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

Chapter XI

The War Intensifies

As dawn came the day after the first appearance of the Talogans, the Hidden Cloud Village prepared for its defense. Shinobi stood their ground as Falcon reappeared in front of them.

Falcon looked out over the wave of shinobi and drew a sword from his back scabbard. The Raikage tensed as he instantly saw the preparation for war in this warrior's demeanor.

The sword that Falcon held in his hand shot straight up and Falcon let loose a roar that could deafen a man from a mile away. But it just wasn't his voice though.

Behind him, the Talogans roared as they appeared in the view of the Cloud nin. All of the Talogans were riled up and ready for a fight. Eager to quell all those who opposed them.

The Cloud Shinobi, braced themselves and answered with a roar of their own. Trying to gain some confidence in the moment. Then everyone went silent.

It was that way for what seemed an eternity. Then Falcon lowered his sword; pointing the tip at The Raikage. The next second, a wall of soldiers ran forward with extreme speed and violence. The battle for Cloud had just begun.

The Raikage could do nothing as he saw the wave of soldiers be unleashed by Falcon as his sword pointed directly at him. It was a feeling of hopelessness and dread that locked him in his place.

The Cloud nin answered the call though and charged to attack the oncoming Talogans. When the two walls of warriors collided, all hell broke loose.

Casualties began flooding in on both sides.There were so many that even the medics on the Talogan side began to worry that they wouldn't be able to treat all the wounded in time to save them. This wasn't just a battle, this was a blood bath.

Fortunately, the Talogans were not having as many fatalities as the Cloud nin were having. And slowly, yet surely, the Cloud nin's line began to thin. Falcon had taken a break from the fighting at the moment to observe what was going on to better understand how he was going to achieve victory, when he felt a sense of urgency.

He turned and saw an army of Fire Nation professional soldiers marching into the battle. "Mizu, we got some company." Falcon said as he readied himself for the attack from behind. Mizu turned and saw the enemy that was marching in from behind.

The Raikage also saw the Fire Nation army and let loose a cheer. Reinforcements had arrived in the nick of time. The Talogans soldiers saw the enemy coming from behind and fought harder than before to defeat the Cloud nin.

"General, what should we do? We are in a tight spot right now." Mizu said as he grew with concern. Falcon simply smiled. "I'll take care of them." Falcon said as he raced towards the new enemy.

The Raikage saw Falcon charge at the Fire Nation army and laughed. "What a brave fool he is. He is certainly running into his doom." The next instant, his smile was replaced with horror.

As Falcon charged, he leapt through the air just to stomp the ground while aiming his foot at the enemy. A massive shockwave appeared and collided with the Fire Nation Army. Effectively disabling it allowing him to race in and slay every soldier there, including the general.

This scene was so horrifying that the Raikage failed to see the charging Killer Bee coming for him. He ran one of his daggers through the raikage's heart. The Raikage died right then and there. And with his death, the fate of Cloud was sealed.

Killer Bee transformed into the Eight Tails and proceeded to demolish the entire defensive wall that safe guarded the village. The civilians inside were shown no mercy for their treatment of Killer Bee was extremely poor.

It goes to show that the way you treat others is the same way you'll be treated. You treat someone like they're shit, they'll treat you like you're shit.

After the dust settled in the aftermath of the catastrophic six hours of combat, the Talogans began to leave for their next assigned target.

But now they had several threats to worry about. The daimyos were really joining the fight now in the hopes of destroying the Talogans in their tracks before wiping the entire eastern continent clean.

"How do we go about handling this now General?" A young soldier asked. "Don't worry son, we will get through this together. I have served General Falcon a long time and he's never lost a battle or a war." An older soldier said to his young comrade.

Falcon remained silent before the village that was turned into ruin. He shook inwardly. So much death and destruction, all of this by his hands and his commands. He had no idea about motivating himself and his men.

He soon ordered his men to go back to camp while he stayed behind. As he stood there, a white figure approached him. "You seem troubled Falcon." He said. "I am troubled, this war is taking a toll on me. I have never caused this much carnage and death. My men are tired of war just like I am and I don't know what to do." Falcon said as he removed his helmet and pull a hood up.

The figure said nothing for a while but just stood with Falcon. After half an hour, the figure spoke. "Falcon, the Lord does not wish you to be this troubled. He has told me that after this war, all other wars will not be this bad. Stay in this for a little longer Falcon. This world's fate is on the Top Five's shoulders and you are one of the Top Five." The figure said before leaving.

Falcon turned to look at the figure only to find that the figure had disappeared. Then a voice spoke to him. "Be calm my son. I am with you always." Falcon knew that voice, he had heard that voice a thousand times. The voice held calmness, peace, wisdom, and truth.

That voice belonged to the one who gave Falcon, his power. Falcon looked up and saw a star brighter than any other in the sky. He knew what that star was.

As he gazed upon it, peace, courage, strength, power, and confidence flooded Falcon's heart. It relit him and gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, the war would end sooner.

He soon returned to the camp and called his men for a speech. The soldiers stood there weary of all the fighting from the last few weeks of combat. All of them were desperately wanting to go home.

"Brothers and soldiers of the Talogan Empire, I know that we have fought on this continent for weeks now. We are all weary and ready for this war to be over with.

We have all lost someone special to us at one point or another." After this, all of the soldiers nodded their heads. Some even grumbled about them being on the Eastern Continent and a few whispered the names of fallen comrades or family members that passed away.

Falcon paused for a few seconds to collect his train of thought before continuing. "Y'all are asking me why we are on the Eastern Continent and why we are fighting against the armies here. Let me tell you this, it is not for territory or for money. We already have an exponential amount back home.

But we are fighting here because the Axis Alliance wants to destroy our way of life back home. They want everything that we have. We are here to defend our loved ones back home who can't defend themselves. We are here to quash the enemy, before they reach our shores. The seal I placed that prohibits them from invading us does not last forever.

Therefore, we must fight while we have the chance and end this slaughter before it reaches our home."

At this, the Talogans began to let loose a chant. "Rah! Rah! Rah!" was accompanied by backs of swords clanging with shields to produce a bang. None of them wanted to go back home and find their loved ones gone by the Axis.

After this, Falcon raised a hand for silence and the Talogans quickly became quiet. Falcon drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes before opening them and looking at his men.

"I cannot promise y'all your lives to be free from the clutches of death. But I can promise you that the wars after this one will be far less lethal than the one we find ourselves in right now. So now I have a question for y'all. WILL YOU STAND WITH ME?" The soldiers replied with "RAH!" "WILL YOU FIGHT WITH ME FOR OUR PEOPLE?" "RAH!" "FOR OUR FAMILIES?" "RAH!" "FOR OUR WAY OF LIFE?" "RAH!" "FOR THE EMPEROR THAT BROUGHT US PEACE TO OUR LAND?" "RAH!"

The soldiers had begun to chant and motivate themselves to continue to fight. For them, Falcon was more than just their commander and chief. They saw him as a leader and a man who cared about his men. A man so loyal to their emperor and to them that he led them like an oldest brother.

They would obey the emperor for merely his command and the respect that they had for Naruto. But for Falcon, there was a more reverence than just mere obedience. Where Naruto didn't join in the battles much after the Talogan Empire was established, Falcon was already with them and helping them whenever he needed to or wanted to. To the soldiers, the Commander and Chief was second to the Emperor and a man who should be just as revered as Naruto.

Eventually, the soldiers calmed down when they saw the look on Falcon's face. He was smiling a small, but proud smile and his eyes shown with gratitude.

Falcon then stood quiet before looking into each of his men's eyes from the stage. "Thank you brothers, I will do my absolute best to bring us home as soon as possible. FOR THE EMPEROR!" The Talogans roared the response "FOR THE EMPEROR WE SWEAR LOYALTY! AND TO HIS COMMANDER AND CHIEF WE SWEAR TO STAND AND FIGHT!"

Falcon nodded his head. "Get some sleep men, we will prepare to break camp and move in the morning."

The Talogans instantly broke into small groups and all went to their assigned tents.

Hiro, who had watched from the side couldn't help but blush and feel protected when she saw Falcon encourage his men. To her, Falcon was every bit the man that she desired most.

For Falcon it was a different story. Sure he admired her and respected her. But he just couldn't find it in himself to love Hiro. Well he could, but that would conflict with his oath that he was under. Time will tell though.

With Naruto and the rest of the forces, things were looking great. They had successfully landed on the Eastern Continent without alerting the Axis about their presence. "It is time to convey a war council. General Kiro, send a message to Falcon. Tell him to meet us here for something urgent." Kiro did as he was told and the Eagle flew high and fast.

The rest of the Top Five sat in their respective seats waiting for their absent member to appear. Eventually, Falcon did appear. "Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, Konohamaru, and Lee, what is the meaning of this?" Falcon asked slightly annoyed at their decision to leave Taloga.

"Falcon, the weapon is finished and we have brought it here for the destruction of Konoha. We wanted to come and see the destruction ourselves." Naruto said evenly.

Falcon calmed down slightly. "I don't think this is the right time to attack Konoha. The Daimyos have joined the Axis. They need to be taken care of."

Naruto nodded slightly. "I see why you are irritated with the whole ordeal. But wouldn't destroying Konoha bring the end of the war?" Naruto asked.

Falcon stopped before retorting and finally looked at Naruto. "They won't surrender Naruto. The Daimyos are looking for power too." Falcon said. "Then we shall deal with this threat. But now we must attack Konoha." Naruto said as he moved to stand up.

Falcon recognized the emperor's authority and bowed. "As you wish sire." Naruto looked down on Falcon. "Then go and gather your forces. Have them meet us at Konoha. We shall engage the enemy there."

Falcon nodded and vanished. Neji looked back at the rest of the Top Five. "Well we must prepare ourselves. Konoha is a two day's trip and it won't be an easy battle." Everyone nodded except for Naruto. Deep down, Naruto knew that Falcon was right. But by this point, the burning hatred Naruto had for Konoha had reached its boiling point. He had to destroy the place that tried to destroy him.

Falcon returned to his soldiers and promptly went to his tent. His soldiers needed the sleep and they'll move out in the morning. Part of him hoped the Daimyos will leave the conflict but that wasn't likely to happen. So he must prepare himself for the final mile of the road that would be the bloodiest yet.