptured through the stone, binding around his legs, arms, neck, and torso.
The Masked Man withheld a scoff. How childish. As though such binds could truly imprison him.
"Well, well, isn't this quite the development. A shinobi who wields the Wood Style," he observed, not bothering to hide his indifference.
The Anbu kunoichi dropped down in front of Haya. Sasuke, Mimi, and Aoko in the form of a Man Beast Clone landed behind her. Mimi immediately knelt beside Haya, first checking her wounded face—the amount of blood concerned the medic-nin, brought to mind dark conclusions regarding the fate of Haya's eyes.
He wasn't surprised. They were sisters in all but blood, after all.
"Our precious Harem Queen still has both of her eyes. Good," she commented.
"Looks like you had a few close shaves," Sasuke said.
"She's not the one who lost nearly all of her clothes," Mimi quipped, resting her gloved hands over the wound on Haya's chest. A green hue surrounded them.
Sasuke hummed a short chuckle.
"You should've seen the other guys," Haya sighed in near immediate relief.
"Mm. And that Suicide Jutsu you were almost caught in?"
"A minor hiccup. If Grandfather didn't show up when he did, Osamu would've Reverse Summoned me."
Like Haya, he needed only look at Sasuke and Mimi, and what remained of their wounds, to see the echos of their battles against the Stone assassins play out like shadows upon white canvas. They'd each faced quite the challenging enemies, and survived. If only just.
Sasuke's shirt was missing, his skin noticeably burnt—Quicklime, no doubt. Blood stained his skin from wounds now knitted together.
Mimi showed no sign of physical injury, none save the residue of blood on her skin and clothes which told the story of her battle; the metal plate on her glove was carved down to the flesh, her shirt severed down the center, her left leg and pants soaked with blood.
Yet, intriguingly, there wasn't a single open wound. In fact, her skin appeared unblemished in spite of those clear signs.
Her Medical Ninjutsu has clearly advanced since we last met, he observed. There wouldn't have been time for her to heal wounds responsible for so much blood with basic Medical Ninjutsu, not while trapped with the Stone shinobi, as they all were. She also hasn't healed Sasuke entirely, which means they regrouped and rushed to Haya's side as soon as they could.
If I didn't know any better, I'd suspect she possessed Hashirama's innate ability to heal from nearly any wound within moments. But she shows no signs of that. This isn't the result of the Creation Rebirth or the Strength of a Hundred Seal the Fifth Hokage has mastered, either.
He eyed the Inuzuka, curious and captivated by the mystery.
I'm not yet certain how you managed it. Regardless, you're shaping into quite the formidable ally to Haya, Mimi Inuzuka. Even for one without Senju or Uchiha blood, I can see now you will far exceed my high expectations.
"So, you're the one calling himself Madara Uchiha," the male Anbu agent said, interrupting his thoughts.
The Masked Man lifted his crimson gaze, his wrath and malevolence tamed. For now. The Anbu agent stood upon a horizontal beam, surrounded by the Crows who did not position themselves around Haya.
He would need to remain vigilant. While Haya showed no enmity to him, the same could not be said of the Crows or the loyal guard dogs of the Leaf.
Pay close attention, Haya, as I reveal another rotten layer of the Village we both once believed pure.
"It would seem the Leaf's experiments with Hashirama's Cells finally bore fruit," the Masked Man began.
He could not see the man's face, but he sensed the narrowing of his eyes. As well as the rapt attention of their larger audience.
"I imagine if that bastard Tobirama were still alive he would be pleased. He always saw Hashirama as too soft, especially when it came to Mito."
"And how would you know that?" the Anbu man wondered coyly. "Mito Uzumaki only became a jinchūriki after the First Hokage defeated you in combat. Or am I mistaken?"
"No, you regurgitate your knowledge of Leaf mythology perfectly. Obediently, as I expect from all those Tobirama's lies have poisoned. In that way and that way alone you resemble Hashirama. However, were you to ask the Crows and their archivists, what might they say regarding my fate, hm? Surely they, who are inextricably tied to the Uchiha, know the truth."
"And what truth is that?" the Anbu kunoichi asked.
"There are techniques only those blessed to awaken the Sharingan can use. Techniques which can reverse fate itself. For a price," he said, glancing to the woman. She did not meet his gaze. "I have long lingered in the shadows ever since that fateful day, a shell of my former self. A ghost this world could not see, while I saw everything.
"Mito's fate, while tragic, did not surprise me when I learned the truth. As I said, Tobirama always saw Hashirama as too soft. However, as long as Hashirama possessed Wood Style, Mito—or rather, the Nine-Tails could be leashed, should it escape."
He drew his gaze back to the male Anbu agent. "Yet not even Hashirama's incredible power could defeat the binds of mortality. To Tobirama's mind, the Leaf could not risk losing such an irreplaceable power—Wood Style was too valuable to be allowed to die off or be resigned to a single, soft-hearted man.
"Furthermore, the future of the Leaf would forever be in danger without it, for it was one of the two powers capable of fully restraining the Nine-Tails; the Sharingan, however, belonged to the Uchiha, and he would never trust one of us to guard over such a weapon.
"You see, he couldn't leave the Leaf's future to chance, especially if the Nine-Tails were imprisoned in a weak jinchūriki. He had to create a weapon capable of taming the Nine-Tailed Fox, something which did not rely on his naïve brother, the host of the Nine-Tails, or the Uchiha—he was already planning our Clan's eradication. Tobirama's new weapon would be something he and his subordinates alone would possess direct control of. Thus the experiments with Hashirama's Cells began.
"For years—decades—these experiments were conducted. For decades adults and children were needlessly sacrificed in the pursuit of creating what Tobirama saw as the optimal version of his brother—an emotionless soldier who merely followed their orders. Like an obedient dog. A weapon he and those who followed him could wield.
"Eventually, though, public support fractured when the sacrifices became too much to bear. Shinobi and civilians alike ceased to be willing volunteers after witnessing the brutal deaths of their friends, family, and comrades; Hashirama's Cells were too powerful, and so they overwhelmed the volunteers and destroyed them from within, twisting and mangling their bodies into the Wood Style Tobirama coveted so greedily.
"So, the experiments were officially ended. At least in the public eye. They continued, of course. The citizens were too weak-willed, they allowed pointless sentimentality to stand between them and a breakthrough. They simply didn't understand the necessity of these noble sacrifices, or so Tobirama and those who aided him believed. This was all in the name of the safety and security of the Leaf, of course, so what were a few hundred or thousand more sacrificed in the name of that righteous mission?
"Now, finally, after the years of painstaking research Tobirama first initiated, after countless people—shinobi and civilians, adults and children—were needlessly sacrificed to create a pale imitation of Hashirama, you exist."
He couldn't see either Anbu agent's expression behind those emotionless porcelain masks. Yet he sensed their collective discomfort, and that of the Crows.
They were beginning to question their doubts. They held so tightly to the belief he couldn't be Madara Uchiha, and yet time and again he provided evidence to the contrary—evidence even the Crows could not deny.
No mere rogue Uchiha could possibly wield his intimate knowledge of the Leaf and its history—it's true history, not the mythology used to twist and brainwash children into loyal soldiers willing to throw themselves into this hellish world their superiors maintained.
The Masked Man smiled behind his mask, self-satisfied by their silence.
"Everything always seems to tie back to the Second Hokage and his inability to let go of his hatred," Haya considered.
"Indeed, Haya," he agreed, drawing his eye to her.
The gears were spinning within her mind, he could see it. His Sharingan spotted the disgusted curl of her lips as well, Sasuke's narrowed eyes, the anger which tensed the muscles in Mimi's neck.
It pleased him to know they shared his same revulsion at this rotten layer. Yet his duty to open their eyes was far from finished, so he pressed on.
"Tobirama sowed the seeds which have led us and this world to this precise moment," he explained. "He was driven by his hatred for the Uchiha to see us all eradicated, but that hatred evolved into something darker. Something which has driven this world into war after war."
"You know quite a lot for a so-called ghost," the pale-imitation replied evenly.
"Hmph! Because I do not walk through this world with my eyes closed any longer. Tobirama influences our world even now. It's true he declared Hiruzen Sarutobi as Third Hokage in his last recorded moment—he was to be the light of the Leaf. Hmhm," his shoulders shook with a cruel laugh. "It was quite the ploy, I admit. He picked a weak and ineffective leader many cherished, however I suspect he knew all along Hiruzen would come to rely on those he considered his 'friends' and 'comrades'.
"Truthfully, Hiruzen was Hokage in name only. He was a figurehead for the Village to rally behind. He was a pawn, a tool—a puppet, fittingly enough, just like the rest of us. Nothing more. I imagine Tobirama saw a great deal of Hashirama within Hiruzen; he was soft-hearted, and easily malleable to those around him. To put it simply, he was a perfect fit for the role Tobirama planned for him.
"So as Hiruzen served in the light, Danzō, Koharu, and Homura would pull the strings from the darkness. Tobirama entrusted everything to them—his Will, the Village, and his plans for the future."
"…Grandfather, you said 'his last recorded moment.' Are you suggesting the Second Hokage didn't die that day?" Haya wondered keenly.
Mimi redirected her attention and Medical Ninjutsu to the shuriken in Haya's arm.
"By all accounts he did die," said the Masked Man. "Yet what if I were to tell you he altered his fate, just as I did?"
"I'd say I have a lot more questions. But there's something more pressing we need to discuss."
"Oh?"
"The Stone managed to place Summoning Seals within this forest to ambush us. They knew precisely where we'd be and when, which means someone must've leaked that information to them. Perhaps the Foundation, or perhaps the Stone have spies within the Leaf. Yet two questions remain: How did they get those Summoning Seals here, and why haven't the Leaf sent any reinforcements?"
Haya shook her head. "The only answer I can think of to the second question is that something isn't right back home. The Stone were right within striking range, and they didn't send a single shinobi to help us. We also need to find those Summoning Seals and destroy them so they can't send anyone else."
The Masked Man hummed. "True. You're in no condition to defend against a second wave."
Haya's right, though, he thought. There must be something happening within the Leaf Village. Is this also a part of the Akatsuki's plan?
He would need to investigate. In the meantime…
"Haya, you should know that it was an Akatsuki spy who placed the Summoning Seals responsible for this attempted assassination."
"How would you know that?" the Anbu kunoichi asked pointedly.
"You of the Leaf aren't the only ones gathering Intel on their movements," he replied calmly. "It was by chance I learned of this ambush when I did; I hurried here immediately, and fortunately arrived in time to remove that self-righteous bastard before he could do any harm."
"An Akatsuki spy…" Haya squinted at the ground. "Not to sound egotistical, but I have a feeling the Akatsuki didn't aid the Stone simply for monetary purposes. They were probably trying to remove me. Rather, they were trying to remove the Amenominakanushi from the board after I unleashed it on that bomber. And given we've heard of other bombings since…"
"His name is Deidara," the Masked Man offered. "A former member of the Stone's Explosion Corps. However, I suspect the spy responsible for the Summoning Seals belongs to his partner—Sasori of the Red Sand."
"Sasori of the Red Sand is a member of the Akatsuki?" the male Anbu agent questioned.
"Yes. Assuming Haya's conclusion about the Leaf is correct, he may even have sleeper agents within your walls distracting the Leaf as we speak. Or perhaps Danzō is pulling our strings this time.
"In the meantime," he stepped forward, phasing through the Wood restraints, "I suggest you begin locating those Summoning Seals. You've likely startled the Stone with your counterattack, but they'll try again if you allow them to recover."
The Anbu kunoichi, the Crows, and Hashirama's pale imitation all took on defensive stances. They were prepared to strike him down. He withheld an amused chuckle and focused his attention on the young shinobi, the trio who he was more certain than ever would help him change their wretched world.
"Haya, Sasuke, Mimi, you did well beating back the Stone," he praised, then grew serious, "but the Tsuchikage will not take this humiliation lightly. He will send more shinobi to remove you, and he will not do so alone. The Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and the Foundation will not sit idly by as you gain more power and influence. So be careful," he pressed upon them. "In time we will cut ourselves free of these blood-soaked marionette strings."
Haya nodded once. "That we will, Grandfather."
Time and space warped into a vortex around the Masked Man.
Take care, Haya.
And then he vanished.
Every citizen across the Leaf—shinobi and civilian alike—simultaneously felt an electric surge sweep through the Village. It danced along their skin, commanded their hairs to stand erect. Impending doom clutched their hearts in a vice grip. Cold. Tight. Some lost their breaths. Elderly folk's hands quickly moved over their fluttering hearts.
The electricity gushed from Hokage Mountain and the Tower beneath it to the farthest corner of the Leaf like a tsunami wave, crashing through the walls, the refugee camp, and stretching a kilometer beyond in all directions.
Birds cried out, fluttered their wings, and took flight in search of shelter. Grazing deers perked up, ears raised, hearts racing. They froze for but a moment, then pranced off swiftly. Squirrels halted, shivered, and scrambled up trees or along forest floors.
Even the animals sensed the impending doom. The source was so egregiously proud in its dreadfulness.
On the streets and in stores citizens paused, uncertain of the dread they felt churn in their stomachs like an unfortunate bout of food poisoning. Conversations ended abruptly. Common everyday noises—hawkers calling out to potential clients, footsteps, hammers slamming in nails, saws carving through wood, the bustling and babble of pedestrians—went silent. Cats awoke from naps and quickly scurried for cover. Dogs whined and lowered their heads and ears. Several infants cried out.
For the eternity that only lasted a single breath, the entire Village went still.
Silence. Absolute silence fell over them, all save the wails of infants.
Shinobi tensed in anticipation. Even Anbu agents—both loyal to the Hokage and members of the Foundation—braced. Crows patrolling the sky felt electricity flush over their feathers even at the higher altitudes.
Sensory Types felt the flux of power most intimately. They felt the egregiously proud dreadfulness crawl over their skin like a nest of agitated ants, they felt the electric current course through their beings, leaving behind pins and needles and gooseflesh as their rapt attention zeroed upon the peak of Hokage Mountain.
The breath finished. Another heavy, trembling breath began.
Lightning suddenly flashed atop Hokage Mountain, stealing the breath before it could finish. A tremendous, earth-shattering crack ruptured the air, stabbing the ears of the populace as a bone-rattling quake rumbled through the entire Village. Some wailed like the infants, frightened. Many grimaced and winced, startled by the bolt from the blue.
Frenetic sparks of lightning flashed and danced upon the mountaintop, displaying itself without fear of consequence.
Kakashi was already leaping swiftly across the rooftops when Shikaku's calm voice entered his mind. The Jōnin Commander cut straight to the point.
"Kakashi, listen carefully. The Akatsuki are on top of Hokage Mountain. As best we can tell, they utilized some manner of Shapeshifting Technique to infiltrate the Leaf, seizing the bodies of Gennō's accomplices in the process."
A Shapeshifting Technique, huh? So their real bodies aren't within the Leaf presently, he concluded.
"Precisely. I have our best Sensory Types attempting to triangulate their real bodies, but that's not your concern at the moment. Naruto and Fū located Gennō before the Akatsuki revealed themselves. They're captured in some manner of Lightning Prison as we speak."
Kakashi's eye hardened. He could see the Akatsuki's intent with that technique clearly, and he could imagine the suffering his student and Fū were suffering at this exact moment. Wind whipped by his ears as he Body Flickered from rooftop to rooftop.
A Lightning Prison? Is it Aimi Uchiha again?
"No, it isn't Aimi, Itachi, or Kisame this time. I don't have anything concrete on their identities yet, but I'll relay anything relevant as soon as I can."
All right. What's our plan of attack?
"You'll be leading a recovery unit. Your mission is to get Naruto and Fū away from the Akatsuki members while our combat unit dispatches this pair. From there you'll focus on defending them from any potential pursuit. At this point we still don't know if the Stone managed to place Summoning Seals within the Leaf, so stay vigilant. This may only be the first strike."
Roger that.
Orders received, Kakashi reached his hand up to his headband and lifted it off his eye. Crimson locked onto the mountaintop sparking with frenetic lightning.
Naruto, Fū, hang in there.
Lying on his stomach and chest, Naruto writhed against the earth like a headless snake, screaming through his clenched jaw as searing arcs of Lightning Nature Chakra crackled around him, splitting the threads of his jacket, shirt, armor, and pants, fissuring the fragile skin beneath. Flecks of crimson leapt through the air at times. Streams dripped from the wounds, pooling into the fabric.
He wasn't alone in the suffering, for whatever that was worth. It took effort to see through his blurring vision, the electrical currents made consciously controlling his movements nearly impossible. Yet he could still see Fū's form lying a few meters ahead.
She was curled on her left side, peach long-sleeve crop top, mesh armor undershirt, black skirt and thermal leggings all splitting open just like his clothes. Still conscious, too, like him. He knew that because he could hear her shrieking horribly over his hammering heart, the headache pounding his skull, and his throat burning screams.
Fū suddenly arched back, spasmed harshly, then hunched into a ball. Not at all on her own volition.
Smoke billowed off the pair. Every inch of them trembled violently.
The Lightning surging through their bodies intensified without warning. Naruto's eyes went wide, vision fading beneath a white veil instead of black.
"Gahhhhhhhhhh!"
Consciousness persisted. He felt his entire body jerk and flop about but couldn't see a thing. His knees slammed into the ground, shoving him into a roll that ended with him flopping on his back. There he writhed and spasmed, throat muscles tight and tense enough he feared the tendons and muscles might snap. He could do nothing except scream until his voice failed him.
Somewhere beyond the white void he heard Fū screaming, too. Somewhere out there he knew Old Man Gennō was suffering from the same attack, if he was still alive.
He was certain the Commander and Inoichi were listening in, too, could almost feel their tension through the connection; Shikamaru's dad had already assured them reinforcements were on the way, they would arrive in a moment, or so they were told.
Yeah, a moment was all they had to survive. But surviving a moment inside the Lightning Prison meant surviving a whole lifetime. Good news, they were both built of tough stuff. Better news, the Akatsuki wouldn't kill them outright. They needed them alive to extract the Tailed-Beasts, or at least that's what the Commander said.
Small victories.
"Huh, they're still conscious after that last pulse. Impressive. Seems we'll need to use more power to tame these two jinchūriki."
"This Shapeshifting Jutsu is too restrictive."
"I hear you. C'mon, Brother. We'll finish this up and take our prizes. It isn't what we were paid to do, but we'd be fools to let this opportunity slip by. Besides, I want to see Deidara's face when we retrieve the same jinchūriki he let slip away right under his nose."
"Hmhm! All right, don't need to tell me twice!"
Another ferocious surge of Lightning electrified through the pair.
The white void faded, replaced by a dank, flooded sewer. Water sloshed in Naruto's ears as he floated in the water. He stared at the dark ceiling, breathing heavily, drained of energy, drained of…everything.
I think…I'm dying…
Looming overhead, the Nine-Tail's red eye pierced through his pitch-black cage, glaring through the vertical bars down at the trembling and wounded boy.
"They're bringing you both to the brink of death," Nine-Tails rumbled. "If we don't do something now, it will take too much time for my chakra to heal your wounds so we can escape."
"Oh, so it's 'we' now, huh?" Naruto mumbled tiredly. "You know, I'm noticing a pattern here."
The Nine-Tails grinned a cruel grin. "Have you finally realized you're an ineffectual brat, unable to fight and survive any battle without my immense power?"
"Heh." Naruto smirked weakly. "Funny, but no. You only ever bother to offer your help when you're afraid."
The red eye squinted. Hatred flushed over the knucklehead, but compared to the Lightning Chakra it wasn't nearly as bad.
"What did you say?"
"I know those big ears aren't for show. You're afraid again. The first time was when we were up against Kasai in the Land of Sound; you were worried about his Wood Style capturing you, and since I was wounded you offered to help me heal and kill him."
He knew he was agitating the Nine-Tails like a flea, but he couldn't help it. He saw a pattern. Something about these Akatsuki guys, or perhaps not them personally but the Akatsuki in general, was forcing the Nine-Tails to offer an olive branch.
I need to know what he's afraid of.
Naruto grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut. Even in his mindscape he could feel the damage he had incurred, and continued to incur.
I need…to figure out how to turn this around. And this feels important.
"It was the same with Haido," he continued, voice low and eyes squeezed shut. "Don't get me wrong, after seeing The Power firsthand, I get why you'd be scared of him capturing The Vault. He obviously subjugated all the Tailed-Beasts or killed them in that other world, so helping me was out of self-preservation. And now we're here again. You're begging to work as a team—"
The Nine-Tails let out a furious roar which trembled the entire sewer, but it was small time compared to the earthquake his paw unleashed when he stabbed his talons through the vertical bars and slammed his paw into the ground.
Scorching heat—hatred, pure and raw—rushed over Naruto's body, stung his skin. Water surged beneath him as the Nine-Tails razor sharp talons landed a mere foot from the top of Naruto's head.
He grimaced, heart tightening. Why do I always gather information like this from him?
"Impudent brat! Do you forget who you're speaking to? I am the Nine-Tailed Fox! Were it not for this cage I would have killed you and laid waste to this entire Village long ago!"
"Then why bother helping me against these Akatsuki guys? Huh? You can't say you loathe the Senju and Uchiha more than me this time—these two are Cloud shinobi. And you can't say you're afraid to die, either, since apparently you and your kind don't die as easily as humans."
"Stupid child," seethed the Nine-Tails. "You more than anyone should understand that there are fates worse than death."
Naruto blinked. Had he the energy, he would've bolted upright when the epiphany struck him.
"You know what the Akatsuki plan to do to the Tailed-Beasts, don't you?"
The Nine-Tails snarled, sharp teeth gnashing together.
"I can imagine why a human organization would gather my kind together. You humans only see our power and how it can be used for or against your puny and insignificant Nations national interests."
"But you think its something bigger than a war or something?" he asked sincerely.
"Use what few brain cells you have before they die off," Nine-Tails scoffed. "The Akatsuki are already profiting from the war; they're shinobi for hire, selling their talents to the highest bidder. They'll use the fog of war to collect the Tailed-Beasts from the Five Great Nations while you're all busy killing each other. No one will even notice, not until its too late. To this world, you, that energetic gnat, and that other runt aren't even human. You don't exist. Your fellow humans only see us. They'll sigh in relief when you and I are gone."
Naruto pursed his lips. The furry jerk wasn't entirely wrong. Outside of the friends he, Fū, and Gaara made, the rest of the populace despised their existence. Most people would brush their hands off and say "Good riddance" if the Akatsuki took them away. Maybe even thank them.
"When the first jinchūrikis were made in my era, every so often we would hear news of the other Tailed-Beasts escaping to go on rampages," he recalled Granny Mito's somber voice. "The stigma of being jinchūriki rapidly found itself tied to those rampages. We became ostracized, hated, feared, as you understand, Naruto."
"As a jinchūriki, I presented a potential threat to stability."
Even to her own brother-in-law, Granny Mito was seen in the same light as the Villager's saw him. Rather, they didn't see him, as Nine-Tails pointed out. They only saw what they contained.
The people who would panic about their loss, besides their friends, were the ones worried about losing the power of their jinchūriki.
Because they were a symbol of power. A weapon that maintained a twisted balance of power—a balance so out of whack, the whole system was caving in on itself in war after war.
"So what do the Akatsuki have to gain?" he wondered aloud. "If they aren't trying to wage a war, why bother collecting Tailed-Beasts? Power, obviously. But…what could they be after? It's not like all shinobi are compatible to be jinchūriki. Granny Mito taught us that. And what are the odds every member of the Akatsuki is compatible, you know? Unless…they have something that could contain all of you…"
The Nine-Tails exhaled deeply, roughly. Naruto sensed his discomfort intimately. He was close to something—something the Nine-Tails really didn't like the idea of.
"Whatever their plans are," Nine-Tails rumbled, "I refuse to allow them to use me or my kin as pawns to achieve it. You are an insufferably stupid and naïve halfwit, but I can tolerate that until I free myself. So unless you want to die, this is your last chance to save yourself and that energetic gnat."
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "I know that. But I'm pinned down, and the way my body is… I won't be able to move, even if I use your chakra. How can I attack if I can't reach…them…"
His eyes snapped open. "Wait a minute… Yeah, that should work. If I can just…focus…"
"Hm?" Nine-Tails hummed.
Trembling, Naruto sank his hands into the water and pressed them into the sewer's floor, forcing himself to sit upright within his mindscape. He breathed heavily once there, but with a groan forced himself to brace one knee and one foot on the ground.
"Listen, Nine-Tails," he panted. "We may not see eye to eye on—well, anything really. You hate my guts, and you really piss me off sometimes, you know. But if you really mean it when you say you want to protect your kin from the Akatsuki, then that puts us on the same page for once. 'Cause I wanna protect Fū and Chōmei, and Gaara and the Shukaku, too. Even if you and the Shukaku have serious attitude problems.
"So, if you wanna help me protect Chōmei, then get ready, 'cause this ineffectual brat is about to show you how effectual he really is."
Naruto pushed through his foot, rising to his full height. He stumbled back a step even with both feet beneath him, splashing the water.
He hunched forward, chest expanding and compressing with quick, breathless attempts to breathe. It was getting harder. The Akatsuki, they nearly had them at the brink of death.
"After all," he panted, "Granny Mito said my mom's Will of Fire burns like the sun inside me, so no matter what I'm up against—even if its something furry and angry all the time, even if its impossibility itself—I've got no reason to quit."
"You will surpass us both," he recalled Granny Mito's calm but confident and powerful voice. "That is the destiny of the next generation. From our old and withered leaves you will rise anew, stronger, fiercer, bearing the love and dreams we passed on, as well as the burdens of our mistakes and the wisdom to correct them. You have a future to build, do you not? You made a vow. Remember it."
That's right, he thought, raising his left arm out to his side against the pain. I've made a whole lot of vows. I even made one to you, Nine-Tails, so…
"I mean, I told you I was gonna fix that hatred of yours, right? That means I can't let these Akatsuki guys win."
He closed his fingers into a fist and raised his thumb. He felt the Nine-Tails red eye pinned on his back.
"So just watch. I'm gonna bust us all out of this Lightning Prison, and I'll figure out a way to fix that hatred of yours, too. That's a promise, and I never go back on my word!" he declared.
I may not be able to move, he thought, shutting his eyes and directing all of his focus to his chakra. Molding it. Shaping it. Kneading it together into the correct form like he was making ramen noddles from scratch.
But I don't need to move to reach these guys. Not anymore.
His back was pinned against solid earth. His body trembled and spasmed out of control. Fū was screaming so horribly, and he echoed it through a clenched jaw. Yet Naruto could see the two shapes forged of chakra vividly in his mind's eye, golden hued and snaking through the ground, tunneling silently across the mountain towards the two Akatsuki members.
The white void subsumed all other distractions. It blinded him, and yet he could almost see their exact positions perfectly—Nine-Tails, he realized, was lending him his superior senses.
So just hang in there a little longer Fū and Chōmei. I'll bust us out of this Lightning Prison. I'll help build that future we all talk about, I'll figure out how to fix the hatred the Nine-Tails is burdened by, and I'm gonna become Hokage. That's my dream, just like my mom.
"You were the joy of your parents before you were even born, kid. They could hardly wait for you to join the world."
My parents… Their Wills and their dreams are mine to carry now, so no matter what…
Two blade-less golden hued chains burst from the earth beneath the Akatsuki members, coiling up the length of their legs from their ankles to their pelvises.
The Lightning Prison ceased instantly.
"What?!" hissed one of the Akatsuki members.
"My chakra, I can't—"
I won't let it end here!
Lying on her left side, Fū grimaced as involuntary spasms and painful cramps attacked her muscles. Her entire frame trembled even in the absence of lightning. She couldn't consciously control her limbs or her torso to move, stand, or crawl—she couldn't even relax her aching jaw or uncurl her fists.
This was bad. Whatever Naruto had done definitely stopped the Lightning Prison, but she couldn't move a single finger or wiggle a toe to offer any kind of support yet. Fū could hear sizzling somewhere—was it her clothes or her skin? It felt like both. Ribbons of smoke were rising off her trembling frame.
"Fū!" Naruto's voice cracked, strained by their screaming. "You've…gotta move. I'll hold…them. So get going!"
Fū shut her eyes, grimacing.
Naruto…
It was happening again.
"Fū, you have to go." Shibuki's voice nearly crushed her weakened and exhausted spirit.
Go? Go where? Back to all of their friends while these Akatsuki jerks hurt Naruto or kidnapped him? How could she even face them if she left Naruto behind?
How could they expect her to live with herself if she kept abandoning friends to die?
…No… She squeezed her shut eyes tightly, tears burning behind her eyelids. Not again… I'm…not leaving…anyone else behind. I made a super important promise to Karin.
"And don't worry, Karin, everything will be a-okay! Me, Chōmei, and Naruto will make sure of it!"
When Fū opened her eyes she was no longer lying on Hokage Mountain, but upon the head of Chōmei, who resembled a massive blue rhinoceros beetle with six green and orange insect wings and a long seventh tail growing from the end of his abdomen. She was little more than a speck by comparison.
"Looks like Naruto finally figured out how to use those Adamantine Chains of his. Lucky for us, huh," Chōmei's deep but easy-going voice rumbled in her ears. "Now we have an opening to get us all out of here, and let the Leaf's reinforcements handle the rest."
He already knew what she was thinking. He could've argued, placed their survival and escape over everything else; her plan relied entirely on his chakra, so it would've been fair for the Seven-Tails to decide how they used it.
Instead, Chōmei offered his unwavering support.
"…Chōmei… Thank you for always being here. …Thank you for being my friend."
"Come on. Let's show these rogues why we're the ultimate tag team."
Fū smiled, nodded once. "Right."
The kunoichi blinked and opened her eyes to Hokage Mountain. She still couldn't move, at least nothing beyond the involuntary spasms and cramping muscles. That was okay. Really. She didn't need control of her body to get them away from these Akatsuki jerks.
I won't…
A wispy red veil of chakra sheathed the kunoichi's body. Ribbons of steam joined the ribbons of smoke as some of the open wounds on her body sealed shut. They couldn't heal everything, it would take too much time, but that was okay, too. She didn't need everything healed yet. Just enough to survive.
I won't leave anyone behind ever again.
The wispy red veil intensified, churning into a bubbling red cloak of dense chakra. Two chakra tails took form. A small horn mirroring a rhinoceros beetle manifested from the cloak behind the back of Fū's head, two extra horns emerged over her shoulders.
No way. Never again. I left too much behind already. My home, Shibuki… I'm not gonna let these Akatsuki jerks take anything else.
Insect-like wings sprouted from the kunoichi's lower back.
The Leaf is my home now, too.
Pinned by the Adamantine Chains and unable to access their chakra, the Akatsuki members reached for their hip pouches and equipped kunais attached with Paper Bombs.
My friends are all here.
Her wings vibrated, uplifting her limp body off the earth. The Akatsuki members threw their kunais. Her chakra tails elongated and struck the feeble blades aside. Suddenly a hand of chakra manifested beneath Fū's body. It smashed into the ground, imprinting a hand-shaped crater into the ground, then began to elongate, pushing the kunoichi higher into the air.
And we're gonna protect all of it!
Fū forced her jaw open, at last.
Scale Powder!
From her mouth she expelled a luminous cloud of scales which flowed towards the earth and surrounded the Akatsuki members. The scales caught the sunlight and glimmered brightly—so brightly both Akatsuki members cried out and shut their eyes, blinded by the dazzling light.
Part one of the plan was a total success. She couldn't risk dragging Naruto away when his technique was all that stood between them and another imprisonment in Lightning. Now their enemies were blinded, which bought time for part two of her plan.
High in the sky, she locked her eyes on Naruto and Gennō down below.
Chōmei, we need to get the old man out of here, too. The farther he is from his trap, the safer we'll be, I bet.
"You got it, Fū."
Her two tails elongated again, lurching towards the earth. Chōmei wrapped their tails around both Naruto and Gennō, lifted them off the ground, and reeled them in closer. At the same time their wings carried her limp body off the side of the mountain. Naruto's chains sank back through the earth and into his body.
Chakra no longer sealed, the Akatsuki members blindly clapped their palms together and aimed their pointer fingers in their general direction. A halo of bluish-white light surrounded their hands, then beams of electricity burst forth. They carved apart the earth, charged into the sky after the source of immense chakra.
Incoming!
She flitted through the air without control, electric beams flashing past her. Heat brushed across her skin, a beam narrowly passing by her left arm. A wound split open along its length all the same. It left behind a numb, pins and needles sensation.
Fū grimaced, eyed the Hokage Tower. Chōmei seemed to agree and dove straight for it.
As the Waterfall kunoichi entered something akin to a free-fall with Naruto and Gennō in her possession, diving and flitting between the electric beams, a silhouette draped in a green haori flickered up the mountain side.
Fū crashed onto the rooftop, bounced twice, then smashed into a solid mass, which grunted and skidded a few meters before stopping. The two tails placed Naruto and Gennō down more gently than her unceremonious crash, then her bubbling cloak dissipated.
Fū creaked her right eye open, the other she squeezed shut in pain. One dark eye and one Sharingan met her pained gaze.
"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi apologized.
"Don't be…silly," she smiled through a grimace. "You're right on time."
An earth-shaking quake rumbled from the top of the mountain. Kakashi and Fū glanced up, but neither worried. They recognized its source and knew one truth beyond any shadow of a doubt:
Lady Fifth was about to bring a whole world of hurt to the Akatsuki.
Two slabs of earth crashed with a staggered boom-boom, peppering the surroundings with tiny fragments of stone. A veil of dirt and dust swept across the top of Hokage Mountain.
"Tch," Tsunade grunted, removing her fist from the split earth. "Spry little punks, aren't you?"
Her intense and furious gaze, resembling an incandescent blade, seared into the two Akatsuki members. They had bounded away at the last possible moment and now stood opposite of the Fifth Hokage. Their evasion also put more distance between them and the Village.
She'd hoped to take out at least one of the shinobi with that attack, if not both. Oh well. Pushing them farther from the Village would be enough, until she finally got her hands on them. Then she would finally have a chance to work out all this pent up frustration and fury rattling inside her like the tail of an agitated rattlesnake.
Tsunade spared only a single thought to Naruto and Fū, the conditions of both she had felt intimately through Inoichi's Mind Transmission Jutsu, and seen as Fū carried Naruto and Gennō away from the battlefield. The suffering they had endured…
She clenched her fists tighter, teeth grit. The Fifth Hokage honed the fury into a sharp blade, then centered herself. Emotions were the enemy of all shinobi, especially something as intense as the fury boiling her from within. Against two S-rank rogues, she couldn't afford to let her guard down.
Tsunade flicked her intense gaze between the two dark-skinned men. She recognized them immediately.
"So, the Akatsuki recruited the two of you as well, huh?" she noted. "Raikou and Ryūjin, once hailed as the Niō of the Cloud."
"Well, well, if it isn't Tsunade Senju. The stories don't do your beauty justice, Milady," Raikou smiled coyly—distinguishable by his white mohawk and braided goatee. "Looks like things are about to heat up, Brother."
"I've got chills all over." Ryūjin was grinning. The breeze rustled his lions mane of shaggy white hair. He scratched beneath his jaw, along a series of Wind Nature scars marring the flesh. "Been a while since we've stood before a Kage. Think I'm feeling nostalgic."
Like their namesake, the brothers were both very tall—they had to be nearly seven feet, like the Third Raikage before them, and were built with similarly impressive muscular physiques resembling the wrathful guardians they were named for.
They wore the robes of the Akatsuki unbuttoned to their waist. The sleeves were also torn off, revealing the stylized kanji for Lightning tattooed on their boulder shoulders—the left for Raikou and right for Ryūjin, respectively.
"As I recall," Tsunade said, "the Third Raikage handpicked you two as his personal guards; in fact, he trusted you so deeply, he passed on his famed Black Lightning to you both. That's what those tattoos on your shoulders symbolize, right?"
"Mm," Raikou confirmed with a deep hum and nod. "We may renounce our ties to the Cloud, but we will never renounce our pride in serving Lord Ay. Had we only been there in his final moments…"
"Ten thousand men…" Ryūjin said, pride glistening in his eyes. "Do you know the tale, Lady Tsunade? Have you heard of Lord Ay's final battle?"
"Keep them talking, Lady Tsunade," Shikaku spoke through the Mind Transmission Jutsu. "Everyone is nearly in position."
"I have," she admitted. "For three consecutive days and nights, Lord Third Raikage battled ten thousand shinobi. He did it to buy his comrades time to retreat, as I recall."
"Three days and nights," Ryūjin confirmed, nodding. His pride was only matched by his grief, tangible in those glistening dark eyes. "For three days and nights he fought against ten thousand shinobi alone, all to protect the shinobi of the Cloud. Subordinates who would have willingly died in his stead, had he only let them."
"Had we only been there, Brother…" Raikou lamented again. "Had we been there, Lord Ay would still be with us."
Tsunade believed him, without hesitation. Lord Ay alone had carved his way through several thousand before he was felled; there was a reason he was hailed as the Greatest Raikage, and why his body was hailed as the Strongest Shield.
Were he fighting alongside his Niō that day, whose strength and presence made her molars tingle, ten thousand men wouldn't have been a cake walk, but she could see them coming out on top nonetheless.
"The shame of his death falls on our shoulders," Ryūjin said. "However, Lord Ay died as he lived—a man of honor, courage, and pride. Fighting ten thousand men for three consecutive days and nights, all to protect his subordinates—that is a leader, that is a man worthy of wielding the title of Kage."
"He was a man without peer," Raikou declared passionately, pridefully. He glanced off, a dark expression briefly contorting his features. "How the apple falls far from the tree, eh, Brother?"
"Tch," sniffed Ryūjin, scowling. "Too damn far if you ask me."
"Yeah. But that's enough reminiscing for now. You've bought your time, Milady. Now let's see what you do with it!"
Raikou charged ahead, his strides long and light as a feather in spite of his size. Ryūjin moved directly behind him, clapped his palms together and aimed his fingers at Tsunade. A large halo of bluish-white light surrounded his hands, an orb subsumed his hands, and then beams of electricity flowing like water stretched out.
Gale Style, huh?
The dozens of electric beams darted around Raikou straight for the Fifth Hokage. She squinted. The massive flow of light was so bright she struggled not to look away. She could scarcely see Raikou amidst it all, she couldn't see much of anything, truth be told. Fortunately, despite all appearances to the contrary, she wasn't alone.
"This is their infamous Jet Stream Combination. Evade to your left now," Shikaku commanded.
Tsunade pushed off the outside of her right foot, bounded to the left. She kept low to the ground, watching for Raikou and pursuing streams of electricity.
"Stay calm and get ready for Raikou. Ryūjin is aiming for the Village—destroying parts of the Leaf was what they were hired to do according to Naruto and Fū."
Raikou emerged from the bright light, preceded by an agile panther constructed of blue lightning springing along the earth. Ryūjin's Gale Style attack didn't pursue, instead rushing straight for the Village. Just as Shikaku predicted.
As the panther rapidly approached, a powerful compressed bullet of Wind struck the Lightning Beast. It fizzled away into harmless sparks.
Tsunade's haori and blonde ponytails whipped beneath the gale, but she, like Raikou, didn't turn to acknowledge Asuma Sarutobi's long-distance counter, or the man himself as he dropped and rolled onto Hokage Mountain out of a flock of Crows alongside Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, and all three members of the Hokage Guard—Genma Shiranui, Raidō Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami.
Simultaneously, as the Wind Bullet struck the beast, the Gale Style attack poured towards the Village with deadly accuracy. However, as it neared the edge of the Hokage Mountain, a tall and lithe woman with gingerbread brown hair leapt in front of it—Kimiko Hyūga.
In an instant she was encased in a vast sphere of rotating chakra. The streams struck the sphere, and were reflected back onto the mountain, bursting the earth, spraying pebbles and debris through the air. Not a single stream crossed the threshold.
Another undulating flock of Crows dove for Ryūjin. From it, a long mane of white hair emerged, palms clapped together in the Snake handseal. A mountainous wall suddenly rose in front of the Gale Style attack.
Gaze like cold steel, Jiraiya landed upon the peak of the wall, then darted along its edges, hands moving swiftly through new handseals. New beams of electricity lurched towards him, flowing like water serpents as they ruptured stone or penetrated through the thick earth and fizzled off into the sky. Ryūjin grinned below.
"The legendary Master Jiraiya, too? What luck! Your prized student left me this beauty mark. Now I can return the favor!"
Jiraiya expelled a vast cyclone of Wind for the Akatsuki member. The rogue cut off his attack and quickly evaded, lest he be struck by the Legendary Sannin.
At the same time, a shockwave of power burst across the battlefield. The Hokage Guard, Asuma, and Izumo and Kotetsu raised their hands in front of their faces as the shockwave punched them, giving their hearts a jolt and stealing their wind.
Tsunade grit her teeth. Her arm was hooked around Raikou's massive limb, locked at the inner side of their elbows. Both of their arms trembled against one another.
Raikou smiled.
"Like your beauty, the stories of your monstrous strength are no joke, Milady. I'm impressed, sincerely. With strength like that, you could crack even Kiyoshi Uchiha's Susanoo, as we did. Should his daughter and Fugaku's son survive the Stone's ambush, I intend to test the strength of their Susanoo's personally."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "So, they were your goal all along."
"Mm. Should he survive, I am certain there will come a day when Fugaku's son becomes our target; his father, his mother, and his brother were and are among the elite of shinobi, there is no doubt about that.
"However, today we seek the Reincarnation of Madara Uchiha's daughter, the direct and final descendent of Madara Uchiha, and wielder of the Amenominakanushi. While Kiyoshi's daughter has made enemies within the Akatsuki, it is that last title which has earned the attention of our Leader.
"Personally, my brother and I hold no grudge against the child. To be honest, Milady, she would've done this world a service by killing that annoying whelp. However, her power is a threat to our objectives. We can't risk the Leaf using it against us."
Simultaneously they retracted their arms. Tsunade stepped her left foot back, braced her right leg, and leaned her head to the side. His heavy fist whistled past her ear, pulsing the air. Swiftly, she swung her left leg up in a high kick. Raikou did not only retreat back, but leapt high as well—he predicted her next move perfectly.
With a growl, Tsunade swung her leg down, finishing the axe kick by crashing her heel and her precisely focused strength into the earth itself. A tremendous slab of earth rose into the sky beneath Raikou, like she'd stepped onto the end of a vacant teeter-tooter.
Raikou landed upon it. He glided smoothly down the surface as though surfing upon the stone, chakra humming at the soles of his sandals. Asuma, Izumo, and Kotetsu dashed off to aid Jiraiya. The Hokage Guard quickly approached with Genma at the lead.
The Akatsuki member took a long stride, then another. Suddenly he was sprinting straight at the Fifth Hokage as the slab of earth began its descent. Tsunade formed the Tiger Seal.
Earth Style: Great Mud River!
The surface beneath Raikou, once solid, became slick mud, sweeping his feet out from beneath him and tugging him downstream on a rapid slide straight for the Fifth Hokage. Again her hands moved swiftly through three handseals.
Ram, Horse, Dragon.
Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb!
A dragon head constructed of flowing mud formed in front of Tsunade, opened its maw, and unleashed an unending barrage of mud balls. At the same time she formed the Tiger handseal again, inhaled a large, chest expanding breath, and expelled a violent stream of fire.
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bomb!
The fire quickly overtook the mud balls, igniting the projectiles as they flew for the sliding form of Raikou. Lightning suddenly sheathed the Akatsuki member. He drove his feet into the earth beneath the mud, then shot like an arrow through the approaching inferno.
Flaming mud balls burst off his Lightning Armor. Tsunade cut off her jutsu, quickly pivoted, and felt the tickle of electricity dance over her skin as Raikou flickered by.
He slid along the earth, disengaged his Lightning Armor, and spun around as the slab he once occupied neared the end of its descent. A flying senbon hissed through the air.
Raikou's massive hand snapped up. He caught the senbon at its center within a handful of inches from his neck. He clenched his fist tighter, snapped the metal needle in half without effort.
Hokage Mountain was seized by a massive tremor as the slab slammed into the earth once more. Gusts of wind whipped the Hokage's haori and her ponytails wildly. As it did, the earth around Raikou lurched and sealed around his frame in the form of a pyramid, binding him from his thick neck to his feet.
"Raidō, Genma, your turn," Iwashi said, holding his interlaced fingers and palms tightly together.
His comrades were already inhaling. Genma expelled a dragon-shaped stream of fire. It rushed towards the pyramid, splitting into two separate dragons as it neared. Raidō exhaled a gale of wind, combining it with his fellow Hokage Guard's technique, intensifying the flames and guiding the Dragon Flame Bomb to orbit the pyramid.
A towering vortex of fire no ordinary shinobi would've survived encapsulated the Akatsuki member.
Raikou was no ordinary shinobi.
"Get ready, Lady Tsunade."
She hummed, braced herself. She could feel the burgeoning chakra, too. Electricity was flowing through the air.
"Stay calm," Shikaku reassured. "Your opportunity to eliminate them is rapidly approaching."
So, they're already at the limits of their Shapeshifting Technique, she concluded.
"Precisely. I'd guess they arrived with maybe twenty percent of their chakra. They don't have any real investment in this attack, either; they're only decoys, holding us here while the Stone targets the others. Right now I suspect they're testing you and Master Jiraiya, measuring their strength to yours.
"Between their Lightning Prison, their Gale Style attacks, and now that Lightning Armor, they're quickly burning through the chakra they allocated to this technique. So don't blink. Once he disengages his Lightning Armor, that'll be your chance to finish him off."
Got it. Tsunade dipped her chin slightly, tightening her fists.
The dragons rose higher, then, at the peak of the vortex, dove straight for the victim awaiting at the bottom. Chunks of burning earth suddenly hurtled out of the epicenter, crashing and rolling upon the earth. For a brief instant a large human shaped shadow appeared within the inferno like a ghastly specter.
Sheathed in Lightning, the Niō of the Akatsuki flickered out of the swirling firestorm. The dragons crashed against the earth. Trails of flames unleashed by their collision raced along the ground, chasing Raikou. He zigged and zagged, swiftly approaching Tsunade in less than a breath.
She formed a handseal.
"Too slow, Milady!"
Raikou struck her with a Lightning Lariat, right arm striking her at the waist and bisecting the Fifth Hokage. Blood splattered through the air, or so it appeared.
As Raikou halted and disengaged his Lightning Armor, he turned to his right to examine his work, and inhaled a sharp breath.
Thick mud covered his limb. His eyes went wide at the sight of an Earth Style Shadow Clone melting where the Fifth Hokage once stood.
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"
When Tsunade appeared on his left side, in his exposed flank, he was only able to turn his head to see the kunoichi floating in the air, arm drawn over her body. Shock twisted into palpable elation, his enthralled gaze locked upon the famed beauty of the shinobi world.
"I am Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage!"
Tsunade struck the Akatsuki member at the neck, injecting her chakra into the man as her forearm connected. The collision of flesh, muscle, and bone sounded like a large firework exploding.
Raikou flew through the air too quickly to track. His body skipped along the mountaintop, chipping chunks out of ground when he came into contact with it, only to halt suddenly beneath a thunderous explosion of earth as he slammed into the side of a small stony hill. His body cracked it from its foot to its flat peak.
Dust floated around him, pellets and larger stones rained upon his shoulders. Raikou grunted, tried to brace his left hand against the ground as he moved to rise again. His right knee contracted instead. When he tried to push through his right foot, his head lifted.
"My body…"
"I've scrambled your bodies electric signals," Tsunade informed as she swiftly marched closer. She pressed her heel into his throat, glared at the man. "Tell your leader to stay the hell out of my Village."
The entire hill cratered beneath the force of her bone snapping thrust.
As the slab of uprooted earth sent tremors through the mountainside with a calamitous crash, unfurling harsh gales of dust and debris to whip over the landscape, Ryūjin darted up the defensive wall Jiraiya erected, strides long and light, as though running with the wind propelling him forward. Constructs of Earth—columns, walls, spears—rose in front of and around him.
Ryūjin evaded nimbly through the thinnest of gaps for a man of his tremendous size. Soon enough he was upon Jiraiya. The Toad Sage evaded the first punch, parried the second at the wrist, shoving it wide, and counterpunched. It narrowly passed by the rogue's cheek, knuckles nearly brushing along his cheekbone.
Fists flew in rapid exchanges. Flesh slapped against flesh as punches were parried. Thunderous collisions quaked through muscle and bone as strikes were blocked, pulsing the air with raw power. Their sandals clapped against the stony earth wall as they maneuvered along it, retreating back, darting half-circles, all in attempts to find or make an opening.
Jiraiya ducked beneath a hooking punch. He channeled chakra into his hair, hardening it to match sharpened metal spikes, then pushed himself back, bounding one leap up towards the precipice.
As Ryūjin gave chase, the Toad Sage whipped his long white mane around and dug his heels into the wall. The Akatsuki member made a half pivot, evading his hair, then reached forward and snatched the mane.
Jiraiya's eyes went wide. The sharpened ends weren't even penetrating his flesh.
Ryūjin grinned at his bewilderment. "You'll need blades sharper than this to cut me!"
He turned and yanked the Toad Sage off the wall, pulling him down clockwise and whipping him towards the earth below. Jiraiya flipped head over foot once, twice, then managed to connect his feet to the vertical wall. He whipped his head up and expelled a stream of fire from his lips.
Fire Style: Flame Bombs!
Having pursued his enemy, Ryūjin came face to face with the powerful inferno, then quickly leapt off the wall, flipping through the air and clapping his palms together. He created a finger gun as he passed behind Jiraiya.
A compressed gale of wind howled from above. It struck the Akatsuki member dead-on and propelled him rapidly towards the ground before he could unleash his attack—Asuma and the others had finally arrived.
Izumo and Kotetsu appeared below, expelling what appeared to be highly viscous water along the surface of the ground, stretching several meters in all directions. Jiraiya whirled to face the earth below, lifted his right hand out and dashed after their enemy. A Rasengan formed above his palm.
Ryūjin landed below with a splash. He halted in place despite attempting to leap again.
"What is… Is this syrup?" he wondered, baffled and almost amused.
Nice work, Izumo and Kotetsu. Now…
Jiraiya spewed fire upon his Rasengan. The once blue orb turned black with a ring of flame around it, mirroring a solar eclipse.
He went from vertical to horizontal, chakra humming at his sandals as he dashed over the Syrup Trap and arrived at Ryūjin. He ducked beneath a Lightning Lariat that would've taken his head off, were it to connect.
I'll finish this!
Gaze fierce, he slammed the Rasengan into the abdomen of the Akatsuki member.
Hellfire Rasengan!
Ryūjin was yanked free of the Syrup Trap and bulleted away too fast to see amid a swirling tunnel of fire.
Suddenly, very suddenly, the tunnel exploded into a blazing maelstrom. Gales of hot wind rushed over the mountain plateau, stinging the feathers of the Crows gliding above and the skin of the shinobi upon and nearest to the mountainside.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the blaze, knowing the copy would be reduced to ashes. And yet…
He had delayed their training trip long enough. As soon as the situation was under control, he would take Naruto and Fū on the road.
They would need all the training he could give to survive the coming battles.
"It looks like you youngsters foiled my plans."
"Old Man Gennō…"
Gennō was very weak. The intense pain of his dying body, in addition to the wounds caused by the Lightning Nature attack made the act of speaking difficult. He was nearly out of time. By sheer force of Will he snatched his final threads of life, held on tightly. If only to ensure his final trap did not end horribly wrong.
Pressing his hands to his chest, he held his only prized possession beneath them—an old weathered photo of a young boy who looked remarkably like Naruto.
Through bleary vision he turned his head just enough to see the young Leaf shinobi, now seated beside him; his wounds weren't fully healed, his clothes were torn apart beneath the white bandages, and he wore a sad expression. The only reason he could sit so close was for the Leaf Jōnin surrounding them, and the clear signs that Gennō could no more pose a threat than a cooked ramen noodle could tie a secure knot. They were all faces he recognized from his Intel gathering.
Among them were Kakashi Hatake, Hana Inuzuka and the Haimaru Brothers, Shibi Aburame, Ensui Nara, and Shizune, who immediately began treating the two children.
"You weren't working with the Akatsuki, were you, Old Man?"
"No," he agreed. "I hoped to draw those two spies out and lead you right to us. I had no idea they would be sacrifices used in a Shapeshifting Technique."
"Sacrifices?"
"Mm," he hummed, shutting his eyes. "Techniques like that have a price, my boy. Whether they paid it willingly or not…"
"Wait a minute… You said you were leading us to you guys? But… Why?"
"Why indeed," he chuckled weakly, then sighed. "Ah, well, not everything went exactly as I planned it. But, you know…" Gennō smiled. "I still had fun in the end. Now I can finally stop fighting and see my son…"
His words fell short beneath a final peaceful sigh.
I feel it… I feel this heavy burden finally lifting.
My fight is over now, but yours, Naruto, I sense it has only just begun. Good luck, my boy.
And thank you.
Gennō, the Master Trapper, died with a warm smile on his face.