The Three Freaks

Sakura, the pink-haired medic, was up to her elbows in wounded shinobi, hustling from one patient to the next in the bustling medical tent. Her white coat was stained and her brow furrowed with concentration as she moved from stretcher to stretcher, patching up injuries and keeping her team organized. Just outside the entrance, an Iwa guard stood at attention, his gaze vigilant. With White Zetsu running amok, capable of mimicking others down to the last detail, extra precautions had been set to protect the medics, especially one as skilled as Sakura. If anything happened to her, the consequences would be disastrous.

Sakura stepped outside for a brief moment, scanning the area as she wiped her hands on a cloth. She looked to the Iwa guard, a weary sigh escaping her. "Bring in the next one," she called, preparing herself for whatever injury she'd need to tackle next.

Out of the dusty battlefield, a pair approached the medical tent, stumbling forward— a man with his arm slung over the shoulder of a woman, both donning the attire of Kiri shinobi. The man's head was drooped, and blood stained his side, his legs dragging as he leaned heavily on his companion.

The woman, her face streaked with dust and tears, cried out to Sakura, her voice desperate. "Please, help! My husband… he's badly hurt. He won't last much longer!"

The Iwa guard immediately raised his hand, yelling, "Stop right there! Don't come any closer!" His voice rang with suspicion, but the woman continued, clinging to the injured man, her face twisted in anguish as she pushed forward.

Others around the tent muttered under their breath, their voices a mixture of pity and irritation. "Doesn't he have a heart?" one murmured. "They're barely able to stand!"

Sakura glanced at the pair, feeling a pang of sympathy despite the guard's concerns. She waved her hand, giving a sigh. "It's okay. Let them through," she said, giving the guard a look that brokered no argument.

The Iwa guard stepped aside, his expression tense, as the pair staggered closer to her. "Thank you, Sakura-sama," the woman said breathlessly, her eyes filled with what looked like sincere relief.

But just as they reached within a metre of Sakura, their expressions shifted in a split second—eyes hardening, bodies tensing. Without warning, they lunged toward her, arms outstretched and ready to strike. Gasps erupted around the medical tent, but Sakura was caught off guard, barely able to register what was happening—

Before she knew it, a golden-red blur shot down from the sky like a meteor, landing between Sakura and the attackers with a ground-shaking impact.

"Rasengan!"

The golden blur revealed itself as a teenage girl with fiery red hair and a chakra cloak that flared around her in waves of vibrant energy. She drove two swirling, powerful Rasengans into the fake shinobi with a fierce determination. The jutsu struck them hard, the intense chakra pressure tearing through their disguises, revealing their true form: White Zetsu clones.

The Rasengans pushed the two Zetsu backwards with such force that their bodies warped, disintegrating into a mess of tendrils before they solidified into trees that rooted into the ground, branches reaching out like they were trying to escape from their cursed transformation.

The girl, still grinning widely, looked at Sakura, a pair of semi-dark blue eyes twinkling with familiar mischief. "Yo! What's up, Sakura-chan?" she said, her grin goofy, stretching ear to ear.

The guards around Sakura immediately raised their kunai, their eyes wary. "Who are you?" one demanded.

The girl pouted, crossing her arms. "C'mon! I just saved you guys. Don't you recognize me?" Her face was set in an exaggerated look of hurt, which only seemed to make the guards grip their weapons more tightly.

Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Alright, who are you?" Her voice was firm. This stranger looked like Naruto… but also nothing like him.

Before the girl could answer, Shizune came running up, carrying a small bundle of medical reports. She looked mildly out of breath, her face focused until she stopped short. "Sakura, I have news from HQ—Naruto is now a—"

Her gaze shifted to the girl standing there, and her expression turned from confusion to astonishment. "Naruto?" she asked, her voice filled with shock. "You're… really a girl now?" She couldn't keep the disbelief out of her voice. "I thought that was just a rumor."

Naruto, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish grin, gave Shizune an awkward look. "Uh… yeah, I guess you could say that. Just… happened while I was fighting with the Kyuubi for it's chakra, ya know?" She looked down at herself and then back up, her face caught somewhere between pride and embarrassment.

Sakura's jaw nearly dropped to the ground, her face torn between amusement, horror, and suspicion. "Naruto! What in the world… Is this just some part of your pervy side taking over, or is there a logical reason for this?"

Naruto blinked, looking genuinely offended. "Hey, Sakura-chan! I didn't choose this, alright? I just… transformed while trying to get control of Fox's power. Honest!"

"I don't have time for this…" Sakura sighed deeply, her hand pressing against her temple like she was dealing with a headache. After a moment, she jabbed a finger directly at Naruto's chest, her eyes flashing with irritation. "Alright, fine. But you better behave! No funny business! And especially no pervy acts! I have business here so no pranks either!"

Her gaze dropped to Naruto's chest, narrowing in relief. "And at least… these aren't too big compared to mine."

Naruto flushed, her face turning a shade of red that almost matched her hair. "A-anyway," she stammered, looking anywhere but at Sakura, "I'm just a clone. The original is off somewhere, handling Zetsu fakes and heading to Kakashi-sensei. So I figured I'd stick around here to… you know… help with detecting fakes."

Sakura gave her an appraising look, her irritation melting away into something softer. "Well… you're good at that, I'll give you that." Her lips curled into a faint smirk. "And, Naruto, that's a… pretty face you've got there."

Naruto's eyes widened in embarrassment. "Hey! Don't make fun of me, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura waved a hand dismissively, heading back into the tent with another patient. "I'm not," she said casually, her voice floating over her shoulder.

Û~Û

Nagato and Itachi walked side by side, their steps echoing with the hollow sound of regret and unfinished business. Itachi held Nagato's shoulder, supporting him as they walked; the years of suffering and the price of their powers evident on Nagato's face. His once-fiery red hair was now stark white, his legs weak and barely holding his weight. They had no idea who had brought them back or for what purpose, but the bitterness of old sins still lingered.

Nagato's voice was heavy as he glanced at Itachi, his eyes dim with guilt. "I'm sorry, Itachi… for everything. For making you go through such hell, for dragging you into Akatsuki's darkness as Pain."

Itachi's gaze softened slightly, though his voice remained calm and steady. "No, Nagato. In the end, we were both puppets. Controlled by someone who only saw us as weapons." He paused, then looked away, his jaw clenched. "I share the blame too… we were both used for the power of our eyes."

Nagato's eyes hardened, a flash of his former fire igniting. "Madara Uchiha," he muttered through gritted teeth. "That man… he twisted us, used us like pawns. He has to pay for everything he's done."

Suddenly, a blazing flash of gold with a streak of red shot past their vision like a comet, kicking up dust and scattering leaves in its wake. A fierce, spiraling hum echoed through the air, inches from their faces.

"Rasen—" the voice cut off as two intense, glowing orbs of chakra crashed into their heads.

Itachi and Nagato staggered back, the force of the attack tearing through them. As their heads regenerated, they turned, faces shadowed in cautious surprise, to see the source of the attack: a young girl with wild red hair and a fierce scowl, her body cloaked in golden chakra.

Naruto's eyes were wide with shock and anger, her fists clenched tightly. "So… you've been reanimated too?" she spat, fury simmering beneath her words. "That sicko controlling you is gonna pay!"

Itachi and Nagato took up defensive stances, their eyes narrowing as they took in the unfamiliar figure before them. The girl's chakra radiated power, but something about her felt almost… familiar.

Itachi's dark eyes narrowed as he spoke. "Lady Kushina? Are you reanimated as well?"

Naruto's scowl deepened. She rolled her eyes with an exaggerated huff. "STOP calling me 'Lady Kushina,' dattebane!"

Nagato's brows raised in interest, a small flicker of recognition crossing his face. "Kushina Uzumaki… mother of Naruto Uzumaki?"

Itachi nodded slowly, his tone calm and even. "Yes, when she was alive, she was the wife of the Fourth Hokage, and—"

Naruto's face flushed in horror, waving her hands as if to ward off the rest of his sentence. "A-alright, enough! Cut it off! Don't finish that line, dattebane!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her outburst, studying her more closely. After a long pause, he murmured, "You have… a vast amount of the Kyuubi's chakra. I assume the Fourth Hokage sealed half of it inside you before you… passed away?"

Naruto's eye twitched, resisting the urge to smack her own forehead. "I am very much alive!" she barked, cheeks burning with indignation.

Nagato, his eyes narrowed in consideration, offered an alternative. "Perhaps… Rinne Rebirth?"

Naruto blinked, almost gagging at the suggestion. "Yikes, no!" She shook her head, then sighed in exasperation. "Okay, look. I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

An uncomfortable silence stretched out between them. Somewhere in the distance, crows cawed, punctuating the stillness. Both Itachi and Nagato stared blankly, clearly not convinced.

Finally, Itachi, ever polite, spoke up. "I'm sorry?"

Naruto folded her arms, taking a deep breath before launching into a hasty explanation. "Long story short: I tried to master the Kyuubi's chakra, but the fox went all psycho and wanted to kill me instead. Turns out, I had a bit of my mom's essence in me. Mom went head-to-head with the furball, but the idiot was as stubborn as ever. Their chakra clashed, things got complicated, and I ended up going through some… time travel and dimension-hopping nonsense. Now I'm stuck like this, as a girl. Any more questions?"

Itachi cleared his throat, nodding slightly. "I do have one question." He looked her up and down. "How much of the fox's chakra do you currently possess?"

Naruto blinked, taken aback. "Uh… come again?"

"I can sense a considerable amount of chakra within you," Nagato observed, his voice laced with awe. "This is far more than when we fought before."

Itachi nodded, folding his arms. "So, how many 'tails' of the fox's chakra would you estimate you have now?"

Naruto scratched her head, counting on her fingers with a squint. "Well, at first it was half-a-fox, then in the past it got bumped up to, uh… one and a half foxes?"

Nagato cut in, calculating. "That would be… roughly seventeen tails' worth of chakra."

Naruto's jaw dropped in shock. "Seventeen?!"

Nagato nodded sagely. "Although the Ten Tails is estimated to possess chakra equivalent to forty-five tails. Still, yours is a… remarkable level of power."

"Yeah, well," Naruto muttered, scratching her cheek, "I thought tails didn't actually matter?"

Nagato shrugged. "They don't, really. But it gives us a rough gauge of a bijū's strength."

The atmosphere grew heavier as Itachi's expression darkened. "What about Sasuke? Where is he now?"

Naruto's expression turned solemn. She took a deep breath before answering. "He… wants revenge. Against the Leaf. He's teamed up with the masked man, and he's out for blood."

Itachi's eyes widened, a pained whisper slipping through his lips. "Madara… he must have told Sasuke everything…"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. And now, because of that maniac, we're in the middle of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. The five nations formed an alliance to take him down."

Suddenly, Itachi's body jerked unnaturally, his face twisting as he moved against his will. Nagato's eyes dulled, his hand lifting in a tell-tale sign as he murmured, "Universal Pull." Naruto felt herself drawn forward by an unseen force, right into the path of Itachi's fire attack, her feet skidding across the dirt as she struggled against the pull.

Just as the flames roared toward her, a massive figure burst into view, intercepting the attack with a broad sword swing. "Octopops!" Naruto gasped, recognizing her unlikely ally.

Killer Bee flashed her a grin, twirling Samehada with a flourish. "We got beef, yeah, it's true, but now's no time for a ninja feud!" he rapped, standing tall beside her.

Naruto shot him a grin. "Thanks, Octopops!"

Nagato's eyes narrowed as he raised his hands, summoning a giant, ferocious bird and a multi-headed dog, their roars shaking the ground as they charged toward Naruto and Bee.

Naruto dodged to the left, forming her hands into a seal. "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" She hurled the spinning mass of chakra, her aim deadly and precise as it spiraled toward the bird, sending it screeching in flames.

Beside her, Bee clashed with the monstrous dog, Samehada absorbing the creature's chakra as he struck. "Watch out, fox-girl, on your left!"

Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan flared to life, his gaze locking onto Naruto as he unleashed the black flames of Amaterasu. They seared through the air, a wall of inescapable fire—

Naruto stumbled, choking on the smoke as a crow shot out of her mouth, vanishing in a blur. She felt herself jerked backward, Itachi's voice calm as he murmured, "That crow held Shisui's eye… it was meant for Sasuke, to free him from the curse of hatred. But now, it has freed me instead."

Itachi turned to help, his Susanoo shielding her as Nagato reformed, his personality completely blank. "This will end now."

Nagato's hands formed seals, summoning a black orb that hovered ominously in the air, pulling everything toward it with intense gravitational force.

"Not good!" Naruto yelped, glancing at Bee and Itachi. "We need to hit that orb with everything we've got, or we're toast!"

"Tailed Beast Bomb!"

"Susanoo Shuriken!"

"Wind Style: Compressed Rasenshuriken!"

Together, Bee, Itachi, and Naruto launched their strongest attacks. Their combined force obliterated the orb, its gravitational pull vanishing in a final shuddering pulse.

Taking her chance, Naruto slapped a sealing array on Nagato, binding him and cutting off his connection to the jutsu caster. Regaining control, Nagato looked at her, impressed. "You have become like Jiraiya… and more. A hero for this era."

"Yeah!" Bee rapped. "Although we can't forgive you for what we did, but that was really cool, yo, yo kid!"

"Naruto…" Nagato spoke. "The first book of our trilogy was Jiraiya-sensei, a hit. Mine had a lot of potential but turned out to be an utter failure. Naruto, promise me… that you, the final part of our trilogy, will overshadow my failure…"

Naruto gave him a thumbs-up, beaming. "Count on me!"

As Nagato's spirit faded, leaving only a calm smile and a sense of closure, Itachi turned to Naruto, his gaze solemn yet warm. "I'll find the one controlling this jutsu… and stop it for good. You won't need Shisui's eye anymore," he said, his hand reaching up to the crow that had appeared from within her and gently burning it away with a small flame. "This fight doesn't need more sacrifices."

Naruto frowned, her brows furrowing. "Why'd you give me Shisui's eye anyway? You… really thought I'd mess it up?"

Itachi's eyes softened with a small, almost sad smile. "Not because you'd fail, Naruto. Because you care too much. You would do anything to protect those you love—even shoulder the world's burdens alone. But remember, we failed… because we had no one to turn to." He glanced back at her, his dark eyes resolute. "You, however, have an entire world standing behind you."

Naruto held his gaze for a moment, stunned into silence. Then, her expression softened, and she gave him a firm nod. "I won't let you down, Itachi. The whole world's counting on us, and I'll make sure we end this war!"

A slight nod from Itachi, and he glanced over at Killer Bee, who was rapping softly to himself while swinging Samehada in a rhythmic beat. With one last look, Itachi straightened, his calm presence emanating confidence and trust in Naruto.

"Take care of her, Killer Bee," he said, his voice carrying an unspoken command.

Bee nodded, tapping his forehead with a grin. "You got it, bro, I'll keep her in tow!" he rapped, slinging his sword over his shoulder.

Satisfied, Itachi gave Naruto a final nod, then turned and walked into the woods, his form fading into the shadows, leaving behind a brief, lingering silence.

Naruto took a deep breath, feeling a strange mix of gratitude and determination. With a grin, she turned to Bee. "C'mon, Octopops! We've still got Zetsu fakes to clean up, and I need to catch up with Kakashi-sensei!"

Bee grinned back, brandishing Samehada with flair. "Right behind ya, fox-girl! We'll beat those fakes, leave 'em all in a whirl!"

Together, they charged off toward the battlefield, Naruto's golden chakra glowing in the dusk, her steps full of purpose and strength, the weight of her promise to Itachi pushing her forward. In the distance, she could already hear the clash of steel, the roars of jutsu, and the cries of her comrades. There was no more time to waste.

Naruto shot Bee a determined grin. "Let's go show them what the Shinobi are made of, dattebane!"

With a wild whoop from Bee and a fierce yell from Naruto, they dove into the fray, the spirit of their fallen friends and allies pushing them ever forward.

Û~Û

Author's Note:

That was absolutely great to write!

Now, there are some amazing fights and confrontations in the war, so tell me, what do you want next? If you don't say anything, I'll go straight for the 'Ghost Of The Uchiha' part.

I'm curious to know what you all think, so don't forget to drop your thoughts in the review section!

Hope you had fun with this chapter, folks! Buckle up, because things are about to get wild. Stay tuned for the next one!

I plan on updating more than ten stories of mine this weekend. Stay tuned for more!

Till next time!