Bab 49: Chapter 49

A calm morning for the Emperor, worry free, no amount of noise brought into his ears by a crying child. It was starting up like one of those days he could just doze off while relaxing on his throne. But it wasn't going to be like that. The usual routine was mightily disturbed when his senses picked up something moving dangerously towards the city.

He had been alarmed. They might be in war, he hadn't thought that anyone would dare attack his city like this. The energy beams coming towards the city were headed straight to the royal palace. The place where Etsu lived. He may not have accounted for something like this happening, but it had to be dealt with and then he would kill whoever threatened his peace like this.

Threatening the life of his Etsuko was a sin punishable with death. No one was going to be forgiven for crossing that line. He had not even threatened any other village with destruction like this.

The Emperor shook his head. This was war. What did he expect? Anything could go when people were fighting a war. He was being a child being surprised that someone would do what he wasn't willing to do.

Onoki had done it before and now the Raikage was doing it. Damn Kages. Still, it didn't mean that he had no right to be angry over the threat to his people. Innocent people for that matter. If he hadn't been here, this attack would kill thousands of people.

While in the comfort of his throne, Naruto raised some of the divine trees he had planted, just to try to block the beams before they could reach the city.

It started with a frown when the Emperor came to a realization that nothing was going to stop those beams until they hit something hard. He grew infuriated at the thought of some monkey putting his child in danger like this. Yugao, Samui, they were all inside the palace. Attacking him like this was just a blatant poke at the container of his wrath.

What was more infuriating was when he realized that there were more attacks coming in the city. By people. His 'eyes' within the city spotted some dangerous activities within the city, by people he called his subordinates. Traitors.

At this rate his palace was really at risk. Etsu. The thought came back again.

No one who put his child in danger was worthy of forgiveness. Only death awaited. Further, this was his holy ground, his high place. The appointed ground of a god. To think that someone would be daring enough to attack this. This would do much damage to the palace and him of course.

As his attempts to stop the beams failed, Naruto grew infuriated when he picked up a third attack. The was a disturbance in the ground that was outside his country's walls. Diversion tactics. He hadn't thought that A would do something so daring.

He was infuriated. The man had the guts to attack him like this. He should also have the guts to stand him in battle.

The idea was possibly to have him sacrifice the himself protecting the city while another attack was mounted in all corners. Ironic. They planned for him to die in a similar way his father died. It was infuriating. He had done everything to make sure that he wasn't forced to go through something like that.

Did they know that Etsuko existed? If they did, who could have told them? Was it a rat in the capital. So much for loyalty. If they knew and had planned for an ironic death… leave his child fatherless like he did. Probably suffer like he did. Obviously, the world would hate her for being his child. She would go through what he did.

Subconsciously, the disturbed thought of him caused his power to leak out of him without even realizing. He didn't even notice when the Truth seeking balls started to spin around him. He only became aware when Karin bust into the throne room.

Naruto quickly burst through the roof of the royal palace when it became obvious that he had to face the beams head on. He had to risk it. Naturally, nothing could kill him, but the three attacks bothered him.

His enemies had prepared for war while he took comfort in his immortality. Perhaps knowing that he couldn't die made him careless and ignorant of other things. What did he have to worry about when he knew no one in this world could kill him?

Naruto stared at the hundreds of beams rushing over to the city in blinding speeds.

His Rinnegan perceived the danger that he faced. From afar, the attack didn't look this menacing. There were hundreds of dangerous beams and he knew they could pierce through his body. These fancy weapons had this ability.

For the first time in many years Naruto felt threatened. The feeling was good to his battle loving person, but it was downright devastating to the father in him. The damn things could turn the city into a cloud of smoke, and with his loved people in it.

They could be destroyed in the process.

He couldn't allow for the beams to touch the city. The results would be catastrophic if he allowed something of that nature to occur. He would destroy this whole world if his city was destroyed because mere humans could stand to live with him, despite doing nothing to threaten their existence. They were willing to go this far.

This kind of position made him recall once more again the kind of position Minato was put when Obito chose to release the Kyuubi to attack Konoha. He had to protect his village, and in turn, he sacrificed himself for the safety of his village. Here he was, he who hated making sacrificed.

it wasn't the city that he wanted to protect wholeheartedly, it was his family. Someone had threatened their security, and that made him angry.

Naruto held out his right hand, he wanted to send the beams away to another dimension, but there were too many of them. He wouldn't be able to send them away in time.

He had been to arrogant to think that no one would attack him like this. He had ignored everything thinking no one could create a weapon that would threaten his families existence.

He couldn't watch the city be destroyed either. His family may come above, but at this moment, he realized that he did care for this city he has built. It was his home, they were his people, people who depended on his power for protection, people who left other homes to live here in the city of Rice. At that moment, the Emperor was to acknowledge that it meant something to him. Even if it was a small feeling, it was something nevertheless.

He had to protect his family and the city, by taking the hit himself.

''That blasted Raikage,'' Naruto growled, clasping his hands.

The Perfect Susano'o came to life, causing the city to come to a stand still as the giant hovered above the royal palace. Shinobi were already alerted of the looming danger, so they were busy moving about the streets, trying to gain order and control things as they could.

A Perfect Susano'o wouldn't be enough to shield himself from power that could destroy this whole city. Naruto armoured himself further by making four of his Truth-seeking balls form the shape of a round ball around himself to protect himself. The remaining balls, attached themselves around the Susano'o, blackening it. Further more, inside his black cocoon, Naruto held out both his hands, Shinra Tensei ready to be activated.

In not more then three seconds later, the Susano'o moved towards the beams, and the two forces collided.

Boom!

The city trembled slightly as a window shattering shockwave tore through the beautiful city. Panic rose as windows shattered around, people screaming, trying to take cover over something that didn't have anything made of glass.

Above the city, where the two forces collided, a black cloud had gathered, the monstrous Susano'o no longer visible. There was just the black cloud that hovered above, nothing falling down the city, except for the shockwave that caused the city to tremble.

It was a kind of shockwave that had Karin worried as she expanded her senses. If that explosion had occurred within the city, it would have killed many people and destroyed a lot of buildings. A normal person couldn't have survived that. But Naruto was okay right? Although she couldn't feel his chakra because of that smoke, she believed he was alright.

He was Uchiha Naruto. Still, that didn't stop her from being worried.

Looking around the city while standing atop of the royal palace with Shinji, Karin saw the city come to a stand still as everyone looked up: the realization of what had just happened dawned upon them. Many had their hands pressed together around their chest, looking up.

They knew. They knew an attack had been launched at their city. They had seen their emperor take the skies to defend the city. They had seen their king collide with those beams of energy. And now, they were safe, but the view of their king was clouded by a black of smoke.

Karin looked up at the sky. She released a sigh of relief. Naruto was okay. Not a second later, his body, surrounded by a black mist, came crushing down the ground.

His second fall.

It was rather nostalgic for Shinji as he could remember the last time the Emperor had fallen from his sky palace, and now he was falling once more. But this time, the whole city was watching. It was unacceptable, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, a part of him thought it was a good thing. The people knew their king had 'risked' his life for them. Their trust in him would only grow.

''What are you waiting for,'' Heisuke said, as he appeared on the roof. Looking a bit out of breath. ''We have to be by his Majesty's side.''

''Have you secured the royal family?'' Shinji asked, a bit urgently.

No matter was happening, the safety of the family came in first. It was their job to protect them. The Emperor would actually kill him them all if they failed their jobs.

The good thing here was that the Emperor had absorbed the attack, and only the result of the attack had caused 'minor' damage to the city, but the royal palace and the crystal palace still stood firm.

Heisuke nodded, ''Do you want to be in safety, as well?'' He asked looking at Karin - who was part of the royal family.

''I want to,'' Karin said, ''But I'm needed. My power rather.''

Heisuke nodded, ''let us move out then,'' that said, the three disappeared.

Xxxxx

Naruto could faintly hear the screams of the people filled with dread as his body was being pulled by gravity. The holes in his body were slowly closing, at the cost of lot of chakra.

If he were to be honest with himself, he nearly died up there. The Susano'o had absorbed most of the attack, but it was not enough. His truth seeking proved ineffective – because of natural chakra. Shinra Tensei did more harm than good. The force of the explosion, combined with the jutsu had nearly tired his body apart.

He had never felt so much pain. If it wasn't because of his pride, the great Emperor would have let out a pained scream.

He didn't try to regain any balance as he focused on regenerating his wounds – perhaps he was telling himself he had a choice in the matter because he wished not to wound his pride. All his power was diverted into healing his life threatening injuries. So he 'allowed' his body to crash down the in a crowded street. His crash wasn't as booming as the last one, but the people still winced as they gathered around him.

His shinobi were quick to move into the scene to make order. No one was talking though. Their held their hopes in their hands. Perhaps they worried because of the blood on his kimono. It was a strange feeling to know that his people were worried for him, his safety.

Konoha never gave him such. The village would have been grinning at this moment, they would be moving to finish him off because they hated him. They wanted him dead. But his people, they were worried. He could feel their thoughts around the atmosphere. He wanted to smile. Just knowing that they worried, it gave him a strange, yet pleasant feeling.

Kiri would probably give him the same reaction if this had happened in the village. Despite hating him right now, Mei would probably be over him, shouting for medics for come over and treat him. The thought made him smile slightly. Yes, she would do that because she cared.

Suddenly, forming those bonds, and creating this empire didn't seem so bad. Right here, he was surrounded by people who cared. Tolerating these people hadn't been a waste after all. He may not have been trying to act like a hero or anything, but he had given them a home, and for that they were grateful.

If Etsu was at that age, she would've been worried for her father, she would have been holding her breath. The thought made him frown. He didn't want such a position for her.

The general's quickly surrounded his form as the silence filled through the entire city. Everything stopped moving until the emperor raised his right hand, stretched it up a bit. He wasn't fully healed - his left hand was missing.

Still, the city released a breath of relief, and smiled as a whole.

Slowly but surely, Naruto got to one knee. His body was sore, he may have partially heal but the fragile body of his had taken much more damage than it should, and that made him frown. It only meant that he wouldn't fool around in the battlefield. He was only going to kill the enemies.

Before that, he needed chakra.

At least the family was safe. Heisuke had been there. He was happy. The city still stood and he had yet to kick the bucket. Yet he couldn't smile.

Without getting new chakra, he couldn't fight. He wouldn't be able to fight. At this stage, he was weak. Karin must have realized as well, judging by the look she was giving him.

''Heika,'' Heisuke started, as the city watched.

Faintly hearing Heisuke's voice, Naruto calmed his breathing. He had an image to uphold.

''I underestimated the enemy. The wall has been breached and they are matching towards this city as we speak,'' everyone heard him and there was a collective gasp from the people. ''Has everyone been secured?''

''Yes. Everything is perfectly fine,'' Heisuke said.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. ''Secure the city. Don't leave the. Karin, make sure no one sneaks around.''

''We have not received the report, your Majesty. Who is the enemy?'' Shinji asked.

''The Raikage and his army. Stay here to protect the city. Some enemy might try to attack in my absence.'' Not might, there was an enemy attack that would reach the city. He wasn't just going to say it aloud in front of the people.

That would cause unnecessary panic.

''We will do as you command, your Majesty!''

''Good,'' Naruto said, getting up on both his feet. He examined his body further.

''What of your hand, your majesty?''

''It will be fine. That explosion nearly tore my body apart. If it hadn't been for that Shinra Tensei - which blasted most of the blast away from me - only my kimono would've dropped here,'' Naruto said flatly.

Everyone tensed at those words.

''I will deal with A. I will perform a massacre. Simply defeating them will not to. A massacre will sooth my tense intestines.''

Yes, he said it like that and disappeared afterwards.

''Is it just me or is his Majesty pretty mad?'' someone from the shinobi asked.

''He is,'' Shinji said, looking at the sky. ''His Majesty doesn't massacre his opponents. He likes to fool around with them. Before ending it,'' as he finished, his tone was just flat.

''He is most likely going to be quick about it,'' Heisuke added before falling silent for a few seconds. ''Anyway, we need to prepare the city should there be another attack.''

But Heisuke knew there was another attack. The Emperor had gone on to deal with A quickly so he can return to protect the city. He trusted them to hold their own in his absence.

''Best option,'' Karin said. ''I will go to a quiet place and stretch out my senses until the Emperor returns,'' that said, the Uzumaki disappeared.

Shinji called for calm and for the people to be at their homes. They would not go as far as to evacuate everyone to a safe place while they fought – unless it becomes necessary while they fought.

He and Heisuke returned to royal place were the latter asked something, ''Neh, Shinji...''

''Hmm?''

''Nao and Kataro. They didn't react as we did, and his Majesty didn't include them in his 'promotions'. We were trained to become general's as them. We were treated equally before, but over the past two years, his Majesty has pushed them out of this place and pulled us closer,'' Heisuke said in thought.

''I wondered about that too,'' Shinji said. ''But for now, we have a city to protect. Let us worry about that first. His Majesty will return shortly, you don't want him to find us still here while the enemy advances."

A's Company

Boom!

The emperor crash landed in the mist of thousands of shinobi from Kumogakure. The moment he landed, panic rose as roots burst forth from the ground, spreading from all his sides.

Whoever they touched, they sucked them dry of their chakra. Screams rose as men tried to flee away from the roots while others tried to cut them off. But one you tried cutting one, another burst forth. Within a minute, hundreds of shinobi were already lying on the ground, skin deathly pale.

"Don't let them touch you!"

"They are attracted to chakra. There more you fight, the more aggressive they become!"

"How are we supposed to deal with them? They just pierce through a normal barrier!"

Naruto was protected roots which were supplying him with much needed chakra. Just stood still in the protection the roots offered him, filling his reserves, while the shinobi screamed and shouted commands.

"Hmm?"

The Raikage cut through his roots in lightning speed and reached him within a second. The muscled Kage landed a brutal punch on Naruto's chest that sent the emperor flying away from his men.

Naruto landed a distance away, put on an impassive mask while dusting himself up a bit.

A gritted his teeth seeing the damage Naruto had already inflicted without even lifting his hands. The man had already disabled hundreds of his men with that wave of assault. It was ridiculous.

This is why this man's existence was an abomination he had to erase. Even it meant selling his soul, A would take the chance, as long as it guaranteed that the man was killed in the end. A pity no one came in with that kind of an offer.

A and Killer Bee moved ahead of the men, facing the Emperor. The Yondaime Raikage put on a grin on his face, his lightning cloak still active.

His grin was in place because he knew exactly why Naruto chose that tactic. He needed chakra. The first wave did it's job. There was no way the man would fight at his best after taking the hit. It was impossible. A was sure of it.

This is why he could afford to grin despite the fact that hundreds of his men were dead already all in the name of feeding the Emperor.

''How did you like my surprise?''

''I didn't like it. I found it to be rather daring and provoking,'' the Emperor responded flatly. ''I didn't think you'd keep me busy while breaching the walls. The diversion worked splendidly well. I must make your death a reality for working so hard for this surprise plan.''

A only laughed in response. ''Did you think that I would be foolish enough to think of meeting you in a battleground of your liking? If you thought this was going to be one of those wars we spend days in the battle ground then you got it all wrong. The longer we stay in the battlefield with you, the more you cut down our numbers and our chances for victory decrease.''

But in this case, they held the advantage. Naruto had already taken too much damage. He couldn't afford to stay longer in the battlefield. A was willing to sacrifice his men to hold down the man in a fight so that they could weaken him further. He wouldn't have the time to stop the attack going on at his city.

All in all, everything was good for him and his side.

''So you planned to hit it all in one go,'' Naruto said. ''I was thinking my allies would be attacked as well. But you don't care about them, do you? You only want me.''

''Bingo!'' A exclaimed loudly. ''Going after your allies will only exhaust recourses. There is no needed to go after them. They are worthless. If we bring you down, we bring them all down.''

Cut off the head and you kill the snake.

''They were convinced to ally with the Imperial Kingdom because of the Emperor's power and once you cut off that power you cut their link. They no longer become a threat,'' the emperor said. ''What of those from Iwa?''

A's grinned twisted, ''I guess there is no harm in telling you. Some of them are attacking Konoha as we speak - it is for their own petty hatred. Some of them will attack your capital city.''

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. ''So the reason the portal that brought you all here was opened outside the country was because you wished to lure me out of the city. How thoughtful of you,'' Naruto held out his right hand.

It wasn't as if he hadn't suspected it. He did. Hence he had left Heisuke and Shinji at the capital to protect it while he removed the bugger threat.

A portal opened up above ground and spat out the bound Daimyo's. ''I hadn't planned on killing them. But you have committed a sin A. No one will leave this massacre ground alive.''

As he said those words, gusts of wind picked up around him. So sign of his truth seeking balls though.

''Amaterasu,'' and just by that, the Lords were consumed by the eternal black flames. While their painful screams caused some men to cringe, A merely continued to smile.

''They have no use in war. It is unfortunate that they died, but that doesn't make them any more useful,'' the Raikage said with a shrug. ''Do you actually think you can massacre us? I see your arrogance knows no limits. There are more than three thousands men behind me, do you think you can kill them all?''

''You foolish child. You underestimate the powers you're going against. I'm in no mood to be teaching children how to dance,'' he clasped both his hands. ''In the next two minutes, only a handful will remain.''

Naruto didn't listen to the Raikage's retort.

''Mokuton: Deep Forest Emergence.''

''Take cover! Bring in the heavy hitters in the front to execute the plan!'' A barked the orders.

They'd come prepared for most of the jutsus known to the Emperor. There are some they couldn't deal with and some they could handle. One such as this, could be handled without any loss. It would take some chakra, but he had the men to cover up that loss of chakra.

''Mokuton: Devouring Forest Emergence,'' in the second jutsu, the Emperor slammed his hands down the ground and stayed like that.

The Devouring forest worked like Deep Forest, but it was much of a larger scale jutsu and the forest devoured everything within it. Unlike the Deep Forest Emergence, this jutsu shook the ground before it burst forth in the middle of the large army, spreading in all directions. As long as Naruto kept supplying chakra, the forest would continue to spread out in all directions.

One could say the jutsus limit was how much chakra he could give out.

As the forest devoured many, A could only curse as the forest continued to expand at an alarming rate. If he didn't stop it, it would end many of his men. This just reminded him of how the Shodai Hokage was said to have created the forest that surrounded Konoha. This was a barren ground, and if this man continued to expand his jutsu, it would fill the whole place, his men devoured within it.

''A-sama,'' C said. ''We can stop the jutsu by stopping him. As he is, he is supplying chakra to keep the forest growing.''

The Raikage didn't need to be told twice of what to do. Within a second, he was already in front of the Emperor, slightly above aground, with his right foot aimed at Naruto's head. The sudden attack from the Raikage had caused Naruto get to his feet. To what was a surprise to the Raikage, Naruto grabbed the kick with his right hand.

The ground beneath him shattered under the force of the kick, but the Emperor didn't move an inch, nor was he even looking at the Raikage.

''Stay away for one more minute, I want to continue with the slaughter,'' Naruto stated, ''Shinra Tensei,'' that blasted the Raikage away from the Emperor.

Naruto jumped up, speeding into the crowd of enemy. As he landed in the sea of shinobi, he didn't waste time before slamming both his hands down the ground.

''Mokuton: Divine Tree Formation!''

As the ground shook, Naruto took to the air, and stayed there. A large tree sprouted from the centre of the army, standing tall above them all. Four more smaller ones sprouted in all corners. That seemed like mouths formed atop of the trees, the large one had about four holes around its top. All holes began to charge, an energy formation A and Bee knew too well.

''A-sama...'' C muttered with wide eyes. This didn't look good at all.

''Cut the damn trees before they finish charging!'' A shouted, a sense of dread creeping into his heart.

"You can try cut them, but it won't be any use. You can use your time wisely and just runway," Naruto said, still hovering above ground. "Naturally, I would like it if you struggle. It's pleasant that way."

The Yondaime Raikage cursed the bastard Uchiha. How he wish he could just knock out that man from there air.

His men struggled but It was no use, anyone go got closer to the trees was slaughtered by the roots that started to form around the trees, blocking anyone. Jutsus being thrown did nothing to halt the charge. The roots kept sprouting from the ground. It was like fighting against hundreds of clones, you get rid of one, the other jumps in.

Within a second, 8 monstrous balls, more like Tailed Beast Bombs were fully formed. Even worse, black flames lit up around the bombs.

''How are we supposed to deal with these?'' Some men asked, looking around. The damn things had cornered them.

"I knew he was powerful, but I did not expect this. This is not a battlefield. This is ridiculous!"

"We are going to die. Those things are tailed beasts bombs. We didn't train to shield against them!"

"At this range, we can't outrun them!"

As some dropped their weapons, some attempted to run, but no one got far. The Emperor had said no one would leave.

The bombs were released in all directions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Eight explosions tore through the thousands of shinobi in a blitz of black flames, and the ground shook under the amount of power that had been released.

Dread filled screams and many being vaporized, the Emperor stood still, watching it all happen. Although he didn't want to smile, he couldn't help himself. The fireworks were just brilliant. The fools had expected him to just charge at them blindingly. Idiots. Did they think he would always fight like a battle-starved soldier?

Still, the explosions painted some good memories inside his head. It reminded him of the time he lit up the grounds in Kirigakure during the civil war. Ah, the good days.

''To conclude things,'' Naruto held out his hand, his Susano'o flared to live, instead of its usual dark orange, there was a mixture of pure black around. It Susano'o transformed until it reached its perfect form.

Its wings flapped as it crashed down the ground. The Susano'o took out one of its blades, a single swing wiped through the explosion. The energy released by the swing tore through like an sudden wave of cutting wind.

Naruto watched silently as smoke filled the area. As he started to see those craters formed by the Divine Bombs, he smiled. ''This reminds me of that brutal battle I had with Madara and Sasuke,'' he said to himself before releasing his Susano'o.

''That took three minutes,'' Naruto said to himself. ''Oh well, no one will remind me I said only two minutes. Besides, the result is quite satisfying,'' he smiled.

''Hmm?'' Naruto narrowed his eyes.

''Larriat!'' Both Bee and A shouted as they went in for their killer jutsu: A in the front and Bee coming from behind.

A killer jutsu that was surrounded to chop off the Emperor's head, and Naruto blocked it. Both his hands were stretched out, touching each of their right shoulders. Both felt an invisible force hand stopped them and was restraining them.

''When I was fighting Madara, I was able to block the blade of his perfect Susano'o. Mind you, the swing of a Susano'o can cut through a mountain and Uchiha Naruto blocked it,'' the Emperor stated flatly before adding with a question. ''Do you think that I would be unable to block this?''

A growled, cursing hatefully at the Emperor.

''I hear you, but you said some people will be attacking my city, right? I can't waste time here. I will not dance with you, but I will end you and continue with the massacre on the other side.''

Just then, two hands burst forth from the ground, but Naruto was able to jump up to avoid it. However, this momentarily loss of concentration freed both A and Bee, who reacted quickly and quickly touched him, both on the chest and at the back. The touch was rather forceful, palms were open.

''Shinra Tensei!''

Once more, Naruto blasted his enemies away from him. However, a sudden feeling enveloped him as strange marks begun to spread out from the back and front were A and Bee and touched him. As Naruto landed on the ground, the marks were all around his body, restraining him beyond movement, he couldn't even blink.

Inwardly, Naruto frowned. He couldn't break free from the seal and it was restricting his control over his chakra. This is why he hated an enemy who knew Fuinjutsu. It was damn troublesome. In his arrogance, he hadn't thought that A would go as far as to learn Fuinjutsu to fight him, then again, the man must have known he couldn't win in a straight fight.

Perhaps he should give the man and his brother some credit. They had brought him to this state. He couldn't even speak, and a second ago, his Rinnegan just disappeared. He was now left with his normal eyes.

He was trapped in a corner. It gave him sudden chills as he waited with bated breath for the kind of final blow the Raikage would deliver upon his defenceless body. Surely, he couldn't do anything. He just had to take in the attack and hope that his body would regenerate quick enough.

''It took us three years to develop that seal,'' A said, with a confident grin. His background wasn't pleasant, but they finally got the man bundled down. ''An uncompleted version of it was used on you in Iwagakure weeks ago.''

So the man had been working with Onoki for a long time now. Naruto wasn't too surprised. The idea of this seal may have even come from that old fool. Onoki had been sharp despite his age. Still, for villages who aren't renowned for their Fuinjutsu prowess, they did an excellent job here.

When A looked at his brother for a moment, he wanted to frown. The brother of his had his back turned against the emperor, confident that the seal would hold. His eyes were looking at the massacre ground, as the Emperor had called. Perhaps there were hundreds still alive. But without medical attention, they would die given their critical states.

Their sacrifices would not be for nothing. He may not have foreseen things coming to this end, but he was at a good standing now. He could end the emperor. He was going to win. He would march back to Kumo has the victor.

Victory was within his grasp. It was in front of him.

''Bee!'' A shouted. ''We need to finish things here. We don't know how long this will last. We only got one shot, we need to use it before the seal wears off.''

Bee nodded. He understood. They could all mourn the dead after their enemy was dead. If they took the head of the emperor or what would be left of him to the Imperial capital, the war would be over. Those men's sacrifices wouldn't have been in vain.

The brothers nodded towards each other before simultaneously going through similar hand seals. Once done, they slammed their hands on the ground, and a joint seal formed on the ground.

In a puff of smoke, a wheeled weapon, with one huge cannon launcher appeared. A positioned it in front of the Emperor, pressed a few buttons before he called Bee. Both placed their hands on a small screen for their hand prints. The weapon activated and chakra began to gather at the mouth of the launcher.

''For the many you have slaughtered, we will end you now. According to our research, natural energy is your weakness. But in this state, it doesn't matter. You can't absorb anything. You're defenceless.''

''Lets do this brother,'' Bee said firmly.

That man had taken his buddy away from him. He'd stripped him of his one true friend. It was unforgivable, and the murders here were not forgivable either.

''Burn in Hell your Majesty!'' A shouted mockingly.

The weapon fire a pale form of chakra that short out in a stream, heading towards the Emperor in blinding speeds. If a Susanoo's sword could cut through a mountain, then this beam could separate a mountain. Even after hitting the emperor, the beam continued to march forward, reaching distances neither Raikage nor brother could follow.

''That should erase his entire existence,'' A said with a smile. Bee nodded in agreement.

There was no way he could survive. No way in this world or the next. The Emperor was as good as dead. A was sure of it.

The beam died down without any explosion occurring - it just silently disappeared into thin air. A and his brother watched carefully, ready to act should there be a need. But in all calculations, no one should be able to survive that blast. It should turn the body into ash.

Both brothers were shocked when smoke lingered where the Emperor had been restrained. Their eyes widened further after the smoke cleared: there Emperor was still alive. Half of his upper body was missing from the left shoulder. A disturbed grin was on his bloody lips – which were leaking blood.

''H-how are you still a-alive?!''

Naruto fell on one knee, breathing heavily. ''If I was normal. I'd be dead. That blast would have turned me into ash. But I told you, didn't I? You don't understand the powers you're against.''

Once more again, the brothers watched the Emperor doing something that should be impossible. It took about a minute, but his missing parts regenerated. Still, he looked really pale, and his breathing had yet to calm. A could only assume that regenerating that much of his body required a lot of chakra, and that blast had taken a lot out of him.

''Oi, Oi, are you even human?!'' the disbelieve was conveyed in Bee's voice.

''Yes,'' Naruto said, still on his knees. He literally couldn't stand up, despite talking as if he was fine. None of his doujutsu could even activate due to the lack of power. ''I am just a bit... abnormal, rather, for the lack of a better word.''

A gritted his teeth, his lightning cloak burst into life once more before he spend towards the Emperor. His lightning powered punch roared into the face of his opponent.

Naruto couldn't dodge nor block the attack. The fist of the Raikage hit him hard on the gut. It had so much power that the Emperor coughed up a mouthful of blood.

A wasn't done. He gripped the Emperor by his face, slamming him down the ground in a resounding fashion.

"You may have survived the blast, but you can't defend yourself. I will end you!"

Despite being pressed down the ground by A's right hand, Naruto managed a slight shake of his head. "No. You're wrong about that. I am not defenseless."

Before A could retort, he was slammed hard on the side by a clone of Naruto – carrying the truth-seeking balls. The clone had come out of nowhere.

"Did you not ask yourself why I didn't have those balls when I came here?" Naruto asked, still lying down the ground.

Well that was something that neither Bee nor A had questioned. In fact, they hadn't thought much about the damn dangerous balls until now.

A still spoke through gritted teeth. "I figured you couldn't use them because of your weakened state or you just felt that you didn't need them," he said, his mind trying to find ways to get out of the situation.

"Yes, that first wave of attack had left me incapable of fighting to my standards. I didn't have the amount of chakra I needed," Naruto said. "And so, I sent this clone to Kumogakure."

A widened his eyes. The fact that the clone had returned meant that it had succeeded in whatever that it had been sent to do. He growled. He had left Darui and Yugito to protect Kumo. What could have happened to them? What happened to his village?

As if reading A's thoughts, Naruto spoke once more, while still lying on the ground, with his clone just beside him.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill Darui and Yugito, nor did I harm the village," technically it was the clone which responded before Naruto took over. Well, they spoke simultaneously.

"However, I made it very clear to your village what you nearly did. That you nearly and wanted to destroy innocent people like what Onoki did. I informed them that I could not forgive that. Naturally they tried to ridicule me and call me things, but I merely asked them if I had ever tried to kill innocent people and if I was as evil as they believed me to be, why was I not destroying them for what You did.

"I demonstrated to them that I could destroy them if I wanted to it. I made sure they believed it with their own eyes that I could. But because I was a fair Person, I would not."

"What did you do?"

This time, it was the clone which shrugged and responded only, "Nothing serious."

"Like I said, the first wave had left me drained of chakra. The clone had another purpose in its visit to Kumo. Two more purposes really: destroy the weapon you used and collect chakra from your shinobi."

To prove what he was saying, the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Giving him all the chakra it had absorbed. Naruto's skin turned normal again. But it was still slightly pale.

The emperor got up from the ground, his truth-seeking balls around me. "My body is still weak. It's embarrassing really," he said to himself. "These balls are the reason you haven't attacked isn't it?"

A merely glared.

"You know what they can do," Naruto said. "I will make things comfortable for you." He snapped his fingers and another clone appeared. It took the balls before disappearing.

Before Naruto could say anything. The Raikage was already attacking him. Naruto just shook his head. Hasty man, he thought.

Naruto didn't attempt to dodge the punch. His activated Sharingan could predict things quite well, and he simply caught the punch, not with his bare hand though - it was a mixture of wind and gravity.

Once the punch was stopped, he allowed his hand to leave the fist. His Rinnegan showed up, replacing the Sharingan. ''Bansho Tenin,'' that said, the Raikage was pulled into the palm of his hand, and caught on the neck. ''Gakido,'' he muttered while restraining the man from moving using a force of gravity.

A quickly realized what was going. The Emperor was absorbing his chakra. He tried moving, but he was losing chakra far quickly than he could muster any energy to try and break free. Within a few seconds, his lightning cloak was dispersed as he no longer had the chakra to keep it alive.

''Bee! Retreat for now!'' A shouted at his brother. ''You can fight another day!''

While Bee was hesitant, Naruto wasn't. ''I told you A, no one was going to leave this place,'' he held out his left hand. ''Bansho Tenin!'' Bee flew into the left palm and was put in the same position as his older brother. ''Gakido,'' he fell into the same fate.

''Normally, I wouldn't resort to such means, but there is a city I must protect.'' The Emperor said so while absorbing the chakra of the two. Kami-sama, he really needed it. He doubted he could even fight in the next battle without getting more chakra.

Naruto threw A into the air, weakened as he was. He then slammed Bee down the ground in a brutal manner. As the Raikage fell down the ground, Naruto held out his right hand, and a chakra rod materialized. The Raikage fell down the ground, tried to stand after which, but couldn't stand, he barely had any chakra left.

He only had energy to release a growl when Naruto pierced through his gut by the chakra rod.

"Both of you are going to die and though I'm losing shinobi, my city still stands," Naruto said to A. "Let us talk for a moment, shall we?"

The blow he'd just received was bleeding him. He was going to die. He had failed his mission. And the Emperor was going to enslave this world, his village. Cursed Uchiha!

"You must be thinking that you failed and I am going to rule over your village. Make your people suffer," Naruto said, earning a growl from the Raikage. "The truth is. I have no such plan. I knew that without a war, I could never actually get you and Onoki killed without sparking an outcry. Since i was bored, I thought it was best we start a war. During this war, i can reduce the number of shinobi, and kill the Kages who oppose me."

"You will meet your day, Uchiha," A snarled, hatefully.

"That remains to be seen. Still, after this few battles, the world will be free, I will be free," Naruto smiled. "Do you know why?"

A only glared, weakly.

"Kiri, Sunagakure, they are both in my hands, and will never turn on me. Kurotsuchi has come to understand, in due time, she will be my ally. The shinobi that resent me from Iwa will be dead by tomorrow night. Soon enough, Sasuke will take Konoha, and in due time, it will become an ally of The Rice. I have Yugito in Kumo and Darui isn't like you.

The thing is, my empire will hold other nations together. Even if Kumo choses to hate, it will be nothing more than in insect because Konoha, Suna, and Kiri will be on my side. Iwagakure may not become a true friend, but it won't venture into fights with me. Be happy, your death will bring in a new world."

''Amaterasu,'' that said, the two brothers burst into flames.

Just to make sure no one survived, Naruto did a Tengai Shinsei.

Naruto looked up at the meteorite. The others were surely seeing this, and his city would feel its tremors.

"Now then. I better get out of here. I don't think I will survive if this thing hits me," Naruto said.

As he took a step away, he suddenly fell on the ground. He smiled wryly. "I need more chakra."

Just outside of the capital

When Naruto appeared outside the walls of the city in the north gate, he couldn't help but frown. There was a small army charging. It wasn't just that. What made him frown was that there were other platoons charging other sides of the capital. These people: they knew the city's defences weren't at large. The army was small. The city was crowded by civilians.

A fatal flaw in their plan is that they'd counted on him wasting too much time in the battlefield with the main assault group which was A's company. On his previous battles, he had never been shy from the chance of taking time to enjoy the battle. But this time, he hadn't fought. Just activated weapons of mass destruction and killed everything.

That was what he had to do here as well.

Given his current chakra reserves, he would need to use the divine trees to take away chakra from these shinobi. That would help. He didn't want anyone surprising him with an attack while he was low on chakra and very worn out.

He had already received two fatal hits. By all accounts he should be dead. If not from the first hit, then by the second hit. Even so, he was here, only due to his inability to die.

Once more again, Naruto brought out the divine tree, and allowed it to do the dirty work for him - feed him with chakra. It was his to begin with, so no one should really complain. Natural energy was another way to recharge, but at his current state, Naruto chose not to. He didn't want to end up stuffing in too much energy he couldn't regulate within his body.

Minutes Later

Throne room

The room was rather quiet now, and not so intimidating as it was the last time around. It was easy for Karin to breath as she walked towards the Emperor who was back on his favourite pose. He hadn't taken too much time in his battles, but yet he was back here. The battles weren't over. People were still fighting outside the city. It was just that no one was going to get in without her knowing.

Karin frowned when she looked at the Emperor carefully: his skin seemed pale and the chakra she was sensing from him wasn't at its usual peak. Even if he had just left the battlefield, Karin couldn't actually believe that it could be so low.

She swallowed hard when his sharp eyes fully took her form, ''Are you okay? You don't seem 'healthy,''' she managed to say to the Emperor.

Silence greeted her but Naruto did respond.

''I'm fine,'' Naruto said. ''I guess this is what happens when you take on two death blows. My body was almost torn to pieces in the first wave. I had much difficult in regenerating after that. The second drained much of my chakra that I couldn't keep my doujutsu activated without absorbing chakra.''

Karin nodded quietly. ''I guess they were prepared for this,'' she said before adding. "But it shouldn't be a surprise since they has time."

''Yes they were. If it wasn't for my control over the divine trees, I would most likely be immobilized in a battlefield while they think of ways to seal me away,'' Naruto said. ''I have never faced such embarrassment like this in my life.''

Yeah, so like Naruto to be worried about saving face at a time like this. Fire works were occurring outside the city. People were dying, and he was talking about facing the embarrassment of his life. Yeah, definitely the Emperor.

''I'm guessing in your state you won't be fighting anymore,'' Karin said, in the form of a statement.

''Yes, I will rest out here, for now,'' Naruto said. ''Given the surprise and strategy of the attack, we can believe that Konoha's wave of attacks won't come until tomorrow. From what I gathered, Konoha is under attack as well.''

''So, they will first defend their village before coming here. We may still be fending off attacks by then if you don't participate,'' Karin said.

''I can live with that,'' Naruto merely said. ''Tomorrow's expected assaults should be much more challenging than today's. I hope by them, we will end things.''

Karin nodded, she wasn't going to question the Emperor. ''At least while you're here, you can defend the city from other surprises, and I doubt the Hokage will be sending an army.''

''Unlikely but at this stage, I'm expecting anything,'' Naruto said. ''I can't locate Kotaro and Nao. Where are they?''

Karin was surprised by that, but she didn't question it. ''They are acting as back up to both Shinji and Heisuke - who are at the south and west gates, respectively.''

''Send a word for both Shinji and Heisuke to return. Nao and Kotaro can take charge of things. I will watch over the walls.''

''What of the north gate?''

''I sealed it,'' Naruto said, closing his eyes.

Karin knew she was being dismissed, and so, she left the presence of the Emperor, who was probably going to engage in self recovery while keeping an eye on the walls of the city. He could perfectly do that while within that throne of his

Xxxx

The sound of swords clashing, battle cries, all reached Heisuke as he danced around the battlefield, holding a line to stop these Iwa shinobi from reaching the capital. The battle was tough, especially when they were outnumbered. Difficult it was. But they were holding rather well. Their military power wasn't judged on numbers, but quality.

That in mind, they would win this battle, and he was certain Shinji was doing far better than he was.

''Explosives!'' one of his men shouted in warming as a hail of explosive tags were sent to their position.

''Mud Wall!'' Heisuke shouted to the man who could do the Earth jutsu. ''Wind Users repel the Explosives as well. Fire users, be ready for assault once the mud wall crumbles down!''

''Yes, sir!'' The men got ready to act.

As the fire works began, Heisuke held his blade firmly, his senses stretching in all directions. Just so he could avoid the damn enemies springing in an attack while they were blindsided. They'd lost enough of their men.

A sensor shouted, ''enemy attack. Behind you, general!''

''I got it. Continue with what you're doing!'' Heisuke shouted back, while twisting.

Just then, a man burst forth from the ground. But he found Heisuke's blade waiting for him. The general didn't waste time, as he swiftly pierced through the shinobi's chest with his blade. To his horror, the man merely grinned and grabbed his blade rather firmly.

He cursed when he realized the man was booby-trapped by a set of explosives around his body. Before he could let go of his blade to take cover, the explosives, went off.

Boom!

Despite the explosion happening around them, the Imperial shinobi didn't look too much on it. Their continued their focus on their assault. It would do them good to lose concentration like this. They didn't want to lose their hold. Not when the Emperor had taken bodily harm while trying to save them so that they could fight.

One took charge over Heisuke, ''The wall is down. Release the fire dragons!'' he shouted as about 50 shinobi went on to do the jutsu.

Just away from the explosion that nearly killed him, Heisuke was on knee, breathing heavily with bruises all over his body. He looked at his right, Nao. ''I can still go on you know. This is nothing,'' he said to his colleague.

Nao shrugged. ''Yes, you can. But his Majesty has called for your return. Have you forgotten that you have duties at the royal palace?''

''I haven't forgotten,'' Heisuke said firmly. ''But Samui-sama insisted that I join the front lines. We had to do this.''

''I know. Return now. You don't want to keep the Emperor waiting. I will finish things here,'' Nao said, stepping away from Heisuke to join the battle.

Heisuke didn't say a word in response, he merely disappeared from the battlefield.

He appeared next in the throne room. The Emperor was on his throne, a bruised Shinji on his knees. ''You were called as well,'' Heisuke said to Shinji.

The man nodded, ''I was,'' he said. ''Your Majesty,'' Shinji said to the Emperor. ''I thought you'd be in the royal quarters, looking after your family.''

''They are not here. I sent them to my core dimension. I fear they be at risk because there is a rat in one of the high ranking officials in battle right now. I don't know which one it is, but one exists,'' The Emperor stated.

''We had suspected that as well, given recent actions,'' Shinji said. ''But why call us here? We could have been of use at the battlefield.''

''Is there something we have to deal with?'' Heisuke asked.

Naruto nodded. ''Special Corps HQ have to be evacuated, Nao's tower and the citizen affair complex as well. You have to evacuate them within an hour.''

Alarmed, Heisuke was quick to respond. ''What is happening, Heika?''

''The attacks were coordinated and occurred one after the other,'' it was why it had made him mad. ''A outside the country's borders, the Iwa shinobi outside the city's wall...''

Shinji tensed, eyes widened slightly, ''You mean there could be an attack inside the city as well. Who could have done that without us knowing. Without you knowing? We have always kept our security air tight. No spy could have entered the city long enough to plan an attack.''

Heisuke nodded in agreement. ''But that is not important here. What is really happening your Majesty?''

''A set of complex explosives were planted in those buildings,'' Naruto said. ''The rat that planted them was with you while you were still in your training. While this city was being extended, rebuilding taking place, he had all the time. I'd been too arrogant to think anyone in the city would betray me.''

''If it is someone we trained with then it is someone who knows us well and knows the system. For that person, it was to move about without anyone noticing,'' Heisuke frowned. He didn't like this. ''Who is it, your Majesty?''

''I have my suspects narrowed two shinobi,'' Naruto said. ''we will deal with that later. For now, you have your tasks. Karin will join as well. You already have less than an hour to disarm the explosives. While we talk, time is ticking.''

Both Shinji and Heisuke were on their feet in a second, their weariness a distant memory. ''Why do you say they are complex?''

''Each explosive within a building is connected by a chakra threat. If you tear one out improperly, causing it to detonate, the others will detonate. We can't leave them because they are all set to detonate eventually. Karin will show you a simple seal to deactivate them.''