The two Horses clopped along as Sakura and Haruhi whispered back and forth at a machine gun pace.
"Why didn't you tell me you guys were attacked by Itachi?"
"It just happened! We were gonna, but then the Third died and we needed to go to his funeral!"
"Really, Sakura-oh hi!"
They waved at another passing carriage. Haruhi recognized them as some of the people who frequented the commons. They had taken up to starting reading sessions outside of the village as well. Inari had even told them some of her extended family members and their friends went too. It was nice to see her efforts spreading. After they passed, Haruhi spoke again.
"Okay, but what exactly happened? How are you still alive?"
"Well, remember how I told you about my little siblings chakra at Kiki's?"
"Hmm."
"Well, Um, Ino and I think it might be a new Bloodline. I have like this inner persona, a second personality if you will, and I used it to repel Ino's mind transfer jutsu, and Itachi's deadly genjutsu. That weakened him alot, and Sasuke was able to take him down."
"And how did Sasuke take all that?"
She was silent for a moment.
"...He unleashed on Itachi. Not in the physical way, but tore Itachi a new one. He picked him apart, told him why he was wrong, and ruthlessly explained all his faults. It was...brutal."
"Wow. Wish I could have seen it."
"Yeah. And then I switched their eyes."
"WHAT!?"
"Sasuke's vision was rapidly deteriorating and he said that switching their eyes would save him from blindness! It worked."
"Is that why he was wearing sunglasses at the funeral?"
"Yes. He's better now."
Well I sure hope so!"
Heaving a deep sigh, Haruhi finally felt silent. While she knew Sasuke and Itachi would have had their confrontation sooner or later, she never could have expected this. She was immensely proud of Sasuke. He was probably the youngest mangekyou user ever. Period.
Haruhi heard Konoha before she saw it. The distant sounds of the village-more of a small city now-were familiar to her. But something was wrong.
Haruhi snapped the reins, urging the horses to go faster, and Sakura stood at attention in the carriage, using chakra to keep her balance, and shouted for Haruhi to stop, grabbing the reins and signalling the horses.
A huge divot laid in the road before them, as if something massive had gone through and carved a hole in the earth. There were more of them ahead.
"An attack?" Haruhi asked sharply.
"Stay here sensei, actually go back to Inari's. I'll come get you if it's alright."
They were only two miles out from Konoha now. She could hear the sound of distant screams. Her heart pounded and her lungs felt stiff as she struggled to get in enough breaths, as she worried about her team, and about all the people she had come to care for. The Haruhi of a couple months ago might have argued and insisted to come along tucked away in a pocket or a bag, but that was not the case anymore.
She felt weak, and shaky, her hands barely had the strength to grasp the regions and turn the vehicle around, and she slumped to the side of the carriage. It felt like all the energy was leaving her.
As she made her way back, leaving Sakura behind, she had a sudden realization, one that stopped her in her tracks. If who she thought it was was attacking Konoha, she couldn't leak them back to one of the last Uchiha. For Haruhi recognized those divots in the ground. She had seen them before and knew what it meant.
Orochimaru.
The branches rustled, the tree trunks groaned, and Haruhi raised up both of her hands, fingers splayed and closed her eyes.
Sasuke's day was actually going well. He had a few meetings in the commons and they had reached the agreement to expand some of its operations to include a mini library. He had lowered rent again to allow more people access to affordable, quality housing, and there were practically no homeless anymore.
When the wall surrounding the village burst, and chunks went flying and crushed buildings and bridges, he closed his eyes, exhaled, and snapped them open, Sharingan whirling as he jumped into action.
The Hokage Tower was lit up with barrier seals from ANBU black ops, and Sasuke made a beeline for it after making sure all his residents were evacuating. He ran into Naruto on the way there, who had evidently just gotten up as he was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a shirt with the Uzumaki clan symbol.
Sasuke noticed noble and rich civilians shoving the poorer ones behind, who were then killed by kunai and debri.
Wordlessly, they picked up the pace.
And stopped.
Lady Tsunade was battling Orochimaru within the barrier seal. The fighting was fearsome, and even though Sasuke had his Sharingan on and could visually keep up, but even if he took off his training weights and enhanced his speed, he wasn't sure he could keep up.
Orochimaru was getting crushed. Sasuke felt his respect for Tsunade deepen as she, while not effortlessly, handed Orochimaru his pale, white ass on a platter. He tried to escape, but the ANBU team hunkered down, and strengthened the seal.
They sat coiled on the edge of the Hokage tower, watching them fight at a village wide battle raged around them. Ninja from Sound and the Hidden Grass village flooded the streets of Konoha, and Sasuke almost jumped down to help before Naruto grabbed him.
"No. We're needed here, I can feel it. Orochimaru is going to do something."
As if on cue, the Sannin jumped back as far as the seals would let him and cackled.
"Impure world reincarnation!"
"Um Sasuke…."
The three coffins that appeared were not reassuring. The newest one looked exactly like the one Lord Third was just buried in. They shuddered, dirt flaking off, then swung open.
Three of the past Hokages stepped out, the fourth excluded for some reason. But the visages of the First, the Second, and The Third were more than enough as it was.
"Lower the barrier!" An ANBU captain barked.
"Don't you dare!" Tsunade roared in response, fist shattering a tree branch attempting to engulf her.
The three past Hokages looked around, wondering who had disturbed their slumber.
"So, This is the village we helped to build, huh little brother. I like it. And little Tsuna! You're Hokage now!?"
"Mind your manners, brother. That's Hokage Sama to you. Ah Hiruzen, you've gotten old."
"I am dead sensei."
"We all are. Tobirama! What did I say about quelling your experiments!"
Everyone looked on with dread as the former Hokages conversed. All except Sasuke, who was almost salivating at the idea of kicking Tobirama's ass. His eyes itched at the idea of turning into the Mangekyo and burning him to a crisp.
"Enough blathering! Hashirama, Sarutobi, kill Tsunade! Tobirama, lower the barrier, then destroy the village!"
Against their will, the three zombie men sprung into action.
The ANBU members were killed almost immediately as the barrier shattered except for the one he now recognized as Captain Yamato who helped with rebuilding the Uchiha district.
"Oh, you have wood release just like I do! Are we related?"
"No. I'm an experiment. Sorry about this lord first."
Yamato shouted, and roots sprung from the Hokage mountain from above, pelting the First with boulders from above. Tsunade fought Sarutobi and Tobirama, and Orochimaru began to snake away,
"Where do you think you're going!" Sasuke bellowed. Not wise, but the torture Orochimaru had put him and Haruhi-sensei through was not forgotten.
"Oh, Sasuke-kun, kukuku. Have you thought about the offer I made you?"
He froze, and felt Naruto stiffen next to him. The Sound four. The offer in his Kitchen in the dead of night. It hadn't been three months yet. Orochimaru was putting him on the spot here, he knew he had to pressure Sasuke to come with him.
"Don't do it Sasuke!" Tsunade shouted, kicking Sarutobi's arm off. "We can figure this out! I can give you the justice you seek, I promise! The village can be changed for the better! Don't you see all the progress that has been made recently?"
Sasuke thought about it. Helping the poor, giving education classes free, the food banks, healthcare, housing, they had made tremendous progress.
But as Sasuke looked over into the village, he saw Koharu fighting alongside Tenten, alive when his clan elders weren't. Danzo was on the wall taking out snakes, and his blood boiled at the sight. He turned to look at the monument above him, all the faces of the senju clan and their allies on it. No Uchiha. And there never would be any now.
He thought of the village's financial records unearthed in his father's study. The moment when he realized that the village and all other hidden villages only ever earned surplus money during warfare, when the Daimyo paid them to protect their respective countries. With an incentive like that, there would be more wars. With all the recent destruction in Konoha Sasuke knew the fourth shinobi war was on the horizon as the village elders sought to earn enough money to have the village recover. Tsunade would be out-voted.
This wasn't a problem that could be fixed from the inside. You were the one who would be changed rather than you changing the system.
"Oh, Kukuku, Tobirama, what do you have to say about all this?"
Said man jumped away from the fight with Tsunade, Hashirama having taken his place in the fight as Yamato lay down either dead or unconscious.
"What do I think? Typical for his kind to sacrifice his village for power. You were always too nice, grand-niece, for expecting better from a Uchiha. " He spat.
And that was it.
Sasuke reached his breaking point. He would not live like this in this village any longer. He would not stay here and beg for scraps of respect like a dog. He would not apologize or try to make up for his existence anymore. Good people lived here, but the village itself was beyond saving.
The village. This village. Watered with the blood of his clansmen, built with the bones of his family, on land that was historically their's, but captured in battle by the senju years before Konoha was a twinkle in the founders eye.
He couldn't do it anymore.
Tsunade promised to help him with his family, but he was done with broken promises and treaties against his kind.
What those good people didn't seem to understand was that Tobirama ruled for years. He appointed people into high positions of power that carried the same disdain he had, and carried it to this day. Hashirama and Sarutobi weren't actively malicious, but harmful in their wilful ignorance and inaction. Tobirama started the Chunin exams that pitted children against each other, and perfected the economic model of the villages so that they made the most profits during wartime when it became clear during the first shinobi war that Konoha needed more funds after the First's death. That would not go away with paltry reforms. Nor would it bring his family back.
"And you. Uzumaki. Sister clan of the Senju. Why are you hanging out with this riff raff?"
Naruto growled, and the poisonous red chakra seeped to the surface.
"Don't think you speak for me." He spat, and Sasuke was taken off guard, touched by Naruto's offense for him. "I would take a thousand Sasukes over the likes of you!"
Tobirama reeled back, just as Tsunade broke free and punched Orochimaru in the jaw.
"HURRK, Tobirama! Get Sasuke and follow me!"
Tobirama jolted forward, but Sasuke and Naruto were ready. They fought tooth and nail, Sasuke shedding his weights and Naruto enhancing himself with bijuu chakra.
They combined their jutsu, Sasuke's fire with Naruto's wind, and it burned so hot It rendered Hashirama's wood attack to Ashes and charred Tobirama, covering his once pristine boastful white mink scarf into ashes.
There was a stillness. Awe at the powerful attack. Before Tobirama snarled, swiped at him with summoned leopard claws, and Sasuke activated his Mangekyou to block.
"The eyes of hatred!" Tobirama hissed, and Sasuke smirked at the fear in his face.
"Are you surprised? Shaken? These were not activated with hate. The only hatred here is yours. But if you insist…"
Sasuke's chidori sang, and he plunged his hand through Tobirama's chest, the catharsis making his blood sing.
"...I suppose I do hate you after all. You stupid, foolish man. I'm sending you back to the after life, and I'm sure whoever else is on the other side won't be happy to see you. Before you go, I want you to know that I will be doing everything in my power to destroy all your achievements. Your legacy will be spat on. Your grave will be a public restroom. When they remember you, it will be for how wrong you were."
With one last twitch of his hand, the corpse broke into pieces, joining Sarutobi's. Hashirama sighed in relief as his granddaughter tearfully finished him off and Orochimaru growled, jumping back.
"Wow, good job Sasuke, I knew you'd say no. We make a great team, don't we?"
Sasuke laughed. Then jumped over to Orochimaru, smirking.
Tsunade jerked forward, but halted when the sound four appeared next to Sasuke and Orochimaru.
"Sasuke, you don't have to go with him for revenge! He told me everything the night the third died! We can make this right!"
He laughed again, bitterly.
"Can you bring back my family?"
"..."
"Sasuke, you can't do this, you can't leave us, please! I know what it's like to be alone too, okay?"
Naruto's voice trembled, his eyes shining. Sasuke felt awful, but reminded himself that this was necessary.
"I know, Naruto. But do you know what it's like to come home and see the bodies of your family strewn around like garbage? Do you know what it's like to be loved and love in return? To have all that ripped away from you?"
Naruto didn't answer. He couldn't.
"You were there with me in the library when we both uncovered the truth. You may act stupid but you aren't. You know why I'm doing this."
He felt Orochimaru's burning curiosity and smirked. Telling Orochimaru the truth behind the massacre might be something he already knew, but it would be a great way to make him believe Sasuke really was on his side. And for Sasuke to undermine him, free his prisoners, and destroy the man for good, while getting even more dirt on Konoha.
"It's a good story, sensei. I'll tell you later."
"Kukuku, I look forward to it. Sound four, escort Sasuke out of Konoha, I have some...unfinished business to take care of."
His hands flashed through hand seals, and an oppressive smog coated the area. When it cleared, Naruto, Tsunade, and the newly awakened Yamato were along in a sea of bodies and rubble.
A black flame was above them consuming all of the faces of the previous Hokages, and as they watched, it withered out like someone had cut it's fuel source. Nothing but a deep indent was left in the mountain, scorched as black and dark as the truth behind this village.
Later, when the sculptors tried to carve out a new face, the rock was so brittle and fragile it crumbled to dust under her fingers. When one of the few earth experts in the village tried to use Earth jutsu to stabilize the rock, the mysterious residual chakra from the black fire prevented them from making any progress. It was decided the rock would remain empty indefinitely.
But that didn't matter right now.
Because right now, the orange masked man at the bridge, and Kakashi's former teammate, swirled to life in front of Naruto, grabbed him before Tsunade could react, and dragged him away in a swirl that was almost mocking the clan symbol he choose to wear on his back that morning.
Sakura jumped just in time to push Karin out of the way from being impaled by a gigantic amethyst crystal being controlled by some blue haired woman bearing the sign of Orochimaru's village.
Haku and Kin landed beside them, with Kin's face looking stricken.
"Do you know who that is?" Sakura demanded, and Kin nodded.
"Her name is Guren. S ranked Kunochi and one of Orochimaru's top generals."
Guren smiled. It was almost motherly.
"I'm glad you remember me. You know, Tayuya hasn't forgotten you either."
Kin did a full body flinch, and Karin whipped out her chains, which would have been a direct hit to Gurens side had she not summoned a shield made of pure diamond and blocked the blow, then using a Diamond sword to cut through the spike of ice Haku sent out in an imitation of Guren's Technique.
It was so cool Sakura almost forgot to dodge the huge death crystals Guren was hurtling at them like javelins.
"Oh, how wonderful, is that you Karin? You know, The Hidden Grass is very upset you left them. You didn't even put in your two weeks!"
It was Karin's turn to flinch, and Sakura grit her teeth, using her technique learned from Tsunade to shatter a pillar of ruby headed their way, they sticking to a branch of Garnet to run underneath it and land a direct to to Gurens armoured chest, sending her flying meters back.
"...Wow." Karin said, and Sakura shot her an annoyed glare, making the girl flinch again. Sakura was annoyed when Haku took Karin's side by putting her hand on the girl's shoulder and shooting Sakura a reprimanding look.
"Where's Haruhi-sensei?"
"She's outside of Konoha on a carriage, she should be safe as long as she keeps going."
"Really? Thank you for the information."
They barely dodged as Guren slammed down next to them, shattering the ground. Sakura screamed as her silver stud earrings twisted and began to burrow into her neck, and Kin jumped forward and flung her senbon, the sound genjutsu sending Guren back, snarling as she shredded the genjutsu.
"Kin, what is so good about this place, in all it's hypocrisy? What is here that cannot be provided for you in Sound? You don't believe you'll ever be truly accepted here. "
"I accept her." Haku's voice was cold as her ice, her grey-blue eyes frosty as she glared at Guren.
"We do too!" Karin said, and Sakura refrained from telling her not to speak for her, because it was true.
Guren paused.
"Wow, you really carved out a place for yourself here then?" She sounded soft in a way that Sakura knew wasn't fake.
Kin nodded, and Guren became sharp again.
"Well, maybe they'll carve out a place for you on the memorial stone next to your new buddies then."
With a roar, the various crystals shattered and reformed around them in the sky, and Sakura fell down heavily next to Karin as a rain of sharp gemstone, the promise of death, hung above them. Guren howled-
"-I will not fail-"
And sent it raining down.
The concussion wave from Tsunade's punch as she dispelled the crystals in the air without even touching them was enough to send Sakura back to the ground and knock the wind out of her. She was prone with the other three as she gazed blearily at Tsunade.
She looked like hell. Clothes torn and stained with blood from where she was cut, and clearly out of breath as she took huge gulps of air. Guren staggered, then ran, following the rest of the Grass and Sound nin out.
A man stepped next to her, and she heard Karin wheeze out a name with dread.
"Zosui…"
"Karin. Did you think you could just leave the grass? No, the only way you're leaving us is how your mother did. Dead in service to us."
He slung Karin over his shoulder and looked down at Sakura, gaze lingering on her hair.
"What's this? Pink hair? Are you also a descendant of the Uzumaki clan? I suppose I can take you as well."
Sakura tried to scream out, to alert her Sensei who was battling the last of the invaders, but she was as helpless as the rest of her prone sisters in arms as Zosui slung her over his other shoulder and took off.
The last thing she saw before her concussion took her as he jumped through the trees was Tsunade-sensei rapidly talking to a just arrived Kakashi-sensei as they stood over the prone Kin and Haku.
"Where are they?"
Tsunade took a second to admire the Hatake in front of her. He had grown a few inches now that all of his energy wasn't going to his eye, and he had filled out now with the proper diet recommended by her. His gaze was absolutely cutting as he stared her down. She exhaled.
"Sasuke went with Orochimaru. Sakura and Karin are MIA, and Naruto was taken by Obito. He used a teleportation technique that centered around his mangekyo, and it might be even more powerful than Minato's flying thunder god."
Kakashi swayed.
"And Haruhi?"
"I don't know."
Kakashi gasped for air, hunched over with his hands on his knees as he panted. Tsunade put a hand on his shoulder as he straightened, eyes flinty and a stormy gray.
"I may not know where the others are, but I think I can get Naruto back. Stand away from me."
Tsunade complied, breathless as she watched Kakashi's Sharingan shift into a new pattern, swirling, and sucking in the atmosphere around him. Kakashi disappeared into his eye, rotating like something down a drain and Tsunade grabbed Kin and Haku and jumped back. She looked around for Yamato to warn him, but couldn't find him.
"Good luck Hatake."
She ran for the main square. She had damage control to do.
When Kakashi emerged, he heard the faint sound of Naruto snarling and sobbing in the distance. He opened his eyes to see himself in some sort of strange world, a pocket dimension made up of gray squares and low lighting. He saw Naruto in the distance, clearly tired, but pushing through with the assistance of the Nine-tails glowing chakra as he attacked the Orange mask.
Obito.
With a rage he rarely felt, Kakashi sunk down on all fours in a style he copied from the Inuzaka and broke into a sprint so fast he felt his headband fly off behind him and clatter to the odd metallic rectangles.
Obito turned in surprise, but didn't have time to do anything as a savage kick from Kakashi knocked his mask off once again, his white chakra controlled by the tenketsu in his foot lancing it from his face.
As Obito struggled to get up from that blow Kakashi didn't hesitate to choose protecting Naruto rather than going in for the kill. He had Naruto power down so as not to give away his location and hid him behind a stone. He had to pry Naruto's hand's from his jacket as he clung on, and Kakash was suddenly reminded how young Naruto was. How young they all were.
"Sensei, Sasuke, He's-"
"I know, I know, shhh." He got up and jumped away from Naruto
He couldn't leave this place. Not yet. Obito would follow them, or block their escape all together.
"Kakashi." Obito grinned. It was manic.
"What do you want with Naruto, Obito."
"That's none of your business."
"On the contrary-"
Kakashi lurched forward, airming an earth shattering punch to Obito's exposed face. Obito ducked, going in for a fist to the gut, and Kakashi electrified his arm guard as he intercepted the punch.
Obito hissed as the electric current connected, and was flung back as Kakashi chased him and landed a flying kick to his back.
As it connected, Obito shot a metal rod from his hand to land a devastating blow to Kakashi's side. The metal rod was a smart idea, as the remaining electricity jolted through Kakashi and almost made him lose his balance and fall.
They both jumped back, gasping and glaring.
"You always have to ruin everything, don't you, bakashi?"
He flinched.
"People die on your watch. You let them promise them your protection and then let them be kidnapped or killed. Tell me, how many of your new team is still in Konoha?"
"Shut up! He roared, and soared forward. He went right through Obito, who landed a back kick to his head and Kakashi went down. Hard.
He felt Obito kneel on his back, Kunai pressed against his neck. He was tangible again.
"I hope you'll understand. After all, they say death grants you clarity."
He pressed in and Kakashi heard a deafening roar.
Naruto.
Cloaked in Bijuu chakra, he came charging out at Obito with two tails out of his back. The whole dimension shaking with the force of his steps. But just as it seemed like he would bowl them over, Obito's mangekyo spun, like a spider spinning a web, and Naruto froze, colliding with the structures and falling very, very still.
Naruto had been taken over by the biju, and Obito had still taken him down with a look.
Obito had been able to control the ninetails with his mangekyo.
With a shout of pure rage, he flung Obito from his back, his fists cloaked in white chakra as he rained down blows on the stunned, scarred face.
"IT WAS YOU!"
"Me what-"
"YOU WERE THE ONE TO UNLEASH THE NINE-TAILS ON KONOHA!"
The silence that followed was damning, and Obito started to giggle. Which then turned into a chuckle into a laugh, then manically hooting.
"WHY!" Kakashi wailed.
Obito calmed down.
"...I'm going to make it all better. No one will hurt anymore once my plan is put into place. Everyone will be happy, all their dreams achieved. No one will be dead."
"...Obito, whatever you're planning, it won't bring back Rin."
Obito snarled.
"You keep her name out of your mouth traitor!"
Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
"Rin wouldn't approve of what you are doing."
Obito lunged. Kakashi dodged.
"You think you know her better than I did?! We grew up together! I knew her dreams, her hopes, her favorite food, her favorite training spot and the way she liked her tea!"
"No! I Don't think I knew her better than you, but I think you forgot how she was."
"And how was she, Kakashi?"
"..."
"Because if you're thinking of 'sweet', and 'kind' those are true. But did you know that Rin Hated as well? She Hated the village. She hated what it did to her parents. How it treated her grandmother. Rin saw firsthand the suffering caused by a lack of medical care by helping her grandmother. Rin was sweet, and kind, but she was filled with hate, and disgust, and an overwhelming sense of despair, because the moment her parents died serving Konoha and couldn't keep her from the academy, a part of her knew she was next."
"...That doesn't make it right what you did in order to achieve your plan. What even is your plan? Do you need the bijuu to power it?"
"Prodigy Kakashi, you always had to figure it out!"
"It's not going to bring her back-"
"-Don't you think I know that!?"
"..."
"...I know she's not coming back. I knew the moment I saw your chidori through her chest. But I'm still doing this for her. A little girl like Rin...hell, young boys like you and me had NO business being on the frontlines, even with who our sensei was. Rin should never have died. Not just because you should have protected her, but because a kid shouldn't have been a frontline soldier in the first place."
Kakashi was silent. He knew Obito was right.
"When Rin died...When she died alone...in pain...for a village that saw her as nothing but fodder...I knew there was no fixing this world. My plan is the only way, the only way to stop another Rin dying on the battlefield and I cannot have you interfering. Goodbye Kakashi."
Obito wiped his tears away, and Kakashi spoke.
"Obito, don't you think it was strange how out of anyone that could have been chosen by Kiri to be a Biju bomb, they choose Rin?"
He stopped in his tracks.
"Think about it! They could have chosen someone more low profile, who didn't have a fuinjutsu master for a sensei. They could have chosen someone who wasn't a medical nin who would have natural resistance to biju chakra. They could have chosen me, who would have made it back to Konoha faster, they could have chosen anyone else, so why did Kiri go out of there way for Rin? And why was she killed the exact moment you arrived at the scene?"
Kakashi searched his eyes, desperately.
"Obito, Don't you find any of that suspicious? Who was in control of Kiri that they ordered that?"
"..."
Obito began to quake, a horrible realization shooting across his face like lightning.
"No...NO!" He howled like a wounded thing, fingers ripping out hair and he fell to his knees. "How could Madara do that to me!?"
Kakashi wasted no time. He grabbed the stirring Naruto, and activated his mangekyo, grimacing at the enormous drain on his chakra but not slowing down. With one last look back at the agony ridden Obito, he aimed his portal for as close to Konoha as he could, and stepped through.
He immediately saw Konoha's tall trees, and the lightning cracked one that marked him as a few miles out from the village. In the distance he heard approaching footsteps and had to dodge as several enemy nin swiped at him as they retreated. He hid in the branches.
"Wha-Kakashi-sensei? Are we back home yet? Where are we?"
Kakashi shushed Naruto, but it was too late.
Panting lightly, Guren stopped feet away from the exhausted Kakashi.
"Naruto, run!"
"But-"
"RUN! Back to Konoha, now!"
Guren lunged for Naruto but Kakashi intercepted with an uppercut to her face. She hissed, summoning crystal pillars as a shield, but he punched through and she barely dodged as his White chakra enhanced chidori scraped off the flesh down to muscle on her left thigh and waist.
She yowled, alerting everyone, and a hit from behind saw Kakashi getting the wind knocked from him. But Kakashi could see in the distance with his Sharingan. Naruto was almost back, and had made contact with Konoha shinobi. He was safe.
Guren spat at him.
"Kakashi Hatake, we heard rumors about you unlocking your unique chakra. I'm sure Orochimaru will love to study it, along with your freak girlfriends."
Wait-
Girlfriend?
His eyes widened.
Haruhi-
She stomped on his skull, and Kakashi heard a ringing screaming in his head. He couldn't tell if it sounded more like his Chidori or Haruhi.
Wow. Wham episode indeed. This is the beginning of the end of this story, the last chapter, the final arc if you will. I'm thinking maybe ten more chapters left before I wrap this up.
So what'd you think? Anything surprising? upsetting? Cool?
Let me know!
ALSO PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT! To all my american readers, this pandemic isn't over yet! Wear a damn mask, wash your damn hands, and stay home and read my fanfiction!