Author's Note: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter X

Sound is Silent, for Good

Sai comtinued to make his way to Stone. His heart already terrified of what he might find there. Still he pressed on. Stone was where most of the Axis Alliance's artillery was and if it was gone, there would be no hope of victory.

But as he reached a checkpoint, he saw smoke. Not from Iwa fortunately, but from Oto. This made him stop and turn to face the dark cloud.

Above and near the smoke, were strange vehicles. And they were firing cannons into the smoke area. The flags they bore were Talogan. This meant only one thing. Sai raced to Iwa again. He already felt the darkness around him.

As he reached Iwa, his heart froze. Iwa was in complete ruin. Not a soul was alive anywhere he turned. That wasn't the only thing he saw that shook him.

An entire army of Oto nin were laying dead on the ground not too far away. Sasuke was not among them as far as he could tell. But his second was sliced in half with his head crushed. A blood stained spot in the sand was not too far away either.

Sai realized what was happening and it was not going to be good. The Talogans had been picking off the Axis Alliance one by one for psychological warfare.

Not only that but it meant that Konoha was getting singled out by the Talogans and there would be no allies left to save them from their doom. But maybe they could get the daimyo involved. It was a bold move but it might just work.

Sai turned and ran back to Konoha. He knew there wasn't much time left before he was discovered and killed or taken and interrogated.

The latter option would seem feasible to him if he was seeking to spare his life. However, he may end up dying in the end anyways. Plus everyone dies in the end so why try to make his life longer?

In Taloga, Kiro finished the weapon. His eyes were wide with disbelief that he had accomplished the impossible. Atleast to them.

The weapon in question? A 120 foot long missile with enough explosive charge to destroy an entire side of a city wall if aimed correctly.

But Kiro wasn't the only one to stare awestruck at this new weapon. Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, Lee, and Konohamaru all stared in awe of this death machine. "It's ready my lord." Kiro said with a bow.

Naruto looked over this vast weapon. "Kiro, have the men load it onto one of your ships, then I and the rest of the Top Five shall go with you to the Eastern Continent and wreak havoc on our enemy.

Kiro bowed. "As you wish my lord." He said before ordering his men to load this missile onto a ship and sail straight for the Eastern Continent.

Sai made it safely back to Konoha and ran gasping into the Hokage's office. "Sai, report." Danzo said. "Iwa is gone sir, and that's not the worst news." Sai said. Danzo looked puzzled. "What's the "worst" news. Iwa was of extreme importance. What can possibly be worse than Iwa's defeat?"

Sai looked up and uttered this one sentence "Sound is silent, for good." Danzo staggered back a bit. Sound was where their "improvements to the human body" were housed and even created. If Sohnd is gone then, that only left Cloud and Konoha."

Danzo nodded and sighed. There was no easy way to escape this mess. "Sai, go to the daimyo at once. Beg him to join our side. Or all of the Eastern Continent will be lost." Danzo said evenly.

Sai bowed and ran out the door to go to the daimyo's court at the Fire Capital.

With Danzo, things weren't looking so pretty. Danzo was in the middle of a rage fit. "Damn the Talogans, damn their generals, DAMN YOU NARUTO!" He screamed the last part with such an intensity that the walls shook a little. He sat down in his chair and finally felt doom press on his heart. He realized that there was no escaping the monster they angered. Their only hope was to prove the Talogans were weaker than they were. But even that seems like a long shot. Danzo thought to himself.

With Falcon, the army had just pitched their tents near Cloud. Men and women prepared themselves physically and mentally for the battle ahead. Swords were sharpened and guns were cleaned. Armor was checked and meals were served.

Through all of this chaos, Falcon remained idle. He was looking ahead towards Cloud and strategizing their assault the next day.

Over in Cloud, the people couldn't sleep well due to the ominous, potent feeling of doom that seemed to roll over the village like a heavy fog.

The Raikage looked through the fog that actually rolled in and saw Falcon. The Raikage, ordered his men to take a defensive position against the Talogans. In case they decided to attack that night.

Falcon nodded as he saw how they were spread out. He knew the strategy his soldiers needed to win tomorrow.

He soon walked back to his own tent and out of sight of the Raikage. The Raikage tensed and ordered a messenger eagle to be sent to Konoha at once. It was the only way they will live to see another day after the sun rose tomorrow.