Undead

Naruto, Gai, and Kakashi stood in the wreckage of the battlefield, their breaths ragged, frustration gnawing at their patience. Every attack they launched—the kunai, the Rasengan, the perfectly-timed taijutsu strikes—passed through the masked man like he was a ghost. The guy wasn't fighting; he was toying with them, slipping through their efforts like smoke between fingers. His voice, low and mocking, carried across the field.

"Is that really all you've got? This is the legendary Might Gai, the infamous Copy Ninja Kakashi, and the so-called saviour of the Shinobi World? Pathetic." His tone oozed condescension, like he wasn't even breaking a sweat.

"Why don't you shut up and fight properly, dattebane!" Naruto yelled, her voice cutting through the tension. Her chakra flared as her frustration boiled over. She could feel the Kyuubi's chakra coursing through her, unrestrained now that the fox was gone but the power remained. Her hands clenched, nails digging into her palms. She wasn't about to let some guy in a dumb mask keep laughing at her.

Her golden chakra cloak shimmered and shifted, glowing brighter than the sun. The intricate details of her clothes became more pronounced, and her long red hair turned a vibrant blood-red, a striking contrast against the golden hue of her aura. The transformation was palpable.

"This is KCM TWO!" she declared, holding up a Hiraishin kunai. Her voice was sharp, laced with anger and determination. "Flying Thunder God: Step 2!"

In a flash of yellow light, she disappeared.

Gai blinked, his jaw dropping. "Lady Kushina can use the Hiraishin?! Incredible! I have no doubt now—she must be the Fourth's wife!" His voice was full of awe, and maybe a little panic.

Kakashi's hand slapped his own forehead. "She already told us she's not Kushina, Gai. That's Naruto." He sighed, his voice tinged with disbelief. "But seriously… when did Naruto learn the Flying Thunder God technique?"

Before Gai could respond with another ridiculous theory, the masked man scoffed. "A flashy light show won't change anything," he said, his Rinnegan and Sharingan narrowing. "You still can't touch me."

But that smug confidence shattered along with his mask.

Naruto appeared right in front of him, her fist glowing with chakra. "Oh yeah?" she yelled, slamming her punch directly into his face. The mask cracked and shattered like brittle glass, pieces flying everywhere as the force of her hit sent him tumbling across the battlefield.

"I'm just that awesome, dattebane!" she shouted triumphantly, grinning as she dusted off her hands.

Gai's fists shot into the air. "She did it! The youthful power of Lady Kushina shines through again!"

"For the last time," Naruto yelled, turning on him with a glare that could melt steel, "I AM NOT KUSHINA, DATTEBANE!"

The masked man groaned as he stood up, brushing off the remnants of his broken mask. His face was now fully visible, and his gaze bore into them, colder than ice. "You're really starting to piss me off," he muttered.

But Naruto wasn't paying attention to his words anymore. Instead, she was watching Gai and Kakashi freeze in place, their expressions shifting from shock to something deeper. Something like disbelief.

"That's…" Gai's voice faltered.

"No way…" Kakashi whispered, his usually composed face pale.

Naruto frowned, confused by their reactions. "You know this Madara wannabe?" she asked, her head tilting slightly as she kept her eyes on the man.

The silence was thick until Gai finally spoke. His voice was uncharacteristically quiet. "That's… Obito Uchiha."

Naruto's confusion deepened. "Obito…?" she echoed, looking to Kakashi for an explanation.

Kakashi didn't answer immediately. His mismatched eyes, one Sharingan and one his own, widened in disbelief. His voice was almost a whisper when he finally spoke. "Obito… my teammate. The one who died in the Third Great Shinobi War…"

Naruto's gaze darted between the two men and the unmasked figure. The tension was suffocating, the air thick with shock and unanswered questions. Whatever was going on, it was clear that this wasn't just a fight anymore. It was personal.

Kakashi's voice was steady, but there was an edge of pain behind his words as he stared at Obito, his childhood friend turned enemy. "Why, Obito? Why are you doing this? You wanted to be Hokage one day, remember? You used to talk about protecting everyone… so why this? Why the war? Why kill so many innocent people?"

Obito's expression twisted into a snarl, his visible eye burning with contempt. "Hokage? That was a childish dream. Naivety at its finest. I was a fool back then, Kakashi, just like you are now." He took a step closer, his voice rising. "This world doesn't need saving. It needs rewriting. The Infinite Tsukuyomi will bring true peace. A world without suffering, without death, without pain!"

Kakashi's fists clenched at his sides, his Sharingan locking onto Obito's single eye. "You think forcing everyone into an illusion is peace? That's not peace, Obito—that's running away. That's playing God with people's lives!"

Obito scoffed. "And what's your way, Kakashi? To keep living in this cesspool of misery? I've seen enough death, betrayal, and suffering to know this world isn't worth saving as it is. Rin… Rin died, Kakashi. She died because of this cursed reality. Don't you dare tell me you understand."

Kakashi flinched at the mention of Rin, but he didn't back down. "Rin didn't want this! She didn't want a world built on lies and bloodshed. She wanted us to move forward, to protect those we cared about!"

Obito's eye narrowed dangerously. "Don't you dare speak for her. You let her die, Kakashi. You let her die, and now you act like you're the one who knows what's best?"

Naruto, standing a few feet away, had been silent through their heated exchange, her fists clenched and her jaw tight. But she had heard enough. Her chakra flared as she stepped forward, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade.

"I don't care who you are!" she shouted, her golden chakra cloak blazing brighter. "But if you think this bloodbath is the way of peace, then let me kick your ass to where your goop-like slimy tiny brain must be!"

The battlefield fell into an awkward silence, the only sound the faint crackle of Naruto's chakra. Even Obito paused, his eye narrowing as he processed her words.

"Yosh!" Gai suddenly exclaimed, striking a dramatic pose. "Despite such youthful foul language, Lady Kushina is fired up! My—"

"FOR THE LAST TIME: I AM NOT KUSHINA!" Naruto snapped, rounding on him with a glare so fierce that Gai instinctively took a step back.

Obito's patience, already thin, finally snapped. His voice was cold and commanding as he raised a hand. "Enough. You want to stop me? Then come."

He slammed his hand to the ground, the earth rumbling beneath their feet. "Summoning: Gedo Statue!"

The earth split with a deafening roar as Obito's summoning reached its climax. From the gaping chasm in the ground emerged a monstrous form, towering and grotesque. The Gedo Statue, its skeletal body twisted and gnarled, loomed over the battlefield like a nightmare made real. Its hollow eyes glowed with an unearthly red light, and its massive jaw hung open, revealing jagged, uneven teeth. Every breath it exhaled felt like a death knell, shaking the ground and filling the air with an aura of despair.

Naruto instinctively stepped back, her golden chakra cloak flaring in response to the oppressive energy radiating from the statue. "What the hell is that thing?!" she yelled, her voice cutting through the rumble of its arrival.

"That's… the Gedo Statue," Kakashi said, his voice laced with dread. His Sharingan flickered as he analysed the massive creature. "The husk of the Ten-Tails. This isn't good."

"Not good at all," Gai added, his typically enthusiastic tone replaced with uncharacteristic seriousness. "Its presence alone is suffocating."

Obito's voice carried over the sound of the statue's heavy breathing, cold and unyielding. "This is the vessel that will usher in the new world. You should feel honoured to witness its power."

Before anyone could react, the Gedo Statue's mouth began to stretch unnaturally wide, emitting an ear-piercing roar that shook the battlefield. Its long, claw-like fingers extended toward the seven captured bijuu, each bound in Obito's chakra chains. The bijuu, once fierce and unstoppable forces of nature, now writhed and roared in defiance, their massive bodies struggling against the chains.

"No!" Naruto screamed, her fists clenching as she tried to charge forward, but the oppressive energy of the statue halted her in her tracks.

The chains tugged harder, pulling the bijuu closer to the statue's maw. One by one, the colossal beasts were dragged forward, their roars of resistance turning into echoes of despair. The Gedo Statue's mouth opened impossibly wide, and with a sickening pull, it began to devour them.

Shukaku, the One-Tail, was the first to go, his sand form dissipating into streams of chakra as he was sucked into the void. Matatabi followed, her blazing blue flames dimming as the chains yanked her into the gaping maw. Three Tails, Four Tails, Five Tails, Six Tails, Seven Tails—all of them followed in quick succession, their once-proud roars fading into silence as they disappeared into the darkness.

The glowing chakra were ripped from the air and devoured, leaving only a hollow silence in its wake.

The battlefield fell eerily quiet, the oppressive energy of the Gedo Statue pressing down on all of them. Naruto's golden chakra flickered as her knees buckled, her fists slamming into the ground. "No… I couldn't save them…"

Obito stood atop the statue, his single Sharingan and Rinnegan gleaming with satisfaction. "This is the endgame. You can't stop it now. The bijuu belong to me, and soon, so will this world."

Naruto lifted her head, her blood-red hair whipping in the wind. Her dark blue eyes burned with fury. "Over my dead body, you bastard!"

O~(—)~O

The ancient Uzumaki Temple, its air thick with the lingering essence of a forgotten past, felt alive once more as Orochimaru knelt in its heart. His sinister grin widened as his hands slammed against the cold, cracked stone floor. The eerie green glow of his chakra flared, spreading across the room in the form of twisting seals. The complex patterns writhed like snakes, feeding on the malevolent intent behind the jutsu.

"Summoning: Reanimation!" Orochimaru hissed, his voice dripping with malice.

Nearby, the Zetsu clones, grotesque and barely human, screamed in agony. Their bodies convulsed, their limbs contorting unnaturally as the seals forced the souls of the dead into their unwilling vessels. The air filled with the sickening sound of flesh tearing and bones cracking, the clones' cries growing more frantic with every passing second.

Then, with a sudden, deafening silence, the transformation began. Their grotesque forms twisted and morphed into familiar shapes, flesh and chakra reshaping into unmistakable figures.

Tobirama Senju stood first, his cold, calculating eyes immediately scanning his surroundings. Beside him, Hashirama rose with a slow, almost reluctant grace, his presence vibrant even in death. Hiruzen Sarutobi followed, his expression heavy with an unspoken weight, and lastly, Minato Namikaze, whose golden hair and sharp features were as striking as ever, stepped forward.

"This jutsu again?" Tobirama's voice was sharp, his tone dripping with disdain as he glared at Orochimaru. "I created this technique to serve the village, not for the whims of snakes like you."

Hashirama sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Tobirama, now's not the time for scolding. Besides, it's not like you didn't know this could happen." He turned his gaze to the temple, a bittersweet smile crossing his face. "Ah… the Uzumaki Temple. It's been ages since I last stepped foot here."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed as they landed on Orochimaru. "I see you've been busy, Orochimaru. Still playing with forbidden techniques, I see."

Minato, however, looked directly at the young man standing silently next to Orochimaru. His piercing blue eyes softened. "You must be an Uchiha," he said, his voice calm yet carrying an undertone of curiosity.

Sasuke's gaze flickered to Minato, then to the others, before settling on Hiruzen. His expression was unreadable, but his voice carried the weight of his determination. "Enough of this," he said sharply, cutting through the Hokages' brief musings. "I didn't bring you back to reminisce. I have questions—questions that need answers."

Tobirama raised an eyebrow. "Hn. A Uchiha demanding answers. How novel."

Hashirama shot his brother a warning look but said nothing.

"I'm not here for your commentary," Sasuke retorted coldly, fixing his gaze on Hiruzen. "You knew Itachi, didn't you? Tell me the truth about him."

Hiruzen's expression grew solemn. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts, before recounting the grim tale of Itachi Uchiha. He spoke of the coup the Uchiha clan had planned, the village elders' decision to use Itachi as a tool to prevent civil war, and the impossible burden placed upon him. Itachi had slaughtered his own family to protect the village, but he couldn't bring himself to harm Sasuke. Instead, he had chosen to die as a traitor in his brother's eyes, all to ensure Sasuke would grow strong and free to make his own choices.

Sasuke stood silently, his fists clenched as Hiruzen finished. He turned to Tobirama next, his voice colder than before. "And you—tell me why the Uchiha were driven to such extremes. What did your policies have to do with this?"

Tobirama crossed his arms, his expression unyielding. He spoke of the Uchiha's emotional instability, how their powerful love could turn into hatred when corrupted. He admitted his measures were harsh, segregating the Uchiha to keep their volatile tendencies in check, but justified them as necessary to maintain peace in the village.

"Necessary?" Sasuke spat, his Sharingan flaring briefly. "Your so-called peace only bred resentment and destruction."

Before Tobirama could retort, Orochimaru cleared his throat. "As fascinating as this exchange is," he drawled, his voice thick with mockery, "we have more pressing matters at hand."

Hashirama tilted his head. "Pressing matters?"

Orochimaru's grin widened. "A man claiming to be Madara Uchiha has declared war on the Shinobi World. He's after the Tailed Beasts to cast a genjutsu powerful enough to enslave everyone. Seven Jinchuriki are already in his possession."

Minato's face paled. "Naruto…" he whispered, his voice barely audible. His mind raced with the memories of his newborn son, the night he sealed the Nine-Tails into him, and the weight he placed on the child's shoulders. "He's after my son."

Hashirama's expression darkened, a rare seriousness overtaking his usually carefree demeanour. "Seven already? That means he's closer to his goal than I'd hoped."

Tobirama stepped toward the wall, placing his hand against the cold stone. His eyes closed as he concentrated, his chakra expanding outward like a web. "He's not lying," Tobirama said after a moment. "I can feel immense chakra signatures across the elemental nations. But a few stand out."

"Madara Uchiha," Tobirama continued, his voice grim. "There's no mistaking his power. Another Uchiha, likely the one trapped within Madara's plans. And then… the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki." His hand clenched against the wall as his eyes opened, sharp and calculating. "This chakra… it's massive. It feels like there's more than one fox inside them. And the child's chakra alone is more or less equal to yours, Hashirama."

Minato's eyes widened in disbelief. "Naruto's grown that strong?"

Hashirama chuckled softly, though there was pride in his tone. "Your kid sounds incredible, Minato. A true force of nature."

But Orochimaru's laughter, loud and echoing, broke the moment.

"What's so funny, Orochimaru?" Minato asked sharply, his fatherly instincts overriding his calm demeanour.

"Oh, nothing," Orochimaru said, his grin almost splitting his face. "It's just that you are in for a rather big surprise."

The Hokages exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what awaited them, but one thing was certain—this war was far from over, and Naruto Uzumaki was at its very heart.

O~(—)~O

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading this chapter.

I'm curious to know what you all think, so don't forget to drop your thoughts in the review section! Your words inspire me to write faster, better and larger.

Hope you had fun with this chapter, folks! Stay tuned for the next one!

Till next time!