Empty

by zzzgnas

There is nothing worse in the world than the feeling of complete and utter helplessness. That empty feeling you get when you've lost everything and you know there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Uzumaki Naruto was four when he experienced this feeling for the first time. And from then on... nothing had gone right... Strong! Naruto. Third Ninja War Timeline.

12. Chapter 12 - I Really Hate the Summoning

Chapter-12

I Really Hate the Summoning Technique!

"Tell me, Naruto. Do you think one person can conquer the world?"

Flashback, More than 3 years ago.

Orochimaru looked around the lab he had just finished constructing. He was very proud of it. It was land he bought, holes he created and house he constructed. He didn't understand why every house in Konoha was made of wood. Stone houses were far more durable, anyone could see that. Granted, the wood materials used in the construction were very durable unlike normal wood. He suspected the First Hokage had something to do with it.

Anyways, this was his space. His lab. He was always a curious person. A man of science is what he'd call himself. He knew just as much about human anatomy as his female teammate. Tsunade was the famous one, Jiraiya was the eccentric one and he was the one who knew things. And he was starting to get very interested in human anatomy. Before he obtained a summoning contract, his body was just like anyone else's. He shivered, remembering his time in Ryuichi Cave.

All in all, Orochimaru always dreamt of starting his own lab and this was the day he finished it. He had carved the earth for the underground facility, laid down all the seals to properly protect the place from intruders as well as natural things like running water, cave-ins and what not. He had started learning fuinjutsu just for this. Sure, he was nowhere near as good as his sensei or his other male teammate, but he was getting there.

"Orochimaru! Where are you?"

Shit. It was Jiraiya. He didn't think he'd be back so soon. He had actually been hoping to keep the existence of his lab a secret, but it would seem that it wasn't meant to be.

"Come on, man. This is important."

Now, that was intriguing. What could be so important that Jiraiya couldn't wait till the next day? It was already pretty late.

"I'm coming, Jiraiya. Wait outside." He yelled back.

But there was really no need for him to even get out of his chair. "Woah. Look at this place. It's amazing." Jiraiya said in wonder as he entered through the door. Orochimaru's eyes twitched at all the mud and dirt he was bringing in but he didn't comment. The man had given him a compliment. It wasn't that common to get from his rival. Orochimaru was about to invite him to talk upstairs when a second individual walked through the door.

"Tsunade? What are you doing here?" Orochimaru asked in astonishment. They'd had a pretty big disagreement about something a few days ago about her goal at the hospital. He didn't say anything rude, just that sensei wasn't likely to change the constitution of a ninja unit just because she showed him that medics could fight as well. It hadn't worked well when she suggested it to him, it wouldn't work out later. Tsunade hadn't taken kindly to his words. Well, he supposed he could've been less blunt about it.

"I don't wanna be here either. Jiraiya said he wanted you here when he told the story." Tsunade replied uncaringly.

"What story?" Orochimaru asked, confused.

"The story of my first scar." Jiraiya said with a half-smirk on his face, as if he wanted to tell the story, but also didn't want to at the same time.

"Scar?" He was still confused. Jiraiya had been sent to do a scouting mission. To talk to his spies in the land of Water. Not to fight anyone. But he understood how that could have gone wrong.

Jiraiya lifted his shirt slowly to reveal the tender skin underneath. Gone were the rock-hard abs that most ninjas were blessed with. Instead was a gaping wound that had been burnt shut and then later healed. This was serious. Even against Hanzo, Jiraiya didn't get a single scratch on his body. Sure, he had a few concussions and some broken bones, but nothing that would leave a mark. His earth release made his body tougher than most.

"What happened?" Orochimaru asked, voicing the question on both his and Tsunade's minds. Tsunade had healed him up as best she could but he still didn't answer her about what happened.

"I found a survivor. An Uzumaki."

"WHAAT?!"

"Yeah. But he's the one who did this to me. It's not good news." Jiraiya said, making their happy expressions sober up. They were all there the day Uzushiogakure fell. They had seen the sadness on the elder shinobi's faces.

"Did you kill him? I'm assuming you did since you survived." Tsunade asked seriously.

Jiraiya winced. "N- no… I brought him back to the village."

"WHAAT?!"

"He's a kid, guys. About 6 or 7 years old. I didn't want to kill someone so young." Jiraiya spoke with a faraway look on his face.

"You got beat up by a kid?" Tsunade asked, obviously trying to stifle a laugh.

"Come on guys, this is serious."

Orochimaru didn't find the situation as funny. "Why would a survivor attack you? We were allies with Uzushiogakure."

Jiraiya winced again. "I think that despite all odds, this is someone who was in the village when it was attacked. He saw firsthand what happened to his people. I think he blames Konoha for the lack of help."

"He blames Konoha? That's insane. We were fighting a war of our own." Tsunade exclaimed.

"Well he does. He said Konoha would burn and that he would make sure of it." Jiraiya said, almost afraid.

"And you brought him back here?" Orochimaru asked disbelievingly.

"I didn't know what else to do. I thought sensei would know what needs to be done."

Orochimaru didn't let up despite noticing that Jiraiya was not liking this line of questioning. "And?"

"He lost his memory or some shit because of the beating I gave him… Which is fortunate because now, we won't have to kill the kid." Jiraiya said sheepishly, trying to make light of the situation.

"I think that this is the most stupid thing you've ever done in your life, Jiraiya. If he's already this strong at his age, what if he gets stronger and he remembers later. And if he still wants Konoha to burn, we'll be sitting ducks." Tsunade scolded their knuckleheaded friend.

"He won't remember." Jiraiya spoke in the same lighthearted manner as before, but Orochimaru had seen his eyes harden. There was definitely something there. At that moment, Orochimaru was sure that somehow or other, Jiraiya was lying to him. To them both. But he knew his friend enough to know that he wouldn't get answers from him now. He would have to wait, bide his time, for him to open up.

"What did he say exactly? Did he just say that Konoha would burn? Did he say why?" Orochimaru asked suddenly.

Jiraiya looked torn. He didn't want to reveal what he said but he felt like he couldn't lie to his teammates. "Konoha will burn. Konoha will burn just like Uzushio did. The land will flow with the blood of its people and the water will turn red with blood."

Tsunade looked at Orochimaru, exchanging a worried glance with him. This was far more intense than they'd thought. 'Konoha will burn' was the go to dialogue of every single enemy shinobi alive. It wasn't anything new. But this? This was different.

"I will make sure of it."

They talked for some time after that, but as soon as Tsunade was gone, Orochimaru grilled Jiraiya for details. Red hair, purple eyes, scar on his left cheek. Orochimaru would keep an eye on him. He didn't believe for one second that someone who could say something so intensely hateful could just lose his memory. Something else was going on here and he would make sure he found out. Science is curiosity, after all.

Konohagakure no Sato.

Akira Senju walked through the gates of what used to be his home. This was not something anyone would want to see when they got back from fighting a war. This would end up defeating them more than the war ever would. The land was desolate, barren. Only three things were left standing. The Hokage monument, the hospital and an apartment building. Akira smiled. The first two were not surprising. Mito Uzumaki had laid down the best seals she could make in order to protect the two most important things in the village. The Hokage monument was one of the most iconic things about Konoha. Seeing it destroyed would not be good for anyone.

The third one that had withstood the disaster though was not one he recognized. But judging from the expression on Mikoto's face, she did.

"Unbelievable. That kid is unbelievable." She muttered under her breath.

That was enough for Akira. He knew why the apartment building was still standing. It was where Naruto lived. He should have seen it right from the start. He'd worked way too hard for the apartment he stayed in with Yugao. There was no way he was going to let anyone or anything destroy it. Akira chuckled. A paranoid ninja is a good ninja.

"Mikoto. Take some shinobi and head to the hospital. There may be people there that need our help."

Mikoto nodded immediately and picked out a few shinobi, making sure to choose Rin because she knew her way around the hospital.

Once she was done, Akira turned to the remaining people. They were all behaving as you would expect someone to behave when they discover that their home was destroyed. Confused, sad, angry…

Akira wanted to say something to brighten their mood. To assure them that everything was okay. But he didn't even know if even the civilians survived. There was no way he could tell them anything of the sort. If they were alive, it would be good. If they weren't… Well, they were all shinobi. They knew how to deal with loss.

"The rest of you. With me." Akira yelled, breaking them all out of their stupors.

He led the team of shinobi straight to the apartment building. It would be better to check for people there before going to check behind the Hokage monument for the civilians. It was a good thing he did, because there were indeed people there.

Tsunade was pacing inside the first room he opened. She was not alone though. Kakashi was an expected presence. The bloody smear on the floor? Not so much.

"Why the fuck are you back so soon? Weren't you supposed to head to Ame after?" Tsunade snarled when she recognized who opened the door.

"Shikaku Nara thought it would be best if a presence such as mine is there at the village, it would help the people, if indeed, something has happened." Akira replied quickly. "Do you have any idea what happened here?"

Tsunade shook her head. "All I know is that Iwa's involved. You know, because of him." She pointed to the person lying in a pool of his own blood. "I've been trying to get him to talk, but so far, nothing."

Akira nodded in understanding. "And my teammates?"

Tsunade shook her head, signifying her lack of knowledge about them.

Akira turned around and faced the shinobi under his command. "10 of you… on the left… Head to the tunnels. Stand guard at the entrance. Find out what happened to Homura and Koharu. If either of them is able to move, ask them to come meet me. If not, one of you will report back to me."

The shinobi voiced their assent and went on their way. Akira turned to the remaining people. "Is there a T&I employee among you? I have a job for you."

Everyone looked at each other in search of someone who did. No one stepped forward.

"Come on. One of you has to be. Shikaku wouldn't split us up without someone skilled in getting information in both units." Akira drawled as if he was bored.

Finally, a chunin stepped forward. "I am a very recent recruit, Akira-sama. I have only just passed the two evaluations."

Akira smiled. "What's your name?"

"Morino Ibiki, sir."

"Well, Morino Ibiki. I have someone here who knows what happened to the village while we were gone. Would you be willing to try to get him to talk?" Akira asked in a voice that clearly advised against saying no.

"H- Hai, Akira-sama. I can try." Ibiki replied nervously.

Akira smiled. "Good man. The rest of you, start salvaging. Food, weapons, tents, anything that could be of use. I'll be back within an hour. Get me 2 things out of him. The name of the technique used to destroy the village, and the person who did it. Based on how uniform the destruction is, I believe it to be the work of a single technique. Get me a name."

Ibiki nodded hesitantly.

Akira grabbed his shoulder making Ibiki meet his eyes. "Ibiki-san. Get me a name."

Ibiki's eyes steeled themselves. He gave a serious nod and disappeared inside. Akira then gestured to Kakashi. "Stay with him and help him. If it gets out of hand, you step in and prevent him from killing the bastard. He will not die so quickly."

Kakashi accepted his new job immediately. Seeing that Ibiki was in good hands, Akira finally turned to Tsunade. "Tsunade… I'm so sorry for what happened."

Tsunade didn't reply immediately. She just looked down at her necklace in contemplation. "I'm not. This made me realize my fate."

This hadn't been what Akira was expecting. From what he heard from Naruto, he was expecting her to be much more emotional. "What do you mean, Tsunade-chan?"

"Konoha is a black hole, uncle. It's where things go to die." Tsunade said softly. She could see that Akira was going to ask her more questions. "Uncle, when this village was founded, there were 430 Senju shinobi in this village. Now, how many are there?"

Akira opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. He knew the answer. Two.

"There were more than 2000 strong shinobi in Uzushiogakure. When it fell, there were barely 500. Now, there are only two left just like us."

Akira frowned. Why was she bringing all this up now? "Why are we talking about this now? This can't have been planned."

"I agree. It couldn't have been planned. It's just that everyone in any way associated with Konoha has suffered. Look at Sunagakure. Why did they betray us? Because they realized that slowly but surely, their native merchants were slowly drifting to Konoha. Trade in the Land of Wind was declining and it was entirely due to the prosperity here. Whether intentional or not, it's our fault that their country is declining."

Akira's eyes widened. This was above and beyond just recent events. Tsunade had been thinking about this for a long time. "What are you saying?"

This blunt question at least had the effect of making her look uncertain, but her jaws were set in determination soon enough. "When the war ends, I'm leaving. I'm leaving Konoha and I'm never coming back."

Akira was stunned. "What? You can't do that."

"I can and I will. Be thankful that I'm at least waiting for the war to end." Tsunade snapped back.

Akira went silent. This isn't what his father or uncle would've wanted for their hime. "Tsunade, you can't just give up."

"Too bad." Tsunade started to walk away from him, heading toward the Hokage monument. "I already have."

With Naruto.

The chilling scream that resounded in his ears was the first indication that this was not the place for him to be. He immediately froze. That was a cry for help if he ever heard one. He looked towards his commanding officer. Mogaku Inuzuka.

When they had arrived at the outskirts of Amegakure, they were immediately split into groups. His team was placed in Mogaku's unit. They were in charge of recovery and rescue. Basically, they were in charge of recovering the bodies of dead Konoha shinobi while the senior members in their unit were in charge of rescuing the people who were in tight situations. From what Naruto gathered, the ultimate aim of every unit was to enable a safe retreat for everyone. His sister was in Suzaku Nara's team, the Nara clan head. Naruto made sure to remember his face clearly if he needed to seek him out after this.

The process was proceeding as planned with little complications. Until they heard the scream. It was so close to them. One look from Mogaku was enough and they were on their way to seek out the source of the scream. He looked around at his two teammates. Their jaws were set in determination. Whatever Orochimaru told them after the events of Shimogamo Forest, they had taken to heart. He had never seen them so determined to accomplish something like this.

As they travelled through foreign territory, the screams started dying down. They quickened their pace, but they were starting to get worried. These were dying screams. It wasn't necessary that the people responsible for it were on their side.

Suddenly, Naruto held up a hand and they stopped. Over the sound of the rain, they heard something weird. Someone was laughing. Cackling, in fact. This coupled with the fact that there was nothing going on near them made them feel strangely uncomfortable. It was supposed to be a warzone. Naruto's sharp eyes caught traces of blood in some places (which were rapidly being washed away by the rain) but there were no bodies around. He thought it was strange but let it go when the cackling started again. They were close.

The source of the laughter finally came into view. It was an Iwa ninja. Naruto exchanged a worried glance with Anko and Yuna before cautiously dropping down from the tree. Naruto noticed three things when he landed. One, there was a severed hand under a tree. Two, the Iwa-nin's legs were shaking. And finally, there was a burning corpse, and the flame was black. Just like the ones that rained down on Uzushiogakure in his visions. The rain pouring down had absolutely no effect on the black flames.

Naruto didn't get time to think about that odd event because suddenly, the Iwa-nin's legs gave way, making him fall head first into the black flames. Naruto knew what would happen if something came in contact with those flames. He felt a hand on his, and knew that it was Yuna, telling him that this was none of their business and that they should get back to their group.

But at that moment, Naruto saw his face. It was the face of the man who killed his own father before leaving the village. He was in the bingo book that Zabuza gave him. He was Shinji Aburame, Shinzo's older brother. This realization made him channel chakra into his eyes and just before Shinji made contact with them, the black flames disappeared. Absorbed into Naruto's right eye.

Shinji fell onto the corpse, but it wasn't nearly as hot as he expected. In fact, he was feeling no pain. None at all. He opened his eyes to see three Konoha genin in front of him. The one in the front had red hair and one of his eyes was obscured by it. But the other one was red and had a complicated pentagonal shape in it. Who was he? And how dare he interfere with this?

Shinji was on his feet immediately, wind blades forming around him poised to strike. Naruto immediately took a step back sensing his hostility and seeing the lethal technique aimed at him with the help of his sharingan. But before things could escalate, a blur tackled Shinji to the ground.

"You brat. I thought I told you to follow me." Naruto recognized him as well. The bingo book had a lot to say about him. The steel guardian of Iwa, Midori. "Hm, what's this? Three little Konoha brats?" He took a step forward and the three genin took an immediate step back making Midori grin. That's when he noticed the redhead in the front of the group. "Uzumaki?"

Naruto tensed. Was the hair that clear of an indication?

"You are an Uzumaki. I knew there were survivors. I just knew it." Midori yelled in anger? "I told him that that wasn't enough to wipe you all out. But he didn't listen. I've waited so long to meet a survivor."

Naruto glared at his opponent. "Why?"

Midori grinned. "Because I want to stomp you into the ground for what your 'relatives' did to us that day. I was one of the few who survived and kept their sanity."

Naruto's eyes pulsed with chakra making his hair move out of the way, revealing both sharingan. "You were there?" He asked in a threatening tone.

Midori frowned. "You have the sharingan. And it's a weird shape like the other Uchiha I fought. This will be harder than I thought." He took a step forward, but stopped immediately when he felt another pulse of chakra.

"Amaterasu!" Naruto channeled chakra to his eyes and the same flames that had just been absorbed reappeared directly in front of Midori. "That was a warning. Now, tell me. Why did Iwa attack Uzushio all those years ago?" Yuna and Anko were slightly uncomfortable with the way things were proceeding, but they didn't voice it. They would stand strong. They wouldn't keel over like before.

Meanwhile, Shinji had been staring at the ground in front of him in astonishment. He wanted to live. Then his reasons to live were slowly ripped away from him. First Shinzo and then Kaguya. Now he wanted to die and whatever god existed, wouldn't let him do that either? He felt sick. He was hoping to die before her corpse stopped burning. That way he wouldn't have to look at where her face used to be and see the hollow burnt skull. He wouldn't have to see the holes in the place of her beautiful pink eyes. That's when he realized. The redhead was the reason he didn't die. He had saved him. Why? Why? Why? WHY? WHY? WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY?

'Amaterasu'. He heard the kid yell out the name of the technique that claimed the life of Kaguya. Maybe he hadn't intended to save him. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe he wanted to make up for it and was giving him another chance.

As soon as he saw the black flames in front of him, Shinji lurched forward, hoping to just touch it. Hoping to die from it. Alas. It wasn't meant to be.

"Tch." Midori grunted in frustration as he caught the idiot before he touched the black flames. "It seems he still doesn't understand that I won't let him die until he serves his purpose." With a sharp jab to the back of his neck, Midori knocked him unconscious and casually threw him over his shoulder. "Uzumaki, we'll meet again. I'll get you next time."

Naruto grit his teeth in anger. "You're not leaving till I get some answers."

Midori laughed. "Oh, yes I am. Don't worry. I said we'll meet again, didn't I?"

Yuna reached for a kunai but Naruto's outstretched hand stopped her from launching it. "Naruto, why did you save that man. He was an enemy."

When Midori was finally out of sight, Naruto turned around to see both Anko and Yuna staring at him in confusion. He remembered his promise to Anko to not keep everything to himself. He supposed this wasn't so personal. He opened his mouth to speak.

"That man is Shinzo's older brother, Shinji Aburame."

10 Minutes Later.

In the heat of the moment, team 12 hadn't realized how far away from their original unit they'd actually moved. It was a strange feeling. They knew they were in an active warzone. But nothing was happening anywhere close to them. The rain had quickly washed away any tracks they'd made, further worsening their condition. With nothing but a general direction to go in, they quietly made their way towards the Land of Fire.

Anko and Yuna had yet to speak after Naruto revealed that Shinzo had a brother who had become a missing nin and was now somehow serving Iwa. They didn't want to say anything in this environment where everything was making them uneasy. But they would have a talk with him later. They weren't supposed to have a confrontation here. It wasn't their task. Their task was retrieving the bodies of fallen comrades. Nothing else.

Naruto knew their mission. That was the reason for his current discomfort. Where were the bodies? There were many signs of battle. Kunai and other weapons scattered across the field… the rain-diluted blood… But no bodies. Other than the hand they'd found near their earlier confrontation, which they had sealed up in a scroll, nothing else. Something was definitely wrong.

Naruto slowed down, prompting his teammates to do the same. "Why are we stopping?" Anko asked, looking around nervously.

"Something's wrong here. Where are all the bodies? It's obvious that there was a fight here which moved away but where are the bodies?"

Yuna nodded along. "I noticed that on our way there, but didn't want to stop because of the screams."

"It is strange…" Anko held her chin in thought. She hadn't noticed it. Her mind was desperately filling with various different scenarios about to occur and none of them good.

Suddenly their eyes snapped toward their left. Screams of pain filled the air. They looked at each other nervously. That was the direction they thought their unit went in. Their plan was to reach the border and then retrace their steps. They knew that Mogaku Inuzuka had gone in that direction. They just didn't know where to turn.

But this took care of that decision for them. One look at his teammates and they were on their way. Running desperately to arrive before the screams ended, unlike before. They stopped when another scream filled their ears. It was close. Anko tapped his shoulder and pointed to some nearby trees. He nodded. They needed to find more about the situation before rushing in, all guns blazing.

The next scream came when they just passed the tree line. They crept along the trees, trying to get a better view of what was happening and whether they were in any position to help.

"PLEASE. WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING TO YOU. PLEASE LET US LIVE!"

Naruto looked at his teammates with wide eyes. That was Mogaku's voice. The man was one of the most confident people Naruto had ever met. Arrogantly so. The voice that reached them didn't have the same tone. This was piteous. This was the voice of a man begging for his life.

Naruto hadn't worked with an Inuzuka before, but he knew enough of their clan to know that they were all fierce, wild warriors. They pride themselves in their skills to hunt, to track and to kill. They were not the cowardly type. But when Mogaku Inuzuka came into view, he realized why he was begging.

Bodies littered the battle field. Most of them severed in half. Some of them just on the ground with no outer wounds, their faces green. Was that some kind of poison? To Naruto, these were all peripheral details. His eyes had gone straight to the man wielding the huge scythe, dripping with blood. He was on top of a summoned creature which he would later recognize as a salamander. And directly in front of him was Mogaku Inuzuka on his knees, clutching the severed head of his dog.

"Pathetic. Every single Konoha ninja I've come across… You are all on your knees. Get up, mutt." Hanzo yelled.

Mogaku didn't move. He was petrified. From his position, he could see the dead body of every single ninja under his command. His dog's body was nowhere to be found, but Mogaku knew where it was. It was inside the monstrosity in front of him. The salamander had come up out of nowhere to swallow his dog. Its tongue had rolled out of its mouth and separated Akiba's head from his body which was then swallowed. Mogaku had fallen to his knees then, and hadn't gotten up.

"I said, GET UP." Hanzo screamed.

Mogaku did as he was asked. The only way he would live was if he did everything that was asked of him. He would survive. Then he would become strong. Strong enough to get his revenge. Mogaku met his eyes. "You will pay for this."

Hanzo looked surprised. "I will pay for this? You invaded my country. I killed you all. Tell me, what have I done wrong?"

Mogaku started growling. "No one who has ever wronged Konoha has lived for very long. We'll win the war. We'll recuperate. Then, we'll come for you. We'll crush you."

Hanzo laughed, a low guttural sound reached their ears. "You're braver than a certain white-haired brat I know. I shouldn't have let him live all those years ago, if what I saw today was what he ended up as." Hanzo's scythe started turning in his hand. "Tell me, boy, what's your name."

Mogaku scowled. "My name is MOGAKU INUZUKA. Remember it. It's going to be the last thing you hear before your-"

SLASH.

Yuna couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her mouth when Mogaku's head was separated from his shoulders. Anko quickly brought a hand to her mouth, shutting her up. But it was already too late. Naruto didn't know how they heard it over the sound of the rain. But when both Hanzo and the salamander turned quickly in their direction, he knew that they had been heard.

Naruto turned around to see the horrified faces of their teammates. A desperate plan was forming in his mind. "Do you trust me?" he whispered.

They tore their eyes away from the approaching legendary shinobi and looked at Naruto. In his eyes, they saw something different. Something they had seen only once or twice before. When Shinzo and Shizuka died, this was the look he gave them. But then, he was tricking them. Now, he was asking if they trusted him. They looked at each other briefly before nodding with determination.

"Then copy everything I do. No hesitation." Naruto whispered urgently before turning around. Just in time to see the trees they were using as cover, get uprooted by the salamander and its master.

"What do we have here?" Hanzo asked playfully, seeing the three kids beneath him.

Naruto dropped to the wet grass and he was happy to see that his two teammates had quickly followed. He kneeled like the knights in Yugao's story books did and he bowed his face. "Hanzo-sama."

Hanzo didn't say anything. He jumped down from his summon and stood in front of the young redhead. "Explain."

This was the man even their sensei was afraid of. The man he told them to run away from. When Naruto felt him directly in front of him, he knew. He knew why Orochimaru asked him to run. There was nothing else one could do against him. Naruto slowly looked up at the older shinobi, making sure that his sharingan was deactivated. "We are genin of Amegakure returning from a mission."

Hanzo didn't acknowledge the statement. "Your jounin instructor?"

"Dead."

"Who killed him?"

"Midori of Iwagakure."

"Why are you wearing a Konoha headband?"

Yuna and Anko still had their heads down. They were very tense. They didn't see any way out of this question. The forehead protector was a symbol. It was the product of countless hours of work, it was your very first accomplishment. Before you received the forehead protector, you were a kid. But the moment you received it; you became a ninja. An adult. It was a symbol of pride. This was the reason why even the least honorable shinobi, the missing nin, crossed their symbol out with a kunai. This was also the reason why one should always wear their headband. If not, then they aren't recognized in the elemental nation. It represented your identity. This was why they were surprised when they heard Naruto's reply.

"We thought it'd be safer, Hanzo-sama. We didn't see any friendly shinobi here, so we assumed that our allies were all fighting elsewhere. This close to the Land of Fire's border, we thought impersonating a Konoha nin would be safest. Doing this allowed us to blend in."

Hanzo didn't reply immediately. He stood in front of him for a long time. A huge explosion sounded around them, making the three from team 12 snap their heads up towards the explosion. They saw three elemental dragon techniques in the distance. Hanzo's eye twitched.

Naruto's eye widened when Hanzo's leg forced his face into the ground. "Do not look away from me." This brought all three of them back to their current precarious situation. "What you did today… It was smart. You saw a way to survive and you used it. I commend you for it."

Hanzo removed his leg and reached down to grab his hair. Naruto was lifted up like a rag doll. Hanzo angrily brought his other hand to his forehead and ripped his headband away.

"But never again will you do something so pathetic. You will die an Ame ninja or survive as one. There is no other choice."

Naruto stared deep into the surprisingly gentle brown eyes of Hanzo the salamander. He didn't know exactly what it was but there was a deep sadness there. Like something was missing.

"Do you understand me, Uzumaki?"

Naruto's eyes widened. If he realized that he was an Uzumaki, it was over. His lies would never work. But Hanzo told him to die as an Ame nin or survive as one. It seemed that being an Uzumaki didn't necessarily imply a connection with Konoha. How interesting.

Naruto nodded. A small motion being the only thing possible while being held up by his hair.

Hanzo released him immediately and turned around. He walked slowly towards his summon and jumped up on it. Without even a look behind him, he departed, leaving behind three genin who were now breathing heavily. A small trickle of blood flowed down the side of Naruto's head from where his hair had been pulled. Annoyed, he brushed it away.

They stayed silent, kneeling on the ground trying to understand what had just transpired. As the rain continued to pour down on him, something came to Naruto. He turned around and grinned at his teammates. "Does this mean we're one of the Sannin now?"

The playful question got them all back to the real world. They looked once at Naruto and found themselves laughing at the insanity that had just saved them. Yuna and Anko tackled Naruto in a hug, still laughing and giggling. Yuna even had tears in her eyes. They had both believed that this was the end. Faced with someone like Hanzo, there weren't many other conclusions to reach. But they'd survived. Just like their sensei once did. They had won, for some definition of the word.

Their laughter was abruptly cut short when the sound of clapping reached their ears. Naruto threw his teammates off of him and readied himself. This was still a warzone. Not a place to fool around. He frowned once he saw the latest threat.

Three shinobi stood at the place where Hanzo had been just moments ago. They were ninja from Amegakure. The one on the left had orange hair. The one on the right was a kunoichi with bright blue hair and she had wings on either side of her. And the one in the middle, also the only one who was clapping, had red hair, exactly like his. And purple eyes that had a weird pattern in it.

"Bravo. Bravo. I wouldn't have imagined in a million years that Sanshou no Hanzo had a weakness. It's the same weakness that every person in power has. He doesn't know his own troops. They're just pawns in his mind. That's how you got away from him. But still… Bravo." The red haired man was still clapping.

Naruto noticed that his companions didn't seem to be as enthusiastic as him. They had exchanged multiple worried looks since he started his monologue. "Who the fuck are you?"

By now, both his teammates were also ready. They had drawn their weapons and were in their fighting stances. They were ready for a fight.

"No need to be so rude. I just wanted to congratulate you on doing the impossible. What's wrong with that?", he replied in a cheerful tone.

Naruto didn't buy it. "Answer my question. Who are you and what do you want from us?"

He smirked. "You come into our country, attack our people and now you demand answers from us? Who do you think you are?"

Naruto unsealed his longsword making them tense up. "We had nothing to do with what happened to your village. We're simply here to fulfil our mission. We're not looking for a fight. You can go on your way and we will go ours. We don't-"

"DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! You had nothing to do with what happened? Do you honestly believe that? Jiraiya-sensei is the one who attacked the village. He wanted to draw Hanzo-sama out, so that he'd fight Konoha's war for him. Jiraiya-sensei did this. Konoha will pay for what they have done."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Jiraiya… sensei?"

"Tch. Yes. The very same. One of your precious Sannin. I heard what you asked when Hanzo-sama left. 'Does this mean we're one of the Sannin now'? It seems you aren't aware that the title is meant to be a mockery."

Naruto was silent. "We don't want to fight. We have a mission and it has nothing to do with fighting. We will fulfil that mission and leave and when this is over, we can all get on with our lives."

"I don't believe you." The red haired man snarled back.

Naruto could feel the immense chakra building up inside him. The man was pissed for whatever reason. Any other day, the intensity in his rippled eye would have frightened Naruto, but now, after facing Hanzo just moments before, and after facing a tailed beast only a few hours before, it didn't even faze him. He held up his hand to signal his teammates and they knew what it meant…

Get ready for a fight.

The tense atmosphere disappeared when the orange haired man put a hand on the red haired one's shoulder. He walked forward. "My name is Yahiko, this is Nagato and Konan. What are your names?"

Naruto frowned. Was this some sort of trick? But he did realize that one touch from this Yahiko had calmed 'Nagato' down. That was a start. They might be able to escape without a fight. "My name is Naruto."

Yahiko tilted his head in confusion. "You're not going to introduce the others?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's their choice if they want to reveal their names to possible enemy shinobi. Not mine."

Yahiko nodded seriously before looking behind him at the two ladies accompanying him. They both hesitated slightly but replied anyway.

"Yuna."

"Anko."

Yahiko nodded again. He was now smiling slightly. "You are right, Naruto-san, in assuming that we also have no will to fight. We are also merely here to fulfil a mission. We do not particularly like bloodshed either."

Naruto looked sideways at his teammates who nodded at him. "I'm listening."

"If our missions do not overlap, we will be able to fulfil them both in peace, provided no one else initiates a conflict, in which case, we will also have to fight."

Naruto accepted his words. "And if they do overlap?"

"Then you will have to abandon your mission in order to avoid a conflict. You will die, if you don't."

"It's interesting that you assume we'll die. You know nothing about us. What makes you so sure that you'll win?"

Yahiko smirked at him. "Easy. Nagato's never lost a fight. We won't lose."

Naruto didn't reply for a few moments. He looked at his teammates who nodded back at him again. He drew a deep breath. He would've preferred fighting over being civilized with that red haired cunt. "Our mission is to retrieve our dead, so that the people back home will have a chance to mourn. We will not harm your land or its people in any way, unless of course, like you said, someone else starts something, in which case, we will not hesitate."

Yahiko's smile fell and Naruto immediately realized that something was wrong. "That's unfortunate, Naruto-san. Our mission is to retrieve the dead of all the other villages, so that you won't have the chance to mourn."

Naruto's visible eye turned into the sharingan making Yahiko take a hesitant step back. "Why?"

It wasn't Yahiko who replied. "Because you don't deserve it. Konoha started this conflict. You led your people to their death. You don't deserve to mourn your dead when you're the ones who killed them in the first place." Nagato spoke commandingly.

Naruto grit his teeth. "What gives you the right to make that decision for the rest of us?"

"What gave you the right to make me an orphan? What gave you the right to look down on us just because we're fewer in number? What gives you the right to cause us PAIN?" Nagato shouted angrily.

Naruto glared angrily at the older boy. "We haven't done any of the things you just described. If the higher-ups did, then take it up with them. I don't give a fuck what you do. But don't go accusing me and my friends of doing things we've never done. Now answer me. What gives you the right to take away our dead? Our chance to mourn?"

Yahiko walked forward to try and calm his friend down but one look from the angry redhead and he was stopped in his tracks. Nagato glared back at the Konoha genin. "Because my pain is greater than yours. I have gone through much more than you ever have or you ever will. And for that, I'm stronger. And the strong judge the weak. That gives me the right to do as I please with you."

Naruto looked down at the ground, his fist trembling with anger. "What the fuck did you just say to me?"

The low voice cut through the rain like a hot knife through butter. Yahiko and Konan unknowingly took a step back. Nagato's arrogant smirk fell for just a moment before it reappeared. Yuna and Anko looked at each other with only one thing going through their minds. SHIT.

When Naruto threatened the higher ups just the day before, both Yuna and Anko had been paying close attention. They had grabbed on to each and every thing Naruto said. But one thing had caught their attention more than anything else he said.

I am telling you all this because I'm angry… I'm so fucking angry and I have no one to point it all at. And since I very nearly beat a defeated ally to death today and threatened Akira Senju with death yesterday, you had better give me something to vent on.

I want you all to know that I'm trying very hard to control myself. To hold in this thirst for… for violence that I've been feeling for the past week.

Both Anko and Yuna both realized that this desperate 'control' he had on his anger was slipping. The rapidly gathering chakra and potent killing intent was enough of an indication.

"What the fuck do you know about my pain? Did mommy and daddy die and leave you behind? Did you grow up an orphan? Was it hard, fighting for food, not knowing who to trust, not being able to sleep properly because you're worried about your friends? Is that the pain you speak of so proudly?" Naruto roared in anger making all three Ame ninja tense up.

"My parents didn't just die. Chunin from Konoha killed them." Nagato replied through his teeth.

The wind started howling and the rain came at an angle against them. Yahiko looked worriedly at Konan. Even though her paper techniques were much more tolerant to water now, they didn't do so well against the wind. But when his eyes turned back to his opponents, he winced. His entire body trembling and his red eyes spinning slowly… For the first time in a long while, Yahiko felt afraid.

"I witnessed my entire village get killed brutally. Man, woman and child strewn about like they were pieces of a fucking jigsaw puzzle. Civilians, pregnant women, mothers, fathers… Little children" Naruto's low voice reached their ears. "Do you still think your pain is greater than mine? DO YOU STILL WANT TO JUDGE ME?"

Anko looked at Yuna and they nodded at each other. Their mission was clear. Keep the other two from interfering. They'd seen Naruto like this only once before. The day he lost Shinzo and Shizuka. The day he stood in front of two suffering human beings, burning them alive and laughing. This Naruto wouldn't listen to reason. This Naruto fought for blood. Nothing else. Not for them, not for the village, not for himself. Just for blood.

Nagato didn't let it show, but every alarm bell in him was ringing at its maximum intensity. The boy was dangerous. He would have to be careful. He looked sideways at his friends and saw that they were ready.

Naruto took one step forward and it started.

Nagato slammed his right hand on the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

With Hiruzen, Outskirts of the Land of Rain.

Hiruzen was panting hard. He knew he was a little out of shape from sitting behind a desk for so long, but he didn't think he would tire so quickly. The Third Kazekage, also known as Kazan, was indeed worthy of the 'strongest Kazekage' title. The man was a beast. His iron sand was perhaps the most destructive bloodline limit he had ever seen. Imagine the hardest, sharpest, most chakra conductive weapon you've ever seen, and then imagine they could be molded into any shape you wanted at a moment's notice.

In a situation like this, his attacks were too widespread for Hiruzen to effectively counter. And if any of Hiruzen's attacks got close to him, he would launch an attack at some random Konoha nin and Hiruzen would be forced to intervene.

He also had a sneaking suspicion that the Kazekage was holding back on him, which, despite the situation, annoyed him to no end. This was some 30-year-old shinobi. He was a veteran of so many battles that even he had lost count. He wasn't used to someone holding back against him.

"What's the matter, Hokage-sama? You seem tired. Is old age catching up with you?" The Kazekage taunted.

"Tch. Says the guy who's yet to land a single hit on this 'old man'." No matter how much one tried to avoid it, trash talking was always part of a one-on-one shinobi battle.

Against all expectations, the Kazekage began to laugh. "I can end this 'battle' any time I want to, old man. I'm just seeing what the fuss is, about 'The Professor'."

Hiruzen clucked his tongue. Well, what can you reply to that? "You want to know why I am called 'The Professor'? Why don't you stop holding back and come at me with everything you've got, boy? Maybe then I'll deem you worthy."

The Kazekage's eyes narrowed when he heard the word 'boy', but he smiled towards the end. "With pleasure."

Suddenly, Hiruzen doubled over in pain. He was hurting everywhere. A sudden stabbing sensation that went all around his body. If he were a lesser man, he would've screamed. But he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing that. He squinted in the direction of the Kazekage to see that he was much closer now. Hiruzen fell to the ground clutching his stomach.

"Tell me, Hokage-sama. Did you know that blood reaches every single place in the human body? The human circulatory system is truly a wonderful thing. Any opening in the skin, blood comes out."

Hiruzen couldn't resist. Despite the pain, he laughed. "You should get it checked out by some medics if that's what comes out of your ass in the mornings."

The Kazekage's eyes narrowed at the jab, but he kept talking. It would be much more satisfying to watch the color drain out of his eyes when he finished his explanation. "As I was saying, blood is everywhere in the human body. And do you know what is a primary component of blood?"

Hiruzen's eyes shone in understanding. "Iron."

The Kazekage smirked and held his hands in the serpent seal. "You're dead, Hokage-sama."

Poof.

The Kazekage turned around rapidly. A clone? But how, he could sense the iron in his blood. No clone had blood in it.

He felt a huge amount of chakra building behind him but Hiruzen was ready by the time he turned around.

"FIRE RELEASE: FIRE DRAGON BULLET TECHNIQUE!"
"WIND RELEASE: WIND DRAGON BULLET TECHNIQUE!"
"EARTH RELEASE: EARTH DRAGON BULLET TECHNIQUE!"

The huge elemental dragons flew toward him at high speeds from several directions forcing him to throw his shield up, like Hiruzen knew he would. He smirked as his techniques crashed into the iron dome. This battle was over. He hoped Enma was ok. Without him, he would've been done for. He smirked again because he knew Enma would be fine, so long as he did his part well. Monkeys loved pretending to be people as long as their trickery succeeds.

The numerous shadow clones he'd made jumped out from their hiding spots.

"LIGHTNING RELEASE: LIGHTNING DRAGON TORNADO TECHNIQUE!"

If a sufficient amount of electricity is passed through iron, it becomes an electromagnet, which will attract even more iron particles towards his shield. More iron would mean a stronger magnetic field which would prevent the iron from falling away even when the shield was dropped. And one more important thing… When electricity is passed through metal, it gets heated up. And this guy wondered why he was called 'the professor'. He was going to cook the insolent brat inside his own technique. And to ensure that there would be no funny business, he ran through a quick set of hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.

"EARTH RELEASE: SWAMP OF THE UNDERWORLD!"

If the Kazekage was truly a smart man, his iron dome would be covered in all directions, like the Hyuga's heavenly spin technique. If that was the case, then his work was done, and the strongest Kazekage would soon be dead.

One of the most fundamental shinobi rules was to never assume that you've won. Always be on alert and never let your guard down. Hiruzen would be the first to admit that he was ashamed. He thought it was over. There was no way the Kazekage was escaping the death trap he'd inadvertently prepared for himself. As long as the clones kept up their lightning release technique, they would succeed. But in his tired state, he forgot something important. They were fighting a war. And in war, there were no one-on-one battles.

It was a reasonable assumption that no one would interrupt his fight with the Kazekage. After all, anyone who tried would only get caught in the crossfire. But this was the case, only for lesser shinobi. Shinobi that were kage-level already had no qualms about interrupting their fight.

It was only his years of experience that saved Hiruzen. A millisecond later and he would have died a slow, agonizing death. Such was the effect of the poison used by Hanzo. There was no cure, no antidote. There were rumors about Hanzo himself having an antidote, but that wouldn't do him much good if he were hit. The scythe narrowly missed his neck as he jumped back. His hand quickly went to his storage seal and unsealed a staff. Now that his poisoned staff was in the equation, Enma was no longer a viable partner. He had no choice but to use his old staff made of iron. But in his haste, he overlooked one thing. Hanzo was always seen atop his salamander, Ibuze. That was why he was often called Sanshou no Hanzo, Hanzo of the Salamander.

But in front of him, Hanzo was standing with his own two feet planted firmly on the wet ground. Ibuze was nowhere to be seen until he looked up and saw the overgrown lizard descending swiftly down on him.

CRAASSSHHHH.

With Orochimaru.

Orochimaru wasn't expecting to see the dreaded man as soon as he arrived, but it had been longer than an hour and he had yet to see him. Hanzo was not one to fight from the shadows. So, either Hanzo was far away from them, or the plan had failed and Hanzo never showed. He had taken the middle route, because that's where his help was most needed. He took Kushina with him because she volunteered. She was destructive. Ridiculously so. She was a jinchuriki after all. They were expected to be war enders. But the frightening thing was that she wasn't using an ounce of the Kyubi's chakra. This was all her.

In a straight up fight with her, Orochimaru wondered if he could win. Her wind release was much more powerful than his, her kenjutsu was vastly superior and so was her skill in sealing techniques. Combine that with her near indestructible chains… Whew. He wasn't looking forward to a fight against her. All he had over her was perhaps his summons and his evasion. And his ridiculously durable body. Orochimaru had always prided himself in being difficult to hit. When he was very young, his favorite game was dodgeball. He suspected that it had something to do with his flexibility and overall evasion skills.

As he snapped an Iwa ninja's neck with his right arm, he sighed. This would have gone a lot faster if he could summon Manda. Against an army, a boss summon would go a long way and he did owe Manda a lot of sacrifices. But he wasn't foolish enough to summon him. If there was anyone more traumatized than the three of them, by the fight with Hanzo all those years ago, it was their summons. That sadistic salamander did things to them. For years, Manda had refused his summons because of it. Such was the power of Hanzo. An involuntary shiver stopped him in his tracks. It was a good thing too, because just in front of him, something fell from the sky, shattering apart and covering him in blood.

With a surprise, he realized it was a head. Suzaku Nara's head, to be precise. Around him, more heads were falling, some still recognizable and some… not so much. From the headbands on them, he realized that there were all sorts of shinobi, Kumo, Iwa, Konoha and Suna.

The Konoha ninja had been split into four divisions. The first one was under Mogaku Inuzuka, to retrieve the dead. In this heavy rain, if there was anyone who could track the scent of battle, it would be an Inuzuka. He was also relieved that Naruto agreed to be in that division. The second division was under Suzaku Nara, the Nara clan head. His mission was to push them all back, away from the Land of Fire's border. The third one was operating under him. They were at the border and their role was to not let anyone pass. This was also where most of the fighting was taking place, because the alternative was to take the fight closer to Amegakure and no one was ready for that. The fourth one was under Chouzen Akimichi. They had been sent to support Minato's still fighting division. Looking around the mutilated heads, he recognized many of them. They were all shinobi he had put under Suzaku Nara… He almost didn't want to look up.

He recognized the beast even when he was so far up in the sky. That thing could fly? He had always known that Hanzo had held back against them. But with what happened with the summons… He didn't think Ibuze had. But the fact that it could fly meant it did… Shit. It was heading straight toward where he had seen the three elemental dragons, a few moments before. Where he knew the Hokage was. And that wasn't all he noticed. It was coming from the direction team 12 had gone in. This left him with a rather difficult choice. Either go help his students or go help his sensei.

Luckily, the choice was made for him when Kushina appeared by his side. "He came from the direction-"

"I know."

"He's going towards-"

"I know. You take Naruto and I'll take the Hokage?" Orochimaru asked.

Kushina scoffed. "Did you really think I'd agree with the reverse scenario?"

Orochimaru smirked. "A ninja's first priority is always the village, Kushina-san."

Kushina knew that Orochimaru was just trying to fuck with her, so she returned the smirk. "I am a sister before I am a ninja."

Orochimaru watched as Kushina disappeared in a shunshin. He turned toward the direction of his sensei, who he was hoping was still alive. He wanted to go there as quickly as he could, but he had something to do before then.

He walked to where Shikaku Nara had fallen on the ground. He was still staring at his father's crushed head, a few feet away from him. He grabbed his shoulder and his gaze turned to him angrily, as if this was somehow Orochimaru's fault. "We are imperfect mortal beings, aware of that mortality even as we push it away. When we mourn our losses we also mourn, for better or for worse, ourselves." Shikaku's eyes went wide even as tears continued to stream down his face. "In the days that follow, you'll discover that anger is much easier to handle than grief. Anger can be aimed at someone while grief can only be found within oneself. I only ask that you be smart about it now and realize that if you don't act now, there will be others subjected to the same sorrow that you're feeling now."

With that, Orochimaru jumped away, heading towards where he knew the Hokage was still fighting. Shikaku wiped his tears. He was right. He was a ninja. A ninja endures. That's what it meant to be a shinobi. That's what it meant to be a Nara.

With Team 12.

"Summoning Technique!"

Naruto was glad that Nagato wasn't just all talk. That would have been such a shame. A huge bird appeared in a cloud of smoke which had the same ripple eyes of its summoner. The bird extended its wings and drifted high above him. Yahiko and Konan had jumped to either side of Nagato as soon as the fight started and Yuna and Anko had followed them. When they saw the huge bird, they were a little worried, but they knew Naruto. The size of what he faced didn't matter. Naruto wouldn't die from something so simple. They all had their own jobs to do, and only one of them needed to succeed. Such was the kind of fight this was. If one of them succeeded in capturing their opponent, the fight would end. However… if one of them failed, the same scenario would apply.

The bird started spinning around in the air, its beak attaining an appearance akin to a drill due to the intense speed of rotation. They heard a pop sound as Naruto's huge sword appeared in his hand, with the blade emanating the deep hum of wind chakra.

Nagato watched when the bird drill thing that he'd created crashed into the earth and dispelled into smoke because of the force of the impact. Naruto couldn't have escaped unscathed. That was why he was surprised when the bird's drill-like beak, separated from its body, came spinning at him from out of the smoke. Nagato had to act quickly to jump back and activate his gravity manipulation to stop the beak from reaching him. 'Shit. I didn't think I'd have to resort to Deva path so quickly.'

Naruto's activated sharingan let him see through the smoke. It was unknown to Naruto that what Nagato had was a doujutsu just like his. He didn't know anything about the powers over gravity granted to the wielders of the Rinnegan. He assumed that it was a wind release technique. In which case… He raced through hand seals.

"Ninja Art Sealing Technique: Explosion Release - Fire Tornado Dance!"

Naruto slammed 4 scrolls on the ground. His work with explosive seals had made him capable of fire techniques by controlling the rate of the explosion reaction inside the scroll. 4 different fire tornados sprang out of the scrolls and travelled in a zigzag pattern, converging on Nagato's position. He made sure to put additional chakra into it to hopefully counteract the effects of the rain.

Nagato had only just let up on his technique when he saw the fire tornados headed his way. Fire was the last thing he expected to see here. 'He must think that the earlier attack had been stopped by wind manipulation.' Nevertheless, it meant trouble for him. He jumped back.

1 second.

He ran past some trees, hoping that one of them would hit, but he had no such luck. It changed directions to avoid the trees and continued towards him.

2 seconds.

His eyes focussed on Naruto when the smoke finally cleared to reveal him crouched on one knee with his hands in the tiger seal.

3 seconds.

He grinned as he realized that the younger redhead was controlling the flames.

4 seconds.

"Asura Path." His right hand changed form and transformed into a cannon. "Hah!" He yelled as he expelled an explosive towards his foe.

5 seconds.

Naruto jumped away as soon as the attack was launched. But he never let go of the hand seal and he never looked away from the fire technique. The projectile crashed into his previous position and exploded in a wave of heat.

6 seconds.

"Tch." Nagato was irritated that his technique had no effect on Naruto's technique whatsoever. He slammed his hands on the ground. "Animal Path!"

7 seconds.

Naruto's eye widened in surprise when the older boy summoned something into the path of his technique. That wasn't something summoners did. The summoning contract meant that neither of them would ever do anything to harm each other knowingly.

8 seconds.

That was when Naruto noticed that this time, the summoned creature was different. It was a huge orange colored centipede. That shouldn't be possible either. He had never heard of one person possessing multiple summoning contracts. Naruto managed to divert one of the four tornados away from the centipede and toward his opponent.

Nagato glared at the one remaining tornado. Shit. There was no choice. One more second and he would be able to use it. And it would reveal to his opponent that his technique was not wind release, it was gravity.

9 seconds.

"Shinra Tensei."

An almost invisible forcefield appeared around Nagato dispelling the technique effectively. Moreover, the technique had been scattered back towards his direction. Naruto quickly cut off his chakra to the seals and the fire started dissipating in the rain.

Naruto walked forward slowly, now wary of the older boy. If it was wind release, it was very strong, in which case, Naruto was pretty much screwed. His wind affinity was nowhere near strong enough to hold against a wind affinity of the magnitude he'd seen just now. Fire was out of the question now. With the rain around them, he could only do so much with fire… Or at least, normal fire. Nagato's eyes widened when Naruto grinned and his eyes changed shape.

"Amaterasu."

With Kushina.

The rain was starting to annoy her. She had never enjoyed rain that much. Back in Uzushiogakure, rain meant that they couldn't sleep on the roof, which always made her sad. In Konoha, it seldom rained but when it did, the people were always happy. It annoyed Kushina to no end that people could just decide to be happy just because of a little rain. There was another reason as well.

Whenever Kushina had lost something, it was raining outside. When the elders told her about the fall of Uzushiogakure, it was raining outside the hospital. When Mikoto's brother died, it was raining. The day her father mutilated Naruto, it was raining… … … Shit, she needed to get a grip.

But that was the effect rain had on her. She got this feeling that something was about to go very wrong. She froze when she felt the chakra of someone very familiar. The smell broke through to her. It was blood and it reaching her over the rain meant bad news. She ran in the direction the smell was coming from.

Sure enough, her senses hadn't fooled her. Fugaku Uchiha was standing in front of a downed shinobi. To her surprise, she recognized him too. It was Danzo Shimura, one of her very few rivals in wind techniques. "What happened?"

Fugaku turned around, a bit surprised at the presence behind him. He hadn't felt her approach. The moment Kushina saw his appearance, she let go of her sword to hug the man. He looked exhausted. Beaten down and weary. Even his sharingan wasn't active anymore.

"Rest, Fugaku. I'll get you to safety." Kushina whispered into his ear.

He broke down in her arms, falling unconscious. Gently, she laid him down. This called for a stasis seal and a body scroll. She unlocked her sealing supplies. This was when she noticed the appearance of the elder shinobi. Danzo was missing an arm and was still bleeding out through the makeshift bandage Fugaku had concocted.

Crap. The man needed her help more than Fugaku. Hurriedly, she started making a modified stasis seal to stem the bleeding of the old man.

That was when a huge explosion sounded behind her. She turned around sharply to see a large cloud of smoke in the distance. The good news was that she didn't hear any screams. The bad news was that it was where Naruto's unit had been sent.

"Shit.", she yelled as she hurried about her job. She couldn't just leave the two of them here with no protection. She had to at least get them into a body scroll.

With Anko.

"Your friend is good." Yahiko spoke in a good-natured manner. "I didn't expect him to push Nagato this far."

Anko snorted. "Naruto's not even getting started. You might want to withdraw. He isn't known for his restraint."

Yahiko chuckled. "Well. Nagato's not done either. He's pretty much unbeatable, so I don't think I have reason to worry."

Anko huffed. "If you say so. I've never seen Naruto lose… Ever."

"What a coincidence. Nagato's never lost either." Yahiko replied sweetly.

His cheeriness was starting to get on Anko's nerves. They had clashed a few times in the 10 seconds that had passed. They came out pretty even. Anko didn't know if he was holding back against her, which made her angry, or if he was just that weak, despite the age gap, which made her irritated.

But then, something occurred to her. "Do you think they're related?"

For the first time, Yahiko's smile slipped. "W- What? What makes you say that?"

Anko frowned. "I don't know. Na-ga-to, Na-ru-to. Seems a bit weird if you ask me. Plus, they have the same colored hair and the same colored eyes…"

Yahiko opened his mouth to say that it was ridiculous when he realized that it wasn't that farfetched.

Yuna dropped down next to her, making Anko look sideways at her. "You do realize that this is a war, right? Why are you standing around talking?"

"Calm down, Yuna, was it? We have no need to fight like your companion said."

Yuna scoffed. "You do realize that when Naruto wins, he's gonna kill your friend, don't you?"

Konan appeared next to Yahiko. "She's right, Yahiko. Take this seriously."

Yahiko looked at his female teammate. She had a few cuts on her clothes and she was bleeding from a rather deep cut on her right shoulder. Against his better judgement, it made him angry. But when he looked at the brown-haired girl, he realized that she hadn't really escaped unscathed. She was also covered in cuts. She was even limping slightly. What the hell? It had been barely 15 seconds since they started.

"I don't know what world you're living in, but in this one, enemy shinobi fight, often till they're dead. Either fight us or calm your friend down so we can do our mission." Yuna spoke calmly. Internally, her mind wasn't so calm. The enemy was tough which was to be expected, but not so out of her league that winning was impossible. The hardest thing about it was that her techniques were so foreign. Paper wasn't supposed to block kunai. What the fuck was that about?

"YAHIKO! KONAN! GET AWAY!"

The loud yell had them all on high alert. They had moved quite a bit away when the fighting started and they understood the scale of what was going to happen. They didn't want to be caught in the crossfire. But the yell came at just the right time. Any later and Naruto's kill count would've risen by two.

Anko and Yuna were transfixed at the sight of the beautiful black tornado that reached their opponents' position, heavy steam accompanying it. Anko realized that it was the same as the fire tornado technique, except that it wasn't normal fire. They also jumped back at the intense wave of heat that hit them.

Yuna looked at Anko worriedly. "How does he keep getting stronger and stronger?"

It was at this moment that Nagato appeared in between the tornado and his friends. This was also when Naruto appeared, with something else behind him. Chasing him.

"RUN!"

With Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was aware that having to face Hanzo was well within the realm of possibility. He knew it before they even left Shimogamo Forest. When he saw the flying abomination that Hanzo called a pet sailing over them, he knew that it was his time. It was time to see if he had improved. It was time to see if he was fearless. When he started running towards his sensei, there was one thing he still didn't realize. This time, he would be facing Hanzo alone.

Over the years, his sensei had become this mountainous figure in his mind. Always confident… Never afraid… It was only recently, when Akira Senju dragged Jiraiya into his office and threatened him, when he realized that even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Shinobi, could feel fear. But even then, the man had suppressed the insurgent behavior quickly and efficiently. He had finally seen his sensei afraid of someone, but he hadn't seen him defeated… Until now.

When Orochimaru arrived, Hanzo was petting his summon, as if congratulating him for a job well done. Behind him, there was a dome made of iron sand that was slowly falling apart. And directly in front of him, was his sensei. Unconscious. Bleeding. Breathing? Orochimaru wasn't sure.

The only thing he was sure of was that his staff was in pieces near him. That was another thing that Orochimaru had never seen before. He'd never seen anyone make a dent on the adamantine body of Enma the monkey. As his eyes reached the silver-colored bits of the broken weapon, he theorized that maybe this was a normal iron staff and not Enma. But he wasn't sure.

Now, what he needed to do was to go in and out. Like a finger to the nose. Nothing else disturbed, but carrying something back. Tch. Anko and her uncultured language was rubbing off on him more than he'd have liked. He was pretty well-hidden. According to him anyway. Chakra suppressed and making no movements. Plus, Hanzo's back was turned. That was why he was surprised when Hanzo started laughing.

"Is this some sort of mistimed reunion party? Get the blond as well. I'll wait. Just one of you isn't nearly as entertaining as you were together, all those years ago." Hanzo spoke softly, but somehow, his voice carried over the rain.

"Jiraiya fought you?" Orochimaru asked, shocked.

"Hah. I wouldn't say 'fought'. He did something to piss me off and then escaped before I had the chance to kill him. Ibuze here is going to have a long talk with the Toads. I hope you don't try to summon here, Orochimaru. Ibuze is already very angry."

Orochimaru walked out from behind the trees. "I noticed." He stated. "He can fly."

Hanzo turned around slowly. "It's a she, Orochimaru. You aren't making this any easier by insulting her."

"Shame." Orochimaru unsealed a scroll and his trusted sword appeared in his hand. The grass cutter sword. The legendary sword that cut through anything like it was grass.

Hanzo raised an eyebrow. "You're different. You aren't afraid of me anymore."

Orochimaru shook his head, saying that he was not. Hanzo nodded. "Then, I'll give you the honor of dying a warrior's death." He gave his scythe an experimental swing. "But first, let's get rid of the people who'll interfere."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed and he immediately slammed his hands on the ground.

"Summoning Technique: Sanju Rashomon!"

"IBUZE!"

The salamander rolled out its tongue and cracked it like a whip towards where the Hokage still lay unconscious. A single Rashomon gate rose up from the ground in front of Hiruzen, just in time for the attack to collide with it… and shatter it into pieces.

Orochimaru's eyes widened. This was something that stood the force of a tailed beast attack for more than a respectable amount of time. This creature destroyed it with… with a lick? He snapped out of his thoughts quickly and summoned a second gate when he saw Ibuze getting ready.

"MINATO. TAKE THE HOKAGE AND GO!"

Orochimaru was ready for it when the second gate was shattered. He saw the blond-haired man reach the Hokage at speeds that should have defied him, considering his heavily wounded state. Orochimaru didn't need to look at him for any longer than a single glance, to know that he was running on fumes. He was covered in blood from head to toe, the rain only washing away so much.

A third gate was summoned. The battle hadn't even started and he had already used up three of his five gates. He met Minato's eyes.

"SOUND THE RETREAT!"

Minato nodded. This time, when Ibuze's tongue crashed through the gate, only a yellow flash remained where the Hokage and Minato had once been.

Hanzo clicked his tongue. He didn't understand what was going on today. His prey just kept escaping him. Ibuze let out a whimper. Hanzo smiled under the respirator. "Don't whine, Ibuze. It's not very lady-like."

Orochimaru was panting slightly. He also didn't understand what the yellow flash signified, but he hoped it was something good. He leaned on his sword; his legs not able to fully hold him upright. He'd been fighting constantly. No matter how powerful his techniques were, he could only do as much as the chakra inside him let him. He'd summoned five gates at the battle vs Kumo and 3 gates here. He'd been fighting non-stop for more than two hours in the Land of Rain. This, coupled with the lack of rest, low chakra reserves and Hanzo as his opponent, his fate was already sealed.

"Congratulations. You've saved your leader. You may have saved your entire fucking village by this action. But you do realize what this means for you, right?" Hanzo asked, mentally asking Ibuze to retreat underground. "You will die today."

Orochimaru lifted his sword arm. "Yes. Most probably."

Silence reigned over the battlefield. Orochimaru could hear the distant sounds of battle, the sound of the rain and the sound of people screaming, but at that moment, it didn't register in his mind. Silence reigned over the two of them, both of them waiting for the other to make his move. An amusing thought occurred to him as his mind connected this confrontation with the one his male student had shared with Kakashi, not even a day prior. They too had stood facing each other, waiting for the other one to make a move. Up against the reputed chunin, the son of the legendary white fang, the spectators all thought, deep down, that there was no way Naruto would win. But he did. He had won.

Now, in possibly the worst situation he had ever found himself in, Orochimaru smirked. "Or maybe, I just might kill you."

With Naruto.

"Amaterasu."

Nagato didn't know what made him do it. There was only a split second to make his decision and he was glad that he made the correct one. Thank god for his instincts. He slammed his hands on the ground and his most innovative summon appeared. The multi-headed dog. The seals he had applied on it used chakra he stored previously to summon more dogs using the chakra it released when it dispelled. But the only thing was that if he willed it to dispel, it wouldn't summon more.

4 seconds.

That was the problem with his summons. They couldn't feel pain. And because they couldn't feel pain, they couldn't dispel automatically. Nagato had to will them to do so. He had trained the seal on his dog summons to react to its physical state. If there was a hole torn into it, dispel and summon more. If its head gets cut off with a wind technique, dispel and summon more. It was elegant, really. Nagato was even prepared to apply the seal to his other summons as well, but hadn't gotten the time yet. But he hadn't accounted for the summons burning to death. After all, they were in the land of Rain. How could someone, anyone, summon enough fire to consume beings as large as this one.

5 seconds.

Nagato willed the dog to charge at his opponent. The fire would soon fully consume it and would be rendered useless. So, he had to make good use of it before.

Naruto cursed when he saw the overgrown dog charge him. Shit. What kind of maniac uses summons this way?

He saw Nagato jump away. Shit. If he was right about his technique, then Naruto couldn't afford to let him recover. He quickly created a clone, giving it only one instruction. 'Deal with it.'

6 seconds.

Naruto ran through hand seals as he pursued the older boy. He was using the trees as cover but Naruto was still able to make him out. He seemed to be headed towards… his teammates. Damn it.

"Ninja Art Sealing Technique: Great Fire Tornado Blast Wave!"

He created multiple flaming tornados like before and joined them together creating a huge vortex of spinning flames. He sent it spiralling in high speeds, straight at Nagato.

That was where it all started to go wrong. Naruto had only made the technique so large to account for the rain that would undoubtedly diminish his technique. But his fire technique did something, he never expected it to do. It caught fire.

7 seconds.

Nagato watched from behind the trees as the fire technique passed over some of the small wisps of black flames that had settled on the land and it… caught fire. And the original red flames only seemed to agitate the black ones. Like before, he did what his instincts told him. He turned around and ran.

Naruto was about to force the technique to follow Nagato when the memories of his clone entered his mind. He let go of the hand seal and started running, also listening to his instincts.

FUCK THIS SHIT!

8 seconds.

Contrary to what Nagato expected, the flames did not follow him. It just moved on, leaving a trail of black flames in its wake. He was relieved. Until he realized where the flaming tornado was headed. He jumped into action, moving faster than he'd ever moved before in his life, hoping to intercept the technique and also, for this one second to pass as fast as possible.

"YAHIKO! KONAN! GET AWAY!"

When Naruto heard the yell, he was puzzled only for a moment before he realized that his abandoning of the technique had not canceled it. It had attained a mind of its own. And it was headed straight to where his teammates were fighting.

This distracted him for longer than it should have, enabling him to finally see the beast that was chasing him. The beast he had created together with his opponent. Idly, he wondered why the name 'Hot dog' came into his mind. He couldn't do anything to stop it. His water techniques wouldn't do shit against the black flames. He didn't know any wind techniques (not that they would be of any use) and his sharingan couldn't extinguish those flames fast enough, not when it was this large. He channeled chakra to his legs to run as fast as he could, but ultimately, it wasn't enough. Owing to his sharingan, everything was in slow motion which enabled him to find his teammates even in the midst of all this.

Desperately, he channeled chakra to his throat as well, hoping that his voice would reach them.

"RUN!"

The look of shock and horror on his teammates' faces was the last thing he saw before his world turned black as the dog's mouth closed around him.

Yahiko and Konan ran as fast as they could, but the black flames were simply faster, carried by the wind. They didn't even get time to blink as a blur came from the side and stood in front of the towering black flames. This fight was not something they should have ever been close to. Not in a million years.

All the four of them could do was yell out the names of their friends. As if their sound would somehow undo the situation. As if Nagato didn't just get consumed by a flaming tornado and Naruto didn't just get eaten by a flaming dog. All they could do was yell out their names.

"NAGATOOO!"

"NARUTOOO!"

9 seconds.

With Kushina

The worst part about the situation was that she had no idea where they were. War was a sensor's nightmare. It was a very popular saying back in Konoha. She never understood why, nor did she try to. She wasn't a sensor, she didn't care.

But now, with nothing to go on but a general direction and her senses, she was starting to understand their frustration. Sensors were people who could identify the presence of chakra in their surroundings. Skilled sensors could get their chakra to interact with any kind of chakra and identify who it belonged to, provided that they've interacted before. In a war-torn location such as this, chakra was everywhere. Everywhere.

Her sensor skills weren't nearly good enough to sort through the different chakra and identify Naruto's. This meant that she just had to proceed in this direction until she found him. But there was always another problem. What if he'd made it out? Then, she would be wasting time running through enemy territory. There was a choice in front of her. Either go to the border and search along it, or she could just follow the direction Hanzo had come from. She knew she could just create shadow clones to search both, but that was another thing war disabled.

Shadow clones were a strict no-no. It was simple. If you're locked in a deadly battle with enemy A and your clone is fighting with enemy B, if, somehow, the clone was to be dispelled, what would it entail for you? Assuming of course that A, is not an idiot and pounces on your mental distraction. It would mean death… or worse, getting captured.

As she sped through enemy territory, a lot of more possible scenarios would have played through her head. But she came to a sudden stop, trusting her instincts. She was glad she did. A yellow slit appeared out of thin air in front of her. She had to shield her eyes from the bright light. The Land of Rain was a dark place, and this light was hurting her eyes. The slit widened slightly and Kushina gasped. This was a portal. This was a fucking space/time technique. Almost in response to her realization, the crack in space spat out two people and disappeared in a bright yellow flash.

Despite recent events, Kushina couldn't help but rush forward as a blond-haired man sat up on his knees and started puking his guts out. The horrible retching sounds made her heart tighten with fear. As she continued running, her eyes ran over the body of the man she loved. He was covered in blood. She didn't know if it was his or someone else's. His left leg was twisted… no, it was broken. The foot seemed to be hanging on by just a few tendons connecting it. His jonin vest had been all but destroyed, enabling her to see the blood-soaked bandages underneath.

Tears filled her eyes. "Minato-kun… What happened?".

He looked up, his big blue eyes reflecting nothing but pain. "Kushina… … …"

"Who did this to you?" Kushina asked frantically trying to stop all the bleeding.

Minato coughed up blood. "Retreat." His voice was so faint that Kushina almost didn't catch it over the sound of the rain. "Tell them… to retreat."

Kushina stayed motionless as tears continued to fall down her face and onto the unconscious Minato. It was at this point that she saw the other person Minato had brought with him.

It wasn't something Kushina ever expected to see in her lifetime. The Hokage defeated. He was battered and bruised and bleeding. His injuries weren't as severe as Minato's or Danzo's but he came a close third. Cursing her luck, she made two shadow clones. One of them ran away as soon as she was created, her purpose already known to her. "Sound the retreat." She really hoped this clone wouldn't dispel at some unfortunate time. The term 'Murphy's Law' continued to ring in her mind, long after the clone departed.

She handed a body scroll to the other clone and they both started working on the stasis seals that would need to be keyed into the seal matrix, if the people inside were to survive. It was rapidly becoming a familiar operation and it wouldn't take her long to finish up.

That's when she sensed it. A huge chakra surge in the direction of her destination, the direction Hanzo had come from. She stood up suddenly and jumped up on the wreckage of a building to get a better view. She was stunned at what she saw.

Black flames spinning around in a tornado, growing larger and larger as it travelled. For some reason, that image stuck with her. Fire unaffected by rain. Black fire that seemed to have a mind of its own. Her senses numb, she jumped down and retrieved both body scrolls from the clone she had entrusted the job to.

And that's when she heard it. She would later wonder how she was able to hear it from so far away. She channeled chakra into her legs, wanting to be as fast as she possibly could because the voice she heard was Naruto's and what he heard him say made her very scared for his safety. He said 'Run!'.

With Team 12.

"SHINRA TENSEI!"

Yuna's eyes snapped to where she heard the voice. Her jaw dropped. The huge black tornado was dispelled… Gone… as if it had never existed. And in its place was the red haired man named Nagato. His upper body had nothing covering it and his right hand had some severe burns all over. But he was otherwise fine.

Anko dropped into her battle stance, yelling at her to get ready. She turned around and saw the enraged dog barrelling its way towards them. She knew what it meant. Naruto had lost. Yuna knew that war meant losses. People die and oftentimes, they don't even get a body to mourn. That's why she had agreed wholeheartedly to do this mission. She had only once seen her brother Sasuke being sad. She was very young, barely 5 years old, when he lost one of his teammates. She remembered the anguish in his face. 'They didn't even leave anything to bury' was one of his most used sentences in the weeks that followed. She knew from that very young age that war meant losses and losses meant sadness. She didn't want to be sad.

"YUNA!". The yell brought her back to reality. "Snap out of it and help me."

1 second.

"Earth Release: Stone Wall Creation Technique!"

Both of them yelled together after rushing through hand seals. The dog crashed into it head first. Much to their surprise, it held. But they didn't have any time to dwell on their momentary success because holes started appearing on the wall they created, molten lava pouring down its length.

The dog crashed into it again, this time, dislodging a few pieces of rock from the wall. In the distance, Anko could hear the voices of the other Amegakure genin.

"Nagato, dispel the dog. This has gone far enough." Yahiko yelled.

Anko didn't need to wait for Nagato's answer. She knew it when she saw the expression on his face. He wasn't going to stop the attack. Anko grabbed Yuna and jumped back, not wanting to be there when the wall failed. But the next attack never came.

2 seconds.

Chains sprouted from multiple places on the dog's body, lodging firmly into the ground surrounding it. All five of the shinobi watched in stunned silence at what was happening. The dog was motionless, unable to even bare its fangs.

Nagato didn't realize what was happening. There was no possible way one could survive getting ripped to pieces by a dog. There was just no way. He was panting hard from the exertion of the fight.

The fight had lasted less than half a minute, yet he felt more tired than he'd ever felt before. He'd exerted himself beyond anything he'd needed to do before. He had been forced to use his gravity manipulation as soon as it became available both times. That wasn't something he had to do in spars against Yahiko and Konan combined.

He really didn't know what to expect until the dog was lifted off its feet, held entirely by the chains. Then, one of the chains on its right, retracted and slammed into the ground a few feet towards him. Crash. Then, the same thing happened on the left side. Crash. Nagato's eyes widened. He was using the chains as limbs.

3 seconds.

Anko and Yuna watched, petrified. Naruto had now gotten the hang of it and the dog was sprinting towards the three Amegakure-nin, his eyes enabling him to see them even while inside the summoned creature.

Yahiko looked at Nagato in desperation, seeing the flaming dog headed straight towards them. "Nagato! Listen to me, now. Dispel the dog. DISPEL IT!"

4 seconds.

Nagato snapped out of his shock and held up a half-ram seal. "Dispel."

The dog dispelled in a cloud of smoke. Nagato was on high alert. His eyes had many uses, but he couldn't see through the smoke. Listening to his instincts, he jumped back again and it was a good thing he did. Because, out of the smoke, Naruto rushed out.

5 seconds.

Naruto was pissed. More pissed than he'd been with Kakashi during his fight with him. Whatever else he did, Kakashi never tried to feed him to a dog. He would've died in that moment, if he hadn't summoned the chains. He had no idea how he did it. His sister had told him that it was rare, even among the Uzumaki clan. He didn't have high hopes regarding this particular skill because Kushina told him that most people who had the kekkei genkai would develop it at a very young age. And most kekkei genkai don't mix well. Having the sharingan could very surely imply that he didn't have the Kongo Fusai. But the chains came forth when he needed it, meaning that his body already knew what to do. Which in turn, meant that he had in fact developed it at a young age, prior to losing his memory… … … And that made him angry.

Naruto landed a bit rougher than he intended to. He had no idea how high in the air the damn dog's stomach was. He had five chains coming out of his back. He wondered if that was the limit, but he knew that this wasn't the time to test it. His eyes snapped to the three genin who were still quite a distance away. They were gonna pay.

6 seconds.

Naruto started running, only one person in his sights. Yahiko stepped in front of the raging Naruto, protectively, his tanto out in front of him. With a mental command, Naruto sent one of his chains at him. Yahiko tried to block the swift attack using his tanto, but the chain just wrapped around it.

With another mental command, the tanto was ripped out of his hands. Yahiko's eyes narrowed and he drew a kunai, but it was already too late because another chain was cracked like a whip across his face, sending him flying. Konan's eyes widened seeing one of her oldest friends sailing through the air. Her heartbeat quickened. This was happening too fast. Way too fast.

"YAHIKO!" Nagato yelled when he saw his friend in the air. He grit his teeth in frustration and slammed his hand into the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

7 seconds.

A large panda appeared in Naruto's path making him internally groan. Over the entire course of the fight, this had been happening. Naruto would get close enough and he would summon one of his oversized beasts on him that would not only shield him but also keep Naruto occupied until his jutsu recharged… But not this time.

Naruto skidded to a stop in front of the panda, sending his chains forward. "I REALLY. FUCKING. HATE THE. SUMMONING. TECHNIQUE." With each phrase he spoke, one of his chains pierced the panda's body in various places.

With an almighty yell, he yanked his chains away from the beast, ripping it apart and exploding it in a cloud of smoke. As soon as that was done, Naruto realized two things. The first was that a barrier made of… paper? was already forming between him and his target. And the second was that Nagato was too far away.

8 seconds.

Naruto channeled wind chakra all through his body. He knew the risks. Tunnel vision would make his movements difficult, but the wind chakra would make his reflexes faster. The last time he tried this, he didn't have his sharingan enabled. Maybe it would help? But he had no time to think now. He had to act.

He felt his chakra being compressed into the sharpest blade he could imagine. He felt every inch of his body, every nerve ending, every tenketsu, struggling to contain the immense amount of wind chakra he was pumping throughout his body. And then... He released it and the wind direction threatening to explode in every direction, converged at the middle of his body, forming a circular blade of wind spinning rapidly around his body.

Nagato was retreating as fast as he could. He wasn't an idiot. He had no doubt in his mind that Konan's paper shield would do nothing to stop this madness. But he didn't expect the sudden burst in speed from his younger opponent. He had ripped the shield in two and was upon him before he could even blink. His speed was unbelievable.

Nagato felt a hand grasp his throat as Naruto slammed into him, forcing him to the ground and pinning him by his throat. 1 more second. Anytime now. Nagato felt the raw wind chakra on his body, hurting him slightly although it was nothing compared to the burn on his right hand.

Just one more second.

Nagato's eyes focused on the person on top of him. Naruto was grinning ferally at him, his chains dancing behind him like cobras poised to strike.

There! He had it. Now, it was Nagato's turn to grin. He pooled all his chakra into one final technique. And from this range, it could very well bash his opponent's face in.

9 seconds.

"SHINRA TENSEI!"

BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM.

With Kushina.

Kushina Uzumaki took pride in being one of the best kunoichi around. She was sure that there were better people out there. That's a fact that you just couldn't avoid. Someone somewhere will always be better than you. The sooner you realized that, the sooner you became your best possible self. Humility is definitely a part of that.

A strong individual does not need to boast to show his/her strength. People will know of your strength intuitively. That said, some people are just stupid. They don't see what's right in front of him and they act like the opponent is inferior. There is nothing that frustrates a strong person more than seeing weak people look at them like they're inferior. It wasn't a sense of superiority. It was just pride.

But certain people just didn't care. Kushina liked to think that she was one of those people. The ones that didn't care how they're perceived. But that would be a lie. She did care. She'd worked hard to be as strong as she was now and she damn well wanted people to respect her for it.

So, when a certain orange haired Ame-nin fell from the sky and got back up and ran past her like she wasn't even there, she got pissed. She didn't even mean to do it. It just happened. One small push and there was a chain around the boy's neck. She yanked him closer to get a better look at him. There was a deep gash on the left side of his face that didn't look like it came from a normal weapon.

"Have you seen a red haired Konoha-nin, about this tall and with red or purple eyes?" Kushina asked, making sure that the chains were loose enough for him to talk, but still tight enough to make him uncomfortable.

"You don't understand. I have to-", Yahiko started saying.

BOOOOOOOMMMMM!

"What the fuck was that?" Kushina exclaimed at the wave of wind and debris that passed over them. She sped forward, wanting to check it out. In her rush, though, she forgot that she still had a chain around the boy's neck and he was yanked along for the ride.

Kushina didn't know what she was expecting to find after that explosion. But seeing her brother's teammates looking at the cloud of smoke in horror, wasn't comforting. She ran up to the two girls. "What happened?"

Yuna started in surprise. She'd been so enraptured by the proceedings that she didn't sense the person who was behind her, who was, in no way, trying to hide her presence.

"Where's Naruto?"

Yuna still didn't reply, now noticing the bloodied face of Yahiko, connected to her by a chain. But Kushina got what she needed from Anko who pointed at the cloud of smoke. "He's in there."

Kushina nodded. "Tie him up." She said, pointing a finger behind her. She ran through some hand seals.

"Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!"

The wind picked up easily, dissipating the cloud of smoke within a few seconds. When the smoke cleared enough for things to be visible, Kushina noted three things. First, there was a deep crater where the explosion occurred which was no doubt already filling with water. The second was that there was a blue-haired girl at the edge of the crater looking down into it.

And the third thing she noticed was not related to the crater at all. It was the wall of black flames that were approaching from her left. It was slowly growing larger and larger despite the heavy rain coming down on it. At any other time, she would've called those flames beautiful. But not now. Now, it just filled her with dread.

She walked forward, stopping beside the crying girl, looking down into the crater, waiting for something to be visible. "What's your name?"

Konan jumped away in surprise. She hadn't felt her approaching. "Who are you?"

"Answer me now if you want to live. If not, I'll kill you." Kushina spoke easily.

Konan sneered at the Konoha ninja. "I'm prepared to die for my village."

"Admirable. Very admirable. But you see, I can tell things by looking at people. Your face tells me that you'll tell me what I want to know if your friends' lives were at stake. But the orange-haired brat I captured? He wouldn't talk in a million years. He's worthless to me. When you think about it like that… he's a bit dead too, isn't he?" Kushina replied not looking away from the pit.

Konan hesitated. She wasn't a fool. She knew who this woman was. Every bingo book in the elemental nations listed her. Which was why she also knew that they stood no chance. "My name is Konan."

Kushina smiled. "Tell me, Konan. Is my brother alive down there?"

Konan's eyes widened. "I- I-"

"Speak!"

"I don't know."

"Well then. I don't know if you'll live to see tomorrow. Can't wait to find out." Kushina replied sweetly. By now, Yahiko had been tied up and Yuna and Anko had arrived next to them.

With Naruto.

The smoke finally cleared and Nagato lay there, petrified… Scared. This boy was not ordinary. The battle lasted less than a minute. So much happened in so little time. If Nagato knew how it would play out before the fight started, he would've run away. His face was pushed into the dirt. He still couldn't believe how his technique had been just pushed aside like nothing.

He knew his gravity manipulation was imperfect. He had been focussing more on power than on control. As it was, he was able to push and pull things towards him and away from him. But the thing was that by sacrificing control for power, he attained a weakness. A weakness that now left him with zero chakra and nothing to show for it.

Just before he used his final attack, the younger boy did the most diabolical thing he never expected him to do. He turned him around. His technique was aimed directly in front of him and at the last minute, he was turned around. The result was that Naruto rode on top of him for a mining expedition in the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.

Naruto placed a chakra suppression seal on him and then started dragging him up the crater, his face soaking up all the muddy water on the way. He was done. There was nothing more he could do. He'd tried everything.

When Naruto reached the surface, he saw a new welcome face beside his teammates. Beside them, the other two genin were tied up with ninja wire and on their knees. Naruto yanked his defeated opponent by his arm and threw him at their feet.

"Do you know why you lost, Nagato?" Naruto asked seriously.

Nagato didn't reply. He just lay there unmoving. Naruto grit his teeth and walked forward, placing one foot on Nagato's face.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you or I'll start plucking teeth off your friends." Naruto snarled, startling his teammates and his sister. "Now, answer me."

Nagato frowned. "Because you're stronger."

Kick. "Yeah, no shit."

Seeing Yahiko's pleading face, Anko walked forward. Both of them were stunned at the shirtless Naruto who walked out. They wanted to run forward and hug him. But that's when they saw it. The oddly shaped scar on his back that could never be from natural causes. That effectively stopped them in their tracks. They didn't want to know the story behind that. "Naruto, are you going to kill them?"

Naruto looked sideways at his teammate. "That depends entirely on him and what he does." Naruto ground his foot into his feet. "Do you hear that? You decide whether your friends get to live."

"Tch. Fine. I lost because your pain is greater than mine."

Naruto smiled. "Well of course it is. Other than losing your parents, you have no pain. You don't know what pain is. I knew that right from the start."

"How dare you say that?" Nagato snarled.

Naruto's smile fell from his face. "I don't think you understand what's at stake here. You don't get to ask questions. You're here to answer mine. After my questions are over, if your replies are satisfactory, you and your friends will be allowed to live. Failing to answer even one of my questions will be the death of you all."

Nagato didn't reply for a few moments but nodded after that which made Naruto smile again. "First question. How are you able to control gravity?"

"I have a doujutsu called Rinnegan. The power of the sage of the six paths flows through my veins." Nagato replied, somehow sounding proud.

Naruto turned around to look at his sister. She shrugged indicating that she had no clue what it meant. Naruto was surprised to see the ghost of a smile on her lips. "How are you able to summon different animals?"

"Rinnegan."

"The mechanical arm cannon thing too, then?"

Nagato nodded.

"Your summons don't feel pain. They dispel only when you will it to or if its physical form is compromised. Am I correct?"

Nagato's eyes widened at the correct analysis. "Y-yes. That's right."

"Is the paper technique part of the Rinnegan as well?"

Nagato looked confused. It was Konan who finally replied. "That was me."

Naruto looked around at his teammates and then down at the captured shinobi. "Now. The trials are over, let's get to the main event. I only wanted to make sure that you'd answer truthfully. Just an FYI, this sharingan of mine makes it possible to tell, so… thank god you didn't lie." Naruto sat down in front of them. "First question. Do the people of Konoha deserve to mourn their dead?"

Nagato's eyes widened in surprise before it quickly became clouded with anger. "NO!"

Naruto stared at the downed redhead. "Well, you aren't lying. You honestly think that, don't you?" Nagato didn't reply. "Doesn't matter. Still the wrong answer."

Faster than Nagato could blink, Naruto moved. He drew a kunai and drove it straight through Yahiko's left palm, and immediately yanked it out, leaving a sizable hole in it. Yahiko was silent for a few moments as his brain struggled to process what just happened. Then the muffled screaming started.

Nagato flailed around wildly, but Naruto's leg held him in place. Naruto saw tears falling down Konan's face and internally started to feel a bit bad. He didn't want to turn around. He already knew the expressions of horror that would be present on both his teammates' faces. He was curious about what his sister thought. But not curious enough to turn away from the angry redhead under his foot.

"Now. Let's try again. Do the people of Konoha deserve to mourn their dead?"

Nagato looked at the ground, tears forming in his eyes. "Yes. They deserve to mourn their dead."

Naruto knelt down on his other knee. "Good job. Next question. Do the people of Suna have the right to mourn their dead?"

Nagato looked conflicted. Suna was Konoha's enemy. He didn't know what to reply. His tears started falling down his face. "N-no. They don't."

Naruto sighed. "Wrong answer." Naruto drew his kunai again.

"NO. WAIT, WAIT. THEY DO. THEY HAVE EVERY RIGHT." Nagato yelled desperately.

Naruto pocketed the kunai. "I see. What about Iwa?"

"They do."

"Kumo?"

"Yes."

"Will you act like this again? As if you're some god? As if you have a right to decide what other people can and can't do?" Naruto asked seriously.

"No. Never." He yelled, his voice breaking in between. Tears were still flowing down his face.

Naruto nodded. "One last thing. You have something I want. Give it to me."

Nagato looked at him, puzzled at the sudden change in tone. "What is it?"

"If you don't know that, you deserve another punishment." Naruto replied seriously.

"HNMM, HMPH!" Naruto's eyes flicked to Konan. He reached for her gag and removed it. "It's in Yahiko's pouch. All the scrolls. All four of them."

Naruto smiled. He shuffled through his pant pocket as Yahiko trembled in fright. He fished out all four of them and deposited them in front of Nagato. "We told you at the start. We were here to fulfil a mission and we wouldn't leave without doing it. All you had to do was extend a little fucking courtesy and let us have our dead. God knows we have more than your village. But no. You had to be stubborn about it. It's your fault that orange here has a hole in his hand."

Nagato's mouth opened and closed as he realized that what he said was true. He was blinded by anger against his former teacher. The other team had only asked for the bare minimum. To retrieve their dead. They even promised to not hurt any Ame ninja or civilian unless they were provoked. "It's my fault."

"Good." Naruto replied. He stood up and removed his foot from his face. He spun the kunai in his hand and freed both Yahiko and Konan from their bounds. "You've passed my little test with only one hiccup. Congratu-fucking-lations. You get to fucking live." Naruto turned around to see a smiling Kushina and two horrified teammates. "We're taking the scroll with the Konoha shinobi, you can do with the others as you wish."

Kushina caught the scroll that was tossed to her. As he turned around, all three of the Ame-nin saw the scar on his back and their mouths fell open in shock. Nagato's hands trembled. How could something like that have happened to someone so young?

"Why are you giving me this?" Kushina asked.

"I lost my kunai pouch somewhere." Naruto replied. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We're retreating. I just came to get you three. What happened to the rest of your unit, by the way? I don't see any bodies." Kushina asked.

Naruto looked sharply to the left where the black flames continued to rage against the rain. "Ummm…"

Kushina narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Come on. Let's move. I have like 4 important shinobi in body scrolls that need immediate medical attention."

Naruto nodded at both his sister and his teammates and turned to leave. A thought occurred to him which made him smile gleefully. He turned around to address the Ame-nin.

"I know I should just kill you all and be done with it. I have a feeling you guys are going to become a big pain later on, but I'm feeling merciful and you three just survived a great ordeal. I realize that you are good people and you deserve a second chance. For surviving a battle against Uzumaki Naruto of Uzushiogakure, I hereby give you the title 'Sannin of Amegakure'."

The three Ame-nin dropped their jaws in shock.

"Oh, and if you aren't aware, that title is meant as an insult."

With Orochimaru, 30 Mins Later.

Over the years, there had been many clients who complimented him on his stamina. He would stay awake through the night for several days at a time if the situation demanded it. His mind went to a few years ago when he was escorting a merchant to the Land of Waves. It was a time when the seas still had pirates sailing in it. He ran for about 3 hours continuously while carrying the merchant and his daughter. He was panting at the end, but otherwise okay. The merchant told him at the end that running for more than 10 minutes would have him doubled over in pain. Orochimaru didn't understand what he was talking about at the time. 10 minutes of any activity shouldn't tire anyone out. That was like… bare minimum.

He regretted ever thinking that. 10 minutes was a luxury against someone like Hanzo. He was reacting purely on his instincts. He always knew that Hanzo had been holding back on them all those years ago. But he didn't know just how much. The last time he faced Hanzo, he'd given up. Because of his fear. Because of his desire to live. This wasn't why he was giving up now. Now, he was giving up because there was nothing else for him to try. He was done. No tricks, no skills, nothing left. Just completely and utterly finished.

"How?" He croaked out. He'd taken quite a heavy blow to his throat as well. Now, it hurt him to even speak. "How are you so strong?"

Hanzo stopped his assault. "It seems I've broken you as well. Such a shame. I was having so much fun."

Orochimaru laughed, but he broke into a fit of coughs in between. "You haven't broken me… You've done nothing. The first time I faced you, you broke me. Now, I'm just a ninja who's fulfilled his purpose. His mission. You cannot break me."

Hanzo raised an eyebrow. "It seems you are still the same naïve old boy from all those years ago. You've fulfilled nothing, boy."

Orochimaru flinched at the change in tone. "W-what?"

"Exactly like I said. You don't get it. You think you do. You think you've saved your village and your leader. You don't understand that if I wanted to, I could have killed you in an instant and gone after the yellow brat who took off with my prey." Orochimaru struggled to get to his feet. "I didn't do that because your courage impressed me… But now, I see that it wasn't courage so much as… recklessness."

Orochimaru took a step back at the angry declaration. He was hurting all over. A person with a less durable body would have died a hundred times over by now. It was only due to the modifications on his body that he was even standing. Even the small motion of lifting his foot and moving it backwards, hurt every fibre of his very being. But he did so all the same. It wasn't on purpose. His body just moved in anticipation of what was about to happen.

"You said you might just kill me, boy." Hanzo lifted his scythe and pointed it at Orochimaru, closing his eyes. "You think you're strong enough to beat me. That means you don't realize the difference in our powers."

Orochimaru took another agonizing step back. The air was completely still. Even the rain seemed to fall slower. The killing intent aimed at him increased tenfold, making him sweat despite the temperature drop. Konoha wasn't subjected to any natural disasters. No cyclones or hurricanes and surprisingly, no forest fires. Not even a thunderstorm. It was the perfect climate. But even with such a place as his home, he knew what nature was trying to tell him. This was the calm… before the storm.

Orochimaru took another step back and as if in response to that, Hanzo's eyes opened. Gone were the playful brown orbs of the leader of Amegakure. His sclera had turned black and his brown eyes were glowing. These eyes held nothing for him except despair.

"Know now… what that difference is."

A visible blue aura of chakra appeared around him making him appear like a shadow in the dimly lit battlefield. His already enormous chakra levels skyrocketed and the landscape began to tear itself apart. The glow around Hanzo became brighter and brighter to the point that it became blinding. A hurricane of wind tore through the open battlefield which made Orochimaru apply chakra to his feet to prevent getting blown away.

The ruins of the buildings around them, huge blocks of stone, started to move under the force of the gale. The ground under Hanzo met a painful fate, getting crushed and scattered in the powerful wind. Orochimaru couldn't bring himself to look away even though only his eyes were actually visible. This was unreal. He had never felt this much chakra in his life. His eyes started burning from the stinging sensation of the strong wind.

This was unbelievable. He had never felt so afraid in his life.

That unforgettable moment presented Orochimaru with a challenge. In the days that followed, he would wonder what made him think like that. If he even managed to take one step against the beast in front of him, he would be free. Just one tiny rebelling step.

Orochimaru lifted his right foot. Hanzo's eyes pulsed and the killing intent hit him like a mountain. Suddenly, he couldn't even stand straight. He felt like he was holding up the sky on his own. This was far greater than anything he'd seen before in his life. He was… he was a god. He wasn't human.

Orochimaru fell to his knees, his legs unable to withstand the pressure. This was it. This was what his end looked like. For his village and his people. For his teammates and for his sensei… For his students. This was how he'd die.

Hanzo took a single step forward.

'No.'

Another one.

'No.'

And then another one.

"NOOOO! I REFUSE TO GIVE UP. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN EVER DO TO DEFEAT ME. EVEN IF I DIE, I'LL REMAIN UNDEFEATED BECAUSE I NEVER GAVE UP. YOU CANNOT BREAK ME." Orochimaru yelled out madly as he struggled back to his feet.

Suddenly, everything disappeared. Hanzo let his chakra drop and everything went back to normal. The wind died away and the sound of the rain reached him again.

Hanzo walked forward slowly. "Very well. You've impressed me yet again. You will get a quick death. No poison."

Despite the arrogant comment towards him, Orochimaru felt relieved. This meant that Hanzo acknowledged his sacrifice. It meant that Konoha would be left alone… It meant that they were safe. They were all safe. He'd been a ninja until the very end. The best form of himself he could possibly be. He looked past his opponent to see all the ninja of Amegakure assembled behind Hanzo, watching in admiration and respect. This was it.

Hanzo watched in silent admiration as the younger shinobi fell to his knees and smiled at him. The silent contract had been made. Konoha would live to see tomorrow. He wouldn't. For the first time in a long while, Hanzo felt a sense of honor. Something he hadn't felt since his battle against one of the samurai in Iron Country.

He looked at the beaten man and returned his smile, not that it was visible from behind his respirator. Hanzo lifted his scythe as Orochimaru presented his neck to him but a split second before his hands moved, Orochimaru was engulfed in smoke. Eyes narrowing, he jumped back. Was this some last resort technique? How cowardly.

With Naruto.

"So, you're saying that he did a space-time technique?" Naruto asked, bewildered. Anyone who put more than a minimum amount of effort into fuinjutsu would know just how impressive that sentence meant. With fuinjutsu, the only limit was your imagination. That was a very well-known saying. Something that Naruto himself said to both of his teammates when they witnessed him doing something that should have been impossible.

But that didn't mean that you could do anything with fuinjutsu. There are limits to what can be accomplished. Fuinjutsu was like training a robot to do something. In fact, most of the automated devices that came from the Land of Hot Water made extensive use of fuinjutsu. If you're creating a sealbot to do a specific task like patrol the gates or something. You can't just tell it to patrol the gates. You'd have to insert scenarios into the seal matrix to make it ready. If a suspicious individual is seen, detain him. If smoke is seen, make sure someone else is available for patrol and then go investigate. A well-defined step-by-step approach has to be given.

Even the techniques he himself used had a well-defined step-by-step approach specified by the intricate interconnections of kanji. His violet flames formation technique forced the air into hyper-vibrations in the frequency that resulted in the flames being purple. The seals were instructed to keep vibrating the air particles touching it, which would in turn force adjacent particles into vibration. A barrier technique connected with it was what kept the flames from escaping outward and staying in a well-defined form. It had a step-by-step sequential way of working.

This was the disadvantage of fuinjutsu. It was why space-time techniques didn't exist yet. To use fuinjutsu for such a purpose, one would have to first understand the steps behind such a thing. And so far, there haven't been many scientific advancements in the space-time field. Without understanding the science behind it, its inner workings, there was no way to use fuinjutsu to do it. This meant that Namikaze Minato had somehow unraveled the mysteries surrounding the field of space-time ninjutsu and had successfully implemented a seal for it… which was amazing.

Kushina gave him a kunai, something Minato had given her as a birthday present. Based on what she said, it functioned like markers. As he looked at the intricate designs carved on the long handle, he couldn't help but admire it. He knew that the blonde was powerful because his sensei held him in high regard. He was a jonin of Konoha and he was, no doubt, strong enough to deserve the title. But never in a million years would he have imagined that the gentle, soft man was capable of something so… so amazing.

Naruto wanted to know more. He was about to ask Kushina for more information because after all, she was also a renowned seal master. But just as he opened his mouth, they felt it. Naruto's sharingan became active out of pure instinct as they all turned around in reaction to the overbearing chakra in the air.

They had been travelling as fast as possible for the past half hour, wanting to regroup with the main army as quickly as they could. They'd all been fighting non-stop for more than a day now. First, the training session with team 7, then the mentally exhausting events at Shimogamo Forest and fighting a war in Amegakure. They needed to regroup. They needed to rest.

"GET DOWN!"

They all hit the floor in response to the command Kushina shouted. An intense wind blew through the trees. They were already in the Land of Fire and were jumping through trees to travel faster. Naruto's eyes widened. This was Hanzo.

Kushina ran through hand seals and slapped her hands together. "Wind Release: Unyielding barrier!"

A semi-invisible barrier formed around them reducing the intensity of the wind. Naruto's Mangekyou sharingan spun in its sockets as he stared unblinking at the show that was being put on. He was brought out of his thoughts when something fell on his right cheek. He brushed his cheek and stared at his hand. It was raining. Hanzo's display of power had created a gale strong enough to move the ever-present clouds of Amegakure, towards the Land of Fire.

And just like when he watched the impossible feat of someone matching a tailed beast, he instinctively knew this wasn't humanly possible. Hanzo was using that same kind of chakra as Akira Senju.

They waited a few minutes until the wind started to die down and they got up and saw exactly what was happening. Orochimaru was on his knees in front of Sanshou no Hanzo, awaiting his death. Not moving, not resisting. It made Naruto feel… angry.

For days after this ordeal, Kushina would be thinking only one thing. When she got up, when she went to sleep, when she took on missions, when she ate. Every moment she was awake, she would be asking herself the same questions.

Why didn't she look away? Her brother was right next to her. Why didn't she look at him instead? Why did she stare at what was happening miles away from them when he was right next to her? Sometimes, she would ask other questions. Ones that she couldn't answer herself. Why did Naruto do it? Why did he voluntarily decide to confront the most powerful man in the elemental nations?

When Kushina sensed the chakra building up, it was already too late. There was a single moment when Naruto's spinning sharingan eyes met hers and then it was broken. Kushina's gaze went to his shirtless body which was covered in seals. Ancient Uzumaki ritual-style seals. Seals that hadn't seen the light of day in centuries. Seals that even she couldn't completely comprehend. And then, he was gone.

The familiar pop sound right next to them made all their eyes snap towards it. In the place where Naruto had just been, there was a kneeling man, bleeding from every place he possibly could. Yuna's eyes went wide as she realized what happened. Her eyes turned back to Amegakure in horror.

Orochimaru opened his eyes when the pain he'd been expecting never arrived. He saw that he was on a tree branch in contrast with the wet earth he had been kneeling on a few moments ago. He looked to the side to see three kunoichi staring in horror towards the direction the rain was coming from. He stood up slowly and he realized what had just happened. It was the same thing that happened to him the day Naruto dispelled Manda. He had substituted with him.

"NARUTO! YOU IDIOT!"

With Naruto.

"Uzumaki? How are you here?"

Naruto jumped back as quickly as he could. Hanzo's temporary shock was just… temporary. The moment he realized what had happened, Hanzo would attack and in all likelihood he would die.

"ANSWER ME."

Naruto cursed as he realized that the commanding voice had come from behind him. He tried to jump away again but it was already too late. A swinging kick caught him right in the head and he dropped to the ground, dazed and unfocused, blood falling from his mouth. Shit. That kick alone had almost knocked him out.

"Explain".

Naruto twisted his head to stare up at the older shinobi, and grinned. "I'd like my headband back."

There were a few moments of tense silence until realization dawned in Hanzo's eyes. The brat had tricked him. He was a Konoha ninja all along. The realization was swiftly replaced by anger and Hanzo raised his head and roared into the sky.

Naruto had rolled away and was now about a dozen feet away from him. Hanzo's eyes, filled with rage, stared deep into Naruto's own.

"IBUZE!"

"Fuck." His eyes made sure that everything was happening in slow motion. That was the only reason Naruto escaped relatively unscathed. He moved faster than he'd ever moved before in his life. Wind chakra coursed through him, igniting every nerve ending in his young body. Ibuze rose out of the ground next to him and her tail came crashing down on him. His enhanced reflexes allowed him to narrowly avoid the attack.

"Amaterasu!"

Hanzo's scythe clattered on the wet floor as Ibuze's unearthly scream echoed in his ears. His eyes darkened in anger as he watched the treacherous black flames crawl up the summons' tail. Never before… No one had ever managed to hurt his beloved partner. This was the first… and this would be the last.

Hanzo let out another angry roar as he knelt down to pick up his scythe and spun it towards Ibuze's burning tail, cutting it off swiftly. The tail fell to the ground, steam forming around it. Hanze calmly turned towards his prey. "You will pay for what you just did."

Naruto watched as Ibuze's tail started to regenerate and soon, it was as if nothing had even happened to it. Naruto took a step back. "Are you going to kill me?"

Hanzo chuckled. "No. Not for a long, long time." He turned to face his summons again. "Ibuze… Dispel. I think it's time I summoned your father again."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. If that meant what he thought it did, Ibuze wasn't even the boss summon. He had no chance. But when you're faced with certain death, your mind starts working overtime. Even as your body responds to the excess adrenaline and starts going through the fight or flight response, your mind breaks through every limit it has.

And in that moment, Naruto's mind formed connections that he never would've made otherwise.

Boar.

"As we lay there, unable to move because of the fear and the pain from the poison coursing through us, Sanshou no Hanzo laughed at us. He didn't kill us because we weren't worth it."

Dog.

Hell, summoning might not even need some stupid scroll. I know the hand seals. I could just-

Bird.

Naruto, you must promise me that you'll never attempt the summoning technique without signing a contract first.

Why?

Monkey.

Because if you attempt the summoning technique without agreeing to a contract, you will be transported to the region of your familiar animal. There, you will face trials beyond any and all of your limits. They will tear you down and remake you from scratch. Never try it…

I'm serious Naruto. Never try it.

Ram.

Tell me, Naruto. Do you think one person can conquer the world?

…

…

"SUMMONING TECHNIQUE!"

Two pairs of hands slammed into the ground and they were both engulfed in a huge smoke. The ground started trembling in response to the huge weight of the beast that had just been summoned. Glimpses of the black scaled body could be seen through the smoke. The Ame-nin at the scene started running away because of the overbearing killing intent.

"GO FORTH… EIZEN!"

With Yuna.

No one who had ever seen him or worked with him would ever call Orochimaru a person with a sense of humor. From months spent together with him, she knew that wasn't the case. He had a very remarkable sense of humour, sadistic it may be. But you wouldn't expect it from him because he never really projects that image. But now…

Yuna didn't fully understand what had just happened. She didn't know what was so funny about it. Naruto had just gotten himself killed. Why was he laughing?

She looked towards where Kushina was on her knees, tears falling down her face. Anger coursing through her, she drew a fist and punched her sensei right on his face. But Orochimaru just fell forward onto the tree branch they were on, still laughing hysterically.

"Stop being such an insensitive prick." Yuna yelled, which brought Kushina out of her daze. She stared at the giggling sannin next to her. She blinked her tears away allowing her to focus on the expression of glee on Orochimaru's face. She was dazed and confused at what just happened, only one thing going through her mind. Why did he leave me again? …

Then, suddenly it clicked. "He doesn't own a summoning contract, does he?" Kushina asked, her voice so faint that it almost went unheard. This meant that Naruto had survived… But those seals. Just what happened in Uzushio all those years ago?

At her question, Orochimaru cracked up even further. "Uzumaki Naruto… He is the most unpredictable ninja I've ever met."

Konohagakure no Sato.

Akira Senju was angry with Homura and Koharu when he initially saw the village. They had one job. While the rest of them were off fighting wars and facing tailed beasts, they had one job. Protect the village. Now, after hearing their story, Akira wasn't sure he'd have done any better. It was good that she activated the barrier when she did. Otherwise the destruction could have been far more widespread.

Looking at Homura though, Akira was furious. The man had gotten Koharu to safety. Sure, that was his first priority. Understandable. But then he stayed there, cooped up with the civilians for the rest of the time since? He should have at least pursued them. At least found out their identity or what village they were from. Instead, Tsunade and Kakashi, who had arrived hours later, had done that job for him. When tracking someone, time is of the essence. And if you're tracking someone who's capable of air travel, then it doesn't matter how skilled a tracker you are. You need to have them within eyesight. And if Homura had done the sensible thing, they would have had something.

"Akira-sama!"

Akira turned around to see one of his shinobi at the entrance to the tunnels. "What is it?"

"The chunin from T&I says he has something."

Akira's eyes widened. Despite his words of inspiration, he wasn't really expecting anything on that front. He ran quickly, wanting to hear what he had found as soon as possible. The chunin who brought the news tried to keep up, but was soon left behind. Akira was in a hurry.

What he saw when he entered the room was not quite what he was expecting. Ibiki and Kakashi were at the far side of the room talking with each other and their prisoner was in the middle, staring off into space. As soon as Ibiki noticed his presence, he stood up and made his way towards him.

"Akira-sama. I have the answers you requested." Ibiki stated.

Akira was a bit overwhelmed. He had quite honestly gone to the tunnels to see if there was an old retired Yamanaka inside. Ibiki succeeding was never even considered in his books. "And?"

"The one who destroyed the village was Deidara of Iwa. He uses some sort of technique to make mobile explosives out of clay. It is ultimately an earth-based technique and lightning chakra disables them."

Akira nodded. "Do we know anything else about this Deidara? If he has such a destructive technique, why haven't we heard of him before?"

Ibiki hesitated. "He says that Deidara is 11 years old. He is the star pupil of the third Tsuchikage, an orphan trained privately for over 6 years."

Akira stared at him in surprise. 11 years old and already strong enough to wipe out an entire village? "Are you sure?"

Ibiki hesitated. "That's what he told me. I'm ninety percent sure that I broke him…"

Akira stared at the chunin for a long time. "How did you break him? The one-hour deadline I set for you was just a joke. Interrogations are never this quick. What did you do to him?"

Ibiki was surprised at the question. "Inoichi-san told me that interrogations are all about finding out your subject's deepest desire and his worst nightmare and then making the nightmare a reality and then asking answers in exchange for fulfilling his desire. This man's desire is to escape. I used proximity seals to link the Hell-viewing technique with his distance from this place." Akira's eyes widened. "And then I cut him loose. He didn't even reach the gate before he became the blubbering mess he is now."

Akira was speechless. "That's… ingenious. You said you're a rookie at T&I?" Ibiki nodded. "You'll have a very bright future in that department. Keep up the good work."

Akira then turned around and left. The people couldn't stay in the tunnels for much longer. Now that he had a name, he had done all he could outside. Now, he needed to build shelters for the people.

"Anyone with an earth affinity, come with me. We need to build some shelter for the civilians. Model them all like the apartment building here. We need to be efficient about this." Akira yelled and went about his duties. A group of shinobi followed him as he instructed. Akira's mind went to Shikaku. Things were working out well here. Not a single life had been lost. He knew the same couldn't be said for the people in Amegakure. He hoped they were okay.

The Land of Wind Border

The Kazekage slowly opened his eyes. He was aching all over. He didn't know why it had to come to this, but there was one thing he did know.

He was beyond pissed at this point. It wasn't meant to happen this way. He had led his people into this war promising them one thing and one thing only. He had gotten them to accept an alliance with one of their oldest enemies just by promising it to them. Freedom. Freedom from the Land of Fire. Since the start of the village system, Suna had always been dependent on Konoha. It wasn't exactly a bad thing, but it was still embarrassing for them. Yet, he never would have acted on his discomfort because he knew his village couldn't survive without trade. And an alliance with Konoha opened up all kinds of possibilities. But then, the wind daimyo started favoring them as a way to stay on the fire daimyo's good side. And Konoha didn't bring it to Suna's attention as any decent village should have. Instead they accepted those missions, thriving off them while Suna starved.

He knew why they did it. After the second ninja war, all the villages were dealing with heavy losses on all fronts. Konoha had it the worst despite their victory. Their most trusted allies from Uzushio were now gone, the Hokage's three students had been humiliated very publicly and Kagami Uchiha, second to only Uchiha Madara in fame and power, was dead. Konoha had never been weaker and despite the apparent peace-loving mentality they projected, he knew that they knew what it meant. After all, if he had seen it when he wasn't even paying attention to the political situation, Konoha's enemies definitely saw it. If they were planning to get rid of Konoha once and for all, now was the time. Iwa knew it, Kumo knew it, Kiri knew it and Konoha knew it. So, he understood why they would essentially steal their missions. They needed it. Back when he was just Hayakaze Kazan, jounin of Suna, he wouldn't hold it against them. He would punish them of course, but not more than he would any other enemy ninja.

But he was the Kazekage and he had his people to worry about. He couldn't let this slide. It was no secret that the other great villages thought of Suna as the weakest. While it was certainly understandable, it wasn't welcome. Especially from their ally, Konoha. And what was this judgement even based on? Never ever in the history of shinobi had war been waged in the desert, in their terrain. The people had the audacity to shy away from a fight in their terrain and then call them weak?

For all these reasons and more, when the Tsuchikage's son Midori came to him with a proposal, he was quick to act. He told him that his father was hesitant to act, but he knew that this was the time to do so. Probably the only one in their lifetime. Konoha had to be stopped. The Kazekage couldn't agree more. But he should have known. There was a reason why no one allied with Iwagakure. Their people were coldblooded. They were fierce in protecting themselves, uncaring about protecting others… Not a good quality to look for in an ally.

The only exception to this was the Tsuchikage himself. The man was probably the most rational person in the elemental nations. Every action was calculated and completely thought through. He was called Onoki of the twin scales. When he was young, he thought that the name somehow came from the scales of a dragon. Imagine his disappointment when he learned that it came from a weighing balance. Seeing everything at both sides of a conflict and choosing the best possible action, not necessarily the path of least death. But that was something true, something that would never change.

So, when Midori came to Suna with a plan, a plan that would forever end the monopoly that Konoha held over the ninja world, he couldn't help but hear it. And moreover, he liked it. The next day, he delivered the best speech he had ever made, to the shinobi council and they roared their approval. He promised them many things. The head of the Hokage being the first thing on that list. For the first time since he became Kazekage, he felt the support of the people.

Now they were all dead. The majority of his shinobi council were dead. He slowly sat up on his knees and just that made him grunt in pain. But it was nothing compared to the feeling he got when he saw his subordinates scattered around the sand. He wished he could blame Hanzo. Or Hiruzen. Or even the people who actually did it… But no. It was his fault.

He didn't know how long it had been since Hanzo went completely rampant on both Kumo and Iwa. The people of Suna and Konoha had already made it past the borders, but Kumo was nowhere close to where they needed to be. Nor was Iwa. He couldn't care less about Kumo. He didn't know what their plan was but it was not smart to carelessly enter the Land of Rain without at least having a plan to escape Hanzo. But Iwa was an ally. That was supposed to mean something. The alliance with Konoha had been voided the moment they accepted the first mission the Wind Daimyo sent their way. If Suna betrayed Iwa now, then they were just as bad as Konoha. It was chivalry. It was the right thing to do. It was stupid.

Again, he wished he could blame Midori and his team of shinobi for what they did to his ninja. But there was no team. It was one man who was like the wind itself. Silent right up until you realized that he was behind you, at which point he became as loud as the roar of a thousand roaring winds. Shinji Aburame.

Up until this day, his iron techniques had been thought of as unbeatable. Now he knew of two weaknesses. He was almost cooked alive by the Hokage and then he was almost cut to pieces by the Iwa nin's wind techniques. His iron sand were just iron particles. A wind strong enough would scatter it. At his full strength, he doubted that the shinobi would have won. But he wasn't at full strength. He was damn near death because of 'the professor' and his failure had resulted in the death of his men.

He knew what he had to do now. Sunagakure was always against the idea of jinchuriki. No man, woman or child should ever have to be considered as not human. This was the reason why Suna requested the weakest tailed beast when Senju Hashirama distributed the tailed beasts to the different villages. They would never seal it inside a human being. So, they needed something that could be contained by other means which translated to the weakest tailed beast, the Ichibi.

His eyes finished scanning the desert floor. Ninety-four Suna shinobi. Shinobi who trusted him with their lives. Shinobi he had grown up with, some he'd shared missions with and some who once lectured him on manners when he was just another brat running through the streets.

Iron sand came alive around him despite his complete lack of chakra. It drifted over all 94 corpses and slowly formed a stretcher-like structure under them. When he was convinced that everyone was accounted for, he started walking forward. He knew what had to be done.

As the Kazekage walked away from the gruesome scene, he failed to notice that the sun had moved a lot since the last time he'd been awake and that the wind was very strong. It would be three years from that moment when a border patrol came upon a skeleton buried in the sand. Further investigation would lead to the discovery of over 200 MIA Suna shinobi.

Mount Myoboku

Fukusaku was one of the oldest toads in Mt. Myoboku. He'd had a lot of summoners over the years but only one since the start of the village system. Jiraiya of Konoha. The boy had shown a lot of potential and the great sage toad had taken a liking to him, but he always disliked the eccentric white-haired man. But he'd paid the price like all others before him, and he had forsaken that which he loved more than anything. He gave up on a home which was what he'd wanted since he was a very young boy.

Almost all the summoned animals had the same condition. Are you willing to give up that which you want more than anything and are you willing to suffer unimaginable, unyielding pain for as long as your familiar deems it necessary? If so, you are worthy. If not… Well, let's just say that there were a lot of skeletons at the bottom of the oil lake of Mount Myoboku.

So, while Fukusaku didn't particularly like the boy, he couldn't exactly reject him. There were ancient rules put in place by nature itself. But the fact remained that he would much rather work with Minato Namikaze, a legacy summoner, than the actual summoner himself.

Legacy summoners were those that signed the scroll without passing their test, based on the wishes of previous summoners. While they were able to summon them, they would never have access to their techniques or their knowledge. Minato Namikaze would never possess the destructive power of senjutsu unless he learned it himself, which he doubted very much to even be possible for anyone that was not a part of that godforsaken clan.

As he stared at the weeping figure at the feet of the great sage toad, only one thought passed through his mind. Never had there been a summoner as pathetic as the one in front of him now. When Gamakitsu asked him to reverse summon Jiraiya, he was skeptical. He wanted nothing to do with the man, not now, not ever… If he could help it, anyway.

But the great sage was within earshot and requested him to proceed. So, here he was. A quivering mess at the feet of the strongest toad of them all. Pathetic.

"Stand up boy."

Jiraiya didn't move from the ground, still preferring to cry like a baby. Fukusaku's tongue rolled out of his mouth and cracked him on his back like a whip. "He asked you to stand, boy."

Jiraiya hesitantly came to his feet. The toad sage slowly opened his eyes, staring straight into the eyes of the white-haired man. "Do you know why I agreed to have you as a summoner, boy?"

Jiraiya sniffed. "I passed your ridiculous test, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. That's why you're still alive. I asked if you know why you're a summoner."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock but he quickly recovered, an indifferent look in his eyes. "No. I don't know. And seeing as my partner abandoned me when I needed him the most, I don't think I care to know."

"Careful, boy. Be mindful of who you're talking to."

The sudden change in his tone and the quick surge of chakra that accompanied it effectively shut Jiraiya up.

"You are a summoner because of the very simple fact that everyone in this world has a part to play. A job to do. When you set Uzumaki Naruto on his path, your first job was done. Now, you need to get ready for the second phase. Without you, he will never reach the heights he is capable of reaching. Without you, he will never bring about the revolution he is meant to make. And without you, he will never survive the things coming for him."

Jiraiya's mind was running a mile a minute, trying to reconcile what he just heard with what he did. "You- you knew what would happen to him in Konoha, didn't you? You knew that I'd do something so horrible?"

"Yes."

Jiraiya's mouth opened and closed in shock. "You… Why? Why didn't you tell me? You could've stopped it."

"It wasn't meant to be stopped. In fact, it was always meant to happen. If it weren't you, it would have been someone else. The fact that it was indeed you, is the only reason you're still alive." The toad sage's voice boomed around the cave. "Don't worry, boy. The next part's much easier for you."

Jiraiya stared defiantly at the great sage for a long time until his glare faltered and his eyes turned to the ground. "Do I have a choice?"

Fukusaku smiled. It seemed that Jiraiya was finally starting to grasp the way things are. "No. No, you do not. None of us do. It's high time you realized that very simple fact."

Jiraiya didn't reply to the grumpy toad, instead preferring to address his boss. "What do you need me to do?"

The toad sage stood up from his place on the throne and the cave shook in response. "You are going to master senjutsu."

Unknown Location

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see that the stars seemed much bigger and clearer than they usually did. He had never seen stars so big. It made him stay on the ground unmoving. His legs moved into the familiar position with his right over his left. There was a cool breeze in the air that uncovered his face. It made the experience even more surreal. Wait. His hair shouldn't be moving. …

…

His headband. It was missing. Was he dead?

He knew the answer to that question when he tried to sit up and doubled over in pain. It wasn't pain from any physical injury. It was the splitting pain in the stomach that you get when you overexerted yourself. "Shit." He cursed aloud, trying to ignore the pain as he got on his feet. But suddenly, he was on high alert. He was sensing movement all around him but he wasn't able to see anything despite the light provided by the stars. In fact, it seemed to be getting darker by the second.

Unable to activate his sharingan because of chakra exhaustion and confused at the lack of light, he stared up at the sky to see that the stars were no longer visible. Gathering his energy, he yelled out into the night. "Who's there?"

As if in response to his question, two dark-green slitted eyes opened directly in front of him. And then another red pair to his right. And then another one and then another one until he was surrounded by eyes staring into his very soul. The creature directly in front of him unfurled its majestic wings and Naruto unconsciously took a step back, frightened at the size of this beast.

"WELCOME TO OUR LAIR! WE ARE SO VERY GLAD YOU CAME, UZUMAKI NARUTO." Strange patterns in a dark blood-red color formed all over its body as he started chuckling darkly, each sound making Naruto's entire world shake. "IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE ANY OF US HAVE TASTED HUMAN FLESH!"

---

Hi guys. Again, sorry for the long wait. I think I'm gonna stop saying the next chapter's gonna be out in two weeks because that's practically impossible with the way this semester is going :(.

AN0: I don't know if the fight with Nagato is realistic enough but we can all agree that Nagato didn't reach that impossibly awesome level of power until after Danzo kills his best friend driving him to summon the gedo mazou and all that... This is a Nagato that has the Rinnegan but only some of its assorted powers, but who also hasn't yet taken the time to master his skills. In this chapter, he's only using Deva, Asura and Animal because that's all he has. To be honest, that's all I can realistically give him, because if I add the chakra absorption skill, there's no way this fight would end with Naruto on top.

AN1: I hope you guys liked Hanzo. The man was a beast, wasn't he? Unlike the other characters I've introduced however, I don't really have any plans for this guy yet, but you can be sure he'll come back... Or at least I hope he will. I had a lot of fun writing that power up scene. "Know now what that difference is!" Damn dude. Be chill. I have to admit, that line is also from some other fic I read and the scene is also heavily inspired by the Gildarts power up scene in the Fairy Tail anime. I think it was 'the yellow fang' itself.

AN2: Naruto pulling off that summoning technique trick was something I had envisioned before even starting to write the story. If you have a technique that sends you to an alternate unknown location the first time you use it, of course you should use it for escaping a tight bind.

AN3: I know I said I wouldn't add any other Kekkei Genkai for Naruto, but... Well, I needed the chains for this :). And I promise this is the only one. The chains and the Sharingan. Definitely nothing else.

AN4: I think the next chapter is going to be the longest one yet, because it will have a lot of world building, reactions, aftermaths... All that stuff. Unlike this chapter, I don't think the next one will have much action. That said, this chapter was exhausting to write because it was so action-filled. I hope that's ok while reading because writing it was a pain.

See you guys next time. I hope you liked this chapter. And btw, the next chapter is going to be titled, 'Insatiable Hunger' ... ... ...