章 68: 060 - The Beginning of the End
KONOHA
A massive clawed hand swatted downwards from behind. Hiruzen dodged away from the giant summon, his eyes narrowed in concentration. The beastly Susanoo thrashed against the lance pinning it to the ground, its blade-like tails slashing against the weapon; rabid.
The third leapt again, dodging the gigantic fireball that surged his way, his body flickering out of sight the moment he did. The fireball, seemingly aware of this, turned and followed him before exploding in a great plume of heat that sent him tumbling backwards.
His feet skidding against the fractured earth, Hiruzen looked up just in time to see Fugaku charging towards him. A spectral ribcage wrapped the clan head from which a great skeletal arm extended holding a phantasmal spear that burned in black, unnatural flames. Hiruzen's hands blurred and a muddy river gathered beneath his feet before sweeping forward towards the Uchiha patriarch. Fugaku's Susanoo spear rose to divert the stream, splitting the conjured river in twain. Hiruzen's arms formed another string of hand signs, his chakra churning as a whiskered, four-legged mud dragon rose from the stream before shooting towards the Uchiha with the force of a speeding train.
Hiruzen pushed the offensive, his hands blurring still as a torrent of fire spilt forth from his lips to consume Fugaku. Skidding to a stop just in front of the conflagration, he raised his Enma as he prepared for Fugaku to emerge from the flames; he could still sense the Uchiha's chakra burning brightly ahead, his Susanoo protecting him from harm. All around was a scene of profound destruction. Sasuke's Susanoo was no longer in sight nor was the sand Tanuki that had turned on him; that was as bad a sign as any, Hiruzen decided, his eyes scanning the battlefield for his oppo—urk!
The Third Hokage looked down to see a short Tanto sticking out of his chest having punctured his heart. Behind him, Fugaku's shadow clone dispersed as the last of its chakra was depleted with the completion of the Silent Killing technique. At that moment a figure emerged from the dying flames, crimson eyes staring impassionately at the Third.
"...Wait," Hiruzen coughed as he choked on his own blood. Fugaku flickered away, seemingly unconcerned with the Hokage's fate.
***
Crimson eyes, wide open, saw through the chaos of battle. Beneath the surface, the earth shook with a constant tremor. The air shimmered and wrapped in a synchronized dance with heat waves emanating from the razed earth beneath. From our perch,
we could see the world through a veil of turbulent chakra.
We could hear the screams of men and women.
We could feel the thrum of their chakra.
We could smell the stench of blood and death.
We were hungry.
So, very hungry.
Vengeance was so close, we could taste it. Oh, sweet vengeance.
With a rumble, we shifted, sending the earth quivering. Our tails lashed out, dismembering the Susanoo standing on our spine. The smaller majestic attire toppled to the side, its severed arms and legs no longer providing it the much-needed purchase to
stay upright. The chakra construct fell, shattering into a million pieces as its undead pilot's severed halves tumbled to the ground before disappearing behind a billowing dust cloud.
With all six of our arms, we pushed off the ground to continue our assault, crawling forward as our lower half crumbled behind us. One of our clawed arms rose to catch a blur that shot out of the dust at our face; cracks spiderwebbed across the surface of our susanoo's spectral palm as it caught the gigantic Rasengan cradled in Jiraiya's palm. Two wrinkly toads stood on his shoulders as he pushed the spiralling orb of chakra against us.
From beneath our great bulk, the sand Tanuki's reformed arms wrapped around our torso before squeezing. The tailed beast's body dispersed as it gradually began to form a cocoon around our Susanoo; cracks rippled across the surface of the spectral armour as the pressure mounted. We squeezed, crushing the Rasengan in our Susanoo's palm; the arm detonated as a result with everything beneath the elbow being vapourised. The toad sage leapt away, his right hand dangling limply by his side. From the opposite side, Tobirama sprinted past an occupied Fugaku, a massive vortex of water in his wake. The second leapt up his hand blurring before a beam of pressurized water shot towards us.
Our remaining arms rose to catch the attack, but with how weighed down they were by the Tanuki's bulk we knew they would not be fast enough. A clone peeled off our body, its hands weaving chakra before it even fully emerged. As it freed itself an identical beam of water shot forth from its maw to knock the deadly stream off course.
From the chaos, a wave of electricity erupted; had we not seen it on the path, we might have been caught unaware.
"...Shisui," we tsked as the blow washed over us. Eyes flickering about the battlefield, we promptly came to a decision. Chidori gathered in our palm as we allowed ourself to free fall through our Susanoo towards the Tanuki beneath. Sand parted before lightning as we dove through molten silica, our outstretched hand punching a hole through Gaara's sand armour. We let our chakra sublime his being before gripping onto the essence of the tailed beast within.
With a tug we yanked it out, ignoring the boy's dumbfounded expression as we consumed the troublemaker within.
"...How?" he croaked.
We ignored him still as we tugged our arm free of his warm innards, our chakra sealing the wound as we tossed him aside. Around us, a few metric tons of compacted sand crashed to the earth as our Susanoo faded from existence beneath it and the will of Tanuki relinquished its hold over it to the force of gravity.
As another wall of dust billowed out about us, we willed another three clones to split from us before fading out of site to reset the battle.
***
Yakumo could scarcely believe her eyes. It was happening; Sasuke-kun fulfilled his promise; Konoha was in ruins.
Flecks of dust fell from the ceiling of the bunker they hid in. All around, the most important non-combatants of the clans were gathered so they might be shielded from the carnage above. Still, with even some of the best protecting them, it was more than obvious to Yakumo that no one felt safe. Under the steely-eyed facade of stoicism worn by the shinobi tasked with protecting them, she could sense flickers of rage intermixed with smatterings of bone-deep terror. They were terrified of him, she realised; of Sasuke, a boy her age. The same boy they had all condemned because his continued existence made their livelihood just a touch more uncertain.
It was at that moment Yakumo fully comprehended the dynamic between Konoha and her best friend. The village's hatred for him was only matched by the impotence they felt in his presence.
…Envy, Yakumo found she felt knowing that. She wanted that; to be feared. To be able to so casually and nonchalantly wreak havoc on those who took from her what she cherished the most.
She exhaled a shaky breath as she tucked a strand of brown hair behind her left ear. Had anyone glanced at her at that moment, they might have easily mistaken her trembling for the fear of a young girl in need of comfort. Her lips quivered as she stared at the uneasy guards and her delicate hands stuffed in the pockets of her silken kimono were scrunched into tight, pale-knuckled fist.
…don't hesitate.
Yakumo shivered as she remembered the last words she heard whispered in her ear by him before he spontaneously decided to bring the leaf to its knees.
If you truly desire revenge, Yakumo… never hesitate.
Her right hand slid out of her pocket, a paintbrush held tightly in her clutches. "Ido," she whispered as her lidded eyes panned across the crowd to meet her former master's crimson ones; for a long moment, Kurenai's eyes narrowed in incomprehension before, suddenly, lighting up with panic.
"...Lend me your strength."
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