Chapter 88. Death's kiss.

I stared up at the dragon with a newfound understanding. Eren described humans as cattle, but I could help feeling like an ant going against a human with a water hose.

Moyro's true form was larger than I imagined. The final battle occurred in a volcano, but how was he this big? I don't remember much from the Kyuubi attack, but from Madara's memories, this thing is significantly larger than a tailed beast, or at least longer.

Kakashi fell to his knees beside me. Even the torture team looked dismayed. Asking anyone to fight a monster like that was just cruel. I looked inward, and Madara was not pleased with the turn of events. At this rate, I'd have to seal him inside me.

The dragon opened its mouth wide, and purple energy gathered.

"Don't tell me!" Ibiki exclaimed. It looked very much like a tail beast bomb, and that was something I couldn't block.

"Maybe if I could teleport it away," I thought.

I looked toward Naruto. Minato's chakra was inside him and could theoretically perform a Flying Raijin at least once. I grit my teeth. There was no way to guarantee the chakra couldn't fade if he used any jutsu like it was in the original. I shook away the thought. I couldn't do that to Naruto.

I was no priestess, but there was one thing I could think of.

I reached out to my puppets placed around the battlefield. Channeling my chakra through them, I manifested my intention. The ground cracked, and my springflys scattered.

"We need to put up a barrier," one of the torture team explained.

"What barrier is strong enough to block that!" Ibiki rebuked.

The dragon roared his attack, and everyone braced themself.

"Hatsu, Jin, Kai!" I announced.

There was a low hum, like the bourdon bell, as the attack hit my barrier. The ground glowed with the shrine seal. I couldn't cover the entire Land of Iron, so I stood between the attack and the rest of the land. The beam of energy pushed on the barrier, turning to smoke and covering the village in a thick miasma.

"What?"

Gasps of shock rang out as they gapped at the barrier that could stop such an attack. I don't think they realized it wasn't a tail beast bomb.

"Kakashi, man, seriously," Asuma stood beside the masked Jonin. "What the hell are you feeding your genins?"

"That's the power of youth!" Guy yelled, making his presence known. He walked over to me and gave me a thumbs up and shining grin. I smiled back as I levitated above them, a side effect of the seal.

"What is this!" the dragon yelled, shaking the ground and causing my allies to quiver in fear. Naruto hid behind Sasuke, who was hiding behind Itachi. The eldest Uchiha looked pale, facing the killing intent. He trembled even as he stood his ground, sword gripped tightly.

I glared up at the surprised dragon.

"To think there was another with the power of a priestess," He mused, getting over the initial shock. "No matter, your end is near, even without my power."

That was concerning.

"Behold the power of death!" the dragon proclaimed, and as the purple miasma cleared, my stomach dropped. We were in a graveyard, hundreds of coffins littered the landscape. I felt faint as the chakra flooded my senses. These weren't small fries; they were kage level.

We're all going to die here.

"W- what is this?" Kiba covered his nose.

"This can't be," Neji gasped. His byakugan trembled as he gazed at the coffins.

"What can this mean?" Hinata muttered.

"I hate haunted places," Naruto whined.

The dragon chuckled as he shunked. As the east disappeared, an elegant man took his place. With pale skin and long black hair, this man looked nothing like Yomi. Who?

Golden chains flew across the sky, crashing into the ground and forming a dome above us. My mind flashed to the Uchiha incident, and I stretched my senses. It was happening again, like before, trapped under a dome with a monster and corpses.

But then, doesn't that mean this was Ina's doing?

I didn't have time to think before the coffins began to open. The wooden covers fell to the ground with a loud thump, one after the other. The rhythm carried out like a domino, and with each thud, it became harder to breathe.

Concentrate! We need to find Hashirama!

I tried to focus, but that made it worse. I was like a dog in a perfume shop. I was supposed to find anything in-.

The calm of a forest overwhelmed my senses. Wet from morning due, the tree reaching for the sky. A vast green, calming forest. Found him!

Springflys flew towards the heavy presence, and sure enough, the First stepped out of his coffin.

His armor clanked as he moved, his dark hair flowing down his back. He staggered before looking around, confused.

Ba-dump!

I stilled as my heart pounded. My cheeks heated, reminding me of the first time I met Saskue. No, this was more intense.

I need him like a fish needs water. I can't live without him. I've gone so long without him; I need him.

It was an addiction; my body trembled from withdrawal.

His voice, his chakra, his blood, I needed all of him right now.

"Hashirama~" I moaned.

I covered my mouth in shock.

I looked around to see if anyone heard, but they were all occupied by the Walking Dead.

I relaxed but kept my mouth covered. I didn't trust myself to speak. Those feelings, no obsession, they weren't mine.

"Madara, " I growled low.

He looked down at my angry and embarrassed face. A screen of Hashirama flooded above, and he looked pained to look away.

"What kind of relationship did you two have?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"We have a bond," he replied.

"A bond you severed," I pointed out.

"Even after the battle, our chakra mended together and made me stronger," he made a face, and I looked away. War mongers were the worst.

I jolted when he embraced me.

"Soon, we'll be one again," he purred in my ear. "Don't make me wait, Hashirama~"

The battlefield filled with corpses as the coffins fell away.

Sasuke flinched when he saw a Uchiha and then another; there were more than ten. He looked around frantically. He recognized those Uchihas who lived nearby and had died in the massacre. More and more people he recognized appeared, and he trembled with hope. They had to be here.

He spotted his mother first. She stood still, lost in thought, until she felt his eyes on her. She was the same as he remembered, long black hair and pale skin. Her eyes were black and kind. She locked eyes with Sasuke, and he had to fight back tears; she was in front of him. She looked away then, and his father came to stand beside her. He held her lovingly as he did the last time he saw them. Tears came then. Naruto hugged him as he broke down, sobbing. Itachi was quiet but was no doubt as emotional as Sasuke.

The eldest Uchiha looked toward the levitating Sakura, still in a daze after making a face and moaning, "Hashirama."

He could already tell she was planning something stupid involving the First Hokage, but he could do nothing to stop her. He couldn't help thinking of the night his world crumbled. She was so young, yet she took on the attackers, even gaining a scar for her troubles. He gripped his sword tighter. He wouldn't let her bear it alone. Itachi locked eyes with Hinata, and the two nodded.

Operation Protect Sakura was a go.

Neji moved closer to Sakura even as he spotted his father among the walking corpses. He already deduced that this was some puppet jutsu using the bodies of the dead as mediums. He couldn't allow himself to be fooled. The Konoha 12 stood protectively around Sakura, who still maintained the barrier. She was out of it, but that was normal when she saw through her summons eyes.

"Rise, Rise, my servants! Eliminate this nation and her allies! Leave no survivors!" Moryo declared. As his words echoed, the corpses went rigid, and then, they moved.

Too fast to see, the bodies scattered, most going off to fight those not on the battlefield.

"They're heading for the stronghold!" Ibiki yelled and ran to stop them. An opening appeared in the barrier, and the torturer team ran through, attacking the reanimated corpses.

Kakashi got up, ready for a fight, when he got knocked back to the ground, a silver-haired man clashed blades with him.

Kakashi gasped in recognition, his strength wavering.

"Dad?"

Pink blades rained from the sky, and the attacker leaped away to avoid them. The blades sank into the ground around Kakashi protectively, and Sakura finally moved.

"Gather, Senbonzakura," she commanded.

The barrier fell, and the springflys flew towards her. As Sakura descended to the ground, they clung to her and changed her appearance. As the summons scattered, Sakura now sported wings and a halo, pink scales on her exposed skin.

Her green eyes locked on Sasuke, and she approached the distressed boy as the shinobis fought off the Uchihas. She paid no heed to the chaos around her and stood before her teammate.

She reached a gloved hand and wiped away the tears before cupping his pale cheeks.

"Sakura?" he asked, unsure, her green eyes sprinkled with affection.

The corpse of White Fang returned for more, but Kakashi blocked his attack, driving him back and away from Sakura.

Haruno placed her forehead against Sasuke's, looking into his red eyes.

"I love you," she whispered. Sasuke flinched, his eyes going wide. "No matter what happens here, know that that will never change."

Before he could say anything, her lips were against his, soft and separate. His gasp deepened the kiss, the taste of sake flooding his senses. The sound of the battlefield rushed back once Sasuke released him. Dazed, Sasuke staggered back awestruck. She smiled at him and then disappeared in a swirl of sakura petals.

"What just happened?" Hinata asked, eyeing the spot where Sakura once stood.

"I think that was a kiss goodbye," Neji said solemnly.

"What?" Lee asked, shocked. "What do you mean goodbye?"

Sasuke touched his lips, coming down from the high.

"I guess I can't say over my dead body anymore, huh?"

Sasuke turned to the familiar voice. His father gave him a pained smile.

"That girl will cause you nothing but grief," Fugaku sighed.

Mikoto elbowed him.

"It's fine, Sasuke. Sakura is a charming and dedicated girl," she puffed her chest. "I approve."

"Mom, Dad," Sasuke gasped. They were talking to him as though nothing was wrong.

"That being said," Mikoto took out two kunai, and Fugaku unsheathed his sword. "We'll have to kill you now."

It wasn't hard to find the first Hokage. I just needed to follow the destruction and green trees. A forest amidst the snow stood out like a sore thumb. Samurais that joined the fight lay scattered in the snow and tree roots. I teleported the bodies and the corpses, stopping a few meters from the bringer of chaos.

Hashirama was just as I remembered; his dark hair swayed in the wind, and he wore a somber expression. He looked up at me as I got closer.

"You're so young," he said. He looked on the brink of tears. "Why are you here? Where's your sensei?"

"Busy fighting his reanimated father," I told him flatly.

"That's," he was speechless as he looked away. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I waved him off. "Your brother is the one who should apologize. What was the point of making such a jutsu?"

Hashirama groaned, looking off to where a water tornado was raging.

"I don't have control," he warned. "If you come any closer." He locked eyes with me. "I'll kill you."

I chuckled. What does Hashirama think I came here for?

I took a step forward. Let's get this over with.

The ground rumbled, and tree roots shot from below, surrounding me. I leaped into the air, using my wings to maneuver around the attack. Hashirama reached towards me, and the wood encased me, trapping me in a ball that grew smaller.

"I'm sorry," I heard as the wood walls closed in.

I touched the barks, watching my summons shred the wood into sawdust. Hashiorama's eyes were wide as I floated above him.

"My turn," I announced, snapping my fingers.

Pink swords formed around me, pointing their edge at Hashirama. The swords shone as they caught the light, hundreds floating in the air.

He formed a hand seal, and I signaled the descent of the attack. Hundreds of blades rained down as Hashirama created a wooden shield around himself.

"It's useless," I told him as the blades saw through the wood, making sawdust. The wood shield scattered into sawdust, and the Senju leaped from the dust and attacked me. His kunai sparked off my scales. I smiled at the surprised look before he flipped back, landing in a crotch.

"I see," I said, standing. " You're not a normal person."

"Would you rather I be a helpless little girl?"

"No, this is better," he smiled. "You might be able to run away."

He weaved through hand seals, and I sent another barrage of swords on him.

"Wood style, Deep forest creation jutsu!"

Trees sprouted from the ground, intercepting my sword and forming a forest around us. The trees were alive as their branches shot towards me, wrapping me in their embrace. Hashirama watched on with a sad expression like some pacifist forced to fight.

In a flash of pink, sawdust rained down like snow. I flew towards him, a seal enveloping my hand as I reached for him. A wall of earth intercepted me, and I punched through, only to find myself in a familiar situation.

Wooden roots sprung from the ground and ran me through the stomach. I coughed up the blood in my lungs as it pushed me away from Hashirama. I planted my feet to stop the pushback, gripping the root to hold it in place.

My hundred seal was already doing damage control as I struggled to breathe. I could already feel my body feeding on the chakra in the root, slowly killing the plant. I looked up at the god of shinobi, who looked more pained than I felt. He looked away as more roots sprung to finish me off.

My summons retaliated, cutting down anything that came near me. More springflys spawned from my blood, forming into swords and soaring towards Hashirama. A stone wall rose from the ground and blocked all attacks. They broke apart and circled the stone wall to attack from behind. They met a similar stone wall as Hashirama leaped into the air to avoid them.

With a flick of his wrist, Shurikens rained down. I folded my wings around me protectively. I needed to move. My summons cut through the wood, and I grabbed it, throwing it at the First in mid-air.

He dodged, running the length of the root and falling towards me, kick first. I flipped away as he slammed into the ground. He wasted no time engraving me in hand-to-hand combat; I blocked his fist, but his kick caught me unaware. I groaned as more branches came from the trees around us.

I moved around the attack, dodging branches and cutting down those I couldn't. I reached for Hashirama again but got driven back by a wood attack.

He didn't know what I was doing but wasn't letting me get close on my own terms. Even while reluctant to fight me, he had strong self-preservation. He wasn't going all out: no giant wooden Buddha statues in sight, but I couldn't let this drag on.

I leaped away from the ensemble of branches, landing on a tree trunk. I only had seconds before it retaliated, and I used that second to prepare myself. With a shaky breath, I launched from the bark, breaking the tree. Sorting through the air, I maneuvered around the attacking branches and reached for Hashirama.

Like before, roots burst from the ground to impale me.

My substitute burst into cherry blossoms, and I appeared behind Hashirama.

My hand stopped mere inches from his body, my vision swam, and I coughed.

Blood dripped from my mouth and the other holes Hashirama made. I felt like a pin cushion as I stepped back and off the spikes coming from Hashirama's body. The bastard turned himself into a porcupine. I wasn't expecting that.

I fell back into an inferno as Madara held me. His eyes were red with the Sharingan, and he looked too excited.

"Don't worry," he purred. "I'll handle this."

"Don't go overboard," I warned. Madara lowered me into his chakra pool and kissed my forehead, my seal pulsing.

"I'm always gentle," he smiled as I took the back seat.

Pink hair turned black as our body fell back. With a step, we were steady, green eyes fading to red as we stared down our opponent. Hashirama flinched, stepping away from us before leaping back to create distance. He eyed us with caution, his easier pity gone.

"Who?" he asked, though he didn't need to ask.

Our face morphed into one of pure elation.

"Hashirama~" he purred. "I've missed you."

"M- Madara!?"

In a blink, we were in front of him.

"That's right," Madara landed an uppercut, sending his arm in the air.

"That was your chance!" I yelled at him.

"Don't worry, flower, we'll have plenty of time to seal him," He said, watching Hashirama flip in the air. The ground rumbled, and roots sprung from below. Our wing ignited and turned the wood to charcoal as we flew towards Hashirama. Grabbing him by the throat, we threw him to the ground. Before the Senju could recover, he slammed into his back with a dropkick, scorching the earth around him.

Hashirama groaned as he tried to get up. Madara turned him over and saddled him, pinning his arms.

"It's been too long," we said, bringing our sealing hand to Hashirama's face. "Let's become one again."

"Ugh."
Our body cried out in pain as we looked down at the injury. A sword's blade was protruding from our chest. We looked back to see a wood clone holding the blade. It was just like before when he stabbed me in the back. Adding insult to injury, Hashirama produced a wood spike from his body and ran us through from the front.

I was really getting tired of this.

The spike extended, pushing us away from the Senju into a stone boulder. There was something wrong with his wood pinning us down.

"Poison," Madara groaned. The spike was poison. We looked at the Senju as he got to his, dismissing his clone.

"I don't know what's going on, but if you really are Madara, I won't let you go, no matter what form you take." Hashirama declared, releasing a menacing chakra.

I felt it, his chakra rising. He wasn't holding back anymore.

"Madara!" I called urgently.

He looked up at his old friend, who stabbed him in the back twice.

"Grit your teeth," he warned as we moved.

Faster than Hashirama could think, we ran towards him.

We charged towards the Senju, ignoring the pain of being constantly run through. Hashirama's eyes were wide as I closed in, blood staining his wood jutsu. We needed to end this now. We reached for him, inching closer.

But it was too late.

Black marks appeared on his face, and I knew it was over, but Madara pushed through. He ignited our body, burning away all the wood around us, and lunged at Hashirama, tackling him to the ground. Roots busted from the ground and ensnared us, binding our movement. We were so close I could feel Hashirama's breath on our faces.

"It's over, Madara," Hashirama breathed, his face sad and determined. He cupped our cheek as seal on his tongue. "This is goodbye."

"No," Madara spoke. "It's only just begun."

It took a moment for me to realize what was happening. Our tongue felt numb as Madara moved the soul-stealing seal there. We closed the distance, and just like Naruto and Sasuke in the original, we were kissing.

Hashirama was shocked; he stilled beneath, and Madara took the opportunity to swallow his soul. Like noodles, Hashirama's soul flowed into our mouth and into the seal prepared for him. As the soul left the body, Hashirama's corpse fell lifeless to the ground, crumpling into paper to reveal a puppet's body with a "Heart" core inserted in its chest. Sasori's handy work then.

Marara pulled back into my mind to handle Hashirama and left me to clean up the rest.

My body sagged from exhaustion and blood lost, my hair returning to its pink hue. My hundred seal took effect,t and the hole in my stomach healed, leaving no scars. Sasuke would lose it if I came back with another scar.

Sasuke…

I fell to the ground beside the puppet corpse. How was I going to explain that to Sasuke? I covered my face in shame. What if he thought I was loose.

"Sorry, I'm not into that kind of woman," Sasuke said as he turned away.

"Argh," I could pull my hair out in frustration. Why would Madara do something so mortifying to my body? I was rolling around in shame and embarrassment when I felt the ocean crash down on me. I leaped to my feet and away from the attack. The earth cracked as my new opponent stood before me.

Tobirama stood in all his glory without a scratch. I knew he was fighting just now, so how was he still fine? Looking behind him, I was surprised to see Hidden Mist ninja scattered on the ground. When had they gotten there?

Red eyes looked at the puppet on the ground as he clicked his tongue.

"To be defeated by a simple girl," he cursed.

I said nothing as I stood ready for another round. I needed to get these monsters off the battlefield and away from my friends.

"Don't think," I'll be as merciful as Hashirama," he snarled.

"I'm a part of your village, and you're still willing to kill me," I raised a brow.

"You must take me for a fool," he turned to me. "I can sense your chakra quite well, Madara." he paused then, tilting his head to the side, and narrowing his eyes at me. "Hashirama?" he asked, confused. "How is it you feel like them both?"

I felt it, a roaring flame and a cool breeze fighting, for dominance. I gripped my chest in pain as the seals took hold.

Surely those idiots were fighting inside me!

Just as the thought arose, a seal awaked from my lower back. Chakra I couldn't touch roared to life and dominated the two warring gods. Madara's heat and Hashirama's calm harmonized under the rule of the sea, l and the two became one. A tropical paradise.

I stilled.

The two weren't supposed to become one. I made the seal to separate the two, so how?

"What are you," Tobirama breathed, stepping back and into a fighting stance.

"A god," I whispered as power rushed through me. My vision cleared, and I could see like never before.

"That!" Tobirama exclaimed. And I already knew.

I awakened the Rinnegan.

"Goddamnit, Madara."

Yes Sakura will only get more broken form here. Gonna do long chapter to get through this arc at a reasonable pace.

Next chapter

September 15