章節 23: Chapter 20
Noroi stared from a distance as Naruto blurred away from the destruction he'd caused. It was perhaps because there was a bigger agenda that was bigger than Temari that the Emperor had even bothered to move away from the streets of the village. If there was no bigger picture, this village would have been covered in smoke with the emperor running loose within the streets.
"I thought they would have been keeping her at the Tsuchikage tower." Naoki said.
He was not concerned with Naruto's battle; he had already seen enough. He didn't even need to be concerned about anything with regards to Naruto's safety.
Noroi looked towards the departing emperor for a little while longer before speaking.
"I really want to watch the battle. They also have a Jinchuriki waiting in line in case things don't work out."
"We have a mission." Naoki said in a stern tone. "His Majesty will not be happy if we fail it."
Noroi turned to Naoki for a moment.
"When have we failed a mission?"
"In this situation, when things are not completely in our hands, we can fail."
"Well, if they lose, they might just decide to kill her. It would set off an interesting chain of events." Noroi said in thought. "Let us get this over with quickly. If we can finish up early, I'll be able to watch the battle."
Xxxx
Naruto looked up for a moment.
There was no need to even draw a sword for this. The gloves were not needed since he wasn't going to be using swords. Besides, he still needed to remove the seal on Kurotsuchi.
How many were even facing him?
Fifty?
A Jinchuriki and then that black haired woman.
Naruto removed the gloves he wore and then glanced towards Kurotsuchi.
He took a single step forward, but the moment he did so, the round below him burst, lifting him high into the sky. He glanced up when he sensed chakra spike: there were two men, flying down towards him.
"Doton: Kengan no Jutsu!"
Both encased their right hands in rock before aiming their respective punches towards Naruto.
The Emperor channeled chakra into his leg muscles and bent his left knees slightly. He covered his right leg with wind chakra before aiming towards the incoming rock punches. When his foot crashed into the rock punches, they cracked and nearly shattered but the two shinobi increased the weight to strengthen them.
The rock formation Naruto stood on shattered from the pressure released when Naruto's kick connected with the punches – it did not shattered completely though. The break down, forced him down a little, but he managed to balance himself while increasing pressure on the attacks above him to defend.
While he was still in the struggle with the two shinobi above him, he sensed another shinobi lunging towards him. His eyes narrowed behind slightly: the man was holding a sword with both his hands, swinging it in a horizontal slash aimed towards his back. Naruto waited for a couple of moments while coating his right hand with wind chakra.
The moment the man's swing neared him, his right hand was swung in behind. He caught the blade within the palm of his hand and strengthened his grip. With all the strength he could manage, he pulled the sword, along with the man who held it.
He slammed the man into the rock punches.
There was so much strength that the already cracked punches shattered and the man cried in pain as he had hit hardened rock with his head.
Now free to move, Naruto disappeared in a blur. He appeared just above the two three shinobi in the blink of an eye.
His favored wind sword appeared on his outstretched right hand; he quickly swung it.
The wind blade cut through the three shinobi in the blink of an eye. They all blinked, as gravity started to pull them down, there was no sense of pain; they had not felt the swing. Blood gushed out, as the three started falling down. It was then that the pain shot through their bodies.
While still in mid-air, Naruto's eyes moved around quickly as he searched for a safe place to land. His body twisted along with small gusts of wind and then he was gone. There were five men standing together, in stances. Naruto appeared between them. Before any could respond, he grabbed two by their throats and slammed their heads together.
There was so much force that blood started dripping from the sides of their heads.
Two twisted on both his sides: they raised both their right legs, flashing high kicks towards his shoulders. Naruto didn't have time to let go of the two he held and dropped down to his knees to avoid the kicks. The two kicked their fellow Stone shinobi. The kicks landed on their shoulders and sent them flying away.
Naruto sensed movement.
The fifth man was behind him.
He saw something sharp and immediately swiped his left hand behind him. He positioned his fingers perfectly to allow the kunai to slip through before he held the hand that was holding the kunai.
The Emperor let go of the man he held when he sensed two on his sides moving and then rolled forward. He flipped once before jumping into the air, facing the three. While airborne, he did hand seals while inhaling air. "Wind Style: Burning Gust!"
He exhaled a powerful gust of wind, mixed with flames. It was like a miniature Majestic Flame Destroyer.
The jutsu slammed into his opponents in seconds. The intense flames surrounded all shinobi, consuming them within seconds and there was nothing left of their bodies after the flames flamed out.
Naruto had no time to observe the handiwork of his jutsu as a dragon flame rushed toward him from behind. He allowed it to get near for a moment before snapping his fingers. The flames just dispersed like that.
A hardened foot slammed into Naruto's forehead while he was still in mid-air. He was sent flying. He flipped three times before hitting the ground on both feet but still slid backwards because of the momentum.
The second he stopped, he started doing hand seals as he felt multiple chakra movements merge towards him.
"Fire Style: Majestic Flame Destroyer!" He launched the massive wave of flames. The flames spread out wide, burning with intensive heat as they marched towards the enemy flanks.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
It was not just one jutsu that was released to counter the flames but multiple. Naruto wondered if it would really hold. Water was needed to completely halt the flames. A clone puffed into existence beside him as the flames slammed into the mud wall. It formed two balls of intense flames. The clone then disappeared along gusts of wind.
It appeared behind the enemy line, both hands held out.
"Predictable, when overwhelming danger stares at you, you fully face it with a glare and forget there might be other dangers," he said before throwing all two orbs of flames.
"Flame Explos-"
The clone was cut off from finishing speaking but it did not sop the orbs from exploding. The clone was stopped because Roshi had appeared behind it covered in lava and then slammed a brutal forehand on its back.
The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.
When everything cleared, Naruto stood still after receiving the memories of his clone. He stared at the Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails with an expressionless mask.
"I have learned basic chakra elements because I realized each one of them holds an advantage over the other. I had stopped bothering with Suiton because I could handle Katon. I should have considered that I would be forced to face off against lava one day."
"By that admission, you have nothing to counter lava. I would ask you to just give up," Roshi said. "But you are an enemy of Iwagakure; I cannot just let you leave."
"Let me go?" Naruto asked with a raised brow. "You are confusing my admission; I never said I cannot hurt you. I hold the Kyubi within me and I have access to its power – I can crush you."
Roshi did not respond to the Emperor; he just darted towards Naruto, while the blond just took a stance, waiting for the Jinchuriki to arrive.
When he got closer to Naruto, he jumped up, twisting clockwise with his right foot pushing the air to the sides as it moved towards Naruto's face. The Emperor opted to block the kick by folding both hands in front of him. Roshi's kick connected, causing him to slide back slightly under its strength. Roshi then brought his hands together and tried to slam them atop of Naruto's head. The blond pushed his foot away slightly and leapt into the air.
The moment he touched down the ground, he rocketed away, leaving nothing but dust behind. Roshi charged at him, slightly shifting above the ground. Naruto bent his knees, falling backwards to position his body to face up while holding his hands together.
As he slid just below Roshi, he released a jutsu.
"Katon: Great Fireball no Jutsu."
He expelled intense flames from his mouth, and they hit Roshi head on, exploding into a huge cloud of flames.
Naruto slid past the flames and straightened up before twisting around to face Roshi. Without even looking behind him, he jumped up, while twisting around once more. Roshi's right foot just blasted below him, encased by Lava. When he turned around, Naruto covered his foot with chakra and attempted to kick the man in the face. Roshi folded both his hands across his face.
When his kick connected, Naruto felt an incredible amount of heat burn through his skin, but Roshi was still forced to slide backwards under the power of the kick.
Naruto quickly leapt away.
"Now, this is dangerous," he said, looking curious, yet slightly excited. "I guess I should use..."
He trailed off when he sensed movement from behind. He silently activated senjutsu before he tilted his head to his right. A shinobi was driving a punch towards the back of his head. The punch missed him by a few inches, zipping away from his left ear. Swiftly, he took a single step forward while twisting clockwise. His right hand burst through the man's chest, causing a splatter of blood. The shinobi coughed up more blood while trying to stop the bleeding by frantically placing both hands on the hole on his chest, but Naruto's hand was still in there.
While his hand was still inside the man, Naruto twisted around, along with the man.
Roshi's lava punch slammed into the man's face, burning it horribly while the man let out a pained scream as he had yet to die.
Naruto lifted his left hand on his back.
Kurotsuchi's right foot just fell onto the palm of his hand. He gripped her just above her ankle with the full power of Sage Mode, cracking her bone. She let out a small cry as Naruto pulled her towards the front. He removed his hand from the man's chest, threw him to the sides to create a clear path for Roshi. He then took a step back before slamming Kurotsuchi towards Five Tail's Jinchuriki in a downward motion with so much force that he nearly snapped her leg.
Roshi had anticipated this and avoided Kurotsuchi by jumping up into the air. Kurotsuchi then slammed into the ground with her face in the most brutal way. There was a small boom as her body got buried into the ground; she cursed silently as the pain shot through her body.
This was not going according to plan, she thought. She had to find a way to breakthrough or else all would be lost – she too would be lost. The Emperor was apparently in a foul mode today.
Naruto lifted his right foot with intentions of stomping on Kurotsuchi's leg to break it but before he could do anything, Roshi flashed towards him, driving a lava punch towards his chest.
This forced him to jump backwards.
The moment be landed on the ground, he lunged towards the diving Jinchuriki, driving his right foot towards his face. The kick did not connect but Roshi was still hit by a force that sent him flying backwards.
"Doton: Doryuso."
A spike protruded from the ground, flashing towards Naruto from below.
The blond slammed the base of his left foot atop of the spike, crushing it with just one move.
He then burst toward Kurotsuchi who was still on the ground, diving towards her. He drove a right punch towards her chest. She rolled towards the right and Naruto's fist crashed into the ground, creating a large crater that made her feel relieved she had dodged it or otherwise, her chest would have been shattered. Her relief quickly disappeared when she sensed something grabbing her left leg.
She never got to look up as she was forcefully pulled from the ground by a chakra chain. Her eyes widened when she twisted, Roshi was just in front of her, his lava punch heading towards her chest.
Roshi tried to cancel his lava cloak but he was not quick enough. His fist ended up hitting Kurotsuchi on the chest, burning through her skin. The force of the punch caused a couple of bones to snap, as she coughed up blood, crying as she did.
Naruto created a clone that caught her, holding her in a locked position. Simultaneously, the real Naruto flashed behind Roshi, who was not in his Lava cloak. He was holding his hands together when he appeared.
Two crimson hands burst out and grabbed the man before slamming him down the ground.
"Falling Swords!"
Naruto did hand motions as three invisible wind swords formed in the air and flashed down towards Roshi in blinding speed. Two pierced through his knees while the other pierced through his right shoulder.
Roshi cursed loudly at the pain. The blond was a brutal bastard. He could not win a battle like this. He needed to transform now, lest he suffer more pain.
Naruto flashed towards the struggling Kurotsuchi.
"Fighting in Sage Mode is truly cheating. I can feel all the chakra. I can feel that he is going to transform into his Bijuu form…" He said before summoning his wind sword.
"Hold out both her hands," he instructed the clone.
Kurotsuchi widened her eyes, fear making her tremble. She could tell what was going on. She opened her mouth to say something but the explosion of chakra behind Naruto drowned her voice. He didn't seem interested in listening to her either as he swung his sword. She felt nothing but seconds later, blood gushed out of her right shoulder, her hand cut off.
Naruto caught it before it could hit the ground and did something cruel.
He threw it into the air and spat out intense flames and incinerated her right hand.
Kurotsuchi felt as if she could feel the flames burning through her hand. "You bastard! You will pay for this!" She cried.
Naruto put away his sword and then spoke. "I let you go away without punishment last time around, this time, I will not..." He said in a measured tone.
He slammed a brutal punch into her already burnt chest. She cried when the punch crushed her rib cage, making breathing almost impossible for a couple of seconds.
The clone holding her disappeared in a puff of smoke before it was sent flying.
He did not check on with her as he turned around to face in incoming Bijuu.
He too rushed towards it.
Son Goku created a fist and then lifted his right hand before slamming it down to crush Naruto. The blond stopped moving and held out both his hands. The monstrous punch slammed into his hands violently, causing an explosion on the ground. The ground he stood shattered, creating a crater as small chunks of earth blasted to the sides. But Naruto's defense held on before he pushed more natural energy and pushed the punch away.
Son Goku's left hand moved with great speed and swatted the blond away from the ground, sending him flying towards his right.
The emperor recovered quickly by flipping several times before landing on the ground on one knee. Seeing the Bijuu rushing towards him once more, Naruto sped towards it as well.
The monstrous fist of the Bijuu caused him to increase his speed with chakra, and skipped past the punch in the blink of an eye.
Son Goku's fist slammed into the ground, and when he lifted his hand, there was no sign of Naruto.
The blond was already behind the Bijuu. He grabbed one of its tails with both hands, rooted himself to the ground before pulling. The Bijuu was pulled and he tried twisting around a bit slowly to pick up some momentum. When the Bijuu allowed him to drag it, he increased his speed, and twisted around once more, lifting the monstrous form into the air, before letting it go.
It was hurled a distance away from him, but still managed to land safely on both feet, massive hands slamming onto the ground for support.
It lifted its tails and began to charge a Bijuudama.
Noroi and Naori flashed beside Naruto, flanking both his sides.
"Have you secured the target?"
"Yes." Naori said.
"Then let us leave. I'm afraid I have had fun for one day and I have tested the physical prowess of senjutsu to my satisfaction."
"Are you sure that is it? I think you just don't want to deal with that…" Naori said pointing at the fully charged Tailed Beast Bomb.
Naruto shrugged. "I could deflect it if activated my wind armor when in Sage Mode. But I want to use this when I go to battle with Nagato to face off enemies. Should it be successful in battle, it will be good to perfect against the Kages…"
Naruto disappeared from view as Son Goku launched the jutsu he'd been loading.
Uzushio
Hospital; home for the sick and injured.
When was the last time Temari ever found herself chained to the smelly place by orders of whoever was attending her? She could not remember. She had never been so severely injured that it required for her to be taken to a hospital over the past years. But this time, she had not been that injured. Kurotsuchi had played some game with her but she had not been badly wounded.
The pain though–the woman had dished it out. She had not been looking at her but at Naruto. Her contempt for the emperor was unmistakable. It was no wonder she tried to assassinate him.
Temari sat up from the bed and looked around the room. She could not feel anything that was happening outside. She didn't even know where she was yet her heart felt safe. She didn't feel like she needed to escape. She could run through the open window and fight her way if she needed. Her precious fan was leaning against the wall close to the door; she smiled. At least it had not been lost.
She wanted to go out of the bed and get it, but the door slowly opened without warning. Her eyes remained glued to it, waiting forever to see who was stepping within.
The Emperor stepped into the room; she managed a small smile seeing his face.
"I didn't think that the first person I would see would be you," she said. "If it was you, I expected it to be in your place."
Naruto shared Temari's smile and set down on the small stool placed on the left side of the bed. She didn't have any bandages. It was only precautionary measures to even bring her here.
"I can leave and bring back the person you wanted to see," he offered in a light tone.
Temari shook her head slightly. "This is fine."
Naruto took her right hand and held it gently. His smile widened slightly before he spoke once more. "I am truly glad you are well, Temari. I had been worried over your safety. Though I was certain nothing would be done to you, I did worry about your safety."
Temari stared into Naruto's eyes. She had never seen them so human, so alive. There had been times she even wondered if he truly did feel something. Everyone had emotions they hid away. Although difficult to understand, Naruto had his.
He just didn't like showing them. He was showing them to her. She felt happy. She felt something in her heart moving. The life in her eyes lit up slightly as she tilted her head to the side, putting on a warm smile. She felt his gentle squeeze and then spoke.
"I was surprised when they appeared. But you must know that I am not a weak person." She then said in a hardened tone.
"Your strength as a Kunoichi has never been part of my thinking; I never thought about that despite having sparred with you a couple of times. I have always thought of you as 'my Temari."
Temari raised an eye brow. "Since when did I become yours?"
"Since I stripped you naked in Konoha," Naruto said. "You were fun then, easily embarrassed, inexperienced…"
"Forgive me for not having the same experience as a man who frequents bars to get laid," Temari huffed, glaring at Naruto.
"Now, now," Naruto stated in a slow tone yet the smile on his lips did not disappear. "There is no need to bring up the past."
"You started it," Temari said.
"Perhaps I should lock the door, close the windows and then strip. You seem to behave quite obediently when I don't have any clothes," as he was saying that, he stood up and started trying to remove his upper clothing.
"What the hell are you doing?! This is a hospital!"
Naruto just put on an amused look before sitting down. "Don't you know? Forbidden and rebellious pleasures are quite enjoyable."
"No wonder you visit bars," Temari said with a shake of her head. "How is my brother?"
"Fine," Naruto said. "He is in Konoha at the moment. I will take you to him. He is your brother, you should be with family and I have to war to fight," he said calmly. "You need not worry though. Iwagakure will not achieve their target." He offered her a smile.
"I worried that Suna may be dragged into war and people would die for my sake," Temari said.
Naruto shook his head.
"Nothing of such will happen."
"Come here," he said holding out his arms. Temari shifted closer and rested on his chest. She felt safe, protected when he wrapped his hands around her. His was body was never cold; it was always warm. And she enjoyed the comfort it gave her.
Temari felt her body complaining when Naruto pushed her off him, both hands over her shoulders. He then kissed her on her forehead. "Rest," he said. "Someone will take you my house later on."
"Where are you going?"
"To war," Naruto said.
Land of Canyons
When was the last time he set out of Amegakure so frequently? Nagato could not remember. He had regained much of his mobility but he had never quite enjoyed it as he had been working hard to try to make Ame great. The paths always did the fighting for him.
It was the safest method to ensure his survival. Ever since they got rid of Madara, his focus has seemed to strengthen. Either way, they were now moving towards peace. The Great Nations would no longer be able to impose their will on other nations. It was more or less going in the same path as he had planned, but this going through the more 'peaceful' means.
He eyed Naruto who was sitting beside him on a tree branch. Nagato eyed his swinging feet for a moment; below him, Haku was standing still with three of his paths.
He had nearly killed Yoshino when he first came into the village. But the man had said he only wanted to talk. Naruto had been summoned and they talked. He smiled slightly. Yahiko would have truly been disappointed with his loss of sight. He had great power and Yahiko had warned him about listening to Madara but had done so. He stopped following the path they had chosen and allowed his pain to lead the way. Yet, Konan had followed him all the way. The dream had not changed; the method had.
"How certain are we that the cycle of hatred will really end after this?"
Naruto shook his head.
"That was just Jiraiya's childish dream and naïve way of thinking. As long as people live and continue to think differently, there will be conflicts. People will hate each other. But the hatred is not what brings about wars. Our own war with these village has not been brought because we hate. We want to change the system. The cores of the shinobi world are what makes wars. And we are going to destroy it. Of course, we need to do it in a way that means we will not be targeted for hatred. It is easier to rule people with fear and power but they are more likely to rebel and when that happens, there will be never peace unless we are dead. But I do believe we can create a world that does not use violence to solve problems, a world were shinobi can think about what lies beyond their borders. We can create a world of better cooperation. When people work together, there is understanding. Problems will arise, but understanding should mitigate the threat of wars."
"Then this must succeed at all costs," Nagato said.
"We must first win this war," Naruto said. "We are currently sandwiched between two units. The unit on the right has a Jinchuriki. We will eliminate the Jinchuriki to put a dent on their morale before we massacre the unit on the left."
"I will remain hidden," Nagato said. "The target is just the Jinchuriki, then…"
Naruto nodded. "They already know you. So no doubt the moment they see us, the will bring the big guns to fight. The Jinchuriki will transform to deal with you. We will deal with it quickly and then retreat," he said.
"We will retreat using one of my summonses," Nagato said calmly before jumping down the ground. "Shall we?"
An Hour Later
The trees obstructed the view of the shinobi moving through the ground. If a battle ensued here, it would not be a favorable situation for them given the location. Iwa's forces were not even used to fighting within the trees. They preferred their barren and rocky land of the Earth Country.
Kiru knew that Kumo's forces had been twice attacked, the second unit had been nearly annihilated. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they too were attacked. The plan was simple, and it was scattering around to avoid getting caught in the wide scale jutsus their enemies were using.
"Worried?" A shinobi asked, running beside him under the green trees of the Land of Canyons.
Kiru looked to the side: shinobi were running at full force behind him, with Han along. They looked focused. They had to be careful so not to do anything to piss of the leader of this country. They had been warned that should they do anything that is in breach of the agreement, there would be major problems.
"A little," Kiru admitted. "The news we have been hearing has not been pleasant. The Emperor released the Kyubi in his last battle and there were massive casualties for our ally."
"We have Han-san with us."
"Hopefully that will be enough," Kiru said. He doubted it; the Kyubi was still the strongest Bijuu. Han had more experience but if he transformed, it would quickly give them a chance to move away from the any attack before joining their ally.
"Halt!" Kiru shouted after running for a while. Han had moved quickly. He could sense powerful chakra signatures just ahead. "Scouts!" He motioned for them to move forward ahead of the group.
With Naruto Group
Naruto was leaning against tree trunk, his hands folded across his chest, eyes closed. His presence had completely vanished.
Just a bit behind him, Nagato and Haku were waiting in the limbs of a tree. When he sensed two shinobi moving closer, he smiled; they were being cautious now. Things were truly working differently. The tactics he was using were getting the expected reaction from this people. Yet, it would make things truly difficult if they became smarter.
He hid himself when he saw the two hopping through the trees silently. They were scouts alright. Their movements were still silent despite moving swiftly. There was little chakra activity. They had been well trained. It was a pity that he had to kill them.
When they jumped from a tree, heading towards the other, Naruto suddenly appeared between the two, arms stretched out. He touched both on their shoulders. He could see their widened eyes – shock. It did not give him pleasure. He released a bit of chakra in wind form.
"Wind Prison." He whispered as a silent breeze washed over both along with his chakra.
Both fell down the ground. They were hitting their faces, trying to remove the invisible wind barrier that had formed, cutting off their oxygen supply from nature. They struggled, kicking out as they suffocated. Naruto did not watch. He looked up into sky, with his eyes closed.
After a couple of moments, the peace returned as they stopped moving.
"They have already moved into four groups," Nagato said through the Deva path. "Two groups have flanked both our sides and are continuing to move. The other has moved back. It is perhaps the group with their supplies."
"Are you safe?"
"I should be unless they have a sensor," Nagato said. "Even if they find me, I will handle them. Since my real body is unknown to them and their plan is to capture any Uzumaki, they will likely surround me. I will keep the Asura path with me nevertheless…"
The path in question then blasted off from them.
Naruto just shrugged.
"Then shall we?"
Back with Iwa group
Kiru frowned. The scouts were not returning. It just meant that they had been killed. He could sense chakra signatures slowly moving through the forest, heading towards them. If it was the Emperor or the Ame duo, they could at least survive this because he had already made his move. It was no use dying here. He would hold them here while other others moved forward.
His fears were confirmed when three people slowly appeared before them, walking casually through the ground. The messy blond hair; it was the Emperor. The black haired was a companion of the Emperor and the orange haired was the powerful shinobi from the Rain.
He held up his right hand.
A five tailed miniature beast, cloaked in crimson chakra leapt into the air seemingly from behind him. Without warning, it released a stream of pale energy from its mouth. The energy flashed towards the group of three in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
There was a huge explosion that occurred when the jutsu seemingly hit the three. The explosion was so powerful that it uprooted the surrounding trees, causing large amounts of debris to pick up into the air. The only person who did not move back to shield from the explosion was Han, who landed on the left flank of the three, preparing for another attack.
When the debris cleared, the three were standing in the middle of a sizeable crater. Naruto and Haku were positioned behind Deva path which had both its arms held out, palms facing the direction of where the jutsu had come from.
"I think they are trying to kill us," Naruto said calmly.
"They would have prepared themselves since we announced to them that we were coming," Nagato stated.
"If they get us; it is the end," Haku said, facing up. There were multiple projectiles coming from all sides. They were no doubt marked with explosive tags. Already, the enemy had surrounded them; It was hard to fight like this.
Naruto clapped both his hands.
"Wind Tornado."
He whispered, giving rise to twisting winds that surrounded them.
The rotating winds formed a dome of shield to protect them from the projectiles. When the projectiles hit the tornado, they exploded into multiple explosions that disrupted the flow of the Wind causing it to disperse.
Han was already within touching distance by the time the wind dispersed. He was slightly above the ground, the five tails now enlarged, and slamming down towards the group.
Haku did hand seals.
"Demonic Ice Shields!"
He formed massive layers of mirrors just between them and the massive tails. The tails slammed into the first mirror, shattering it within seconds and then the next one. When it connected with the third mirror, there was a brief struggle, but the mirror started cracking.
Naruto was already in Sage mode when he switched on below the Jinchuriki. His right hand grabbed one of its leg, and pulled it forcefully before slamming it into the ground on its back. The beast crashed brutally, and was buried down the ground.
He then stepped away from the Jinchuriki.
"You should really use that jutsu Nagato… this looks like it will be troublesome…"
Naruto tilted his head to the right to avoid a piercing chakra tail that went past his left ear. Han was already up. He lunged towards him, swiping his claw across his chest. Naruto saw the attack coming and leapt backwards slightly. But while still in midair, a chakra hand burst from the ground and caught his right leg.
It hurled him to the sides away from his friends, sending him crashing through trees. In his sage mode, Naruto hit multiple trees, breaking through in forcefully before finally halting a distance away.
He touched the ground on one knee and quickly looked up to realize that the Jinchuriki had raced after him. While still on one knee, Naruto folded both his hands just above him. The moment his hands formed the defense, Han slammed a crimson punch on his defense with brutal force that caused the ground to shatter and Naruto to feel pain on his arms.
"So you are attacking me because you know I am a Jinchuriki," Naruto said through gritted teeth.
Han did not respond but merely released a massive output of chakra before starting to transform. With Naruto freed, he jumped back, but before he could land safely, the Bijuu released a steam of boiling mist. Naruto released a breath of relief when a Mirror formed in front of him, giving him enough time to escape.
With Han fully transforming, the Iwa shinobi had now created some distance. When he landed, he realized they planned on getting them to tire before moving in. they probably knew if they attacked now, they would only get killed.
"Chibaku Tensei!" Nagato said, holding out both his arms.
A black orb moved up into the sky before finally halting. When it halted, he clapped his hands. The ground began to shake before the trees began to be pulled into the sky. The jutsu started pulling everything down the ground into sky.
Large chunks of earth peeled off from the ground, going into the sky. The Five-Tails felt the ground below it start to shake and jumped to the sides.
The ground broke off, rocks pulling into the sky. The Bijuu was not able to land down the ground as it started to get pulled itself. A large chuck of rock slammed on it from below, sending it further into the sky. More rocks began hitting it, covering its body.
Naruto jumped from rock to rock before finally stopping inches away from the Deva path where it was safe to stand. He looked up and envied the power of the Rinnegan as the Chibaku Tensei finally took form, with Kokou finally captured. It was just a massive rock formation in the sky.
Kiru looked up wide eyed at what had just happened. What did he have to do now? They couldn't bring that thing down… and their enemies stood still. "Plan B!" He shouted.
They moved closer to the group of three. The terrain was now damaged. If it was a face, he would say it was defaced. There were no more trees closer to them. He did hand seals and slammed them to ground.
The ground where the tree stood burst up, forming a rock formation that took them up to the sky.
Naruto looked down for a moment.
"They wish to burn us alive," he said.
The entire rock was surrounded by explosive tags. The kind of explosion that would set off from there would not be pleasant. It would be a chain reaction that would surely make things difficult.
"I can destroy th…" Nagato trailed off when the tags slowly exploded from below to upwards.
"Can you bring this thing down?" Naruto asked looking at the Chibaku Tensei.
Nagato nodded.
"Lets have it crash on them then," Naruto said getting hold of both Haku and Nagato. He jumped to the side, floating into the air while still in senjutsu. He suddenly blasted away in a flash before landing on atop of a tree a distance away.
"Oi, oi!" a shinobi exclaimed looking up into the sky.
"This is ridiculous! How are supposed to fight against that?"
It was indeed ridiculous. It was getting dark because the large rock was now crashing down towards them, not just slowly. You did not stop that thing, you ran from it. But would they outrun it?
Boom!
The ground shook when the large rock slammed down the ground, drowning the many screams of shinobi from Iwa. It crumbled into small pieces of rocks upon crashing down. Han was exposed in his human body, just lying there, broken but alive.
A second later, Naruto landed beside him and marveled at the destruction.
Boom!
There was another explosion a distance away.
He looked up to the direction and saw a large mushroom of debris in the air. It was no doubt Nagato once more. And they were not yet done. There was still more to come. He shook his head; this was not really fair.
He picked up Han and then disappeared along gusts of wind.
"What are you going to do with him?"
Naruto shook his head. "I have no plans. But perhaps I can use him as a bargaining chip after the war. We will capture some enemies who we will also use for the same purpose," he said before dropping the man a bit away from him. He knelt down towards the ground and touched it, eyes closed.
"I know where the fourth group is located… I will deal with it…" he said before the ground burst, creating a large rock formation that took him up into the air.
"What does he plan to do from here?"
Haku looked up; the fact that Naruto even created a platform to be able to stand meant he needed his concentration levels at peak. He was still in Sage Mode and wanted to attack enemy forces a distance away.
"Planetary Katon Rasenshuriken."
Naruto held up both his arms, palms facing the sky. He formed a massive ball of flames just above him – it was almost as big as one of the Kyubi's tailed beast balls. The heat was so intense that he started sweating. He began to add wind chakra into the ball of flames.
A single mistake of adding too much without proper balance and he would be needing emergency medical care. The jutsu was taking too much of his chakra but it did not matter since he was using natural energy. Blade of winds started to protrude from the ball of flames. When they started spinning, the wind started to pick up around him. The weight of the jutsu caused the rock to crack. Winds began to gather violently around him as the jutsu picked up speed.
Below, Haku noticed the cracks and placed both his hands on the pillar and froze it.
The thing that was above Naruto was a massive thing of destruction. It spread wide, dictating the flow of air within its vicinity. No doubt, even those from afar could see the jutsu.
"It is as big as my completed Chibaku Tensei and that is all chakra," Nagato noted. "Is he going to throw it?"
"Yes," Haku said.
"Then it is good we are not enemies," Nagato said. "He would have been quite a problem."
"The same can be said about you Nagato," Haku said with a slight shake of his head.
Naruto smiled from where he stood. If Haku had not done what he did, he would have most likely lost control. The blades millions of blades in the jutsu would have killed him before the flames turned every part of him into ash – It would have been a humiliating end to his life.
He could only do this in Sage Mode. But it was better to take advantage of it. He positioned himself and took a long breath before hurling the jutsu towards the direction of the enemy forces with supplies. The jutsu flashed through the air, twisting along the winds swiftly straight ahead of him before finally reaching the target.
Boom!
There was a large column of flames that picked up from the ground after the jutsu exploded.
Naruto jumped down, toward the Deva Path and Haku. He landed on one knee, breathing slightly labored. After a moment, he calmed down and then stood up. He created a clone to pick up Han before looking at the Deva path, which was looking at him questionably.
"I'm a proud shinobi; I don't like anyone showing me off," he said with a shrug. "You can summon the path, Haku and will rush back quickly."
Without any word, the path disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Moments Later
Naruto just shook his head seeing hundreds of bodies lying at the edges of the large crater where they had left Nagato. It was a day of destruction today. He found Nagato sitting down a couple of feet away from the crater. "They attacked you then…"
"It was impossible to hide when I'm constantly sending chakra to my path," Nagato said. "We did more than calculate," he added.
Naruto was not complaining. They just got to cut down Iwa forces. Onoki would be more concerned now more than anything. He has already suffered massive losses and he was still going to suffer. If he was wise, he would just surrender now, as he did in the Third Shinobi World War.
"But we must still press on. If we can stop things with such attacks, it is still fine," Naruto said in thought. "I want them to have much to think about anyway. If we do this, and then go on to eliminate the ones coming by ships to Uzu, it will make our strength very clear. It is not numbers that matter but pure strength."
"The Great Nations have been advocates of expressing their great power. I have no problem in showing them what they have shown to us in the past," Nagato said.
"Then let us move quickly. The others have already heard the sounds of battle, we should move quickly before they learn anything."
"What about the people of this Land? They gave passage with plans to benefit from our destruction," Haku said.
"I would have just went there and completely wipe out their village, but you will look at me with an annoying look. I would rather not have that. We will deal with them once we have won this war. You won't fight in the next battle, but I want you in support, as you did before. I need to keep your abilities hidden for now. We might need an ace if things get difficult."
"If we face a challenge?"
"We retreat. We cannot allow ourselves to be trapped in a long battle that exposes our abilities. If you battle long enough, they know your abilities, and will find ways to counter them. We must not give them time to do that." Naruto said in a firm tone.
With Akatsuchi
Akatsuchi frowned reading the message he held. There were explosions, things in the sky that he had seen along with his men. They were not fighting against normal shinobi. These people were not even humans. The amount of destruction and death they brought was ridiculous.
In the last war the Yondaime had been flee on sight, and now there was these. Shinobi would have to be warned to flee from the emperor. But first, they needed to try something to see if it cannot work.
He was also worried about the Tsuchikage. At this stage, he should have been protecting the old man. But they were at war. He had to lead. He had to take this mission or else someone incompetent would take over and just lead them into disaster.
Still, who could have thought that things would come to this point? It was just Uzushio they had thought. But Uzushio was a village that housed a monster.
"Akatsuchi-sama," a scout started, a bit out of breath.
"Are they coming?"
"Yes…" The Scout said.
"This is different from the usual attacks. They usually attack a single unit and retreat," he said in thought before putting on a hardened tone. "I have a plan. Listen carefully and deliver my message to the leaders of all groups."
Back with Naruto
The terrain was no now no longer one with trees, it was just rocks and boulders. With Sage Mode, Naruto could feel the many chakra signatures that were moving around. Nagato was a sensory type, he could sense it too, to some extent. "They have divided into three equal forces…" Naruto announced.
"So they know we are coming and are preparing for us…" Haku said with a frown. This was not going to be easy. If anything, the thought of the next battle made him slightly nervous knowing that the enemy had something planned for them.
"Should we split?" Naruto asked.
Nagato shook his head. "That is probably the intention. It would make things simple for them if we split. Let us continue to the group that is ahead. They have not moved."
Naruto nodded. "I wonder what kind of surprises they have for us."
"If they saw what happened, they will not make it easy for us," Nagato said. "I will keep my summonses close by for our retreat. Those two groups will probably try to block all paths of our escape," he added.
Naruto smiled. "I have been retreating a lot," he said. "But once this day ends, we would have taken a huge step towards victory. Ame will probably not face anymore threats and I doubt they will be willing to bring more shinobi."
"They are Kages, they will know that if they do that, they'll just be sending their shinobi to their deaths." Nagato said.
"But it won't matter either way. As long as Ame is not threatened, my people can continue to enjoy their peace. We fought for it and we will fight for the peace in this world as well."
Naruto did not comment. He was much more focused on survival of his clan. If peace was the result of it, then he would not complain. Besides, who did not enjoy being at peace with ones neighbors?
After running for a while, the group finally came to a halt. Shinobi stood on large boulders; they had been waiting for them. There were four large golems that stood tall on the sides. They did not appear as weak as the golem that had faced him when he battled Onoki. Naruto stretched his muscles and then turned to Nagato.
"You are going to fight yourself?"
"I'd like to see if I can move well. We don't know what will happen tomorrow. Maybe my paths will be destroyed and I will be forced to enter battle. I must be ready."
"I thought you always believed that you could not be defeated."
"There is that, but I am not stupid," Nagato said.
"They are busy with something…" Naruto said.
The moment the words left his lips, the ground below them started shifting down. But when he attempted to jump away, rock walls formed on the sides, blocking the path. A large hole formed on the ground, burying them deep within. Looking around in the darkness with his eyes looking up, Naruto spoke.
"This is Earth Mobile Core… I think," he said.
"This is not the time to be impressed. Even I can't break from here with Shinra Tensei," Nagato said calmly. "We will have to climb up to get out."
"You don't think they plan to bury us alive do you?" Haku asked.
"I can also manipulate earth… I should do undo this jutsu," Naruto said before placing the palm of his right hand on the ground. He frowned; he could not channel chakra through the ground. "Up it is," he ended up saying.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Nagato summoned his large bird from the Rinne summoning world. Before he could even jump onto the bird, they closed upwards, turning everything into darkness.
The walls began to light up as well as the ground. Nagato frowned deeply and then released his summons. It would just get destroyed. They were boxed in and he could see thousands of explosive tags.
"Leave it to Iwa forces to bury tags underground…" Naruto said. "We are not escaping without a scratch…"
The ground started burning slowly and the three jumped up. "That is if we escape at all…"
While still in midair. Naruto summoned the Kyubi's chakra and transferred four tails worth of chakra along with his to both Nagato and Haku. Both became encased by the chakra. "I could probably escape if it was on at least six tails worth of chakra. But Haku will die. You will probably blast away most of the damage." He said before releasing chakra chains.
"These things of mine are just cheap imitations. They are weak. But we should survive." The chains wrapped around him and then Haku and Nagato.
Boom!
On the surface, Akatsuchi felt the ground shake and held his hands together, hoping that it had been enough and they had buried the Emperor down the ground. It would be the end of the war. After the ground stopped shaking, he did not move. He said nothing but waited for a couple of moments before finally speaking.
"Think that was enough?"
A beam of energy burst from the ground where they'd buried the Emperor and his people. The men closest to him turned to face him, giving him looks that clearly said; you just had to ask.
The three burst out from the ground and landed down.
Haku spat out some blood from his mouth. He'd nearly bit off his tongue when the shockwave created from the explosion hit him on the chest. He looked at himself, clothes were burnt, left arm was bleeding, it had some burns but nothing disastrous–it would heal shortly. Considering the danger, he was just happy to alive.
Nagato looked far better than him. But he too had his clothes burnt. Naruto was more or less like him. But the rest of his body was fine and so where his clothes. It was just his hands that were smoking. Had it not been his presence, it would not have been like that. He would have managed to escape with just exhaustion.
"Do we still fight?" Haku asked.
"I don't think we have much of a choice," Nagato said, noticing the golems moving towards them.
"Summon your bird, Nagato. Haku, you will get on it and we will be quick about it. We can't simply run with our tails between our legs," Naruto said, standing up straight.
He clapped his hands, activating sage mode once more. He massaged his neck muscles and formed a Rasengan on the palm of his right hand.
He darted towards one of the golems with the jutsu at hand. The golem drove its punch straight towards his small face. While moving ahead, Naruto ducked under the punch before twisting his body to face up, while bringing his jutsu below the huge arm.
The Rasengan hit the rock arm, and blasted through it. The arm crumbled quickly upon being damaged by the jutsu.
Naruto took a step to the right while holding out his right hand. He got away from the path of golem and moved towards its left flank. He bent his knees slightly before twisting clockwise. When he stopped, the golem's upper body began falling forward, having being separated from the lower part.
Naruto then jumped up towards another golem before flipping once just above it. His falling right foot slammed on the head of the golem in one swift move that was with force. The entire thing crumbled down quickly.
He quickly blurred away when he sensed small rocks from another golem that was destroyed heading towards his way.
He landed on the ground faced the enemy shinobi who were still watching from the rocks. He calculated the distance and began doing hand seals before he started darting towards them.
"Sage Art: Dust Storm!"
He inhaled large amounts of air before releasing it in a powerful stream. The stream picked up dust that rose quickly and began spreading wide and high while moving towards the enemy.
With Nagato
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Nagato summoned his bird the moment Naruto disappeared from them. Haku didn't need be told, he merely jumped up to the bird before it took to the air.
Once the bird took off, he started moving slowly before he ran towards the three golems standing on his way. When the first swung its huge punch towards him, he jumped up, avoiding it. He then landed on the outstretched arm of the golem before lunging forward. He stretched his right hand and touched the chest of the golem.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Boom!
The focused blast tore through the golem in just one go, turning it into pieces of rocks.
Nagato jumped in between the remaining too and held out both his hands while floating. He waited until they moved slowly, before trying to punch him.
"Shinra Tensei!"
He put a bit more power than intended and when the jutsu connected with the golems, most of their bodies were turned into dust while some chunks of rocks were blasted to the sides.
He then landed on the ground and turned towards the enemy forces. He saw a large cloud of dust and just shook his head. Naruto had certainly trained to fight a war. These wide scale jutsu had no use for a one on one battle. But when facing him, such a jutsu would be a problem.
He jumped into the air and realized the enemy had been caught within the dust. He motioned for Naruto to halt his movements before jumping deep into the dust.
With his eyes closed, he could feel shinobi trying to escape. He held out both hands and this time, put out more chakra behind the jutsu.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Boom!
When the jutsu set off, it sent everything away. The dust, the shinobi and the large boulders that stood in the surrounding.
It all occurred in a flash.
Naruto was forced to jump backwards to avoid getting hid by the flying chunks of earth. When he landed, he deactivated Sage Mode and bent his knees before blasting off the ground. He flashed above the circling bird and Haku caught his hand before bringing him onto its back.
He looked down as see only Nagato standing, everything that had once stood, levelled and pilled up along the edges of the crater the man created. There were bodies as well. But some had escaped. Some were alive. Naruto was not concerned for it.
The bird started moving down towards Nagato.
The man jumped onto it and settled peacefully as it took the direction of Ame.
With Onoki
Onoki was sitting inside a camp, surrounded by hundreds of shinobi who were resting when messengers burst in through the entrance.
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
It was if the two had come here doing some competition to see who would be the first to deliver the bad news. He wondered what sort of reward he should give to each or the first to arrive.
The man seemed too eager to share the bad news. He knew it was bad news because he had heard the sounds of battles. Kumo had already suffered in two separate attacks from the Emperor. Iwagakure had to be next. The thought made him click his tongue bitterly; it was not going as well as he had hoped.
"What?" Onoki asked with a long stare that just made the men shrink back slightly.
"The Emperor attacked our village to retrieve the Kazekage's sister."
Onoki couldn't help but release a bit of his killing intent in anger.
This was just ridiculous!
Temari was his ace in the hole.
She was the trump card he wanted to use against both Suna and Konoha.
Where was the miscalculation there? What did Temari have to do with the Emperor that he would attack Iwagakure? Both the Leaf and the Sand were not allies of the Empire, so why did Naruto do something? What was he missing here? Was the Emperor perhaps involved with the Kazekage's sister? If so, he would not have touched the woman. But there was nothing that suggested that there was something.
"And?"
He hoped nothing had happened to the village.
He would murder Naruto with both his hands if he dared touched his beloved home.
The shinobi swallowed hard before explaining further. "Only the Tsuchikage tower was destroyed. The village itself was not touched. They fought outside of the village. Roshi was wounded and is still alive. But they managed to take the Kazekage's sister. It appeared that while the Emperor was fighting, his people were sneaking into the village. Kurotsuchi was also fighting; there is no report of her status. The Emperor did not take her as he was seen fleeing the battle after Roshi launched the Tailed Beast Ball."
Onoki's frown just deepened as he grabbed the shinobi by his shirt.
"Find my granddaughter! I want to know if she is alive and where she is! Don't show yourself before me without answers!" He ordered through gritted teeth.
If something had happened to his granddaughter, he was going to kill Naruto. It would not be in this war, but it would be soon. He hoped nothing had happened to her. He could not stand it if something happened. She was supposed to be his successor. If something happened, he would be more than willing to break things off with Ai regarding what happens in Uzushio.
For now, he needed to plan something that would rattle Uzushio. But he could not do it alone. Naruto would rue leaving the Wave unguarded to leave space for attacks.
He was going to write to Ai and they would make Uzu know that they were dealing with two Great Nations.
Once done with his thoughts, Onoki turned to the last remaining man.
"Tell me your bad news?"
"The Emperor and the man from Amegakure attacked Han's unit and there were massive casualties. Han was taken in the resulting battle. Only about 700 men remain in entire unit. 500 did not engage and the remaining are just survivors. They then attacked Akatsuchi's unit. But this time the Emperor was with another Uzumaki who also wields the Rinnegan. They had put a trap that did wound the enemy but they still shook it off. Plus or minus 610 men were killed before they retreated."
That was close to two thousand men lost in just a single day and not to mention, his village was attacked.
This was a curse.
And another Rinnegan wielder?
How many Rinnegan wielders did the Uzumaki have?
This was a disaster.
Continuing with things at this point was just going to make things worse.
"Send a message to all units to halt. We are not moving any further. If you see the Emperor, they must run for their lives. Do not even try to engage him unless you are forced to do so." Onoki said in a stern tone.
"Hai!" the shinobi saluted before running off to deliver the message.
Onoki hatefully stared at the message from Konoha.
The Hokage was calling for a Kage Summit.
He knew it was being called because of what had happened with Temari. But from the message, the Emperor agreed to stop attacks if the Summit occurs. Onoki wanted nothing but see an end to the attacks. He was bleeding men and it was in this situation that one started thinking about surrendering. Any more fighting and he was just going to get blamed by his village for leading his people into their deaths.
He would accept this call.
If it meant he could try to bring an end to this fighting, then he would take this route.
Fighting was no longer a good option.
It was okay to accept defeat, as long as Iwa survived to fight another day.
Uzushio
"It must have been a hell of a battle." Yoshino said as he walked into the throne room, seeing the state of Naruto's clothes. Naori and Haku were standing stiffly on the sides.
Naruto stared at Yoshino's slow movements.
The man was not moving alone but he had his woman with him. Just seeing that woman made Naruto rest his head on the palm of his right hand, and close his eyes for a moment. He truly should have figured that something like this would happen. Now Yoshino was not a stupid man who could fall into the charms of a woman.
Everything was by his choice. But it did not make him feel comfortable. He felt the need to be on guard. When his eyes opened, he responded.
"We graced three battlefields today, and faced two Jinchuriki, it normally has to be a damaging battle. I'm afraid I have had enough until I rest a bit." Naruto said in a low tone.
"And the damage?"
"Traps," Naruto said. "When they are expecting you, they make preparations. It proved to be a nasty one that did not leave us unscathed. Had we been normal people, he would have been most likely killed."
"That would have been unfortunate," Yoshino said. "I have decided to make Miyuki my assistant. She has a great mind that I think will be very useful."
"To Uzushiogakure." Naruto said in a hardened tone.
Yoshino smiled: he did not fail to read the unspoken message. "Of course," he said. "What is the state of things now? Will things come to an end during the Summit? Is it even going to happen?"
"It will happen," Naruto said firmly. "Onoki loves his village. Although he is stubborn, he knows when a battle is lost. During the Third Shinobi World War when my father defeated 1000 men, he quickly surrendered in a war that they had been previously winning. He will take the call for the Summit and see if he can work out a way to save things. Should Onoki accept, Ai will not have any choice but to do the same as well."
Yoshino smiled hearing these words. It was music to his hears. If Onoki surrenders, there will be no more troubles. Maybe the Raikage will fight them but it did not matter. Once one of them was out of the picture, his heart could still rest easily.
"Will you still be attending the Summit?"
"Naturally," Naruto said. "We can't be left out. We have demonstrated our strength to these people. They can no longer overlook us as things stand. Besides, I need to make my terms known to all Kages."
"Onoki will most likely reject them."
"It would be understandable." Naruto said. "But if I go there, it is likely that he will send his men back home calling an end to the war but will request battle with me. The Raikage will probably get involved as well. If this happens, I get to kill them both without anyone making a fuss."
"Hopefully everything goes as planned," Yoshino said with a small nod. "What of the forces coming through the sea?"
"How many ships are there?"
"Eight." Naori said. "Will they stop if things are called off during the summit?"
Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment. "We will pretend we don't know anything about it and see if Ai will mention it. If he does not mention it, he will likely say the message failed to reach them in time." the Emperor said with a smile. "We most likely won't have to defend ourselves anyway. If they come closer, we sink them and don't say a damn thing."
Yoshino smiled; and he was often accused of being the one with a twisted mind. If Naruto mentions this to Kumo, they will be forced to call things back. "You forget, your Majesty; The Raikage will most likely be dead."
"Ah," Naruto mouthed. "Yes, my battle with them occurs before then but they will probably have them move in while the battle occurs. This would ensure that he dies with the sin. You will have Haku with you to defend the village. It appears that we will no longer have to summon Guren should the Summit provide us with success."
"Must we thank Konoha for calling the Summit?"
Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yes and Onoki for being a scheming little man…It was indeed good to leave these villages out of the crossfire."
"Had things not been in this well, we would not have had this success," Yoshino said.
Naruto nodded. He stood up and heaved a tired sigh. "I'm going to shut down. I won't be up until tomorrow to take Temari to her brother. Haku, as my right hand, you are in charge until them." He eyed Yoshino. "That is no problem to you, no?"
"Not at all," Yoshino said with a slight shake of his head.
Naruto did not say anything, just disappeared along gusts of wind. Once the Emperor was gone, Miyuki looked at Yoshino curiously. "Why do I get the feeling that there is more to him 'shutting down'"
"There is nothing more to it; but take the words as they are literally."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"It is," Yoshino said. "But a necessary risk. His Majesty's chakra system is a little complicated because of his death. It now takes him too much time to replenish his chakra. For him to make a complete, natural recovery from a tiring battle, he must rest this way."
"Yoshino-san," Naori warned the man. "You should also leave. Once the barrier activates, she will be trapped in here since she is not granted access."
"Should we work on that?"
Naori shook his head. "You know only His Majesty sets the rules. Besides, he is the one with the keys."
With Kakashi
What was with this war?
People were dying like flies.
Naruto was letting loose in his battles.
The reports made Kakashi relive the treacherous time of the Third War. It was never a time for peaceful moments. No, there was nothing but pain at war. He had gone to war and came back with nothing but regrets. He hoped Konoha would not be dragged into another war, especially one that was as brutal as this.
The Jonin looked back towards his camp; there were tents sent up, shinobi sat in groups, some chatting with humor and some doing some light movements. Sensors surrounded the camp, keeping them safe from any surprise attacks.
Many of them had no experience with war. They did not know its nature. There was a difference between experiencing something and hearing about a certain thing. To fully understand the horrors of war, you needed to experience it.
Kakashi folded the piece of paper he held and walked back towards the large tent he was using. There were several tents spread through under the trees. When he walked back into the tent, he found Shikamaru and Sakura sitting together. Gai and Asuma were leading the other charge. Sakura would give medical support if they ever get dragged into war.
"More bad news?" Shikamaru asked, seeing the look in Kakashi's visible eye.
The Jonin shook his head. He sat down beside Sakura before responding in a quiet tone. "No, at least for us. Naruto attacked again. And this time, it is Iwa suffering heavy losses. But this time it does appear he did not leave the battle unscathed."
Shikamaru adopted a thoughtful look. These attacks looked like they were unplanned but it was far from it. These were part of a plan. It was the plan. Uzushio was never going to confront both Kumogakure and Iwa head on. They would not survive.
"This is the most brutal method to end a war."
Kakashi nodded. "Brutal and cruel," he added. "No one wants to suffer like this. Just imagine what these people are going through. The numbers that Naruto alone has killed. These people have families, and they are not going to go home because Naruto killed them all. It's not like people don't know that he is the Yondaime's son. Iwa will hate him more than ever."
There was just no way to avoid this. Besides, they should have expected something like this. He shook his head. Even though people head to war knowing that death is possible, they never really think they will die; it was always someone else who was going to die. No sane person wished death upon themselves.
"Uzu has no way but to play things like this. Naruto was never arrogant but I was starting to think he was by openly going to war with two Great Nations," Shikamaru said in thought. "But he knew where he lacked and how to deal with the numbers."
Sakura looked curiously between the two Jonins with a raised brow. "Am I missing something?"
Kakashi explained. "Naruto is doing these massacres purposefully because he doesn't want to face Kumo and Iwa head on. If he does that, there is no chance of winning. Death will force both Iwa and Kumo to reconsider. They are Kages, they know if things continue this way, they are just going to lose more men. You don't want to go to war with 10000 and return with just one. It seriously dents the village's military strength.
"If Naruto just defeated them without killing, Onoki and Ai would not listen to death. But there is something that makes even the most stubborn halt – loss. They are bleeding, and will be forced to surrender. If they don't, Naruto will just continue killing them until there is no one left. Regardless of who you are, that very thought is frightening. Even shinobi cannot fight at their best knowing they are just going to die."
Sakura absorbed it silently. She smiled bitterly. Who could have thought that Naruto was the person she once called a teammate along with Sasuke. "Does Naruto not feel anything for killing thousands of people?"
"War is war. His father did it before him," Kakashi said, tone stern. "As a shinobi, you know you will kill eventually. For Naruto, it is perhaps more than just the survival of his clan."
"That aside, Naruto is not known for being a feeling person," Shikamaru said. "But if things work out, they won't come to this side and we avoid a potential battle. Konoha might even decide to fight given what Iwa did to Suna."
"We will hear what happens in the Summit. There is no doubt they will accept the call. Even if they don't plan on surrendering, this gives them time to breathe and calm some nerves," Kakashi said before pausing. "What do you think Uzushio is after?"
"Do you think Naruto agreed to this summit because he thought he would start losing?" Shikamaru asked instead.
Kakashi shook his head. "With how things were going? He is obviously powerful and not that only, he also has those in Amegakure. I don't think he is afraid of death either. If Kumo and Iwa choose to continue fighting, he is just going to continue fighting."
"That is my thought as well," Shikamaru said with a slight nod of his head. "I can't put my hands on it. But I don't think they want to have a history of having massacred close to 20000 shinobi. No matter where you go, people just fear you. I don't think Naruto wants that. But if things stop here, he has demonstrated his power, and has left one to think that if things had continued, they may have succeeded in defeating him. What Uzu is after is something big. It will probably change the balance of power, and how things work in this world while also cementing his place as the most powerful shinobi alive."
It was maybe safe to say that Naruto has created a legend for himself. He will surely be remembered. With how things have played out, it is Kumo and Iwa who started this war.
Shikamaru smiled bitterly.
"I think I must start respecting those people in Uzushiogakure far more than before," the Nara said after a couple of moments of silence. "Who started this with war? Who threw the first stone? What does history even say? When history is written, Naruto is the brave and powerful shinobi who fought against the second destruction of his clan."
"You mean they planned all this?"
"Not the summit," Shikamaru said with a shake of his head. "The conclusion of things is what they most likely planned," he smiled.
He really needed to talk to Naruto about this.
But it would have most likely not worked this far if the Sandaime Hokage had said something. Even to this point, they still did suspect that the Sandaime Hokage knew about Naruto but did nothing. How it would all come to benefit Konoha was something to be seen.
His father probably knew something.
Uzushio
Temari stared at Naruto's form with a curious look.
When she came here, she had been stopped from entering.
The emperor was resting they said, and only a select few could enter the compound while he was resting. What kind of policy was that? Did they even think that she would try to slit his throat while he was sleeping? Haku had been a little more accommodating but he too would not give clear answers, saying it was not for him to say but Naruto.
"Something on your mind?" the Emperor asked, in a quiet tone, walking over to Temari from his throne. He stopped just inches away from her, looking straight into her eyes.
"Why wouldn't anyone allow me to come in here? And I thought you were coming from war to take me home? You know how concerned my brother must be with how things have gone," Temari said a bit too quickly, but Naruto heard every word.
"I was not in a state to see anyone," Naruto said with a slight shake of his head. "And I can't say why; village secrets," he added with a smile.
"Why does it look like you just said that purposefully?"
Naruto waved his right hand.
"You are imagining things," he said. "But we must take you to your brother before he decides to come here himself. We don't want to do anything that will make him angry. When he feels that his beloved sister is going to be wounded, he can get angry."
Temari just shook her head slightly. "The scroll you'd given me... I lost it…"
"Don't worry… no one else aside from your brother can read it. To anyone else, it is just an empty piece of scroll," Naruto said before placing his right hand on Temari's shoulder.
They disappeared from the throne.
Temari next saw the creepy forest within Training Ground 44. She remembered this place. Her brother had still been blood thirsty when they came for the exams and Naruto was well, just another Genin who did not stand out.
"You could have warned him, you know… and why this place?"
Naruto pointed to the ground; there was a large circle with marks glowing slightly. The mark then just disappeared after a second. "I use what you call 'portals' to cover big distances. We have these around the Elemental Nations. Naori was unable to take you straight to Suna because we have not drawn a portal on that side."
"And for a second I'd entertained the idea that you left me there because you knew they were waiting for me," Temari said with a stare.
Naruto stared back with a raised eye brow. It was rather unpleasant to be doubted. He'd not done anything to plant such seeds of distrust, had he? What did she even think of him? He ended up not responding to this but just started walking towards the side of the village.
Temari was surprised; she refused to show it on her face, but her skin crawled just thinking that Naruto of all people would take offence over something like that. He was known for being an indifferent bastard.
The journey towards the village was silent. Temari occasionally glanced at Naruto as they walked through the streets. He truly did seem to be lost in his own little world. He said nothing and his eyes didn't seem to be focused on the villagers who were giving them looks. For some, it was fear.
No doubt they were hearing what he was doing in battle and were starting to think about how they treated him. Temari did not pity them. They deserved it. He'd done nothing to them and yet they chose to make him miserable.
The hotel her brother was staying at was guarded by Anbu. When they walked in, they were welcomed by Konoha shinobi who led them towards the Kazekage's hotel. The lounge was silent, even though Gaara and Kankuro occupied it. Temari smiled warmly seeing her brothers. These were her siblings. Anything could have happened to her. She could have been killed, but she was back, with her family; she was happy.
Gaara did not rush towards her. If he'd done so, Temari would have requested Naruto take her somewhere because it would not have been her brother. Kankuro showed his excitement. They hugged each other, eyes watery but the tears refused to come out.
Naruto moved around as if he owned the place.
He walked towards the window and shifted the curtain slightly.
He was feeling a bit sentimental. He wanted to jump on the frame and settle down peacefully. He did miss those days he could just obsess over his thoughts, enjoying his peace in his own little world. There would be no voices, the physical world around him would be drown out of his senses–those had been good days.
His eyes glanced over to his right as Gaara slowly walked towards him. The Kazekage was silent for a couple moments before finally speaking.
"Thank you for bringing her back…" He said in a sincere tone.
"I did say I would do so," Naruto said. He took out a scroll and handed it to Gaara before speaking once more. "Please enjoy your family time…" he said before disappearing along a small gust of wind.
With Ai
Ai was proud of his strength. He still thought that if he partnered with Bee, they would defeat the emperor. But his views aside, looking at the men he had led from the Cloud, he could feel for them–there was a crippling wave of fear that was sweeping through the hearts of his shinobi. They were warriors, he would normally not accept such cowardice, but this was more than that.
What Naruto was doing was beyond normal; he was performing acts of famous shinobi once hailed as Gods of Shinobi. To give the blond such a title would not be exaggerating things–he was deadly powerful.
He was not praising him–but just admitting the cold truth. They were losing. How many men had the combined forces lost now? He could understand Onoki's thoughts on surrendering. But that man was not going to make it simple for them.
At least Onoki had even acknowledged that much.
"Are we really going to the Kage Summit?" Darui asked the Raikage who was sitting inside a tent, just alone before he came.
Ai looked up to Darui before nodding his head slowly. "Yes."
Darui released a long breath, expressing a bit of relief. He was honestly not looking for a battle with the Emperor. No, if anything, he would do anything to avoid it. The man was just killing people out there and he was not the only one. These people had indeed prepared for war and they had underestimated them.
They were going to go home with a crown of humiliation.
"We can't even afford to continue with this battle as things are. We only have three or four people we must worry about. An army is not needed since Naruto is not even going to bring out his army," Ai said in a hardened tone. "We are going to send the men home before we depart later on."
"Is Iwagakure doing the same?"
Ai shook his head. "It doesn't matter what they are doing. I am not going to lose any more men needlessly. It is obvious that the Emperor isn't someone who can be defeated by just anyone."
"But if you manage to defeat him, what happens to the Wave and Uzushio?"
"The Tsuchikage has made plans for the Wave. He tells me it will work. If we defeat the Emperor, we force it to surrender," Ai said. "Some people might wish for it to be completely destroyed given what the Emperor has done so far…"
"Likely," Darui said with a sigh. It was going to be a drag. But they could not avoid it. "Should I send out the order?"
"Let us leave just 500 behind. The others are to return home. And don't send anything to the ones at sea. We will wait to see what happens before deciding," Ai said with a small smile. "You and Bee will accompany me. Konoha has given us the assurance that the Uzushio will not attack."
"And if they attack?"
"We will attack the Hokage at the summit."
With Kurenai
Kurenai wiped a sweat off her forehead before straightening herself. If Konoha got dragged into the war, she would be going to the battlefield to fight as well. Preparation was needed. In the last trouble when the Kyubi went on a rampage, they had been forced to stay hidden and kept in a barrier while the adults fought.
In the Third Shinobi World War, it was not like that. The younger ones fought. Perhaps it was because the village was stretched fighting a war it was losing, only until Minato performed his extraordinary achievement.
Her students were all away with Kakashi. She hoped they would come back safely. Well, they were no longer students. She was just the team leader. Her thoughts halted when she sensed someone moving slowly towards her.
She twisted around and looked into the clearing; the Emperor of the Uzumaki Empire was walking towards her; his hair still a mess, he wore black shinobi pants, a long sleeve crimson shirt with the Uzumaki clan symbol stretched across his chest in black ink.
His hands were behind him.
He looked normal–just like any other shinobi. He didn't look like the man who has been killing shinobi from Kumogakure and Iwa.
Her hair rose; he was coming to her. There was no one around the training ground. What did he want from her? She swallowed hard. Her conversation with him in the past had not been that bad, right?
He waved his right hand as he grew closer, a small smile on his lips. "Yuhi Kurenai."
Kurenai was silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond. He was just Naruto before but he was now the Emperor and with how things have been going in his war, you simply could not just call him, Naruto, could you?
"Your Majesty," The Genjutsu mistress said with a small bow of her head.
Naruto appeared amused but he did not say anything about it. "I have come to see if we can work out the schedule for me to begin my lessons. I asked you before and I did send Yugao a message."
Kurenai stared.
He was not affiliated with Konoha, she could not do that. If he was still a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, she would do it.
"I can't do that."
Naruto raised an eye brow.
"Can't or won't?"
Kurenai looked at him curiously before asking. "What do you want me to say? You are not a shinobi of Konoha and have nothing to do with it. Shinobi treasure their skills, and I can't transfer my skills to someone who won't use them for the sake of Konoha."
"Won't then," Naruto said before walking past the woman.
He sat down under the tree and folded his hands across his chest.
"Why don't you tell me what you really want?"
"I had a certain level of interest in you but I was told that you are involved with someone. I wish I had asked before. Regardless, I am deciding on whether I should make this person you are involved with disappear so that you can be free."
Kurenai stared, puzzled. He just said something like that with a straight face. "You are joking right?"
"Yes," Naruto said. "But I am serious about Genjutsu. I learned and made all counter measures against it. But now I want to learn how to use it."
"Why? You are already powerful."
"It is not about power," Naruto said with a slight shake of his head. "It is my goal to be proficient in all shinobi arts. I have mastered Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu, Fuinjutsu… I must now learn genjutsu while I still have finer control of my chakra."
Hokage Office
Shikaku leaned back on the chair behind the desk of the Hokage's office. He was officially in charge now. Tsunade was standing in front of him with her Kage robes, Jiraiya and Sasuke flanking both her sides. She was leaving early. The Summit would not happen until five days later; She needed to prepare things. And during this time, he would be watching over the village.
"Don't get too comfortable," Tsunade said with a stare. "When I come back, you are out of there…"
Shikaku just smiled.
He would not wish to be Hokage. Not in this life time. He had no such ambitions. He was even forced into this situation because they didn't know what would happen while Tsunade was away for the summit.
"I'm already wishing you'd come tomorrow," Shikaku said in a tired tone. "But I do wish you success."
"That is what we are aiming for," Tsunade said before turning around to leave. "let's go you two," she said to her two guards.
Both Jiraiya and Sasuke? It was a bit of an overkill. But it also showed just how many skilled shinobi the Hidden Leaf had. If things had turned out differently, Naruto would have been another asset. But they still had powerful shinobi with them.
The Nara head closed his eyes; this was going to be troublesome. Well, it would give him an excuse as to why he went home late. That woman probably won't be taking it.
He opened his eyes and nearly jumped off his seat: Naruto was sitting by the window frame, left knee inches away from his chest and eyes cast outside; this was downright frightening. He couldn't sense a damn thing from the blond even though he could see him.
"How much do you know?"
Shikaku noted the tone was flat. He placed his hands on the desk and tapped for a few seconds before responding. "Not much," he said.
"What do you know?"
"Not much," Shikaku repeated the same response.
Naruto eyed the Nara for a moment before looking outside once more.
"I did consider that you knew something but there was never a hint. And it was too dangerous to simply approach you because of suspicion. But it does appear that Hiruzen could just not keep his mouth shut."
"You expected him to keep quiet about it? You had no regard for whatever happened to Konoha and the same can still be said regarding the thought. If it suited you, you would have even involved the village in your war."
"A deal is a deal. And what I chose to do with my life had nothing to do with Hiruzen." Naruto said. "No matter; nothing about my connection to Uzushio got out before I wanted. That was the core agreement. However, should there be anything tricky happening, there will be consequences… severe. Hiruzen was always too smart and loving towards Konoha for his own good. If there is something he plotted behind my back, everyone in this village will curse him in his death."
Shikaku did not offer an immediate response.
He could understand why Naruto was not happy.
The Sandaime had basically blackmailed him and that was a threat that could see Uzushio being destroyed again. "The current leadership will not plan anything harmful towards you or the Uzumaki."
"For Konoha's sake, I hope that is the case. If I sense something wrong, I will tear the agreements and make this village a mere memory with nothing but the Hokage Monument remaining tell there once was a great nation."
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