"This can't-" His words cut as the blue energy finally hit his body.
"HAAA!" Finished the boy after releasing the blue energy wave his late father had taught him.
The scream that came out of the Sannin's mouth was gut-wrenching. For certain, neither Hiruzen nor his advisor ever expected to hear such suffering come from him. Not because he did not deserve it, but because of how powerful he was.
"I am…!" The snake made his best attempt to let out some final words. His nerves had already been burnt, which eased the pain to a degree. However, his skin and muscles were still being carbonized and disintegrated. "I am Orochimaru of the Sannin! I am immortal! I cannot die!"
Then, the only thing that was audible was the whistling sound emitted by the wave. It also pierced through the barrier that was right behind the Sannin, and continued its way forward way beyond the horizon. Eventually, the boy released the technique and the energy dissipated.
Once the brilliant blue wave was gone, there was nothing where Orochimaru once stood. His body had been completely disintegrated, without even leaving ashes in its place.
The purple barrier did not regenerate, as the four shinobi standing at each corner released the jutsu. Danzo turned around to chase them down, but Hiruzen held him back.
"My predecessors are still here." Said Sarutobi while pointing at the still regenerating reanimated bodies.
Shimura stared at the four oto-nin as they jumped off the tower. Their faces were filled with terror, confusion and disbelief. They most likely were elite shinobi that for some reason joined the Sannin, given the level of barrier jutsu they pulled off. And if he was to be fair, he could not blame them for being shocked by their boss's death.
Finally, he lowered his head and turned to the reanimated Hokage.
Gohan finally let his arms fall to their regular position, as he confirmed that Orochimaru's presence was completely gone. The environment around him almost felt a lot more peaceful as the massive evil energy of the snake was removed. He sighed out of relief, and then turned around to look at the older men.
They had placed themselves in opposite directions, with the reanimated Hokage in between. Despite the fact that they had been fully regenerated by now, they had regained some autonomy with the death of the Edo Tensei's caster.
Both the Third and his old friend held the palms of their hands together, while a strange pattern of black ink formed around and over the previous leaders of the village.
"Danzo, Hiruzen," acknowledged the Second, "I'm glad you are still working together. Where is Kagami?"
Both of them remained silent, and even the First flinched a little due to the obvious tension of the conversation.
"I see." Continued Lord Second, realizing what was implied. "What a shame, he was the most loyal Uchiha I ever met."
Gohan approached the four men, but Enma jumped on him to push him back a little. The king of the monkeys shook his head.
"No need to help them. They'll keep coming back even if you destroy their bodies completely. Only a seal of the highest level can end this cursed jutsu." Explained the bulky monkey.
"Cursed?"
Enma nodded. "The art of reanimation is one of the forbidden shinobi arts. Jutsu so unethical that all nations have agreed to outlaw them."
The Saiyan remained silent, as he watched the sealing process unfold. The strange patterns of ink on the Hokages' bodies transformed into a more legible form of writing. Then, the ashes that made their bodies began to crumble on their own.
"Great job, Hiruzen." Said the First Hokage with a wide smile on his face. "But do me a favor. Tell that kid his strength is like nothing I've ever seen."
The Second Hokage smirked as his own body began to crumble as well. "Keep protecting this village with such dedication. You've inherited my Will of Fire. Make sure to maintain the cycle."
As they disappeared, what was left in their place was a small pile of ash. It had been nostalgic for both elders. So much time had passed since they last saw those two men. Back then, they were mere teenagers with all their lives ahead of them.
Danzo turned to look at the boy, while Sarutobi directly approached him. The Hokage walked up to Enma, his old companion.
"Thank you so much for your help, Son Gohan." He nodded in acknowledgement. "You've not only saved my life, but also our village and its people."
"We shall have a meeting once all of this is over." Danzo declared, before unsheathing his sword and jumping off the tower.
Gohan rushed to the edge of the roof, leaving only a powerful wind current to blow over the Hokage's face. He looked down to make sure the old man was fine from the massive fall, and he indeed was. However, that was not the only surprising sight.
Right in front of him, a massive tanuki was fighting against three giant toads and a weird red light was bouncing on its forehead.
The scene was almost funny, until he sensed the energies of the creatures. The toads were exceptionally powerful, but still were probably on par with Enma and the Hokage. What was shocking was the energy of the tanuki and that red light. They both exceeded anyone there, even Orochimaru, by a long margin. Not only that, but their energy felt more like pure Ki, and they had an unsettling vibe to them.
Gohan gulped. "What is that, Mr. Hokage?"
Hiruzen turned around, now holding on to Enma's arm due to his exhaustion. After all, the battle with his old pupil and the final sealing of his predecessors took a lot of chakra from his decayed reserves.
The old man frowned at the sight of the tanuki. "That's Shukaku, the First-Tail. He's one of the legendary Tailed Beasts. Spirits of incomparable power that were sealed millennia ago by the Sage of Six Paths."
"And who's that one with the red aura?"
"Red?" The man squinted trying to see the fight more clearly, but was ultimately unable. "I can't see it but… It must be Naruto."
"This Naruto… His energy is familiar."
Three massive toads had stabbed the tanuki with their weapons. One of them was holding a single katana, while another cyan one was holding two. The third one held both a sasumata and a shield. And even with three creatures so massive and seemingly powerful,, they struggled to hold the beast back.
Underneath them all, standing directly on what remained of the arena at the height of the creatures' feet, there was a man. A tall man with very long and spiky white hair. He was holding the clap hands seal while a circular pattern of black ink formed on the ground around him. On his shoulders, two smaller frogs were holding the same hand seal, helping him gather the energy required for the fuinjutsu he was carrying out.
The black ink began to spread through the ground until it reached the tanuki's feet. Once the first contact was made, the seal began to spread very quickly through the beast's skin.
On his forehead, a blonde boy with a bubbly red aura coating his body was holding on to the limp body of the beast's host. Shukaku incessantly shook his body, trying to not only throw the boy down, but also to remove the burning seal that climbed him up.
"Kurama, you bastard!" Yelled the beast in frustration as the blonde boy just refused to let go.
"I already told you my name is Naruto, idiot!" The boy replied while climbing up the redhead's body.
He looked down and noticed that already half of the beast had been covered in Jiraiya's special seal. If he remembered the plan correctly, half of it was already enough for him to start hitting. He was not sure but a vague suspicion was all he needed to finally get to punching.
Naruto jumped and climbed onto Gaara's back. He smirked before raising his fist.
"Alright! Now you'll feel the punch of a Hokage!"
He slammed it right onto the redhead's head. The blow was so strong that the tanuki's movement immediately stopped. The sand that made up its body began to crumble, like when a sand castle was hit by something harder.
"No! I don't wanna…!" Yelled the tanuki, before his voice suddenly vanished. His bright yellow eyes went blank.
Uzumaki widened his red eyes as he realized the imminent fall. He grabbed onto the now awakened Gaara, who seemed just as shocked. The wind began to hit their faces harder as the speed of their fall increased.
However, in the last second, one of the giant toads placed their hands to stop them before hitting the ground. It was still quite the crash, but an amphibian's hand was softer than the solid rock and earth that made the floor.
The red toad moved them closer to his face.
"Apologies, young ones. I am a little clumsy." Unlike the rest of the toads, he had two bony swellings right above his eyes, which resembled horns.
"Oh, stop with that, Gamaken!" Replied another toad. That one looked older than the other two, and was smoking from a large pipe he held in his mouth.
But not only Naruto was awake.
The redhead next to him began to crawl towards the blonde. His green eyes showed nothing but bloodlust. Nothing but blind hatred. It was the stare of an animalistic predator desperate for food.
Naruto's red aura remained, though what previously were three tails had now turned to only two. His breathing was also heavier, as his chakra reserves were already depleted before he even joined the battle.
"Uh, Jiraiya, the other guy's still moving." Said the older toad while he, like Gamaken, simply stared at the two kids on the red toad's palm.
"I'll kill you." Simply said the redhead as he began to stand up. "I'll never cease to exist."
Uzumaki's face softened, but he stood up regardless. He fixed his hitai-ate, before adopting his fighting stance.
"I dare you to try it!"
Small purple sparks began to emerge from around the redhead as he stood up. Despite his stare, the rest of his body showed an entirely different image. His legs were shaking and his posture was clumsy. His face was dirty and injured, while blood escaped the many wounds all throughout his body.
That sight was nothing like the boy Naruto saw in the first phase of the Chunin Exams.
"Why have you gone out of your way to do all this?" The blonde boy let his arms fall down. He shook his head, indicating that he refused to continue fighting against someone who was not fit to continue.
"Because it's all I've ever done. Ever since I was born. I took the life of the woman I was supposed to call 'mother'." Explained the redhead. He stopped walking, but the purple sparks were starting to turn into an aura very similar to that of Naruto's. "I was born a monster, with another one inside me. Because in order to create the definitive weapon, my father cursed me by implanting this evil spirit inside me."
The blonde boy gasped.
"Shukaku. An evil spirit so ancient that it long precedes the Era of Shinobi. In fact, so ancient that he possibly long predates even the Warring States Period."
"Just…"
Gaara laughed. "My only purpose in life is to kill. I exist only to kill all humans other than myself. As long as there are people out there for me to kill, I will not cease to exist. There is no other mission for me in this life."
Tears began to stream down Uzumaki's face. The redhead widened his eyes, caught off-guard by the reaction. Said surprise then turned into mild fear as the leaf-nin approached him.
Gaara raised his fists. "Come and die!"
Naruto then stopped as soon as he was only an arm away from the redhead. He raised his face and revealed that he had been overtaken by sadness and sorrow. The stream of tears had only intensified, while his eyes returned to their natural blue color.
His red aura dissipated. His mouth opened, but he struggled to push words out of his mouth.
"Your pain… I know it very well."
The redhead's eyes widened. He took a step back after flinching. The purple sparks that had been building up around him completely vanished.
"I know it so well that it hurts." Continued Uzumaki. "The loneliness… The hateful stares… The sensation that everyone around you wants you dead."
Finally, Gaara let out a gasp.
"But… I've got people to protect now." He lowered his face once again. He clenched his fist. "I've failed to protect some of the few friends I made along the way, but I've promised to myself I won't let it happen ever again!"
The redhead remained silent. He felt that there was nothing he could add to the conversation.
"I won't let you harm any of them. I'll kill you if I have to." Briefly, his pupil turned into a sharp one, but his iris did not turn red.
"Why…?" Asked Gaara, still with disbelief. "Why should you care about others?"
"Because they saved me from my pit of loneliness." He put his hand firmly over his hitai-ate. "I owe them so much. I love them."
Naruto raised his fist and aimed it at the redhead.
However, Gaara shook his head. He fell to his knees and uttered a simple phrase.
"I give up."
His blue eyes widened, just as the toad sage jumped into the open hand of the red toad. He grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him to his side.
"I have to finish the seal." Explained Jiraiya before heading towards the redhead.
"No need, sir." Gaara raised his arm. "I won't let Shukaku free."
The Sannin raised an eyebrow. "Well? You expect me to trust you on that one?"
"Pervy sage." Called the blonde boy. "I do trust him on that one."
"Yeah, you're an idiot!" Jiraiya began a combination of hand seals, but before he could complete the fuinjutsu, a smoke grenade exploded in between him and the redhead.
He began to cough a lot. Quickly, he tried to find Naruto and once he did, he pulled him into a tight hug. The boy though, was a little uncomfortable about it.
"What the hell are you doing, pervy sage!?"
"I don't want them to kidnap you or something! The old man would kill me."
As the white smoke was pushed away by the blowing wind, the redhead was nowhere to be seen. Jiraiya figured that it was possible other suna-nin had rescued him. After all, he was their jinchuuriki.
"But then that means…" He quickly climbed up the toad's fingers and looked down on the village. Some buildings were still on fire, but the masses of fleeing shinobi were hard to ignore.
He turned to the central viewing tower, and noticed that the barrier had also disappeared. The battle was over, and he could only wonder if his old master was able to pull it off.
"We should head back." Said the Sannin before jumping off the toad's hand.
Sakura and Anko split ways shortly after the battle. After all, as a jounin, the woman had the duty to go out and keep fighting. She also advised the girl not to get involved in many fights, especially as her final technique had drained a lot of her energy.
Now, she was flying back towards the stadium. On her way, she noticed that the invaders were fleeing the village. Though, some confrontations continued regardless.
The massive creature that once stood tall over the viewing towers of the stadium was now nowhere to be seen. Instead, only three giant toads were visible from far away. She touched down just outside the destroyed walls of the arena, as she was a little intimidated by the frogs.
Slowly, she made her way through the debris, and once she jumped into the destroyed arena, she saw him. The spiky blonde hair, the dirty and damaged orange jumpsuit.
"Naruto!" She yelled, before running towards him.
Alongside the boy was a tall man with very long hair, and he also turned the round as the voice of a girl called for his student. He raised an eyebrow, while Uzumaki's eyes widened.
"Sakura?"
The girl jumped on him and hugged him as tightly as she could. She began sobbing almost as soon as her face touched his smelly jumpsuit.
The boy was a little perplexed. For a solid ten seconds he did not know how to react. Somehow, Sakura was alive. And somehow, she made her way back to Konoha.
Tears once again began to stream down his face as he let himself break down. He wrapped his arms around her, corresponding the tight hug. Both of them cried their asses off, and Jiraiya could only stand there and watch with a little smirk on his face.
Inside, he longed for such a reunion with his own friend. He turned around once again, glancing at the opposite side of the arena, just under the Central Viewing Tower.
He saw the bulky king of the monkeys helping the old Hokage walk. It had been a long time since Jiraiya had seen him wear his armor. Danzo was walking alongside them, and so was a mysterious boy wearing clothes very similar to those of the girl that was hugging Naruto just behind him.
Such a detail escaped him at the moment, though. All he cared about was that the old man was alive. His smile was so big that his jaw hurt a little.
Not too far away, already deep into the forest that surrounded Konoha, three young genin from Sunagakure were jumping between branches at very high speeds. Among them was the redhead boy.
"Temari, Kankuro." As he spoke, both the blonde girl and the boy with the black suit turned to look at him.
Normally, he was not very talkative, so it was unusual for him to want to do so.
"I'm sorry."